Connectives as indicators of explicitation in literary translation

Abstract This study aims to answer three questions: (1) whether there are differences in the frequency of use of connectives between translated and non-translated Catalan literary texts; (2) whether these differences (if they exist) are sensitive to the type of semantic relation conveyed; and (3) to what extent they are due to explicitation or other factors. Quantitative analysis reveals that there is no significant difference in the overall frequency of occurrence of connectives in translations and non-translations, but the behaviour of connectives in translations is sensitive to the type of semantic relation conveyed. Moreover, the higher frequency of connectives expressing consequence in translations seems to be related to explicitation. Qualitative analysis suggests that explicitation is strongly associated with two factors: the semantic relation conveyed by the connective being part of the common ground shared by participants, and the predominance of the procedural function of the connective.