Retranslation as an intertextual space: Textual and paratextual analysis of two Chinese translations of E. B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan

Abstract

ABSTRACT Two translations of a given text normally tend to be textually related when the retranslator consults the previous version. Such is the case in the Chinese retranslations of E. B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan. One translation is printed, and the other is posted online. The retranslator’s paratexts, including the preface, postscript, notes, comments, and mailing list posts reference the prior translation, yet there are also covert intertextual relations only revealed by close comparative analysis. This article shows that paratexts bring to light intertextual connections between the two translations but fail to reveal the whole picture of intertextuality as cross-checked against translated texts. It argues that retranslation is not an isolated textual container of meaning but rather an intertextual space in which pre-existing translations are absorbed, transformed, and challenged, and multiple voices are co-present and heard, thereby affording new insights into the conceptualization of retranslation.