Evaluation of Reliance on Paratextual Elements in Translation

Genette (1997), one of the literary scholars has offered a practical theory based on the role of “paratextual elements”. This paper, based on this theory, evaluates the role of paratextual elements of directionality of translation and the way of embedding it on covers of translated literary works. After reviewing different attitudes about “indirect translation”, a case study of Persian translations of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez (1967) is presented in order to assess the accuracy of translated texts which are the results of different directionalities of translation. This article analyzes two texts translated from the original text (Spanish) and three texts translated through an intermediary languages. Of these three translations, two texts translated from English translation and one more text translated from the Italian translation of the novel. Different equivalence and addition or deletions which are influential factors in accuracy of translation will be studied in this paper. According to the results, it is concluded that in assessment of translation quality, directionality of translation is not enough criterion. In this regard, knowledge and dexterity of translator deserve prior attention. Also careful selection of the intermediary language is a factor that affects the efficiency of indirect translation.