Critical Discourse Analysis of Two Persian Translations of Lewis Carroll s Alice s Adventures in Wonderland Framed in Farahzad s CDA Model

Framed in Farahzad’s (2009) CDA (critical discourse analysis) model, the present research aimed at uncovering the micro- and macro-level analyses of the two translations (Honarmandi, 1960; Pirzad (2001) of the novel, i.e. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. The study attempted to figure out the linguistic, ideological, and socio-cultural aspects of translation that lies at the heart of contemporary translation criticism. To compare the two translations of the novel within CDA, the lexical and grammatical features were picked and analyzed (micro-level), while socio-cultural aspects of translation strategies in the ‘preface’ and the ‘footnotes’ of the translated versions with its focus on the translators’ ideological influences were examined as well (macro-level). As to the micro-level analysis, it was concluded that the significations of formal words, which were used by Honarmandi in the target text, seemed to be more familiar for the adults and the educated groups than for the children, teenagers, and common people. However, Pirzad adopted a realistic approach to make use of less formal phrases and more of popular lexical items. Regarding the macro-level analysis, the survey of the translators’ ‘preface’ and ‘footnotes’ sections revealed that Pirzad has been reader-oriented and rather pragmatic in terms of socio-cultural aspects of her translation. Findings suggest that translation researchers as well as translators can benefit from CDA model as tool for evaluation of and criticism of translations to bring about possible improvements in translation studies.