The translator’s voice in translated narrative – my abstract

Hermans, T. (1996). The translator’s voice in translated narrative. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies, 8(1), 23-48.

Abstract

This paper argues against the ‘illusion’ of understanding translation as delegated speech – as an outcome of cultural and ideological constructs – where the translator has no executive power. The study demonstrates the nature of the translator interventions by analyzing different translations of the Dutch novel Max Haveiaar (1860). The paper concludes that the ‘other’ voice in translated discourse is likely to manifest itself in three instances; practical instances involving the reader; ‘self-reflexiveness’ instances involving the medium of communication; and in cases of ‘contextual overdetermination’. The paper calls for a model of translated narrative that accounts for the way in which the translator’s voice projects itself into the discourse and adjusts to the displacement which translation brings about.

Keywords

Translator’s voice, translator interventions, discursive presence, translated narratives.