The aimof this article is threefold: first, a brief history of drama translation as exchange
of dramatic texts will be outlined. Throughout the history of theatre, texts have crossed
boundaries and helped to establish new systems, or have given new blood to old systems.
Second, a terminological clarification will be given in order to dispel the confusion
which has sometimes surrounded terms such as “drama translation”, “dramatic text”,
“theatre translation” and “theatre text”. These terms have often been used interchangeably,
but “drama translation” is not synonymous with “theatre translation”, as “dramatic
text” is not with “theatre text”. Dramatic texts and theatre texts, in fact, function as
objects or elements in different systems and are governed by different systemic conventions.
Third, a survey of themajor theoretical contributions will be presented. Interest in
drama translation from a theoretical point of view started in the late 1970s, with contemporary
translation scholars initially highly influenced by semiotics.More recently,
however, they have turned their attention to new, and perhapsmore profitable,means of
investigation. From a cultural perspective, they have categorised specific translation
strategies and used themto study the ways in which the discourse of foreign source texts
is integrated in translation into the discourse of the target society.
