A Cultural Approach to Identity in Translating Young Adult Literature: The Case of The Sun is also a Star

Translated literature constitutes a large share of children’s literature in Iran; however, few studies have investigated the broad spectrum of its aspects. Against this backdrop, the present study investigated the translations of a young adult novel in terms of the components of cultural identity. Initially, according to the definition given by Holliday, the elements of cultural identity in the novel were identified. Then, adopting a cultural approach, the Persian translations were investigated to identify the manipulated components. It was revealed that the most important components of identity in the novel are language, food, occupation and education, ontological attitudes and relationships. The analysis of the translations revealed that language was manipulated more than other components. This is majorly because the sociolects used in the novel to mark the first-generation immigrants to the U.S and also the young adults were standardized in the translations. Additionally, although the general sexual content of the novel was preserved in the translations, it was undergone manipulative procedures. As for the ontological views of the characters, they were kept in the translations despite being in partial contrast with the dominant attitudes in the Iranian society. These observations confirm the claim that translations involve less supervisory strictness compared with authored works. To investigate the effect of manipulations on the translations in their entirety, the observations were discussed in terms of Bhabha's concept of “hybridity”. Then, considering the position of Iranian translated literature for young adults in the literary polysystem, the current trend was justified.