Translator’s Subjectivity and Norms as Barriers

Abstract

Fidelity, as an important element in translation, and as a crucial duty of translator, is defined as the quality of being accurate, reliable, and exact (Guralnik, 1979). On the other hand, norms, as the barriers, inevitably affect the process of translation and the expectation of translator, “Fidelity to the Source Text/Discourseâ€. In other words, the norms and values of target readers/audiences can be more significant and important than translator’s ideal. In this regard, this study attempted to find the types of norms that affect the subjectivity of Iranian translators in the process of the Persian translations of the English texts and discourses that belong to different genres and fields including, political news, medical texts, novels, songs, and films. The researchers conducted this research, on the basis of Toury’s (1995) normative approach. This study, as a descriptive, explanatory, and comparative research, adopted qualitative method. The results of the analyses showed that, the subjectivity of Iranian translators can be affected by the different types of norms including, political, ideological, ethical, religious, cultural, and moral norms, and also the norms of the language system of the target readers can impose some sanctions and limitations on Iranian translators. The results of the study can be fruitful for translators, since they can become familiar with the significant and crucial role of norms in the process of translation.