ABSTRACT
Riffaterre’s approach is restricted in scope, but it employs a general notion of intertextuality that transcends mere reference to individual sources. It acknowledges textual interdependence as a constitutive factor of textuality, but at the same time asserts the uniqueness of the literary work and the possibility of a complete decoding of it. In critical discourse analysis, intertextuality is explored in connection with a distinctive type of textual analysis, which focuses on the texts’ selective use of the existing “orders of discourse” and thus “draws attention to dependence upon society and history”. An approach to intertextuality that focuses on the translator’s decision-making and mediative role can be easily adjusted to support research on specific translation problems or challenges. The reorientation of translation studies at the turn of the century along the lines outlined was decisive in investigating the relationship between intertextuality and translation.
