Re-narration In The Translation Of Selected African – American Plays

Abstract

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate Narrative Theory in the translation of dramatic texts. Narrative Theory was introduced to translation by Mona Baker in 2006. According to this theory, translation is a process of re-narration in the sense that translators re-narrate the source text in such a way to create a certain effect or support a hidden agenda in the target text. The present study seeks to analyze the Arabic translation of African-American plays in order to pursue the different strategies made by each translator to reframe narratives in the target text. The selected plays; Dutchman and The Slave are written by Amiri Baraka the African American poet and playwright. The translations are made by Mohsen Abbas, Saddik Goher and Naema Abdel Jawad. The importance of the present study lies in the fact that although some researches have sought to study Narrative Theory in political and literary text, none of them has dealt with dramatic texts. Another significant point is that all previous researches tried to take the theory for granted; no hypothesis was made that the translated text might appear free from any signs of re-narration. Applying Baker’s model, the present study reveals that although some translators are highly re-narrators, some dramatic texts are neutrally translated.