Translation Studies and AVT
Department of European,
American and Intercultural Studies
2016-2017
WEEK 4 - LECTURE 1
Dr. Margherita Dore
[email protected]
Overview
•
•
•
•
•
•
Polysystem theory
Descriptive translation studies
Norms of translation behaviour
Laws and universals
Chesterman’s norms
Manipulation school
Itamar Even-Zohar
• Israeli scholar based in Tel Aviv (work 1978/2004, 2005)
• In the 1970s he developed the polysystem theory of
translation based on Russian Formalist Theories in the
1920s.
• His theory moves away from the isolated study of
individual texts towards the study of translation within the
cultural and literary systems in which it functions.
• A system is ‘a multi-layered structure of elements which
relate to and interact each other' (Routledge Encyclopedia
of TS).
Polysystem Theory
• (Literary) Polysystem = ‘a multiple system, a system of
various systems which intersect with each other and
partly overlap, using concurrently different options, yet
functioning as one structured whole, whose members are
interdependent’ (Even-Zohar 2005: 3)
• Translated literature operates as a system within the
overall literary polysystem
– in the way the TL selects works for translation and
– in the way translation norms, behaviour and policies are
influenced by other co-systems
Polysystem Theory
Conditions when translation is in primary position in polysystem
(Munday 2016: 173, following Even-Zohar 1978/2004)
Polysystem Theory
Strong literary tradition
Translated
literature
Condition when translation is in secondary position in polysystem
(Munday 2012: 171-74, following Even-Zohar 1978/2004)
Criticism on Polysystem Theory
• Advantages
– Literature is studied in context
– It moves away from the isolated study of individual texts towards
the study of translation within the cultural and literary systems in
which it functions
– Non-prescriptive definition of equivalence
• Disadvantages
–
–
–
–
–
Overgeneralization and little evidence
Over-reliance on Formalist models
Too abstract
Objectivity?
Only literature
Gideon Toury
• Israeli scholar who worked with Even-Zohar in TelAviv and built on polysystem theory to develop a
general theory of translation
• Founder of the branch of empirical Descriptive
Translation Studies (DTS) with the aim of
‘reconstructing’ the norms that are in operation in the
translation process through the cumulative
identification of norms, of probabilistic ‘laws’ or
‘universals of translation’
Descriptive translation studies (DTS)
• Translations = ‘facts of target cultures’
• Replicable framework and methodology for
research:
– Situate TT within target culture system
– Textual analysis of ST-TT pair
– Attempt generalizations about patterns identified
• ‘Adequate’ vs ‘Acceptable’ translation
Norms of Translation Behaviour
• Norms are sociocultural constraints specific to a culture,
society and time
Cline of rules<>idiosyncracies of translation
constraints and behaviour (Munday 2016: 177)
Toury’s Norms
Initial, preliminary and operational norms
(Munday 2016: 179, following Toury 1995)
Toury’s Laws and Universals
• Identification of probabilistic laws of translation (Toury
1995)
• Law of growing standardization (stating that potential
SL (in the ST) choices are sometimes ignored)
• Law of interference (negative: which states that the
lexical syntactic form of the ST influences the TT and
produces non-normal patterns; positive: non-abnormal
patterns accepted in the TT).
• Law of reduced control over linguistic realization
(constraining factors Munday 2016: 180-81)
Toury’s Universals
• The term universals is used to refer to features
that are considered to characterize translated
language and texts in whatever language pair
such as lexical and syntactic simplification,
explicitation and normalization to TL patterns.
• Such patterns have been investigated in corpusbased translation studies to identify the
deduction of universals.
Chesterman’s Norms
• Product or expectancy norms, expectations of readers of a
translation re. what it should be like (factors: tradition,
conventions, ideology, market) -> evaluation of TT; violation
of norm
• Professional norms (subordinate to expectancy norms)
– Accountability (ethical) -> integrity, responsibility
– Communication (social) -> maximum communication
– Relation (linguistic) -> (ST-TT)
Validated by authorities (teacher, critic, reviewer,
professional association, institution…)
Chesterman’s Universals
• S-universals
‘Universal differences between translations and their
source texts’ (patterns of shifts in any ST-TT pair):
–
–
–
–
–
TT is longer than ST
Normalization of dialect
Explicitation
Reduction of repetition
Retranslation may be possible
• T-universals
Analysis of TT only:
–
TT is simplified at lexical level
– Unusual patterns (collocations)
– Reduced use of source culture-specific reference
Translation Shifts – Example 1
Names in Harry Potter translated into Italian:
Italiano
English
Grifondoro
Gryffindor
Corvonero (Pecoranera)
Ravenclaw
Tassorosso
Hufflepuff
Serpeverde
Slytherin
Professor Silente
Professor Dumbledore
Professor Allock
Professor Lockhart
Professor Malocchio Moody
Professor Mad-Eye Moody
Professor Piton
Professor Snape
Neville Paciock
Neville Longbottom
Oliver Baston
Oliver Wood
Manipulation School
• A group of scholars that in 1985 launched a
collection of papers titled The Manipulation of
Literature: Studies in Literary Translation (edited
by Theo Hermans)
• Exact methodology for case study analysis:
–
–
–
–
Preliminary data (title, partial or complete translation)
Macro-level (division of text, over authorial comments)
Micro-level (linguistic shits)
Systemic shifts (identification of norms, intertextual and
intersystemic relations)
Translation Shifts – Example 2
Italian translation of culture-specific allusion in Friends
Food for Thought
• Consider the position of translation in the polysystem of
your own country. Would you say that it occupies a primary
or secondary position?
• Analyse suitable ST-TT pairs and compare the results. How
feasible are Toury’s proposed laws of translation and
Chesterman’s S-universals and T-universals?
Bibliography
What we studied so far:
• Munday, Jeremy (2016), Introducing Translation Studies.
Theories and Applications, 4th edition, Routledge,
London/New York – CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Translation Studies and AVT
Department of European,
American and Intercultural Studies
2016-2017
WEEK 4 - LECTURE 2
Dr. Margherita Dore
[email protected]
Overview
•
•
•
•
•
•
The cultural turn
Translation as rewriting
Control factors related to the literary system
Translation and gender
Postcolonial translation theory
Other perspectives on translation and ideology
The Cultural Turn
• Term coined by Mary Snell-Hornby in Bassnett
and Lefevere (1990)
• Rejection of linguistics-based translation studies
research
• Foundation in comparative literature
(translation is perceived as a more complex and
power-driven process of negotiation between two
cultures influenced by their historical and social
circumstance)
• Incorporation of new strands from varieties of
cultural studies
Translation as Rewriting
‘[T]he same basic process of rewriting is at work
in translation, historiography, anthologization,
criticism, and editing … Translation is the most
obviously recognizable type of rewriting, and …
it is potentially the most influential because it is
able to project the image of an author and/or
those works beyond the boundaries of their
culture of origin’
(Lefevere 1992: 9)
Control Factors
Control factors inside and outside the literary system (Munday 2016: 201,
following Lefevere 1992)
Patronage and Dominant Poetics
PATRONAGE:
• The ideological component: it constrains the choice of
the subject matter and the form of its presentation (form,
conventions, beliefs, ideologically focused)
• The economic component: payments (royalties, fees)
• Status component: the beneficiary of a payment is
expected to conform to the patron’s expectations.
DOMINANT POETICS:
• Literary devices: genres, symbols etc that become
formalized (fairy tales, manga, etc.)
• The concept of the role of literature: literature and
social system (canon).
Ideology in Translation – Ex 1
Drawing from Lefevere (1992: 66):
• Use of euphemisms that indicate the dominant
ideology:
– Penis -> membrum virile, nose, leg, handle. Fine-line
• The German translation of “The Diary of Anne
Frank” tends to tone down Anne’s remarks on
Germans:
– Dutch ST: there is not greater enmity in the world that
between Germans and Jews
– German TT: there is not greater enmity in the world that
between these Germans and Jews
Translation and Gender (Simon 1996)
• Language of sexism in translation studies
• Parallel of status of translation and that of
women
– male-dominated metaphorics of les belles infidèles
• The importance of women translators
• The committed translation project (Quebec)
– Translation practice as a political activity
• The translation of gay language and texts
The Committed Translation Project
‘For feminist translation, fidelity is to be directed toward
neither the author nor the reader, but toward the writing
project – a project in which both writer and translator
participate’
(Simon 1996: 2)
‘The feminist translator, affirming her critical difference, her
delight in interminable rereading and re-writing, flaunts
the signs of her manipulation of the text’
(Godard 1990: 91)
Translation and Gender Ex- 1
Feminist activism and strategies:
1 Supplementing, which aims to compensate the
loss of some linguistic devices adopted by
feminist writers such as Nicole Bossard's
wordplay L'Amèr (it contains the terms mère
(mother), mer (sea) and amer (bitter), translated
by Barbara Godard (1983) as (These Sour
Smothers)
Translation and Gender – Ex 2
2 Prefacing and footnoting used by feminist
translators to make clear their presence in the text
and their and the author's commitment to the feminist
movement;
3 Hijacking, which seeks to subvert anti-feminist
contents on the original text or tries to display feminist
elements which the original does not openly
expresses
– S. de Lotbinière-Harwood's manipulation of the French text
by Lise Gauvin's Lettres d'une autre, `Québecois-e-s' to
underline the fact that the speaker is a woman, although the
original retained the generic ‘Québecois’; HuMan Rights (to
expose implicit sexism); auther (neologism)
Translation of Gay Texts
• Language and identity:
• Camp talk (Harvey 1998/2004) made of a range of
language patterns from different (even prevailing)
communities (e.g. straight, homophobic). It is consciously
used by the gay community to make itself visible and assert
its identity. Example:
– English terms: pansies (pejorative) and queen (positive) translated
in French as tante(s) (aunts)
– ‘To be gay’ as en être (to be of it) hiding gay identity
– ‘Perfect weakness’ and ‘screaming pansies’ omitted or rendered in
negative terms.
Postcolonial Translation Theory
• This area developed from the 1990s as part of the
cultural turn in translation studies and as a result
of a cross-over from postcolonial studies
• Both postcolonial studies and translation studies
look at the issues of power relations and control
expressed through language and literature in
postcolonial societies
• Translation as an instrument for colonial
domination
Postcolonial Translation Theory
• Power imbalance in translation and translation studies
• ‘The politics of translation’ (Spivak)
– The hegemony of English and other colonial languages
• Translation’s active role in colonization (Niranjana)
– disseminating an ideologically motivated image of colonized
peoples and imposing the colonizer’s ideological values
• In-betweenness, hybridity, third space (Bhabha)
– translation occurs not only between indigenous and colonial
languages but also between colonial languages themselves (in
Africa, English and French)
Spivak
‘In the act of wholesale translation into English there can
be a betrayal of the democratic ideal into the law of the
strongest. This happens when all the literature of the
Third World gets translated into a sort of with-it
translatese, so that the literature by a woman in
Palestine begins to resemble, in the feel of its prose,
something by a man in Taiwan.
(1993:2004: 371-2)
Niranjana
Her stance on TS:
• Has not until recently considered the question of power
imbalance between languages
• The concepts underlying much of western translation theory are
flawed because based on unproblematic and naive
representations of language
• Translation in colonized context is imbued with images of
colonised domination
Call for action in translation:
• Dismantling the process by which hegemonic discourse
represses non-western otherness
• Resist the containment of colonial discourse (e.g. The
assimilation of Saivite poetry to the discourse of Christianity)
The Irish Context
Michael Cronin and Maria Tymoczko stressed the
fact the presence of ‘internal colonialism’ within
Europe:
• Irish translation of English texts and vice versa
• Translation into English was a new form of patronage in
the seventeenth century
• Irish scholars translated texts into English to subvert the
negative view England had put forward about Irish history
and culture but this made the English language stronger
Other Perspectives on Translation
and Ideology
• ‘Ideology of translation and the translation of
ideology’ (Hatim and Mason 1997)
• ‘Committed approaches’ to translation studies
(i.e. theorists themselves have their own
ideologies and agendas that drive their own
criticism; Brownlie 2008)
• Volumes on translation, power and ideology
• Translation, conflict and narrative theory (Baker
2006)
• Epistemicide (Bennett 2007)
Criticism
‘Much research from an ideological perspective is
interested in uncovering manipulations in the TT that
may be indicative of the translator’s conscious
‘ideology’ or produced by ‘ideological’ elements of
the translation environment, such as pressure from
the publisher, editor or institutional/government
circles’
(Munday 2016)
Ideology in Translation – Ex 3
Keenaghan, Eric (1998) analyses Jack Spicer's
translation (1957) of Federico García Lorca's poems
and in particular his ‘Oda a Walt Whitman’
Lorca’s cryptic language was re-elaborated by
Spicer in order to serve his agenda: a direct
denunciation of the oppressed situation of the gay
community. Translation becomes a means for political
activism
Words such as prick, pierce and cocksuckers are
used to make same-sex explicit and to achieve a
complete visibility of the desired male body
Food for Thought
• Lefevere (1992: 9, see chapter) considers translation to
be ‘potentially the most influential’ form of rewriting.
How far do you agree with him?
• Look for examples from translations in various times
and locations that reveal a gender bias. How is that
bias revealed?
• In what ways might the researcher’s own ideology
condition the choice of analytical tools and the relation
to cultural theory?
Bibliography
What we studied so far:
• Munday, Jeremy (2016), Introducing Translation
Studies. Theories and Applications, 4th edition,
Routledge, London/New York – CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 8