The Nature of the Culture Bound Words and Problems of Translation (original) (raw)
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Actele celei de-a XX-a Conferinţe Științifice Limba română – modernitate și continuitate în cercetarea lingvistică, București (20-21 noiembrie 2020), 2021
The present article, part of Translation Studies, aims to highlight the fundamental quality of the Translator, perceived as a cultural mediator, able to interpret the expressions, intentions, perceptions, and expectations of each cultural group to the other, as David Katan states in his book, Translating Cultures (1999: 12). Beyond their linguistic knowledge in at least two languages, any translator should be familiarized with the cultural dimension of the source-language, as well as that of the target-language, since a translation can never become the carbon copy of an original text, the latter being adapted to the new language and culture, and to its new reading public. Our study, still in progress, relies on a series of translations carried out within a practical translation course (German-Romanian) at the Leipzig University. Several examples from Adam Fletcher‘s bilingual guide How to be German in 50 new steps/Wie man Deutscher wird. In 50 neuen Schritten (2016) illustrate the cultural incongruities, the lexical non-equivalences and the so-called abusive fidelity of the original (Venuti, in Gentzler 2001: 39). We will draw attention to various culturemes, such as bagel, Schorle, Einschulung, Zuckertüte, Volkshochschule or Ampelmännchen, and their possible Romanian equivalents. Our aim is, firstly, to demonstrate that there are no perfect translations, but authentic variants in the target language, and, secondly, that translators should resemble acrobats, always vigilant to the thin line separating success from failure in a translation.
Cultural Issues in Translation
Translation is recognised as an act of culture-specific communication. A translator is the 'first reader' of the other culture as is shown in the foreign language text and, consequently, has to present the other in a primary process. For him learning to translate means 'learning to read', i.e. to produce meanings which are acceptable for the cultural community the reader belongs to. Each translated text for a target public that has no access to the original, is the source for a different and new way of reading, which implies a major responsibility for the translator. As it has been observed, such interaction between two or more cultures in the process of translation results in a creation of a 'hybrid' text, which appears in the target culture by adopting some of the features of the text in the source culture. As a matter of fact, a hybrid text can be described as a product of a compromise between two or more cultures. The paper will concentrate on the kinds of the interaction and intercultural activity, which refer to 'translating between cultures'. The basis for discussion will be literary texts by Vladimir Nabokov as well as Helen Fielding and lyrics of songs presented in different language versions of the musical Metro.
Culture - Specific Items And Literary Translation
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2013
In most societies literary translation is of vital importance for the very progress of the human society. Meanwhile, within this field, translation of culture -specific items is the challenging task to be performed by a translator. Translation is mainly concerned with a multitude of human relationships, involving the transposition of thoughts expressed in one language by one social group into the appropriate expression of another group. It entails a process of cultural decoding, re-coding and en-coding. More and more each day cultures are brought into greater contact with one another and the translator is greatly entailed with numberless of multicultural considerations. Therefore, they influence us when we are trying to comprehend a text before finally translating it. This is because we are not just dealing with words written in a certain time, space and sociopolitical situation but in a certain "cultural" aspect that should be taken into account. This whole process is reflected before the eyes of the target reader and it should make him feel the text credible. Thus, in the present paper attempts are made to explore the concept of literary translation. Finally, the discussion is restricted to culture-specific items, presenting the possible relevant solutions.
The Impact of Culture on Translation الفراهيدي آداب جملة The Impact of Culture on Translation
One of the most important approaches to translation is the socio-semiotic or cultural approach which means that translation is not restricted to the meanings of sounds, words, grammar and rhetoric but it goes beyond mere correspondences to cultural presuppositions and value systems which create a different world picture specific to every culture (Nida, 1985:121). This paper aims at pointing different problematic areas in translation that result from differences in culture to which the two languages belong.
THE CONCEPT OF "LACUNA" IN TRANSLATION STUDIES
Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research (AJMR) , 2020
This article is devoted to the issues of the application of the term "lacuna" in the field of translation, a cross-sectional aspect with other concepts that are "not translated". In linguistics and translation, the concept of "lacuna" differs among themselves in terms of its description, classification criteria and scope of application, etc., given to it by scientists. In translation, the phenomenon of lacunarity is studied within the framework of Lexicon, which is not equivalent.
CULTURAL PROBLEMS OF EQUIVALENCES IN LITERARY TRANSLATION
The point of this examination is to research the translation strategies that prompted cultural losses and to underscore the important job of the interpreter as a cultural insider.Translating artistic is by all accounts the hardest undertaking to do, as a result of the cultural blocks which are confronting the translation procedure. Since the translation procedure is occurring between two different dialects, and as a conspicuous aftereffect of the communication between the two dialects, the translation procedure happens between the two different societies too, this is the reason the researcher have handled the exploration matter with the end goal to appear and comprehend the conceivable cultural deterrents that may the interpreter go over amid the deciphering procedure. Translating literature is dangerous essentially on the grounds that it includes translating the allegorical or metaphorical implications of writings. There is dependably a setting in which the translation happens, dependably a history behind a content and into which a content is transported, dependably an individual (the interpreter) having a place with a specific culture and a social foundation and dependably a readership whom the interpreter has as a top priority. The analysis obviously depicts the entanglements of translation and underscores the significance of cultural mindfulness when endeavoring to communicate. This paper has a tendency to examine the cultural hindrances in literary prose works with the end goal to get to the base of these issues and attempt to locate a genuine feasible solutions to treat them.
Linguistic and Cultural Problems in Translation
Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Education, Language, Literature, and Arts (ICELLA 2021), 2021
Cultural problems in translation arise due to differences between the two languages in expressing identity and lifestyle. Translators will find it difficult to translate abstract or concrete concepts in the source language/culture (SL/C), completely unknown in the target language/culture (TL/C). This paper addresses two problems namely linguistic problems and cultural problems. Linguistic problems include lexical, morphological, syntactical, and semantic problems. The cultural problems include terms in ecology, terms related to cultural objects,terms related to life like society, work and leisure, and terms related to organization, customs, activities, procedures, and concepts. The data was gathered from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit or There and Back Again" and its Indonesian translation "Hobit atau Pergi dan Kembali" which is translated by A. Adiwiyoto. The findings show that there are many adjustments as well as the phenomenon of equivalence between the two languages. The meaning that the author wants to convey, the structure of words and sentences, point of view, rhyme, wordplay, context, socio-cultural, and geographical conditions are things that affect the form of translation presented. These findings suggest that the use of good approaches, methods, and procedures will result in an acceptable translation and convey the meaning of the SL without having to sacrifice many things.
Translation as a Confront of Languages and Cultures
Alba Teneqexhi, 2013
Translation remains the most complicated and unknown phenomenon. The process of translation is the subject of research of recent times, among other things, established the systematic analysis of the translation formulations created by interpreters and linguists in different eras and places. Necessarily translation is closely connected with the multiplicity of the ways of thinking and as a consequence I have treated this occurrence as a confront of cultures, in a confrontation that must reach a balance and a measurability of losses or supplements during the hard work of the translator: of this being that 'sits in the shade and makes light'. Herein, different treatments and considerations on the problems of translation and cultural connotations that confront and interject best in the binomial culturetranslation. In this research are presented different approaches and considerations on the problem of translation and cultural connotations, which are faced and interlinked best in culture binomial -translation. As a result of this research turns out that contacts between two languages define linguistic modifications to the systems that much so that translation can be best seen as a rewriting, as a manipulation that expresses the power of a culture over another.
The Issue of Translating Culture: A Literary Case in Focus
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2012
Translation is a social practice which inevitably involves at least two languages and two different cultural identities. There are some cultural concepts and cultural phenomena that are present in one language but not present (in the same way) in another. Nord (1997: 34) uses the term 'cultureme' to refer to these culture-specific items. The problem of how to render culture-specific items (especially in literary translation) implied in the source text (ST) and finding the appropriate equivalence conveying these cultural aspects successfully in the target language (TL) can be the most challenging task for the translator. This paper attempts at exploring the problems involved in the transferring of 'cultureme' in translation of a literary text (Blind Owl) from Persian into English. In this regard, instances of culture-specific items were compared by their translations. After analyzing data, it was observed that the strategies used in dealing with culture-specific items in the process of translation by D. P. Costello were 'Cultural Equivalence', 'Generic word with a descriptive phrase (paraphrasing)' and in rare cases 'domesticating' translation.