Theoretical framework for drama translation

Abstract

The article summarizes the experience of foreign Translation Studies in the context of the genre theory of drama translation. The work is relevant, as the outlined research field is attracting more and more attention from different points of view, and various methodological approaches indicate the increasing role of the translator as a cultural translator. The object of the study is the process of reproduction of dramatic works within the intercultural communication framework, and the subject is the drama translation regularities and the factors that influence the process and determine its results. Drama translation has recently emerged as an independent field of translation studies and has a scientific basis, incorporating theoretical foundations and practical methods of Theater Studies, Literature Studies, Linguistics, and Translation Studies. Difficulties in understanding this process in Translation Studies are related to the dualistic nature of dramatic works, as they are both poetic and literary formations that belong to the theater activity. In the process of formation of Translation Studies as a scientific field (since 1972), this problem is realized in the confrontation among researchers about the essence of drama translation in the context of the concepts of “performativity” and “readability”. The article analyzes the influence of linguistic, semiotic, cultural and stage approaches on the understanding of the peculiarities of drama translation. The modern state of Translation Studies shows that the literary translation theory has clearly distinguished between the concepts of “translation for the stage,” “drama translation,” and “theatre translation,” which were used synonymously in the 1970-1980s of the XX century. The concept of drama translation is used to refer to translated works for both literary and theatrical systems. Theatre translation is defined as a stage-oriented type of translation or stage version. Translation for the theater is a special translation type that requires linguistic and stage knowledge, as well as an understanding of the environment in which the text will be performed.