Literary Translation and the Identity of the Translator
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37536/preh.2016.4.2.885Keywords:
Literary Translation, Equivalence, Translator’s Voice, Literary Translation’s IdentityAbstract
It is widely believed that a literary translation is by definition a poor version of the original. On the other hand, the idea that equivalence is the decisive criterion when evaluating and judging literary translations is also very persistent. This article defends the thesis that equivalence is a fallacy and proposes another perspective. Translation is, actually, writing. Or to be more specific: translation is writing with two voices, the writer’s voice and the translator’s own voice. In fact, the translator lies the original, making literary translations the literary discourse par excellence: besides lying reality, just like every literary text does, a literary translation lies the original text.
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