The challenges of translating literature k international. One of the problems a translator can face arises from the. Chapter ii the problems of translation the process of translation is often hindered by structural, lexical and contextual constraints. Literary texts display many linguistic peculiarities, as well as social and cultural aspects of our lives and, thus, we can assert that literary translation is one of the main ways of communication across cultures. A guest post by sarah alys lindholm my name is sarah alys lindholm, and i have a secret identity. Indeed, the oxford history of literary translation in english runs to five whole volumes, such is the depth and complexity of the subject. Less research and thinking has been done on document translation to investigate its problems, challenges, translation.
Procedia social and behavioral sciences 59 2012 328 a 334 18770428 2011 published by elsevier ltd. Translation has been used by humans for centuries, beginning after the appearance of written literature. The beginning of the thesis entitled a brief and general. An investigation on grammatical and lexical problems in the. Initially, the translation of literary works novels, short stories, plays, poems, etc. The translation courses offered at many universities in bangladesh and overseas treat the subject mostly as an outcome of applied linguistics. Thus, translation problems may be linguistic andor cultural. Yet, the need for translation between languages and cultures, particularly between europe and its neighbouring regions, and in particular the arab world, has never been greater. Pdf literary translation difficulties researchgate. Types and methods of translation the question whether a translation should be literal or free is as old as translation itself. In the modern scenario the problems of translation most specifically, literary translation have increased multifold.
Literary creativeness is, therefore, needed not only during the writing of the original work, but also during the translation of it. First, the problem is decided upon, many examples from different texts in. An owner of this process should feel the words and should have a skill of describing, interpreting them in the translation. Poetry and translation contemporary theories although most studies in the field of translation studies focus on literary. However, the latter differs in that it is not freestanding, as it is intrinsically linked to the form and tone of the original work. Review of translation theory gives a brief account of the history of. Some problems in literary text translations 143 should be characterized by naturalness of expression in the translation and that it should relate to the culture of the receptor. It is useful to think of these problems under two headings. The disagreement voiced by translation theorists as regards the problems that are involved in the process of literary translation stems from the confusion between a literary text and a literary translation. Literary translation article about literary translation by.
Difficulties of literary translation translating between a. The discussion will focus on the linguistic problems the. So when it comes to translating a book or, more generally, literary translation, one must use its creativity at the maximum. Main issues of translation studies key texts holmes, james s. In fact, literature is distinguished by its aesthetics. The problems of literary translation are still open to confucting debates and individual proposals. Those are varieties of literal translation, but literal translation can affect larger units than the word and the longer the unit, the rarer the onetoone. Introduction getting to know literary translation, analyzing literary texts, and, finally, presenting an equivalent translation are the aims of the curriculum for the german translator study program and issues in teaching practical.
And the translator should master the theory and practice of literary translation throughout his whole life. Cultural problems in literary translation from english. Literary texts are excluded from the data used for the study. It analyzes university students translations of english literary texts in an attempt to identify the basic problems jordanian translation students encounter, strategies and processes students follow to account for these problems. Literary translation from arabic into english in the united kingdom and ireland, 19902010 a report prepared by alexandra buchler and alice guthrie with research assistants barbora cerna and michal karas december 2011 making literature travel series of reports on literary exchange, translation and publishing series editor.
Abstract the aim of this paper is to explore the literary in literary translation. The routledge handbook of literary translation 1st edition. Cultural nuances of the language constitute the congenital merits of any literary work. Other aspects studied include how translation has been perceived over the centuries, the differences and the similarities between a writer and a translator, plus a detailed examination of translation as process, all of which bring the problems of literary translation into perspective. On the social and the cultural in translation studies.
This paper is concerned with some of the linguistic problems, mainly lexical and syntactic, and attempting to offer some solutions to them. That is why literary translation is a subject of disagreement among scholars and translators. Tackling a piece that runs in the region of hundreds of thousands of words is not an easy task, nor is attempting to recreate poetry in another language without losing the magnificence of the. In this book, both beginning and experienced translators will find pragmatic techniques for dealing with problems of literary translation, whatever the original language. In every case, it is intended to make something mean something else. An inquiry into the challenges of literary translation to. Therefore, the problems of literary translation are within the sphere of art and are subject to its specific laws. Suffice to say that literary translation has been taking place for thousands.
Translation procedures, strategies and methods by mahmoud ordudari abstract translating culturespecific concepts cscs in general and allusions in particular seem to be one of the most challenging tasks to be performed by a translator. Dissertation writing services from experienced team of writers high quality law dissertations to help you secure your final grade. Translation studies came from literary studies, where the text remains the thing. Pdf linguistic and cultural issues in literary translation. This kind of translation is not intended to do it literally, word by word. However, in the actual literary process, it is not always possible to draw a. The two modes of translation have some common problems as well as modespecific problems. This thesis explores the culture of literary translation from arabic to english. Translating literary texts, however, is not an easy task because it certainly poses many problems for the translator who should be bilingual and. The contribution of comparative historical semantics. Those features will be explained below in a simple way. If we use it only with modern language a literary translator should have a sensor power. Pdf translating the literary in literary translation. Translating the l iterary in literary translation in practice whereby linguacultural differences in a text, which could inform or affect the reader are effaced, homogenised, to conform to.
Certain challenges and certain themes recur in translation, whatever the language pair. Arabic into english and english into arabic translations. Meaning can be defined as a knotty arrangement or a product of different linguistic elements such as vocabulary, grammar, style, phonology and usage. The problems of literary translation a study of the theory and practice of translation from english into spanish peter lang oxford bern berlin bruxelles frankfurt am main new york wien. The work involved in making a translation of the bible is both exhilarating and exhausting. When you transfer that into the realm of translation, problems are inevitable. Im a translator, and with each year that goes by, more of our society understands what that means. Or rather, i have a very public identity which isnt immediately obvious. Unfortunately, the translators lay more emphasis on the translation of poetry. True, the impact of critical discourse theory, particularly as in foucault, has invited translation theorists to view both text and context in terms of discursive formations, effectively extending textuality into the social domain, where texts can become very big. For the strategy of literary translation one of the central concepts is the notion of the readers competence as a criterion of literary translation adequacy and appropriate translation strategy. For this reason, he is seen as being in the camp of those who advocate the domestication of translation.
Translation, literary article about translation, literary. Modernday translators use sophisticated tools and technologies to accomplish their work, and rely heavily on software applications to simplify and streamline their tasks. In literary translation it is not uncommon for some source language lexical items to be treated in this way, either because they are regarded as untranslatable or for the deliberate purpose of introducing local colour into the target language text. All translations require excellent knowledge of the target and source languages, as well as an understanding of the cultural background and context into which a document is being translated. A literary translation is truthfully a creative process. This nextgeneration volume brings together principles, case studies, precepts, histories and process knowledge from practitioners in sixteen different countries. Chapter three includes an overview of the data as well as the methodology that were used in analyzing the translation of collocations in literary texts, and how they are collected and investigated.
In translation practice and theoretical studies, document translation seems to draw less attention compared with literary translation. This includes the translation of literature from ancient languages and the translation of modern fiction so that it can reach a wider audience. Literary translation article about literary translation. The routledge handbook of literary translation provides an accessible, diverse and extensive overview of literary translation today. May 29, 2017 literary translation is the translation of creative and dramatic prose and poetry into other languages. Culture constitutes another major problem that faces translators. So it is no wonder that literary translation has many features, and, of course, certain difficulties. It begins with a discussion of what makes a text literary, focussing on some very famous literary works. Translating literary texts, however, is not an easy task, since it certainly poses many problems for the translator. An entire history of literary translation is far too big for the scope of a single article. Challenges and possibilities for world literature, global literature, and translation my starting point is the question of what links goethes notion of weltliteratur to world literature, with a particular focus on the matter of translation. Literary translation is significantly different from any other kind of translation.
Apr 25, 2019 literary translation is significantly different from any other kind of translation. This article deals with the problems in translating literary prose and reveals some pertinent solutions and also concentrates on the need to expand the perimeters of translation studies. A literary translation must reflect the imaginative, intellectual and intuitive writing of the author. Thus, brazilian theoreticians of literary translation treat a translator s work as a type of writing, or, to be more exact, rewriting, only this writing is not considered an ordi nary transcription, but rather an act of creation. Difficulties of literary translation translating between. Challenges in translating literature inbox translation. Aug 19, 20 a literary translation is truthfully a creative process.
The argument in favour of the spirit and sense as against the letter or the word has been going on at least from the beginning of the first century b. Pdf translating the literary in literary translation in. The problem of cultural translation occurs not only in the translation of folk literature but also in the case of sophisticated literatures. She pointed out that some of the major problems of translation are overtranslation, undertranslation, and untranslatability. Performing without a stage is a lively and comprehensive introduction to the art of literary translation for readers of foreign fiction and poetry who wonder what it takes to translate, how the art of literary translation has changed over the centuries, what problems translators face in bringing foreign works into english and how they go. Jakobson, roman 19592004 on linguistic aspects of translation. International journal of arabicenglish studies ijaes vol. Difficulties of literary translation translating between a rock and a hard place. Jakobson points out to the problem of equivalence of meaning, stating that there is ordinarily no full equivalence between codeunits cited in munday, 2008, p. In case of literary translation, however, the problems are both cultural and semantic, since the text is often more important than the words constituting it and in most cases more important than the word in isolation. However, problems of translation are mainly caused by syntax gram. Cultural problems in literary translation from english into. Apr 25, 2014 wordplay, as a literary device, has many forms.
The unification of human emotion can be exacted through translated literature as it familiarizes people with the. Some problems of translation from english into arabic. First, it is the total lack of literalness in translation. The issue of translation has remained as thorny as it is attractive in african oral literary discourse since the portuguese priest, andre fernandez, in 1562, translated inhambene song, the first translation of african folklore into european language doke 2 5. Just the volume of the texts sets this translation endeavour apart. Mar 12, 2015 the present study investigates the cultural problems involved in literary translation from english into arabic. It is exhilarating when translators consider the benefits, both spiritual and liter ary, that the rendering will provide to their readers.
It also approaches the problem of equivalence and that of translation units which are raised by the translation process itself and are therefore relevant to the problems of literary translation. It is important to understand the relation between. Among the lexical problems offered are the absence of direct tl counterparts, the different function of the tl counterpart, words with. Translation problems can be divided into linguistic problems and cultural problems. The present study investigates the cultural problems involved in literary translation from english into arabic. Contents acknowledgements 7 introduction 9 part one.
However a strict adherence to these principles seems a hard task to attain. Rhythmical, alliterative and onomatopoeic aspects have been hurdles at the lexical level. It is a wellknown fact that a good literary translator has to be a skilful writer at the same time. Literary translation is a type of translation which is distinguished from translation in general. Jan 01, 2001 in this book, both beginning and experienced translators will find pragmatic techniques for dealing with problems of literary translation, whatever the original language. Thus, brazilian theoreticians of literary translation treat a translator s work as a type of writing, or, to be more exact, rewriting, only this writing is not considered an ordi nary transcription, but. Request pdf cultural problems in literary translation from english into arabic translation is a process of cultural transfer that involves more than simple. Difficulties in literary translation literature poetry. An analytical study of some problems of literary translation. This guide proposes to help the translator navigate through them. Translation as a means of crosscultural communication. Discussion and evaluation the present discussion is divided into two areas. Literary translation differs from literary creativity in that its existence depends on the existence of an object of translation, a work to be translated. Problems and prospects 59 in translation, we do not translate a word, sound, style or grammar but meaning.
1412 641 1325 890 879 114 1287 1176 592 421 1378 424 1346 1464 398 373 37 704 1202 1223 1362 1377 579 771 401 1480 1280 536 843 635 881 907 1473 86 867 302 394 1176 1324 1