The manifestation of affordances

Research into retranslations has predominantly taken a textual approach by comparing the different versions of the same source text. Consequently, the reasons given for retranslation tend to focus on linguistic or cultural factors, which often include the retranslator’s aim to produce a new and better version to suit the reader. But what if retranslation occurs not by deliberate intent, but rather as “an opportunity for action” created by the environment? This study explores different types of “affordances” and identifies the events that prompted translators to undertake Dutch retranslations of Lu Xun’s short stories. The findings show that the combination of circumstances is more important than the desire to surpass existing translations, for without these affordances the translator would probably not have had the opportunity to translate these texts.