Relevance and the Translation of Literature. A Groundwork for an Analytic Model

Authors

  • Juan Carlos Calvillo The College of Mexico

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.mut.v12n2a06

Keywords:

relevance theory, literary translation, analytic model

Abstract

Even though relevance theory and its application in translation studies cannot be considered a “new perspective” in our field, if only because it was about three decades ago that it was first proposed, the fact is that its premises have been dismissed in several academic circles for reasons that are largely political. Nevertheless, and apart from that, relevance theory continues to be one of the most influential cognitive theories in a variety of related disciplines (pragmatics, psychology, discourse analysis, etc.) and can still make valuable contributions to translation studies. This article sets out to recapitulate the claims of relevance theory applied to translation with the purpose of expounding, at the core of the text, the theoretical basis for an analytic model designed to appraise the kinds of transformations carried out during the process of literary translation. My work maintains that relevance theory offers a viable theoretical and methodological framework for the implementing of criteria according to which a systematic criticism of translations of literature can be valid, feasible, and useful.

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Author Biography

Juan Carlos Calvillo, The College of Mexico

Poet, Translator and full-time professor-researcher at the Center for Linguistic and Literary Studies.

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Published

2019-09-06

How to Cite

Calvillo, J. C. (2019). Relevance and the Translation of Literature. A Groundwork for an Analytic Model. Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana De Traducción, 12(2), 454–474. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.mut.v12n2a06