Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15291/sponde.4998
About the Baruffe chiozzotte relocated to Dubrovnik: the tradaptator to the reader
Morana Čale
orcid.org/0000-0001-9741-061X
; University of Zagreb
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The localized translation of Carlo Goldoni’s Baruffe chiozzotte into the idiom of Dubrovnik, carried out by Morana Čale specifically for the performance directed by Krešimir Dolenčić as part of the 2025 Dubrovnik Summer Festival theater season, occupies the central part of the contribution and is accompa-nied by an introductory presentation and a technical-grammatical explanation included at the end, both of which are signed by the translator/adaptor. The prefatory text aims to situate the translation-ad-aptation - designated by the neologism tradattamen-to, modelled on the English word “tradaptation” - in the context of Dubrovnik’s centuriesold theatrical tradition, which is both original and rich in adaptations, ranging from the comedies of Marin Držić (in Italian, Marino Darsa), which inaugurated the come-dic genre in the sixteenth century, to the French-inspired works that flourished in the eighteenth century, up to the most relevant examples of Ragusan and Croatian adaptations, especially Goldonian, from the last hundred years. After a reasoned review of the linguistic models available in the dramaturgical history of Dubrovnik that could serve as the most suitable for the new Ragusanization of Goldoni’s famous comedy, the argument is made in favour of the translator’s adoption of the sixteenth-century lan-guage found in Držić’s comedies as the best choice for at least two reasons. Firstly, the Darsian language guarantees, for various reasons, a satisfactory degree of communicability between the performance and the contemporary audience, whether Ragusan or more generally Croatian, in line with Goldoni’s ideas on the necessity of adapting the text to the culture and taste of the audience. Furthermore, considering the documented sense of discomfort expressed by the Ragusan people in recent decades regarding the progressive loss of the Ragusan dialect, the more dated literary and theatrical model, while also being less overloaded with foreign terms compared to lat-er cultural and lexical overlays, seems, according to the opinion of the translator, to favour the collective need for recovery - more symbolic than likely - of a common linguistic background. The concluding section provides information about the Ragusan setting, regarding anthroponyms, toponyms, folkloric and cultural elements, vocabulary, and idiomatic expressions. It highlights the reuse of citation elements drawn from the dramatic works of the Ragusan tradi-tion, particularly from the comedies of Marin Držić. Finally, the main differences are noted between the text of the adaptation, characterized by a seemingly archaizing position, and the modifications, mostly morphosyntactic, made by Dolenčić’s ensemble to the Ragusanized text by Morana Čale.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
342492
URI
Publication date:
22.12.2025.
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