THE TRANSLATION OF THE SAUDI CULTURAL REFERENCES IN YOUSEF AL-MOHAIMEED'S WOLVES OF THE CRESCENT MOON
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Date
2023-07-13
Authors
By Sana' Sameer A. Jarrar
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Abstract
Cultural references are challenging when translated between two different cultures. The purpose of this thesis is to examine Anthony Calderbank's translation of Saudi cultural references in his translation of Yousef Al-Mohaimeed's novel Wolves of the Crescent Moon (2007). The cultural references are examined in relation to the foreignization strategies used in the translation of some ecological terms (fauna and flora), and terms of address. To investigate the appropriateness of Calderbank's translation, the researcher examines the extent to which the translated version retains the local color of Saudi cultural terms. The data was first collected using the source text فخاخ الرائحة (2003) along with its English translated version Wolves of the Crescent Moon (2007). The data was classified into three main categories (fauna, flora, and terms of address) based on Newmark's (1988) classification and then compared to their Target Text (TT) equivalents. Foreignization and domestication methods as defined by Venuti (1995) were applied to evaluate the translator's commitment to preserving the local color of Saudi cultural references. The findings show that the translator has foreignized most of the cultural references through the use of transliteration and literal translation by presenting the Source language (SL) cultural terms to the target readers and explaining them in more detail in the glossary at the end of the novel. The translator respectfully preserved the elements of Arabic culture so that Target Text (TT) reader could understand the culture of ST without being heavily manipulated. Overall, no obvious interference was detected, nor did the translator intentionally manipulate and try to distort the true picture of Saudi society to appeal to the Arab perceptions of Westerners. However, cultural and social losses occurred with some terms used in different contexts. Therefore, the translator should research more into these terms to reflect the exact contextual meaning of some specific Saudi terms.
Keywords: Cultural references, foreignization, domestication, terms of address, componential analysis.