Towards a dynamic approach to translation: who masters the text?

Christine Raguet (1)

1 PRISMES - PRISMES - Langues, Textes, Arts et Cultures du Monde Anglophone - EA 4398

If writing in style for a translator implies mimicking an author, it may lead to “giving birth” what Nabokov termed “a limp and lifeless” being—he was then speaking of one of his translated novels. Moreover, many things, like matters of power—power of a cultural community over another—as well as sex-oriented prejudices may orientate translation choices. For centuries, the original work and its author have been recognized as unique, and any attempt at reproducing it has been deemed inferior and subordinate. These divisions follow the same pattern as they do when applied to different cultures or gender-oriented text (or translations). In other words, principles of culture and gender seem to depend on problems of identity. Thus translating is not a one-way action, it is wide-ranging and it opens on many prospects and potentialities, hence its dynamic dimension.

Mots clés: translation; writing in style; reproduction or alteration; dynamism; authorial recognition; ethics; being active; life and power

Domaines: Littératures

Christine Raguet. Towards a dynamic approach to translation: who masters the text?. Conférence : Ciclo de Encuentros Traductológicos, AIT, Universidad de La Plata, Argentina, Jun 2015, La Plata, Argentina. ⟨halshs-01429519⟩