Author’s Identity and Translator’s Identity: A Clash of Positions and Creative Synthesis

Abstract

This article addresses the issues of artistic translation. It evaluates the potential for mutual collaboration between the author and the translator, as well as the conflicts that may arise between them. Various types of artistic translation are analyzed. It is noted that in traditional translation, the creative individuality of the translator is manifested where the author's identity is diminished, resulting in a greater reflection of the translator’s own experiences. This approach inevitably leads to deviations in translation, discrepancies in worldview orientations, and clashes between two idiolects. In works co-created by the original author and the translator, the linguistic and cultural specifics of the translation actors are taken into account, including the recipient as a full-fledged participant in intercultural communication. In self-translation, the clash of the author’s and translator’s mindsets is unavoidable when the socio-cultural realities reflected in the texts of different languages do not align. An authentic text emerges with its own historical, cultural, and literary context. The creator of the text thinks across different linguistic and cultural dimensions, striving to produce a complete work in another language, which consequently transforms not only the plot-compositional structure of the original but also its genre characteristics, ultimately leading to a loss of the writer’s unique artistic style.