Analysing Linguistic Stylistic Devices in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and So Long a Letter: A Comparative Appraisal

This research work focuses on linguistic stylistic analysis of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter. It aims to identify the various translation procedures used in each novel in order to establish a comparison between the different translation procedures and style of each translator of modern and old English. A sampling method has been used to carry out this research work. Thus, one extract has been selected with its corresponding translation from the French and English versions of each novel. The results show that, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the translator has used predominantly adaptation for his translation representing 32.32% in both selected extracts whereas in So Long a Letter, the translator has adopted predominantly literal translation representing a proportion of 28.48% in order to preserve the sustained register of the source text. However, both translators have also used other translation procedures in lower proportions depending on the context orientation. It has been noted that translation methods such as calque has been used only once whereas borrowing is nonexistent in the selected extracts from both literary works.


Introduction
Language enables humans to express their ideas, emotions and desires basing on the social norms and cultural values of the societies they live in. Since language highly takes root in social contexts and traditions, it varies from community to community, from society to society and from country to country. So, in situations of different languages in contact, interactions are made possible through translations or interpretations depending on written or spoken languages in use. Translation is 'the transference of a message from one language to another ' Nida (1964, p. 3). In this perspective, perfect knowledge of source and target texts is required for a successful translation or interpretation. In line with the preceding stated problem of translation or interpretation in the case of different languages in contact, this research work focuses on the analysis of linguistic stylistic devices in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Mariama Bâ's So Long a Letter: a comparative appraisal. The study seeks to identify the various translation procedures used in each novel in order to establish a comparison between the different translation procedures and style of each translator of modern and old English.
It is important to note that The adventures of Tom Sawyer was first published in 1876. It is an old novel written by Mark Twain for entertainment. It describes American society where Tom symbolises American characters who fights against freedom in terms of religion, education and ethnics and rejects the social institution and does not want to be politically correct. In contrast, Mariama Bâ's So Long a Letter, published in 1979 is one long letter written by Ramatoulaye Fall to her best friend Aissatou after her husband Modou's death, during the mourning period. A letter written after thirty (30) years of marriage in which she describes in details her entire life. So it is important to study these literary works in order to establish the similarities and differences between them following a linguistic comparative stylistic perspective. This study is relevant as the scrutiny of the different translation procedures contributes to the deep understandings of the selected literary works.
It is a translation technique that involves using the same word or expression in original text in the target text. Examples are: a coup d'Etat / un coup d'Etat; a rendez-vous / un rendez-vous.

• Calque
The process whereby the translator creates or uses a neologism in the target language by adopting the structure of the source language. Some instances are these pairs in English and French: skyscraper /gratte-ciel; cold war / guerre froide. •

Literal Translation
Also called metaphrase, literal translation refers to a word-for-word translation achieving a text in the target language. According to Vinay and Darbelnet (1958, p. 33 •

The interchange
It is a common process of French expression: first the result, then the means. English by contrast follows the order of the images as illustrated through these instances: Blown away / emporté par le vent. He groped his way accross the room / Il traversa la pièce à tatons. He worked himself to death / Il s'est tué à la tâche.

• Modulation
Modulation refers to the process of changing the form of the text by introducing a semantic change or perspective. It is a variation of the form of the message, obtained by a change in the point of view. Therefore, we distinguish different type of modulation. • Adaptation It is the extreme limit of translation. It is used where the type of situation being referred to by the source language message is in the target language culture. Also called cultural substitution or cultural equivalent, it is a cultural element which replaces the original text with one that is better suited to the culture of the target language. This achieves a more familiar and comprehensive text as shown in these examples: Three men and a baby / Trois hommes et un couffin; Baseball / Football.

Prosody events
This translation procedure includes dilution, amplification, economy, compensation, explicitation and implicitation. Dilution only applies to form. It occurs in translation, when in contact of two languages, the source language uses more words for the expression of the same idea than the target language as shown in these examples: Weeds / Les mauvaises herbes.
Amplification is the technique of remedying a syntactic deficiency, or to highlight the meaning of a word, in both cases by filling a lacuna in the lexicon or in the structure.
The following examples indicate this: Passengers to Paris / Les passagers à destination de Paris. Paul wrote the letter / C'est Paul qui a écrit la lettre.
Economy refers to the opposite tendency to amplification. It is conveyed by a tightening up of the utterance obtained by quantitative or extensional reduction of a constituent signs.
The following examples indicate this: The man I saw / L'homme que j'ai vu. Come and see me / Viens me voir.
Compensation occurs when an allusion or reference does not appear in one part of the text as in the source version but later in the target text.
The following examples indicate this: They do not want me in any capacity / Ils ne veulent de moi nulle part.
Explicitation is a procedure through which some details which remain implicit in the source text but out of the context or situation are introduced in the target text.
The following examples indicate this: Workers stay in jobs they hate for fear that a pre-existing medical condition will make them eligible for coverage elsewhere / Les employés gardent un emploi qu'ils détestent de peur que leur passé medical ne les empêche d'être couverts dans une autre entreprise.
Implicitation is the opposite of explicitation as exemplified here: Whatever he does next / Quoi qu'il fasse.

Method
In the attempt to carry out this research work, a sampling method has been used. Indeed, two chapters have been selected from each novel. This means that Chapter One (pp. 3−6) and Chapter Thirty-four (pp. 340−344) have been selected from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer whereas Chapter One (pp. 1−3) and Chapter Twenty-five (pp. 85−86) have been selected from So Long a Letter. Then, the frequency distribution of each translation procedure has been determined in both selected chapters from each novel and analysed. Relevant instances of each translation procedure have been provided for illustrations. It is important to precise that, for clarity sake, the illustrative instances in English are highlighted in bold whereas those in French are highlighted in italics. This has enabled the researcher to compare both literary works on the basis of the translation procedures and styles in the light of the linguistic comparative stylistic theory.

Analysis of the Different Translation Procedures in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The different translation procedures used in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are summarised in Table 1 below in terms of frequency and percentage. The results of this section of investigation indicate that the translator has used predominantly adaptation while translating The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as mentioned in Table 1  The clauses (C 4, 27, 43, 52, 61, 103, 154, 209 ) show that the situation referred to in the source text is probably unknown by the translator, that is the reason why he has used completely different words or expressions to convey the same meaning.
As for literal translation clauses, they represent 9.48%. The translator renders exactly what has been said in the source text. The following instances illustrate this: As for modulation clauses they represent 10.77% in this Extract. Here, the translator shows his point of view by changing the form of the message. In the C 21 , he uses the modulation by the negation of the opposite to convey the same message. In clause ( 207 ), he uses one part for another whereas in clauses (C 204, 232 ) he uses the part for the whole as indicated in these instances: Dilution and concentration represent respectively 2.58% and 0.43% in Extract 1. Here, the translator uses predominantly words in French translation to express the same idea. In the clauses, (C 9, 31, 166, 211 ) he uses respectively 5 words versus 7 words; 01 word versus 2 words; 06 words versus 9 words; 02 words versus 5 words. Contrary to clause C 205 , in which he uses 08 words versus 02 words as illustrated in these instances:

Analysis of the Different Translation Procedures in Mariama Bâ's So Long a Letter
The  In contrast to the results observed in the previous section of the investigation, here, the translator has rendered literally the message conveyed in the source text. Indeed, literal translation represents 28.48% of all the clauses (158) used in Extract 2. After, follow explicitation (23.41%) and adaptation (14.55%) closely followed by amplification (10.12%) and modulation (9.49%). Economy, implicitation, transposition, compensation and equivalence are used at lower proportions comprising between 3.19% and 1.26% respectively. Only one (01) case of calque has been identified. In Extract 2 selected from Mariama Bâ's So Long a Letter, the translator has avoided using borrowing and concentration. The clauses analysis presented in Appendix 2 includes these clauses among others.
The following clauses demonstrate that the translator follows word for word translation to maintain the register in which Ramatoulaye Fall, the main character of the novel addresses Aissatou Bâ, her old friend:

-(115) Votre fille est mon premier amour / Your daughter is my first love
As for transposition, the following instances stress the interchange which occurs while moving from French to English translation in the clause (59) and the translation of same identical part of speech to another one in the clauses (C 74 , 114 ) as illustrated in the pairs (74)  As for equivalence, the clause (83) illustrates the use of idiomatic expression while in clause (1), 'Dear Aissatou' is directly the equivalence of "Aissatou" in English: Explicitation and implicitation clauses below indicate that the translator brings some details or keeps implicit in the target text. In the clause (28), he explains whose eyes are closed by using possessive adjective "my", while in clauses (C 57, 147 ), "malgré eux" and "sa presentation" are respectively omitted: As for compensation, the translator gives some references to some realities which are not mentioned in the source text. In the clause (6) he specifies in whom confidence should be placed, which answer is 'in others'. Besides he has clearly mentioned the kind of realities he refers to in the clause (16) As far as modulation is concerned, it occurs in 25 clauses representing 10.77%. Here, he has given his point of view by changing the form of the message in clauses (C 21, 62, 73, 87, 204, 207, 232 ). In (21) She did not finish / Elle en resta là, the translator shares his point of view by using an appropriate figure of speech (litote) to explain what Mark Twain directly means through 'She did not finish.' Nevertheless, amplification and economy are opposite and are used in almost the same proportion respectively 25 and 26 clauses representing 10.77% and 9.48%. Amplification adds words in French translation while economy avoids them. In the following clauses (C 2, 3, 12, 20, 42, 191 ), examples of amplification cases, there are some new words in French translation underlined as follows: (2) No answer / Pas de réponse, (3) I wonder / Je me demande, (12) as a boy / qu'un jeune garçon, (42) Nothing! Look at your hands, and look at your mouth / Rien? Regarde-moi tes mains, regarde-moi ta bouche, (191) Huck don't need it / Huck n'a pas besoin de tout ça, dit-il. For the economy one (C 18, 22, 75, 96, 148, 199 ) there are: (18) but still loud enough / mais assez haut, (22) for by this time / car, (75) as the Good Book says / dit la Bible, (96) The window ain't high from the ground / La fenêtre n'est pas bien haute, (148) and that's you / C'est toi, (199) but he's got lots of it / mais il en a des tas. The translator adds or drops words in the translation to make the source text more intelligible for especially monolingual readers.
Some clauses have been directly translated in French whereas others' grammatical structure have been changed as noticed respectively in the clauses (C 38, 48, 49, 74, 78 ) and (C 30, 39, 57, 185, 206 ). For the clauses (C 7, 9, 31, 168, 169 ) representing dilution cases, the translator uses more words to convey the same meaning than the target language as in (31) and weeds / mauvaises herbes whereas in the clause (188) looked at each other with a perplexed interest / se regardèrent, he uses less words than the original text.
Explicitation is illustrated in the following clauses (C 8, 13, 16, 48, 134, 174, 188 ). Here, the translator gives more details in the message conveyed according to the context or situation. In clauses (C 92, 223 ), he remains implicit and deliberately avoids some details pointed out in the source text as in (92) but he hates work more than he hates anything else / lui qui a une telle horreur du travail, and in (223) There was scarcely an interruption from any one to break the charm of its flow / que personne ne l'interrompit.
Finally, he uses compensation in clauses (C 55, 71, 113, 139, 179 61,82,89,90,91,115,116,117 ) the translator renders word by word what has been mentioned in the source text. It is noticed that he often inverts the initial order of source clause as for instance in the clause (C 118 ) J'épouserai Aïssatou si vous êtes d'accord / If you agree, I will marry Aissatou. This is done to maintain the original register in which the source message is written. Nevertheless, in clause (59)