Analyzing Hamidreza Mohajerani's Translation of the Novel "Barid Al-Layl" Based on the Theory of "Antoine Berman"

Abstract

Translation of literary texts is one of the most difficult types of translation, which faces challenges that make it even more complicated and difficult. Today, theorists have helped translators by presenting various techniques and superior methods of translation and have paved their way forward to some extent. One of the prominent theoreticians in this field is Antoine Berman, who enumerates thirteen factors of deviation in translation in his theory entitled Deforming Tendencies. Based on the techniques of Berman's translation, the present research analyzes the novel Barid Al-Layl written by Hoda Barakat and translated by Seyyed Hamidreza Mohajerani with the title "Post-e Shabaneh". In this translation, several tendencies of Berman's theory have been discussed, which have been the most repeated in Mohajerani’s translation, these tendencies are: rationalization, clarification, expansion, ennoblement, qualitative and quantitative impoverishment. Of course, it is necessary to mention that there are some examples of other deforming tendencies in this translation, which have been avoided due to their low number. In this article, with a careful study, cases of deviations in the translation of Barid Al-Layl are presented based on the mentioned tendencies, and in some cases, a suggested translation is also presented. In general, it can be said that the biggest cause of deviation in Mohajerani’s translation is related to the explanation and interpretation of the translator, who intends for the reader to clearly understand the content; therefore, it is clear that this translation is more oriented towards the target text.Keywords: Analysis of Translation, Barid Al-Layl, Hamidreza Mohajerani, Antoine Berman.IntroductionTranslation is a special example of the intersection of languages and one of the human activities that have a long history and allow for political, economic, cultural, and commercial exchanges, etc. between different nations and languages, and this clearly shows the necessity of translation. It goes without saying that a translation that does not adhere to the principle of faithfulness leads to misunderstanding and presenting a wrong meaning to the reader, which itself can cause great problems. At present, many theories related to superior translation techniques have been presented by great scientists and theoreticians all over the world. It is appropriate for translators to translate consciously and based on these techniques.Since Berman is one of the famous theorists in the field of translation; therefore, the present study aims to analyze some parts of the novel Barid Al-Layl translated by Hamidreza Mohajerani, according to Berman's basic principles, and to analyze and criticize the deviations that exist in it based on the proposed principles. The most important goal of this research is that the translation of Mohajerani from the novel of Barid Al-Layl was based on Antoine Berman's criteria and how faithful the translator is to the source language. This research examines the above criteria with a descriptive-analytical method.Literature ReviewSo far, many works have been written in the field of Antoine Berman's theory, some of which are as follows:- Mohammad Farhadi, Seyyed Mahmoud Al-Mirzaei Al-Husseini and Ali Nazari (2016) in criticism and review of expansion and explanations in the translation of Ṣaḥīfa Sajjādiyya based on Berman's theory (case study of Ansarian’s translation) have reviewed and criticized expansion and explanations which, based on the deforming tendencies, were out of place in Ansarian's translation and no benefit was obtained from it except for expansion, and in some cases, a suggested translation was presented.- Shahryar Niazi and Ensieh Sadat Hashemi (2018) in an article on the effectiveness of the component of (clarification) of Berman's model in evaluating the translation of the Qur'an: a case study of Rezaei Isfahani's translation, examine the surahs Anfal, Tobah, Ahzab and Tahrim in Rezaei Isfahani's translation. They conclude that in some cases, due to the lack of Ta'nis and Tasnieh in the Persian language and the lack of equivalents in Persian for some terms, transparency in the translation of the Holy Quran is inevitable.Although many articles have been written in connection with Berman's theory, no research has been conducted on Hoda Barakat’s novel of Barid Al-Layl, either from the perspective of Berman's theory or other experts.The present research aims to analyze the translation of the novel Barid Al-Layl by Seyed Hamidreza Mohajerani based on Antoine Berman's theory with an analytical-descriptive method and to analyze and criticize the frequent deviations of this translation from Berman's principles. The questions of this research are:- Among the thirteen components of Berman, which one has played a greater role in distorting the source text of the novel Barid Al-Layl?- How faithful was the translator to the original text?MethodologyIn this research, using the analytical and descriptive method, Mr. Hamidreza Mohajerani’s translation of Barid Al-Layl has been investigated. That is, in addition to examining the translation and to what extent it is based on deforming tendencies, examples for better translation are also mentioned.ConclusionBased on the investigations carried out in this research, it is clear that Hamidreza Mohajerani’s translation of Barid Al-Layl is more focused on the target text and the reader rather than adhering to the original text. In general, Mohajerani’s translation from the novel of Barid Al-Layl is very fluent and understandable, which shows the translator's mastery and awareness of both the source and target languages.In this translation, which has been studied and analyzed from the point of view of Berman's deforming tendencies, we notice the use of many cases of distortions that Berman considers objectionable in the translation. Six of Berman's tendencies are more prominent in this translation. In this article, an attempt has been made to criticize the parts of the translation of Barid Al-Layl that have been influenced by the deforming tendencies, and by citing the theories of the great figures in the field of translation, the criticism has been substantiated and documented, and finally, a suggested translation has been presented. In response to the two main questions of this research, firstly: about the use of deforming tendencies, it should be said that rationalization, clarification, expansion, ennoblement, and qualitative and quantitative impoverishment are the six cases that have had the highest frequency in Mohajerani’s translation. Secondly: Regarding the translator's faithfulness to the original text, it should be said that even though Mohajerani's translation of the novel Barid Al-Layl is a fluent and understandable translation, the use of tendencies that distance it from the source text is seen a lot, which causes the translation text to distance itself from the original text. It goes without saying that the translation of a novel is different from the translation of scientific, religious, legal, etc. texts. In the translation of the mentioned texts, the translator should not deviate a bit from the original text; but in the translation of the novel, the translator has freedom of action and can make changes to make the text of the novel more beautiful and attract more audience. Of course, this freedom of action in the translation of novels should not be to the extent that the meaning and concept of the translated text have a huge gap with the original text.

Keywords

• analysis of translation
• barid al-layl
• hamidreza mohajerani
• antoine berman