Trainspotting Summary

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh; comparison of the novel with its film adaptation and Croatian translation

Trainspotting is the first novel written by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh, published in 1993. It takes the form of a collection of short stories. In 1996, the story received a screenplay adaptation and was filmed by the director Danny Boyle. The novel has since achieved a cult status, added to by the global success of the film, ranked 10th by the British Film Institute in its list of Top 100 British films of all time (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trainspotting). This paper will attempt to analyze the film adaptation of the short story and its translation in Croatian language focusing on themes explored in the original text.

The novel is split up into seven sections, each comprised of several chapters. The plot is set in Leith, Edinburgh, in the late 1980s, and depicts the lives of several young people who either use heroin or are in some way connected to those using it. The main

“It is a form of slang word construction in the English language and the construction involves replacing a common word with a phrase of two or three words, the last of which rhymes with the original word” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyming_slang). Considering the fact that this word construction does not exist in Croatian language, the author had two choices: translate it as a word this rhyming slang denotes or not translate it at all. Sever chose the latter. For example, in the sentences “Spijemo si još po pivicu, pa si pozovemo Joe Baxi.” and “Ak se ovdje nemre umočit Joea McBridea, možemo se baš i oprostit...” rhyming slang Joe Baxi means taxi, while Joe McBride means sexual intercourse (ride). For Croatian readers not acquainted with this feature of English language, rhyming slang would cause confusion, therefore, it would be better if Sever simply translated