Translating Feminist Identities:  A Critical Discourse Analysis of Urdu Translation of Brown’s Work ‘The Dancing Girls of Lahore’

Faria Shaheen; Dr. Ghulam Ali; Dr. Kanwal Zahra

doi:10.36902/rjsser-vol2-iss1-2021(330-337)

Faria Shaheen Associate Lecturer, Centre for Languages and Translation Studies, University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Dr. Ghulam Ali Assistant Professor, Centre for Languages and Translation Studies, University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Dr. Kanwal Zahra Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Gujrat, Pakistan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36902/rjsser-vol2-iss1-2021(330-337)

Keywords: Translation, Gender, Feminist Translation, Feminist Discourse, Farahzad’s Model, CDA, Discursive Strategies

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the construction and production of gender identities through discursive mechanisms during the process of translation. It also attempts to focus on the various discursive strategies used by the translator in the phenomenon of translation. The data comprise Louis Brown's book 'The Dancing Girls of Lahore' and its Urdu translation by Pakistani male writer and translator Dr. Naeem Tariq. The theoretical and conceptual framework for the present research is based on three dimensional model by Farahzad (2012) in the light of Critical Discourse Analysis. The data related to feminist discourse in both the source text and the target text is selected through the purposive sampling technique. The analysis of the present paper reflects the position of the translator through his lexical and grammatical choices in the process of translation. The findings of the present study reflect the position of male translators and expose the socio-political structure of Pakistani patriarchal society. This study provides various dimensions to explore feminist translations for future researchers.