Hi, a cultural reference is something specific to the popular culture at the time. One could go back to any of eugene nidas excellent books, which include titles like the sociolinguistics of interlingual communication 1996. Issues and strategies of subtitling cultural references. Here you can find all of our electronic books and journals, for purchase and download or subscriber access. Since the perception and reception of translated works as well as the translation norms which are established through. A digital online journal for translators, interpreters, and interested friends of the translation industry. Translation is recognised as an act of culturespecific communication. The treatment of culturespecific references in translation of the harry potter books. Cultural translation is the practice of translation while respecting and showing cultural differences.
The treatment of cultural items in the translation of childrens. The cultural crossreference trope as used in popular culture. Translation is always a shift not between two languages but between two cultures umberto eco this essay has two aims. Translating american food culture from english to swedish. We also define that translation has an important role in globalization of cultures especially pop culture leading to. The harry potter book series has been translated into 68 languages. Issues and strategies of subtitling cultural references harry potter. Hamlet is one of the most popular of shakespeares plays, topping the list at the royal shakespeare company since 1879, as of 2004. It identifies a range of procedures adopted by various translators and considers their effectiveness or otherwise in dealing with particular problems.
At least, that must be the idea behind the practice of replacing foreign. The routledge dictionary of cultural references in modern. It only happens in the movies by holly bourne, fangirl by rainbow rowell, the storm sister by lucinda riley, dieu e. Both books plus demian are sold in their companys official shop.
The books homepage helps you explore earths biggest bookstore without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. Subtitling norms for television is a comprehensive and carefully researched academic study that will soon occupy the bookshelves of translation studies scholars, researchers in avt and avt practitioners alike. The world of harry potter is set in the united kingdom and shares cultural references with the british sign in. There is no shortage of social and cultural approaches to translation.
Tolstoy wrote in russian, so someone must read him for us and then write down that reading in our language. On the other hand, if the cultural references of a story set in a specific culture and time are domesticated, does the book lose a part of its charm. Welcome to econtent platform of john benjamins publishing company. Research into the translation of cultural references crs often. Translation procedures, strategies and methods by mahmoud ordudari abstract translating culture specific concepts cscs in general and allusions in particular seem to be one of the most challenging tasks to be performed by a translator. The translation of culturebound elements into fi meta erudit. I am studying legal translation and i am working on subtitling into french a speech from a british minister in the house of commons, which deals with the theme of public health. Terminological perspective will allow us to establish several instances where the translation rules formally established or traditionally and informally operating orient the translator confronting official complex texts. In a similar way, slang also poses a potential problem as it is not only closely linked to dialect but also certain places, times and specific cultural references. The analysis of cultural gaps in translation and solutions jianqing wu foreign languages college qingdao university of science and technology qingdao 266061, china email. I will argue that the precise nature of the genre has its effects on the ways references can and ought to be translated, and expound on cases in the dutch translation in which the translator has or has not used the available procedures to their best advantage in order to prove that the translation of cultural and historical references in. Numerous cultural references to hamlet in film, literature, arts, etc. However, the way wikan talks about the concept of resonance is kind of magical and completely unteachable.
It compares the different cultural connotations of expressions in english and chinese. This kind of translation solves some issues linked to culture, such as dialects, food or architecture the main issues that cultural translation must solve consist in translating a text as showing cultural differences of this text and respecting the source culture. Thus, even a renowned book, considered as a classic in the field haviland, 2002 which deals with topics such as language and gender, the national character of culture, sex and. The data analysed are from a single book and its translation by. 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.
Cultural references in the novels of fuminori nakamura. Since the book will be fuller and richer the more experience a reader brings to it, we would want our translator to be aware of as much as possiblecultural references, lexical patterns, geographical setting, and historical moment. History tells us that translation plays a part in the development of all cultures. The subject of the analysis covers three books from the famous. Issues of culture specific item translation in subtitling. Pdf translating cultural references a friend or a foe. In this study we discuss the translation barriers through transferring cultures among languages. This page reflects the latest version of the apa publication manual i. Abstract research into the translation of cultural references crs often focuses on the analysis of selected cr translations or particular lexical subfields such as proper names or geographical terms. Abstract research into the translation of cultural references crs often focuses on the analysis of selected cr translations or particular lexical. This paper discusses the treatment of culturespecific items in translations of j k rowlings harry potter books. There are many references to regulatory bodies or institutions in the medical area and i did not found any official translations for them. Special focus will be laid on different types of cultural references such as names of people, mythological creatures, magical objects, place names, food items, neologisms, etc.
Strategies for rendering puns and cultural references have previously been explored, for. Peter bush, vice president, international federation of. Every text subject to translation is a cultural signifier. This might be useful in research, but now i am wondering how many cultural references or cultural meanings i missed when reading translated books. C ulture is ordinary was an article of faith announced by the critic raymond williams, and the buddha of suburbia seems to illustrate it. A coursebook on translation by mona baker, translation studies by susan bassnett, the translation s. The translation journal is in an online journal for translators and interpreters and friends of the industry.
When a show is redubbed for release in another country, the dubbers often will replace the cultural references with others more easily recognized by the foreign audience in the best of cases, cultural translation will change obscure cultural references that many viewers would not get into related, but more familiar, footnotes without interrupting the flow. Historical cases also show us repeatedly that translated works which had real social and cultural impact often bear little resemblance to the idealized concept of a good translation. The translation of cultural references in historical. Translating discourses of enlightenmenttranscultural language skills and crossreferences between swedish and german educated journals in the 18th century. Translation of a literary work is never an automatic process but always poses many problems caused by the differences between two linguistic and cultural systems. Translating cultural references by bara, marian linguistic and. For example, men only magazine is a cultural reference because we dont have it around now, it is specific to the era and gives colour to the text. You stumble across a cultural reference that youre absolutely sure couldnt have been in the original it just seems too culturally outofplace. A translator is the first reader of the other culture as is shown in the foreign language text and, consequently, has to present the other in a primary process.
Ana hernandez guerrera 2012 studied the role and choice of translators based on cultural translations, while anna ginter 2002 focused on cultural issues in translation with a concentration on. Pdf cultural norms in translating childrens literature arab. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. Harald martin olk, cultural references in translation. The routledge dictionary of cultural references in modern french reveals the hidden cultural dimension of contemporary french, as used in the press, going beyond the limited and purely lexical approach of traditional bilingual dictionaries even foreign learners of french who possess a good level of french often have difficulty in fully understanding french articles, not because of any. Interesting issues arising in the translation of harry potter include cultural references, riddles, anticipating future plot points, and rowlings creative names for characters and other elements in the magical world which often involve wordplay and descriptive phonology. Here youll find current best sellers in books, new releases in books, deals in books, kindle ebooks, audible audiobooks, and so much more. The routledge dictionary of cultural references in modern french mould, michael, mould, michael on. On the social and the cultural in translation studies. In most cases the procedures the translator has used are described and labeled, then critically evaluated andor used to identify foreignization or domestication tendencies in the.
Literary translation studies university of rochester. The translation of such cultural references is an issue that can lead to various misunderstandings of not just intention but also of different cultures. It takes the time to introduce and contextualise subtitling within avt, but then moves on into the very specialized area of. Drawing on examples from across cultural domains theatre, film, tv and literature this work illuminates the elusive concept of cultural translation. The equivalent resource for the older apa 6 style can be found here. Research into the translation of cultural references crs often focuses on the analysis of selected cr translations or particular lexical subfields such as proper names or geographical terms. They deal with culture, language and languages in a broad perspective, along with other communication modes, but they do not yet grant a special place to translation. The circulation of enlightened thought in europe by means of translation. Focusing on the built environment, current affairs, international relations and online media, this book arrives at a view of translation in its broadest sense.