Investigation of Literary Translation based on historical periods in Iran (original) (raw)
Related papers
Routledge, 2022
Translation is a complex decision-making process; perfect equivalence is a “utopian dream,” especially since any two languages are asymmetrical, and most words are polysemous even in the same language (Baer 2019, 59). This chapter begins by discussing different linguistic-oriented approaches to translation, moving to textual considerations, like stylistics, followed by translation universals, then to the translation process, and finally to extraneous considerations, such as translator invisibility or visibility. Subsequently, these discussions are applied to Persian literary translation by discussing comparative linguistics of Persian and English in terms of syntax and lexico-semantics, as well as discourse analysis and pragmatics. Throughout this chapter, genuine examples from Persian literary translations are given, and different kinds of equivalences, as well as the problems that arise in finding these equivalences, are discussed.
2015
Historically, the specific periods of the 1930s to the 1970s had a major part to play in the historical maturity of translation study, cultural translation in particular, in Iran. Thus, the specific period of time need to be studied precisely. Considering two main cultural strategies of domestication and foreignisation suggested by Venuti, the present study aimed to determine whether authentic texts (English) have been foreignised or domesticated in the meantime. It also tried to identify the dominant translation strategies used by Iranian translators over the intended period of time. To do so, it has been tried to identify and extract some culture-specific items from the research corpora based on the culture-specific items categories suggested by different translation scholars including Espindola and Vasconcellos, Newmark and Pavlovic. In the next step, the researchers analyzed the strategy used in the process of culture-specific items translation based on the translation strategie...
An Analysis of the Initial Norms in Literary Translations Published in Iran
Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 2019
Toury’s descriptive translations studies approach was taken as the present study’s theoretical framework to investigate initial norm of translation. This kind of norm, introduced by Toury (1995) is responsible for limiting translator’s choice to produce either acceptable or adequate translations. To do this, translational shifts (non-obligatory shifts) were extracted, analyzed and commented on within the corpus of the study, which was parallel and comparable involving four English noble-winning novels along with their Persian translations produced in four different decades in Iran (1350s – 1390s). Finally, the frequency and percentage of the norms which were active in each book in the corpora as well as their frequency in the entire corpora were computed. Then translation works were judged as more acceptable to less acceptable ones. It seemed that translators were inclined to produce more acceptable translations rather than adequate ones in order to make their work readable and attr...
A CULTURAL AND DISCOURSAL PROSPECT TOWARD PERSIAN LITERARY TRANSLATION ASSESSMENT
THE ROLE OF DISCOURSE AND DISCOURSAL ELEMENTS IN THE FORMATION OF ANY TEXT IS VERY IMPORTANT. MANY SCHOLARS HAVE CARRIED OUT STUDIES RELATED TO THE ISSUE. TRANSFERRING THESE ELEMENTS FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER IS SUCH A GREAT WORK THAT TRANSLATORS FIND IT DIFFICULT TO RENDER AND TRANSFER THE ELEMENTS COMPLETELY. THE LACK OF PERFECT KNOWLEDGE OF THE DISCOURSAL ISSUES AND OTHER CONTEXTUAL ELEMENTS OF A TEXT LEADS TO SOME MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND MISTRANSLATIONS. TRANSLATORS OFTEN RESORT TO ADAPTATION IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THE SL SITUATIONS THAT DO NOT EXIST IN THE TL BUT IN THIS PROCESS SOME DISCOURSAL AND CONTEXTUAL ELEMENTS OF THE ST COULD NOT BE TRANSFERRED. IT COULD BE CLAIM THAT A NATION’S LITERATURE IS A PART OF ITS DISCOURSE AND CULTURAL ELEMENTS ARE EMBEDDED IN THE LITERATURE. THESE TRANSLATIONAL CONFLICTS ARE MORE OBVIOUS IN CONTEMPORARY PERSIAN LITERATURE. IN THIS STUDY, THE SELECTED PARTS OF “THE GAMBLER” BY “FYODOR MIKHAILOVICH DOSTOEVSKY” WERE COMPARED WITH ITS ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS BY SALEH HOSSEINI TO FIND OUT WHETHER THE DISCOURSE AND OTHER CONTEXTUAL ELEMENTS OF THE SOURCE TEXT HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED IN THE PROCESS OF TRANSLATION.
Translation of Literature or Literature in Arabic
Literary translation experts and researchers often define translation as a mere mechanic task inferior to a work of art. They derive translation theories and methods from the concepts and theories of linguistics such as Sapir, Firth, Chomosky, Halliday and others. Their main interest is to highlight the shortcomings of translation as well as the translators' errors, and the parts that are lost in the translation process. They neither pay attention to the aspects that are added by a talented translator to the translated text, nor the impact of translation on the target language, and the development of its literature. This paper treats translation differently as it regards it as a new creation in the target language which should be appreciated for its aesthetic and literary qualities. In this respect, the present writer introduces and analyses the term literariness of translation which stands for some specific aestethic as well as formal artistic features of a translated text. He also highlights the need to move from the phase of the translation of the literature to the phase of literature of translation. In addition, he calls for scholars not to depend only on linguistics, rather they should explore some literary sciences, namely stylistics, rhetoric, comparative literature and literary criticism, so that they may push the art of translation a few steps forward.
International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 2019
There is a general belief among theoreticians and experts of translation that translation is a mental, complicated, and purposeful activity. It is believed that all the procedures applied in translation such as the style of writing, word selections, and idiomatic expressions are influenced by the ideological positions of the translator. This study aims at investigating the strategies of Simine Daneshvar, in the Persian translation of The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne based on Hatim and Mason's model (1997). To this end, the frequency of applying expansion, contraction, voice shift, and materialization as translational strategies to analyze thirty selected pages of this novel. The results of the research indicate that expansion was the most frequent strategy in the research and the other strategies as contraction and voice shift respectively, but on the other hand, materialization strategy was the lowest frequent one. Accordingly, it may be implied that the translator's tendency has been mostly towards domestication, in other words, her ideologies and ideas have influenced her translation.
Literary Translation Problems and Features of the Literary Text
2021
This article is devoted to the problem of translating literary text. The article analyzes the opinions of foreign scientists, who define each translation, including the artistic one, as a recreation of a work created in one language by means of another language. This raises the question of the accuracy, completeness and adequacy of literary translation.
The main objective of the present study was to semantically and syntactically explore translation strategies applied by translators in the translation of chapter nineteen of Vandidad from Avestan to Middle Persian for ritual purposes. To this end, the Middle Persian translation of Vandidad was studied, and the meaning of the words accompanying their syntactic roles in the Avestan language were compared to their Middle Persian equivalents. Then, the strategies applied by the translators were divided into two categories: semantic and syntactic ones. The findings of the study can shed some light on the translation strategies applied in the translation of ancient texts which can be used for deeper and broader scientific inquiry into Iranian ancient languages.
Applied Linguistics Research Journal, 2020
Translation readers' interest in classic or modern texts determines the translation trend in any society and culture. Not surprisingly, in the context of Iran where Irfan and mysticism have a long history, rich literature and cultural roots, translations of mystical books have received more attention. One literary work that has come to the center of attention is the novel Aşk written by the Turkish author Elif Şafak (2010) and translated as Mellat-e Eshgh into Persian by the famous Iranian translator, Arsalan Fasihi. The purpose of the present paper was to study from a cultural point of view how this translated novel has been received in Iran. To serve the purpose of the study and in light of the Juass's reception theory, the researchers chose to interview five participants including the translator of the book. The results of the study revealed that the Persian translation of Aşk is well-received in Iran. It is argued that the role of the translator, the genre of the book, proper timing and locality, and the role of the publication and distribution are the most important causes behind the popularity of the translated novel.
Strategies Available for Translating Persian Epic Poetry: A Case of Shahnameh
Journal of Language and Translation, 2018
This study tried to find the strategies applied in three English translations of the Battle of Rostam and Esfandiyar. To this aim, the source text (ST) was analyzed verse by verse with each verse being compared with its English translations to determine what procedures the translators had used to render the source text. Subsequently, the frequency of usage for each procedure was measured to answer the research questions. Michele Jones's fourfold classification of poetry translation strategies and Reiss and Vermeer's skopos theory were used as the frameworks of this study; Jones introduces literal, approximation, adaptation , and imitation strategies, ranging from literal which is very faithful to the original form, to imitation that is very free and has little in common with the original. The analyses showed that, regardless of imitation not used in this corpus, the translators of this study had mostly rendered the ST using approximation, with adaptation being the least frequently used method. Translators' paratextual materials, including their fore-and afterwords, were used as the sources for identifying the reason for the application of each strategy. Moreover, we have concluded that, according to skopos theory, translators use different strategies according to the different functions target texts (TT) will have in the target context.