This dissertation looks at the dialectical relationship between Persian literary works representing or alluding to the pre-Islamic legacy and the political conditions of Iran. Through discursive analyses, it shows that these works in new political conditions change the orientation and main thrust of their message, and use or allude to the same pre-Islamic legacy for promoting modernization, criticizing official policies or showing resistance to the ruling establishment. The main thrust of their arguments also subtly indicates the country's future intellectual and political orientation.A transition from the traditional to modern use of antiquity took place during the second half of the nineteenth century, mainly as a result of increased interaction with Europe. Until the fall of the Qajarids, the Persian intellectuals and writers such as Akhundzadah, Dihkhuda used pre-Islamic legacy to support their arguments for modernization. Later, the despotic Pahlavi rulers (1925-79) sought to modernize the country but stifled the democratic evolution of polity and employed the pre-Islamic Persian heritage to strengthen monarchy. Hence, the Persian fiction writers such as Hidayat, Shahani, Danishwar dissociated themselves from official nationalism and used pre-Islamic heritage in non-glorifying ways to criticize the official policies.After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the new rulers reversed the Pahlavi official policy of glorifying the pre-Islamic Iran, and projected Shi'i Islam as the central element of Iranian identity. In their efforts to create Islamic subjects, they deprived people many of their civil and political rights. In the new political environment, the fiction writers such as Danishwar, Sadiqi and Arian showed remarkable interest in using pre-Islamic mythological and historical references, themes and events in their writings. Such literary production functioned as a literary resistance to the policies of the Islamist rulers.To substantiate the findings about the use of pre-Islamic legacy in modern Persian literature, the dissertation also examined the representation of Iranian antiquity in Persian films. The dissertation showed that the political representation of pre-Islamic heritage in Persian literature finds a parallel, though less pronounced, in Persian films too.

Thesis (MPhil (General Linguistics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The classic Victorian tale by Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), has been enjoyed by adults and children alike in many countries and in many languages. In this book, Carroll parodies the accepted style of children’s books of the Victorian Age by mocking the moralistic and realistic expectations. All the poems in the book are parodies of once familiar nursery rhymes, which often conveyed a moral lesson. Translating Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a challenging task, as it poses culturespecific, text-specific and language-specific problems. Although the book has been translated into more than 70 languages, it seems to be more popular in some cultures than in others. At the same time, some cultures seem to be content with “older” translations, while others need “updated” versions. Cultural differences seem to play a role in these preferences. The aim of this study is to examine the French and Afrikaans translations of a parodied poem (as found in chapter 2 of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) from an intercultural perspective. In both cases, the translators seem to have found equivalents in their respective cultures that would be acceptable to their target readers. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die klassieke Victoriaanse verhaal deur Lewis Carroll, Alice se Avonture in Wonderland (1865), het plesier verskaf aan volwassenes en kinders in baie lande en in baie tale. In hierdie boek parodieer Carroll die aanvaarbare styl van kinderboeke van die Victoriaanse tydperk deur die spot te dryf met die moralistiese en realistiese verwagtinge. Al die gedigte in die boek is parodieë van eens bekende rympies, wat dikwels ‘n morele les bevat het. Die vertaling van Alice se Avonture in Wonderland is ‘n uitdagende taak, aangesien dit bepaalde kultuur-, teks- en taalverwante probleme inhou. Hoewel die boek in meer as 70 tale vertaal is, blyk dit meer gewild te wees in sekere kulture as in ander. Terselfdertyd is sommige kulture skynbaar tevrede met “ouer” vertalings, terwyl ander meer “hersiene” weergawes verkies. Kultuurverskille speel oënskynlik ‘n rol in hierdie voorkeure. Die doel van hierdie studie is om die Franse en Afrikaanse vertalings van ‘n geparodieerde gedig (soos dit voorkom in hoofstuk 2 van Alice se Avonture in Wonderland) te ondersoek vanuit ‘n interkulturele perspektief. Klaarblyklik het die vertalers in beide gevalle ekwivalente in hulle onderskeie kulture gevind wat aanvaarbaar sou wees vir hulle teikenlesers.