Contemporary Translation Theories by Dr. Edwin Gentzler

Author:Dr. Edwin Gentzler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Translation Theories
ISBN: 978-1-84769-562-8
Publisher: National Book Network International
Published: 2011-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

Itamar Even-Zohar: Exploring intrasystemic literary relations

Itamar Even-Zohar is not specifically a translation theorist, but a cultural theorist. He has not published on translation for over a decade, but his pioneering work continues to exert considerable influence, particularly when studying translation in emerging cultures or cultures in crisis. Even-Zohar adopted Tynjanov’s concept of a hierarchical literary system and then incorporated the data collected from his observations on how translations function in various societies. He coined the term “polysystem” to refer to the entire network of correlated systems – literary and extraliterary – within society, and developed an approach called polysystem theory to attempt to explain the function of all kinds of writing within a given culture – from the central canonical texts to the most marginal non-canonical texts. Concepts borrowed from Tynjanov – such as “system,” literary “norms,” and the notion of “evolution” as an ongoing struggle between various literary systems – are used to frame his research: the analysis of the intrasystemic relations between conflicting literary structures. Although the analysis of translated literature was just one aspect of his investigation, it proved more than marginal, for his data showed that translated literature functions differently depending upon the age, strength, and stability of the particular literary “polysystem.” In fact, his thinking about translation, especially in relation to the unique situation of Hebrew literature, with its general lack of texts and the unique role translated Russian and Yiddish literature play in its literary system, led Even-Zohar to some of his most provocative hypotheses about literary systems.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.