"Tha'' Sounds Like Me Arse!"

The translation of non-standard language in literature, and in particular swearing, has received very little attention in Translation Studies to date. The study addresses this gap in the academic literature by providing a quantitative as well as qualitative investigation into the translation of swearing in the dialogue of two German translations of Roddy Doyle''s The Commitments (1987). The author explores the different functions that swearing can fulfil in German and Irish English and draws conclusions about how two translators deal with them and what the results of their decisions are. This work is of immediate relevance not only to translators of literature who are faced with the translation of swearing and non-standard language but also to translators of audiovisual texts, who more frequently find themselves having to convey taboo language. It also offers practical guidance as to the identification of the functions of swearing and how they can be conveyed into German. Furthermore, the study contributes to the discussion of multiple causation in Descriptive Translation Studies.