Paratext Analysis of Patronage Factors

Hu Liu

OAI: oai:igi-global.com:266314 • DOI: 10.4018/IJTIAL.20210101.oa3

Drawing on André Lefevere's rewriting theory, this paper endeavours to explore how Howard Goldblatt translates Mo Yan's novel Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out (hereafter referred to as L&D) with regard to patronage control by way of paratext analysis. Seven categories of patronage factors, including original author, translator, literary cooperative, publisher and editor, market expectancy, literary agent, and target reader, are identified as the objective of paratext analysis. Paratext analysis of these patronage factors provides greater insights into the unique attributes of Goldblatt's translation. The results show that apart from adhering to the target ideological and poetological currents in his translation, Goldblatt also excels in mediating between various patronage factors, striving to seek a balance among external power constraints, and finally producing a translation geared to the reader's expectation.

Literacy and Language Studies Media and Communications Communications Theory