A Critical Analysis of the Translation of Cultural Elements in the Book "DON'T FORGET": A Focus on Proverbs and Allusions

Abstract

In the process of translating stories, proverbs and allusions are key cultural elements, which convey meanings and messages of the original text to the reader. The main problem for translators in this process is the accurate way of confronting these elements. In this challenge, the equivalents are one of the important factors which pave the way for the translator. A good equivalent should convey not only the meaning, but also the spirit, feeling and experience of the literary writer to the reader. The present study aims at criticizing the translation of one of the most popular works of Resistance Literature, “DON'T FORGET” , by applying Newmark’s approach. In his model, Newmark considers cultural elements and divides them into five groups (ecology, material culture, social culture, institutions, customs, concepts, movements, gestures, and body language). The present study focuses on the fourth category and investigates the quality of translation of concepts, including allusions and proverbs, and analyzes them by applying Newmark's methods of translation of cultural elements. In this descriptive-analytical research, following an investigation of several examples and adapting them to Newmark's strategies, it was found that the translator has been successful in translating the concepts of the book by using the functional equivalent method. Furthermore, he has used semantic translation more. And sometimes the meaning of the proverbs or allusions are not well understood, as a result, a wrong equivalent has been entered in the text.

Keywords

• translation
• functional equivalent
• proverb
• allusion