Taking note of translator’s notes. Analysis of the reception of the translator’s notes in the Chinese translation of Stories of the Sahara

Abstract

This study focuses on an aspect from literary texts that often generates debate and stirs up controversy: translator’s notes. However, this polemic paratextual element has not raised much interest in Translation Studies so far and the studies delving into its reception by readers are scarce. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to carry out a quantitative analysis of the notes’ degree of acceptance through a questionnaire taking the translation of the Chinese Stories of the Sahara as a case study. The results suggest that, in general, the degree of acceptance of the notes is rather high and they are even considered very necessary when providing metalinguistic or intertextual information. In short, by having adopted an innovative approach, this research offers objective data on the adequacy and acceptability of translator’s notes, which is an interesting contribution not only to the discipline itself, but also for translators and editors when making informed decisions about the opinion and needs of the reader.