COMMENTED TRANSLATION: THE RECREATION OF THE “LETTER” OF AZUL CORVO

Abstract

The present study surveys the overall strategy and procedures adopted in my published translation of the Brazilian contemporary fiction Azul-Corvo (2010), with reference to the main concepts proposed by French philosopher Antoine Berman, known as “translation of the letter” and “nonplatonic translation”. This paper argues that Berman’s non-literary hermeneutic model is particularly useful for translation critiques from Portuguese to Chinese, as this approach highlights the characteristics of difference and otherness between languages, thus allowing a broader perspective that considers plurality of translation strategies.

Keywords
Azul-Corvo ; Antoine Berman; translating the “letter”; nonplatonic translation