LITERARY TRANSLATION: CONVEYING THE ESSENCE OF AUTHORS ACROSS CULTURES
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Keywords: Literary translation, cultural references, idiomatic expressions, preserving voice, translator as co-creator, translating poetry, Gregory Rabassa, Lydia Davis, cross-cultural communication, global literature, multilingual accessibility.##article.abstract##
Annotation.This article explores the complex nature of literary translation,
emphasizing the critical role it plays in preserving the essence of an author's work when
crossing language barriers. It highlights how translators navigate the delicate balance
between staying true to the source text and allowing for creative flexibility to make the
text resonate with new audiences. Challenges such as cultural references, idiomatic
expressions, and preserving the author's voice are discussed in detail. Examples from
renowned literary translators, including Gregory Rabassa’s translation of One Hundred
Years of Solitude and Lydia Davis’s work on Proust’s Swann’s Way, serve to illustrate
the nuanced decision-making process involved in literary translation. The article also
addresses the difficulties of translating poetry, where form and meaning are often
tightly bound. Ultimately, it positions the translator as a co-creator, whose deep
understanding of both language and culture allows literary works to transcend borders,
making them accessible to global readers. The contribution of literary translators to
cross-cultural communication and the preservation of global literature is underscored
as essential in an increasingly interconnected world.
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Resources
1. Rabassa, Gregory. If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents.
2. Venuti, Lawrence. The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation.
3. Davis, Lydia. Proust, Blanchot, and a Woman in Red: Essays on Translation.
4. Eco, Umberto. Experiences in Translation.
5. Fagles, Robert. The Iliad and The Odyssey.
6. Garnett, Constance. Translations of Russian classics like Anna Karenina.
7. Pevear, Richard, and Volokhonsky, Larissa. Anna Karenina and War and Peace
translations.