Translation of Regional Expressions in Two English Translations of Savushun

Abstract

Regional expressions are potential problems in the translation process due to the fact that they have particular connotations and implications in the source language but not necessarily in the target language. Taking this fact into consideration, two English translations of Savushun, a Persian novel by Daneshvar, were selected. The regional expressions were first identified and categorized. Then, their English translations were identified and a comparison was made between the original and the translated texts in order to determine the translation strategies used. The results revealed that the most frequently employed strategy, i.e. ‘neutral translation’, cannot be considered the most effective one. There seem to be two main reasons for this. One reason is the translators’ unfamiliarity with the target language dialects and the other is the problems involved in the transcription of dialects, which may range from a lack of regional standards to refusal in the receiving community or creating unintended effects among the readers. It can then be concluded that translators should be either native in the target language to transfer the whole message of the source language or there should be a team of professionals as advisors. The findings are specially revealing for students of translation studies.