Category Shifts in the Persian Translation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway: A Catfordian Analysis

Using Catford's (۱۹۶۵) model of translation shifts, this study examines category shifts in the Persian translation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway (۱۹۲۵) by Taheri (۲۰۰۹). A total of ۱۰۳ sentences from the source text were analyzed. The findings revealed ۱۹۳ category shifts: structural shifts (۵۳%), intra-system shifts (۲۰%), class shifts (۱۹%), and unit shifts (۸%). The predominance of structural shifts reflects fundamental grammatical differences between English (SVO) and Persian (SOV), as well as variations in adjective placement, tense, and aspect. These systemic contrasts make shifts inevitable, particularly in translating Woolf's dense and complex modernist prose. The results indicate that translation shifts function as necessary strategies to preserve meaning, readability, and stylistic equivalence. Overall, the study confirms the applicability of Catford's model as a systematic framework for analyzing English-Persian literary translation and highlights the role of shifts in achieving fluent and natural renderings of complex literary texts.

کلیدواژه ها:

Category shifts ، Catford's translation model ، Persian translation ، Virginia Woolf- Mrs. Dalloway ، Literary translation