Derrida, Deconstruction, and Translation: Revisiting the Debate on Hafez in English

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor, English Language Department, Faculty of Humanities, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran.

Abstract

This article critically examines the discourse surrounding translation plurality through the lens of Jacques Derrida's deconstructive philosophy, with particular attention to the reception of English translations of Hafez. Rather than analyzing specific translations in detail, the study interrogates the evaluative frameworks that have shaped their dismissal, especially those grounded in ideals of authenticity, fidelity, and cultural equivalence. Drawing on Derrida's concepts,, the article argues that translation is not a secondary act of meaning transfer but a constitutive process that generates new contexts and meanings through repetition and transformation. Revisiting the persistent critique of Hafez translations as failures, the article exposes the logocentric assumptions underpinning such judgments. It further critiques the essentialist untranslatability thesis advanced by Shafiʿi-Kadkani and the historicist response of Aria Fani, arguing that both remain entrapped within metaphysical hierarchies of presence and purity. In doing so, the article calls for a reconfiguration of translation studies grounded in openness to difference and the irreducible alterity of the text.

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References

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Linguistic Studies: Theory and Practice

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 October 2025

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History

  • Receive Date: 27 May 2025
  • Revise Date: 09 September 2025
  • Accept Date: 15 October 2025

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