Translation as Rewriting

Abstract

This paper tries to discover the significance of rewriting. As we all know, translation plays a significant role not only in the communication of different people from different nations, but also in the development of a nation’s politics, culture and society. However, for a long time, the studies of translation was confined to the linguistic approach. In the past, scholars attached great importance to the source text, considering it as positive and authoritative. Translation, however, was regarded as derivative and servile. In the 1980s, the appearance of “cultural turn” was a satisfying change. It drew attention to the issues that are beyond equivalence and fidelity, namely history, culture, ideology and poetics and the like. Among all the introduced theories at that time, Lefevere’s theory of rewritings was a prominent one. It focused more on the differences between source and target texts as well as issues such as culture and ideology. It helped translation researchers expand their horizons from the linguistic level to a wider social context. From the research, it can be concluded that rewriting is of great significance in translation and exerts powerful influence on translation. It believes that translation is productive for cultural studies, translation can improve translators’ status and it can help promote the integration of translation theory and practice as well.

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