1st Edition
Translation of Contemporary Taiwan Literature in a Cross-Cultural Context A Translation Studies Perspective
Translation of Contemporary Taiwan Literature in a Cross-Cultural Context explores the social, cultural, and linguistic implications of translation of Taiwan literature for transnational cultural exchange. It demonstrates principally how asymmetrical cultural relationships, mediation processes, and ideologies of the translation players constitute the culture-specific translation activity as a highly contested site, where translation can reconstruct and rewrite the literature and the culture it represents.
Four main theoretical themes are explored in relation to such translation activity: sociological studies, cultural and rewriting studies, English as a lingua franca, and social and performative linguistics. These offer insightful perspectives on the translation as an interpretive encounter between not only two languages, two cultural systems and assumptions taking place, but also among various translation mediators.
This book will be useful to scholars and students working on translation and cultural studies, China/Taiwan literature studies, and literature studies in cross-cultural contexts.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
The interdisciplinarity of Translation Studies
A brief overview: translation of Taiwan literature
Structure of the book
Chapter One: Conceptualising the Translation of Taiwan Literature as a Social Act
Defining sociological approaches
Bourdieu’s theory of social practice
Latour’s actor-network theory (ANT)
Case studies: The interplay of the social influences of players in translation
Laying the foundations: Individual efforts and influences during the early phase
Cross-cultural networks in the production of translations
Discussion and implications
Chapter Two. The Translation and Rewriting of Taiwan Literature: A Contextual Perspective
The cultural approach in translation studies
Paratext
Ideology, poetics, and translation as rewriting
Translation as rewriting as seen in anthologisation and paratext
Discussion and concluding remarks
Chapter Three. Translation into English as a Way of Enhancing Visibility: A Case Study of the English Translation of Wintry Night, a Taiwanese Novel
English as a lingua franca and its functions
English as a lingua franca and its influence on translation flows
The dominance of English and its traces in textual practices
The case study: An English translation of Wintry Night
Discussion and concluding remarks
Chapter Four. Performative Linguistics in the Translation of Literary Cacophony
Linguistic approaches to translation studies: A dualistic view
A comparison of performative linguistics and constative linguistics
Case study: An act of language performance and re-performance in Rose, Rose, I Love You and its translation
Discussion and concluding remarks
CONCLUSION
Biography
Szu-Wen Kung (Dr.) is Assistant Professor at the Graduate Program in Translation and Interpretation, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.
