Traces of Mediation in Rewriting and Translation

Mediation, like translation, may take different forms and may be classified according to Jakobson’s classic model as intralingual, interlingual or intersemiotic communication. In all three modes of communication, texts essentially become recontextualisations of pre-existing discourses and often give rise to a chain of other texts, each of which is subject to a certain degree of mediation. Although the bridge-building metaphor is undoubtedly a legitimate way of approaching most forms of mediation, there is increasing evidence in the literature that this is not always the case. The scenario in which mediation operates is much more complex and it is one in which mediators’ compliance or resistance to contextual and socio-cultural factors and prevailing norms in a given point in history play a major role. Attention is increasingly being focussed on the nature of the rewritings they produce and on how their agency is made manifest. This holds true for rewritings that take place within the same language, across language boundaries and in the growing area of audio-visual translation. Of particular interest in this regard is the broadening of the notion of translation to include other forms of rewriting in which the rewriter’s interventionist role is a central feature. The present volume addresses various forms of translation and rewriting and explores the strategies rewriters use to achieve their goal of rendering the target text accessible to its recipient audience. "Knowing how" to rewrite in English entails developing an awareness of the whys and wherefores of rewriting. Just as knowledge about language leads to awareness of language, which in turn leads to increased efficiency and sensitivity to language, so familiarity with the general principles of translation and rewriting leads to enhanced competence and performance.