Dr Claudine Borg, Head of the Department of Translation, Terminology, and Interpreting Studies within the Faculty of Arts, has published the Maltese translation of Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical novel L’événement (Happening in English). Titled L-Avveniment in Maltese, this poignant book narrates Ernaux’s harrowing experience of an illegal abortion in 1960s France.
In 2022, Ernaux was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements, and collective restraints of personal memory”, and L’événement is a fine example of her distinctive narrative style.
The Maltese translation is accompanied by a translator’s note in which Dr Borg reflects on some of the challenges encountered while rendering the novel into Maltese. This literary translation is part of a larger practice-based research project, which also includes several conference papers and scholarly articles.
L-Avveniment was published by Faraxa Publishing and funded by the National Book Council’s Malta Book Fund 2023.
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2022. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2025. Thu. 3 Apr 2025.
