The Function of Translation in Promotion of Cultural Modernity in Iran

The present book is a new attempt in function-oriented descriptive translation studies (DTS) which sets out to investigate the ways in which translation works in socio-cultural and political contexts. Its main focus is on the Iranian literary and cultural polysystem during and after the 1906-1911 Constitutional Revolution. Accordingly, how translation contributed to the promotion of cultural modernity in Iran is articulated as the central concern of the study. At macro level, the relation between culture and translation is discussed, arguing that translation is a matter of cultural transcoding rather than linguistic transfer; it is a cultural phenomenon which can contribute to social changes. Against this backdrop, it demonstrates the cultural bearings of translation on Iranian culture. In so doing, first the concept of cultural modernity and its characteristics is discussed and then Even-Zohar's polysystem theory and intersystemic interferences of literature and translation is explored. Meanwhile, the positions of Iranian scholars on cultural and literary modernity are introduced.