Document Type : Translation Studies
Authors
1 MA student, Translation Studies, English Language Department, Khatam University, Tehran, Iran
2 Professor of Translation Studies, Translation Studies Department, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
This study examines the discursive features of three award-winning Persian-to-English ecological documentaries on the water crisis, produced by Mohammad Ehsani, through the lens of eco-critical discourse analysis. The research is situated within the emerging field of eco-translation, which applies ecologically oriented linguistic and visual analysis to translation data. Linguistic analysis was conducted using four elements of metaphor, framing, erasure, and ecosophy. Visual analysis was performed using the interactive metafunctions proposed by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006), including gaze, social distance, horizontal and vertical angle, and modality patterns. The findings reveal that an ambivalent ecosophy, which adopts an objective point of view, plays a central role in water crisis documentaries. Metaphors are frequently used to depict ecology in a beneficial manner, while linguistic framings maintain an unbiased perspective. Translational eliminations occur primarily in cases of linguistic redundancy; however, institutional erasure patterns were also detected, as the institutions responsible for the water crisis were systematically omitted. Camera angles reflect the same ambivalent ecosophy, conveying comparable power relations between viewer and subject, and high modality is prevalent across images. These findings can inform the production of multimodal media products such as documentaries, thereby raising public awareness and supporting ecological activism.
Keywords
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