When Free was captured in Albanian: self-translation into the mother tongue

This article argues that there is a significant distinction to be made between self-translation from L2 into the mother tongue and vice versa. The transfer from L2 into the mother tongue is characterised by additions and involves changes in style that can alter how the reader perceives and reads the text. This article examines the self-translation from English into Albanian of Lea Ypi's translingual memoir Free, in an attempt to understand the divided reception among Albanian readers of a book that is celebrated worldwide in English and in other languages. The results show how the child's perception in the English version is transformed into an adult's in the self-translated Albanian version, inviting the reader to a more channelled reading.