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Translation Criticism of Two Persian Translations of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God based on Farahzad’s CDA Model
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Nazanin Asadi *   |
| Department of English Translation, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran |
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Abstract: (977 Views) |
Literary translation is a vehicle for the transmission of ideological values from one culture to another. Through a Critical Discourse Analysis of two Persian metatexts of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, this article examines how these translators represent the text’s themes of gender and race. By implementing an integrated framework developed by Farahzad, the critical discourse analyses examine three dimensions of each metatext: textual, paratextual, and semiotic. The Comparative CDA findings demonstrate that Dowlatabadi’s metatext diminishes the confrontational nature of the prototext by euphemizing, generalizing gendered terms, and neutralizing racial terminology. While this strategy creates opportunities for greater cultural accessibility for the Persian audience, it also undermines the original feminist and anti-racist critiques. Conversely, Elahbakhsh retained the prototext’s directness, sociolinguistic texture, and ideological tension. Elahbakhsh’s commitment to the prototext is further strengthened through the use of extensive scholarly apparatus (introductions, endnotes, etc.). This study found that translators play a significant role in mediating ideas through their work. By making decisions about how to translate individual words and cover designs, translators change how readers interpret and respond to a text’s political message. This research highlights the need for greater ethical consideration of the effects of translation practice on how literature is transformed across cultures.
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| Keywords: Translation Criticism, Critical Discourse Analysis, Ideology, Literary Translation |
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Type of Study: case report |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/12/26 | Accepted: 2026/02/5 | Published: 2025/04/20
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