Style and Voice: Lost in Translation?

Abstract

Although translation studies play an important role within the academic cursus of undergraduate degrees in French universities, and are a core element of the competitive civil service examinations (the CAPES and the Agrégation) which are required to teach in the French education system, little attention is paid to translating style per se. Translation modules which are usually compulsory at undergraduate level are, perhaps understandably, concerned with teaching language skills: checking that the text has been understood, that grammatical structures are fully mastered and that students have an extensive knowledge of lexical items. Investigating the stylistic features of a text, before translating it, often takes a backseat, is consigned to an optional module and considered to be of secondary importance, if it is considered at all. This lack of interest in translating the style of a text mirrors a lack of critical interest and theory in translating style in general. There are of course notable exceptions to this such as Munday (2008), Boase-Beier (2006), Parks (1998) and May (1994), but generally within translation studies, style has remained neglected. Even when theorists, such as Nida and Taber (1969, 12), focus on the receptor and the impact of the message, it is meaning that comes first and style that comes second: Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style. This separation of style and meaning leads to style being considered as ornamentation, something which can therefore be discarded, or even

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