Writer’s Style in Translation
FID as Woolf’s Stylistic Feature in Three Persian Translations of To the Lighthouse
Abstract
This paper examines translating FID (free indirect discourse) as Woolf’s stylistic feature in three Persian translations of TTL (To the Lighthouse). As a dual voice hypothesis, FID shows how the narrator’s voice has been merged with that of the characters’. However, the problem is whether the translator should translate STR structurally at the micro-level or functionally at the macro-level. FID has some syntactic, semantic, and textual features that might undergo some changes in the process of translation. As one of the grammatical features of FID, the progressive aspect is related to the character’s focalization but reported by the narrator’s voice through the past tense. Functionally speaking, three Persian translators have done their best to convey the effect and function of FID regarding both syntactic and semantic features. Through a quantitatively driven methodology, this paper has tried to tackle the issue of translating FID into Persian. However, Hosseini has felt that the shift from ID (indirect discourse) to DD (direct discourse) might transfer the ‘feel’ and the ‘tone’ of the ST. Keyhân has made the complexity of Woolf’s style more explicit and simplified. Bejâniân has paid less attention to Woolf’s style, giving a very literal and simplified rendering. Generally, the three translations by the three Persian translators have tried to recreate such feelings of FID as sympathy and empathy in the target readers, though with varying degrees. However, Hosseini has tried both to keep the stylistic features of Woolf and to present a translation for the target readers; a translation that creates the exact feelings of reading a Persian story in their minds.
Keywords:
Writer’s style, STR, FID, Progressive aspect, Translation styleReferences
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