Identity in Fiction Translation. A Pragmatic Approach to Linguistic Culture
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58859/resla.832Keywords:
identity implication, linguistic culture, sociolinguistic values, fictional characters, relevance theoryAbstract
This study investigates the translation of identity implicatures conveyed by linguistic cultural elements through an approach based on Relevance Theory. A theoretical framework is established to explore how a linguistic cultural element provides stimulus for the readers of the original novel to interpret the characters’ identities through dialogues, and how these identity values could be transformed through translation and therefore perceived differently. Based on two Spanish novels and their Chinese translations, La Colmena and El Jarama, we conclude that linguistic cultural elements do not provide original and target readers with the same implicatures about the characters’ identities, due to the difference in how original and target readers interpret the nuances provided. The five parameters - politeness expressions, emotional expressions, communicative markers, dialect varieties, and set phrases - validate this relationship between identity values and linguistic cultural referents and prove helpful in analyzing a character’s relational and collective identity.
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