The Turns of Translation Studies from a CDA Perspective

The Polysystem Theory as a Nodal Discourse in Translation Studies

Authors

  • Mostafa Amiri 📧 Allameh Tabataba’i University
  • Farzaneh Farahzad Allameh Tabataba’i University

Abstract

Inspired by Thomas Kuhn’s theory of paradigm shift and guided by Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper is concerned with the turns of Translation Studies (TS) from a CDA perspective. It gives account of the way in which Polysystem theory as a nodal discourse redefined translation through the discursive processes of emergence and appropriation, contestation and hegemony, and recontextualization and colonization. This is done by conceptualizing the turns of TS as an order of discourse according to Fairclough’s model. The paper attempts to show that the Polysystem theory, having been appropriated into TS, displaced the existing discourses within TS and redefined the methodological and epistemological status of translation by raising a cluster of new conceptual issues, which greatly contributed to the cultural turn in the field. It is concluded that a turn in TS occurs when the three areas of methodology, epistemology and ontology are redefined by discursive processes.

Keywords:

Turns of Translation Studies, Fairclough’s model of CDA, nodal discourse, Discourse change, Paradigm shift, Polysystem theory

Author Biographies

Mostafa Amiri, Allameh Tabataba’i University

Ph.D. Candidate in Translation Studies, Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran;

Farzaneh Farahzad, Allameh Tabataba’i University

Professor,  Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran;

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Published

2021-07-18

How to Cite

Amiri, M., & Farahzad, F. (2021). The Turns of Translation Studies from a CDA Perspective: The Polysystem Theory as a Nodal Discourse in Translation Studies. Iranian Journal of Translation Studies, 19(74), 25–40. Retrieved from https://journal.translationstudies.ir/ts/article/view/857

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Section

Academic Research Paper

DOR