سیده زهرا سیدی

This study aimed at investigating the agency of Iranian

translators of non-literary feminist works published during the last two decades (۲۰۰۰ – ۲۰۲۰) employing Paloposki’s  (۲۰۱۰) model of agency. To this end, the footnotes within a selection of Persian translations of non-literary feminist works from the specified time frame were extracted and analyzed based on their content and frequency. The results revealed six distinct categories based on the function of these footnotes: ۱) transliteration, ۲) references to the original text, ۳) explanations and clarifications, ۴) citations, ۵) acronyms, and ۶) translators' comments. While all of the books in the corpus were annotated, the number of footnotes per book varied. The high frequency of footnoting in the selected corpus underscores the active role of translators in the translation process. The translators made an attempt to enhance text comprehensibility by including transliterations, referencing the original text, making clarifications, explaining cultural elements, specialized terminology, providing information on social and political contexts, and referencing to external resources beyond the original book. Translators have added an extra voice by adding comments in very few stances. Consequently, the data reveals that the translators consider themselves as more than mere linguistic agents, and view providing clarifications as an essential part of their responsibilities.

Keywords: Agency, Paratext, Translator’s footnotes, Translation of feminist texts