《Polysystem theory Its prospect as a framework for translation research》.pdf

Polysystem theory Its prospect as a framework for translation research* Nam Fung Chang Lingnan University, Hong Kong This article deals with three interrelated issues: first the ‘cultural turn’ of Itamar Even-Zohar in contrast to the ‘cultural turn’ in Translation Studies, then the application of an augmented version of Polysystem theory in a short case study, and finally the question of objectivity and neutrality in descrip- (c) John Benjamins tive polysystem studies. It is argued that Polysystem theory and other cultur- al theories of translation, be they descriptive or politically committed, can be Delivered by Ingenta mutually enriching rather than incompatible, and that, with some augmen- on: Sun, 31 Dec 2006 20:13:15 tation and further development, it may serve as an adequate framework for to: University of Birmingham research into the ‘external politics’ of translation. IP: 8 Keywords: polysystem, polysystem theory, norm, translation studies, cultur- al turn, ideology, politics, descriptivism 1. Two ‘cultural turns’ Developed in the 1970s, Itamar Even-Zohar’s Polysystem hypothesis was originally designed as a theoretical framework for the descriptive study of literature and language in their cultural context. His theory has made a great impact on the discipline of Translation Studies, and a ‘school’ is said to have been formed under its influence. The attraction of his theory to some transla- tion scholars presumably lies in the prospect that, as Even-Zohar states (1979:300), “the complicated questions of how literature correlates with language, society, economy, politics, ideology, etc., may here, with the PS theory, merit less simplist