Challenges for cultural identity: an analysis of Renata Šerelytė's fiction in English translation

Abstract

The presentation aims to discuss the rendering of cultural identity in the English translation of selected literary works by contemporary Lithuanian woman writer Renata Šerelytė. The analysis places itself at the intersection of cultural and translation studies. One of the foci of analysis is the probing into the meanings of cultural identity as re-presented in the source texts. Another is investigation of the target text for strategies employed in rendering the constituents of cultural identity signified by the source text. For the discussion of the latter aspect, the paper draws on Hatim and Mason’s (1990) work on the relationship between translation and ideology both as the ideological perspective recreated in the target text and power relations involved in translation. As a side focus, the presentation will draw attention to the representation of gender as an aspect of cultural identity.