Simplification, Explicitation and Normalization in Translational and Non-translational Persian Children’s Literature: A Corpus-Based Study on Chesterman’s T-Universal

Subject Areas : Journal of Teaching English Language Studies

Sanaz Shakeri ¹ , Guiti Mortazavizadeh ²

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Received: 2025-07-03 Accepted : 2025-07-07 Published : 2025-05-14

Keywords: Translation Universals, Chesterman's T-Universal, simplification, explicitation, normalization, translated texts, non-translated texts,

Abstract :

This study investigated simplification, explicitation and normalization in translated and non-translated children's literature works. A comparable corpus consisting of two translated and two non-translated children's literature works written in the Persian language was selected as the corpus of study to extract the three components of Chesterman's T-Universals. The analysis of frequency distribution showed that non-translated books exhibited significantly higher levels of simplification, Lexical density, and shorter sentence structures compared to translated books. Conversely, the use of connectives was more common in translated texts, suggesting a tendency for explicitation in translation methods. Furthermore, normalization analysis revealed that non-translated books exhibited a greater frequency of known sentences, with a notable preference for active voice compared to translated texts. The study also highlighted that while simplification was the most frequently employed strategy across both non-translated and translated works, explicitation was the least utilized. The results provide valuable insights for both translators and scholars in the field of translation studies, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of how linguistic features are adapted in translation.

Key terms: Translation Universals, Chesterman's T-Universal, simplification, explicitation, normalization, translated texts, non-translated texts

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