Lecture8

TranslatingtheForeign:The(in)visibilityofTranslationVenuti,L(1)RethinkingTranslation:Discourse,Subjectivity,Ideology92(2)TheTranslator’sInvisibility:AHistoryofTranslation95(3)TheScandalsofTranslation:TowardsanEthicsofDifference98TheCulturalandPoliticalAgendaofTranslationVenutiinsiststhatthescopeoftranslationstudiesneedstobebroadenedtotakeaccountofthevalue-addednatureofthesoci-culturalframework.ThushecontestsToury’sdescriptivemodelwithitsaimofproducing‘value-free’normsandlawsoftranslation:Venuti:theculturalandpoliticalagendaoftranslationToury’smethod…muststillturntoculturaltheoryinordertoassessthesignificanceofthedata,toanalyzethenorms.Normsmaybeinthefirstinstancelinguisticorliterary,buttheywillalsoincludeadiverserangeofdomesticvalues,beliefs,andsocialrepresentationswhichcarryideologicalforceinservingtheinterestsofspecificgroups.Andtheyarealwayshousedinthesocialinstitutionswheretranslationsareproducedandenlistedinculturalandpoliticalagendas.(98:29)Inadditiontogovernmentsandotherpoliticallymotivatedinstitutionswhichmaydecidetocensororpromotecertainworks,thegroupsandsocialinstitutionstowhichVenutireferswouldincludevariousplayersinthepublishingindustriesasawhole.Thepublisher,theeditors,thereviewersandthemarketerseachwillhavepositionsandroleswithinthedominantculturalandpoliticalagendasoftheirtimeandplace.Translatorsthemselvesarepartofthatculture(target),whichtheymayacceptorrebelagainst.TheInvisibilityofTranslatorsVenuti’smaintheisisthattranslationtendstobeaninvisiblepracticeintheU.S.Byinvisible,hemeansthattranlsatorstendtobeself-effacingintheirwork,denyingtheirownvoiceinfavorofthatoftheauthorandrtheprevailingstylesinthereceivingculture,andthatintranslationcriticism,scholarstendstoignorethedecisionsandmediationsofthetranslators,commentinginsteadasiftheyhavedirectaccesstotheoriginalauthor.Translationsarejudgestobesuccessfulwhentheyread‘fluently’,givingtheappearancethattheyhavenotbeentranslated.VenutiandtheinvisibilityoftranslatorsInvisibility:istermusedbyVenutiin1995‘todescribethetranslator’ssituationandactivityincontemporaryAnglo-Americanculture’.Venutiseesthisinvisibilityastypicallybeingproduced:1.Bythewaystranslatorsthemselvestendtotranslate‘fluently’intoEnglish,toproduceanidiomaticand‘readable’TT,thuscreatingan‘illusionoftransparency’;2.Bythewaythetranslatedtextsaretypicallyreadinthetargetculture:Atranslatedtext,whetherproseorpoetry,fictionornon-fiction,isjudgedacceptablebymostpublishers,reviewersandreaderswhenitreadsfluently,whentheabsenceofanylinguisticorstylisticpeculiaritiesmakesitseemtransparent,givingtheappearancethatitreflectstheforeignwriter’spersonalityorintentionortheessentialmeaningoftheforeigntext-theappearance,inoterwords,thatthetranslationisnotinfactatranslation,butthe‘original’.(1995)Venutiseesthemostimportantfactorsforthisasbeing‘theprevailingconceptionofauthorship’.Translationisseenasderivativeandofsecondaryqualityandimportance.Thus,theEnglishpracticesinceDrydenhasbeentoconcealtheactoftranslationsothat,evennow,‘translationsarerarelyconsideredaformofliteraryscholarship.’DomesticationandForeignizationDomestication:involves‘anethnocentricreductionoftheforeigntexttotargetlanguage-culturevalues.Thisentailstranslatinginatransparent,fluent,‘invisible’styleinordertominimizetheforeignnessoftheTT.Foreignization:Entailschoosingaforeigntextanddevelopingatranslationmethodalonglineswhichareexcludedbydominantculturalvaluesinthetargetlanguage.Atranslationstrategy:wherethetranslatorleavesthewriteralone,asmushaspossibleandmovesthereadertowardsthewriter.DomesticatingTranslationDomesticatingTranslation,alsoDomestication:atermusedbyVenutitodescribethetranslationstrategyinwhichatransparent,fluentstyleisadoptedinordertominimizethestrangenessoftheforeigntextforTLreaders.VenutitracestheroottoSchleiermacher’sfamousnotionofthetranslationwhich“leavesthereaderinpeace,asmuchaspossible,andmovestotheauthortowardshim”.However,forVenutitheterm‘domestication’hasnegativeconnotationsasitisidentifiedwithapolicycommonindominantcultureswhichare“aggressivelymonolingual,unreceptivetotheforeign”andwhichhedescribesasbeing“accustomedtofluenttranslationsthatinvisiblyinscribeforeigntextswithtargetlanguagevaluesandprovidereaderswiththenarcissisticexperienceofrecognizingtheirowncultureinaculturalother”.ForeignizingTranslationForeignizingtranslationorMinoritizingTranslation:isatermbyVenutitodesignatethetypeoftranslationinwhichaTTisproducedwithdeliberatelybreakstargetconventionsbyretainingsomethingoftheforeignnessoftheoriginal.VenutiseestheoriginofsuchaconceptinSchleiermacher,whodiscussesthetypeoftranslationinwhich“thetranslatorleavestheauthorinpeace,asmuchaspossible,andmovesthereaderstowardshim.”AntonieBerman:the‘negativeanalytic’oftranslationNaturalization:theproperlyethicalaimofthetranslatingactis‘receivingtheforeignasforeign’.However,thereisgenerallya‘systemoftextualdeformationinTTsthatpreventstheforeigncomingthrough.Hisexaminationoftheformsofdeformationistermed‘negativeanalytic’:NegativeAnalyticThenegativeanalytic