Translation is believed to be the
site par excellence of intercultural encounter and exchange, but in this research I question this generally accepted axiom. Different cultures have
different views on the function of source texts in translation and different
expectations about the role of the translator. They therefore have different
translation norms that have an impact on the final product, i.e. the translated
text. Power relations between cultures are also reflected in a translator’s
approach to the translation task, and the way in which publishers present
translated texts to their target audiences. By analyzing three translations
(into English, Catalan and Spanish) of Chun Sue’s Beijing Wawa,
a Chinese chick lit autobiographical narrative, I show how different
strategies used in transferring paratextual elements across linguistic and
cultural boundaries in the translations under study reflect different degrees
of intercultural sensitivity and different ways of representing the Other. All
three translations of the Chinese evidence a tendency to manipulate the
appearance of the source text and, as a result, to reshape the author’s image
of herself. Consequently, the function and status of the text in the literary
system of the target culture is modified. Some of the paradoxes evidenced as a
result of publishers’ re-presentation of the original for their target
audiences are reflected upon, and conclusions drawn.
(Article in press)
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