Maxim hedges in literary texts: A translational perspective

Gabriela Miššíková

Maxim hedges in literary texts: A translational perspective

Vol.1,No.1(2008)

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The article presents conversational and translational analyses of maxim hedges. The purpose of conversational analysis is to recognize conversational strategies employed by the participants in communication, focusing on specifi c usages of hedging expressions and intensifi ers. A meta-linguistic function of hedges is central to my considerations; hedges are viewed as indicators and cues helping to infer the likeliest meaning in the given context of conversation. A translational perspective of the article is achieved by analysing specifi c usages of maxim hedges in two parallel texts, the source text in English (ST) and its Slovak translation, i.e. the target text (TT). Distinctive functions of hedges in the ST and TT are identifi ed; the hedges which seem to cause problems in translation are discussed. Using the method of conversational analysis, types of hedges are classifi ed, stating their functions and relatedness to particular conversational maxims. A translational perspective is added by means of a translation analysis, including comparative and contrastive aspects of study. In conclusion, translation strategies have been formulated.

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