Lingual Difference in the Translation of Early Versus Contemporary Dramatic texts in Iran

There are two general approaches in the area of drama translation:First, an approach that considers drama as literary text and translates it like other literary texts .Second, an approach that translates drama for performance purposes. These two approaches lead translators to use different strategies and  language structures in the translation: the dual classification of dramatic texts into page and stage translation. This paper aims at investigating the language differences of dramatic texts in two different periods in Iran. For this aim, six dramas were selected (three dramas from the earlier periods of translating dramatic texts in Iran and three dramas from contemporary periods). They were analyzed from standard and colloquial language point of view. The results showed that translators followed standard language approach in translating the early dramatic texts although some Persian idioms and colloquial phrases were seen at some spots. And it showed that in contemporary translations that translators’ approach to translating dramatic texts is using colloquial language.