a. Examples

by fan translators in the same format. However, even if a given webcomic is hosted on a private website, where the author has full authority i.e. a linear style of reading is strictly established (Domingo, Jewitt, Kress, 2014, p. 5), said webcomic is often connected to other platforms, if it itself is already not by design one. A good example is the webcomic Unsounded (2010-current), which imposes a linear reading order and allows for comments beneath each page, but also branches out to such platforms as its wiki and the author’s Patreon, as well as such social media platforms as twitter and tumblr. An understanding of how each webcomic functions and in what kind of platforms it presides in allows for an in-depth analysis that aids in the gauging of translational possibilities. Interconnection and cross-platform presence is common, and a knowledge of this inter-connectivity clues in a translator as to how to go about translating a work which can become scattered. As such, platform studies can and should be applied to webcomic translation, similarly to media archeology, which in fact has already been used within the scope of this thesis in the first chapter that discusses the origins and development of webcomics.

2.2.3.a. Examples. In order to present a more pointed example of how specific use of online

insurmountable task, it would be one requiring effort that involves knowledge of online programming along with technological expertise that ultimately may be deemed not worth the effort. Additionally, advancing technology may render the webcomic obsolete- in fact, at the moment of writing this thesis, These Memories Won’t Last (2015) is already experiencing technical difficulties within Chrome and Firefox browsers. This is a flaw that Campbell discovered upon testing the webcomic online, noting that discrepancies often appear when publishing online works due to the variation of online platforms and software programming (Thomas, 2016). Furthermore, Campbell recognizes the ultimate irony in how These Memories Won’t Last (2015) will gradually stop working and become obsolete due to advancing online technology, thus becoming a direct demonstration of how memories can fade: “At some point in the future, all my digital projects will stop working due to software changing and unfortunately to continually maintain them” (Campbell, qtd. in Starr, 2016). Thus, advancing technology functions as a double metaphor. Putting aside technological difficulties, another issue is a matter of popularity: These Memories Won’t Last (2015) is not a well-known project, albeit critically acclaimed (Ehrhardt, 2016; Starr, 2016; Ntim-Addae, 2016; Thomas, 2020). Therefore, unless a translation is done as part of literary or translation studies, a translation would most likely not be attempted in any way. It can be seen that the translation of works tied to their digital or online platforms is often fraught with challenges pertaining to technology.⁵⁰

Perhaps one of the best examples of the issues that a translator can encounter when translating a digital piece of work can be seen on the basis of Michael Joyce’s afternoon, a story (1990/1999). The work was one of the first examples of hypertext fiction, and was published in 1990 by Eastgate Systems on a diskette, and later on CD-ROM. The work was created in Storyspace, a program specifically created by Michael Joyce and Jay David Bolter for making hyperfiction. Known for its branching paths and non-linear storytelling, afternoon, a story (1990/1999) relies on the reader to click on given words or phrases contained within the so-called lexia or nodes; a singular lexia is the fragment that is currently visible to the reader on screen.

Chosen words or phrases within the lexia contain hyperlinks which can take the reader to other lexia. In the case of afternoon, a story (1990/1999), each lexia has a title that is connected to its given hyperlink, so e.g. the word “accident” can take to a lexia either titled “accident”, or one alluding to an accident. George Landow (1992) explains that the term “lexia” within hyperfiction borrows from Barthes’ S/Z, which in turn is best defined as a block of words (p. 3). Furthermore, the terminology and reading path of hyperfiction is based on Barthes’ notion of ideal textuality which is as follows: “[a] text composed of blocks of words <or images> linked electronically by multiple paths, chains, or trails in an open-ended, perpetually unfinished textuality described by the terms link, node, network, web, and path” (pp. 3-4).

50 More details regarding this title can be found in subchapter 3.3. of this thesis.

As such, hyperfiction is defined by its multiple, non-linear connections: afternoon, a story (1990/1999) is known for the fact that it does not have a traditional ending but is non-sequential.

The reader can choose various reading paths depending on chosen hyperlinks; the ending therefore depends on the reader, who subscribes to conventional reading rules within the lexia, and non-conventional rules beyond it (Landow, 1992, p. 4). As Landow points out when it comes to endings in hyperfiction: “hypertext fictions always end because readings always end, but they can end in fatigue or a sense of satisfying closure” (Landow, 2006, p. 229). Indeed, fatigue may sooner than later occur for the reader: afternoon, a story (1990/1999) contains 539 lexia and 951 possible connections. Regardless, hyperfiction bases itself on an overgenerous notion of reader empowerment the presupposes that the reader can arrange their reading path as they please; in reality, choices are limited within the quantity of lexia and hyperlink design (Regnauld, 2019, p.

37).

Based on this brief depiction, hyperfiction is a complex genre of literature, as it relies on hypertext and hyperlinks which contribute to its multi-linearity. As such, the translation of afternoon, a story (1990/1999) has been a challenging endeavor. Although Joyce’s work is considered an archetype of electronic literature (Coover, 1992; TLP, 2014; Grigar et al., 2020), it has been translated into only a handful of languages, namely French, Polish, German and Italian.

Newer translations, such as the Polish and French ones, have faced the additional challenge of translating and publishing the work in the context of updated technology. Arnaud Regnauld (2013), who has worked on the French translation of afternoon, a story along with Anne-Laure Tissut and Stéphane Vanderhaeghe, attributes the labored process of translating the electronic work to its multilinear and non-systematic nature: “confronted with a fragmentary and elusive complex of textual fragments that sometimes may wear down to a single word, let alone a mere letter, the translator will have to attune herself to the numerous echoes (. . .) to reveal the work’s hidden systematicity” (par. 5). Regnauld (2013) here is referring to afternoon, a story’s “hypertextual architecture” brought about by its digital nature and platform characteristics, namely the Storyspace interface (pars. 5-6). Furthermore, Regnauld (2013) draws attention to the challenges that arise from the existence of newer versions of the Storyspace platform and coding, which in its original form is compatible with the English language, but not the French one (pars. 8-9). This creates further translation problems regarding obsolescence: the original version of afternoon, a story (1990/1999) was on a diskette, and in a Storyspace version that was adjusted to one of the first personal computers available to the wide public.

The translator is therefore faced with issues regarding remediation and re-programming, which makes translation efforts that much more complex (Regnuald, 2013, par. 9). It also calls into question the nature of the work itself, as it had not been merely translated, but overall changed, as Regnauld (2013) describes the web version of afternoon, a story (1990/1999):

Remediating afternoon on the Web has not only transformed the underlying code into HTML and other web-specific programming languages, but also the visual reception of the lexias.

Their online configuration does not direct the reader’s gaze in the same way as the original rectangular windows; in addition, there is a different set of colors and graphics absent from the Storyspace version of the work whose semiotic value needs to be taken into account.

Any reprogrammation, or porting of a work onto a different platform involves the destruction of the initial programming. (par. 10)

A clear conclusion is drawn: the translation of a digital work, be it offline or online, requires an understanding of its programming, knowledge of how the source and target publishing platform functions, and a need to troubleshoot and bypass any issues that appear during translation, which are more often than not are connected to the technological makeup of a given work. While afternoon, a story (1990/1999) is an example of hyperfiction which complicates translation work due to its multi-linear nature, the aforementioned challenges largely arise from the digital and online character of the work, as well as technological advancements, and not its literary personality.

The Polish translation of afternoon, a story (1990/1999) published in 2010 by Ha!art encountered even greater problems than the French version, largely due to the outdated digital nature of the work, as well as the incompatibility of the Polish language with Storyspace. As Mateusz Pisarski (2015), who worked on the translation along with translator Radosław Nowakowski and programmer Jakub Jagiełło, details: “Today, retaining afternoon’s original format (. . .) is no longer possible and translators face a series of challenges on several levels, ranging from programming to distribution” (p. 1). This is due to the fact that the original version of afternoon, a story, which was redistributed as a Storyspace reader file, cannot be properly read in newer OS and Microsoft systems (Pisarski, 2015, p. 2). Thus, much like the French translation team, the Polish translation team had to re-platform afternoon, a story (1990/1999). Pisarski describes that at first, the initial goal was to simply create a localized and exported version of Storyspace; a seemingly simple task at first, all lexia were translated⁵¹ and in 2007 were ready to be tested.

However, Storyspace turned out to be limited, even in its modern form: “The program was written for languages that use the Roman script and did not allow for Polish diacritics (. . .) Moreover, creating links in the Storyspace link menu was impossible on words with diacritics, as they were automatically broken down into two separate sections: before and after a diacritic mark”

(Pisarski, 2015, p. 2). While a version without diacritics was made for testing purposes, Storyspace was not a feasible option due to its outdated nature, and the translation efforts were shelved for two years until the decision was made to localize the Polish version as an offline browser file (Pisarski, 2015, p. 3). Many changes were made to the interface and characteristics of the work, although its core lexia and hyperlinks were preserved in the Polish language. Pisarski (2015) describes in detail

51 A Word document was exported with all text, which Nowakowski then translated (Pisarski, 2015, p. 2).

the technological challenges (pp. 4-10), as unlike the German and Italian translations, Pisarski with his team had to translate, port, and “build the work from the ground up”, which was a challenge for such a small group of people (p. 10). Still, the translation was successfully published, even though Pisarski notes it is imperfect- after all, it constituted the “first full scale effort to migrate this [afternoon, a story] hypertext novel into a new software environment” (p. 11). The Polish team’s efforts further shines light on how challenging it is translate digital works that can only function on certain platforms, and moreover, how cross-platform compatibility is an issue that increasingly must be taken into account, as exemplified by the fact that the Polish translation of afternoon, a story (1990/1999) does not work on the Chrome browser, due to its lack of support of offline cache that is essential to the work (Pisarski, 2015, p. 9).

The aforementioned examples of These Memories Won’t Last (2015) and afternoon, a story (1990/1999) demonstrate that the translation of digital and online works cannot occur without analyzes and discussions involving forms, platforms, software, and previous media history, all of which are unique to a given work. It is here that media archeology is exceptionally helpful; not only does it prompt a deeper analysis of the technological mechanisms behind a given work, but it also encourages to look at how these mechanisms influence reader reception whilst acknowledging any history that is involved. As Apperley and Parrika (2018, p. 350) mention, media archeology offers historical and material methodology that is helpful to translation and webcomics (as well as other fields). Kleefeld (2020) mentions longevity and permanence in connection to webcomics and the platforms they are published on, as well as digital preservation and storage efforts that are still developing as a field (p. 214). As mentioned before in this thesis, Pisarski (2020) also discusses object-oriented translation within the context of remediation of printed works, as well as the translation of historical digital literature. Particularly interesting in his discussion about Michael Joyce’s afternoon, a story (1990/1999) and Twilight. A Symphony (1996) are the technological issues that the have to be taken into consideration before a translation can even occur. Various factors come into play, from outdated software to appearance, which overall have an impact on the final translation of a text (in this case).

For instance, Pisarski (2020) appropriates Jim Rosenberg’s category of the acteme, that is “a unit of non-trivial actions related to both the reading of the text and other steps necessary to progress from the beginning to the end of the work” (p. 87). He highlights its importance and how a translator along with publishers and programmers, would have to determine its relevance, and consider possible equivalents in the target work (p. 88). In the end, its about presenting a work for a contemporary audience, and determining the core characteristics of a non-analogue work requires a substantial amount of analysis and introspection, to which media archeology and platform studies offer structure. This is especially crucial as translating digital/online works involves a decent amount of deconstructing and reconstructing. Regnauld (2013) comments the following on the

translation of electronic literature:

The translating process may be construed as a form of archiving as it involves a selection which is also a destruction of ‘the original’, a form of erasure especially acute in the case of code and paradoxically meant to ensure the survival of the work as the translated fragments migrate into a new spectral body of text spliced with updated strings of code enabling its performance, or becoming-text. (par. 14)

Regnauld’s poetic description of translating is very fitting when combined with Pisarski’s (2020) practical observation: translating non-analogue works saves them from becoming obsolete and ensures their longevity (pp. 88-90). Intense changes are sometimes a necessary evil in the face of platform limitations and publisher restrictions; in the case of Twilight. A Symphony (1996), localization and open accessibility that appealed to a 21^st century audience played a crucial role (p.

89).⁵²

Much of the issues and challenges associated with other non-analogue works apply to webcomics as well; at the same time, technological and literary circumstances surrounding each example are inherent to them only. One again, this is largely due to the user-centered platform capabilities that are encountered online, as well as the expanding possibilities and affordances that the Internet has to offer. It is for this reason that the translation of these works is largely theoretical, and less so practical, as will be demonstrated in the case study section of this thesis. As Pisarski (2015) acutely observes: “Everyone who is brave enough to publish a classic hypertext fiction from the pioneering era of e-literature, cannot bypass mobile, almost online-only and instantly synced mobile platforms” (p. 9). This comment can easily be applied to webcomics, which function precisely on such platforms. At the same time, webcomics can disappear from their environment fairly quickly; changes involving online programming, scripts and interfaces can make a work

“broken” and defunct, as in the case of Stuart Campbell’s works. Support for Flash, one of the most important online programs that was responsible for many interactive affordances on websites, is not supported anymore, impacting the readability of many webcomics that were created in the program, including These Memories Won’t Last (2015). “Programmability” has become a key feature, and it is no wonder that social media platforms are popular for non-enhanced webcomics; by all accounts, an image file is longer lasting than a work built into the infrastructure of a website. As such, the aforementioned fields of media studies aid future translation efforts.