Literary Translation Studies

Francis R. Jones (2009) draws attention to the fact that ST-TT relations are the core of literary translation studies, which focus on issues of equivalence and communicative purpose. With regard to equivalence, one has to contemplate whether the intricate web of stylistic elements can ever be replicated. With regard to communicative purpose the translator needs to consider whether to stay loyal to the writer of the ST or to produce a text which works in terms of receptor-genre. Style and its translation is the next concern for it “defines the writer’s ‘cultural space-time’” and because “writers may deliberately use non-standard styles – archaism, dialect, or a style idiosyncratic to the writer.” (Jones, 2009:153) Furthermore, Jarniewicz (2015)

Bassnet (2002) conducted studies on how students approach the translation of a novel by asking them to translate the beginning of any literary book. She discovered that usually they do not take under consideration how it “relates to the structure of the work as a whole.” (Bassnet, 2002:114) In her opinion, this proves that the (irresponsible) translators of prose seem to believe content is separable from form. Moreover, she points out that prose translators try, with great effort, “to create readable TL texts, avoiding the stilted effect that can follow from adhering too closely to SL syntactical structures, but fail to consider the way in which individual sentences form part of the total structure.” (Bassnet, 2002:120) Furthermore, Bassnett (2002) points to Hilaire Belloc’s six rules as a guide for the translators of novels. First of all, the translator ought to render the text in sections, having in mind that they are a part of an integral unit. In addition, each idiom should be translated individually, which sometimes involves a change of its original form. Moreover, remembering that a particular expression in the SL might be unequally emphatic in the TL if rendered literally is important. What is more, the translator must recognize that some “words or structures that may appear to correspond in both SL and TL” (Bassnet, 2002:121) in reality do not. Additionally, courage in translation is welcomed because as Belloc (1931), cited in Bassnett (2002:121), claims “the resurrection of an alien thing in a native body” is the essence of the process of translating. Finally, the person translating should always refrain from embellishing.

Bassnett seems to agree with