From Initial Conditions to Divergent Outcomes: Butterfly Effect and the Unpredictability of Translation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Damghan University, Damghan, Iran

Abstract

This research explores translation dynamics through the innovative lens of chaos theory, focusing on how the butterfly effect manifests in linguistic transfer. By challenging traditional linear translation models, the study demonstrates how seemingly minor initial conditions can generate profound, cascading interpretive consequences across textual landscapes. Adopting a complexity science perspective, among others, the research examines translations of Rumi’s Masnavi and Camus’s L’Étranger to highlight translation’s inherently nonlinear and adaptive nature. The theoretical framework integrates insights from complexity science, poststructuralist theory, and translation studies, offering a sophisticated analytical approach that moves beyond reductive binary conceptualizations. Using purposive theoretical sampling, the study traces how subtle translation choices recursively shape semantic and cultural interpretations. By emphasizing translation’s sensitivity to initial conditions, the research contributes to emerging scholarship that views translation as a complex, dynamic system characterized by intricate interactive processes. Methodologically, the study employs qualitative case analyses to reveal the profound complexity of translation.

Keywords

References

Arberry, A. J. (1961). Tales from the Masnavi. George Allen & Unwin.
Atã, P., & Queiroz, J. (2016). Habit in semiosis: Two different perspectives based on hierarchical multi-level system modeling and niche construction theory. Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, 109–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45920-2_7
Baker, M. (2019). Corpus linguistics and translation studies: Implications and applications. In Researching translation in the age of technology and global conflict (pp. 9-24). Routledge.
Barks, C. (1994). The essential Rumi. HarperOne.
Bloom, R. (2012). Lost in translation: What the first line of “The stranger” should be. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/lost-in-translation-what-the-first-line-of-the-stranger-should-be
Blumczynski, P., & Hassani, G. (2019). Towards a meta-theoretical model for translation. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies, 31(3), 328–351. https://doi.org/ 10.1075/target.17031.blu
 Blum-Kulka, S. (1986). Shifts of Cohesion and Coherence in Translation Shoshana Blum-Kulka, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Interlingual and intercultural communication: Discourse and cognition in translation and second language acquisition studies, 272, 17.
Bohm, D. (1980). Wholeness and the implicate order. Ark.
Bradley, W. (2016). Fractals. Lavender Ink.
Cencini, M., Cecconi, F., & Vulpiani, A. (2010). Chaos: From simple models to complex systems. World Scientific.
Cronin, M. (2009). Response to Translation Studies forum: Cultural translation. Translation Studies, 2(2), 216–219.
Danaher, J. (2004). The laws of thought. The Philosopher, 92(1). http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/lawsofthought.htm
Derrida, J. (1985). “Des tours de Babel.” In J. Graham (ed.), French original, 209– 48, translated in the same volume by Graham, J. 165–207. Cornell University Press.
Farahmand, M. (2014). شولوخوف و خطای مترجمان ایرانی (Sholokhov and Iranian Translators’ Error). https://www.bbc.com/persian/arts/2014/02/140221_mf_sholokhov
Gentzler, E. (2012). Translation and identity in the Americas: New directions in translation theory. Routledge.
Gleick, J. (1987). Chaos: Making a new science. Penguin Books.
Harding, S. (2019). Resonances between social narrative theory and complexity theory: A potentially rich methodology for translation studies. In K. Marais & R. Meylaerts (Eds.), Complexity thinking in translation studies: Methodological considerations (pp. 33-52). Routledge.
Hassani, G., & Malekshahi, M. (2023). From certainty to uncertainty: Parallels between general science and translation studies. Translation Studies, 20(80), 10–20.
Jakobson, R. (1959). On linguistic Aspects of translation. In R. A. Brower (Ed.), On translation (pp. 232-239). Harvard University Press.
Johnson, S. (2004). Emergence: The connected lives of ants, brains, cities, and software. Scribner.
Longa, V. M. (2004). A nonlinear approach to translation. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies, 16(2), 201–226. https://doi.org/10.1075/target.16.2.02lon
Mandelbrot, B. B. (1983). The fractal geometry of nature. W. H. Freeman and Company.
Marais, K. (2014). Translation theory and development studies: A complexity theory approach. Routledge.
Marais, K. (2021). Complexity in translation studies. In Y. Gambier & L. van Doorslaer (Eds.), Handbook of Translation Studies: Volume 5 (pp. 23-29). John Benjamins
Marais, K., & Meylaers, R. (2019). Complexity thinking in translation studies: Methodological considerations. Routledge.
Marais, K., & Meylaerts, R. (2022). Introduction. In K. Marais & R. Meylaerts (Eds.), Exploring the implications of complexity thinking for translation studies (pp. 1-6). Routledge.
 Marias, K, & Meylaerts, R. (2020). Introduction. In K. Marais & R. Meylaerts (Eds.), Complexity thinking in translation studies: Methodological considerations (pp. 1-18). Routledge.
Mandelbrot, B. B. (1983). The fractal geometry of nature/Revised and enlarged edition. New York.              Nasr, S. H. (2013). Islamic spirituality: Foundations. Routledge.
Nicholson, R. A. (1925). The Mathnawí of Jalálu'ddín Rúmí. Luzac.
Peat, F. D. (2002). From certainty to uncertainty: The story of science and ideas in the Twentieth Century. Joseph Henry.
Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (2018). Order out of chaos: Man’s new dialogue with nature. Verso Books.
Pym, A. (1995). Schleiermacher and the Problem of Blendlinge. Translation and Literature, 4 (1), 5–30. http://usuaris.tinet.cat/apym/on-line/intercultures/blendlinge.pdf
Pym, A. (2014). Exploring Translation Theories. Second edition. Routledge.
Queiroz, J., & Atã, P. (2019). Intersemiotic translation as an abductive cognitive artifact. In K. Marais & R. Meylaerts (Eds.), Complexity thinking in translation studies: Methodological considerations (pp. 19-32). Routledge. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203702017
Redhouse, J. W. (1881). The Mesnevi of Mevlana. Trübner & Company.
Saussure, F. de. (1983). Course in general linguistics (R. Harris, Trans.). Open Court. (Original work published 1916)
Shahriari, S. (1998). Rumi revealed: Selected poems from the Divan of Shams. Rumi Publications.
Stewart, I. (1989). Does God play dice? The new mathematics of chaos. Blackwell.
Strogatz, S. H. (2023). Nonlinear dynamics and chaos: With applications to physics, biology, chemistry, and engineering. S.l.: CHAPMAN & HALL CRC.
Toury, G. (1995). Descriptive translation studies – and beyond. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Venuti, L. (1995). The translator’s invisibility: A history of translation. Routledge.
Williams, A. (2020). Rumi: Selected poems (Penguin Classics). Penguin Books.
Winfield, E. H. (1887). Masnavi i Ma’navi: The spiritual couplets of Maulana Jalalu-’d-din Muhammad i Rumi. Trübner & Company.
Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies
Volume 17, Issue 1
March 2025
Pages 141-154

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics