Problems of Mediated Translation in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe

Abstract

Mediated translation as a linguistic and literary phenomenon is of great interest in terms of studying the linguistic, structural, and linguo-cultural aspects of languages involved in the translation process. Despite the ambiguous attitudes of translation studies theorists and practitioners, translation through an intermediate language remains significant for the representation of distinct literatures from the perspective of different cultures. In fact, mediated translation seeks to understand the dynamics between the source and target languages, cultures, and communicative contexts, and how they can influence the translation process. Overall, the main goal is to gain insights into the translation process and its implications for communication and understanding between different languages and cultures. In recent years mediated translation has become a more popular concept in translation studies research field. This growing popularity is evident from the noticeable increase in the number of academic events and scientific publications on the topic. The current study aims at conducting a comparative analysis of the mediated translations of the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe in English, Russian, and Armenian. An attempt has been made to illustrate the influence of intermediary language on the adequacy and equivalence of the translation of the abovementioned work highlighting the inconsistencies in the translation process. Basing on the research several conclusions have been drawn.