Tag nach Tag’: Modifizierte Zwillingsformeln in Beim Häuten der Zwiebel von Günter Grass. Erzähltechnischer Kunstgriff und traduktologische Lösung

Abstract

In German, the idiomatic use of two identical nouns joint together by a preposition is fixed by the language system. In Peeling the onion (2006), the polemic autobiography by Günter Grass, the author frequently contravenes this normative use by introducing time and again the preposition “nach” (after) instead of the more usual combination with other prepositions (um, auf, für). This structure tends to linguistically underline the sequence in time of his narrative procedure (‘one thing after another’). The present article sorts out and describes this phenomenon in the German language system and furthermore studies the conscientious usage the Spanish translators have made of this linguistic strategy in their version of Grass’ book.