Masoumeh Mehrbi; Behrooz Mahmoodi Bakhtiari
Abstract
Given the significance of cultural considerations and cultural categories in determining appropriate translation equivalents, this paper discusses the cultuling of ‘insult’ based on Iraj Pezeshkzad’s My Uncle Napoleon translated by Dick Davis into English and the original Persian version ...
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Given the significance of cultural considerations and cultural categories in determining appropriate translation equivalents, this paper discusses the cultuling of ‘insult’ based on Iraj Pezeshkzad’s My Uncle Napoleon translated by Dick Davis into English and the original Persian version of the novel where there can be found so many linguistic segments containing or conveying insulting connotations. Cultuling refers to those pieces of language which are the manifestation of cultural concepts since language is the representation of culture, and it is also bounded by culture. The investigation of insults just like cursing and swearing are common issues in language and culture, especially when considered in two languages. That is the real motive for conducting the present inquiry, and more importantly, perfect translation needs cultural knowledge. As for the research methodology, Del Hymes’s (1967) SPEAKING model as a discourse/ qualitative method as well as frequency effects as the quantitative method were employed. Applying this methodology, the speakers’ motivation for the use of insults is found in this culture. Moreover, the cultural differences leading to and manifested in linguistic differences are discussed. Meanwhile, strategies for appropriate equivalents were laid out. The results are of use and value for the entrenchment of the cognitive-cultural views of translation studies as well as socio-cultural studies of linguistic issues. The data analysis shows that these insults form around the pivotal centers of animals, body part, human characteristics, personality traits, human behavior, dignity, honor, reputation, originality and dependence to family. The results show that sexual(nāmūsi) insults are more frequent for which the cultural explanations were offered.
Binazir Khajepoor; Ali Khazaee Farid; Masood Khoshsaligheh
Abstract
1. IntroductionThis study investigates the relationship between culture and translation. The concept of Culture Repertoire advocated by Even-Zohar was used as the framework of the study, and the English translation of the Persian novel My Uncle Napoleon was selected as the case study. This novel as the ...
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1. IntroductionThis study investigates the relationship between culture and translation. The concept of Culture Repertoire advocated by Even-Zohar was used as the framework of the study, and the English translation of the Persian novel My Uncle Napoleon was selected as the case study. This novel as the corpus under investigation contains over 230,000 words in 462 pages. Given the focus and attention the book has received, it is an appropriate case for investigating the Iranian culture as it is obviously rich with symbols representing the local culture. The theoretical framework elaborates on the root and the origin of Culture Repertoire by drawing on the Jacobsen’s linguistic model. In addition, the concept of Culture Repertoire as a part of Even-Zohar’ cultural conception is delineated with examples and clarifying explanations.2. MethodologyThis descriptive study is an attempt to address two questions. First, it explores the categories of Iranian culture repertoremes and secondly the attitude of the Iranian translators towards them. To explore the fixed expressions in Persian language, a number of specialized websites in Persian poetry, the Holy Quran, and a number of major religious-literary texts were reviewed. In addition to these sources, some software programs for literary and religious texts were also benefitted. To obtain the translated English phrases, the Coca Corpus, which is the largest available English corpus was used in addition to Webster’s Big Dictionary. But to collect the data from the original text and the translated one, taking notes was benefited. Due to the qualitative nature of the study, purposive sampling technique was used for forming the sample and later grounded theory procedures were employed to analyze the data. That is, the culture repertoremes in the source text along with their translations were extracted, and then using grounded theory, the Iranian cultural repertoire diagram was plotted. More specifically, each repertoreme, depending on the type, got a label and the given labels were in the same category, and the resulting chart thus was formed from the bottom up. For example, the label ‘religious proper names’ including items like Imam Reza and the label ‘historic proper names’ including items such as Muhammad Ali Shah were placed under the general subsidiary label ‘proper names’.3. DiscussionThe achieved diagram comprises two main branches of material and semiotic repertoremes at the highest level which is consistent with the Even-Zohar’s conceptualization. Material items included repertoremes from which the materials are formed such as certain types of food in different cultures, or conventional clothing items such as the repertoreme Charghad in the Iranian culture. Semiotic repertoremes consist of items which hearing, reading, expressing, or using them strike an idea in the mind of the people of a particular culture whereas the people of other cultures are not reminded of anything. For example, a location-related proper name label such as Ahwaz has special connotations and indications with itself for the Iranian people—the concepts of the south, heat, war, etc. But for someone who was born and raised in London, for example, Ahwaz does not stimulate anything in particular because that person draws on a different cultural repertoire. In the branch of semiotic repertoremes, all fixed expressions, innuendos, proverbs and collocations which are frequently used in Persian colloquial conversations, are accounted as Iranian culture repertoremes. Examples in Persian language could include the collocation spoon and fork, the equivalents of which in English is knife and fork. Such collocations in each of these languages have been created, formed and fixed based on the eating traditions in those cultures. Thus, fixed expressions in languages are considered as culture repertoremes. In the Poly-system theory advocated by Even-Zohar, human social life consists of different systems that overlap. Naturally in the cultural system, some components are found from the religious and literary systems.4. ConclusionAfter the achieved classification, the data were analyzed by reviewing the English translation of these Persian repertoremes. The translator of the novel had used the strategies of addition, transcription, familiarization, exclusion, expansion and neutralization. The descriptive information including frequency and percentage of the repertoremes, groups and their translation strategies are calculated and presented. Moreover, the strategy groups are compared and contrasted. The overall strategy is also illustrated in a diagram for further clarity. The findings reveal that the translator’s most frequently used strategies in terms of the Persian culture repertoremes are neutralization and familiarization strategy, respectively.
