The translation of style

Abstract

The aim of this article is to report on a number of recent developments in the study of translation and to focus on the issue of ‘markedness’, singled out here as a central element in the process of translation. Linguistic markedness and the twin notion of ‘textual evaluativeness’ are examined as part of the wider issue of dealing with ‘style’ in translation or the need to translate not only ‘what’ is said, but also ‘how’ it is said. The perspective adopted is essentially applied text-linguistic: the linguistic focus is on the ‘text’ as a unit of both communication and translation, while the scope of application is specifically informed by a practitioner research paradigm. The markedness, evaluativeness and style theme is pursued against a backdrop of how the theory and practice of translation has evolved in the last 50 years or so from an emphasis on formal notions of translation ‘equivalence’ within the ‘linguistics phase’, to more dynamic notions of equivalence within the ‘cultural model’, and ultimately to models of translation which see equivalence in the light of text in context and beyond.