A Critical Approach to Retranslation in Iran

Towards an Efficient Framework to Recognize the Pathology of Retranslations

Authors

Abstract

Retranslation, as a commonplace activity, is a necessity. However, in Iran, in the absence of copyright laws or other similarly restrictive regulations, this necessity has turned into a source of concern among scholars and practitioners alike. In a situation as such, taking the initiative to conduct systematic research rests with translation scholars. The present study, highlighting the need for systematically pathological reflections on retranslation, pursues two purposes. First, the approaches to retranslation that have not received due attention have been analytically studied. In so doing, they are classified and the explanatory power of each in justifying retranslation and addressing it from a pathological perspective is discussed. It is argued that narrative theory provides a rich philosophical ground for justifying the existence of retranslation, yet it is not pathological by nature. However, an intertextual approach with a focus on the relationship between retranslations can serve as a framework with pathological potential. The second purpose of this article is to expand on Bakhtinian concepts so that they serve as a framework for explaining retranslation. In so doing, this article draws basically on the concepts of “polyphony”, “dialogism”, “assimilation”, “originality”, and “becoming” to rationalize the existence of retranslation and discuss novelty and originality in retranslations from a Bakhtinian perspective.

Keywords:

Retranslation, Pathology, Retranslation Hypothesis, Narrative Theory, Intertextuality, Bakhtinian Concepts

Author Biography

Zohreh Gharaei, University of Kashan

Ph.D. in Translation Studies, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, University of Kashan, Iran;

References

پاینده، ح. (1394، 12 آبان). آموزش نقد ترجمه در کشور صرفاً نظری است/رشته ترجمه را تقویت کنیم. فرهنگ امروز. http://farhangemrooz.com/news/39808

خزاعی¬فر، ع. (1397). در باب ترجمۀ مجدد. مترجم، 27(64)، 67–69.

کریمی¬بهبهانی، م. (1398، 27 اردیبهشت). بازترجمه¬ها بیشتر سوداگری در بازار نشر است. ایرنا. https://www.irna.ir/news/83317530

Bakhtin, M. (1981). The Dialogic Imagination. (M. Holquist, Ed., C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans.). University of Texas Press.

Bakhtin, M. (1984). Problems of Dostoevsky’s poetics (C. Emerson, Trans.). University of Minnesota Press.

Brownlie, S. (2006). Narrative theory and retranslation theory. Across Languages and Cultures, 7(2), 140–170. https://10.1556/Acr.7.2006.2.1

Canli, G., & Karadag, A. (2018). Retranslation of Faulkner`s Sanctuary in Turkish literature. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 9(3), 173–184. http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.9n.3p.173

Chan, L.T. (2004). Twentieth-century Chinese translation theory: Modes, issues and debates. John Benjamins.

Desmidt, I. (2009). (Re)translation revisited. Meta, 54(4), 669–683.

Feng, L. (2014). Retranslation hypothesis revisited: A case study of two English translations of Sanguo Yanyi – the first Chinese novel. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus, 43, 69–86. https://10.5842/43-0-209

Flotow, L.V. (2009). This time ‘the Translation is Beautiful, Smooth and True’: Theorizing retranslation with the help of Beauvoir. In J. Day (Ed.) Translation in French and Francophone literature and film (pp. 35–50). Brill.

Gharaei, Z. (2021). Handling an object without leaving fingerprints? Translator’s presence in the Persian translations of The Dead. Journal of Language and Translation, 11(4), 59–77.

Gharaei, Z., & Dabaghi, A. (2014). What do voices say in The Garden Party? An analysis of voices in the Persian translation of Mansfield's short story. Journal of Language and Translation, 4(1), 91–100.

Gürçağlar, S.T. (2020). Retranslation. In M. Baker & G. Saldanha (Eds.), Routledge encyclopedia of translation studies (3rd ed., pp. 484–489). Routledge.

Gürçağlar, S.T. (2011). Gulliver travels in Turkey: Retranslation and intertextuality. In L. Weldy (Ed.), Crossing textual boundaries in international children’s literature (pp. 44–58). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Hermans, T. (1996). The translator's voice in translated narrative. Target, 8(1), 23–48. https://doi.org/10.1075/target.8.1.03her

Hermans, T. (2007). The conference of the tongues. St. Jerome.

Koskinen, K., & Paloposki, O. (2010). Retranslation. In Y. Gambier & L.V. Doorslaer (Eds.), Handbook of translation studies (pp. 294–298). John Benjamins.

Mousavi Razavi, M.S., & Tahmasbi Boveiri, S. (2019). A Meta-analytical critique of Antoine Berman’s retranslation hypothesis. Translation Studies Quarterly, 17(65), 21–36.

Saeedi, S. (2020). New perspectives on retranslation: The case of Iran. TranscUlturAl, 12(1), 27–46. https://doi.org/10.21992/tc29496

Sanatifar, M.S., & Etemadi, M. (2021). One step closer to the theorizing of Berman’s retranslation hypothesis: Analysis of Farsi (re)translations of The Little Prince. Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Translation Studies, 6(1), 75–96. http://doi.org/10.22034/EFL.2021.272059.1074

Vahid Dastjerdi, H., & Mohammadi, A. (2013). Revisiting “Retranslation Hypothesis”: A comparative analysis of stylistic features in the Persian retranslations of Pride and Prejudice. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 3(3), 174–181. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2013.33024

Zhang, H., & Ma, H. (2018). Intertextuality in retranslation. Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice, 26(4), 576–592. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2018.1448875

Published

2022-05-04

How to Cite

Gharaei, Z. (2022). A Critical Approach to Retranslation in Iran: Towards an Efficient Framework to Recognize the Pathology of Retranslations. Iranian Journal of Translation Studies, 20(77), 89–108. Retrieved from https://journal.translationstudies.ir/ts/article/view/961

Issue

Section

Academic Research Paper

DOR