Bridging inter-cultural differences through translation techniques: A case study on the translation of a Malay novel "Juara" into English

• Main Author: Rashid Ali, Farrah Diebaa
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia 2010
• Subjects: PI Oriental languages and literatures
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/67987/1/67987_Bridging%20inter-cultural%20differences.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/67987/

Introduction Meaning should be the main preoccupation of all translations. However, the process of meaning transfer is not as straightforward as it seems to be especially when it deals with culturally-embedded expressions (Al-Zoubi and Al-Hasanawi, 2001). This is supported by the fact that each language has its own sets of meaning which are distinct from other languages as each language may direct its speaker to think differently according to the environment and culture they are in (Thriveni, 2002). Therefore, how would a translator translate those words which are laden with cultural elements? The answer lies in the concept of translation itself which is not simply a matter of seeking other words with similar meanings but of finding appropriate ways to present the meaning to the audience outside the original culture and linguistic situation. This is in line with the goal of literary translation which is "to initiate the target language reader into the sensibilities of the source-language culture" (Thriveni 2002, 1). Because of the close relationship between the culture of a community and the language that is spoken, translation causes overlaps and gaps in the meanings of certain words, thus making it almost impossible to translate literally from a source language into a target language. Therefore, the translator finds himself obliged to adopt some techniques to bridge the semantic gaps and overlaps (AI-Zoubi and AlHasanawi 2001). The primary objectives of this study are: I. To find out how culturally-embedded phrases in the novel have been translated. 2. To examine the relationship between the cultural elements and the translation techniques used.