The idea that translation can be a form of rewriting was
developed by André Lefevere, who considers translation to be an act performed
under the influence of specific categories and norms that are part of a
society's systems. He is strongly influenced by polysystem theory proposed by
Even Zohar.
Lefevere focuses on extremely specific aspects that systemically affect the reception, acceptance, or rejection of literary texts, such as power ideology, institution, and manipulation.
Furthermore, most translations are sparked by a domestic cultural actor, such as state ideology, cultural environment, target audience expectations, and economic and social factors, and foreign texts are chosen not by translators but by this player, who controls the entire process. The role of translation, therefore, becomes the rewriting of a foreign text into local culture in accordance with the local cultural norms and resources that make up the society's overall structure.
Translation, according to Lefevere, is an act
performed under the influence of specific categories and norms that are part of
a society's systems. Patronage, ideology, poetics, and 'the universe of speech'
are the most significant of these.
The literary system in which translation
operates, according to Lefevere, is governed by three key factors: professionals, patronage, and prevailingpoetics.
Let’s discuss them in detail to understand the
theory.
1.
Professionals
This section includes critics, professors, and
reviewers who decide on the poetics and, on occasion, the ideology of the
translated text.
2.
Patronage
This includes some powerful intuitions and
persons that decide and affect the translation. According to Lefevere, is
"something like powers that may promote or impede the reading, writing,
and rewriting of literature," and it is critical to comprehend power in
the Foucaultian sense.
The patronage can be further divided into
three elements.
a) The
Ideological Components
Levefere believes that patronage is
ideologically focused.
b) The
Economic Component
This is associated with the payment of the
writer and rewriter.
c) The
Status Component
The translators' role in this context
indicates that writers and rewriters work within the patron's parameters, that
they should be prepared to collaborate with and accomplish the patron's goals,
and that they should legitimize the patron's status and control over the whole
functioning of the systems.
Apart from this ideology is one of the most
powerful components of patronage, and translators are frequently bound by the
patronage's ideology.
If all three components are given by the same
person or group, as is the case with totalitarian patronage, it is referred to
as undifferentiated patronage. When
three components are independent of one another, patronage is differentiated.
3.
The
Dominant Poetics
It can be analyzed into two parts.
a)
Literary
device
Genres, symbols, literary themes, and
prototype settings and characters are among them.
b)
Role
of literature
This is how literature interacts with the
social structure in which it lives. Polysystem theory is characterized by a
conflict between many literary styles.
Regarding those 'canonized' masterpieces that
never lose their rank but are reinterpreted or rewritten to fit changes in
popular poetics, Lefevere sees obvious evidence of the system's conservative
tendency and the power of rewriting. He points out that a poetics' borders
extend beyond languages, ethnic groups, and governmental organizations.
He used the early expansion of Islam from
Arabia as an example, stating that the poetics of Arabic were borrowed by other
languages such as Persian, Turkish, and Urdu.
The discussion can be summed up in these final
words. Hence translation takes the form of rewriting an original text since it
is performed under certain constraints and for certain purposes.
The
article is written by MSM YAQOOB, the CEO and Founder of this platform.
