Translation as retelling

Abstract

Abstract Taking the perspective that translation is a form of (re)narration that participates in (re)constructing social reality (Baker 2018), this article examines how translation is used as a rigorous means for mediating meaning, narrativity and cultural representation. Focusing on a case study of Amores do Céu e da Terra: Contos de Macau (2014), a Portuguese version of the original Chinese prose essay collection Youqing Tiandi (1991), this article examines the Portuguese version as “reconto” (retelling) to see how the public (collective) narratives of Macao are reframed by the translators in the target language and culture. The analysis reveals that the original narratives are reconstructed by the Portuguese translators through their agency at the contextual, textual, intertextual and paratextual levels. Such reframing has resulted in a new version that reconstructs the public narratives and cultural image of Macao for Portuguese readers.