O Retrospectiva Asupra Notiunilor Opacitate si Transparena în Traducere
An Overview of Opacity and Transparency in Translation

Summary/Abstract: This paper discusses a theoretical matter that has always constituted a problematic and has given rise to debates and various approaches to this very issue, i.e. the choice of a translation strategy. The debates primarily oscillate around the idea of faithfulness versus freedom of translation in relation to the original. In addition, this opposition encompasses subjective factors: the translator’s manner of using their set of skills and the subjective choice that they make while selecting the equivalents and producing the target text. The question is whether to accept or reject the information or the elements which might “betray” the text as being a translation, i.e. to produce a version that will function as an original or as a translation? Therefore, the translator can choose between the “coloured glass” or “transparent glass” strategy, between observing the author of the original or the receiver, i.e. the target language and culture. An obvious trend in nowadays research is to avoid dichotomous visions, which are criticised for their extreme character (either/or) and to apply new methodological meaning- and idea-centred approaches (the Theory of Sense developed by ESIT, the communication model by Hatim and Mason, the communication model by Lvovskaya etc.). Thus, there’s a favourable ground to replace the pair “coloured glass” versus “transparent glass” with a new metaphor and namely, that of the “mirror”, capable to concurrently reflect the original and the transformation the latter goes through in the process of translation.

• Details
• Contents