The Translation of Wordplay from the Perspective of Relevance Theory: Translating Sexual Puns in two Shakespearian Tragedies into Galician and Spanish

The present paper aims to analyse the translation of puns from a relevance-theory perspective. According to such theoretical framework, the relation between a translation and its source text is considered to be based on interpretive resemblance, rather than on equivalence. The translator would try to seek optimal relevance, in such a way that he or she would use different strategies to try to recreate the cognitive effects intended by the source writer with the lowest possible processing effort on the part of the target addressee. The analysis carried out in this study is based on two tragedies by Shakespeare – namely, Hamlet and Othello – and on five Spanish and two Galician versions of those two plays. The strategies used by the translators of those versions to render sexual puns have been analysed, focusing not only on the product but also on the process. The selection of strategy is determined, among other factors, by the specific context and by the principle of relevance. In those cases in which there is a coincidence in the relation between the levels of signifier and signified across source and target language, translators normally opt to translate literally and reproduce a pun based on the same linguistic phenomenon as the source text pun and semantically equivalent to it. In the rest of the cases, the translator will have to assess what is more relevant, either content or the effect produced by the pun.

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The theme of fakhr (self-exaltation) in the translation of Antara’s Mu‘allaqa

Babel ◽

10.1075/babel.59.3.03azz ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (3) ◽

pp. 288-309

Author(s):

Bakri Al-Azzam ◽

Aladdin Al-Kharabsheh

Keyword(s):

Literary Work ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Frame Of Reference ◽

Target Language ◽

Temporal Context ◽

Source Text ◽

Language Version ◽

Semantic Effect ◽

Semantics And Pragmatics ◽

Spatio Temporal

This paper investigates the possibility of translating, into English, Antara’s Fakhr (self-exaltation), as a prominent theme in his renowned Mu‘allaqa. The theoretical framework rests on the supposition that a literary work in general and pre-Islamic poetry in particular must be examined within its socio-cultural, spatio-temporal context as a total meaningful structure which entails the semantics and pragmatics of the text.Examining this theme in three selected translations, the analysis shows that the source text has proved that Fakhr (self-exaltation), as a conventional constituent of Antara’s Mu‘allaqa, presents a remarkable degree of sophistication which poses serious translation challenges.The discussion also reveals that, owing to the daunting complexity of incongruence and distance between the cultures of the two languages, the translations have only managed to maintain the textual import, but have not satisfactorily captured the socio-cultural denominations and implications, a perceptible translation erroneousness, which impeded straddling the required semantic effect and the required reader’s response in the target language version.The paper draws the conclusion that the socio-cultural, spatio-temporal context can provide a broader frame of reference for analyzing, interpreting and translating the original Mu‘allaqa in a completely new, contemporary setting of transmission and reception.

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THE EXISTENCE OF ARABIC LANGUAGE IN INDONESIAN SOURCE TEXT AND ENGLISH TARGET TEXT

Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews ◽

10.18510/hssr.2020.83102 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 990-1003

Author(s):

Erlina Zulkifli Mahmud ◽

Bima Bayusena ◽

Ratna Erika Mawarrani

Keyword(s):

Comparative Method ◽

Arabic Language ◽

Target Language ◽

Arabic Literature ◽

The Novel ◽

Source Text ◽

Single Procedure ◽

Data Source ◽

Linguistic Units ◽

Linguistic Phenomenon

Purpose: To study the existence of the Arabic language in the Indonesian language mostly limited to terms used in Islam religion. Methodology: This article discusses the existence of Arabic literature in the Indonesian source text, a novel with the life in a pesantren as the setting, where the author of the source text needs to translate the Arabic expressions used in the story into Indonesian. Then from the Indonesian source text, the novel is translated into English. The method used in this research is the descriptive comparative method. The leading theory used for this research is the strategies of Translation by Vinay and Darbelnet (1995), what Arabic linguistic units involved in the Indonesian source text, and what strategy of conversion used by the author and the translator become the objectives of this research. Principal Findings: The results show that the Arabic linguistic units found are ranging from a word into a clause or sentence, and the strategies of Translation used in the target text do not always deal with one single procedure; sometimes, it involves a combination of some procedures. Applications of this study: The translation work may lead to similar as well as a contrastive linguistic phenomenon. People can learn more about languages involving in a translation, particularly when the structures of the source and target language are compared linguistically. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study covers the gap left in the previous research carried out by the same team entitled “Translation Equivalences of Islamic Terms in the Novel (The Land of Five Towers ‘Negeri Lima Menara’). This previous research used the same data source, Arabic expressions, in the novel. It focused more on the Arabic feelings relating to Islamic terms, such as names of five obligational prayers, names of optional prayers, activities in shalat, or praying. The rest of the Arabic phrases which are not used in this previous research are left unstudied.

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Manipulative Use of Short Messaging Service (SMS) Text Messages by Nigerian Telecommunications Companies

Linguistik Online ◽

10.13092/lo.63.1323 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kehinde A. Ayoola

Keyword(s):

Cell Phones ◽

Relevance Theory ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Text Messages ◽

Sales Promotion ◽

Short Messaging Service ◽

Processing Effort ◽

Telecommunications Companies

This paper is an application of Relevance Theory for the interpretation of short messaging service (SMS) text messages emanating from Nigerian telecommunications companies to their subscribers. The aim of the research was to identify and describe the manipulative strategies employed by Nigerian telecommunications companies to induce subscribers to part with their money through sales promotion lotteries. 100 SMS texts were purposively extracted from the cell phones of randomly selected residents of Lagos Nigeria who had received promotional SMS text messages from three major Nigerian telecommunications companies. Using Sperber and Wilson's Relevance Theory (1995) as its theoretical framework, the paper described the manipulative use of SMS by Nigerian telecommunications companies. The analysis revealed that SMS text messages were encoded to achieve maximization of relevance through explicature and implicature; contextual implication and strengthening; and the reduction of processing effort through violating the maxim of truthfulness and the creative use of graphology. The paper concludes that SMS text-messages were used manipulatively by Nigerian telecommunications companies to earn indirect income from sales promotion lottery.

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Non-Equivalence at the Grammatical Categories in the Kĩkamba Bible Translation

International Journal of Linguistics Literature & Translation ◽

10.32996/ijllt.2021.4.3.25 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 216-226

Author(s):

Eunice Nthenya Musyoka ◽

Kenneth Odhiambo

Keyword(s):

Text Message ◽

Relevance Theory ◽

Study Data ◽

Target Language ◽

Careful Study ◽

Source Text ◽

Grammatical Category ◽

Language Resources ◽

Bible Translation ◽

Grammatical Categories

This paper explores the challenges of non-equivalence at the grammatical categories in the Kĩkamba Bible translation. Translation involves rendering a source text message into the target text by using the register, background knowledge, and other language resources to meet the intended purpose. The process is hampered by non-equivalence, which occurs when a lexical item or an expression in the source language lacks an equivalent item to translate it into the target language. A descriptive research design was used to obtain information from a sampled population. The Bible is divided into two sections; the Old and the New Testament. It is further categorized into seven groups. Purposive sampling was used to select one book from each category and one chapter from each book to form the sample for the study. Data was collected through careful study of the English Revised Standard Version Bible to identify non-equivalences at the grammatical category level and the Kĩkamba Bible to analyse how it is handled, guided by Equivalence theory proposed by Nida and the Relevance theory (Sperber and Wilson). The study established four categories of non-equivalences at the grammatical category level; gender, number, person and case. According to the research non-equivalence at the grammatical level such as the third person singular and plural, the second person and pronouns in both subjective and objective case pose a challenge when the target language lacks a distinctive expression that is present in the source text, but appropriate strategies such as unit change, explicitation and specification meet the goal of translation. The study recommends that the translator needs to interpret what the categories represent in the context as a whole before translating the separate verses. It is hoped that the research will be a contribution to applied linguistics in the area of translation, specifically on non-equivalence.

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A Case Study on the Translation of Metaphors in Red Sorghum

English Language and Literature Studies ◽

10.5539/ells.v7n4p89 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 89

Author(s):

Leyang Wang

Keyword(s):

Cultural Differences ◽

Relevance Theory ◽

Target Language ◽

Cultural Elements ◽

Source Language ◽

Optimal Relevance ◽

Chinese And English

Mo Yan’s novel Red Sorghum is well known for its creative and initiative usage of metaphors. When it is translated into English, the translator has to evaluate the cultural differences between Chinese and English. The current study takes the translation of metaphors in Red Sorghum as an example to illustrate how cultural elements influence translation. The representative examples selected hereby were analyzed on the basis of the Relevance Theory and at the same time different cultural elements were taken into account to provide solid evidence. This essay proposes that translations of metaphors in Red Sorghum can be divided into four types: from metaphor to simile, from metaphor to metaphor with the tenor and vehicle unchanged, replacing the vehicle, deleting the vehicle. In order to facilitate target readers’s inferential process and help them establish the optimal relevance, the translator has to deliberate the disparities of the cultures in the source language and target language and then demonstrate the appropriate ostensive stimuli. No matter what measures the translator takes, it can not be sepearated from the corresponding cultural elements.

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Parenthetical Clauses in the Qurʼān

Research in Language ◽

10.2478/rela-2018-0021 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 429-449

Author(s):

Yehudit Dror

Keyword(s):

Relevance Theory ◽

Contextual Effects ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Contextual Effect ◽

Background Information ◽

Optimal Relevance ◽

Heaven And Earth ◽

Provide Background Information

In the few traditional Arabic grammatical sources that address the term parentheticals it is usually defined as the insertion of a clause between two other clauses, or between two syntactic components, for taʼkīd “emphasis.” In this article I examine Qurʼānic parenthetical clauses in the theoretical framework of relevance theory. It transpires that the parenthetical clause is placed where it achieves optimal relevance and therfore the conveyed utterance does not require the addresses to waste any efforts trying to procees the information and correctly interpret it. Optimal relevance also means having a contextual effect. The Qur’ānic parenthetical clauses have one of the following contextual effects: They serve to affirm God’s omnipotence, indicating that only God produces suras, created heaven and earth. He is the forgiver and all depends on His will; to explain what it meant by a specific statement or to explain the reason behind a certain action; to qualify, to highlight a specific characterization, for example, one of the parenthetical clauses modify the Qur’ān as the truth from God; to provide background information, which could explain further developments in the narrative.

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Translatability vs Untranslatability: A relevance-theoretic view

Babel ◽

10.1075/babel.58.4.03xiu ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 58 (4) ◽

pp. 408-422 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xu Xiumei ◽

Gong Qinyan

Keyword(s):

Information Processing ◽

Language Translation ◽

Relevance Theory ◽

Point Of View ◽

Target Language ◽

Source Text ◽

Language And Communication ◽

Theoretic Point ◽

Essential Function

Having rejected the assumption that there is a necessary link between language and communication, relevance theory holds that languages are indispensable not for communication, but for information processing, and information processing is their essential function. And the distinction between the descriptive and interpretive use of language settles the disputes upon translatability and untranslatability. From the relevance-theoretic point of view, translation falls naturally under the interpretive use of language: translation is intended to restate in one language what someone else said or wrote in another language. It means that different utterances can be used to express the same meaning, while the same meaning can be expressed in different ways. Interpretive use entails translatability. As to how closely the language of the target text resembles that of the source text, the answer is that it is a matter of degree. However, in any case, the target language used should fulfill the requirements of the principle of relevance: it is relevant enough for it to be worth the reader’s effort to read and it is the highest level of relevance that the translator is capable of achieving given the means and goals. Résumé Ayant rejeté l’hypothèse d’un lien nécessaire entre la langue et la communication, la théorie de la pertinence affirme que les langues sont indispensables non pour la communication, mais bien pour le traitement de l’information, et que le traitement de l’information est leur fonction essentielle. La distinction entre l’utilisation descriptive et interprétative de la langue règle les controverses sur la traduisibilité et l’intraduisibilité. Du point de vue de la théorie de la pertinence, la traduction relève naturellement de l’utilisation interprétative d’une langue : la traduction a pour but de reformuler dans une langue ce que quelqu’un a dit ou écrit dans une autre. Cela signifie que des énoncés différents peuvent être utilisés pour exprimer une même signification, bien qu’une même signification puisse s’exprimer de différentes manières. Une utilisation interprétative engendre une traduisibilité. La réponse à la question de savoir à quel point la langue du texte cible doit ressembler à celle du texte source, est une question de degré. Cependant, la langue cible utilisée devrait en tout cas répondre aux exigences du principe de pertinence : elle est suffisamment pertinente pour justifier l’effort du lecteur pour la lire et elle est le niveau de pertinence le plus élevé que le traducteur est capable d’atteindre, étant donné les moyens et les objectifs.

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Relevance and Definition

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000900009703 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 211-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Rita Watson

Keyword(s):

Natural Kind ◽

Relevance Theory ◽

Contextual Effects ◽

Optimal Relevance ◽

Frequent Use ◽

Processing Effort ◽

Basic Level ◽

Complex Expression ◽

Semantic Domains

ABSTRACTThe study examined whether the use of superordinate terms in children's definitions was predicted by relevance theory. Two hundred and six children aged five to ten years gave definitions for 16 basic-level words and four superordinate words from natural kind and artefact semantic domains. Superordinate terms were used more frequently when they supported more inferences. This was evidenced by their more frequent use in natural kind than in artefact domains, and more frequent use when the superordinate was itself defined by a semantically complex expression. When used, superordinates also usually occurred at the beginning of the definitional expression. It is argued that these findings reflect the speaker's intention to achieve optimal relevance, that is, to achieve maximum contextual effects with the least processing effort.

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Terjemahan Beranotasi Kata dan Ungkapan Budaya di dalam Novel Anak Selandia Baru I’m Telling on You dan Barry & Bitsa

JURNAL Al-AZHAR INDONESIA SERI HUMANIORA ◽

10.36722/sh.v3i1.196 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 33

Author(s):

Era Bawarti

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Translation Studies ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Target Language ◽

Standard English ◽

Source Text ◽

Translation Technique ◽

Translation Techniques ◽

Children's Reading ◽

Annotated Translation

Abstrak − Penelitian ini adalah sebuah penelitian di bidang kajian terjemahan berupa terjemahan beranotasi, yakni terjemahan dengan catatan. Teks sumber (TSu) yang dipilih adalah novel anak Selandia Baru dari seri Kiwi Bites berjudul I’m Telling on You dan Barry & Bitsa. Teks ini dipilih karena merupakan karya dari penulis yang sama dan ditulis dalam Bahasa Inggris dialek Selandia Baru yang memiliki sejumlah perbedaan dengan Bahasa Inggris standar. Selain itu, teks ini jika diterjemahkan juga potensial untuk menjadi bacaan anak yang bermutu. Analisis difokuskan pada terjemahan kata dan ungkapan budaya. Kerangka teori yang digunakan di dalam analisis adalah teknik penerjemahan dari Hoed (2006). Kata dan ungkapan budaya yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini sebanyak 15 buah. Dari hasil analisis ditemukan bahwa teknik penerjemahan yang digunakan paling sering adalah pemadanan dengan keterangan tambahan. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa kata dan ungkapan budaya dalam TSu seringkali tidak memiliki padanan leksikalnya dalam bahasa sasaran (BSa). Abstract – This study is a research in translation studies, namely annotated translation, i.e. translation with notation. Source text (ST) chosen is two New Zealand children’s novel from Kiwi Bites series titled I’m Telling on You and Barry & Bitsa. Both are chosen for both are the works of the same author as well as written in New Zealand English which has several differences with that of Standard English. Besides, the text is also potential to become a qualified children’s reading, if translated. The analysis is focused on the translation of cultural words and terms. Theoretical framework used is translation technique (Hoed, 2006). Cultural words and terms discussed are as many as 15 items. The results show that translation techniques used more frequent are equivalence with notation. This means, most of cultural words and terms in ST have no lexical equivalence in the target language (TL). Keywords: annotated translation, cultural word and term, translation technique.

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RE-DOMESTICATION, REPATRIATION , AND ADDITIONAL DOMESTICATION, IN CULTURAL BACK-TRANSLATION

Across Languages and Cultures ◽

10.1556/084.2020.00003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 43-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

KINGA KLAUDY ◽

PÁL HELTAI

Keyword(s):

Cultural Context ◽

Contextual Effects ◽

Target Language ◽

Source Text ◽

Systematic Analysis ◽

Translation Strategies ◽

Distinctive Features ◽

Whole Process ◽

Back Translation ◽

Processing Effort

AbstractThis paper describes the distinctive features of cultural back-translation. This term is employed here to refer to the translation of source texts into a target language from which most or all of the culture-specific elements of the source text were drawn. It makes an attempt to provide a systematic analysis of the distinctive features of this type of translation with special reference to the concepts of domestication and foreignization. The findings show that cultural back-translation is necessarily domesticating, or more precisely, re-domesticating. Re-domestication has several types: re-domestication proper, repatriation and additional domestication. Domesticating and foreignizing strategies work out differently in cultural back-translation: domestication does not mean adjustment to a different culture but restoring the original cultural context. In re-domestication the distribution of translation strategies used is different from those used in domestication and the purpose and effects of various strategies are different. The whole process from text composition to back-translation may be described as a process of double domestication. It is claimed that while domestication in general reduces readers’ processing effort by sacrificing some contextual effects, redomestication reduces processing effort and at the same time may increase contextual effects. It is concluded that the study of cultural back-translation is worthy of more serious attention and further lines of inquiry are suggested.

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