| CODE | TIS5214 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Translation, Transformation and Rewriting: The Voyage of Variants between Literary Canons and Popular Culture | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 10 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Translation is a type of re-writing. Its effects in terms of influence and manipulation are often unacknowledged or unseen. The unit will focus on the translation of literary texts into English. Recent debates by prominent theorists of translation and comparative literature, namely Lawrence Venuti, Andre` Lefevere and Susan Bassnett, have drawn attention to the role of the translator in making texts from other languages available to new readers. Central to the debate is the role of the translator which is often hidden behind a domesticated style of writing, and which obliterates or at least attenuates the foreign features of 'other' literatures, blending them into the dominant style in the target literary culture. A domesticated style is usually preferred by the publishing industry, which does not tend towards texts in translation as they are more difficult to sell, more so in the case of popular or 'genre' fiction in which the reader's recognition of repeated formulae and styles is a driving factor in the perceived pleasure of reading. In the case of texts which are perceived as more 'literary', and therefore aimed at a more discerning reader, translated texts tend to be slightly more marketable. Decisions about which texts are translated, the agendas behind translation - be they commercial, political or created through literary expectations, and the reception of the translated texts, are all aspects of the dynamic relations between literary traditions and the marketability of popular literature within the target culture. The invisibility of the translator (Venuti) masks the hand of the translator who can censor and manipulate (Lefevere) texts to conform more fully to the expectations of particular reading publics. This masking of the interpreter's presence in the text is increasingly being perceived as unethical (Bassnett, Spivak, Baker) both towards the faithfulness to the original as expected by the author, as well as to the reader who is under the impression that the text in hand is close to the 'original'. The issue of originality is thereby brought into focus. The translation of a text is only one form of re-writing whereas all texts are rewritten in various other ways. Themes are re-worked, myths re-visited, plots re-presented, traditions re-generated. The 'original' text is less original than usually perceived (Derrida). Originality, creativity and 'literariness' are more often to be discovered on the level of the author's writing style, which is very difficult to preserve through translation, and through the challenging of norms, established literary categories and readers' expectations. The influence of translated texts on new writing, through new trends and styles, can be perceived in all writing and in all canons. However, as Even Zohar demonstrates, this is more likely to be the case in weaker literatures, smaller canons, and 'new' countries such as Israel, African countries, and others. In addition to the above is the hegemonic politics of powerful languages that determine the direction of translation. Many more works are translated into English each year than into any other language. Study-unit Aims The aims of this unit are: - to increase critical awareness of the choices in style available to the translator; - to recognize that every translation is an interpretation and a re-writing; - to assist the student in becoming more aware of the role and presence of the translator in the translated text; - to demonstrate that 'sameness' between a source and a target text is a myth; - and that the hand of the translator and a domesticating style is more likely in popular or 'genre' fiction. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: Recognize that the result of the contemporary debate on the visibility of the translator and the ethics underlying the act of translation have led to a recent shift to a more 'foreignized' style, highlighting the differences and particularities of the source culture as opposed to blending them into the target culture. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: Read fictional texts in English translated from other languages and be able to discern and comment on the translating style used. Students will become more aware of the issues underlying: - the politics of translation: - the global power of the English language: - the ethics of preserving the 'otherness' of texts; - the determining role that the publishing industry and the market place play in regulating the style in which texts are presented to readers. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings - Bassnett, Susan. 'Translating Literature'. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1997. (Not yet in Library) [On order] - Bassnett, Susan and Peter Bush, eds., 'The Translator as Writer'. London and New York, 2006. [Available in Library] - Derrida, Jacques. Des Tours de Babel (English and French versions, J. Graham, trans.). In J. Graham ed., 'Difference in Translation', (pp.165-207, 209-248). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1985. [Not in Library] - Easthope, Anthony. 'Literary into Cultural Studies'. London and New York: Routledge, 1991. - Even-Zohar, Itamar, 'Polysystem Studies' in 'Poetics Today' xi (1). Updates versions on WWW at www.tau.ac.il/itamarez, (2006), 1990. [Available] - Even-Zohar, Itamar, and Gideon Toury, eds, Translation Theory and Intercultural Relations', Spec. issue of 'Poetics Today'' 2.4 (1981): v-x1, 1-239. [Not in Library] - Hermans, Theo, ed., 'The Manipulation of Literature: Studies in Literary Translation'. London: Croon Helm, 1985. [On order] - Lefevere, Andre`, 'Translating, Rewriting and the Manipulation of Literary Fame'. London: Routledge, 1992 [On order] - Lefevere, Andre', 'Translating Literature: Practice and Theory in a Comparative Literature Context', MLA, New York, 1992. [Available in Library] - Simon, Sherry. 'Gender in Translation: Cultural Identity and the Politics of Transmission'. London: Routledge, 1996. [Available in Library] - Snell-Hornby, Mary. 'The Turns of Translation Studies'. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2006. [On order] - Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. 'The Politics of Translation'. In G.C. Spivak 'Outside in the Teaching Machine'. London: Routledge, 1993. (Reprinted in Lawrence Venuti, ed., 'The Translation Studies Reader'. (pp. 369-388). London: Routledge, 2000) [Available in Library] - Venuti, Lawrence. 'The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation'. London: Routledge, 1995. [Available in Library] - Venuti, Lawrence. 'The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference'. London: Routledge, 1998. [On order] Texts: (A selection from among these texts will be used for close reading - and this selection will change) The novels of Andrea Camilleri The novels of Milan Kundera Translations and variations of Faust in English. The Ruba'iyat of Omar Kayyam in various translations. Tommaso di Lampedusa's Il Gattopardo / The Leopard. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Clare Vassallo |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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