Abstract
Abstract
 Persian literature is replete with pseudo-translations to the extent that if one tried to compile a complete bibliography, it would turn into an unwieldy book. Most Persian pseudo-translations belong to Iranian political literature (Okhovat, 2006). As could be guessed, identifying pseudo-translations is not a simple task as their authors want readers to believe in the ‘translationness’ of these works for various reasons. One of the most famous Iranian pieces of pseudo-translations, whose original writer has recently claimed its authorship, is the famous (in Iran) Letter of Charlie Chaplin to his daughter Geraldine. The present article examines diverse aspects of this text, including its political, historical, cultural, and literary milieu of production, and provides a critical discourse analysis of this text and highlights the original author’s ideological stance as it is embedded in this purported foreign letter. The article concludes by surmising the reasons why this famous work was published as a translation, and how it is, that the original writer has claimed authorship after more than 30 years.
Highlights
Throughout history, translation has been the foremost method of importing and exporting literary styles among nations
According to Okhovat (2006), Morier pretended that his novel was a translation of Hajji Baba’s journal in order to protect his work from accusations that it was biased due to Western ideology
Similar to the previous example, it had an opposing political ideology expressed behind the mask of imaginary writers (Okhovat, 2006)
Summary
Throughout history, translation has been the foremost method of importing and exporting literary styles among nations. Along with other innovative ideas about translation, pseudo-translation has been one of the concepts emerging out of a new grasp of translation studies in the field. Those new perspectives have led to a drastic shift away from literal, free, and faithful translations to cultural and sociological aspects of translation. The study examines the ideological, economic and status-giving policies of “the undifferentiated patronage outside the literary system” (Lefevere, 1992) which led to the creation of this letter in the form of a pseudo-translation. An examination of reasons underlying the production of pseudo-translations is followed by an investigation of examples of contemporary Persian pseudo-translations. A case study of the letter itself, including a critical discourse analysis of the text, is offered for consideration
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: TranscUlturAl: A Journal of Translation and Cultural Studies
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
