Abstract
This article comments on the notion of ‘constraint’ by analysing the specific difficulties in the translation of a martial arts (‘wuxia’) novel into French and English. The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射鵰英雄傳, she diao ying xiong zhuan) is the first part of the ‘Condor Trilogy’ (射鵰三部曲, she diao san bu qu), the masterpiece of Chinese writer Jin Yong (金庸). Little known in the West, the novel was recently translated by Anna Holmwood and Wang Jiann-Yuh. This article studies the strategies adopted by each translator to render the cultural specificities of the source context in the target culture. By so doing, it contributes to theoretical debates concerning transfers between two distant literary and cultural systems.
Highlights
Literary translation is subject to various linguistic, cultural, and social constraints.[1]
This article comments on the notion of ‘constraint’ by analysing the specific difficulties in the translation of a martial arts (‘wuxia’) novel into French and English
Little known in the West, the novel was recently translated by Anna Holmwood and Wang Jiann-Yuh
Summary
To cite this version: Andrea Musumeci, Dominic Glynn, Qu Qifei. The constraints of translating martial arts fiction. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. This article comments on the notion of ‘constraint’ by analysing the specific difficulties in the translation of a martial arts (‘wuxia’) novel into French and English. Little known in the West, the novel was recently translated by Anna Holmwood and Wang Jiann-Yuh. This article studies the strategies adopted by each translator to render the cultural specificities of the source context in the target culture. Cet article apporte un éclairage critique sur la notion de « contrainte » en commentant les difficultés spécifiques qu’implique la traduction d’un roman d’arts martiaux (‘wuxia’) en français et en anglais. Mots clefs: traduction, spécificités culturelles, contraintes, accueil critique de la littérature chinoise, wuxia, Jin Yong
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