Studies in Literature and Language
A CDA Approach to Translation Quality Assessment: A Case Study of Lost Symbol
Abstract
Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) is the pivotal point of this study with a focus on discourse and mainly Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in order to find out how far it is possible to transfer discourse as a culture based concept from source community into the target community. This transfer is regarded as a yardstick to assess the translator’s overall accomplishment and the quality of the translation as well. For the same purpose Van Dijk CDA Framework (2004) has been used to assess the Farsi translation of Dan Brown’s novel Lost Symbol which has been done by Hosein Shahrabi. A thorough comparison between the selected data from the source text and the related translations in term of the discursive/pragmatic strategies and the results of Chi-Square Tests showed that the transfer of discourse from source into the target is possible with the least of deviations and the fact that discourse is a concept rooted in the culture of the people and parties involved in the act of translation, would not hinder the efforts put by the translators to create the same discourse in the target society for the end readers. The safe transfer of discourse from source into the target is considered to be the main yardstick for the assessment of translation quality under this study.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/n
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