Translation Studies
marzieh malekshahi; Ghodrat Hassani
Abstract
This paper conducts a postcolonial analysis of A.J. Arberry's 1960 English translation of the Taḏkerat al-awliāʾ (Memorial of God's Friends) by Farid ud-Din ʿAṭṭār. While ʿAṭṭār's 12th-century biographical compilation offers profound insights into Persian Sufi traditions through its portraits ...
Read More
This paper conducts a postcolonial analysis of A.J. Arberry's 1960 English translation of the Taḏkerat al-awliāʾ (Memorial of God's Friends) by Farid ud-Din ʿAṭṭār. While ʿAṭṭār's 12th-century biographical compilation offers profound insights into Persian Sufi traditions through its portraits of Islamic mystics, Arberry's translation reflects mid-20th century Orientalist perspectives common among Western scholars. Through close examination of Arberry's translation strategies—including selective abridgement, extractive appropriation, interpretive additions, mythologizing language, and reductive section divisions—this study reveals how his Orientalist positioning influenced his rendering of the text. The analysis demonstrates how Arberry's ideological framework led him to reshape ʿAṭṭār's work to align with Western expectations and colonial attitudes, thereby reinforcing unequal power dynamics in cross-cultural representation. The paper argues that Arberry's translation choices, from his organizational framework to his selective emphasis, ultimately serve to filter this seminal Persian text through a distinctly Orientalist lens.
Translation Studies
Elham Safi Keikaleh; Ali Khazaee Farid
Abstract
The history of translation of American fiction into Persian is one of the underresearched areas in translation studies. To fill part of the gap in the literature, the present study aims to identify the influential magazines and publishers in introducing and translating American fiction from the beginning ...
Read More
The history of translation of American fiction into Persian is one of the underresearched areas in translation studies. To fill part of the gap in the literature, the present study aims to identify the influential magazines and publishers in introducing and translating American fiction from the beginning to the late 1960s. First, the list of short stories and novels translated during the period under study was extracted from the bibliographies and other related resources. Then, by referring to the original works and the information contained therein, the bibliography of American novels and short stories which were translated into Persian from the beginning to the end of 1970 was compiled. In the next stage, given the information related to the publishers of the works listed in the compiled bibliography, we identified those publishers who had a significant role in introducing American works to Iranians as well as in the flourishing of the translation of these works in the 50s and the 60s. The results suggest that the translation of American stories began piecemeal in the 1920s through institutions such as Khavar and Biryani Shabistari and flourished from the late 1940s to the 1960s with the establishment of institutions such as Ibn-e Sina, Amirkabir, Keyhan and particularly, Franklin Book Program.
Translation Studies
nosrat hejazi; Maryam Davoudi
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the trilingual advertisment of Emirates airlines by three levels of analysis in translatological eco-paradigm presented by Gangshen Hu in (2004/2020). It seeks to investigate how does this company increase the effectiveness and acceptance of its brand in the destination ...
Read More
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the trilingual advertisment of Emirates airlines by three levels of analysis in translatological eco-paradigm presented by Gangshen Hu in (2004/2020). It seeks to investigate how does this company increase the effectiveness and acceptance of its brand in the destination ecosystem by "adapting" and "selecting" the (para/peri)text of its advertisements? It is assumed that, the (para/peri)textual elements accommodated in the content & form of the ad, and also adequate “adaptation” and “selection” of linguistico-cultural ecosystems would maximize the optimal communicative effect on target audience.The results indicate that the (para/perه)textual elements (color, sound, schema, logo...) in the Emirates advertisements are more prominent than the linguistic aspects. Also, the "cultural dimension" has achieved a higher level of paratextual language by selecting multiple elements, codes and universal symbols (such as rhythm, dance, and physical-sportive movements) and therefore has created a higher impact factor among audiences.
Translation Studies
Kaveh Bolouri
Abstract
By Employing Hermans’ (2022) approach to translation historiography and drawing on Baker’s (2006) narrative theory along with the notion of framing through selective appropriation, the present study focuses on the first forty-one issues of Ruznameh-ye Vaqaye’e Etefaqiyeh to investigate ...
Read More
By Employing Hermans’ (2022) approach to translation historiography and drawing on Baker’s (2006) narrative theory along with the notion of framing through selective appropriation, the present study focuses on the first forty-one issues of Ruznameh-ye Vaqaye’e Etefaqiyeh to investigate the role of translation in challenging the discourse of royal despotism and crystallizing the discourse of progress as a result in Iran under Qajar Dynasty. To do so, first the translated section in the newspaper was analyzed to see what texts had been selected for translation. The data was then organized around some themes to see how the selected news had (re)narrated the royal despotism discourse. The results showed that the greatest number of news items had concentrated on political/intellectual developments in Europe which clearly undermined the discourse in question.
Translation Studies
Mojtaba Khalifeh; Ali Najafzadeh; Saeed Ameri
Abstract
Despite their significance, translation studies scholars have given little scholarly attention to periodicals. This study aims to elucidate the status of translation, the language of translation, the content of translated texts, the backgrounds of the translators and societal reactions to translation ...
Read More
Despite their significance, translation studies scholars have given little scholarly attention to periodicals. This study aims to elucidate the status of translation, the language of translation, the content of translated texts, the backgrounds of the translators and societal reactions to translation in the three magazines of Danesh, Al-Kamal, and Dabestan. Findings indicate that translation held significant importance in these magazines, aligning with their objectives. A considerable volume of their content comprised translated texts from French, Arabic and English. The content of these translations encompassed a diverse range of social, cultural and scientific issues, including biographies, novels, and discussions on scientific and religious topics. The translators of these journals were often journalists, merchants, and civil servants who engaged in translation of foreign publications and books informally. Translation within Mashhad had few issues, but translations conflicting with Islamic and Iranian culture faced opposition from clergymen.
Translation Studies
Samaneh Farhadi; Behzad Ghaderi Sohi
Abstract
Employing Bourdieu's “theory of practice”, this research examines Jamalzadeh’s position in Iran’s literary field and his motives for translating Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. First, the field of theater and the subfield of dramatic translation in the 1940s are reviewed. Then, ...
Read More
Employing Bourdieu's “theory of practice”, this research examines Jamalzadeh’s position in Iran’s literary field and his motives for translating Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. First, the field of theater and the subfield of dramatic translation in the 1940s are reviewed. Then, Jamalzadeh’s habitus as a “translator in self-exile” is explored and the 1950s events leading to the 1953 coup are paralleled to those of the drama. Furthermore, deploying Bourdieu's and Derrida’s notions of “trajectory” and the “ideal translator,” respectively, Jamalzadeh’s earlier writings, including Saharay-e Mahshar, are analyzed to explore his position and the possible reasons behind his Ibsen translation. The research demonstrates how silenced voices in history can be heard through translations. Moreover, based on a sociological analysis of this translation, the authors argue that Jamalzadeh chooses Ibsen's text as a tool for identifying the then-political elites’ shortsightedness as the root cause of confusion among the people.
Translation Studies
Elnaz Aliazam; Masood Khoshsaligheh; Abdullah Nowruzy; Azadeh Eriss
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the techniques adopted by Iranian translators in translating non-normative social content in children’s literature from English to Persian. The corpus of the study included three Persian translations of the novel Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988). First, the social non-normative ...
Read More
This study aimed to investigate the techniques adopted by Iranian translators in translating non-normative social content in children’s literature from English to Persian. The corpus of the study included three Persian translations of the novel Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988). First, the social non-normative content was categorized into two main categories: verbal and non-verbal (behavioral). The verbal category was divided into insults, threats, and lying, while the non-verbal category was divided into aggressive behavior, child negligence, physical child abuse, and revenge. Secondly, a functionalist model developed by Molina and Albir (2002) was employed to identify social non-normative text strings in the original and explore their equivalents in the Persian translations. The results of the study indicated that the translators primarily employed a literal translation approach. The high frequency of using the “literal translation technique” resulted in preserving the negative implications of the social non-normative content.
Translation Studies
Somaye Delzendehrooy
Abstract
The initiation of translation from European languages in Iran during the Qajar era was driven by the need to acquire new sciences. This motive remains as one of the primary drivers for translation, particularly from European languages, to this day. Therefore, examining the agency of translation in introducing ...
Read More
The initiation of translation from European languages in Iran during the Qajar era was driven by the need to acquire new sciences. This motive remains as one of the primary drivers for translation, particularly from European languages, to this day. Therefore, examining the agency of translation in introducing various sciences to Iran seems essential. This study investigates the agency of translation in facilitating the academic introduction of psychology to Iran during the 1960s. It focuses on the institutions, such as the Safialishah Publication and the Kaviyan journal, and individuals, including the Moshfegh Hamedani brothers and Ali-Akbar Kasmaei, who had agency in this process from 1920-1960. A detailed examination of the translated works along with the activities of these key figures, as well as a study of their introductions, reveals the significant role that translation and translators played in laying the groundwork for the academic establishment of psychology in Iran.
Translation Studies
Mahboubeh Khalili; Behzad Pourgharib; Sajedeh Pourshabani
Abstract
This study investigated how the concept of gender as it relates to femininity was modified in movie adaptations of literary works through intersemiotic translation. Two movies, Pari (1995) and Mom’s Guest (2004), which were directed by Dariush Mehrjui, along with their respective original works ...
Read More
This study investigated how the concept of gender as it relates to femininity was modified in movie adaptations of literary works through intersemiotic translation. Two movies, Pari (1995) and Mom’s Guest (2004), which were directed by Dariush Mehrjui, along with their respective original works were selected as the research corpus. Perdikaki's (2017) model was used to examine the key elements of storytelling, including plot, narrative techniques, characterization and setting, and the data were then analyzed using an integrative theoretical framework. Results indicated that by employing a de-feminizing technique and highlighting the influential traits of women, the director challenged societal stereotypes and portrayed female characters in a more empowered manner than in the original works. Also, Pari, an adaptation of a foreign work, has undergone more changes due to cultural considerations than Mom’s Guest which is an adaptation of an Iranian story.
Translation Studies
Roya Monsefi
Abstract
The present descriptive-comparative case study used purposive sampling based on the framework of Tabibzadeh. Fifteen translations of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were examined to determine the translators' strategies in transferring the ideological load of the original text and the ups ...
Read More
The present descriptive-comparative case study used purposive sampling based on the framework of Tabibzadeh. Fifteen translations of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were examined to determine the translators' strategies in transferring the ideological load of the original text and the ups and downs of social-class conflicts between the characters through their use of language. The narrator of the story was an illiterate boy who spoke in non-standard English which could make the translation challenging for the translators. The analysis of the mentioned 15 translations revealed that when the translators brought the text closer to the conversation by using informal words and conversational syntax, the translation had more coherence, and when the translators used non-standard colloquial words the transparency and fluency of the text were disrupted which could ultimately lead to serious loss in Persian language by introducing unfamiliar words.
Translation Studies
Abolfazl Horri
Abstract
This article compares four Persian translations of Shakespearean sonnets, analyzing selected verses through the lens of Holmes’s translation strategies. The study aims to identify prevailing translation strategies. According to Holmes, the translated poetry is a ‘meta-poetry’, and the ...
Read More
This article compares four Persian translations of Shakespearean sonnets, analyzing selected verses through the lens of Holmes’s translation strategies. The study aims to identify prevailing translation strategies. According to Holmes, the translated poetry is a ‘meta-poetry’, and the translator, a ‘meta-poet’, attempts to recreate the verbal essence within a structure that closely mirrors the original poem. The employed methodology is qualitative-analytical and is positioned within the framework of translation studies. The four types of meta-poem—imitative, analogical, organic, and deviant—are categorized into two approaches: the first two are form-derivative, while the latter two are content-derivative. Results show that Tabibzadeh’s translation follows an analogical strategy, producing translations that resemble the meta-poetry of Shakespearean sonnets in Persian. Tafazzoli’s translation is form-derivative, Moghadam’s translation employs a deviant strategy, and Abjadiyan’s translation adopts a middle path. Overall, this study highlights the importance of translation strategies in creating effective and faithful translations of poetry.
Translation Studies
Sedigheh Sherkat Moghadam
Abstract
Nowadays, translation studies can be used as a tool for analyzing literary texts in the field of imagology. Among literary texts, plays play an important role in presenting the image of the national identity of each country. Molière presented the image of French national identity in the 17th century ...
Read More
Nowadays, translation studies can be used as a tool for analyzing literary texts in the field of imagology. Among literary texts, plays play an important role in presenting the image of the national identity of each country. Molière presented the image of French national identity in the 17th century in her plays.This research aims to study the transformation of images in the translation of The Misanthrope by Mirzahabibullah Esfahani. For this, we will adapt Ditze's point of view in the field of imagology and Etkind's opinions regarding translation. By analyzing and comparing the images of the source text with those of the target text, we will examine the changes that have occurred. This research shows that the translator modified some images intentionally or not. His translation falls into the categories of translation-approximation and translation-recreation according to Etkind's opinion
Translation Studies
Pardis Qasemi; Sima Ferdowsi; Najmeh Bahrami Nazarabadi
Abstract
Interest in computer-assisted interpreting tools has increased as a result of the desire to prevent cognitive saturation during interpreting. The present study examined the quality of interpreting numbers by Microsoft Translator and professional simultaneous interpreters. For this purpose, a collection ...
Read More
Interest in computer-assisted interpreting tools has increased as a result of the desire to prevent cognitive saturation during interpreting. The present study examined the quality of interpreting numbers by Microsoft Translator and professional simultaneous interpreters. For this purpose, a collection of political speeches delivered at the United Nations was gathered. The results showed that there was no significant difference between Microsoft Translator and professional interpreters in terms of interpreting numbers. There was a significant difference in the error categories across the types of numbers, indicating that interpreting errors varied depending on the type of number. The findings of this research suggest that Microsoft Translator could be a useful tool for assisting human interpreters during simultaneous interpreting. In other words, Microsoft Translator could provide a quick and accurate interpreting of numbers, alleviating the cognitive burden on human interpreters and enabling them to focus their attention on other aspects of the conversation.
Translation Studies
Mahbube Noura; Seyyed Mohammadreza Hashemi
Abstract
This research aims to investigate the extent to which word choice in translation is influenced by intra-textual or extra-textual factors, or whether the use of bilingual dictionary equivalents is adequate for the translator. To this end, the translation of two common adjectives, “Good” and ...
Read More
This research aims to investigate the extent to which word choice in translation is influenced by intra-textual or extra-textual factors, or whether the use of bilingual dictionary equivalents is adequate for the translator. To this end, the translation of two common adjectives, “Good” and “Bad”, in the novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling was analyzed. The findings revealed that word choice in translation is predominantly intra-textual, and that extra-textual word choice, i.e., word choice based on bilingual dictionaries, is not effective in translation - especially in literary translation. The translator mainly relies on the text and the relations in it to select the appropriate words, and this is more evident in the case of some linguistic features of the text. One of these linguistic features is the collocational relation between words, which plays a crucial role in determining the meaning and affecting its textuality.
Translation Studies
Ali Najafzadeh; Saeed Ameri
Abstract
Theatrical performances, such as lamentation have always been part of Iranian society and have a long history. However, theater as a cultural and modern phenomenon was introduced to Iranian society in the late Qajar period. In theater, the content of the show, the performance or acting style, and the ...
Read More
Theatrical performances, such as lamentation have always been part of Iranian society and have a long history. However, theater as a cultural and modern phenomenon was introduced to Iranian society in the late Qajar period. In theater, the content of the show, the performance or acting style, and the language used to convey concepts are three crucial elements. Historical studies and translation studies have so far addressed various aspects of theater translation. Nevertheless, the role of language and translation in theater in Mashhad, especially from the Constitutional Revolution to the Islamic Revolution, has been virtually ignored. This paper aims to examine the language and translation as two main elements of theater in Mashhad and analyzes what changes Mashhad’s theater experienced from the first performances in the late Qajar period to the Islamic Revolution. In doing so, drawing on a library method, primary sources, including all Mashhad newspapers from the Constitutional period to the Islamic Revolution, such as Aftab-e-Shargh, Azadi, Bahar, Chaman, Khorasan, Seda-ye Khorasan, Nava-ye Khorasan, etc., were investigated and all the themes related to the theater were extracted. Then, using research and secondary sources, the results related to language and translation were presented in a descriptive-analytical manner. Findings suggest that the early forms of theaters in Mashhad were performed in Turkish. Then Turkish translation was replaced by theaters in Persian. In the first Pahlavi era, the translation of Russian works flourished in Iran, and the translation of prominent Turkish, English, and French works was also added to this trend since 1951. During this period, the quality of translation significantly declined as adaptation or free translation became the norm in play translation. In the 1960s, with the emergence of new theater groups in Mashhad, Persian became the dominant language of this art in Mashhad.
Translation Studies
Ebrahim Ezzati Larsari; Hamid Ghasemi; Behnam Asheghi
Abstract
The present research investigated the reports of wrestling reporters to present a specific model for translating conceptual metaphors. This study was qualitative and corpus-based. To this end, 20 reports from the World Wrestling Cup series in 2022 were randomly selected and analyzed through linguistic-based ...
Read More
The present research investigated the reports of wrestling reporters to present a specific model for translating conceptual metaphors. This study was qualitative and corpus-based. To this end, 20 reports from the World Wrestling Cup series in 2022 were randomly selected and analyzed through linguistic-based content analysis. The analysis showed that metaphors constituted more than 8% of the reports on average. Therefore, the most frequent metaphorical sentences in these reports were identified and finally, a specific context-oriented translation model for conceptual metaphors was developed for wrestling sports reports. Considering the importance of accurate translation to find the most relevant concept in the target language, and also considering that many researchers regard metaphor translation as the most challenging problem of translation, the specific context-oriented translation model for conceptual metaphors was designed and introduced for sports reports, especially wrestling.
Translation Studies
Shirin Sheikholeslami; Samar Ehteshami
Abstract
Audio description is one of the sub-branches of audiovisual translation, which has achieved significant growth in recent years. The current study examined the description of characters’ facial expressions of emotion in Persian audio described films. Facial expressions of emotions were initially ...
Read More
Audio description is one of the sub-branches of audiovisual translation, which has achieved significant growth in recent years. The current study examined the description of characters’ facial expressions of emotion in Persian audio described films. Facial expressions of emotions were initially analyzed based on Ekman and Friesen’s (2003) model. Next, we designed a questionnaire based on the proposed model and asked 50 participants to answer the questions. It was found that 60.18% of the emotions were lost in translation. The most frequently described emotions were sadness, surprise, anger, happiness and fear, in that order. The results of the first and second phases were consistent since the participants mentioned that the description of emotions were insufficient.
