Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Ph.D in Translation Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
2 Department of English, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Abstract
Translation has had an enlightening function in various historical eras in different societies; especially in the context of reformist political and social activities as it has provided the ground for intellectuals to become aware of political and social practices in other societies. In the period leading up to the Persian Constitutional Revolution, Iranian intellectuals, who mainly resided in neighboring countries, got acquainted with the developments of these societies through translation and tried to carry out some reforms for the progress of their own society through translation and writing. In many studies about the role of intellectuals in the process of transferring modernity to Iran, general propositions have been presented without paying attention to the textual details in the works of intellectuals and their analysis from the perspective of the features of the modernity discourse. However, in the current library research, an effort is made to take a closer look at Akhundzadeh's studies as works resulting from reading translated content, which are considered to be a kind of interpretation of modernity, and analyze these works to pinpoint the modernity discourse elements and translation function in the period leading to the Persian Constitutional Revolution. Textual analysis of these works reveals that although translation has played an effective role in informing intellectuals about some developments in Western and neighboring societies, it has failed to project an accurate and complete image of the modernity discourse in the intellectual works of this period.
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