UNIVERSITY OF TARTU Institute of Germanic, Romance and Slavonic Languages and Literatures Kadri Sibrits Lastekirjanduse kultuurispetsiifika tõlkemeetoditest Charles Dickensi romaani ,,Oliver Twist” kahe eestikeelse tõlke näitel On Translation Methods of Cultural Specificity in Children’s Literature: Two Estonian Translations of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Master’s thesis 2014 90 pages This thesis explores the translation methods that can be implemented to translate cultural specificity in children’s literature. The main objective is to determine if and how such methods contribute to the general aims of translating children’s literature. In addition, the translators’ presence in translation texts is analyzed. The thesis is comprised of three parts: Introduction, a theoretical chapter and an empirical chapter. In the introductory chapter, a theoretical framework is set for understanding children’s literature as a concept as well as the facets of its translation. A definition is provided and topics such as the main aims of translating children’s literature and the ambivalence of children’s literature texts are explored. In addition, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens is discussed as an example of children’s literature. The second chapter focuses on cultural specificity and features the definition of the term, followed by the categorization of the possible translation methods of culture-specific elements in children’s literature. Works of Javier Franco Aixelá, Vinay and Darbelnet, Vlahhov and Florin, Peter Newmark, Eirlys E. Davies and Göte Klingberg are taken as a basis for establishing a categorization of translation methods for conducting the comparative analysis of the translations in question. Translator’s presence and visibility are also discussed. In the third and final chapter, the two Estonian translations of Dickens’s Oliver Twist by Hans Freimann (1927) and Koidu Reim (1964) are compared in terms of translating culture-specific elements in children’s literature. The comparative analysis is conducted following the system of translation methods established in the second chapter. In general, the translation methods for culture-specific elements include word for word translation, paraphrasing, loan words, near equivalents, intra-textual and extra-textual gloss. Translating for children adds the consideration for possible ways to adapt cultural contexts. The author of this thesis refrains from prescriptive normativity; instead, the aim is to see which methods were implemented and how each translation contributes to achieving the main objectives of translating children’s literature, such as providing the child with information about the world and its different cultures and assisting the development of the child’s self-image by supporting the child in overcoming his or her fears and problems. Key words: translation of culture-specific elements, translation methods, children’s literature, 19th century English literature, Charles Dickens