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This paper argues that the question of theoretical translatability is crucial both to source-oriented and target-oriented approaches. Reflecting on translatability requires a discussion of Toury’s notion of ‘adequate translation’, which has two senses: the general or ideal approximation to source-text norms, and thetertium comparationisrepresented by a source-text-oriented translation (i.e. showing how the original ‘can’ be translated). It is argued that both senses have heuristic value in Translation Studies. The explanatory power of target-orientedness is demonstrated by discussing the various strategies pursued by seven Anglo-American translators of Dante who either re-create or avoid rewriting grotesque onomastic wordplay inInferno.Zero translation policy of Dante’s names is not considered to be evidence of their inherent ‘untranslatability’ since for an empiricist nothing is untranslatable. Evocative names may be translated in a creative way provided the rewriter is willing (or allowed) to be innovative.

The analysis of ‘The Vision’, H. F. Cary’s rewriting (1888) of Dante’s ‘Comedy’, focuses on the problem of the translator being confronted with different editions of a source text. Cary chooses to take on the function of textual critic: he does not adhere to a single edition but makes his choices from a number of versions by different editors. Significantly, Dante’s translator foregrounds his acts of textual criticism: he presents the reader with various (often equally plausible) alternatives in his explanatory footnotes, thereby casting serious doubts on the belief that he – or any other translator for that matter – can be absolutely ‘faithful’. Not only do Cary’s choices as a textual critic emphasize the elusive nature of textual meaning, but they also introduce a dissociative element in his translation project: by achieving readability in the text proper Cary complies with the expectation of the reading public that he will recover the original meaning; on the other hand, he takes great pains to...

This article discusses the notion of equivalence from a descriptive and target‐oriented perspective. The first part of the article deals with this notion from a theoretical point of view and argues that equivalence has a heuristic value in Translation Studies provided one does not adopt a prescriptive and source‐oriented perspective. In order to prove this assertion, the analysis focuses on specimens of taboo and informal language in Dante's Inferno in the translation by Henry Francis Cary, who expurgates such language items in his Vision (1844). In order to shed light on this topic, the author of this article describes Cary's deviations from formal equivalence and does not condemn them a priori However, a posteriori they are explained in terms of the norms affecting translation in the rewriter's historic context (the expurgation of coarse language was a common strategy among translators in Cary's time) and in terms of the constraints of the metre adopted, namely blank verse, which could not acco...

After a comparative analysis of the source and target texts, this paper attempts to put forward an explanation to account for H. F. Cary’s avoidance policy as he deals with Dante’s puns in his early nineteenth-century translation of the ‘Divina Commedia’. The aim is to consider the findings of the analysis in relation to the issue of compensation. No discussion of translation can avoid dealing with this issue, but there is evidence that compensation cannot he called upon to account for all the foregrounding devices in the target text. In particular, the relationship between compensation and the translator’s ideology must be taken into account. The paper concludes by suggesting some conditions which might make it easier to identify instances of compensation. Harvey’s (1995) descriptive framework is employed with a view to improving its explanatory power.

Taking as its point of departure the hypothesis that a translator's work will show an overall consistent pattern, the article discusses two English translations of passages from Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. The two translations (by Charles Singleton and Seamus Heaney, respectively) differ in their overall approach according to Catford's distinction between ‘literal’ vs ‘unbounded’ translation. Detailed analysis reveals that these terms do not account for all translational differences, but that in this particular case, cultural elements, notably the historical context of both Dante's Italy and Heaney's present‐day Irish situation, exert an influence on the translator's product. The article concludes that the cultural element is central to a theory of translation and will illuminate a translation, provided it probes deep enough into the spheres of the cultural context which affects the translator.

This article focuses on the strategies pursued by Anglo-American translators in dealing with Dante’s sexual imagery in the Comedy. The author attempts to explain why the original imagery — which condemns a corrupt Roman Catholic Church — has sexist connotations, and why it is reproduced in most translations in the corpus. “Fidelity” or adequacy with respect to sexual/sexist images seems striking in view of the fact that certa..n translators bowdlerize the source text or tone down the boldness of its vernacular style. It is suggested that the patriarchal nature of both the Italian and English languages explains why the use of sexist imagery is tolerated (or perhaps even encouraged) in literary texts. The findings of the analysis are then brought to bear on one important question: should the translation scholar aim to bring about “politically correct” changes in translation practice, that is, changes attenuating the offensiveness of the original language? The author advocates a descriptive approach, even though “gender and translation” seems more politicized than other areas of research within Translation Studies. The paper concludes that Translation Studies may benefit from the findings of gender studies, provided scholars in this area do not attempt to change actual translation practice and focus on the hermeneutics of translation. In fact, gender scholars can make an important contribution to Translation Studies by focusing on the ideological nature of the gendered construction of meaning., Cet article s’intéresse aux stratégies adoptées par les traducteurs anglo-américains en ce qui a trait à l’imagerie sexuelle dans la Comédie de Dante. L’auteur tente d’expliquer pourquoi l’imagerie originale — qui condamne une Église Catholique corrompue — possède des connotations sexistes et pourquoi celles-ci se retrouvent dans la plupart des traductions du corpus. Ce souci de « fidélité » ou de justesse surprend si l’on considère que certains traducteurs expurgent le texte d’origine et/ou atténuent l’impudence de son style vernaculaire. On suggère que la nature patriarcale de l’anglais et de l’italien explique que l’utilisation d’une imagerie sexiste soit tolérée (voire encouragée) dans les textes littéraires. Ces découvertes nous amènent à nous poser une question importante : le traducteur doit-il, dans sa pratique, chercher à rendre le texte « politiquement correct » en atténuant le caractère offensant de la langue d’origine? L’auteur préconise une approche descriptive, bien que la notion de « genre et traduction » semble plus politisée que d’autres dans le domaine de la traductologie. On en conclut que la traductologie peut tirer profit des découvertes réalisées dans le domaine des études sur les rôles masculins et féminins, qui n’essaient pas de modifier la pratique de la traduction mais se concentrent plutôt sur son herméneutique. En effet, les chercheurs dans ce domaine peuvent apporter une contribution importante à la traductologie en se concentrant sur la nature idéologique de la construction de sens sexuée.