Cultural Equivalence: Culture &

Translation
Third Year
English Dept.
Faculty of Al-Alsun
Ain Shams University

©Radwa Kotait
What is Culture?
Translation & Culture
 If language is an integral part of culture, the
translator needs not only proficiency in two
languages; he must also be at home in two
cultures (Snell-Hornby 1988:42)
 A translator is “a cultural mediator and decision
maker during the translation process on a micro-
level. He/She is an expert who must know which
aspects of the SL must be explicitly explained to
his or her reader, and which should be regarded
as “intercultural common knowledge. … The role
of the translator on a macro-level is no longer
seen as a mere “language worker”, but as a
prompter of intercultural communication. (Leppihalme
1997: 87)
Cultural Allusions
 An allusion is a passing reference without
explicit identification to a person, event,
or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of
art. It is a rich source of meaning &
connotation.
 It is either religious such as "the patience
of Job", mythological such as "Achilles'
heel", literary such as "Big Brother", or
philosophic such as "cogito, ergo sum",
geographical.
Cultural Allusions
 Allusions are assumptions of familiarity
made by the author with the ST reader in
mind.
 But the TT reader who has grown up in a
different culture, is usually unable to
recognise an allusion and make the
necessary connection.
 This problem is usually faced in journalism
& literary texts.
Translating Cultural Allusions
 In translation, it is essential to be able to:
• recognize allusions,
• to understand them,
• and to be able to translate them in light
of their connotations.

 Thisneeds certain translation strategies

to be developed to address this problem.
Translating Cultural Allusions
Due to the cultural gap between English and
Arabic, an allusion can be translated either:
• Semantically, supported by a footnote that
attempts to bridge the gap,
• Communicatively, replacing the SL allusion by
a TL one that is not its literal equivalent, but
has similar cultural connotations,
• or by means of paraphrase where the
cultural element in the allusion is sacrificed
and only the message is maintained.
Translating Cultural Allusions
 Retention of the name with some additional guidance
‫→ يوسف‬John, the prophet
 Retention of the name with detailed explanations (footnotes etc.)
‫ → اسرافيل‬Israfil is the angle who will below the last trump twice
.At first all living will die, at the second all the dead will rise to be
judged.
 Replacement of the name with another source-language name
God's son→‫مسيح‬
 Replacement of the name with a target-language name
Romeo and Juliet→‫ليلي والمجنون‬
 Omission of the name, but the sense conveyed through a common
noun
Jehosephat →‫صحرای محشر‬
Jehosephat is the name of a valley where, according to Joel 3:2, the
God of Israel will gather all nations for judgment.
 Omission of the name and allusion completely.