Translation and the literary text

Abstract

In the present paper we shall focus on literary translation, on the question of the translation of "complex" or "secondary" texts, but with the intention of making a contribution to the problem of translating non-literary, "simple," "primary" texts as well. In other words, we shall examine the problem of text translation from a semiotic perspective. In fact, this study founds translation theory in sign theory developing a semiotic-linguistic approach to the problem of translation in the direction of so-called interpretation semiotics which also implies the semiotics of significance. Translation concerns both simple and complex texts, which correspond respectively to Mikhail Bakhtins primary and secondary texts. Simple texts concern non literary discourse genres whilst complex texts the literary genres, where the former are better understood in the light of the latter, and not vice versa. This paper also focuses on the concept of the literary text as a hypertext maintaining that the hypertext is a methodics for translative practice. The relation between the text and language understood as a modeling device is also important for an adequate theory of translation and sheds light on the question of translatability. Another central issue in this study is the relation between translation and intertextuality.