Résumés
Abstract
This paper investigates the use of existential presuppositions in a corpus of literary translations from Romanian into English (novels and short stories). In particular, we are interested in ascertaining whether there are any differences between the ways in which definiteness and indefiniteness are used in translations compared to source texts, and whether any pattern can be found to be in operation; the aim is to explore presuppositions in terms of what they can tell us about translators’ assumptions about their readers. The main finding is the presence of a [- definite] trend in the corpus, whereby definite references tend to be translated by indefinite references. The study suggests that this is linked to distancing; i.e., target readers are presented with texts which position them as distant observers, rather than in-the-know in-group members.
Keywords/Mots-clés:
- discourse,
- literary corpus,
- presupposition,
- Romanian
Résumé
La présente étude a pour objet d’examiner l’usage des présuppositions existentielles dans un corpus de traductions vers l’anglais de textes littéraires roumains (romans et nouvelles). Plus exactement, on se donne pour tâche de découvrir d’éventuelles différences entre l’usage des articles définis et indéfinis dans les textes de départ et les textes-cibles, et d’étudier de possibles glissements systématiques. L’étude conclut que la tendance prédominante dans le corpus est vers l’utilisation des articles indéfinis, et que cette tendance est liée à la distanciation: les lecteurs des traductions se trouvent positionnés, par les textes, comme des observateurs éloignés.
Parties annexes
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