Exploring the Intersection of Culture and Translation: A Seminar Review
Master's students Saja Al Ahmari and Jawaher Al Enzi presented a fascinating talk on the relationship between translation and culture at a seminar hosted by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University on November 28, 2018. The event took place at the King Abdullah Road campus, where Al Ahmari and Al Enzi explored the significance of cultural awareness in effective translation.
The presentation introduced various technical terms pertinent to translation theory, such as 'dynamic equivalence.' They further elaborated on the complexities and strategies associated with finding equivalence for culture-specific terms. Among these strategies, they discussed naturalization, neutralization, and compensation.
Al Ahmari and Al Enzi explained that naturalization involves translating target cultural concepts while maintaining their original target language forms. On the other hand, compensation represents a lexical transfer wherein the meaning of the source language text may be lost during translation. This often leads to 'over-translation,' in contrast to 'under-translation.'
The presenters underscored the importance of understanding both the source and target language cultures for a successful translation process. They cited numerous examples, highlighting the failure of 'literalism' in addressing culture-related problems. For instance, the German phrase 'to have tomatoes on one's eyes' would be translated into Arabic as على عينيه غشاوة, leaving no trace of the original 'tomatoes.'
In an intriguing turn, Al Ahmari and Al Enzi noted that certain target texts could surpass their source counterparts in quality. They cited Fitzgerald's 1859 translation of Omar Al Khayyam's Persian quadruplets into English as a prime example. Despite subsequent efforts by translators such as Robert Graves and Omar Ali Shah in 1967, none could produce a translation that superseded Fitzgerald's.
Overall, the seminar was a success, stimulating rich discussions on the intricacies of translation and its undeniable connection with culture.
