COGNITIVE AND CULTURAL TRANSFER IN SELFTRANSLATION: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF LANA BASTAŠIĆ’S CATCH THE RABBIT

Abstract

This paper conducts an interdisciplinary translation studies analysis in the context of the self-translation of Lana Bastašić’s novel Catch the Rabbit. It primarily focuses on mechanisms of cultural filtration and the resolution of systemic anisomorphism between Serbian and English. Grounded in the concept of authorial sovereignty, the research deciphers the specific strategies through which the author-translator reconceptualizes the original chronotope, prioritizing affective resonance over formal lexical equivalence. Through a qualitative exegesis of gastronomic realia translation, the depoliticization of toponyms, and the pragmatic adaptation of social registers, a conscious departure from traditional sociolinguistic traduction is identified. The findings indicate that the final target-language text functions as an autonomous artistic entity, utilizing the phatic function of language to preserve a specific sense of Otherness and the atmospheric veracity of the source. The study contributes to the theory of self-translation by highlighting the significance of authorial interventionism within the framework of global literary distribution.