German Stories in Iranian Children's Literature

Introduction

It is necessary to identify different aspects of any subject in order to scrutinize it. As children are important in the present era, many of researchers have considered children’s literature.

Children’s literature has held a considerable part of the nations’ literature. This type of literature has its own official addresses and audience in every society. Children as the known members of the society have the right to have a literature suitable with their needs.

The subject of children's literature has passed through three various stages all across the world. The first stage is the verbal literature. The verbal works have been turned into written ones in the second stage. In the third stage, a new recreation and compilation has been developed. Since, the verbal texts have been changed into written ones, translations of various works have been introduced to children’s literature regarding to the interaction among different nations in the industrialization era.

The presumption of the significance of translation is to provide authors with the style of writing for children in the first stage. In the second stage, children and adolescents can become familiar with the history, culture, social issues and the folk literature of all around the world. As a result, they can have a deeper concept and insight of the world. In addition, they are able to interact better with the world they live in.

Translating stories for children can help them get acquainted with the outlooks and cultural values of other nations (Yarveisi,2007:113).

Iran has also remarked this approach of translation. In the late of 1889, private training centers for children ordered other countries to send them pedagogical books (Balaee,1987:41). In fact, not only the verbal culture and written stories but also translations have been counted as the first steps to develop the formal children’s literature. Therefore, they provided the Iranian writers with this style of writing.

At first, the children’s literature translated from English and French texts. The translations legend’s La Fontaine and Aesop, and the English fictions paved the right way of book translation for children (Hejazi, 1992:184, Saghafi, 1891:3).

Jules Verne's Works was first translated in Iran in 1913 and the story of Pinoccio was translated from an English text (it was not directly translated from Italian) in Iran in 1901. However, the names of characters were sometimes changed into Iranian and Persian ones so as to help children feel closer to the text. The oldest type of change was made in the introduction of Saniossaltaneh’s book (Saniossaltaneh, 1875:5-4).

In Iran, the first publications published stories special for children and adolescents mainly translated from English to Persian until the end of World War II (1945). During the World War II, the German experts were in Iran, but any books were not translated from German for children. In the 1960s, World War II was almost forgotten and very few books translated and published. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) translated children stories from German to Persian. The development of socialistic concept affect publishing such stories. Until 1966, 232 children books translated and published from English, Turkish, French and German into Persian(Nazemi,1966:12). Other than Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, publications such as Franklin, translation agency, Book publication center and Ami Kabir press also published books in this regard. Since 1986, the translation of German books has been highly focused. In this year, The legends of Wilhelm and Jacob Grim and The legends Swiss and German Fictions for children were published in 1974. In the same year, the realistic stories and works Erisch Kestner, the German famous writer, attracted the attention of translated because his stories mainly concentrated on workers and peasants.

After the Islamic Revolution of Iran, in the 70s and 80s of the 20th century, due to the fact that Iran was in the war with the neighboring country, there was less attention to translation. Since the 90’s, the translation of German children books were highly come into published many books translated. Between 2000 and 2010, the translation of German books for children has remained the same as in the past. Since then, there is a remarkable record of German story books have been translating for children. The considerable point is that some of these books have been changed into brail for blind children. Erich Kastner and Michael Ende, are counted as the most efficient German writers for Iranian children and adolescents. Nowadays the triplets of Cornelia Caroline Funke are also popular among Iranian adolescents. From 2015, the number of publishers of children’s book has been grown and they annually participate in Frankfurt book exhibition. Many groups have chosen various children’s books. Private publishers sometimes translate and publish German books for children too. The following figure shows the statistics on the publishing of children's books in Iran according to the years:

The Addressee and Audiences of German Translations:

As it is essential to search and find out the items necessary for writing books for children and adolescents, they are also important to choose the most suitable story books. The fact is that a professional translator first, considers his or her addressee and audience. “Children now have available to them forms of text which include sound, voice, intonation, stance, gesture, movement as well as print and image. These texts have changed the ways in which young readers expect to read, the ways they think and the ways they construct meaning” ( Bearne, 2003 : 128 ). Actually, the translators and publishers try to satisfy the children’ needs. This interaction is beneficial for both the translator and the addressee or audience.

For almost half a century, several studies have been done to identify the needs of the addressee and recognize them. In addition, different approaches have been figured out in this regard. Although it is not possible to reflect how children distinguish these from one another and experience them. However, there are commonalities in choosing a book among children regarding age and there are the codes that can be important for adults. Because “Children's Literature…represents and even embodies an important part of what adults hope toteach the next generation” ( Hollindale,1988 : 12).

Some of the German texts have been selected according to the individual requirements of Iranian children and some others are based on social needs.

In the individual group, is regarded the level of knowledge, gender, age, emotional need, the level of ordinary life and the Iranian norm in the study style base on schools study, and translators remark the maintenance of public beliefs, insight to social life and insight to culture in the social group.

The value of children's literature is more than that of adult literature (Jalali, 2014: 26). So paying attention to the needs of children in choosing books in translation can create a new discursive culture. This issue is at the root of society. “If we society as being constantly created through discursive practices then it is possible to see the power of those practices then it is possible to see the power of those practices, not only to create and sustain the social world but also to see how we can change that world through a refusal of certain discourses and generation of new ones” ( Davies, 1988: xi )

As children are so keen on reading books translated from German to Persian, it simply demonstrates the position of providing the individual and social needs of the addresses too.

Translators have also considered these points in order to select the most appropriate book. They have determined the following criteria to choose children books from German:

• Good quality of content and literary structure, • The quality of illustrations, • The reading need of Iranian children.

Translators have always done their best to choose the most suitable German books for Iranian children due to their ages. While choosing the children books, they give priorities to social awareness and historical aspects without directly conveying obligatory and pedagogical message (Alipur,2006:15).

“Children's books…are rarely acknowledged by the literary establishment” ( Hunt , 1994:7 ) but translations of German children's books have been followed up by Iranian children.

The table of German books translated into Persian indicates that Iranian translators have usually selected and translated stories for children from 9 to 12 years old. These choices imply that these books may have some issues in common between Iranian and German children at special range of ages. The table below shows the age of the book reader:

The question arises in this regard is that why the German infant stories are not welcome by the Iranian story? It should be pointed out that the written literature is not considerable for the age groups of 4 to 6, but there are lots of nursery songs composed by Iranian poets for infants. The following table shows the age at which writers are considered:

The following part of this essay is going to scrutinize the topics of these books.

The Theme and Subject in the Books:

The subject and theme are considered as two elements related to one another in story. It is significant how they are reflected because they affect the book absorption (Mirsadeghi, 1997:174; Azhand, 1996:17).At first the most of the children stories that translated from German into Persian were realistic ones which were in connection with the real and social life of children.

Although realism has been introduced to children’s literature since 1950 and some writers like Anne Phin disagreed with it (Jozline, 2010:66) in world and it has been illustrated in the western and American children’s literature, the shadow of such stories have been observed by translation in Iranian children’s literature. Many children have been found of these books and read them.

This realism in translated books is often seen from 1980 to 2010. Iran was at war in the early years (1980-1988), and after about 20 years of peace, Iranian children faced with the reality of boycotts and economic crises. In addition, the issue of restoring individual and national identity was also important. Translations related to this content and children would also read them. In fact realism helped Iranian children touch the real life experience through stories.

Most of the German stories translated for Iranian children are adventurous, mysterious, humorous and a cut of the everyday usual life. “The best translation of a children's book is not necessarily the one that is most accurate and closest to the original… but the ability to arouse in the readers the same feelings, thoughts and associations experienced by reader of source text” (Nilsson, 2008 : 212 ).

The important point is that the subjects of these stories are in common with the social life of the Iranian children. It figures out that map borders are meaningless for children and the global community of children keeps on. For example, the works of Erich Kastner have been published several times in Iran.

Considering the age group, we can see the problems of children and adolescents have been said in the most of the books. In relation to identity, the crisis of moving from adolescence to adulthood has been perfectly featured out in these stories. Remarking the needs of the main addressees, distinguishes the stories of children and adult. Here the task of an interpreter is also apparent. “The translator's task is not simply to translate words and expressions, but also to recognize a number of codes, in the text and rebuilds them in his or her own language and culture” (Nielsson, 2008: 207). That is why; German story books have been able to attract Iranian children and adolescents.

Since 2000, there have been other genres of German stories to Iranian children’s literature too. Fancy books have been widely seen after 2000, but till 2010 realistic books are more than them. Now Funke and Proissler’s works have had many fans in Iran.

Role of Characters in Choosing German Books:

The German translated books provide children a free accessibility to reality through the imaginary world that is created by the writer. Such translated stories make children think and challenge about their needs. Story characters play an important role in challenging the needs of children.

It is essential to keep in mind that children age groups are varied according to the specifications of physical growth, emotional growth, interests, reading ability, language comprehension, environment and experiences (Imen, 1978:35). Hunt says “We are not dealing with lesser ability but with a different kind of ability” ( Hunt, 2000: 76 ). The characters in German translated books have had the following specifications:

Curiocity: They are not pacified in their own and they look for excitement. “ In Emil and the delectives” work of Erich Kastner there is enough time for children to curiosity.

Hard- working: If they don’t get the result they expected, they are not disappointed and keep on trying .For example in “Der rote Rächer und die glücklichen Kinder” of Wolflen an orphan's son is looking for his identity, and this is what inspires confidence in children.

Self-esteem: They face with the problems and do not escape. In the book of Pausewang , the 15-year-old girl who lost her hair through the atomic bombing , does not accept hat on her head because people should not forget about such a crime.

Enjoying the time and place: they, somehow, enjoy their life and they are satisfied with it. The German-style fictional stories give children the opportunity to enjoy their moments and times in the world of fantasy.

Adventurious: They do not like the ordinary and repeated life. They enjoy changes and they are interested in adventures. In the works of kastner and funke children can make an adventure with real or fantasy style in mind.

Independent thinking: choice is an important parameter showing their independent thinking. For example in work of Preussle, “Die kleine hexe” the little wizard is crazy, playful, likes to celebrate the great wizards, but not allowed. In fact, his unauthorized entry to the celebration of the wizards takes him to a path that ends with the burning of magic books and magic wand.

Iranian children and adolescents pose themselves in the story characters and enjoy experiencing the reality of life and reading such stories.

In fact, the presence of characters with the above mentioned specifications can be counted as one of the factors absorbing the attention of Iranian children to German stories. Even though these specifications are also found in American, English and other languages stories and even the ones written by Iranian writers, Iranian children are more keen on German stories more because they are more successful to provide the needs of children and adolescents.

Conclusion:

Analyzing the German translated stories for Iranian children indicate that the stories are mainly chosen for children from 9 to 12 years old. Furthermore, the stories are mostly realistic and in recent years, translators have been seriously looking for fantasy, fantasy genre like the triplets of Funke has found may addresses and reader in Iran. Stories reveal various similarities between the German and Iranian in situation of children. For this reason, Iranian children have become interested in such stories. Holistically, the strong structure and personification in these stories have been successful to provide the needs of children from different individual and social aspects.

At the end of the article, a complete list of books translated, is displayed from German to Farsi for children.

Bibliography