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On Drama Translation

Posted on:2005-08-17Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:F GongFull Text:PDF
GTID:1115360152956241Subject:English Language and Literature
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
An overview of drama translationDrama constitutes an important part of world literature and the translation of drama between countries has been going on for many centuries. Yet only limited scholarly attention has been devoted to the translation of drama, probably owing to the special problems confronting the translator for the stage. The translator for the stage faces a problem unlike that involved in any other type of translation process. The principal difficulty resides in the nature of the dramatic text itself, for drama is at once literary art and representational art. Whilst "interlingual translation involves the transfer of a given written text from the source language to the target language, all kinds of factors other than the linguistic are involved in the case of theatre texts". (Bassnett, 1985:87)Unlike the translation of a novel, or a poem, "the duality inherent in the art of the theatre requires language to combine with spectacle, manifested through visual as well as acoustic images." (Baker, 1998:71) The translator is therefore faced with the choice of either viewing drama as literature or as integral part of a theatrical production.The translator may approach the play as literary work when, for instance, the translation of the complete works of a particular playwright is undertaken. There are also some theatre texts written as plays but designated as strictly literary (e.g. the 'plays' of Byron and Shelley, where performance is expressly discounted by the authors).However, it has to be pointed out that drama is a unique type of literary art in that it is composed mainly to be acted in public, and only secondarily to be read and reflected upon in private. For example, Shakespeare didn't seem to have had any of his own plays published, though he did publish his poems. The great First Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays appeared years after the dramatist's death. Even today, new plays are usually performed before they are published. The text of a play is something like the score of a symphony, which is a finished work, yet only a potentiality until it is performed. A theatre text exists in a dialectical relationship with the performance of that text. The two texts – written and performed – are coexistent and inseparable. Because the written theatre text forms part of an integrated whole, great demands are placed on the translation with respect to its "performability", thus "increasing tension between the need to establish relationships between the target text and its source text (the adequate factor) and the need to formulate a text in the target language (the acceptability factor)." (Baker, 1998:71)Features characteristic of drama translationThe Targeted Reader The primary purpose of a playwright, which is for his work to be performed on the stage, determines that the targeted reader of drama translation should first of all be the audience in a theatre. The translator of theatre texts, therefore, needs to take into consideration the varied interests and education backgrounds of the vast audience. His job is to adjust the translated version accordingly and make it acceptable to the majority of the audience group.Communicative CircuitThe communicative circuit for drama translation is more complex than that for other types of translation as the translator is not the only mediator between source text author and target reader or audience. A drama translator does not convey a message directly to the audience. Language is only one of the semiotic codes that constitute a theatrical performance. Audiences in theatres receive the message from many senders, i.e. the author or the translator, the director, the players, the costume designer, light and sound technicians and etc. The essence of theatrical communication is the performance by actors in front of an audience with both groups actively interacting with each other.Real Time PerformanceAs is suggested by Griffiths (Griffiths, 1985:162), the definition of drama is "text + image + action i...
Keywords/Search Tags:Translation
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