Iranian Journal of Translation Studies

The First Academic Translator Training Program in Iran:

Rezvan Barzegar Hosseini, Farzaneh Farahzad — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Academic translator training started in the 20^th century in the world. The investigation reveals that the beginning of academic translator training in Iran was also in the 20^th century. The present article is an archival microhistorical research on the first academic translator training program in “Iran Girls’ College”, which was established in the second Pahlavi era in 1964.

This study tries to a detailed description of “Iran Girls’ College” and its development during one decade (1964–1974). The role of Farah Pahlavi as the patron is also considered based on Lefevere’s theory (1992). Her influence on the development of the English language translation curriculum is shown. In this regard, Atefmehr and Farahzad’s microhistorical model (2021) is employed. First, the document repositories of archives are closely investigated. Then the first-hand information extracted from primary sources, such as college guidebooks, are put together and finally, a narrative was written for the college. The findings indicate that the curriculum's development was primarily aimed at addressing market needs, particularly in creating job opportunities for women in roles like secretarial positions, rather than focusing on publishing.

Translation as Relocation of Culture in Iranian Migrant Literature

Mahtab Hosseini, Mir Saeed Mousavi Razavi — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Migration and translation are interrelated both involving moving across languages and cultures. Building on the tenet that translation could help migrants to relocate their culture, examining the intersection would be significant. This paper sought the occurrence of linguistic and cultural adjustments, as two faces of relocation, in Iranian’s migrant writing in English to see whether migrants make any attempts to relocate the original culture. Rooftops of Tehran was examined as the corpus and Migrant’s Relocation Model was developed by the researchers for data collection/analysis using MAXQDA 2020 software. The data included all segments which qualified as the subcategories of linguistic/cultural adjustments. After qualifying segments were coded, numerous adjustments were found. Cultural customs and traditions were the most frequent, followed by native words, cultural images, cultural values and beliefs, accented language and cultural themes. The results showed that the author actually made translational adjustments attempting to relocate the original culture and that these adjustments were so frequent that the text was characterized as translational. Through these adjustments, the author claimed a space for heterogeneity while simultaneously resisting dominant linguistic/cultural norms. This verifies that migrants are cultural mediators who translate to relocate their original culture in a new setting.

An Examination of the Encoding of the Quranic Inferential Discourse Marker Inna in a Parallel Corpus

Ali Mohammad Mohammadi, Mahdi Vahedikia — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The present analysis investigated Persian translations of the multifaceted and ambiguous Quranic inferential discourse marker Inna (اِنَّ) within the framework of translation spotting and pragmatics. The corpus consisted of six parts (juz) of the holy Quran and their Persian translations as a parallel corpus. The analysis of the corpus revealed that the encoding of discourse markers in the Quranic texts was tackled figuratively and communicatively by providing different types of Persian discourse markers in the process of construction of a translation specific discourse. This figurative construction of discourse was justified by resorting to different theoretical perspectives in pragmatics and discourse analysis. Since such analysis of parallel corpus has started recently and the findings are not yet aptly applied by authorities in various aspects of translation studies such as lexicography, translation quality assessment, and curriculum development, material developers, professors, and other relevant authorities are expected to reexamine their approaches in these areas.

Translation of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Books in Iran:

Sima Imani, Mir Saeed Mousavi Razavi — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Isaac Asimov is among the most well-known Science Fiction (SF) writers worldwide. He was a significant writer of America’s SF golden age, who contributed profoundly to this genre, and whose ideas influenced many successive SF writers. The SF genre in Iran primarily exists through translations, with limited research on popular literature, especially SF. Therefore, this study aimed to build a bibliography of Asimov’s SF books translated into Persian, to overview the past, present, and potential future of Asimov’s SF books in the Iranian literary system. To this end, all of Asimov’s SF works translated into Persian were identified using Iran’s national library website, yielding 369 entries, of which 67 were SF titles—48 new translations and the rest retranslations. Around 38 different publishers published his works, and 27 translators translated these books. Based on the number of his SF books in each decade, the 1990s was the time when Asimov's works were most published in Iran. Then, after a decade of stagnation, the popularity of his books seems to be rising again. Then, after a decade of stagnation, the popularity of his books is seemingly rising again. Overall, this paper calls attention to research on the translation of popular literature and overlooked genres such as SF. The findings could open research avenues for further studies in translation history.

A Comparative Study on Translation of Persian Colloquialism into English by ChatGPT and Other Translation Platforms

Zeynab Mirhashemi, Mahvash Gholami, Hossein Bahri — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Translating colloquialism as a basic challenge in the process of literary translation could be used as a criteria to investigate the capabilities of the translation machines and tools, most of which use artificial intelligence (AI). The present research was an attempt to investigate the performance of Yandex Translate (YT), Microsoft Bing Translate (BT), Google Translate (GT), ChatGPT, and MateCat (MC), in translating Persian colloquialism. In this process, the researchers tried to compare these platforms’ translations, demonstrate their weaknesses and propose improving suggestions to the designers of translation platforms. To this end 202 Persian sentences or phrases containing 240 colloquial expressions, words, and tones were entered into these five platforms and their translations were evaluated based on parameters including semantic accuracy and colloquial language recognition and stylistic transference. Orlando’s (2011) grid descriptor was adopted to give grades to the translations and Fuzzy-Math method was used for the precise analysis and comparison of results. In the end, the results revealed the higher position of Microsoft Bing Translate in translating Persian colloquialism.

Translation as a Means of Resistance:

Babak Mohammadi, Hussein Mollanazar — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Translation is not just a neutral interlingual transfer; it can be a tool for socio-political purposes, including resistance to whatever prevents a society’s salvation. Applying a descriptive-analytical method, this study aimed at investigating how resistance was enacted in an Iranian activist translator’s translations. In other words, it attempted to explain the causation in two literary translations from English into Persian produced by Ebrahim Younesi (1926–2012) before the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979. In so doing, an analytical model based on Aristotle’s doctrine of four types of cause, proposed by Pym (2014) for the study of translation causation, was used. A survey of the translator and source text authors’ identities and affiliations (the efficient cause), analysis of the source texts selected to be translated (the material cause), consideration of translation strategies taken and stylistic choices made by translator (the formal cause), and detection of the probable resistance purposes of translation (final cause) provided the data in this research. The findings of this study indicated that by selecting suitable source texts to translate, Younesi has taken the greatest steps to facilitate his resistance. When content and/or messages of the source text seem to serve the translator’s purpose, are similar to the receiving context, and can provoke the target readers’ sympathy and appreciation, some additions, omissions, generalizations, or replacements at textual levels complete the action.

Research Trends in Theses of Doctoral Candidates of Translation Studies in Iran:

Reza Koohestanian — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The present study investigated the orientations of Iranian doctoral candidates of Translation Studies between 2011 and 2024 based on the keywords used within their thesis titles. A data bank of one hundred and eight theses from three universities was established. Then, using Customer Magnetism software, the most frequent words, and their lemma were extracted from 700 keywords used in thesis titles and converted into a more compact list of keywords through human processing. Moreover, in some cases, the researcher investigated the entire title or even studied the abstract for more assurance. The findings indicated ten main keyword categories with the highest frequency. The results showed that most doctoral dissertation titles of the translation studies in Iran based on the branches and sub-branches in Holmes’ map of translation studies (1988) are product-oriented DTS, function-oriented DTS, and translator-training-oriented applied TS. The results also revealed that four remain untouched in Iran out of twelve key areas in Translation Studies presented by Williams and Chesterman (2002). Further scholars are advised to investigate why thesis topics in other areas have been neglected. This study is expected to improve the progress of TS research in Iran.

Developing Intercultural Competence:

Ehsan Najafi Dehkordi, Fatemeh Parham — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0330

This research challenges the traditional ‘read and translate’ approach to translation pedagogy, arguing that it overlooks the crucial role of translation as intercultural communication. The study introduces the concept of translation as intercultural mediation, drawing on Katan’s exploration of Hall’s Iceberg Theory and Triad of Culture, as well as Katan’s Hierarchical Learning Levels. Employing a qualitative approach involving diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment types, this study assesses, monitors, and evaluates 19 students at the beginning, during, and at the end of the course, respectively, in an Iranian academic context, to track students’ learning trajectory and identify changes in students’ performance. The findings revealed a significant shift in students’ understanding of translation. Initially viewing translation as a linguistic task, they developed a deeper understanding of it as an act of intercultural mediation. This shift was marked by students’ improved critical engagement with their own cultural perspectives and an increased capacity for mediating cultural conflicts by developing a third perceptual position. The research concludes that this framework empowers students to shift their perceptual positions based on the specific context of the translation, enabling them to consciously choose their level of intervention based on how they engage with the context: as a mediator or activist.

A Comparison of Ecofeminist Concepts in a Persian Novel with Its English Translation

shima Tayebi Jazayeri, Farzaneh Farahzad — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The term ecofeminism is a portmanteau, the combination of ecology and feminism. It implies that women have a close relationship with nature. It is possible to trace this relationship with nature in their writings as part of their experience. The present study was an attempt to explore the English translation of ecofeminist concepts in the Persian novel “Sāli Dirakht” [Year of the Tree], which appeared as metaphors and similes. Delabastita’s translational relations were applied for similes. For metaphors, a set of strategies was identified and classified based on Delabastita’s modes of translation of puns. The results were tabulated based on categories of natural elements introduced by ecofeminists and the strategies used for their translation. The findings reveal that natural elements in metaphors and similes were mostly translated into natural elements. As for translation strategies, substitution is the most applied translational relation in similes. Finally, the cases of metaphors translated into metaphors are almost equal to metaphors translated into non-metaphor.

Triggers in Comparison:

Fatemeh Bayat, Sima Ferdowsi, Somayeh Baniasa-Azad — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The current study intended to explore the use of explicitation in consecutive interpreting, recognizing its significance as a strategic approach, particularly given the time constraints inherent in the interpreting process. Hence, the researchers carried out a mixed-methods experiment that comprised 9 trainee interpreters and 5 experienced interpreters who engaged in English-Persian consecutive interpreting (CI). The study used both product analysis, which involved comparing the source and target texts, and process analysis, which included retrospective interviews and notes, to examine explicitation behavior. The product study primarily tried to find instances of explicitation employed by both groups, whereas the process analysis sought to reveal the underlying reasons for its utilization. The results did not show a significant difference in the reasons for explicitation between trainee and experienced interpreters. Nevertheless, a noteworthy distinction was observed in the manner in which the two groups treated this particular issue. The findings indicated that experienced interpreters are often motivated by the need for clarification. This suggests that experienced interpreters place a high importance on guaranteeing that the interpreted message is clear and easily understood by the audience. They may employ explicitation as a means to communicate the intended message with greater effectiveness. However, trainee interpreters used explicitations as a means to make up for their own poor proficiency, by filling in any gaps that may occur because of their inadequate abilities. The results of this study could be instrumental for interpreter training programs, as they provide empirical evidence on the different reasons behind explicitation strategies between trainee and experienced interpreters.

Investigating the Semantic Network of the Word of "vajh" and Its Importance in the Translation of the Holy Qur’an from the Perspective of Cognitive Semantics:

Mohammad Ghomi, Farhad Divsalar — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Accurate translation of the verses of the Holy Qur’an in order to reach deep concepts, can led the translators to the new sciences. Since cognitive semantics examines the meaning by relying on cognition, then, it can identify the main meaning and the epitome by relying on the categorization of linguistic concepts and connect it with the secondary meaning and form a semantic network. In order to give a proper answer to this research question: What are the meanings of the word “vajh” in the Holy Qur'an and specifically in Surah al-Baqarah, according to the semantic network, and what is it’s appropriate translation? To answer this question, firstly, the meaning of this word is clarified from the reliable sources of the dictionary, and then from the axis of coexistence in understanding its meaning and translation, help is provided. It is taken so that the real meaning of the word can be seen beyond the appearance. The word of "vajh" is one of the most frequent words, which is used 77 times in the entire of the Holy Qur’an, and the most repeated (eleven times) is in Surah al-Baqarah, which is the aim of the present research. The present article tries to analyze these verses with the help of the radial category and the co-relationships between the words to reach the conclusion that the main meaning of "vajh" is the same as face, and its secondary meanings are self and essence The advantage of examining the word of "vajh" in the Qur'an with the Cognitive semantics is that the worldview of the Qur'an in relation to the word of "vajh" is clear and the hidden knowledge in the Qur'an is extracted.

Translators’ Personality Types, Functions, and Revision Behavior

Movahedeh Sadat Mousavi, Dr. Hussein Mollanazar — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Translators’ personality can provide insights to better understanding of the effects of personality types and functions in translation. In this vein, current study seeks to identify the dominant personality functions in translators as revisers and to shed light on the relationship between freelance translators’ personality functions and their revision behavior. To this end, a questionnaire was developed consisting of three sections as demographic information, the revision behavior, and MBTI personality test with 207 freelance translators participating in the research. Regarding the data analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted and subsequent statistical tests were run. As for the results, no significant correlations could be established between personality types, translation and revision behaviors except for the working fields of translation, the frequent pauses, and the level of their familiarity with the field being translated.

A Pragmatic Analysis of the Construction of Discourse Based on the Implicit Translation of the Quranic Discourse Marker Wa in English and Persian Parallel Corpora

Ali Mohammad Mohammadi, Mahmood Yenkimaleki — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The implicit rendering of the most frequent and complex Quranic discourse marker “Wa” is a critical and complicated approach deserving analysis from different perspectives. Applying two theoretical perspectives and Klaudi’s model in the analysis of implicitation, the present exploratory, descriptive, and qualitative study analyzed different manifestations of applying implicitation strategies in the rendering of the Quranic discourse marker Wa (‘and’) in English and Persian parallel corpora. The corpus consisted of 20% of the Quran and its English and Persian translations. The results revealed that the Persian translator appealed to the implicit rendering of this discourse marker in more than 1/3 of the cases (39%) and it was less than 1/3 in the English translation (19%). And the application of this discourse creation, enrichment, and monitoring procedure resulted in the exploration of a seven plane framework consisting of cultural, pragmatic, lexical, and syntactic strategies. These findings facilitate the researchers’ perception and recognition of translation universals.

Translator’s Gender and Features of Women’s Language in Two Persian Translations of The Thief and The Dogs

Melika Afruz, Ali Bashiri, Zohreh Gharaei — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The intersection of translation and gender has been a topic of investigation in Translation Studies. This qualitative and descriptive-analytical study aims to examine the manifestation of the translator’s gender in the Persian translations of the Arabic novel The Thief and The Dogs. The theoretical framework is primarily based on the features enumerated by Lakoff for women's language along with Fotuhi's classification of these features. To conduct the study, the Persian translations of the novel by the female and male translators were analyzed and the linguistic features of women's language were extracted, categorized and coded. The results indicated that, in line with Lakoff's features, the use of adjectives, specific female vocabulary, sentence intensifiers, politeness strategies, colors, and the application of different rhetorical devices were more salient in the language of the female translator. However, frequent use of phonological features such as uptalks, hedges, tag questions, and collaborative discourse was not found in the female translator's work. Additionally, some characteristics did not align with Lakoff's features, including the increased use of diminutive words by the male translator and the use of colloquial expressions and complex sentence structures by the female translator. These findings were interpreted from a sociological perspective.

Translation, a Battleground for Languages and Cultures:

Somaye Delzendehrooy — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Translation has always been a battleground for different languages and cultures, and the translator, willingly or unwillingly, constantly faces the challenge of demonstrating their linguistic abilities and the capabilities of the target language. Abu al-Qāsem Khān Qarāgozlu, one of the first translators of Shakespeare in Iran, deliberately and consciously responds to the challenge of translating Shakespeare and claims that Shakespeare can be translated by relying on the capabilities of the Persian language. The aim of this article is to examine the role of translation, by evaluating Qarāgozlu's claim, in confronting Western linguistic and cultural hegemony during the Qajar period. To this end, one hundred samples of his translation were selected and compared with the original. It was found that the translator, avoiding literal translation and calquing, used two methods of "substitution" (64 cases) and "creation" (36 cases). In "substitution," the translator found equivalents from the Persian repertoire for Shakespeare's expressions and replaced them, and in "creation," the translator invented new expressions, thus showing that the Persian, without calquing English phrases, has sufficient capability to translate Shakespeare's language; so that, hypothetically, it could have provided Shakespeare with the possibility of writing this tragedy in Persian. Thus, the translator, unlike his contemporaries, in a period of flourishing translation from European languages and at a time when intellectuals were looking for translations of Western works to fill the scientific void, while intimidated by Western language and culture, showed the power and capability of the Persian in the face of English through his translation method.

The Effect of National Identity and Cognitive Abilities on Translators’ Fixation Counts

Mina Mirzaee, Fatemeh Parham — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The current paper investigates the potential effect of national identity and cognitive abilities on translators’ mental effort. To this end, an eye-tracking study was conducted to explore how individuals’ mental effort varied based on their national identity and cognitive abilities when instructed to translate according to IRIB standards. To do this, eight participants were recruited to carry out ten tasks, requiring the translation of ideologically-loaded texts. The experiment was performed in the Cognitive Laboratory of the University of Tehran in Iran. The mental effort of the participants was assessed by measuring their fixations counts, a commonly used eye-tracking metric derived from their performance while translating. Upon completion, the participants were given two questionnaires, measuring their national identity and cognitive abilities. The results indicated that the participants’ national identity and cognitive abilities affect their fixation counts which represent their mental effort. In other words, a positive correlation was observed between the scores of national identity and cognitive abilities, where higher scores contributed to increased mental effort. This denotes that the translators’ mental effort decreased when asked to translate against their national identity.

Moving away from Translation Programs Toward Educational Projects:

Farzaneh Farahzad, Abolfazl Sanjarani — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The current study is an archival microhistorical study of Franklin Publishing House's (FPH) activities in Iran, from 1954, its establishment, to 1976, the end of its activities. The aim was to illustrate a detailed picture of FPH activities in Iran. To this end, first, four sets of archival materials concerning the FPH were thoroughly investigated. Iran’s National Library, the Document and Press Center Management of Astan-e Quds-e Razavi, Princeton University Library, The Library of the US Congress and Elmi Farhangi Institutuion were carefully investigated to find primary sources about FPH. Archival materials included presidents’ annual reports of FPH, correspondences between Tehran office and New York office, correspondences between Tehran office and local publishers, local translators, editors. Then the basic information relating to the study was extracted. FPH’s activities resulted in introducing and propagating American Literature and the enhancement of the local publishing industry through the adoption of contemporary methods in areas such as publication, printing, design, distribution, and advertising. In addition, FPH’s activities in publishing Persian encyclopedia enriched the Persian language, and made it more adaptable to contemporary needs and technological advancements.

“I suggest you read my translation of this thread”

Ali Attaran, Farzaneh Farahzad — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Journalators, journalists who actively leverage translation within their professional practice, are increasingly utilizing social media platforms to disseminate content, engage with audiences, and establish themselves as experts. This study delves into the paratextual interventions employed by journalators on Twitter, specifically focusing on forms and functions of these interventions. The analysis reveals diverse paratextual forms including translations of selected segments with hyperlinks to the original content, translations accompanied by contextualization to aid comprehension, and invitations extended to readers to engage with the journalator's work. By examining these forms, the study highlights the multifaceted nature of paratexts within the context of journalistic translation on Twitter. The study also explores the various functions served by these paratexts, drawing upon established typologies from paratextual studies. The findings reveal that journalator paratexts serve a multitude of purposes, encompassing referential, hermeneutic, community-building and commercial functions. This research underscores the significant role of social media platforms like Twitter in expanding the scope of journalators, their paratextual practices, and their agency. The study concludes by emphasizing the need for further exploration of this evolving landscape, highlighting the potential for deeper insights into the intricate interplay between journalators, their audiences, and the paratexts they craft on social media platforms.

The Impact of Practicing Sight Translation Skills on the Performance of Consecutive Interpreting Trainees

Salih Hamad Jasim, Leila Alinouri — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Sight Translation (ST) has long been used in conference interpreting training. However, a few studies have identified and tested the efficacy of ST on developing consecutive interpreting in an Iraqi context. This study investigated the relationship between ST and consecutive interpreting among Iraqi trainees. Further, it explored the relationship between Iraqi consecutive interpreting trainees’ performance in sight translation and their overall consecutive interpreting performance. As such, a purposive or non-probability sampling method was selected. The participants in the study comprised 20 consecutive interpreting trainees from Iraq, studying English translation at Al Hadba University College in Iraq. The materials for this study consisted of two English texts, one for the sight translation task and the other for the consecutive interpreting task. Both texts were authentic. The English text for sight translation contained 300 words. For the consecutive interpreting an approximately 10-minute audiovisual task with the delivery rate at a maximum speed of 180 words per minute was selected. Both tasks were to be translated into Arabic. To analyze the data, Pearson correlation and regression were run. The results showed that Iraqi consecutive interpreting trainees’ performance of sight translation had a significantly positive relationship with their overall consecutive interpreting performance. The findings also revealed that Iraqi consecutive interpreting trainees’ performance of sight translation meaningfully predicted their overall consecutive interpreting performance.

Domestication and Foreignization in the Translations of Mystic Poems of Hafez by Clarke and Shahriari

Zahra Mahmoudabadi, Mahmud Vaez Maroofi, Fatemeh Takallou — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Hafez's mystic poems are among the most difficult to translate, because to fully understand them, you must be a Persian native speaker. The present article uses a descriptive-analytical method to examine some of Hafez's mystic poems translated into English by Clarke and Shahriari, to identify the tendencies of domestication and foreignization and the degree of visibility of the source text’s author in the target text. In this study, 14 samples of Hafez's mystic lyrical poems were randomly selected and analyzed in terms of domestication and foreignization methods for the two translations from which 5 poems have been discussed in this article. The findings show that both translators have used these two strategies, to a different extent. Shahriari's translation, which used the domestication method to a greater extent, seems more natural and more understandable for the target language reader (according to Nida). However, as much as fidelity to the source text is concerned, foreignization is more appropriate than domestication. In general, none of the localization and foreignization methods could fully transfer the main concept of the verses to the target text. Therefore, it is recommended to use footnotes in the translation to convey the full meaning and aesthetic taste in Hafez's poems.

Overtly-Erroneous Lexico-semantic Errors in Contemporary Resistance Literary Works Translated from Persian into English

Mahmoud Afrouz — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Resistance literature is one of the most significant types of literature. Presenting this type of literature should not be restricted to the domestic readers. Resistance as a significant cultural concept needs to transcend geographical borders. Translating books which are mainly written to introduce works on resistance literature would be a step towards fulfilling this objective. Constant monitoring of such works and analyzing errors in this respect would result in high quality translations. The present paper aims at examining the overtly-erroneous lexico-semantic errors in literary works translated into English based on a hybrid model presented by Keshavarz (1999), Vilar et al. (2006) and Laksana and Mursita Putri (2018). Findings revealed that none of the errors of omission type (neither in word nor in sentence level) were made. It was also found that 57.20% of all errors had equally occurred as a result of selecting wrong collocations and inappropriate equivalents for lexical items of either general or culture-specific types. Furthermore, choosing wrong idioms, as well as the use of inappropriate form of words totally consisted one third (33.33%) of lexico-semantic errors. Finally, the findings revealed that the lowest percentage of errors (4.80%) was related to the improper addition of unrelated or extra words and the selection of quite ambiguous equivalents.

Virtual vs. In-person Training in the Field of English Translation from the Viewpoints of Professors and Students of This Field at the University of Mazandaran

Mehdi Asadi, Zahra Salari — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Corona virus made a big challenge in the area of education, and in order to prevent the spread of this disease, virtual education was used. Therefore, the current research tries to determine the advantages and disadvantages of in-person and virtual education by examining and contrasting these two methods in the field of English translation from viewpoints of professors and students of this field at the University of Mazandaran. To this purpose, individual and focus group interviews were conducted with eight professors and 75 undergraduate students at the University of Mazandaran who have experienced both types of education in the era before and after the corona virus pandemic. Grounded theory (Dornyei, 2007) has been applied to analyze the data collected. Finally, it is concluded that virtual method should be used to teach theoretical courses, while the in-person method should be applied to teach practical courses of this field.

Manipulation in the Twenty First Century English Translations of Qur’anic Verses About Jihad, Warfare, and Martyrdom

Hussein Mollanazar, Muhammad Eskandari — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0330

One of the best ways for people, including those wishing to convert to Islam, to get familiar with Islamic teachings is to read the translation of the Qur’an. Throughout the history, however, Qur’an translations have seen multitudinous instances of manipulations, including gross distortions of the Arabic text. The present study investigated manipulation in 76 direct, 21st-century English translations of 80 Qur’anic verses on jihad, warfare, and martyrdom, with a concentration on the translators’ religious ideology. To this end, drawing on Dukāte’s (2007) manipulation typology, an ad-hoc typology was developed. The results showed that Unmarked Complementary Addition and Attenuation were the most and the least frequently used strategies in the renditions, respectively. Furthermore, the translations by Muslim translators of different denominations exhibited significant similarity in the frequency of employing the main manipulative strategies.

The Effect of Translating Inspirational Quotes on the Motivation of Senior University Students Majoring in English Translation

Amir Hosein Shafiei, Dr. Masoud Sharififar, Dr. Gholamreza Rouhani — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Inspirational quotes are concise expressions with precious meaning and encouraging effect, which are widespread nowadays in social media and many public places. These sentences are applied in many educational and psychological contexts to increase motivation, fulfillment, and determination in individuals suffering from anxiety, depression, and stress. Despite the intriguing features of inspirational quotes, there is restricted research on their impact on translation trainees. The present study investigated the effect of translating inspirational quotes on the motivation of senior students majoring in English translation at Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman. To this end, 30 participants selected based on purposive sampling were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. The participants of the experimental group practiced translating inspirational quotes in six weekly sessions, while the control group obtained no intervention. The motivation level of both groups was measured through the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) before and after the treatment period. The results indicated a significantly positive effect of translating inspirational quotes on the students’ motivation. The study sheds further light on the positive effects of practicing inspirational quotes in academic settings.

Unveiling the Marginalized: Translation to and from Kurdish in Iran during the Pahlavi Era (1925–1979)

Serveh Menbari, Farzaneh Farahzad — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Translation into and from Persian, the official language of Iran, has been the main focus of translation history in Iranian academia, neglecting other existing languages in the country. However, to provide a comprehensive account of translation history in Iran as a multilingual country, it is crucial to acknowledge multiple translation "histories" rather than a singular one. This study was designed to investigate the history of Kurdish translation in Iran during the First and Second Pahlavi eras (1925–1979). Employing a historical research method, primary and secondary sources were analyzed to address two key questions: what translated works to/from Kurdish were published during this period, and how the Pahlavi regime policies influenced Kurdish translation dynamics. The study used the Macro-polysystem theory to analyze the effect of ideological, political, linguistic, and economic polysystems on Kurdish translation during the era. The findings indicated that in the First Pahlavi era only one Kurdish translation was published in Iran, while in the Second Pahlavi era, five translations into Kurdish and eight translations from Kurdish were published. The results revealed the marginalized status of Kurdish translation during the Pahlavi era under the direct influence of the regime's ideological, political, and linguistic initiatives promoting nationalism, centralization, and Persianization.

Common Themes and Trends in Four Models of Translation Education:

Mehrangiz Anvarhaghighi, Farzaneh Farahzad, Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Within the field of translation education implementation of effective approaches plays a paramount role to foster the students’ growth and development. Although different studies have been done on the application of modern pedagogical principles to translation education, the insights gained from those contextualized and typically non-generalizable single studies would not resolve this major issue. Yet, the cumulation of knowledge from the results of many studies can provide comprehensive understanding of the topic, making the foundation of science solid. Meta – analysis is a central method for knowledge accumulation in many scientific fields, through which those single studies are aggregated to a larger, more generalizable picture. The present paper aimed to analyze the findings of the inclusive and meaningfully pooled studies on translation education. The 4 selected studies for this qualitative meta-analysis have undergone a thorough and line –by-line thematic analysis and coding; and the result revealed that though the studies stood in epistemologically diverse positions, there were still consistency and a relationship between the common themes, and categories that emerged from the relevant qualitative studies. The insights gained from this research will contribute to discussions on translation education and inform the development of effective pedagogical strategies.

ChatGPT vs. Google Translate: Comparative Analysis of Translation Quality

Mohammad Aghai — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The rise of large language models and their use in machine translation has prompted the need to examine the quality of their translations and compare them with other systems. This study aimed to assess the quality of literary translation from Persian to English using ChatGPT and Google Translate. A Persian short story was chosen, and both tools were used to generate translations. The translations were evaluated using Sofyan and Tarigan's (2019) functional holistic model, resulting in scores of 56% and 40% respectively. Additionally, a critical error analysis was conducted to identify areas where the tools struggled with effective translation, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. These scores indicate that both machine translation systems have limitations in terms of accuracy, equivalence, and text function, particularly in literary translation. Moreover, the findings of this study emphasize the importance of human translators in achieving high-quality translations that effectively convey cultural nuances and idiomatic expressions in Persian to English literary translations, despite the convenience offered by machine translation systems for quick translations.

A Comparison of the Quality and Speed of Post-Edited Translation and Human-Initiated Translation by Novice Translators

S. Hossein Arjani, Masoud Jamshidiha — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The present study compares post-editing and translation from scratch by novice translators in terms of quality and speed in the English-Persian language pair. Moreover, it investigates the factors that affect the cognitive and temporal aspects of post-editing effort. To that end, 10 B.A. students were briefed to translate a short English news text by post-editing the raw MT output provided in Persian, while eight student translated the same text from scratch, with both groups performing the task in the online CAT tool MateCat. The performance of the participants were monitored and screen-recorded to compare the two groups’ speed in completing the task. Furthermore, the two groups’ translations were evaluated analytically and holistically by three evaluators. It was found that the post-editors were significantly faster, and their TL texts were of a considerably higher quality. After completing the task, the participants were asked to fill out questionnaires to provide insight into the cognitive and temporal post-editing efforts. The responses indicated that the grammatical errors present in the raw MT output were the most important factor affecting the temporal post-editing effort, while finding ‘proper equivalents’, and balancing usage of MT were reported to a lesser extent, and correcting zero-width non-joiner was reported by only one post-editor. The most reported issue related to cognitive effort was the concern that post-editing could adversely affect the creativity of the translator, while finding ‘proper equivalents’, balancing usage of MT, and making the target text easy to understand, among others, were also reported to be causes for cognitive effort, albeit with less frequency.

Why is Philosophy Good for Translation Studies?

Mostafa Amiri — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

As a research-based field, Translation Studies inevitably carries assumptions that are determined by its ontological, epistemological, and methodological positions towards the object of research, and thus shape its fundamental beliefs about the nature of translation and its methods of study. This article aims to identify these underlying assumptions in Translation Studies within the two dominant nodal discourses of “equivalence” and “norms” and emphasize the significance of a shift in the field’s ontological, epistemological, and methodological perspectives, which led to a greater focus on cultural aspects. After briefly exploring the ontological and epistemological positions, this article delves into the key concepts within equivalence-dominated discourse and norm-dominated discourse in Translation Studies, specifically examining meaning, text, and translation, to uncover the fundamental theoretical assumptions associated with these discourses.

William Chittick's Translation of Kašf al-Asrār wa ʿOddat al-Abrār:

Marzieh Malekshahi, Dr — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0330

This article provides a postcolonial analysis of William Chittick's English translation of Kašf al-asrār wa ʿoddat al-abrār, a monumental Qurʾānic commentary by the 12th-century Persian scholar Abu’l-Fażl Rašid-al-Din Meybodi. The study investigates how Chittick's positionality as a contemporary Western academic shaped his translation approach, arguing that it reflects certain Orientalist leanings inherited from colonialist discourses. The analysis focuses on framing devices, selectivity, and translation choices that exoticize Islamic culture as mystical and inferior. Strategies like framing Meybodi’s text specifically as "Sufi" commentary, excluding biographical content, and selectively emphasizing passages related to "love" cater to Orientalist paradigms that bifurcate between an emotional, mystical Sufism and legalistic, orthodox Islam. This reductionist filtering tailored for Western expectations fragments Meybodi's integrated exegetical methodology which interweaves linguistic, legal, and spiritual dimensions. Chittick's omission of extensive Arabic sections and hadiths diminishes the centrality of Prophetic narrations in Qurʾānic interpretation. Overall, the study argues that Chittick's decontextualization and homogenization of this profoundly diverse text severely compromises its integrity. It calls for greater reflexivity regarding translators' inherited ideological assumptions and respect for the cultural context and polyvalent nature of source texts.

A Critique of "Research Methodologies in Translation Studies"

Mahdieh Mashaei, Mir Saeed Mousavi Razavi — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Reviewing educational books is regarded as an important step towards improving the quality of teaching and learning; it also helps improvement of content quality, error correction, resource diversification and critical thinking, thus making it undeniably significant. Through content evaluation, one can ensure that educational materials are comprehensive, accurate and aligned with educational objectives leading to improvement in content quality. In addition, considering the ever-changing nature of knowledge and technology, educational resources should be regularly reviewed and updated to be in line with the latest information and principles. Using the framework proposed by McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara (2013), the present research has attempted to examine the formal, content and methodological aspects of the book "Research Methodologies in Translation Studies", which is regarded as one of the primary sources in research methodologies in Translation Studies. The findings indicated that overall, the book has done well in presenting research concepts in translation studies and as the authors claim in the objectives section, it has outlined a coherent model in classifying methodological concepts in translation research and has also achieved its intended goals in several other aspects.

Application of Jean René Ladmiral's Theory in the Qualitative Evaluation of the Divine Translation of Some Fifteen Verses of the Second Part of the Qur'an

Masuod Fekri, Akram Madani — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Investigating the ways of translating the Qur’an and expressing their strengths and weaknesses can be a way forward for active translators in this field and make the knowledge of Quran translation more dynamic. Since the goal of translating the Qur'an is to better understand it in the target language, in this research, in a descriptive-analytical way and relying on the destinationist theory of Ladmiral (1994), which includes components such as transposition, addition and minimal interpretation for a better understanding of the target reader. Mehdi Elahi Qomshei's translation of the second fifteenth part of the Qur'an has been analyzed in order to evaluate the adaptation of this theory to the translation, as well as measure the translator's success rate in providing a smooth and fluent translation at the destination. The results of the research indicate that in this translation, the components of augmentation, minimal interpretation and heterogeneity of Admiral's theory have the highest frequency. The translator made the translation longer than the original text of the Qur'an with the aim of purposefulness and the additions he brought for better understanding and understanding of the reader, while streamlining the text, to the point where this translation can be considered a brief interpretation of the Qur'an.

Typological Analysis of Adverbs of Manner in English and Persian

Marzieh Afshari, Mohammah Hossein Sharafzadeh, Ameneh Zare' — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Typological studies have been done for all groups of word classes such as adjectives, verbs and adverbs. The present research aimed to study the adverbs of manner in English and their corresponding translations in Persian following on Loeb-Diehl (2005). She had studied manner expressions in 120 world languages and placed them into 10 strategies. English and Persian were among the languages of her study. To start our data collection, we identified adverbs of manner in the first ten chapters of the Wuthering Heights novel. After that, we discovered the related sentences and adverbs in Persian. We chose four translators and compared their translations with the English language. Finally, we put all the Persian and English data in the proper tables. According to our studies, ADV strategies were translated into ADV strategies in most cases. Also, PP strategies in English were most often translated into PP strategies in Persian. The last strategy was ADJ-IMPERSO. In case we ignore the fact that in this strategy the subjects were the same, then we can say it had translated into ADJ. IMPERSO in Persian. It should also be noted that all the strategies in English were translated to other groups, too. Consequently, we cannot assert that all English strategies were translated into all the strategies used in Persian. Therefore, we can't expect every English strategy to have a corresponding strategy in Persian.

Semantic Evaluation of the Translators' Methods in the Translation of the Phrase: "أَوْ أَنْ نَفْعَلَ فِي أَمْوالِنا ما نَشؤُا" in Verse 87 of Surah Hud

Rasul Mohammadjafari — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0330

One of the most important efforts of Qur'an scholars has been the translation of the Qur'an into Persian. There are mistakes in these translations that need to be checked, among them is the translation of the phrase "أَوْ أَنْ نَفْعَلَ فِي أَمْوالِنا ما نَشؤُا" in verse 87 of Surah Hud. By examining 32 translations of the Qur'an, it became clear that the translators had four different methods: 1) In 15 translations, "أَنْ نَفْعَل" is translated negatively: "أن لا نفعل", there is no proof of the determination of "لا" negation, 2) In 5 cases, "أَنْ نَفْعَلَ" has been translated as "أَنْ نَتْرُكَ", this translation has presented an incorrect meaning of the verse, 3) In 2 translations, the translators have added verbs to provide the correct meaning. There is no reason for this translation. 4) In 10 translations, the translators have inflected the phrase: “أَوْ أَنْ نَفْعَلَ..." to "ما يَعْبُدُ آباؤُنا", this translation is correct. According to the findings of the present research, it became clear that careful and scientific attention to the literary role of Quranic words and phrases plays a significant role in providing a correct translation. Therefore, it is necessary for translation scholars to carefully examine the literary methods of translators.

Editor's Note

Farzaneh Farahzad — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0330

On the 21st year of publication of IJTS and losing our colleague, Prof. Kourosh Safavi

Semantic Adjustments in the Renditions of Short Stories:

Sara Zandian — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0330

While translating, translators may resort to adjustments to preserve the meaning of the source text (ST) intact and to produce natural and comprehensible renditions in the target text (TT). Drawing on Nida and Taber’s (2003) framework, this descriptive study aims to examine the adjustments to meaning in the translations of three short stories, including The Duchess and the Jeweller, The Closed Shop, and The Bet. The results of content analysis of the STs and TTs suggested that most of the semantic adjustments concerned reduction, as opposed to the common assumption on the preponderance of expansion over reduction. Meanwhile, reduction of formula and descriptive substitute served as the most frequently applied reduction and expansion techniques by the translator. Regarding the central principle of producing the closest natural equivalent, the translator’s preferred option of reduction techniques, seems justifiable as it has paved the way to render a dynamic equivalence in the translation.

Writing and Translating ‘Aloud’:

pegah shahidi — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0330

In recent years, a growing interest has been devoted to literature, either written or translated for children, and the specificities of this literature. The present study was an attempt to explore one of the main characteristics of children’s literature called reading aloud. Reading aloud refers to reading a story aloud to children in order to enhance their experience with education and entertainment through literature. Adopting a qualitative design, this study focused on analyzing reading aloud in one of Roald Dahl’s famous stories called “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (1996) and its translation by Mahboobeh Najafkhani through a model proposed by Cay Dollerup (2003). The model explores four different layers (structural, linguistic, content, and intentional layer) to establish if the text is suitable for reading aloud or not. The four layers were investigated in both the authored and translated text and similarities and differences in each layer were established and compared in order to examine if the translation is as or more/less suitable for reading aloud than the authored text. Out of the four layers, only the linguistic layer yielded some discrepancies. However, the results obtained from the statistical analysis of the linguistic layer indicated that the translation is as suitable as the source text in the case of reading aloud. The upshot of the finding was that reading aloud is not a negligible aspect of literature written for young audiences, and translators can utilize creative solutions in order to make the translation as fit as the source text for reading aloud.

Comparing the Usage of Two Methods of Footnote and Explicitation in Translation of Children's Literature and Investigating the Performance of these Two Methods in the Memory of Children

Pariya Azad — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Few researches have studied the issue of footnote and explicitation in the translation of children's literature. Therefore, in the present descriptive-inferential research, two elementary classes were selected. Students received the short translated paragraph from the book "Big foot-Little foot" by "Ellen Potter" in which the strange word "Sasquatch" was used. In each school, one class received the explanation of the word Sasquatch through the use of footnote strategy, and the other class received it through the use of explicitation. After a few hours, the students were asked to answer the questionnaire. The results show that students who received the explanation of the word through the use of the footnote had more correct answers than students who received it through the use of explicitation. Then, three weeks later, to check the performance of these two methods in the long-term memory of the students, a questionnaire which contained three sentences explaining the word, was provided to students. According to the results and the chi-square test, the students who received the explanation of the word in the form of a footnote remembered the definition of the word more completely.

Taboo Rendition in Persian Dubbed Version of Detective Movies:

leila Niknasab — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The present research is going to investigate the strategies adopted by Persian translators in case of taboo translation due to the role of cultural norms and translators’ hiring institutions policies. In this study, one translation of the Persian dubbing of an English series entitled “Hercule Poirot”—the episode named ‘wasps’ nest’—was analyzed. The English episode along with its Persian dubbed version formed the corpus of the study and the Persian dubbing was done by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). The theoretical frame work was based on the classification of taboo by Sharifi and Darchinian (2009) and the strategies proposed by Khoshsaligheh et al. (2014) for translating taboo. The present research aimed to find answers to these questions: 1) Regarding taboos, which strategies were utilized in Persian dubbed version of the detective episode? 2) Is it possible that the audience of the dubbed version in target language get the same impact (considering plot story, suspense and detective clues to solve puzzles) as an English viewer get? And 3) Do Persian translators tend to observe the norms of the source or of the target language in the rendition of taboos? The findings of the research illustrated that upon encountering cultural clashes between the source and target works, the translator of the movie preferred to substitute the inappropriate elements with more acceptable ones and to omit taboo scenes or the taboo conversation totally. Some censorship strategies affected the story in the dubbed version and it seems that the plot story changed in some parts. The suspense was lost in the Persian version in some scenes and one can find distortion of many conversations and of the end of the episode.

Trainee Translators’ Identity Orientations and Their Attitudes Towards Censorship

Roya Alipour, Dr. Hossein Bahri, Dr. Mahvash Gholami — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This study examines trainee translators’ identity orientations from sociological and psychological perspectives and investigates how personal, social, relational, and collective aspects of the translators’ identities may have an impact on their attitudes towards censorship. To achieve this objective, the quantitative descriptive-analytic method was employed, and a survey was administered to a group of translation students who had at least one year of experience in translating from English to Persian. Subsequently, data from a sample of 143 participants was collected and analyzed. The findings of the study indicated that all aspects of trainee translators’ identities except the collective identity had a positive correlation with opposition to censorship and based on the data analysis it was concluded that trainee translators with stronger personal identities tended to be more resistant to censorship and those with stronger collective identities tended to be more tolerant of censorship.

Effect of Collocation-Based Specialized Translation Training Course on Improvement of the Specialized Translation Quality

maryam poorgalavi — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0330

Specialized translation is the most common type of services provided by Iranian translation agencies, therefore, it is of great importance. On the other hand, due to the increasing demand of academic society for high-quality translations, there is a critical need for well-trained specialized translators. Thus, the present study aimed to propose a collocation-based method for specialized translation training courses in Iran. To this end, a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was implemented. The statistical population consisted of 270 online Iranian participants, of whom, only 158 completed their training course. Data were analyzed using SPSS-22, one-sample and paired T-tests. Results showed that the collocation-based specialized translation training course is effective in improving the quality of specialized translation. Moreover, the results revealed that the participants had more difficulty in understanding and recognizing lexical synonyms than grammatical ones.

Translation Quality from Systemic Functional Perspective:

Sajjad Farrokhipour — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Divine and aesthetic properties of the Holy Quran and intricate systems of Arabic syntax, orthography, and semantics have rendered Quranic translation a formidable task. Due to these properties of the Quranic language, the customary translation assessment frameworks fail to accurately depict the syntactic and semantic inadequacies of the Quranic translation. Therefore, the current research was an innovative attempt to draw out an analytical framework from systemic functional linguistics and examine some hidden systemic losses in English translations of the Holy Quran. To include both local/non-native and foreign/near-native views of the Quranic translation, Qaraei and Yusuf-Ali’s translations of the chapter Joseph were investigated comparatively wherein the transfer of ideational meta-functions of the Arabic text was examined. Narrative nature of the chapter and preserved local coherence of events- that permitted tracing ideas and systemic processes in the text - served as the main logic behind its selection. The analyses of 111 verses of the chapter revealed that in some behavioral, material, mental, existential, and relational processes of ideational meta-functions, one or both of the translations suffer from syntactic or semantic losses due to inappropriate or missed lexical and grammatical choices. In many cases, the meta-functions of the Arabic text were adequately conveyed in English. Since most of these systemic errors are not revealed by current translation assessment frameworks, these findings have theoretical and practical implications for language instructors, researchers, translators, and applied linguists.

Unveiling the Epistemic Foundations of Historical Translation Studies

Parviz Rassouli, Farzaneh Farahzad — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The accumulation of knowledge on translation history/historiography has given rise to a distinct and burgeoning area of study known as historical translation studies (HTS), which necessitates an epistemological analysis. With this in mind, the present article aimed to identify the epistemic foundations of HTS, with a focus on three key criteria that are constitutive of academic fields: subject matter, relevance and aims, and interdisciplinarity. To achieve the objective, the research conducted a rapid review of the epistemic writings on translation historiography, thematically scrutinizing the relevant works through the prism of the aforementioned criteria. The analysis led to the identification and synthesis of a set of theoretical proposals and claims regarding each criterion, which in turn helped delineate the epistemic foundations of HTS. Regarding subject matter, seven principles of categorization were identified along with the corresponding subcategories. Turning attention to relevance and aims, it became clear that HTS substantially contributes to institutional, theoretical, practical, pedagogical, and professional aspects of translation, as well as non-translation domains such as culture and history. The question of interdisciplinarity was also addressed, with three aspects of audience, discourse, and method orienting historical research into two different, though complementary, directions: translation in history and history of translation. The results and findings of the study were presented as a tentative proposal for the epistemic foundations of HTS, which could lead to the further development of this field of knowledge as a subdiscipline of translation studies.

An Epistemological Approach to Translation Studies

Mehran Zendehboudi — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

A detailed discussion of the epistemology of translation is beyond the scope of a single paper. Therefore, in the present paper we have explored only few issues. The study of current theories is among the most important objectives of epistemology in any field of science. In this study we have discussed four concepts. Faithfulness is one of the basic concepts in translation studies that we have taken a brief look at. Then, we have discussed two main concepts: source text (Sourciers) and target text (Ciblistes). These two terms are frequently discussed in translation studies. The last part of the paper deals with dichotomies in translation studies including theory vs. practice, translatability vs. untranslatability, and translation as an art vs. translation as a science.

Translation of Metaphorical Expressions in Mathnawi

Nikou Kheyrkhah — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The current paper aims at investigating the possible ways to translate metaphorical expressions in the translation of Rumi’s Mathnawi into English by Nicholson. The metaphorical expressions in the original work and their equivalents in Nicholson’s translation were thoroughly examined. The theoretical framework was Newmark's. The outcome of this survey was the identification of translator's preferences in selection of translation strategies. The paper then elaborates on these strategies.

Translating Hafez: Examining the Feasibility of a Deconstructive Approach

Reza Rezaei — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

In the present research attempt is made to employ a Derridean deconstructive theory of translation in analyzing two English translations of some Ghazals of Hafez. To this end, first a logical line of critical theories that somehow serve translation theory and have a footprint in deconstruction is followed. Then, the deconstructive arguments are utilized to analyze a few Ghazals in relation to their translations. Finally, some suggestions are made for further research in this field. In short, the researcher is convinced, relying on the results of the study, that a deconstructive theory of translation is feasible for analyzing the existing translations of Hafez. It was also found that such an approach can reveal certain facts that would go unnoticed using a traditional linguistics-based theory of translation.

Style in Translation of Poems

Nematullah Shomoossi — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

As a creative translation activity, poetry translation is considered a transcultural practice. However, the difficulty of translating poetry is twofold: the words and meaning on the surface, and the flow and rhythm (or rhyme) at the root. Also attending to aspects like form, sound, words, images, tone, and content at the same time is not an easy task. In the present study, steps have been taken to compare a contemporary poem, the Winter (Zemestan), with two different English translations (Bashiri and Shahegh), with reference to Vahid and colleagues’ (2008) framework. The results indicated that neither has been perfectly successful in transferring the style of the original poet. Bashiri was found to be semantic in his approach, and Shahegh to be literal. All in all, keeping to all aspects is difficult, if not impossible, in translating poetry from one language into another.

Strategies Applied in Translating Quranic Idiomatic Expressions

Salar Manafi Anari, Somayeh Adili — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Translation is a difficult task but a necessary means for conveying the concepts and meanings from one language into another. Some concepts are problematic for the translator to transfer to another language including idioms which are among the most challenging, especially in religious texts. The present research attempted to distinguish strategies by which English and Persian translators of the Holy Qur’an translated the idiomatic expressions of this Noble Book. To this end, three Persian versions of the Holy Qur’an (by Meshkini, Elahi Qomsheii and Ansarian) together with three English translations (by Arberry, Shakir and Starkovsky) were selected and some verses which contained such expressions were extracted. The researchers limited the research to verbal idioms and investigated just five chapters of the Holy Qur’an. Then based on the framework proposed by Baker (1992:72-78) the analysis was made. The final results demonstrated that translation by paraphrasing was the most frequent strategy applied by both English and Persian translators.

Screen Capture Technology in Translation Process Research

Saber Zahedi — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present study aims to provide guidelines for using screen capture technology in translation process research. Screen capture technology refers to digital recording of actions on a computer screen. The study shows how a researcher, making use of screen capture, can obtain information regarding the difficulties and issues involved in the process of translation. In this study, a group of translators were given limited amount of time to complete their work, and at the same time their performance on the computer screen was recorded by means of a screen capture application. The data provided valuable information such as self-correction, pause, compromising, dictionary use, shortcuts and immediate revision in the process of translation. Using such a device, one could reduce the former disadvantages in translation process research using think-aloud protocols which made the participants conscious of being studied. The article finally lists a number of advantages of using this method as well as its limitations.

Translation of News Texts in Persian Political Magazines: A Study Based on Van Dijk's Critical Discourse Analysis

Ehsan Khalouzadeh, Hossein Heidari, Azizeh Chalak — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present study was an attempt to identify the likely patterns of translational behaviors with ideological implications in translations conducted by principlist and pro-reformist magazines from foreign English media. The researcher wanted to see whether the ideological effects vary in the translations of the same text. Van Dijk’s (1998) model of analysis was selected which provides a model based on a sociocognitive theory. Ideological manifestations in the target texts were analyzed according to van Dijk’s model. The data were collected from two principlist and pro-reformist Iranian magazines. The source texts were retrieved via internet browsing. Data analysis showed that both translations of the same text had their own different ideological effects. ‘Evaluation of events based on Our interests’ was the most common strategy applied by translators.

The Effect of Translation Genre on Consistency in English Renderings of Quranic Divine Name

Fazel Asadi Amjad, Mohammad Farahani — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present corpus-based research was an attempt to see the effect of translation genre on consistency in translation of Quranic Divine Names (DNs). To do so, three formally different English translations of the Holy Qur'an were selected. These translations were done by three professional translators namely, Shakir (1985), Qarai (2003), and Nikayin (2006) who provided their translations in prose, phrase-by-phrase, and poetry forms respectively. Based on Chesterman`s model of translation strategies (1997), the type and extent of strategies adopted by each translator for translating Quranic DNs in the Holy Qur'an were examined and discussed. Then, the consistency in performances of the translators in using equivalents for DNs in different contexts was investigated. Finally, the performances were compared and possible causes of their difference were explored. The findings of the study showed that the most frequent strategies adopted by Shakir and Qarai were ‘near-synonymy’ and ‘expansion’ respectively. Nikayin, however, used these two strategies almost to an equal extent as his most frequent strategies. And, regarding the consistency, Qarai ranked first, Shakir second, and Nikayin took the third position in providing consistent equivalents.

Using Monolingual and Bilingual Dictionaries in Translating Literary Texts

Hamid Marashi, Marzieh Nejadshir — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0330

The purpose of this research was to examine whether using monolingual and bilingual dictionaries has any significant effect on the quality of translation of literary texts among literature and translation students. Accordingly, 114 senior undergraduate students of English Literature and English Translation were chosen on the basis of their performance on a piloted English proficiency test and were subsequently divided into four groups. A text which was the first three paragraphs of Ernest Hemingway’s "A Farewell to Arms" was given to them to translate. One group of literature students and one group of translation students used a bilingual dictionary while the other two groups used a monolingual dictionary. The students were asked to translate the text, prior to which a summary of the selected novel was given to all students to read. To respond to the four research questions posed in this study, the means of the scores of the four groups, i.e. those literature and translation students who used a monolingual dictionary and those literature and translation students who used a bilingual dictionary were calculated and a two-way ANOVA was run in this regard. The conclusion was that there was a significant difference between the impact of the two majors (literature and translation) in the quality of their translation, but no significant difference was observed between the use of bilingual and monolingual dictionaries; so the interaction of dictionary type and major type was not significant.

The Loss of Pun in the Translation of Shakespeare's Selected Sonnets

Mohammad Khatib — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This paper deals with the translation of puns in Shakespeare's selected sonnets. Shakespeare was especially fond of what is variously designated as pun, a literary device that requires the reader or listener to move between two (or more) meanings of a word. Four different kinds of pun are recognized in Shakespeare's sonnets and are compared with their Persian translations to discover the different strategies used by the Persian translator.

Two Methods of Evaluating Students' Translations: The Question of Validity

Babak Mohammadi — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This study examines the criterion-related validity of the results obtained by the application of two methods of assessment, that is, Farahzad’s Objectified Method (1992) and Hurtado’s Method (1995), to the correction of translations done by some university students from English into Persian. To do so, three raters scored students’ translations, first applying Farahzad’s Method, and then Hurtado’s Method. The mean scores given by the raters were compared to the students’ scores in 18 of the translator training courses which were categorized into four groups. The correlation coefficients between these two sets of scores indicated the validity of the two methods. The results obtained by using Pearson’s correlation formula proved that the methods were valid as the correlation coefficients were above 0.4 (0.4 < r). Moreover, as the differences between them were less than 0.1, it was concluded that they were equally valid.

Playing with Words Across Visual Humor:

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This research focuses on the intersection of translanguaging, language instruction, and audiovisual materials, with a specific focus on wordplay in Translation Studies. Given the significant role, wordplay plays in generating humor in audiovisual materials, it can provide a challenge for translators to convey both the humor and cultural nuances of the original text. The study initially analyzed the strategies utilized in subtitling wordplay for two popular series, Friends and The Simpsons, translated into Persian. The research utilized a content analysis approach to categorize the diverse types of wordplay and identify the particular translation methods employed in the subtitle translations. The results indicated that lexical-semantic wordplay and "no wordplay" approaches were the most commonly utilized strategies. However, the failure of translated subtitles was observed due to inadequate transfer of English wordplay into Persian. Subsequently, the study's findings were shared with 15 EFL students. The focus group results demonstrated the participants' enhanced understanding of wordplay, with translanguaging identified as a motivating approach for language learning. To assess the naturalness of equivalents in the subtitled series, the study enlisted views from three Persian native speakers regarding selected equivalents in the corpus. This research has important implications for agencies in multilingual and multicultural spaces.

‘Turk-e Shirazi’ in the Costume of ‘Sweet Maid’: Jones’ Orientalist Translation of Hafiz Ghazal Reframed

Parvaneh Ma‘azallahi — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The sixteenth century on the Indian continent is marked by a further expansion of Persographia in the commercial sphere. This was due in part to the rise of the English East India Company which laid the foundation of a new direction in translation, as well. Against this backdrop, translation of Persian classics found a new edge, and Persian literature opened up new territories in Europe. Jones’ translation of the Ghazal ‘Turk-e Shirazi’, which opened up new avenues for Western scholars, was an example of this, generally regarded as an Orientalist translation in the service of imperialist purposes. However, this study aims to elucidate this translation through the idea of ‘virtuality’ of translation proposed by Chittiphalangsri (2014). To this end, not only was the English translation of this ghazal examined, but Jones’ conceptualization of Persian literature in paratext included in Poems Chiefly Consisting of Translations from Asiatic Languages was also considered. In conclusion, it appears that Jones’ domestication method was not adopted to exercise hegemonic power or to emphasize the Otherness of Hafiz. Instead, it originated from cultural negotiation rather than cultural hegemony and was intended to provide a ‘sufficient’ representation of this ghazal to the audience of the Romantic age.

Analyzing the Translation of the Part-speech “wa low tara ez” Based on Pragmatics:

Masumeh Pouya, Farhad divsalar — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Pragmatics is an interdisciplinary science that studies the hidden meanings behindwords, it also reflects and is precise in defining the relationship of the structure of a text in order to properly navigate the process of finding the meaning behind it. The Holy Qur'an is one of the important texts in which understanding the precise meaning and transferring it to non-Arab readers is very important and has always been the focus of researchers and translators. Therefore, it is necessary to use different tools for accurate understanding and translation. Translation of tamani customs, especially the letter “low” is one of the most challenging cases in the Holy Quran. Translators have differences in the translation of the “Va low tara ez” verse which is mentioned seven times in the Holy Quran. Due to the fact that this verse is used three times in the Surah Mubaraka An'am, therefore, the study of this surah is the focus of this research. This research tries to analyze this Quranic discourse by relying on pragmatics and speech act theory. The researchers can identify the appropriate meaning of these verses by considering the context of the rest of the verses and speeches؛ and in the course of the research, introduce the translators who translated with this point of view. The research method is in the form of text analysis based on analysis, description, comparison and presentation of statistics. The result of the research indicates that out of seventy Persian translations, only 22% of verse 27, 12% of verse 30, and 27% of verse 93 of Surah An'am have been translated in tamani form, However, due to the high frequency of persuasive actions in these verses, perceiving the serious meaning of said verses is realized by considering the letter “Low” to be in tamani form.

Gender Distribution in Iran’s Translation Industry:

Mohammad Aghai — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Translation is seen around the world as a female-dominated industry. However, translators are not paid equally and one’s salary as a translator depends on various factors, including experience, university degree, language proficiency, and translation skills. The most lucrative sector of the translation industry in Iran is official translation, which requires a license from the Judiciary. To obtain a license to establish an official translation bureau or work as a sworn translator, one must pass highly competitive standardized exams that assess their language proficiency, translation skills, and knowledge of the law. This study attempts to shed some light on the gender distribution of translators working in the most profitable sector of the industry. The results of this study show that 72.6% of certified translators in Iran are men and only 27.4% are women. Nevertheless, there are some provinces where women outnumber men as sworn translators. For instance, 75% of certified translators in Zanjan are female and only 25% are male.

A Pragmatic Analysis of the Persian and Kurdish Translations of the Quranic Discourse Marker Wa in Parallel Corpora

Ali Hemmati, Alimohammad Mohammadi — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This study analysed the Persian and the Sorani Kurdish translations of the most frequent, effective, and complicated Quranic discourse marker wa. The research is conducted on the basis of a theoretical perspective and an analytic model and is both descriptive and qualitative. The corpus consists of the Quranic texts, the Persian, and the Sorani Kurdish translations of the Quran. It contains of six sections of the Quran, accounting for 20% of the whole text which are selected randomly. The results showed 86 different types, combinations, and sequences of four groups of elaborative, contrastive, inferential, and temporal discourse markers were applied in the Persian and the Sorani Kurdish translations of the Holy Quran. The findings indicate that the translation of this discourse marker in the Quran in both languages is not conducted on a literal and word-by-word basis and substantiates linguistic, pragmatic, and discourse oriented creativity in the translations of the Quran into the Persian and the Kurdish languages. The obtained results may prove that the translators are expected to adapt and adopt their approaches, strategies, and procedures to accommodate different lexical, synthetic, semantic, and pragmatic variables in other languages, cultures, and discourses.

The Politics of Translation: Investigating Paratexts of Persian Translations of American Literary Works in Two Historical Contexts

Mazdak Bolouri, Elaheh Rezvani — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present study investigates the impact of political relationships on intercultural transfer between Iran and the United States by examining the presentation of Persian translations of American literary works published in Iran from 1953 to 2004. Focusing on the transformation of the Iran-United States relationship following Iran's 1979 Revolution, this research aims to identify any variations in the paratexts surrounding these translations. By analyzing the paratexts, the study sheds light on how periods of peace and conflict between the two nations have influenced intercultural transfer and the production of literary translations. The theoretical framework draws on Bourdieu's concept of the social formation process of cultural products, highlighting the specific social operations involved in the selection, presentation, and reception of translations. In order to examine changes in the presentation of Persian translations of American literary works over time, the paratexts accompanying 175 translations published in Iran during two historical periods (1953–1979 and 1979–2004) were thematically analyzed using the qualitative textual analysis software MAXqda 2020. These periods are significant as they manifest dramatic shifts in the politics of Iran on both national and international levels. The analysis identified six major themes within the paratextual corpus: 'Source Text Author,' 'Source Text,' 'Socio-political Concerns,' 'Translation and Publication,' 'Literature,' and 'Readership.' While these themes persisted across both periods, the diachronic analysis revealed shifts in their coverage, topics, and content. These findings contribute to the understanding of paratextual materials as politicized objects that not only shape ideological perceptions of the source culture but also reflect the social, political, and cultural discourse within the field of literary translation.

Non-professional Subtitling Reception: Latest Trends and Future Prospects

Saeed Ameri — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Translation studies has explored the complex and nuanced aspects of professional translation. In the early 1990s, a new paradigm emerged in cultural studies, characterized by a burgeoning interest in the intersection between fan culture and media production, which later became a source of inspiration for translation scholars, who extensively documented the mechanism of fan translation. Recent scholarship on fan translation has expanded its scope to encompass not only the process of translation performed by fans but also the reception and interpretation of their work by audiences. The aim of this paper is to offer a cutting-edge survey of current scholarship in non-professional subtitling reception by discussing key issues of non-professional subtitling and examining theoretical frameworks that explain reception and audience in audiovisual translation.

Improving English-Persian Neural Machine Translation System through Filtered Back-Translation Method

Pariya Razmdideh, Fatemeh Pour-Ali Momen-Abadi, Sajjad Ramezani — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This study utilizes the neural machine translation (NMT) approach to improve the VRU English-Persian NMT system. In an NMT system, the encoder takes a sequence of source words as inputs and the decoder takes the source vectors through an attention mechanism as input and returns the target words. As English-Persian is a low resource language pair and few researches have been carried out on this language pair, it is important to augment the NMT system with various data. The study explores two methods to enhance the VRU system: back-translation and data filtering. At first, we created NMT models using two corpora, Amirkabir and Persica. To see whether higher ratios of synthetic data leads to decreases or increases in translation performance, we modeled different ratios using back-translation. We found that back-translation significantly improved the VRU NMT system. Second, the filtering method is applied to eliminate noisy data by applying sentence-BLEU, Average Alignment Similarity (AAS), Maximum Alignment Similarity (MAS), combination of AAS and MAS, combination of AAS, MAS, and sent-BLEU. Results show that the combination of AAS, MAS, and sent-BLEU produced the highest growth, with a BLEU score of 30.65. The study concludes that the proposed methods effectively enhance the VRU English-Persian NMT system.

Keywords: AAS, Back-translation, BLEU, Filtering, MAS, Neural machine translation, Tensor2Tensor

Sense/Image Appeal in Translation of Metaphorical Expressions from Cultural and Cognitive Perspectives

Ehsan Panahbar, Abbas Eslami Rasekh — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

Metaphor, as an often troublesome figure of speech for translators, is treated in different ways in translation. These treatments are influenced by the translators' understanding of the sense or image of the metaphor in question. The present study attempts to investigate if the cognitive processes in a translator's mind, including his cultural or linguistic knowledge, generate a corresponding metaphoric translation. Ten MA students of English translation were selected as sample translators and were given 20 metaphors contextualized in sentences to translate. They were asked to think aloud while trying to translate the sentences. The results showed that what automatically passed through their minds did not necessarily engender a corresponding translation in terms of sense or image. It appears that cultural and linguistic constraints affecting cognitive processes significantly differ from the cultural or linguistic constraints on the actual product of translation.

On Translation of Implicature in Novels

Marjan Dehghani, Ahmad Sedighi — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

In the present study, ‘translation of implicatures’ as a challenging issue in Translation Studies is addressed. The researchers' main concern is to investigate the translation procedures proposed by Newmark in translation of implicatures including literal translation, expansion, modulation, transposition, equivalence, and omission in novels. At the preliminary stage, four questions were raised to detect the translation procedures adopted by the translators and to find the most frequent translation procedure used in translation of implicatures. To this end, a famous English novel, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyr, and its two best-seller Persian translations by Mehdi Afshar and Mohammad Taghi Bahrami Harran were chosen to be analyzed. Through a contrastive analysis, seventy four implicatures were extracted from the novel and its two translations and were analyzed. The obtained results of this analysis demonstrated that the most frequent translation procedure adopted by the translators was literal translation.

Strategies Applied in Translation of Culture-Specific Items in Literary Texts

Farideh Shabani Rad — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

This paper is an attempt to identify the possible problems concerning lexical gaps that translators may encounter while translating literary texts. To this end, literary texts and their translations were searched for the domains in which CSIs could be found; they were then analysed and the strategies which were applied by the translators to solve the problems were identified. Usually where there is a cultural focus, there is a translation problem due to the possible cultural gap or distance between source language and target language. Some words and phrases are so heavily and exclusively grounded in one culture that they seem almost impossible to translate into another. Translators are faced with the problem of finding adequate equivalents for the language-specific words; therefore, they search for strategies to cope with these problems and aim at finding a way to express the important meaning components of the word or phrase.

The Effect of Using Parallel Corpora on Translation Quality

Tayebeh Mosavi Miangah, Maryam Mohammadi Dehcheshmeh — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

Over the last ten years or so, the translator’s workplace has changed. Dictionaries have limitations in providing all possible equivalents, enough authentic examples of the word usage, enough options for solving translation problems, and there are difficulties in searching them. However, modern technology opens new horizons to translating in a more comfortable situation introducing the enormous amount of data and higher speed. In this study it has been tried to compare the quality of translations produced with and without the help of the parallel corpus to see whether using a parallel corpus in translating has any effect on the output quality of translations made by translation students. The results show that all students achieved 55% improvement in the translation with the help of corpus which is very encouraging. Students of translation can get ideas from this study to use corpora in translation to increase the quality and speed of their work.

Deforming Tendencies in the Transfer of Proper Nouns in Fantastic Literature

Saeed Safari — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

There are various procedures proposed by translation scholars for translating proper nouns. However, there is still a strong tendency among most Persian translators to transfer (transcribe, transliterate, copy) proper nouns in fantastic novels. Some studies have been carried out on such tendency or the various procedures available but none has focused on the “metaphoric” and “iconic” functions of proper nouns. Studying the translation procedures adopted by Saeed Kebriai and Morteza Madaninezhad in translating Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone novel into Persian, the present paper attempts to explore the transfer of proper nouns in terms of two of Berman’s deforming tendencies: “qualitative impoverishment” and “the destruction of underlying networks of signification”.

Dubbing Cartoons

Parina Ghomi — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper gives an account of the role humor plays in the synchronization of cartoons in Iran and offers insights into possible regularities resulting from humor as the skopos of translation in different types of synchronization, based on Chaume’s typology which includes lip synchrony, isochrony, kinetic synchrony and character synchrony. This is a descriptive study which analyzes the corpus from a qualitative perspective. The corpus of the study involves one of the well-known works of Glory Entertainment Company, dubbed from English into Persian, namely Kung Fu Panda. The analysis shows that humor stands as a determining factor underlying synchronization decisions. Analysis of the corpus also revealed that humor is improved upon in the dubbed version of cartoons.

Linguistic and Cultural Hybridity in Subtitling

Hussein Mollanazar, Mahbubeh Khalili — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

As the possibility of the occurrence of hybridity in written translation was a heated discussion, it was not inconceivable to think about the occurrence of hybridity in subtitling, as a type of translation stemming from audiovisual family, as well. However, despite the important role of hybridity in movies as an instrument of globalization, the frequent types of manifestation through which hybridity exhibited in subtitles were not clear. This paper, being a summary of a comprehensive study based on a quite large corpus of 2400 minutes of movies, aimed at finding frequent manifestations of hybridity, either linguistic or cultural, in subtitles. The findings indicated that "Name and Date" was the most frequent manifestation of hybridity; and the majority of the hybrid elements were cultural. Contemporary intercultural communication was also the major factor in the production of these hybrid elements.

Translation Criticism

Farzaneh Farahzad — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

The present article introduces a three dimensional model for translation criticism inspired by critical discourse analysis. It assumes that unlike translation quality assessment which rests on value judgments, translation criticism needs to explore the ideological implications of translational choices and how they represent identities in target societies. Based on the concept of intertextuality, the model examines the metatext in relation to its corresponding prototext at three levels: the textual, the paratextual and the semiotic.

Attitudinal Markers in Translations of Dissertation Abstracts in Social and Natural Sciences

S. Hossein Arjani — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

In the past, academic texts were encouraged to be as objective and impersonal as possible. However, new researches on stance, metadiscourse, modality, hedging, evaluation and appraisal have shown that academic and scientific writings have a varying degree of subjectivity that helps them relate to the reader, make compelling arguments as well as space for new knowledge. This degree of subjectivity differs among disciplines. The current study, applied the Appraisal theory of Martin and White (2005) to a parallel corpus of original and translated MA and PhD dissertation abstracts in social and natural sciences to find out how writers explicitly project their attitude into the texts and how these explicit attitudinal markers change in the course of translation. To study the changes, an ex post facto categorization of changes to attitude was constructed and qualitative and quantitative analyses of the data were carried out. Results were studied in comparison between languages and disciplines. It was found that social sciences drew on attitudinal markers significantly more than natural sciences. Results also showed that social sciences underwent more changes in attitude than natural sciences. The most frequent types of changes in attitude in different disciplines were recognized and illustrated by instances from the corpus. It was concluded that, in general, regarding attitude, translated abstracts were highly distorted. Finally, pedagogical implications were provided, calling for attention to attitude markers in translation and supervision on translated abstracts.

Translation Criticism and Literary Criticism

Salar Manafi Anari — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

In translation criticism the critic deals with two texts: the original and the target. In this process, the target text is contrasted with the original, and then the good and weak points are dealt with on the basis of translation principles and theories. Some grammatical and linguistic weak points can be found and improved even without contrast, but the keystone for investigating the accuracy of the meaning in the target text is the original. In literary criticism a speech is evaluated according to its literary aspects, and a critic may criticize a literary text from different points of view, such as literary style, and ethical, social, economical, political, historical, cultural and religious aspects, as well as in accordance with the level of knowledge and thought of the speaker. In the present article the emphasis is put on this point that personal view of the critic will always have its effect on both translation and literary criticism. Therefore, it should be said that different persons may criticize a literary text or translation differently due to their different personal notions.

Skopos Theory in Translation Studies

Mehran Zendehboudi — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

در میان نظریات ترجمه برخی نظریات جزء‌نگرهستند و برخی دیگر کل‌نگر. نظریات جزء‌نگر شامل بخش‌های خاصی از ترجمه می‌گردد، در صورتی که نظریات کل‌نگر تمام انواع ترجمه را دربرمی‌گیرد. یکی از نظریات کل‌نگر، نظریۀ اسکوپوس است. موضوع این مقاله نظریۀ یاد شده است و می‌کوشیم در آن به بررسی برخی از وجوه این نظریه بپردازیم. ابتدا به جایگاه نظریه و کنش ترجمه از دیدگاه ژان-رنه لدمیرال می‌پردازیم. سپس بر دیدگاه برخی از نظریه‌پردازان نظریۀ اسکوپوس تأمل خواهیم کرد و خواهیم دید که چه ویژگی‌هایی از ترجمه از دیدگاه این نظریه حائز اهمیت است.

Book Publication and Translation Policy Making in Iran: The Role of Franklin Publishing House

Farzaneh Farahzad, abolfazl sanjarani — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The current article is an archival microhistorical study of Franklin Publishing House's translation activities from 1954, its establishment, to 1976, the end of its activities. Examining the archives, the aim of this study was to illustrate a detailed picture of FPH translation activities in Iran. To this end, first, four sets of archival materials concerning the FPH were thoroughly investigated. Then the basic information relating to the study was extracted. A non-automated corpus of FPH translated books in literature and other fields was compiled. Consequently, bibliographical information, including the title of the book, genre, publishers who worked with Franklin, and name of the translator in each translated volume, was listed, classified, and inserted into separate tables based on text typology and date of publication. Finally, the frequency of each type was calculated. FPH was affiliated with 49 publishers in Tehran, 20 in Tabriz, and one in Isfahān. It published 790 translated books and 60 authored books written in Persian. With 175 books, the majority of the books published by and in FPH were historical books. The literary genre was in second place with a second rate of 167 books. 395 men and women translators worked with FPH. 90.88% of the translators were men, and 9.11% of the translators were women. Also, 719books (91.01%) were translated by male translators, and 71 books (8.98%) were translated by female translators, which shows the low participation of women.

Knowing Qajar Era Translators in the field of Medicine through Thematic Analysis of their works

Mojgan Ghaffari, Afsaneh Mohammadi Shahrokhabadi — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present study aims to introduce 14 prolific Qajar era translators in the field of medicine, analyzing their translated work as well as providing a concise history of medical translation in this era. This is a library research and its corpus is all medical books translated in this era and their translators. All available written records were investigated, and the relevant data were extracted. The findings indicate that during the Qajar period, 369 translators translated a total of 446 book titles in specialized medical subjects, most importantly in the field of psychiatry, skin diseases, surgery, modern medicine, dentistry, pathology etc. The most prolific among them was Mohammad Hossein Afshar who translated 11 book titles in various medical specialties, followed by Ali Hamedani and Ahmad Sharifi Tonkaboni with the translation of 9 and 6 book titles, respectively. The findings of this research suggest that despite the dearth of resources about the scientific and educational background of the translators, it is possible to speculate about their expertise and thematic interests in the translation of medical books by examining and thematizing their translated works.

Approaches to Translating Neologisms in Physics

ُSomayeh Adili, Mohammad Amin Mozaheb, Mansooreh Esmaeili — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This paper attempts to identify the applied strategies adopted by translators in rendering neologisms from English into Persian in texts in the field of physics. To fulfill this aim, two reference books in the field of physics together with their translation counterparts in Persian were selected as the corpus of the study. The time interval between the first published translated versions and the next was about two decades in order to determine if any changes occurred in rendering them during this period. 120 neologisms were extracted from the corpus of the study and were categorized based on Newmark’s (1988) classification of neologisms. Then their Persian equivalents in the two translated versions were compared and contrasted. Next, based on Newmark’s (1988) proposed strategies for translating neologism, the applied translation strategies were identified in order to calculate the frequency of each strategy. The findings of this study indicate that combination (couplets, triplets) was the most frequently applied strategy in translating neologisms in the corpus of the research in both periods of the study. In addition, the least frequently applied translation strategy in the translated versions published in the 1360s[1] (the first period of the study) was transference. Furthermore, TL derived word was the least commonly used strategy adopted by the translators who translated the English versions about two decades after the publication of the first translation editions. Finally, there were no significant changes in the applied translation strategies adopted by the translators in the two aforementioned periods.

Keywords: Neologisms, Physics, Translation, Translation strategies

A Comparative Study of the Strategies Employed in Translation of Two Dubbings of the Croods2 (2020)

Ali Akbar Arjmand Rad, Sayyedeh Robab Mousavi Asl — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present research aimed to investigate dubbed versions of The Croods2 by Soren and Glory companies based on Gottlieb’s (1992) theory. The research intended to investigate which strategies are on the top of the list in the translation of two dubbed versions and which strategies have been used the least. This research is qualitative and its method is content analysis. At first, the study identified the strategies which were used in translations. Next, it compared, contrasted, and analyzed the English and Persian dubbing, and based on the obtained data of the research; it was found that Gottlieb's (1992) proposed strategies were used in the translation of the Persian subtitling of selected dubbed versions. Transfer was the first most commonly used strategy for Soren and dislocation was the first most common strategy for Glory. Expansion and paraphrase were the next common ones. Besides, the most and the least adopted strategies by the dubbers that had their roots in comic tone and loyalty to the original language were discussed.

Keywords: Audiovisual translation, Dubbing, Gottlieb’s equivalent strategy, Soren and Glory companies

A Pragmatic Analysis of the Quranic Discourse Marker Fa in Parallel Corpora:

Ali Mohammad Mohammadi — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The current study researched two translations of the second most recurrent, creative, multifaceted, and ambiguous Qur’anic discourse marker fa into the Persian language based on pragmatic analysis and translation spotting. The corpus was made up of 6 randomly selected sections of the Quran. This parallel data analysis indicated that the rendering of this Quranic discourse marker was done dynamically and communicatively by resorting to different types of DMs in the process of the construction of discourse. This pragmatic and figurative discourse creation is substantiated by the invocation of various theoretical outlooks in discourse and pragmatics. Given that these dynamic and figurative perspectives utilized by translators are not applied by the authorities in areas such as translation education, curriculum development, quality assessment, and lexicography, the investigators, authorities, professors, and material developers are recommended to reconsider their approaches in these areas.

Keywords: Discourse markers, fa, The Quran, Translation

Translation and ESP Textbooks Evaluation:

Hussein Mollanazar, Shirin Salimi Beni — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present study attempted to evaluate legal and journalistic translation course books, as well as ESP textbooks for students of law and students of journalism to investigate whether they meet students’ needs. In so doing, it made attempts to compare extra-linguistic knowledge of three groups of undergraduate students of English translation, law, and journalism. To address the issues, data were collected from eight most popular legal and journalism translation books as well as eight legal and journalism ESP books. Besides, a researcher-made extra-linguistic questionnaire inspected the participants’ beliefs about specialized translation. The evaluation of different specialized sources in ESP program, despite the program objectives, showed that it cannot train legal and journalistic translators. The questionnaire analysis indicated that translation students were more powerful in search sub-competence domain but in background knowledge domain law students did not do differently from translation students. The findings emphasized the role of extra-linguistic sub-competence in the promotion of total translation competence.

Key Words: Background Knowledge, Extra-linguistic Knowledge, Journalistic Translation, Legal Translation

Evaluation of the Translation of the Verse "Iqra Bismi Rabbaka" (Alaq, 1) in Persian, English and Istanbul Turkish Translations

Ali Sharifi, Hesam Emami Danaloo, Mousa Rahimi — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Translation of the Holy Quran is a way to establish a relationship with the Holy Quran, and therefore, analyzing and criticizing the translations of the Holy Quran is necessary. In this research, which was carried out using a descriptive and analytical method, Persian, English, and Turkish translations of the phrase "Read in the name of the Lord" were examined and it was finally concluded that in the translations, whether in the translation of the words of the verse or in the attribution of the verb "Iqra" (Read), there are inadequacies. In addition, considering the points related to the interconnectedness of the verses of the Surah, a view was suggested for its translation. As in Persian, the phrase: «[نمازت را] به [یاری حقیقتِ] نام سرورت بخوان», in English the phrase:, "(Pray) for your God" and in Turkish, "(Namazını) Tanrı'n için kıl" is desirable.

Keywords: English translation of the Quran, Iqra (Read), Ism (Name), Persian translation of the Quran, Rabb (Lord), Surah al-Alaq, Turkish translation of the Quran

The Implicitness in Dubbing versus Subtitling

Mehdi Bagheri Hariri, Reza Abbasi — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The purpose of the Present study was to determine the difference between translations of English feature films and their Persian dubbed and subtitled versions in terms of implicitness. To this aim, i.e., to find the degree of implicitness the researcher conducted the research in the light of Larson's (1984) concept of implicit information/meaning. The material gathered for this purpose consisted of five movies in two versions, one dubbed and the other subtitled version. The research investigated hundred minutes of the movies (twenty minutes from each movie) containing a total of 1600 frames of which 163 frames contained implicit meaning/information in either of the two versions. In order to have a contrastive analysis of the two versions, the two translations were listed in tables to be compared and contrasted so as to track down instances of implicit meaning. Afterwards, the researcher got a percentage at the frequency of referential, situational and organizational implicit meanings in the two versions. According to the statistical analysis 80.37 percent of the implicit meanings in the five films belonged to the subtitled versions and 19.63 percent of the implicit meanings belonged to the dubbed versions. Thus, the findings testified that subtitled versions are more implicit than their corresponding dubbed versions. Meanwhile, implicit situational meaning had the highest frequency and implicit organizational meaning the least.

Keywords: Audiovisual Translation, Dubbing, Implicitness, Implicit Organizational Meaning, Implicit Referential Meaning, Implicit Situational Meaning, Subtitling

Towards a Theoretical Basis for Selecting a Literary Translation as Book of the Year

Somaye Delzendehrooy, Ali Khazaeefar — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper intends to propose a set of criteria, drawn from Translation Studies, against which to assess the quality of the candidates for the award of the Best Literary Translation of the Year. This will be preceded by a critical analysis of the set of criteria currently used for awarding the Islamic Republic of Iran Book of the Year Prize. Using a historical method with a qualitative-applied approach, it has extracted the set of criteria used within 36 years for selecting the Best Literary Translation. The documents include the following three: the list of translations awarded the Book of the Year Prize (with emphasis on literary translations); 2. Assessment forms presented to referees as selection guidelines as well as the Regulations of the Book of the Year Award; 3. The two-volume Ayineh Dowran. The study then critically analyzed the extracted criteria and then based on the functions of literary translations, a set of qualitative criteria as guidelines for referees have been proposed. The analysis of the data shows that the criteria used so far for selecting the Best literary Translation are mainly quantitative, and that they are not much different from the criteria used for selecting the best books in other fields, translated or otherwise. The criteria proposed are the following: “Boosting the variety and richness of literature in the target culture”, “actualizing the potentials of the target language and adding to them”, and “being as much similar to the original text as is permissible”.

A Bourdieusian Analysis of the Role of the Translator's Cultural and Social Capital in Choosing a book for Translation

Mojgan Ghaffari, Shahram Modarres Khiabani — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

In the sociological approach to translation studies, the topic of the sociology of the translator is very important and highlights the central position of the translators themselves in the process and selection of the translation topic. The purpose of the present research was to examine the translated works of Abdolhossein Azarang based on Pierre Bourdieu's (1986) "action" theory. This descriptive-analytical research seeks to explain the role of translators' social and cultural capitals in selecting books for translation. Therefore, it first explains the basics of Bourdieu's theory of action and its connection with translation studies, and then, while providing a complete description of capital and its types, examines the translator's translated books and explains the role of capital by referring to the interview conducted with the translator. Since the focus of the research was on the translator's cultural and social capitals, the types, and examples of these capitals in the translator's life were analyzed. After a case-by-case review of the translated books and the results of the interview with the translator, it was found that Azarang's translations are mostly in the four fields of "History of Civilization, History of Science, History of Philosophy, and Information Science and Education". The findings indicated that in the field of "History of Civilization", cultural capital (objectified and institutionalized), in the field of "History of Philosophy", cultural capital (embodied and institutionalized) and social capital, in the field of "History of Science", cultural capital (embodied and institutionalized) and in the field of "information science and education", embodied cultural capital and translator's social capital have played a role in the selection of translated books.

The Posthuman Condition and a Translational Agency That Leaks

Shabnam Naderi, Gholamreza Tajvidi — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present conceptual paper seeks to investigate the notion of agency within the field of translation studies drawing on Barad’s (2007) agential realism and Ferrando’s (2019) classification of philosophical posthumanism. Diffractively reading insights through the two approaches, one from quantum physics and the other from philosophy, the paper gives an elaboration on translational agency. The traditional, i.e. Cartesian-Newtonian, understanding of matter considers humans as active, self-moving agents and matters as passive entities whose movements are tied up with external human forces. Within this frame of thought nonhuman beings are excluded from the discussions of agency. This humanist take on agency considers separateness as an inherent feature of the world’s being. On the other hand, the posthuman take on agency levels criticism against the Cartesian ‘cogito’ and the ontological dualism it entails and lays the groundwork for an agency of ‘becoming’, rather than being, which places emphasis on a relational ontology and the mutual constitution of an entangled agency. A posthuman translational agency, in this respect, goes beyond acknowledging human-nonhuman relationship or assemblage to maintain that the material is no longer an exterior to the human and the human itself is no longer a closed, rigid notion. It is not about the differences, rather it is about how differences are made and remade; i.e. against the backdrop of a posthumanist, agential realist, translational agency, inquiries into “who” and “what” are not in disjunction from inquiries into “how”.

Descriptive Study of Techniques in the Translation of Surah Titles of the Holy Quran

Mehdi Lavaee Moghaddam — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This research investigated strategies of the Surahs’ (chapters) titles of the Holy Quran in English. Therefore, five English translations of the Holy Quran conducted by Arthur John Arbury, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, John Medows Rodwell, George Sale, and Hilali-Khan were reviewed by Leppihalme's model (1997) to detect the strategies applied in the translations. Comparative analysis of the Arabic names of the Surahs with their English equivalences and their translations indicated that 1) translators used all strategies to convey proper nouns, except for the strategy of "keeping proper nouns in the target language with the respective footnotes and 2) the strategies include: a. replacing 493 source nouns with their equivalences in the target language, b. keeping 35 nouns without additional comments, c. keeping 31 nouns without additional comments and adaptation to the phonetic or lexical system of the target language, d. keeping six nouns with additional comments, and e. omitting five nouns and conveying their meanings with other nouns. Moreover, Muslim translators did not use the omission strategy of the source noun, but non-Muslim translators employed it.

Keywords: English Translation, Proper Nouns, Techniques of choosing equivalents, Titles of the Surahs (of the Quran)

Quality Assessment of Online Translation Agencies in Iran

Mohammad Aghai — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Despite the increasing emergence of online translation agencies in recent decades, there are few studies on the quality of the services they provide. The purpose of this research is to assess the quality of translation services provided by online translation portals in Iran. To this end, five Iranian translation websites were selected based on their popularity among Iranian users. Each of these agencies was given an article for translation. A critical error analysis of the translation was conducted as well as an examination of other aspects that affect the overall quality of the services provided by each online translation agency, such as translation fees, meeting deadlines, and the usability of their websites. This research sheds some light on how online translation agencies provide services to their clients in terms of quality, cost, and convenience. In addition, the results of this study indicate that, among the translations provided by the selected translation companies, the fastest translation had the lowest quality, while the slowest had the highest quality.

Keywords: Online Translation Services, Quality Assessment, Translation Websites

Translation and Copyright

Reza Yalsharzeh, Roya Monsefi, Ali Salmanpour — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Translation and copyright law and their relationship is the subject of many discussions among translation studies researchers. One of the reasons is that the translation of foreign works is subject to the permission of the author of the source text and the unequal power relations between the author and the translator, which has provoked the objection of some translation experts, including Venuti. He has called for major changes in copyright law in favor of translations and translators; so that, the source text can be freely translated after a short period of time without the permission of the author. Venuti's idea is currently being practiced in Iran. Foreign texts are translated and printed in the country without the permission of the original publisher. This study has investigated the impact of the lack of copyright law on the quality and quantity of translation work from the point of view of Iranian publishers based onVenuti’ framework. In this regard, an interview was conducted with twenty-three prominent publishers of the country from five metropolitan cities, and their opinions about non-compliance with the copyright law in Iran on the quality and quantity of translation work were examined using Strauss and Corbin’s Grounded theory. The findings indicate that publishers' haste to translate and publish best-selling works have led to poor translations in many cases, and the phenomenon of parallel work and book production has followed. However, there are few publishers who consider themselves committed to complying with the copyright law for moral reasons.

Keywords: Book making, Book marketing, Copyright law, Parallel translation, Translation

From Certainty to Uncertainty: Parallels Between General Science and Translation Studies

Ghodrat Hassani, Marzieh Malekshahi — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This purely conceptual study draws parallels between general science and translation studies in terms of how both moved from an attitude of certainty to one of uncertainty. In doing so, we begin with the scientific zeitgeist at the turn of the 20^th century, when scientific certainty was almost a given. The belief in scientific certainty so prevalent at that time has since been replaced with a more complex attitude to uncertainty, one that accounts for the inherent fallibility of scientific knowledge. Our discussion of translation studies reflects a parallel evolution. It began with the certainty of equivalence firmly rooted in Aristotelian binary logic, then rejected it and adopted uncertainty as a paradigm. We end our discussion by pointing out some theoretical traps that scholars might fall into if they take the uncertainty paradigm in translation studies at face value.

Review of the latest Spanish translation of Hafiz's Divan Based on Berman’s Deforming Tendencies

Soudabeh Bashizadeh — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0330

One of the important activities in the field of translation is studying the translations of classic works. The complete translation of Hafiz’s Divan has been done in the West a long time ago. Parts of Hafiz's lyric poetry have been translated directly or indirectly into Spanish by famous translators in Spain. Clara Janés, a well-known Spanish poet and translator, in collaboration with Ahmad Taheri, an Iranian translator and expert in Persian sufi poetry, has translated some of Hafiz's lyrics directly from Persian into Spanish. In this article, a lyric poem of the Janés’s translation, which is the last version of Spanish translation of Hafiz’s Divan, has been studied based on four of Berman's deforming tendencies, notably "rationalization", "expansion", "qualitative impoverishment" and "clarification", to determine the deviations which can relate more with criticism of this work. The findings of this study revealed that due to structural differences among factors used in Janés’s translation, "rationalization", “expansion” and "qualitative impoverishment" were the most frequent factors of text distortion, and "clarification" was the least frequent.

A Critique of the English Translation of Haft Peykar Based on Antoine Berman’s Model

Leila Niknasab — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

The present article aimed at examining the English translation of Haft Peykar translated in English as Haft Paykar: A Medieval Persian Romance, by Julie Scott Meisami (2015). Based on Berman’s model and within the framework of a descriptive-comparative methodology, several samples were assessed. The researcher attempted to find the merits and demerits of the given English translation of Nizami’s Haft Peykar based on the critical model of Antoine Berman, and to show the frequency of the‘deforming tendencies’in the English translation. Primarily, English translation of the original poetry – the story of seven beauties- was compared and analyzed then the merits and demerits of the translation were identified precisely. The analysis of the data revealed that almost all types of deforming tendencies, although with different frequencies, were observed in the translation of the poetry. The highest frequency goes for the qualitative destruction, and the lowest one for ‘the effacement of the superimposition of languages’. In cases where no deforming tendencies are observed, upon Berman’s idea, the translated text enjoys the merits of a faithful translation and the translation of those parts following the deforming tendencies is inadequate. Overall, it appears that Berman offers a model which is too strict to keep the form and content of the source text in the English translation of Haft Peykar.

Keywords: Berman’s model, deforming tendencies, merits, demerits, Haft Peykar

Iranian Historiography of Translation:

Parviz Rassouli — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

This paper aims at relying on Iranian historiography and synthesizing it with central issues in translation studies to lay out an outline of Iranian historiography of translation. Having presented a brief introduction as well as the significance, the ultimate goal, and the starting point of Iranian historiography of translation, the paper applied Javad Tabataba'i’s theory and its historiographical foundations to solidify the epistemological underpinnings of Iranian historiography of translation. Tabataba'i’s approach to writing the history of Iran, the fundamental history, Iran as a problem, national consciousness, and the idea of great cultural Iran were explicated and extended in relation to Iranian historiography of translation. The result was finally presented as an attempt at surpassing the Eurocentrization governing (historical) translation studies and developing indigenous theoretical approaches in Iran. Iranian historiography of translation, focused on translation in and of Iran, can contribute to research on history of translation theory and practice in Iran. Moreover, the emphasis on the relevance between history of translation and history of thought can shed light on intellectual-cum-historical developments of Iran. Furthermore,establishing an epistemological relation between translation and Iran, Iranian historiography of translation can actualize the Iranian theorizing about translation, thus acting as a precursor of Iranian translation studies.

Keywords: Epistemology, Historiography of translation, Iranian historiography, Translation of Iran

Reza Baraheni as a Resistant Translator Before the Islamic Revolution (1961–1979)

Babak Mohammadi, Hussein Mollanazar — Sat, 18 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Provided that translation is a purposeful activity and conditioned by the receiving context, this study aimed at investigating how ‘resistance’ has been enacted in Reza Baraheni’s three literary translations into Persian, produced during a period of time from 1961 to the Islamic Revolution in 1979 in Iran. These chosen works include Ivo Andrich’s The Bridge on the Drina (1915), William Shakespeare’s Richard III (1597), and Carlo Maria Franzero’s Cleopatra (1962). In order to explain the causes of such translations, an analytical model based on Aristotle’s four types of cause, as proposed by Pym (1998/2014) to study causation in translation was used, attempting to explore how the translator’s affiliations and ideologies as the efficient cause, his selections of texts to translate as the material cause, and his translation strategies and stylistic choices as the formal cause, facilitated the purpose of resistance in his translations as the final cause in an Aristotelian sense.

Keywords: Aristotle’s causal model, Resistance, Resistant translation

Geographical Dimension and Translation

Samar Ehteshami — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

Translation has always been shaped and reshaped by a geographical dimension since our contemporary world is marked above all by movement and connection. Against this background the current paper aimed at unfolding the relationship between geography and translation conceptualization in the discipline of Translation Studies. First the terms related to geography were defined and then the conceptualization process was investigated. Among space-related concepts, it became apparent that ‘territory’ and ‘nation’, in modern sense, have been used more than others to conceptualize and theorize translation. Then, the relationship between territory and nation in Translation Studies was studied, explicating the manifestations of these two notions in concepts and theories of the field. Upon critical analysis, it was discerned that translation is mostly defined as a linguistic movement between two distinct geographical territories, and the modern conception of ‘one nation-one language’ has been the underlying assumption of translation research. Such a positioning is problematic since fixity and stability assigned to ‘territory’ is contested in today’s world and there are also instances of translation that fall outside the realm of this positioning and are generally neglected.

Analysis of the Translation of Elahi Qomshei’s and Fouladvand’s Translations on the Basis of the Morphological and Syntactic Level of the Garcés Model:

Yousof Hadipour Nehzomi, Farhad Divsalar, Sayyed Hossein Mohebatizadeh — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0330

Since the evaluation of the translations must be based on the scientific principles and models, the present research set out to evaluate the translations of four verses of Nisa Chapter concerning the important topic of marriage by two contemporary translators, Elahi Qomshei and Fouladvand, on the basis of Garcés's model of morphological-syntactic level in an analytical-descriptive way in order to become clear, in the light of the defined criteria, the quality of the translations. therefore, after a brief introduction of the Garcés model and its components at the morphological-syntactic level, the extent of the application of these criteria in the translation of the considered verses has been examined, and at the end, the positive, negative and neutral criteria of each translator is shown in an statistical table and a percentage diagram. So, it became clear that Elahi Qomshei's translation with the following points: positive 82%, negative 16% and neuter 2% points has better quality than Fouladvand's translation with the points: positive 78%; negative 22% and no neuter point. Of course, this conclusion indicates that the positive and negative components of the Garcés model in a translation of the Qur'an cannot be absolute, but can change depending on the type of translation and its necessity.

Keywords: Fouladvand, Garcés, Marriage, Nisa, Qomshei, Translation

Historiography as Translation

Zeinab Amiri, Farzaneh Farahzad — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

Historiography, the writing of history, is thought of as translation of facts into narrative fictions. The translational nature of historiography holds more tenable when historians engage in writing the history of other cultures in their own native language. Some historians also, like cultural anthropologists, engage in cultural translation, since they usually not only travel and use translation to gather their raw material, but also translate the cultural practices of land they are writing its history. Relying on Asad’s (2018) view of cultural anthropology and narrativist historians and in the light of a transdisciplinary view of translation, the present article seeks to show how Greek historiography can be assumed as a translational practice. Second, it aims to explore the translational character of the three leading Classical Greek historians of ancient Persia, Herodotus, Ctesias and Xenophon, and seeks to show how the historiography of the Persian Achaemenid empire is folded through translation, not only in ancient era, but also in modern times, through (re)translations of these so-called primary sources.

Investigation of the Qajar Era Translators’ Knowledge of Translation Strategies and Principles

Zahra Atefmehr — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

This study investigates knowledge of the Qajar era translators, from the reign of Naser al-Din Shah to the end of Qajar period (1848–1925), of translation principles and strategies using paratextual elements. To conduct the research, first, a list of translated works, published in the mentioned period, was compiled. The list included 372 translations, of which 207 were published in the Naseri era and 165 in the post-Constitutional period. Then to access the translations, various archives were examined. From among the 372 translation titles in the list, 199 translations were found in the archives. Finally, the 199 translations were studied in terms of paratextual elements, including translators’ pre/postfaces, footnotes, marginalia, and other notes in translations. Findings of this study challenge some prevalent generalizations about the Qajar era translators’ disregard for faithfulness in translation. Moreover, the study reveals that among the Qajar era translators some were familiar with text types, types of translation, different translation strategies and translation purpose.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Consecutive Interpreter Training from Students’ Perspectives

Hossein Bahri — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed new demands on the global educational system and many classes are currently being held online. Based on Kelly’s (2005) evaluation framework, the present study is an attempt to explore the advantages and disadvantages of online interpreter training from students’ point of view. To do so, 24 students who had successfully passed an online consecutive interpreting course completed a questionnaire, which was developed by the researcher. The responses to the questionnaire items were analyzed and codes and themes were extracted. The results indicated that two thirds of the students were dissatisfied with online implementation of the course mainly due to technical and psychological problems they had experienced. However, a third of students were satisfied with online interpreter training via Adobe Connect, citing several educational, personal, and psychological benefits they gained from the course. Based on the congruity between the identified themes and the main tenets of constructivism, it was found that the online course was more compatible with cognitive rather than social constructivist principles. Finally, the pedagogical implications of the findings were discussed.

Assessing the English Translation of Grand Ayatollah Khorasani’s Book of Islamic Laws with Reiss’s Model

Mohammad Shanazary — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

Religious texts, particularly texts of religious laws, are among the most delicate and crucial kinds of texts to translate. This paper examined the English translation of Grand Ayatollah Hossain Wahid Khorasani’s book of Islamic laws through the window of Katerina Reiss. Reiss's theory has three levels. First, the text type (informative, expressive, or persuasive) is decided. Then, the linguistic elements are analyzed and it proceeds with the examination of the extra-linguistic determinants. This text is certainly informative and content-focused. Applying Reiss’s theory of criticism to this text, the researcher came to the conclusion that firstly, Reiss’s model could be applied to texts of Islamic laws, and secondly, the English translation of Grand Ayatollah Wahid Khorasani’s book of Islamic laws met 80 percent of Reiss's suggested requirements for a translation. Furthermore, the findings indicated that most mismatches of Reiss’s criteria in this translation pertained to the semantic elements (linguistic components). Moreover, the place factors were mainly overlooked in the translation.

Activist translation as a means to oppose imperialism in Iran

Azita Ghazizadeh, Hussein Mollanazar — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

Translation can be considered an activist means and an influential instrument of furthering large programs of political and social change. One such change can be promoting the ideas against imperialism within a society from many different perspectives using a variety of practices. Accordingly, the present study aimed to analyze the activist role of translation in developing ideas on anti-imperialism in Iran from 1925 to 2021 in terms of selecting works for translation. To this end, a historical analysis of translations of highly circulated literary works focused on anti-imperialism was conducted using an exploratory-analytical approach. The data were collected based on “What” question from among the set of questions proposed by D’hulst (2010) to analyze the history of translation. Accordingly, to find the answer to “What” question, it was first attempted to identify the literary works focused on anti-imperialism that have been translated and published from 1925 to 2021. The paratextual resources of the translations were also investigated to check if there was any particular information, directly or indirectly, suggesting that the translation of the literary work was used as a means to define an autonomous identity. The activist role of translation was determined based on the stage translation could be placed in, from among the three stages of activism in translation against imperialism. The results revealed that in dimension of selecting literary works with anti-imperialism as one of their main themes, the activist practice of translating works with an anti-imperialist stance stands within the second stage of activism. This stage suggests activist practice of translation in opposing cultural imperialism has taken place but still no autonomous identity is sought to be defined beyond polarized thinking and binary oppositions set by the dominating powers.

Developing a Conceptual Model of Context-Aware Machine Translation

ابراهیم عزتی — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

In this study, a context-based translation consisting of "usage, image and constituents" was proposed to reflect the intended and cultural aspects of a source sentence more precisely. Accordingly, the study is concerned with considering the perspectives of the context-based translation in visualizing and developing a conceptual model of machine translation in which a context-aware system has been of concern. This model resembles a function from X to Y. That is, there is an X-sequence, a machine-friendly sequence, as point of departure. Next, the given sequence is processed based on four modules of a context-aware system as follows: context acquisition, context modelling, context reasoning and context distribution. The processed outputs of the context-aware system are transformed into two sequential sequences: Z_1,a sequence arranged based on the source language context and Z_2,the translated sequence of Z₁ into target language. Then, the translated sequence (Z₂) is converted into the Y-sequence, as the final proposed translation of the input. To enclose, the innovative aspects of the proposed model concerned a combined system processing based on both context-based and context-aware characteristics, not to mention the ending feedback sector receiving user’s satisfaction rate promotes the quality level of offered translation.

Ladmiral's Aphoristic Language at the Service of Elucidating the Intellectual and Philosophical Fields of His Thought

Mahdi Farrokhi — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

Jean-René Ladmiral is one of the most well-known and influential theorists in the field of translation studies, who has earned a worldwide reputation for coining the two terms of “sourciers” and “ciblistes”. But despite this reputation, it should be underlined that an important aspect of his personality has been neglected. This aspect stems from the theorist's connection to language, which leads him to the instantaneous creation of innumerable aphorisms. This research, based on an argumentative-deductive method, seeks to study this aspect in order to provide the reader with a clearer and deeper image of this theorist by examining the "logic", the "form" and the "content" of his aphorisms. The results of this study show that Ladmiral's aphorisms are rooted in a philosophical vision which, based on the logic of rationality, considers time to be short and language as an unsacred reality. Without trying to impose the opinion of the speaker, these aphorisms are demonstrated in interrogative, rhythmic, frank and humorous forms; in terms of content, they cover the essence of language, the experience in translating philosophical oeuvres, teaching advices, philosophical reflections, the insoluble question of death and the desperation in comprehending the complexity of the world.

Dialectic of Manipulation in Autopoietic Interpreting

Rasool Moradi-Joz, Saeed Ketabi, Mansoor Tavakolli — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

The study of manipulation in translation has drawn significant attention in translation and interpreting studies. Yet, the ontological, epistemological, and teleological aspects of manipulation have almost remained untapped. The present study argues for the critical role of dialectic of manipulation in interpreting (DMII) – manipulative interpretation of manipulative source text. To this end, Trump’s first UN address on Iran in 2017 and its simultaneous interpretation into Persian are examined, by way of exemplar, in the light of integrating Luhmann’s (1986, 1995) autopoietic social system theory at the macro-level of discourse into Baker’s (2006) socio-communicative narrative theory at the micro-level of discourse. Findings suggest that where dialectic of manipulation is at play in the interpretation of political discourse, interpreting along with its ST as an autopoietic subsystem of the communication social system could possibly play its enlightening and emancipatory role in a) laying bare the ideological moves and unequal power relations encoded and embedded in the representation of the world; b) in circulating or contesting narratives; and c) in giving rise to, interestingly enough, the autopoieticly subversive and retaliatory interpretation (ASRI) triggered by what Foucault terms regimes of truth.

A Historical Account of Medical Translation in Qajar Era

Mojgan Ghaffari, Afsaneh Mohammadi Shahrokhi — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

The purpose of this study was to investigate the history of medical translation in Qajar era. In order to carry out this research, data was collected from the available bibliographies or other sources, and after extracting the titles of related books, each book was checked in the libraries or on the Internet. The gathered data was analyzed based on Pym’s (1998) model. The findings of this study showed that in the early years of Qajar era, traditional medicine was commonly practiced but under the influence of modernization movements, traditional medicine gave way to modern methods. Moreover, factors such as the establishment of scientific centers, especially Dar-al-fonūn, sending students abroad and employing foreign professors played a role in institutionalization of modern medicine. Translation played an important part in dissemination of new medical knowledge. The collected data revealed that during Qajar era about 446 medical books were translated, primarily from Arabic and then French, Latin, Indian and English, under 19 medical subjects. Thematic review of these books showed that the field of internal medicine with 100 titles had the highest frequency, followed by traditional medicine with 86 titles, pharmacology, anatomy and surgery, infectious illnesses, medicinal plants, sexually transmitted diseases, obstetrics and gynaecology and finally pathology and ophthalmology. In addition, Persian was the primary target language for translation, followed by Arabic, Urdu, and Turkish.

Resistance Literature, Translation and the Discourse of Committed Literature

Marzieh Malekshahi — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

Resistance Literature in Iran is often associated with the literature of war and especially the literature of Sacred Defense. However, the term “resistance” can also refer to other forms of resistance, including resistance to the cultural domination of the West, the various forms of authoritarian regimes, totalitarian regimes, and imperialist powers, as well as resistance to any form of racial, class, and gender discrimination. In all these cases, the underlying premise is that literature has a duty, an obligation, and a mission. Using a historical approach, this article attempts to show that what is now called Resistance Literature has its roots in a translated and imported discourse called the discourse of committed literature, which derives some of its premises from the socialist realism supported and propagated by the Tudeh Party, and then from the concept of engaged literature as defined by the existentialists. In other words, by examining the historical documents and contexts and relying on the role of translators, this article explores the historical roots of committed literature in Iran, which can be considered the source of Resistance Literature.

Review and Critique of Russian Translations of the Word Ahl al-Bayt (Relatives of the Prophet) in the Verse of Al-Tathir (Purification)

Mahnush Eskandary — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

The verse of purification refers to the final part of the thirty-third verse of Surah Al-Ahzab. What Muslims understand from the word "Ahl al-Bayt" in this noble verse is the family of the Holy Prophet of Islam, but the opinion of Shiite commentators is different from the opinion of a number of Sunni commentators in the case of "Ahl al-Bayt". In the present article, we have descriptively examined the ten Russian translations of this verse and, in particular, the translation of the word "Ahl al-Bayt" in them. All Russian translators except Prokhova (1989) have translated or interpreted the word "Ahl al-Bayt" in such a way that the "wives of the Prophet" (PBUH) are also among the Ahl al-Bayt. In the footnote and explanation of Prokhova's translation, the main example of "Ahl al-Bayt", namely the five members of Ali-Abba, is mentioned. Relating the first part of verse 33 to the holy verse of purification and the translators' use of the interpretations that have given a wrong interpretation of the word "Ahl al-Bayt" are the reasons for the incorrect translation of this word in the studied translations.

Literary Translation Flow from Kurdish into Persian between 1997 and 2021: A Sociological Study

Milad Miraki, Nima Noushmand — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

This study surveyed the translation flow from Kurdish literature into Persian over the period of 1997 through 2021 in the context of the sociological-analytic framework, developed and discussed by Heilbron (1999; 2000) and Sapiro (2007; 2014). To this end, firstly, the National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI) was consulted as the most comprehensive database in Iran, which contains nearly all translated Kurdish literature into Persian, and secondly, personal webpages of the Kurdish translators like Telegram channels and Instagram pages were searched to compile a bibliography. This bibliography included meta-data such as original text titles, author’s name, title of the translated text, translator’s name, publisher’s name, place of publication, year of publication and literary form (genre). The exhaustive list amounted to 160 literary works translated and published throughout the aforementioned period. This bibliography was then analyzed employing Pieta’s (2016) model. The findings demonstrate that, while poetry dominated the translation flow, it followed an unstable movement, whereas prose took a progressive and steady growth and was the popular genre among the most prolific publishers and translators. The findings also reveal an unbalanced distribution of translated works among translators, authors and publishers. The conclusions drawn from this study highlight a close affinity among individuals including translators, well-known authors and small-scale publishers working collaboratively and actively in order to promote peripheral literature in a more well-established manner.

Stylistic Issues in Translations of Modern Literary Texts

Maryam Hosseinpour, Mahmoud Afrouz — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0330

The present study aimed to investigate strategies employed in translating style through time and enhance the current models. To achieve this aim, Samuel Beckett, one of the prominent writers of the twentieth century with his unique style, opted. His novel Malone Dies and its three Persian translations by Kianoush (1968), Navid (2004), and Sommi (2015) were analyzed. Each sentence of Malone Dies was compared with its translations by applying Baker’s model (1996). The model consists of Simplification, Explicitation, Normalization or Conservatism, and Leveling out. The results showed that Simplification and Explicitation were generally the most frequently used strategies. For Kianoush and Navid, the former strategy, and for Sommi, the latter strategy was the most employed ones. Also, based on the results, the effect of time on the selection of strategies could not be overlooked totally. Moreover, it was found that four other strategies named Preservation, Distortion, Exoticization, and Deletion could be added to enhance Baker’s (1996) model.

A Pragmatic Analysis of the Quranic Temporal Discourse Markers in Parallel Corpora

Ali Mohammad Mohammadi — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

The aim of present research was the analysis and exploration of two Persian translators’ pragmatic approaches in rendering اذ and اذا- two Quranic temporal discourse markers- comparatively into Persian. The research was supported by Coherence and Translation Spotting Theories and also a DMs inventory was applied in the analysis of the parallel corpora. The results revealed that rendering of these Quranic temporal discourse markers (TDMs) was approached differently by the translators. The analysis of Persian parallel corpora revealed that the translation of these Quranic TDMs was tackled creatively and innovatively by appealing to temporal, contrastive, elaborative, inferential DMs, and their combinations. Moreover, imperative forms, adverbs of time and manner, conditional structures, and paraphrasing were employed. The analysis of the findings reveals creativity, flexibility, and novelty in structural, semantic, and pragmatic approach to discourse construction in translation. Furthermore, as some of these equivalents are not offered in Arabic-Persian dictionaries and are not covered in grammar source books of Arabic language, researchers, scientists, teachers, material developers are recommended to approach teaching, lexicography and material development pragmatically and revise their approaches on the basis of the implications derived from parallel corpora investigations.

Form, the Untranslatable Area of Poetry

somayeh assadi — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0330

According to the opinions of Russian formalists, literature is the factor that turns the literary material into a literary work, and it begins when defamiliarization takes place and the common and countless art forms of literary works leave their known state and appear differently to the reader. The importance of defamiliarization in the creation of language and literary work is to the extent that the poetry of the poem is focused on it and cannot be translated. The current research has explained the obstacles in the path of poetry translation based on the principles of the Russian school of formalism with a descriptive-analytical method. The results show that the translation of devices and the defamiliarization process as a factor in creating the device and ultimately the form of poetry is a difficult and almost impossible task. The weight, the music resulting from the combination of words, the defamiliarization of the semantic and structural domain that occurs through the use of many literary crafts, and the interaction of art forms in the process of forming the form and literariness of the text, are among the elements that are either lost in the translation process or in the form of a passive element is transferred.

Examining the Equivalents of the Phrase "Be'ghayr-i Hesāb" (without calculation) in the Qur'an

Fatemeh Qorbani Laktarashani, Habibollah Halimi Jeloudar — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

Semantic equality and the selection of appropriate equivalents under words and phrases are among the issues that should be considered in translating texts. Matter of (hā, sin, bā) has been used in the Qur'an with relatively high frequency and in various semantic ranges. This research descriptively-analytically examines the translations of the following verses, including the words "without calculation", and according to the lexical and historical sources and reflecting on the context and structure of the verses in question, provides more accurate institutionalization and translation (Fooladvand, Ayati, Elahi Ghomshei, Mousavi Hamedani, Ansarian) has been considered. The result is that most of the above translators, in presenting the translation (Be'ghayr-i Hesāb) have used the equivalent of the hand tail (without calculation) and despite the semantic multiplicity of this phrase in different verses, have not adopted an exact equivalent for it. Ghomshei's divine translation has been used more accurately in equating than other translations. The considered equations of the phrase (Be'ghayr-i Hesāb) include "plurality", "without calculation", "without compensation", "out of material calculations", which can be deduced according to the meaning of sustenance and gift in the verse and also according to the context of the verses.

Localization and Alienation in Translating the Titles of Children's Story Books

Mehdi Lavaee Moghaddam, Matin Mojahed — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

Topics such as localization and alienation become more important when the readers of translation are children as they become acquainted with foreign culture and cultural elements through translation. Therefore, translators working in this field face many problems. Fiction constitutes a major share of children’s literature. This section has its own characteristics. For example, in the titles of story books, there is the possibility of cultural-specific items (CSIs) and names. As a result, translators in this field have to use different techniques to convey foreign language concepts. The present study aims to identify the prevailing strategies and techniques in translating the titles of children’s story books. To do this, the main titles of story books for children aged 3–6 years during the 1390s SH in Iran were examined. The corpus of this study consisted of 90 titles of children’s story books and the techniques used in each were identified according to the model of Vinay and Darbelnet (1958). The results showed that translators in the field of children's literature, in this period, have used both localization and alienation strategies in translating these titles, but the percentage of each strategy is different. Translators have largely used the localization strategy, in particular equivalence or idiomatic translation procedures. On the other hand, in alienation strategy, the literal translation or literal translation and calque were the most and least frequently used strategies, respectively. The results will be a guide for translators in choosing strategies for translating cultural specific items in children’s literature.

Writer’s Style in Translation

Abolfazl Horri — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

This paper examines translating FID (free indirect discourse) as Woolf’s stylistic feature in three Persian translations of TTL (To the Lighthouse). As a dual voice hypothesis, FID shows how the narrator’s voice has been merged with that of the characters’. However, the problem is whether the translator should translate STR structurally at the micro-level or functionally at the macro-level. FID has some syntactic, semantic, and textual features that might undergo some changes in the process of translation. As one of the grammatical features of FID, the progressive aspect is related to the character’s focalization but reported by the narrator’s voice through the past tense. Functionally speaking, three Persian translators have done their best to convey the effect and function of FID regarding both syntactic and semantic features. Through a quantitatively driven methodology, this paper has tried to tackle the issue of translating FID into Persian. However, Hosseini has felt that the shift from ID (indirect discourse) to DD (direct discourse) might transfer the ‘feel’ and the ‘tone’ of the ST. Keyhân has made the complexity of Woolf’s style more explicit and simplified. Bejâniân has paid less attention to Woolf’s style, giving a very literal and simplified rendering. Generally, the three translations by the three Persian translators have tried to recreate such feelings of FID as sympathy and empathy in the target readers, though with varying degrees. However, Hosseini has tried both to keep the stylistic features of Woolf and to present a translation for the target readers; a translation that creates the exact feelings of reading a Persian story in their minds.

A Road Map to the Development of Indigenous Translation Studies in Iran

Mohammad Reza Rezaeian Delouei — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

In recent years, special attention has been devoted to indigenization of humanities in Iran. The purpose of this conceptual research is to provide a map for the development of indigenous Translation Studies. The “term” indigenous here means alignment with indigenous goals and needs. The map provided includes 10 components as follows: (1) designing updatable comprehensive/specialized corpora of translations from and into Persian, (2) translating Translation Studies literature into Persian and standardization of terminology, (3) providing indigenous models of translation history in Iran, (4) critically investigating the theories of translation in the Iranian context, (5) sociology of translation and translators, (6) conducting bibliometric research, (7), holding meetings to develop theorizing, debates, and criticism, (8) conducting conceptual research, (9) purposeful translation, systematic critique of translations and moving from translation to non-translational writing, and (10) promoting the status of Translation Studies and the image of the general public from Translation and Translation Studies. The map, together with its components, by no means indicate that nothing has been done in this regard as a lot of activities have been done. The purpose of the research was juts to offer an integrated map. The map needs to be criticized, which then may result in changes in its components.

Survey of Edicts and Opinions of Religious Scholars and Faqihs in the Field of Translation

Mehdi Lavaee Moghaddam — Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:00 +0430

Although the debate dealing with religious edicts relevant to the domain of translation may seem outlandish at first glance, one can realize the importance of the issue after some investigation. According to faqihs, rooting out corruption and developing virtue are the main objectives all religious edicts and referendums are based upon. Therefore, it is worthwhile for translators of Iran, which is an Islamic country, to appreciate the religious authorities and faqihs and seek their assistance and advice when they encounter religious matters in their realm. Undoubtedly, all the religious issues related to translation cannot be addressed in a single discourse. Hence, in this study, we intend to focus on translators’ intellectual property (e.g., copyrights, patents, and trademarks) and their religious edicts. After consulting the leading religious scholars on the matters and analyzing their reasons, it became clear that eleven of them were in favor of translators’ intellectual property and one of them was against it. In fact, the majority of the religious scholars believed in the legitimacy of translators’ intellectual property. About the latter point i.e., translators’ religious edicts, a referendum was also held to ascertain the scholars’ viewpoints. Ultimately, the issues appertaining to translators’ religious edicts were prioritized as follows: a) Issues relevant to translators’ moral rights, b) Issues relevant to translation of the Holy Quran, c) Issues relevant to translators’ economic rights, and stipulations of translation contracts, d) Issues relevant to the translation job market, and e) Miscellaneous issues.

An Old Treatise on Translation

Milad Bigdeloo — Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:00 +0430

"An Introduction to the Laws of Translation" (al-Muqaddima fī Qawānīn al-Tarjuma) is a short treatise written by Shāh Walīullāh Dihlawī, a translator and scholar of the 11th century_AH in the Indian sub-continent, on the methods and strategies of translation. The present study aimed at introducing this writer, the methods of translation presented by him in this treatise and explaining the translational aspects of such text as well as his favoured method. Dihlawī’s presented methods include word-for-word translation (tarjuma-ye taḥt al-lafẓ), free translation (bayān-e ḥaṣil al-maʿnī), an intermediary method between these two as well as his own specific method. From his viewpoint, the ideal method of translation is the word-for-word translation while attempting to transfer the intention of the author. In the next section, the manuscript of this treatise was introduced and attempt was made to produce a critical edition of this text. Further studies about such texts will give us greater understanding about the local history of translation.

A Critical Approach to Retranslation in Iran

Zohreh Gharaei — Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:00 +0430

Retranslation, as a commonplace activity, is a necessity. However, in Iran, in the absence of copyright laws or other similarly restrictive regulations, this necessity has turned into a source of concern among scholars and practitioners alike. In a situation as such, taking the initiative to conduct systematic research rests with translation scholars. The present study, highlighting the need for systematically pathological reflections on retranslation, pursues two purposes. First, the approaches to retranslation that have not received due attention have been analytically studied. In so doing, they are classified and the explanatory power of each in justifying retranslation and addressing it from a pathological perspective is discussed. It is argued that narrative theory provides a rich philosophical ground for justifying the existence of retranslation, yet it is not pathological by nature. However, an intertextual approach with a focus on the relationship between retranslations can serve as a framework with pathological potential. The second purpose of this article is to expand on Bakhtinian concepts so that they serve as a framework for explaining retranslation. In so doing, this article draws basically on the concepts of “polyphony”, “dialogism”, “assimilation”, “originality”, and “becoming” to rationalize the existence of retranslation and discuss novelty and originality in retranslations from a Bakhtinian perspective.

Adapting Foucault’s Archaeological Notions in Translation Studies

Gilnaz Yousefian, Farzaneh Farahzad — Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:00 +0430

The present paper aimed to shed more light on the horizon of discourse-based historical research in translation by summarizing the findings derived from a close reading of Foucault’s important book, The Archaeology of Knowledge, in the researcher’s Ph.D. thesis. It strived to set forth a synthesis of Foucault's core archaeological notions and develop a model for translation research based on Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA), to yield some illuminating insights for translation researchers who intend to be engaged with Foucault’s approaches to discourse and history. On that account, a discourse-based definition of translation as a set-theoretical function was provided and different steps and constituents for identifying translational discourses and procedures of delimitation were elaborated and re-characterized for translation.

A Comparison of the Status quo of Interpreting at Iranian and Foreign Universities

Abouzar Oraki — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

It seems very unlikely to imagine the present world without interpreting and interpreters. This has been taken into consideration by many countries throughout the world. Many universities around the world have regarded translation and interpreting as two different things and designed respective competence-based curricula for them. The present descriptive study was an attempt to figure out the status quo of interpreting programs in Iranian as well as international universities and examine the necessity of offering interpreting in Iran. The findings indicated that interpreting as both a task and a program is of paramount importance to many universities and organizations worldwide in such a way that it is being offered and taught at different universities at a postgraduate level. On the other hand, no interpreting program at any level is being offered at Iranian universities which justifies the many errors or mistakes committed by Iranian interpreters who have not undergone specific education to acquire the competences required and only do the task out of experience. The current study, thus, recommends interpreting be offered as a must at Iranian universities so they can train highly-qualified interpreters meeting the standards and requirements of the professional market.

Censorship Evasion in Fiction Translation

Bezhan Pazhohan, Hossein Mollanazar — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0330

As one of the dominant discourses and a repressive act, censorship is articulated and manifested in everyday practices; however, diverse strategies have been used to escape censorship or repression since ancient times. The following questions were answered in this paper: How has censorship been practiced in Afghanistan? Were there cases (if any) where translators avoided censorship? How and in what domains have translators avoided censorship in translation? What were the strategies adopted, and how frequent were they? What were the motivations behind the evasions? To that end, translations during 1933–2021 were analyzed using the researchers’ developed taxonomy for detecting translation strategies and censorship evasion instances. It seems that the types of censorship imposed varies and shifts as the governmental administrations changed. In addition, censorship evasions have occurred in different domains of Afghan society. Moreover, Clause Structure Change was used frequently, and Cultural Censorship Evasion overrode other censorship evasion types that were identified from data. It is concluded that state codes and the types of regimes have prompted censorship evasions to a great degree.

Contribution of Literary Journals of Bahār and Dāneshkadeh to Persian Poetry Translation (1328–1341AH/1910–1923)

Maryam Saeidi — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

Poetry translation appears to be an under-investigated area in the translation history of Iran. Although no definite time period can be determined for practicing poetry translation in Iran, the present study attempts to show that such a marginal practice was seriously considered during the late Qajar era (1328–1341AH/1910–1923). By exploring first-hand and second-hand sources, archival documents and manuscripts related to poetry on the one hand, and translation practices on the other hand, the present study identified that the two literary journals of Bahār and Dāneshkadeh started the practice of poetry translation during the specified period. The data analysis showed that they contributed to the practice and theory of poetry translation in different forms of poetic translation, prose translation, eqterāh adabi or literary adaptation and rewritings, including introductory essays about foreign poetry and poets. In conclusion, these novel forms together with some theoretical reflections on poetry translation could pave the way for the formation of the tent of poetry translation in the translation poetics of the late Qajar era.

Investigation of Arabic Translation of Phrases and Terms Used in Masnavi’s First Book

Elham Kakavand, Simin Valavi — Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:00 +0430

Mystic poem is one of the most difficult type of literary text, in which the poet's intention is expressed in metaphoric language and terms. The duty of the translator is to translate mystic idioms and metaphoric concepts accurately in order to convey a mutual effect and the poet’s intention to the addressees in the best way. Molana’s Masnavi is the best sample of mystic poetry that has attracted the attention of literature fans and enthusiasts of mysticism in the world. This survey has been done on Molana’s work. The aim of this study has been to descriptive and analyse the first book of Masnavi, based on Mona Baker's equivalence theory at word level regarding the translation of idioms, proverbs and expressions; It has been discussed to what extent the translator has managed to transmit the meaninigs of these idiomatic expressions to the addressees. The results of this survey have displayed that the lack of the translator’s attention to the idiomatic expressions and their meanings led to a word by word translation from Persian into Arabic in the major part of the work.

Colonial and Imperialist Traces of the American Transcendentalist Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson in Translating Hafez's Poetry

Roohollah Roozbeh — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0430

This article examines the colonial and imperialist traces of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the founder of the American school of transcendentalism, in translating Hafez's poetry. The main issue of this research is why Emerson paid attention to Hafez's poetry and why did Emerson translate Masnavi number two of Hafez? The purpose of this article is to show that Emerson's translation of Masnavi No. 2 of Hafez's Divan accords with the concepts of Orientalism, that is, in his translation of Hafez's poetry, he considers the West superior and the East inferior. The research method of this article is descriptive, analytical and library-oriented and the theoretical framework of the article is based on the orientalist theories of Edward Said. The results of this article show that Emerson translated and distorted Hafez's poem according to his Western standards and introduced it as portraying wine and homosexuality.

The Degrees of Cultural Approximation in Lazard’s French Translation of Ale Ahmad’s Sin

Massumeh Ahmadi, Seddigheh Sherkat Moghaddam — Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:00 +0430

Jalal Ale Ahmad's oral language offers many cultural and folkloric elements to the audience. These include proverbs, idioms, slangs and ironic sentences, metonymy, onomatopoeia, and more. Having used rhythmic, full of alliteration and figure of speech, he gives a particular rhythm to his writing. All of this has made the work of translators difficult. In this paper, by examining the French translation of Gilbert Lazard of Sin, a story of Jalal Ale Ahmad, we have highlighted his method of translating the cultural elements from Persian into French. According to Newmark’s and Aixela’s models of Culture-Specific Items translation, we have shown that Lazard's translation is based on the functional equivalents with different degrees of cultural approximation. The taxonomy of these equivalents built on the above patterns, provides useful translation information to translators and researchers.

Legal and Religious Rules of Translation in Iran

Mehdi Lavaee Moghaddam — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0330

Translation studies have undergone many upheavals throughout history. The important question that arises is that what extent translators of Islamic countries, in addition to learning the theories, principles and methods of the translation, have learned the legal and religious rules of Islam regarding translation? Islamic systems, including Iran, have special legal and religious rules regarding translation and translators, so that translators can use them to fulfill their legal and religious responsibilities while acting on the principles of translation. One of the aims of this research, in addition to addressing these rules, is to examine the awareness level of English translators about them. In order to do this, 66 English translators in Iran from different fields of translation were evaluated and their legal and religious knowledge about translation and translator was measured by a questionnaire whose reliability and validity were confirmed. The results showed that a) In general, the level of knowledge of the participants about the legal & religious rules is not desirable. B) There is no significant relationship between the degree of education and the knowledge of translators about these rules. C) Most translators have a positive attitude towards the need to learn these rules D) The most way for translators to obtain legal information is through personal studies and in relation to religious (sharia) is the web environment.

Lexical Analysis of the Translations of Elahi Ghomshei and Fooladvand from Inheritance Verses

Seyyed Hussein Mohebatizade, Yusuf Hadipour Nahzomi — Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:00 +0430

Nowadays, translations are analyzed on the basis of scientific paradigms, criteria and models. Garces's model is a model based on the principle of equality between the source and target texts and gives criteria for evaluating translations. This model analyzes translations in four lexical-semantic, morpho-syntactic, discourse-functional and stylistic-cognitive levels. Given the importance of inheritance and its division according to the verses of Qur'an, it is necessary to provide accurate translation of the verses. Therefore, the present study intends to evaluate in an analytical-descriptive method the translations of Elahi Ghomshei and Fooladvand, two contemporary translators, of the verses of inheritance according to lexical-semantic level of the Garces model to show the extent of conformity or inconformity of translations with the criteria of this model. So, first, this model and its level of lexical-semantic are briefly introduced. Then, the verse and the extent of application of each criterion in translation plus diagrams are given. In conclusion, after analyzing negative and positive points reveals that Fooladvand translation which is slightly different has a better quality.

Examining Idiomaticity of Short Stories in Translation: Creativity or Fidelity?

Sara Zandian — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0330

Idiomatic expressions serve a pivotal role in conveying meanings, evoking feelings, and introducing cultural-historical backgrounds whose proper rendition into meaningful equivalents is one of the most demanding parts of translation enterprise. This challenging task largely depends on the creativity of the translator who seeks to maintain the stylistic balance between the source text (ST) and target text (TT). This study examines the translator’s creativity in terms of different idiomatic expressions used in the Persian translations of The Bet, The Story-Teller, and The Closed Shop, which were analyzed through content analysis. The results of comparison and contrast of the TTs with their STs indicated that the translator not only conveyed the essence of the STs’ idiomatic expressions preserving most of their semantic aspects but also used some appropriate idioms in the TTs corresponding to non-idiomatic STs. As it apparently seems that the English language is possibly richer in idioms than Persian, the findings tend to suggest the translator’s creativity in the use of idiomatic expressions.

The Role of Translation in the Revival of Prose Shāhnāmeh Books in the 9th and 10th Centuries

Mohammadreza Hosseini — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0330

Shāhnāmeh books realize the epic poetry in Persian culture whose history dates back to the time of the Achaemenids. In the 9^th and 10^th centuries that the Persian culture reinvigorated after the Arab invasion, prose and poetry Shāhnāmeh books were revived in Persian. In order to compose prose Shāhnāmeh books, the Persian elite had no choice but translating the Pahlavi versions into Persian. Moreover, some of the Arabic versions of Khwatāy Nāmag books already translated from Pahlavi, were translated into Persian as another source to recompose prose Shāhnāmeh books by the writers who were patronized by the political elite. The Persian cultural products and capitals were sponsored since they could be converted to symbolic capital and political power in the field- according to Bourdieu’s terminology. The Introduction of Abū-Mansūrī Shāhnāmeh as one of the oldest texts in Persian -narrates how it was composed through translation from Pahlavi by four translators. It exemplifies the role that translation from Pahlavi and Arabic into Persian had in the revival of prose Shāhnāmeh books in the 9^th and 10^th centuries.

Study and Analysis of the Translation of the Passage "Lau Kontom Ta’lamoun" in the Holy Qur’an

Masumeh Pouya, Farhad Divsalar — Thu, 16 May 2024 00:00:00 +0330

The translation of the Holy Qur’an is highly important because it is the word of revelation and the charter of good life. Correct understanding of the verses and its correct translation into the target language requires the translator's mastery of linguistic tools and semantic theories. This research tries to use Abdul Qahir’s Order theory, "Halliday and Hasan’s Cohesion and Austin’s Speech Acts to explain the structure of "lau kontom ta’lamoun" in Verse 4 of Surah Nooh and compares the translations of Haddad Adel and Fooladvand with this view. The result of the research shows that the translation of the letter "Lu" in this verse is more effective as a wish word.

Translating Taboo Language in the 1390s

Milad Bigdeloo — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0330

The aim of this study was to discover the prevailing strategies of translating taboos in the 1390s/~2010s. To this end, four Persian translations of J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, published in the mentioned decade, were investigated. However, to make a comparison between strategies of translating taboo words and expressions in the 1390s/~2010s and the pre-Islamic Revolution era, the only translation of the novel published before the Islamic Revolution was also examined. This study adopted a mixed theoretical framework, one to detect the taboo items and the other to analyse the collected taboos with respect to the translation strategies. To carry out the research, first, the taboo items of the source text were extracted. Then the 124 taboos extracted from the source text were compared to their Persian counterparts with respect to translation strategies. Findings of the study showed great diversity regarding the adopted strategies, possibly highlighting the role of translators’ personal decisions, rather than norm-based decisions, in translating taboo items.

Formation of Drama Translation Field in Pahlavi I (1925–1941)

Farideh Shabani Rad — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0330

This research investigates the process of the gradual rise of drama translation field in an Iranian context, drawing on Bourdieu’s theoretical framework. This framework is used to examine the relationship between this cultural production and its social agents in Pahlavi I (1925–1941). Understanding the phases of the formation of this field depends on understanding a number of socio-cultural factors affecting drama translation and different agents’ practices. To investigate the influence of these factors on agents’ practices a context-oriented research is conducted at the macro-structural level. The findings are analysed by Bourdieu’s key concepts of field, habitus, and capital. It is also argued that there are important social agents who have contributed significantly to the structure of the field and its boundaries. The main conclusion drawn from the study is that socio-cultural developments over the certain period reshaped the structure of Iranian society. Iran saw the progressive rise of different social fields and also the emergence of new cultural agents and culture space witnessed the rise of drama translation thanks to attempts by agents belonging to two highly active fields of power and theatre. Moreover, in this period, the existence of two different translatorial habitus shaped the poetics of drama translation: translation for page and translation for stage which means that there were two different translatorial habitus in operation: domestication and foreignisation.

Components of Translation Competence: A Job Task Analysis

Farzaneh Farahzad , Mohsen Jazeb — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Translator training programs—whether at universities or higher education institutes—have been mushrooming in Iran. The avowed objective of these programs is to prepare trainee translators for the competitive market. This article attempts to identify sub-competences of Translation Competence. To this aim, a job task analysis is conducted. First, a 12-member focus group are asked to set forth all a translator need to function competently—this involves filling out a 3-question survey followed by online interviews which have been recorded. Then, based on the data from the survey, a 50-item questionnaire is developed and distributed among professional translators to rate the items in terms of their importance. Finally, the results are discussed and compared with the PACTE’s Translation Competence model. The results of the study show four categories of Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Attributes, the majority of which are considered necessary for the success of a translator. Also, there is a significant correlation between the results of the present study and PACTE’s Translation Competence model.

Concept of Marriage in the Translation of La Reine Margot

Farzaneh Farahzad, Hajar Mohamadnia Dizaji — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0330

In line with massive cultural and social transformations in nineteenth-century Iran, an authoritative translator, Mohamad Taher Mirza Eskandari, succeeded in translating a female-centered novel, La Reine Margot. In the decades leading to the constitutional movement, he introduced a translation with relative hegemonic power that managed to become an arena for articulating relatively modern ideas about the social institution of marriage and divulging the positioning of women within it. As a modern discursive practice, the translation was also launched as a platform to challenge the traditional conceptualizations of marriage. This case study used discourse analysis methodology (Fairclough, 1992) triangulated with thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2012) and comparative analysis proposed by Tymoczko (2002) and Pym (2014). It peruses to explore the strategies through which Eskandari’s 1895 Persian translation of Alexandre Dumas’ French historical novel, La Reine Margot, sought to achieve hegemony, oppose the traditional premodern discourse, and pave the way for the introduction of new ideas about marriage. It also analyzes women’s position within the translation. The main questions to answer are what strategies the translator applied to criticize and dissociate from the traditional social context and illustrate a modern concept of marriage, what aspects of marriage were foregrounded, and the implications of all this for the representation of women.

Manipulation and Reception of English Translation of Rubaiyat by the Victorians

Reza Yalsharzeh, Roya Monsefi, Reza Shojaeniya — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0330

This study investigates the English translation of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat by Edward Fitzgerald in the Victorian age. Khayyam was the great Iranian mathematician, philosopher, and poet whose Rubaiyat received a warm reception by the British audience of the 19^th century. Using a comparative descriptive method, the study first intends to show how an exotic text from the East was introduced to the British audience, how Fitzgerald added an orientation to the translation, in what ways he accomplished that orientation, and why the Victorians welcomed Khayyam’s poetry. To achieve this, the study first discusses the reasons for Khayyam’s good reception in Victorian age Britain. The discussions depicted that the carpe diem philosophy prevalent in Rubaiyat attracted many Victorians experiencing the religious doubt discourse of the 19^th century. Then, forty quatrains of Rubaiyat which contain culturally specific items were selected purposefully and compared with their English translations using Bassnett and Lefevere’s (1998) cultural manipulation theory to determine how Fitzgerald manipulated the original quatrains. Ten out of forty quatrains were discussed in this study as examples to show how Persian cultural-specific concepts were dealt with in the translation. The results implied that Fitzgerald removed references to the Persian cultural concepts in translating Khayyam, indicating British colonial and imperialistic attitudes towards the East.

Methods of Translating Metonymies in The Masnavi: Boosting Larson's (1984) Model

Zohreh Parvaz, Mahmoud Afrouz — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Translation suffers from many limitations, one of which is the rendition of metonymical expressions from one language into another. Rarely any language can be found wherein no metonymy is used. This study is conducted to compare and analyze metonymies in Rumi’s Masnavi and its English translation by Mojaddedi (2004). Larson’s (1984) model was adopted as the framework for analyzing the way metonymies were rendered. In the first phase, the source-text metonymies and their equivalents were extracted from the First Book of the Masnavi and its translation. Then, the methods employed in rendering each metonymy were specified and the frequency of each method was determined. Finally, it was attempted to boost the current model. The results showed that ‘literal translation’ was the most commonly used method while ‘translation of metonymy into metonymic entity plus sense’ was the least frequently adopted method. Also, the study proved that Larson’s model doesn’t cover all methods used by Mojaddedi. Additionally, four new methods were detected by the researchers including Literal translation, Deletion, Generalization, and Specification.

What’s in a Name: The Metalanguage of Equivalence

Hossein Mollanazar, Ghodrat Hassani — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Despite a plethora of theories and decades of efforts to pin down the nature of equivalence, it remains a notoriously contentious topic, so much so that scholars have run the gamut from its deification to its demonization. While many definitions of translation revolve around the concept of equivalence, for some, equivalence in translation is nothing more than a mere myth. This paper will first briefly survey the literature on the different attitudes towards equivalence from the second half of the 20th century. It then goes on to argue that the very naming of ‘equivalence’ has further complicated this inherently multifaceted concept, and despite its naming that implies equal value, it is anything but. Against this backdrop, a new term is proposed instead in an attempt to address some of the concerns arising from the metalanguage of equivalence. Finally, the far-reaching implications of the current project for training translators and for the definition of translation itself are outlined.

A Qualitative and Quantitative Inquiry into the Translation of English Fiction Titles into Persian

Ameneh Yari — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0330

This paper sets out to study the translation procedures adopted by Iranian translators in rendering the titles of English fictions. The corpus comprised 300 titles of English translated fictions selected based on convenient sampling that was paralleled with their Persian counterparts. The books were published within the last three decades, and were authored by a wide range of English writers and have been translated by many Iranian translators. To obtain detailed and dependable results, the corpus was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings revealed that literal translation was the most frequent procedure followed by translators. Recreation, employment of related words, transliteration, reduction, adaptation, and addition were found as other translation procedures in the order of distribution. The frequency of recreation as the second procedure was the interesting result of the present study, in which translators opted for a completely new title irrelevant to the original title. Elaborating on the target text titles and the themes of their fictions in various procedures showed that almost all the changes applied to the original titles were consistent with the events of the stories or their final destiny.

Translating Image Schemas

Ahmad Iranmanesh — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Image schema as one of the main ideas of cognitive linguistics emphasizes the fact that mental concepts are the result of our physical interaction with the environment and assist us to understand the abstract and non-abstract concepts. As these conceptual structures do not necessarily have similar manifestations in different cultures and languages, the present study aimed at investigating the most important English schemas as well as their relevant Persian subtitled translations in two American animations, namely Frozen I (2013) and Frozen II (2019), to determine the similarities and differences between these structures in the two languages. To this aim, the Image Schema Theory and its taxonomy for different types of schemas with a focus on containment, path and force schema were presented and discussed. The schemas in the original versions of Frozen I and Frozen II were accordingly identified and taxonomized under the subcategories of containment (as full-empty, in-out and surface) and path (as front-back, near-far, up-down, spiral, circle and contact) proposed by Peña (2008) and force (as compulsion, blockage, counterforce, diversion, restraint removal and enablement) presented by Evans & Green (2006). The comparison of the original schemas with their pertinent Persian subtitled translations demonstrated the applied strategies as description, substitution, omission, loan translation and addition. The results also indicated on foreignization as the dominant approach in the Persian subtitles.

Translational Resistance and Constitutional Movement: The Case of One-Word Treatise in Constitutionalist Narrative Communities

Parvaneh Ma‘azallahi — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0330

The relationship between translation and power is realized differently; some subservient translators produce submissive translations that conform to the norms set by power, while others choose to resist and produce resistant translations that bring about socio-political transformations. Concerning Baker’s (in Tymoczko 2010) conceptualization of the link between resistant or activist translations and narrative communities, this study intends to examine One-Word Treatise as a resistant translation in the Naseri period. Hence, it attempts to examine what resistant strategies were employed by the translator and whether there was a link between this translation and the narrative communities such as Farāmoushkhāneh and Jāmeʿ-e Ādamīyat. The analysis of One-Word Treatise as the textual data showed that Mostashar al-Dowleh chose interventionist strategies such as addition, deletion and manipulation to adapt the original text to the Islamic Sharia. Moreover, he could introduce alternative metanarratives such as freedom and law into these narrative communities. It is concluded that One-Word Treatise as an adaptation of the French Declaration of Human Rights was a resistant translation which countered Naser al-Din Shah’s repressive policies and created counter-discourses and paved the way for a political subversion, namely the declaration of constitutionalism under the rule of Mozaffar al-Din Shah despite the bitter fate that befell the translator.

The Relationship between Eight Components of Multiple Intelligences (MI) and Consecutive Interpreting Performance of Iranian Male and Female Trainee Interpreters

Zahra Golshahi, Gholamreza Tajvidi — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Gardner’s Multiple-Intelligences profile can serve as a powerful instrument for assessment of learners' abilities and aptitudes. This empirical study aims at finding any potential relationship between Iranian male and female trainee interpreters' scores in Multiple Intelligences (MI) and their performance in consecutive interpreting. 109 participants were chosen for the study. The instruments include 3 questionnaires and a summative test. Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient and Kendall's partial rank correlation coefficient were used for analyzing the data. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed a significant correlation between bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and consecutive interpreting performance in males and a significant correlation between linguistic-verbal and mathematical-logical intelligences and consecutive interpreting performance in females. It can be concluded that among male trainee interpreters, those with a higher bodily-kinesthetic intelligence can be more promising candidates for interpreting courses. And among female trainee interpreters, those with a higher linguistic-verbal and mathematical-logical intelligences can become more competent interpreters.

A Socio-Historical Orientalist Approach to the European Translations of Ferdowsi's The Epic of Kings

Maedeh Sarlak, Amin Karimnia — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Orientalist translation analysis, particularly in the case of masterpieces of Eastern literature, remains underdeveloped in translation studies, and many investigations are required to address its various dimensions. A problem is that studies rarely draw on a relatively objective, model-oriented approach to Orientalism in translation. This study relies on a socio-historical model of Orientalist translation applied to a corpus of European renditions of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings). The model involves four elements: scholarly agency, continental translation, industrial/scientific superiority of orientalists, and the literary richness of eastern cultures. The data used in the analysis are collected from academic databases, encyclopedic resources, and conventional and electronic resources. The results suggest many of the translators are Western scholars. Moreover, many translations are based on another European translation as a mediator. In many cases, the translations advocate Western academic/investigative purposes, while relying on the advanced publication industry of their time. Finally, the appreciations/acknowledgments of the book reveal the reasons for choosing Shahnameh for translation. Besides confirming the functioning of the model, the study shows that translation is a derivative activity in many scholars’ profiles. The study also raises questions about the very definition of “translation” because the translated works analyzed represent considerably different qualities.

Popular Science Books as a Site of Translational Activism: Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes” as a Case in Point

Marzieh Maddahi, Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0430

The main goal of the present paper was to explore the influence of the sociopolitical context of post-revolutionary Iran on the production of the English into Persian translations of popular science books. It particularly aimed to reveal the resisted themes, and to detect and classify the translators’ applied forms of engagement in the translations. A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes was selected for doing the study. The whole text, footnotes, and the appended paper were examined. The research was carried within Tymoczko’s theoretical framework (2010a; 2010c; 2010d) that conceptualizes political and ideological agency and activism in translation by using two metaphors of resistance and engagement, and classifies different forms of engagement in translation. The results showed that the translator had tried to provide an almost exact translation of the original scientific text. Nevertheless, he had encoded activism in both forms of resistance and engagement through selection of the text for translation, and commentary on translation in the form of footnotes and a paper appended to the end of the book. He had tried to maintain timeless religious, and cultural beliefs by using ideological agendas as the basis for presenting Western scientific ideas and comments to the Iranian target audience.

A Comparative Study of the Concept of Ideology in Marxism and in Translation Studies

Hussein Mollanazar, Saeed Fuladi — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Both Marxism and Translation Studies have a great body of writings on ideology. The close relationship between ideology and translation was first acknowledged by those scholars who used Cultural Studies’ theories and conceptions in Translation Studies (e.g., Susan Bassnett, Andre Lefevere, Theo Hermans, etc.), but There exists little consensus on the definition of the concept in the field. The present research is an attempt to review the origins and the history of the concept of ideology, and the engagement of Marx and Marxist tradition with the concept, in order to shed some light on the ambiguous state of the concept in Translation Studies. The available literature on ideology was reviewed in both Marxism and Translation Studies. Marxist theories of ideology were classified into three categories: critical, positive, and descriptive. The critical sense—ideology as false consciousness—is prominent in the writings of Marx. The positive notion of ideology is associated with class distinction and class consciousness. Finally the descriptive theories of ideology involve an anthropological study of the beliefs and rituals of certain groups. A survey of studies conducted on ideology in Translation Studies showed that except a few (e.g. Lefevere 1987 and Jacquemond 1992), majority of the studies used the concept of ideology in its descriptive sense.

Iranian Tele-Translators: Job Standards, Motivations and Satisfaction

Maryam Poorgalavi — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Translation as a means of interlingual and intercultural communication denotes a cooperative and collaborative process including a number of agents. Recently, the role of translators in the modern transition industry has received much attention in relevant literature. Therefore, this study aims to deal with the professional standards of Iranian tele-translators indirectly employed by Iranian translation agencies. This is an applied study in terms of purpose and descriptive survey in terms of method. The statistical population consisted of all 170 tele-translators employed by Isfahan Safir Tarjomeh Melal, of whom 118 were selected as a research sample. Data were analyzed by SPSS 22 and descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The results showed that most tele-translators preferred to collaborate with translation agencies in more than one specialized field. Results also revealed that most tele-translators emphasized that the price of specialized translation projects should be higher than those of the general fields. Most of tele-translators preferred to collaborate with the translation agencies using an online panel. Finally, results demonstrated that most translators emphasized that discretionary bonus payment by translation agencies for tele-translators who work continuously is of utmost importance.

Revision Teaching and Revision Competence Acquisition in Iranian Universities

Ahmad Kabiri, Marzieh Izadi — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Revision is an indispensable part of the translation workflow in the industry; however, its definition remains ill-defined and its status has been marginalized in the translator training (Robert, 2008). The aim of this article is fourfold. In the first part, a survey was conducted, prior to the start of the revision course, to investigate students’ attitudes towards revision, their background knowledge, and competence. In the second part, a quantitative grading scheme, based on Mossop’s (2019) formula, is proposed and employed to evaluate students’ acquisition of revision sub-competences, following the above-mentioned course. The third part of the study entails the discussions on the efficacy of the contents and methods chosen in translator training curriculum in Iranian universities and the impact of such training on students’ acquisition of revision sub-competences. This study finally ends with some insights and suggestions on the best ways to tailor revision courses to the needs of professionals in the translation industry.

A Microhistorical Study of the First Translators of Dār al-Funūn

Zahra Atefmehr, Farzaneh Farahzad — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0430

In recent years, microhistory has shifted the focus of some translation historians from translated texts to individual translators’ life and work. Because of its emphasis on microscopic small-scale investigations, microhistory enables us to see the forgotten individuals, to uncover the hidden facts and to reveal the gaps in our historical knowledge. At the center of microhistory lies the archival method, which involves in-depth examination of archives and primary sources. The present article is an archival microhistorical research on the first translators of Dār al-Funūn in the Naseri era (1848–1896). Examining the archives, this study aims at providing a detailed portrait of these translators. To this end, first, the document repositories of five archives were closely investigated. Then the first-hand information extracted from primary sources were put together to write a narrative for each translator.

A Method for Microhistorical Translation/Translator Research: With a Focus on the Iranian Context

Zahra Atefmehr, Farzaneh Farahzad — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Microhistory can serve two functions in historical translation/translator studies. One is to discover the forgotten individual translators or to address the previously neglected issues concerning translations, translators, translational events, translation institutions, etc. And the other is to provide the translation/translator studies scholar with the means to take a fresh look at previously investigated topics. The two functions can be fulfilled through conducting a microscopic investigation of a topic and in light of discovering the overlooked primary sources as well as critical re-reading of the previously used sources. The purpose of this article is to propose a practical step-by-step method for microhistorical translation/translator research in the Iranian context. The article first briefly introduces microhistory. Because archives and primary sources are of great importance in microhistorical research, different types of sources are introduced afterwards. The paper then provides an overview of some of the existing microhistorical studies in the field of translation studies. After that, primary sources for a microhistorical translation/translator research are introduced and finally, a tentative method is proposed.

The Role of Intellectual-translators in the Reception of Sartrean Existentialism in the Pre-revolutionary Iran

Marzieh Malekshahi, Ali Khazaee Farid — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Existentialist discourse is one of the major foreign discourses that dominated the intellectual life of Iran for decades. In pre-revolutionary Iran, Existentialist discourse, itself a dynamic, complex and sometimes contradictory discourse, served different and sometimes contradictory purposes in different political and social contexts. From the very beginning, when Sartre was introduced to Iran, his multifaceted figure attracted a variety of intellectuals, writers, and translators with different purposes. The translators of Sartre's works during this period were mostly intellectuals or professional writers who actively engaged in translating Sartre's works or works on Existentialism as a form of political activism to challenge or support the dominant political ideology of their time. Among the translators of Sartre's works, two translators, Sadeq Hedayat and Mostafa Rahimi, respectively, played an effective role in the reception of Existentialism as an absurdist philosophy in the 1940s and as a political ideology in the 1960s. This paper aims to examine the professional profile of these two translators and their translations in order to explain their role in the reception of Existentialism in pre-revolutionary Iran, especially in the 1940s and 1960s.

Evaluation of Two Courses Included in English Translation B.A. Program; “Persian Writing” and “The Structure of Persian Language”: Iranian Students' Views in Focus

Ali Fazel, Dariush Nejadansari, Azizollah Dabbaghi — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Curriculum evaluation is of paramount importance in educational contexts. In this paper we intend to evaluate two courses Persian Writing and The Structure of Persian Language, included in the undergraduate program of English Translation, from the point of view of students and also to get a general image of the current status of teaching of these two courses. Students who had taken, or were taking, either one or both of these courses at state universities were asked to complete a researcher-made questionnaire survey which consisted of Likert-scale items, under four headings the teaching of the courses, the teachers’ ability, materials and contents, and application in translation, as well as open-ended ones, aimed at getting information about the teaching of the two courses. The results showed that the teaching of the two courses is too theoretical and mainly not informed by the real needs of translation students. Also, some suggestions are made for improving the teaching of the two courses, including a shift from theoretical to practical work and also establishment of a stronger link between the content of the courses and translation. The results of this study could benefit translation students, teachers, and material developers, among others.

Persian Translations of Resistance Literature during the Iran-Iraq War

Leila Alinoori, Farzaneh Farahzad — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0330

The present study aimed to identify Persian translations of English novels of resistance and examine their relation to the socio-historical conditions of Iran during the Iran-Iraq War, known in the national discourse as “the Sacred Defense period” (see Farahzad, 2011). For this purpose, the website of Khaneh-ye Ketab was consulted and 867 translations, embracing first translations, retranslations and reprints, were identified as Persian translations of English novels published during the period in Iran. Based on Harlow (1987) and DeShazer (1994), the themes of resistance literature were classified as race discrimination, class conflict, war, colonialism, post-colonialism, and totalitarianism. All translated novels of the period were examined to see which ones covered the above themes. The results indicated that 19% of all the 867 translations dealt with the themes of resistance, of which only 4% covered the theme of war, and about 80% concerned other themes. It can be concluded that translation of resistance novels was marginalized, the theme of war was not focal in such translations, and that translation of novels of resistance had little say in the discourse of the time.

Localization of Video Game News Websites into Persian

Mazdak Bolouri, Masoud Varaste — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Localization is the practice of adapting global products to local markets. It includes linguistic, technical, and marketing processes that work to create a product that feels locally-produced to its consumers. Such products can be industrial, cultural, or consumer goods. The present study examined translation techniques in localization and online publication of video games news. It aimed to explore how these translations are carried out and what external factors affect their production. The study compared translated news with their source versions to categorize (1) translation techniques and (2) stylistic changes based on the categorizations suggested by Molina and Hurtado Albir (2002) and van Leeuwen (2006), respectively. The results then formed the basis of an interview with website editors in chief to discuss the reasons behind the used translation techniques and the changes in style. The results of the first part showed that borrowing and amplification were the most used techniques followed by reduction and adaptation. The journalistic style of the translations also changed based on the procedures and policies of the websites. The interview results revealed that there were two underlying reasons behind the translation decisions: 1. Search Engine Optimization, 2. Viewer expectations. There was also a third factor, time, which controls the other two. It can be concluded that online, digital media are more and more affecting and regulating the work of human translator’s, at least in the entertainment sector.

The Turns of Translation Studies from a CDA Perspective

Mostafa Amiri, Farzaneh Farahzad — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Inspired by Thomas Kuhn’s theory of paradigm shift and guided by Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper is concerned with the turns of Translation Studies (TS) from a CDA perspective. It gives account of the way in which Polysystem theory as a nodal discourse redefined translation through the discursive processes of emergence and appropriation, contestation and hegemony, and recontextualization and colonization. This is done by conceptualizing the turns of TS as an order of discourse according to Fairclough’s model. The paper attempts to show that the Polysystem theory, having been appropriated into TS, displaced the existing discourses within TS and redefined the methodological and epistemological status of translation by raising a cluster of new conceptual issues, which greatly contributed to the cultural turn in the field. It is concluded that a turn in TS occurs when the three areas of methodology, epistemology and ontology are redefined by discursive processes.

A Translation-as-Task Teaching Design to Enhance News Story Writing Skill

Negar Nowroozzadeh, Abbas Bayat, Abbas Mehrpooya — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Attempting to place the practice of translation within a task-based language learning frame, the present study aims to investigate the effect of task-based translation on news-story writing. The participants in this study included 74 Iranian BA sophomores majoring in translation at Islamic Azad University, Hamedan Branch. After making sure the subjects have been homogeneously divided into experimental and control groups, the subjects in the experimental group were exposed to a six-week translation-pro task-based treatment, while those in the control group were taught via a conventional method of teaching a textbook on news story structure. In this pursuit, an evaluation exam on news-story writing was administered by the researchers before and after the treatment program, and the obtained data were analyzed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences using descriptive and inferential statistics. The obtained results showed significant improvement in the news-story writing ability of those subjects who were exposed to the translation-pro task-based treatment. Furthermore, employing a translation-pro task-based approach could significantly improve the experimental group’s overall performance on news-story writing and its various sub-skills such as the use of Wh/H data (who, where, when, what, why, and how data), use of specialized words, context, consistency, structure, and simple language.

Translation and Language Treatment in Anthropological Books

Hamideh Nemati Lafmejani, Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0430

Anthropologists conduct their research in different fields by traveling to somehow unknown geographical places. In different stages of the research including gathering the data and then writing the text, translation is an inevitable part. On the whole, anthropologists translate the unknown culture and oral experience in the field into a written text. The purpose of the study was to shed light on how anthropologists treated the language and whether they elaborated on the translation issues. To this end, 30 full-length English anthropological books were selected and the data was gathered based on the matrix method (Garrard, 2011) and De Casanova and Brown’s (2017) coding scheme. The results revealed that the issue of translation and language was addressed only by the limited number of researchers and not enough attention was paid to the actual linguistic translation that is happening in the text. However, those who addressed the issue and elaborated on the strategies that they adopted to overcome the translation difficulties and cultural barriers provide valuable information.

A Quality Assessment of the Teaching Procedures, Faculty Performance and Curriculum of the Interpretation Courses at Bachelor's Level: A CIPP Approach

Saeed Ranjbar, Ramin Rahimi — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0430

This study sought to evaluate the quality of interpretation courses at undergraduate level for the students of English translation. The participants included faculty members (N = 9), graduates (N= 16) and undergraduate students (N= 70) of Islamic Azad Universities in Mazandaran. The data were collected through a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview using Stufflebeam’s four-component model. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical procedures. In addition, the qualitative data were analyzed via content analysis. The results of the study demonstrated that the teaching materials presented in the interpretation courses have to be revised along with the undergraduate interpretation program. In addition, it was revealed that interpretation courses have to be re-designed in terms of both instruction and evaluation especially in terms of the teaching methods, instructional facilities and aides, and exam administration. The implication of this research would result in a reform in instruction and evaluation approaches commonly used over the past decades, especially in terms of using authentic tasks and test content.

An Investigation into the Semantic Domains of Dysphemistic Forms in The Catcher in the Rye and its Persian Translation and their Translation Strategies

Alireza Rasti — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0330

This study sought to identify the semantic domains of the various realizations of dysphemism in The Catcher in the Rye and its Persian translation. It also aimed at spotting the translation strategies employed by Translator Najafi in rendering them into Persian. The novel was chosen as it encompasses quite a lot of dysphemistic expressions in the first-person account of the teenage narrator. In an initial pilot phase of analysis, six general semantic domains of relieving, sex, religion, animals, insanity, and dirt were spotted to guide the rest of data analytic procedure. The three semantic fields of religion, insanity, and sex accounted for approximately 85% of all cases of occurrence of dysphemism. In regard to the translation strategies used by Najafi, the following strategies were identified as playing a significant role in rendering the realizations: deletion, transfer of identical semantic domains, transfer of different semantic domains, change of instances of strong dysphemism into those of mild one, and finally change of cases of dysphemism into those of euphemism. Studies such as these are liable to contribute to advancement of further research and discussions on the as yet under-researched area of dysphemism.

Pseudotranslation in Dr. Shariati’s Books

Mahvash Gholami, Mina Abdi — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0330

According to Toury (1995) pseudotranslation happens when in a translation there are “texts which have been presented as translations with no corresponding source texts in other languages ever having existed” (p.47). An example of this phenomenon is evident in Dr. Ali Shariati’s writings; they include some quotations which he has attributed to a professor called Chandelle while—as it was shown in this article—these are his own words. To evaluate the claim from a scientific point of view four books by Dr. Shariati were selected as corpus of the study and CUSUM (cumulative sum control chart) technique was used to compare writing style of Dr. Shariati and the so called professor Chandelle. The results of the analysis revealed that Dr. Shariati has used pseudotranslating as a strategy in his books and what he has claimed as translations from Chandelle’s writings have, in fact, been written by Dr. Shariati himself. The reason for this action could be the political conditions of the time under which he decided to hide his identity when criticizing the dictatorship to avoid later prosecution.

Review of Ali Abbas Zoleikheh’s Translation of Masnavi, Book 1, according to Mona Baker’s Theory

Elham Kakavand, Simin Valavi — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0330

One of the major challenges that a translator faces in translating literary works is poetry. In such translations, not only selecting suitable equivalents but also transferring the poet's purpose is of the utmost importance because it is highly effective in the reader’s understanding as well as the poem aesthetic. In translating literary works, particularly poems, grammatical structures are of paramount importance. As syntax varies from language to language, to accurately translate meaning from the source language to the target language, equivalence in translation fulfills this key objective. According to Mona Baker’s theory of “Structural Equivalence”, by using the descriptive-analytical method, the grammatical structures as well as the meaning of poems are examined in two parts. Part one is the analysis of morphology including accountable /uncountable nouns, person, gender, tenses, and regular/irregular verbs. However, in part two grammatical structures of the translation are examined by using several poems that are translated by Zoleikheh. The obtained result shows that even though Zoleikheh has put a lot of effort into translating Masnavi into Arabic, he could not transfer the poet's purpose, and that is because of an incorrect way of reading some verses and also using the inappropriate lexicon and syntax. Therefore, readers face difficulties understanding some meanings and long contents will not be transmitted to the Arabic language.

Catford’s Translation Shifts in Translating Vocabulary-Learning Books from English to Persian

Mohammad Aghai, Shabnam Mokhtarnia — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0430

The present study investigates the realization of Catford's translation shifts in translated English vocabulary-learning books by determining their frequency of occurrence. For this purpose, seven popular vocabulary books were selected, and 210 ST-TT pairs were chosen and analyzed according to Catford's Taxonomy of translation shifts. The obtained data revealed that the Structural Shift is the most frequent translation shift and the Level Shift is the least common type of Catford's shift in the selected translations. The study indicates that only 11.90 % of the selected translations had undergone Class Shift; that means English and Persian can offer equivalents of the same part of speech. Unit Shift occurred in 43.33% of the translated sentences, most probably because translations of English vocabulary-learning books tend to be explanatory and transparent. 69.52% of the shifts were mainly Intra-System Shifts because the translators tried to avoid foreign structures that sound weird to Persian speakers. It is noteworthy that the previously conducted studies generally focused on text-types such as psychology and literature. This study contributes to the translation field by shedding light on a different text-type and context using Catford's translation shifts.

Translation Memes

Mustafa Komeili — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Memetics as the cultural counterpart to genetics has provided us with new tools to study the transference and sharing of ideas within or across human communities. The present article is an attempt at working memetics into translation theory analysis. To this aim, the present paper explored some of the ideas from philosophers and translation theorists including George Steiner, Franz Rosenzweig, Paul Ricoeur, and Walter Benjamin in search of some shared strands of ideas forming the core of parts of theorization on translation. Scrutinizing some of the writings of these thinkers, either in the form of prefaces to their own translations or essays on translation, vividly revealed the presence of some basic trends such as sexualizing, or more exactly, effeminizing translation act, and attributing a hypothetical messianic mission to translation. On this basis, a tentative list of translational memes featuring femimeme and messianic meme was suggested. Seeing such common trends as translational memes follows that these trends are capable of transference and replication, a fact that was validated by reference to their vast spatio-temporal and cultural spread, and their common source of origin. The striking similarities found between such translational memes and Jewish mysticism showed that they could be of Kabalistic provenance. The findings indicated that working memetics into translation theory analysis is a worthwhile endeavor.

Challenges of Machine-to-Machine Translation from Persian to Arabic and its Pathology

Mehrdad Aghaei, Younes Ghorbi — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0330

With the advent of computers and information technology in almost all areas of human life and the increase in the efficiency of daily work, the field of translation is no exception. Despite the rapid pace of machine translation and the all-round development of new technologies, there are still many shortcomings in this area. The present study seeks to provide a descriptive-analytical approach to the challenging features and aspects of translating Persian into Arabic by machine translators, but this does not mean rejecting or opposing the types of machines and programs developed for this purpose, because this technology, despite its drawbacks and problems that we may face in translation, has also its advantages, including the ability to act quickly and save time and money. This study aims to take a step towards improving these machine-to-machine translations from Persian into Arabic by examining the case of these deficiencies and challenges, without questioning machine translation, by providing solutions to address these deficiencies and challenges. To do this, four of the most popular and powerful translation sites have been selected and reviewed. Then a solution is provided for each of the failures. The purpose of analyzing these challenges is to identify and address these deficiencies. The findings of the present study indicate that machine translation currently cannot replace human translation in terms of accuracy and efficiency, due to its inability to understand the context and adapt words quickly to the text, style and register, extract idiomatic and non-primary meanings and identify suprasegmental features affecting the text.

Charactonyms in Accredited Persian Translation of Classic Religious English Literature

Abdolreza Rostami, Hussein Mollanazar — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0330

The article deals with charactonyms in accredited Persian translation of classic religious English literature and features charactonyms in the works of John Bunyan (1628–1688) and Lew Wallace (1827–1905). Charactonyms are the names suggesting the characteristics of the bearers. According to Hatch (1992), literary characters play an important role and they can affect the macrostructure of a novel. The material has been borrowed from The Pilgrim's Progress written by Bunyan (1678), published by Reformation Press in 1999 and the established equivalents of two Persian translations, Siyahat-i Masihi (‘سیاحت مسیحی’) by J. L. Potter (1926) and Seir-o Solouk-i Za’ir (‘سیر و سلوک زائر’) by Golnaz Hamedi (2002) and from Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ written by Wallace (1880), published by Global Grey in 2018 and the established equivalents of two Persian translations, Ben-Hoor (‘بن هور’) by Mohammad Nowruzi (1951) and Ben-Hoor ya Dastan-i Isa (‘بن هور یا داستان عیسی’) by Esmail Shaygan (1956). Alexander Kalashnikov’s (2011) two types of charactonyms: veiled charactonyms and charactonyms personalia and Kalashnikov’s (2006) classification of translation equivalents are employed to compare the SL charactonyms with the TL equivalents at Hatch’s (1992) macro level analysis to reveal whether the established Persian equivalents convey the traits of the SL charactonyms and/or affect the macrostructure of the novel(s).

Hybridity in Translation Studies from Latour’s Perspective

Mehrnaz Poostforoush, Hussein Mollanazar — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0330

The expanding field of hybridity, which has been used in myriad studies such as cultural and postcolonial, may offer useful insights into Translation Studies. The present study focuses on the sociological standpoint of hybridity because it has a broader sense rather than other types of hybridity, moving from a textual concept limited to the linguistic dimension and a small-scale group of actors to a metatextual one with a wider range of actants-networks. Although the range of these actants is so extensive, this study concerns a limited one within the framework of Latour’s theory. It investigates hybrid networks of the actants in a Persian authored-compiled book. Besides, it attempts to find out whether there is any fixed border between the so-called original and translated writing. To this end, the main actants of the book were examined to find out whether they were involved in a translation process or not. After investigating the actants’ behaviors, their roles in the translation process were determined. The data was drawn from three types of sources: authors, the book, the original writing. The findings contribute to the conceptualization of translation as a social process resulting from hybridity between the so-called original and translated writing.

Publishers’ Notes as Conflict Management Tools in Translation Contexts

Marzieh Maddahi, Hussein Mollanazar — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0330

This paper aimed to examine the role of publishers’ notes in managing conflicts in translation contexts, and the strategies they adopt to deal with the conflict cases found in the main texts of the books they publish. Salama-Carr’s (2007), and Webne-Behrman’s (1998) definitions of conflict were adopted, and Thomas-Kilmann’s (1974) typology of conflict management strategies was used. The data came from the publisher’s notes of the Persian translations of a number of books written on the Iran-Iraq War, published by Marz-o-Boom Publication in Iran. The study found that a combination of three conflict management strategies, i.e. collaboration, competition, and compromise was adopted in the notes. The strategies of competition and collaboration ranked first in the notes. But, avoidance and accommodation were absent. Based on the findings of this research, it could be suggested that even highly-charged texts could be almost precisely translated and publicly presented if publishers consciously use their notes as conflict management tools. Adopting a proper combination of the strategies of collaboration, compromise, and competition, they may address the conflicts, but keep them at a level at which the Other’s ideas and viewpoints could be fully voiced, and used to broaden the readers’ understanding of the conflicts.

Collocational Clashes within Linguistic Hybridity

Roghayeh Asgari — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0330

This study aimed at finding the reasons of deviations from typical Persian collocations among Abhari Persian speakers. In this direction, categories of collocations and collocational clashes, as well linguistic hybridity were explored. First, Abhara Turkish sentences which were supposed to have the most clashes in the process of translating into Persian were compiled along with their Abhari Persian equivalents. After checking with an educated Persian native speaker, 41 sentences were chosen as collocational clashes in the Standard Persian. Each one of these sentences was categorized according to the taxonomy proposed by Benson (1985). In the next step, these Turkish sentences were put in the form of a printed questionnaire with 41 items and distributed among Abhari participants. All the participants (217 members) were born in Abhar and lived there. They were native speakers of Abhari Turkish and normally spoke in that dialect. They were asked to write the same Persian equivalents they use for each Turkish sentence. After collecting the questionnaires, the Persian equivalents of each Turkish sentence were categorized in order to check their similarity to and difference from typical Persian and determine the factors involved in these clashes and interferences. In this phase, the collectedm data were analyzed based on Beekman and Callow’s (1974) model of causes of collocational clashes. The most frequent patterns of collocational clashes belonged to Object +Verb pattern, and the least one belonged to Subject + Verb pattern. The most important causes of these clashes were word-for-word translation by keeping the primary meaning of words and transferring the structure of mother tongue (Turkish) into Persian, non-observance of collocational possibilities in Persian, and over-translation.

An Appraisal Analysis of Multinational Advertisements for Beauty Products in the Context of Iran

Bahareh Lotfollahi, Mansoor Tavakoli, Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Using the Appraisal framework, this article analyzes the language and discourse of English print advertisements for beauty products and their Persian translations. It investigates the linguistic choices made by beauty advertisers that use English for conducting international business as well as the choices made by Iranian translators in translating such ads from English into Persian. The comparison between the two is made in an attempt to explore the potential for Appraisal resources as a means of determining translators’ intervention and subjective evaluation. The advertisements were sourced from the products’ promotional brochures freely available at beauty supply stores in Iran. The analyzed data reveal minor shifts in translations of the resources of attitude that alter the ideological position of the translated advertisements. The results demonstrate that Appraisal Theory could be an appropriate approach for detecting evaluative orientations in advertising discourse as well as inserted values in translation.

Analysis of the Translation of “Lait” in the Holy Qur’an: Based on Theories of Speech Action Theory and Discourse Disconnection

Farhad Divsalar, Masumeh Pouya — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0330

To understand the meaning of phrases and text, it is necessary to pay attention to the context of discourse and speech actions as one of the methods of cognition in order to provide effective translations. The Holy Qur’an is the miracle of the Prophet of Islam and the book of life, which was revealed by God to humanity as the final divine book. According to the philosophy of language, the present study tries to analyze the Quranic discourse and speech actions that govern the word of "lait" in the Holy Qur'an by combining the theories of speech action and discourse disconnection to achieve a correct analysis of discourse in these verses. Finally, this method produces the translations that are appropriate for the target language. The method of this study is examining the text based on analyzing, describing and matching. The result of the research indicates that based on the context and discourse disconnection, these phrases are a tool for action that may direct the translator's attention to the main message of the text with different utterances so that the translation of these verses moves indirectly from an impossible wish to a dynamic motive and action.

Spainsh Translation of synonyms in Gulistan of Sa’di

Soudabeh Bashizadeh, Zohreh Allahdadi Dastjerdi — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0430

Gulistan of Sa’di has been acclaimed in many countries of the world with its worldwide fame and all or part of it has been translated into many languages. In this article the Spanish translation of Gulistan has been introduced and studied. Gulistan from the point of view of eloquence and rhetoric is such that it can be studied from various structural and content aspects, and naturally its translations have also many capabilities to study and research about. In this article, in addition to an overview of the Spanish translation of Gulistan, which was done by Joaquin Rodriguez Vargas; according to Christopher Waddington's Model C, Comparative study of different general translation evaluation methods, this translation has been evaluated. The main focus of this evaluation is to assess the translation quality of synonyms. For this reason sentences with this linguistic feature have been extracted from Gulistan and discussed in multiple divisions of translation quality. Studying the synonyms according to the Waddington table showed that the semantic nuances between the synonyms were translated accurately and well and this reveals translator's mastery in Persian language. Some synonyms have also been translated into sentences or explanatory phrases. In the end, some mistranslations are mentioned in this work.

Renarration of the Verbal and Nonverbal Sites in the Multimodal Narrative

Parina Ghomi, Farzaneh Farahzad — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0330

With the many advances in media communication that have revolutionalized our ways of constructing meaning over the last decades, the existing approaches towards audiovisual translation that consider it as a kind of verbal transfer from one language to another seem to work to a point and hence leave a great gap as to what exactly is entailed in audiovisual texts that participate in constructing reality in the target language. The present study drawing on Ghomi and Farahzad’s (2020) model of renarration in audiovisual translation explores the renarration of the verbal and nonverbal sites in the multimodal narrative with a focus on dubbed animations broadcast from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. To this end, the study applied Multimodal Narrative Analysis introduced by Ghomi and Farahzad (2020) as the research methodology to see which sites are tampered with in the process of constructing reality in the IRIB’s narrative. The results of the study suggested that the IRIB exploits all narrative sites in the process of multimodal renarration and transcends the mere translation of written words, bringing into the equation other multimodal elements such as image and vocal behavior that make up a multimodal product. It further revealed that nonverbal sites were reframed more than verbal sites in order to accentuate, undermine or modify certain narratives in the target language.

Extended Metaphor in the Glorious Qur'an Through Translation

Mahboubeh Movahhedian, Mohammad Yazdani — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0330

The study aimed to investigate procedures employed in the translation of extended metaphors (EMs) as an under-researched structural feature in Qur’anic Arabic-English translation. To this end, Qur’anic verses illustrating the point were sampled and analyzed to discover the most and least applied procedures based on Newmark’s (1988) metaphor translation procedures. Accordingly, three Qur’an translations were analyzed in an attempt to determine the EMs and their figurative/intended meanings. To do so, the researchers investigated the procedures in 50 cases comprising EMs. This study demonstrated that EMs in the Qur’an, as structural features, posed challenges to the translators. The analysis revealed that the translators demanded great efforts to render EMs. Furthermore, not all the translations were fully communicative concerning intended meanings. The most frequent procedure for EM translation was ‘reproducing same images in the TL literally’ (75.4%) while the least frequent one was ‘translation of metaphor/simile by simile plus sense’ (0.5%). Confronted by a gap in the model, the researchers appended an additional procedure to the model’s existing categories, namely ‘explicating a part of metaphor/simile’, observing that the original model cannot cover some metaphorical occurrences addressed in a miraculous discourse, namely the Word of Allah, Jalla Jalaaluh.

Translation and Cultural Memory in Roald Dahl’s Books of Childhood

Bahar Eshraq, Hussein Mollanazar — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0330

Even though the translation scholars talk of the intersection of the translation and memory they do not highlight the process of translation in their works (Bodozki 2007; Simon 2011; and Brownlie 2016). To focus on the influence of the process of translation this paper is to test Astrid Erll’s cultural memory model in four children’s books of Roald Dahl’s translated into Persian by four translators in three different publishing houses in order to analyze how the inter-relation of social, mental and material dimensions could (re) construct the cultural memory of a generation. For the investigation of the three dimensions George Kelly’s Repertory Grid Technique (RepGrid) as well as Peeter Torop’s cultural translatability parameters of language, text and work are used as an instrument. From the elicitation of the grids and the textual analysis of the data the paper finds out the iteration of the readers’ schemata, the translators’ retranslations and publishers’ republications as well as the large amount of translated texts happening through the process of translation have turned Dahl and his four children’s fantasy fictions into a symbol and symbolic texts and these symbolic texts have solidified the cultural memory of generations about him and his children’s books.

A Pragmatic Analysis of the Functions of Elaborative and Contrastive Discourse Markers in Translation Criticism

Ali Mohammad Mohammadi — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0330

This explorative study investigates the pragmatic functions of elaborative and contrastive discourse markers from a metadiscursive perspective. The metadiscursive investigations have revealed the widespread difference between propositional meaning and various flexible pragmatic behaviors of discourse markers results in ambiguity in human communication. The creative, complex, multi-layered context of discourse structure is the source of this flexible pragmatic behavior. This, in turn, results in pragmaticalization of discourse markers in social contexts. During this process, the propositional meaning of discourse markers is replaced with novel interactive meanings and functions in discourse. The exploration of pragmaticalzation system gives rise to an effective resource of knowledge, expertise, and skill in education, research, and learning in our scientific, educational, and administrative environments. Applying Fraser (2006) and Brinton (1996) models in the analysis of randomly sampled translation criticisms during three decades, this descriptive and qualitative study reveales that all examples of elaborative and contrastive discourse markers experienced the process of pragmaticalization. Consequently, a six- plane functional, pragmatic, and interactive, model for monitoring discourse structure in translation criticism genre was explored on the basis of flexible contextual variables. Moreover, the process of pragmaticalization was observed in three discoursal domains of ideation, action, and information. Therefore, the pragmatic functions of these meta-discursive elements are under the influence of the context resulting in a lot of complicated, novel, imaginative, and productive inferences.

Validating a CIPP-based Inventory to Evaluate Undergraduate-Level Technical English Translation Courses

Saeed Ranjbar, Ramin Rahimy — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0330

One of the most important factors influencing a valid evaluation is the existence of an appropriate instrument that can accurately evaluate a given program. The purpose of this study was to design a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate BA-level English translation program in Iran. This study was conducted in 2019 and 2020 at different English language faculties in Iran offering BA programs of English translation for more than 10 years. For the purpose of the study, having consulted the existing sources on Context-Input-Process-Product (CIPP) evaluation model, a researcher-made inventory was developed. The next stage included assessing the validity of the instrument through expert judgment and measuring its content validity index. Finally, the reliability of the questionnaire, was estimated by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient and Guttmann's split-half coefficient. The final edition of the questionnaire was then distributed among 147 junior and senior undergraduate students of English translation in six different faculties. According to the results. The observed Cronbach's alpha for the instrument was .89 and the observed Guttman's split-half coefficient was .78.in addition, confirmatory factor analysis was done to indorse the construct validity of the inventory. Accordingly, it was concluded that the inventory enjoys desirable validity and reliability and thus, can be used for evaluating different technical translation courses.

Cloud Computing in Translation

Maryam Poorgalavi — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Cloud computing refers to any kind of hosted service delivered over the internet which significantly affect the various specialized businesses, especially translation. Despite many relevant foreign studies, no domestic studies have been carried out on the cloud-based translation management systems in Iran. Therefore, after describing the traditional order registration systems in Iran and introducing the hybrid cloud translation management system, at first, the most common type of translation services in Iran was determined. Then, considering the users' need of services, the usage of the hybrid cloud system in Iranian translation service providers was analyzed. Finally, it was proposed to use these systems instead of traditional systems in Iranian language service providers. The results showed that the specialized translation and then localization were the most common type of service requested by Iranian users, however, none of the Iranian language service providers do not use the hybrid cloud system described in the present study.

Self-translations of Avicenna into Persian

Mohammadreza Hosseini, Farzaneh Farahzad — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0430

Avicenna is very well known for his innovative compositions throughout the world. But he had some innovative self-translations into Persian worthy to be analyzed as facts of target language and culture. The present paper is a detailed look at the Persian self-translations of Avicenna. He lived in the late 4^th and early 5^th centuries AH (10^th and 11^th AD) in which Arabic was the well-established language of science and the Lingua Franca in the Islamic world. Modern Persian, however, was on the verge of prominent evolutions. Persian prose or Dari was on the brink of establishment as the language of writing. As a result, composition of scientific books in Persian was against the cultural norm of the age and a form of resistance. In such an environment, Avicenna self-translated two of his own Arabic books at the request of a patron. In the present study, it has been depicted that his self-translations have had a significant but neglected role in scientific writings in Modern Persian especially in the field of philosophy. Analysis of self-translations of Avicenna into Persian from a synchronic and diachronic point of view shows that his self-translations have had not only impacts at his own age but also his terminology and self-translations have had long-term effects on Persian language prose. His Persian self-translation was the corner stone of Philosophical texts and terminology in Modern Persian.

An Analysis into Metalanguage of English Morphosyntax in English-Persian Translation Process

Seyyed Amir Hossein Sarkeshikian, Farid Parvaneh, Zeinab Beyranvand — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0330

This study aimed to investigate the contribution of English-Persian translation students' metalinguistic knowledge of English to their translation performance. To that end, a sequential mixed-method research design (i.e., QUAN → QUAL) was employed. For this purpose, 39 senior students that were majoring in English translation were selected through convenience sampling. In the quantitative phase, a metalinguistic knowledge test (MLKT) and a translation test (TT) were administered to the participants in order to measure their metalanguage of English and English-Persian translation performance, respectively. Then, the participants were divided into two groups based on the median (i.e., high-metalanguage and low-metalanguage). Finally, for the purpose of confirming the quantitative results, the two groups were asked to verbalize their thoughts about the translation work, while translating twenty-five English sentences into Persian. The independent-samples t-test indicated that there was a significant difference between the high- and low-metalanguage groups in TT performance. However, the results of four regression analyses showed that MLKT could not predict any variance of TT. Finally, the analysis of TAP data manifested the lack of explicit knowledge of English morphosyntax on the part of both high- and low-metalanguage groups. The findings of this study are discussed and implications are offered for translation trainers and researchers.

Contribution of Translation to Promotion of and Resistance against the Second Pahlavi’s Narrative of Modernization regarding Women

Mahboubeh Khalili, Hussein Mollanazar — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0430

The present study aimed at exploring the contribution of translation to promotion of and resistance against the Second Pahlavi’s narrative of modernization regarding women. Baker’s socio-narrative theory (2006) was used as the framework of the study and two English novels, The Wayward Bus, and Bleak House, were selected to be compared with their Persian translations which were published in Iran during a period of five years after the launch of the White Revolution in 1963 when the narrative of modernization was introduced officially. Results showed that selective appropriation and repositioning of participants were used to reframe the Persian translation of The Wayward Bus which was published in 1965. The same reframing strategies along with temporal framing were used to reframe the Persian translation of Bleak House which was published in 1967. Reframed narratives of both translations contributed to the promotion of the narrative of tradition while resisting the Second Pahlavi’s narrative of modernization. Social and political activities of women were downgraded, their families’ dissatisfaction with them was emphasized, and the society was portrayed not to be safe for women, who were considered, in reframed narratives, as individuals who had to be watched all the time.

A Tentative Model of Renarration in Audiovisual Translation

Parina Ghomi, Farzaneh Farahzad — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0430

The present article draws on Baker’s narrative theory and the concept of multimodality in audiovisual translation to develop a tentative model of renarration in AVT. Based on the multimodal nature of audiovisual texts and the interplay between the verbal and the non-verbal channels, it shows that AVT extends beyond the verbal channel to (re)construct reality. The meaning which emerges from the interplay of these channels is (re)narrated in the target language (TL). This process of renarration passes through the filter of AVT institute’s narrative location. AVT institutes actively participate in the construction of AV texts in the TL. AV renarration, therefore, not only represents but also reconstructs reality in TL. The article also provides a comprehensive list of thirty sites through which multimodal narrative is represented. It finally introduces Multimodal Narrative Analysis (MNA) as a tool for analyzing AV texts at the microlevel of verbal and non-verbal analyses.

Western Literature in Iran

Roya Monsefi, Reza Yalsharzeh, Ali Salmanpour — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0330

The role of translation in the emergence of modern European-style novels in the Iranian literary poly-system has long been studied. However, the translation of Western novels in the Iranian literary poly-system is a complex process in which many actors are involved. One of these actors is the publishers who play an undeniable role in the "field" of publishing and introducing literary works to readers. Considering this importance, the present study aims to investigate the field of Iranian literary publishing using Bourdieu's (1983, 1986, 2008) theoretical framework to examine the criteria of Iranian publishers for selecting Western literary works for translation and publication in Iran. In this regard, in an interview with three translators, three sociologists of literature, and ten prominent publishers in the country, the publishers’ criteria in selecting and introducing Western literary works to Iranian readers were examined and the interviewees' answers were qualitatively analyzed using Strauss & Corbin (1998) Grounded Theory. The findings of the present study revealed that the Iranian publishers studied here selected the works with overwhelming "symbolic" and "cultural" capitals, such as the author's reputation, international awards won by the work, TV series made based on the work, and global bestsellers in selecting literary works. The reason can be the publishers’ efforts to acquire "economic, cultural and symbolic capitals" in the hierarchical and competitive "field" of publishing in Iran.

Backgrounds of Translation Movement Dynamism at Sahl-bin-Haroun’s Era

Ahmad Lamei — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0430

Arabic culture and literature experienced significant changes through political, economic, and cultural relations with civilized countries, especially Iran, reaching the peak with the advent of Islam, Arab world familiarization with other nations’ sciences and knowledge, and translation movement in Abbasid era. Persian scholar and translator of this age, Sahl-bin-Haroun, shone gloriously in literature among Arab society to the extent that scholars like Jahez and Ibn-al-Nadim called him “Islam Bozorgmehr.” He presented Persian society and Arabic culture through valuable Persian and translation works. The present study aims at investigating the backgrounds of translation movement and the influence of Persians on the excellence of Arabic literature with an emphasis on the role of Sahl-ibn-Haroun using a descriptive-analytical method. The peak of Arabs-Persians intellectual interaction was during the third and fourth Hijri centuries; as Persian scholars’ wisdom, proverbs, tales, allegories and sages were found among Arabs’ works. During that time, the well-skilled writing style and delicate language of Persians employed Arabic works as their thoughts and feelings’ representative. Persian figures’ dominance in Al-Ma’mun’s court and Caliphs’ preference for companionship with Persians were among causes making Iranian culture more dominant and translation movement far prosperous.

Applying Gideon Toury Norms Theory to Qualitative Evaluation of Translation of Persian Poems into Arabic

Ali Afzali, Akram Madani — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0330

Applying Gideon's Theory of Norms in Qualitative Assessment of translation of Forough Farrokhzad Poems in Arabic. Translation acts as one of the agents of thought change as a bridge for the transmission of thoughts from different languages to one another. Translation has long attracted the attention of translators, and its translation or non-translation has always been the subject of controversy among translation theorists. In this era we are seeing more translators trying to translate contemporary Persian poetry. Many of these poems have been translated into Arabic by translators. Toury’s theory points to the literary formats that exist in any particular culture and one of its main achievements was that Attention to the relationship between the individual texts of origin and the destination focused on the relationships that exist between the destination texts themselves. The main result of the qualitative evaluation of Abdul Moneim's translation to Arabic Indicates that his work It has an acceptance in the destination culture But it is far from sufficient in Persian.

Simultaneous Interpreting Competence

Abouzar Oraki, Gholam-Reza Tajvidi — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0430

The concept of competence in Translation Studies came to the fore in the 1990s although the first proposals were put forward in early 1970s.This term became so important that many universities around the world offering Translation/Interpreting programs tried to develop their curricula accordingly, a move forward that is still going on globally. However, what has been rather under-researched is the concept of Simultaneous Interpreting Competence. As a narrow part of a doctoral dissertation, the present study tried to develop an Interpreting Competence Model and apply it to professional simultaneous interpreters in Iran. To this end, the study included a conceptual and an empirical phase. In the conceptual phase, different translation competence models from the 1970s up to the present were compared and a Translation Competence Model was designed. Similarly, different interpreting competence models from 1930 up to the present were analyzed and an Interpreting Competence Model was developed. The conceptual phase concluded with the common and distinct competences required for professional translators and interpreters. In the empirical phase, the Simultaneous Interpreting Competence Model developed in the conceptual phase was applied to professional Interpreters. The case study included simultaneous interpreters from two Iranian news channels, PRESS TV and IRINN. The findings indicated that Iranian interpreters were lagging behind in certain sub-competences.

Validation of Automated Scores of Human Translation of Legal Texts against Non-test Indicators of Translation Competence

Somayyeh Karami, Dariush Nejadansari, Akbar Hesabi — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0430

This study tries to explore the validity of lexical Automated Translation Quality Evaluation Understudy Metrics (ATQEUM) in scoring Certified Translator Accreditation Tests in Islamic Republic of Iran as an instance of legal texts. This is conducted against non-test indicators of translation competence, including the participants records of their scores in “The Translation of Documents and Deeds I and II” courses, their average score of all courses of practical translation nature, and their BA GPA score in Translation Studies Major. Although, they have not revealed a significant correlation with the nontest indicators of translation competence, they have had a highly significant correlation with the scores granted by human expert scorers on the two sample tests. Therefore, according to all the data collected and analyzed, it has ultimately been concluded that a collection of “-PER, -TERp-A, BLUE-1, NIST-1, ROUGE-1, GTM-1” lexical ATQEUMs (including all various lexical similarity-based techniques of edit distance, precision, recall, and F-measure) can be considered as the optimal translation meta-evaluation set to score certified translator accreditation tests.

From Trauma to Text

Farzaneh Farahzad, Katayoun Davallou — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0430

Psychoanalysis has scarcely been applied as an instrument of textual analysis in literary criticism; even fewer cases of this application, either in terms of product or process analysis, exist within the field of translation studies. Consequently in order to develop a psychoanalytic method of textual analysis suitable to translation, the abundant literature on Lacanian psychoanalysis was first revisited to distinguish those paradigms and principles on text most valid for an analysis of psychotic language. The result was a taxonomy of textual elements, either introduced in or else inferred from the field of Lacanian psychoanalysis: non-sensical, anchoring points, cohesion, heteroglossia, la langue, musical competency, and imagery with their sub-types, all elements which permitted text producers/reproducers to vent out their psychoanalytic conflicts (with the discourse in which the subject has functioned) into construction of texts in a manner not unlike psychoanalysis sessions. As an instrument of analysis, the taxonomy here developed, therefore, has the potential to be applied in its totality or partially and with some adaptations into future researches.

A Critique of the English Translation of Dāstān-hā-ye Shahr-e Jangi Based on Reiss's Text-Typological Model

Salar Manafi Anri, Taher Jahanjouyan — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0430

The present article aimed at scrutinizing the English translation of Dāstān-hā-ye Shahr-e Jangi (2009), published as A City under Siege (2011). The framework of criticism was the text typological model proposed by Reiss (2000). To this end, within the framework of a descriptive-comparative methodology, the relevant samples were identified and assessed based on the given model. Initially, the merits and demerits of the translation were pinpointed; then, the text-typological, linguistic, and extralinguistic dimensions of the source and target texts were compared. The findings revealed that A City under Siege, as a form-focused text, largely meets Reiss’ requirements for equivalence. Except for minor inadequacies in translating place factor and immediate context, this suggestion is valid inasmuch as the translation has also guaranteed the accuracy of information presented in the ST while retaining the relevant formal and aesthetic elements, which is in compliance with her ‘identifying’ method.

Crowdsourcing Translation

Razieh Azari, Marziyeh Khalilizadeh Ganjalikhani, Anahita Amirshoja’i — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0430

Crowdsourcing Translation (CT) platforms are constantly changing and developing in a dynamic and user-friendly approach. The rapid changes in technology have also accelerated this process. The present study focused on a new platform; a free cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging app called Telegram. Telegram’s technical features were discussed in the study. Then, experience of Iranian Translation Studies channel in using the app as CT platform and its implemented CT workflow were illustrated in details. It was shown that this general platform which has not been designed for crowdsourcing and CT specifically has essential features to be used as CT platform and has already been used as CT platform. Moreover, this app can be considered as a serious potential platform for CT especially in restricted situations.

The Techno-scientific Turn in Translation Studies

Saeid Safari, Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0330

The article attempts to sensitize translation studies scholars to the potential interdisciplinary relationship between Translation Studies (TS) and Science and Technology Studies (STS). The article argues that the developments in translation technology (i.e. in Translation Machine and CAT tools) have brought about some extra-technical possibilities in translation technology, including the issues of power, gender, ethics, lingua-cultural balance, technological support of languages and economy. Then the authors attempt to argue how STS could provide TS with theoretical and methodological capacities to address these issues.

Translation and Deterritorialization of Local Cultural Elements

Hoda Zamani Sarzendeh, Hussein Mollanazar — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0330

At the age of globalization and with the removal of trade barriers between nations, local cultures also started to be exposed to the world due to the increased cultural interactions. The present study aims at exploring if and how translation can affect the spread of local cultural elements at this age of limitless exchanges. However, in order not to be lost in a process as broad as globalization, the study focuses on ‘deterritorialization’, the under-discussed phase of globalization which closely relates to the function of translation. In a try to capture the vague concept of deterritorialization, and explore the role of translation in this phase, the researcher conducts a case study on a Facebook campaign that takes a stand on a cultural issue. The critical discourse analysis of the translated texts of this page helps to meet the abstract concept of deterritorialization in practice- and indicates the real efficacy of translation in its implementation. Having been interpreted from different angles and for different purposes, the term ‘deterritorialization’ is then redefined, this time from Translation Studies’ perspective and with the purpose of serving some concerns and challenges of the field to which it closely relates.

"Precedent texts" and Their Translation in Translating Literary Texts from Russian to Persian

Mahnush Eskandary — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Precedent texts are sentences, words, or phrases that have been used previously in literary or artistic works and are familiar to a wide range of individuals in a language community. Russian linguist, Karaulov, first came to the issue of "precedent texts" in 1986 and studied aspects of this issue. In this article, after introducing, explaining the features and categorization of "precedent texts", we will deal with the difficulties of translating them in literary texts and then we will investigate and classificate different methods of translating them. To clarify the issue of translating these precedent texts in literary texts, we will examine them in the persian translation of the Chekhov's play "The Seagull" by Serozh Stepanyan. We will see that most of the "precedent texts" used in this literary work(play) are "precedent names", and the translator in translation from Russian language to Persian has used these methods: transliteration and transcription as well as footnote explanations.

A Comparative-analytic Study of some Theoretical Issues in Translation Studies via Freud’s Ideas

Mahmoud Afrouz — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Psychoanalysis was founded by the famous psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), at the turn of the century. Therefore, the science of psychoanalysis does not have a long history. Moreover, in contrast to the long-standing activity of translating, translation in the form of the discipline called Translation Studies, has a short history. The present article studies some ideas of Freud and investigates the relationship between his ideas and some notions in Translation Studies. In the first part, Freud’s ideas on the unconscious and its formation are explained. Then, the process of new-born-baby’s growth, some mental disorders, and Oedipus complex are reviewed. Finally, the author investigates the relationship between the psychoanalyst’s ideas and some theoretical issues in Translation Studies. To accomplish this, it is attempted to take a look at Freud’s ideas through the spectacles of Translation Studies. Findings indicated that Oedipus complex is comparable to some concepts in translation studies; moreover, it was found that one can abstractly compare the process of new-born-baby’s growth with that of producing translation.

An Analysis of Discourse Markers in Translation Criticism

Ali Mohammad Mohammadi, Rahim Dehghan — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0430

One of the outcomes and foundations of corpus-based explorative studies in discourse is designing and introducing discourse analysis models. This is one of the basic foundations of investigations in discourse and the norm in many branches of science. To achieve this objective, this study tried to analyze the uses of the most effective, complex, and frequent discourse monitoring metalanguage elements, i.e. discourse markers, in 15 randomly clustered samples of translation criticism in Iran over three decades. The size of the corpus was over 30000 words. The findings of the study resulted in a rectangular model for monitoring discourse in translation criticism including expression of elaborative relationship, contrastive relationship, inferential relationship, and temporal relationship. Additionally, different aspects, strengths, weaknesses, and the requirements of this process were analyzed. And finally, pedagogical and research implications were discussed and different suggestions and recommendations regarding the requirements of translation criticism, education, and studies were proposed.

Translation as Renarration: The Case of the Persian Translation of The Cambridge History of Islam

Kaveh Bolouri, Mazdak Bolouri — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0330

Drawing on narrative theory and the notion of framing through paratextual devices, the present study focused on a Persian translation of The Cambridge History of Islam and examined one of its most heavily annotated sections to see how the events elaborated in the original had been renarrated through the paratexts provided by the translator. The section in question was analyzed to see what controversial events had been narrated. Then the notes and footnotes in the translation were examined to see how the events had been renarrated. The purpose was to see what new patterns of causal emplotment had been constructed. The results seemed to be showing that The Cambridge History of Islam had meant to construct a negative and reductionist narrative of Islam and alsohad tried to background or present negatively the events and characters related to the Shia Islam. However, the translator seemed to have provided the reader with an interpretive context in which the negative narratives of Islam had been undermined and the elements of the Shia Islam had been foregrounded.

Comparative Study of Interactive and Interactional Metadiscourse Markers in Nahj al-Balaghah Sermons and Letters

Maryam Sadat Tayarani, Seyed Ali Asghar Soltani, Ahmad Pakatchi, Ali Rabiee — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0330

The aim of this paper is to investigate the comparative analysis of interactive and interaction meta-discourse in sermons and letters of Islam based on Highland classification. For this purpose, all sermons and letters of Islam-e-Balagat were studied and selected in the sampling phase, letters and sermons, which had a great deal of topic and audience among other sermons and letters. Then dialog and interactive markers are extracted from the text of these sermons and letters. In order to investigate the significant differences between the types of citations in sermons and selected letters, the K-square test was used. The results showed that in the examined sermons, the 613 frequency, the most-valuable dialog markers, are, while the intra-text references, with only one frequency, have a low-quality dialog marker. Among the interactive markers, in the first class, there are in-line with 296 repetitions and the precautionary expressions are in the last category 26 times. Also, in the studied letters, again, with the frequency of 559, the most valuable dialog indicators are, while the citation is only with a frequency, a low-duplicate dialog marker. Among the interactive markers, the frequency of the 257 is more than the most duplicate markers and at the end of the precautionary terms with a frequency of 35. Test hypotheses showed that there was a significant relationship between type of text and type of indicators, but there was no significant statistical difference in the number of dialog indicators and interactive markers between sermons and examined letters.

Paratextual Visibility: A Case of Footnotes Used by the Iranian Fiction Translators

Ameneh Yari, Zahra Amirian, Mohammad Amiryousefi — Sat, 06 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0430

In the past few years, scholars have redirected the research path to a new and promising avenue wherein translator’s visibility is explored from paratexts rather than from the translations, highlighting the pivotal role and the position of translators as key agents in translation process. This article investigated the paratextual visibility of Iranian fiction translators by the examination of their footnotes to unveil the traces of translators’ self-expressions and reveal their rationales for choosing a particular translation technique. The analysis comprises footnotes of 300 English to Persian translated fictions. Data analysis resulted in a categorization of footnotes: transliteration, explanatory + transliteration, explanatory, translational, referential. A small number of footnotes were concerned with translation issue mainly revolving around mere equivalents between languages. Overall, it was found that although footnotes could be counted a precious place for translators to highlight their presence, Iranian fiction translators were less inclined to talk about their translation process and its challenges.

A Meta-analytical Critique of Antoine Berman’s Retranslation Hypothesis

Mir Saeed Mousavi Razavi, Sajjad Tahmasbi Boveiri — Sat, 06 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0430

The present article addresses the validity of Berman’s Retranslation Hypothesis (which posits that literary retranslations are closer to the original than first translations) through a systematic, meta-analytical investigation of the empirical studies conducted to the present day on this topic. To this end, a representative sample of the empirical studies regarding RH over the past three decades was collected. The list contained fourteen studies carried out in different settings and between different language-pairs. The results of the meta-analysis demonstrated that empirical data has failed to confirm RH as roughly 60% of the studies have refuted it while the remaining 40% have lent support to it. Furthermore, the results illustrated that all the studies conducted shared one finding: apart from ‘ageing’ of the translations, there are more important motivations giving rise to retranslation including source and target literary norms, translational norms, ideology, socio-political relations, translators’ attitude and experience, and so forth. The meta-analysis conducted also revealed that Berman has apparently overlooked the influence of two important factors in the formation of retranslations: text type, and the potentials of multiple (re)interpretations of texts. In light of the data, his claim that retranslations occur because first translations are ‘incomplete’ also faces serious challenges.

The Effects of the Court’s Patronage on the Selection of Books for Translation in the State Translation Bureau

Mazdak Bolouri, Mehdi Mirkiaei — Sat, 06 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0430

This study explored the works translated in the State Translation Bureau at the time Nasser al-Din Shah Ghajar ruled in Iran. The aim was to explore the Court’s role in the selection of books for translation. To do so, libraries and online data banks were searched to prepare the list of books translated in the Bureau, and then, within the framework of Lefevere’s Patronage Theory, the Shah’s support for the translation of certain works and his negligence for certain other works were analyzed. The works on the list were categorized into travel writing, newspaper articles, history, literature, politics, geography, science, military texts, economy and others. The Shah’s interests and the need he felt for the translation of certain works as well as attempts made by the chairman of the Bureau to inform the Shah were found to be the most important factors influencing the selection of works for translation. The largest number of translated books belonged to the categories of travel writing, newspaper articles and history. In addition, books of literature, politics, geography, science and military tactics were also translated considerably. However, few books were translated in areas such as economy and agriculture, and no books were selected for translation in those areas for which the Shah felt no need, or which he opposed seriously. The non-selection of works was evaluated as relevant to the Shah’s unwillingness for reform and changes in the status quo.

Semantics of the Translation of the Condensed Verses of the Qur'an Based on Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic Relations

Maryam Heidari Delfari, Simin Valvi — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0430

The Holy Qur'an, the most important prophetic miracle, is the document of the truth of Islam and the charter of life at all times. This literary masterpiece, along with the wise and audacious selection of words, has reached the peak of eloquence and rhetoric and has a great deal of meaning and value. The correct understanding of the Qur'an depends on a better acquaintance with literary and rhetorical forms, which requires translation to get the concept. One of these rhetorical techniques is necessary (deletion); attention should be paid to it. And mentioning the disgrace in the republics and, in most cases, seemingly necessary to achieve a better understanding of the meaning of the verse. Therefore, succinct verses contain words within themselves that their translation is a great help in understanding the verses.
This research, by means of semantics, which gives a detailed analytical look to the text of the translation, addresses the explanation of the reflection of the words and examines the succinct verses in the companion axis. The result of this research suggests that, in some cases, the substitution of some of the words in the words of the word (s) is impregnable, but in all the verses it is not possible to talk about the revelation and the accompaniment of the blatant words.

Social Constructivism in Translator Education: The Stakeholders’ Needs Assessment

Sajedeh Sadat Hosseini, Gholam-Reza Tajvidi, Koen Kerremans — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0330

The present survey-based study aimed at investigating the principles of social constructivist education in undergraduate translator training programs in Iran. To this aim, a needs assessment was conducted to identify market demands and students’ needs for three constructivist principles of authenticity, collaboration and scaffolding. Translation instructors, as the third group of stakeholders, were further surveyed about their teaching approach in terms of the three categories. To find out whether current translation education in Iran reflects market demands and students’ needs with respect to the mentioned constructivist concepts, the results of the surveys were then compared. Upon data analysis, it became evident that scaffolding, indicating students as responsible learners and teachers providing adequate support for the formers’ learning, was the most important principle for the first two groups of participants. Scaffolding was similarly described by translation instructors as the most common principle in their teaching approach. On the other hand, while professional translators and students consider authenticity as the second most important principle, it was profoundly lacking in the teaching approach university instructors take. Therefore, the results suggest that there is a big gap between the current and the desired situation in Iranian undergraduate translator training programs for the principle of “authenticity”, i.e. working on real translation projects with students taking various roles reflecting the real professional translation practice. The demographic information elicited from the surveys also provided evidence for this lacking connection between academia and professional translation practice in Iran.

Semantic Strategy: A Dominant Method in Translating Iltifat in Three English Translations of the Quran

Abolfazl Horri — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0430

This essay is an investigation into the translation of reference switch “Iltifat” and its types, in three English translations of the Quran. The essay shows that semantic translation method is the most frequently used strategy with regard to the translation of different types of Iltifat. The study’s main concern is the challenges with which a translator may confront in translating Iltifat. An Iltifat has different kinds of which a shift in the use of pronouns is the most frequently used in the Quran. In order to present an analytical description of how different types of Iltifat are translated, the theoretical framework of the study or an introduction of translation methods is presented at first. Then, the main theories, especially, the two translation methods by Newmark (1988), namely, communicative and semantic translations, are defined. Third, data collection procedures are presented; the data has been extracted from a thorough examination of four verses in which Iltifat has been used. The verses were selected and analyzed from different suras of the three English Quran translations: Yusuf Ali (1934), Pickthall (1930) and Arberry (1955). Careful analysis of the selected translated verses indicates that all three translators have tried to make use of semantic translation method and its range as the most frequently used method to remain faithful to the original. Translators’ use of this translation method may account, on the one hand, for the importance of the original text, but it could also be an indicator of the translators’ partiality and ideology.

A Model for Crowdsourcing Development of Databases for Qur’anic Studies Sources

Hussein Mollanazar, Akram Tayyebi — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Technology has become an integral part of the translation task. Nevertheless, few translation memories and term bases are available for translating Qur’anic Studies sources. Without them, attaining maximum efficiency in this field is not possible because such tools facilitate decision-making in the translation process from/into Persian. There is an imperative need for developing such databases. Creating parallel corpora and aligning them to come up with translation memories and term banks can help improve the quantity and quality of translations of Qur’anic Studies sources from/into Persian. However, this task cannot be carried out by a single person. Using crowdsourcing in developing TMs and TBs for Qur’anic Studies sources is an alternative that can expedite the task. Nonetheless, crowdsourcing in developing such databases is a relatively unattended research area. Examining existing models revealed that no pre-existing Translation Studies model suited the needs of this study. With the motive of filling this gap, the researchers opted for developing and validating a model for human resource management in Translation Studies through adopting a crowdsourcing model (the Metropolis Model) and adapting it for their specific conditions (developingthe Jāmiʿ model). Findings of this research indicate that the Jāmiʿ Model is adequate for developing TMs and TBs.

The Contribution of Translation to the Formation of Themes of 'city' and 'women' in the Social Novel in ‘Poetics Proper’ of the Late Qajar Era (1895–1925)

Maryam Saidi, Salar Manafi Anari — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0330

Social novel emerged in ‘poetics proper’ of the late Qajar era and was established in Persian literary system during Pahlavi. In this genre, ‘city’ and ‘women’ constitute the dominant themes. Applying the ‘Model for the Analysis of Translation Poetics’, the present study attempted to investigate the contribution of translation to the emergence of the social novel in ‘poetics proper’ of the late Qajar era (1313-1344AH/1275-1304SH). Firstly, based on the most important literary histories and bibliographical lists of translations of this period, main tenets of ‘poetics proper’ were identified and it was found that social novel can be categorized under ‘fictional literature patronized by the press system and publishing houses/publishers to be produced with the critique-reform function’. Then, 333 translations were investigated and it was illustrated that translation of travelogue and police-detective novels contributed the theme of ‘city’ to this genre, translation of Rousseau’s works drew writers’ attention to the theme of ‘city’ in contrast to the ‘country’, and translation of women biographies/stories, women’ educational-legal literature and women’s translation practices in women’s press played an important role in writing about ‘women’s’ problems. Moreover, the present study showed that the way these themes were dealt with in social novels of the late Qajar era, compared to the way they were considered during pre-Constitution, found a new emphasis that the view toward ‘city’ and ‘women’ was no longer ‘ideal-romantic’, but more realistic along with elements of ‘negative/dark romanticism’. Hence, during the late Qajar toward Phalavi I, urbanization and modernization brought corruption and prostitution.

Exploring Hybridity in a Sample of English Feature Films Dubbed into Persian by IRIB

Hussein Mollanazar, Arghavan Omranipour — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0430

The present paper explores the complex phenomenon of hybridity in the multisemiotic system of dubbing. Mollanazar and Parham’s (2009) model was used and adapted according to Delabastita’s (1989) distinction of film signs in order to identify manifestations of hybridity in all audio-verbal, audio-nonverbal, visual-verbal, and visual-nonverbal layers of dubbing. First, manifestations of hybridity characterized as unusual and strange for the target culture were identified and extracted from the Persian films dubbed by IRIB. In the next step, the type of such manifestations was determined by comparing and contrasting them with their corresponding original versions according to the first approach of Mollanazar and Parham’s (2009) model. The results revealed that Names and Dates occupied the first place not only in the total frequency of the manifestations of hybridity in the four layers, but also in the frequency of such elements in both audio-verbal and visual-verbal layers, separately. The audio-verbal and visual-nonverbal layers were the first and second layers which showed the most frequent manifestations among four layers, respectively. As far as the type of such elements is concerned, concrete Cultureme manifestations (CCMs) were the most frequent type.

Introducing a Model for Analyzing the Position of Translation Service Quality in Iran from the Customer Perspective

Salar Manafi Anari, Elaheh Kianian — Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 +0430

The main purpose of this study was to propose a model analyzing the position of translation service quality in Iran from the customers’ perspective based on SERVQUAL model in translation agencies in Mashhad and Tehran. For this purpose, AMOS software was applied to model the structural equations. The research was conducted with a sample size of 60 experts (20 academic experts and 40 customers of translation services). The proposed model was also developed based on various clusters. The results showed that the factor correlation between “cluster of translation agency quality in non-literary translation projects in language pair English-Persian” and “cluster of translator quality” was reported 0.936 based on the structural loadings of confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, the factor correlation between “cluster of translation agency quality in non-literary translation projects in language pair English-Persian” and “cluster of service quality for customers” was reported 0.521 based on the structural loadings of confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, the factor correlation between “quality analysis of translation services” and “cluster of service quality for customers” was reported 0.566 based on the structural loadings of confirmatory factor analysis. Overall, the results showed the good fitting of the proposed model and thus validated the model as a tool for evaluating translation service quality in the field.

Policy, Planning, and Translation in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Gholam-Reza Tajvidi, Ehsan Alipour — Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 +0430

The dissolution of the Soviet Union signaled the end of crackdown on Islam in the newly independent Republic of Azerbaijan. This created a space for major Muslim countries, especially Iran, to attempt to revive Islam in the secularized society through the supply of translated religious literature, among other means. Assuming this to be an act of culture planning, the present paper aims to study the Iranian culture planning through translation in post‑Soviet Azerbaijan. Using a bibliography of religious literature translated into Azerbaijani and published in Iran, an attempt is made to explore this case by analyzing the agents involved (translators and publishers), the titles translated and their intended functions, and the policies that guided this culture planning endeavor. We argue that the post-revolutionary Iranian (foreign) cultural policy of ‘Islamization’ was the guiding force behind the activity, which was primarily carried out by mostly (semi‑)private publishers and anonymous translators.

Methods Employed in Rendering Metonymy in the Ancient Translations of the Holy Qur'an: The Case of Tabari, Meybodi and Abul-Futouh Razi

Zahra Mohammadi, Simin Valavi — Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Familiarity with the techniques of rhetoric and the recognition of metonymy and its different kinds is one of the important issues in the translation of the Holy Qur'an. Therefore, in this paper, first, the method of examining the translation of the Qur'an and metonymy and its kinds is discussed, and then based on the deductive-inductive method, by mentioning evidence from the individual authorized metonymy of the ten second parts (joz') of the Holy Qur'an, the methods of their rendering in the three ancient Quranic translations (Tabari, Meybodi and Abul-Futouh Razi) have been investigated. According to the findings of the study and its analysis, the results indicate: the mentioned translators have not followed the same methods in rendering authorized metonymy. They have used various methods of translation, such as literal, content-wise, and interpretive translation in conveying the meaning of metonymy to the audience. Tabari and Abul-Futouh Razi have followed mostly literal translation. But Meybodi has had the most content-wise translation in rendering metonymy.

Nezami Ganjavi's Word-selection Art in Translating Scientific

Giti Faraji, Ali Mohammad Poshtdar — Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 +0430

In the field of Islamic-Iranian civilization, the educated made more effort for transferring culture and knowledge; especially from the 3^rdto 6^thcentury AH linguistic sciences and translation of scientific works boomed. Nezami in translating into Persian language has a privileged position. Using scientific approaches to word building, he has provided great services to the Persian language.

Using content analysis method, the author reviewed Nezami's Khamsah to answer this fundamental question: what methods has Nezami utilized in translating hapax legomena and Arabic-Persian compounds, and how successful was he in this way? After the review, one can point out three methods of Nezami in the process of translation: equivalents with the combination of common words in Persian language, translation with the combination of Arabic and Persian word, and word-by-word translation. Sometimes he has not translated the word or compound at all; and this is true more of canonical and legal terms. Nezami's good way in translating is the building of new words in translation, which he himself claimed to have.

A Narrative-Argumentation Framework for Translation Quality Assessment

Mohammad Ali Kharmandar, Amin Karimnia — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Although argumentation theory can contribute to translation studies and especially translation quality assessment (TQA), argumentation models need to be further expanded to specifically serve the process of translation. How an argument is embedded within a larger body of text (e.g. a book chapter), and how the argument-related structural pieces are put together through textual progression represent some of the challenging questions that assessors/practitioners of translation need to deal with. This study proposes a holistic, multi-genre TQA framework that relies on narrative theory and argumentation theory. Pragma-dialectics (including argument scheme and structure) shapes the argumentative parcel, while the notion of narrative coherence, with reference to Ricoeur’s configuration, builds the narrative component. The framework is tested on an English translation of a Rumi’s chapter in his major book Fihi Ma Fihi (Discourses of Rumi). The findings show that the framework, as a multifaceted TQA instrument, can functionally process arguments in narratives.

Translation, Modernization and Enlightenment: The Qajar Translation Movement

Farzaneh Farahzad, Somayeh Adili — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0430

This paper investigates the role of translation in the socio-political changes in Iran under the Qajars ruling over the country from 1789 to 1925. It primarily covers the 1807–1906 time period—from the initiation of the translation movement around 1807 in the reign of Fath Ali Shah to the proclamation of the Iranian Constitution in 1906 in the reign of Mozaffar al-Din Shah. The paper, as a microhistorical research, argues that translation contributed to the launch of modernization projects through introducing Western sciences and technologies as well as expanding modern education. At the same time, it played a major role in raising Iranians’ awareness, inspiring political campaigns and promoting ethical values, which ultimately paved the way for the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1906.

A Marxist Critique of Postcolonial Translation Studies

Hussein Mollanazar, Saeed Fuladi — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Postcolonial Translation Studies has been among the prominent trends in the field during the past three decades. This wide-ranging interest in postcolonial investigations of translation has been so significant that Petterson (1999) identifies “the postcolonial turn” in Translation Studies. Postcolonial approaches in Translation Studies have a twofold purpose: firstly, to investigate the effects of power imbalances in transcultural communications on translation process and product, and, secondly, to find ways in which “translation might contribute to exposing, challenging and decolonizing the legacy of colonialism and various forms of neo-colonialism in a postcolonial era” (Hui, 2013, p. 200). Another field which is engaged with the problem of power imbalances among different societies is Marxism. Marxism and postcolonial studies have both claimed to be anticolonial movements, but Marxists have been critical of postcolonial studies approach to colonialism. The present study tried to use critical perspectives provided by Marxism to see whether postcolonial Translation Studies have been contributive to the campaign against (neo)colonial exploitation of the colonized people or not. The results show that postcolonial Translation Studies has ignored the importance of Capitalism in analyzing translation in colonial and postcolonial situation. Furthermore, it is shown that the resistance strategies adapted in postcolonial translation have little significant result in the Real world.

Representation of Religious Identity in the Persian Translations of the Power and the Glory in the Pre- and Post-Islamic Revolution of Iran

Salar Manafi Anari, Sirvan Aminzadeh — Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 +0430

The narrative theory has entered the domain of Translation Studies via Baker`s well-known book Narrative and Conflict (2006). Baker introduced the the model of narrative analysis for investigating identity constitution as a part of social reality construction in narratives and their translations across languages and cultures. Likewise, the present study investigated the representation of religious identity in the Persian translations of the Power and the Glory (Greene, 1946) in the pre- and post-Islamic Revolution eras in Iran. In so doing, Baker`s model (2006) was applied, by which the translations and the original text were analyzed at both micro-and macro-levels. The results of the study revealed that the protagonist`s religious identity was represented in accordance with the Christian and Western values and terms in the pre-Islamic Revolution Persian translation. However, his identity was misrepresented in the post-Islamic Revolution Persian translation as it was done in consensus with the Islamic values and terms. Finally, it was concluded that the TT1 served the dissemination of the foreign social reality in the Iranian society, while the TT2 intentionally manipulated the original social reality to diffuse the system`s preferred reality in the Islamic society of Iran.

The Role of Translation in Debut of Theatre on Iranian Stage and Evolution of Contemporary Persian Drama

Mostafa Ahmadi — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Evolution of contemporary Persian drama was not without a historical background. The Iranians were acquainted with dramatic conversations and performances, the indispensable elements of theatre. From among the Inranian traditional performances it was Ta’zieh which could deviate from its ritual path. Developed from a simple public mourning into a full-fledged national drama, Ta’zieh’s theatrical aspects increased; though in Qajar period the way was paved for Tazieh to evolve into a national theatre, it was not promoted to that position. Social and political changes under the Constitutional Revolution shaped a new order in the Iraninan society. With reshaping of the Iranian socio-cultural polysystem the young domestic model of drama (Ta’zieh) was shuned by influential social classes, pushed to periphery and a foreign model (Theatre) was adopted. In this process translation assumed a central position. Applying polysystem theory, this study is an attempt to investigate the role and position of translation in the process of the evolution of contemporary Persian drama. To this aim, after surveying the Iranian’s familiarity with dramatic conversations and the art of performance and their paths to developing into dramatic literature, the influential people, texts, events and trends which in specific historical moments paved the way for the evolution of contemporary Persian drama were accounted.

Errors in Machine Translated and Crowdsourced Post-Edited Texts

Farzaneh Farahzad, Seyedsina Mirarabshahi — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0430

The initial objective of the present study was to identify the most and the least frequent error types in Google Translate (GT) raw outputs and the crowd(sourced) post-edited versions according to Vilar et al.’s (2006) typology. The second objective was to compare the results of error analysis between both outputs in order to address the significance of the decrease in the number of errors in post-edited texts. To this end, four English sports news texts were uploaded on Google Translator Toolkit (GTT), which is an online collaborative environment for post-editing the automatic translations rendered by GT. Subsequently, eleven M.A. students of translation studies which were categorized as unprofessional translators were invited to the online environment via email to modify the machine translations. Results of the error analysis revealed that the two categories of Incorrect Words and Unknown Words were respectively the most and the least frequent error types in both outputs. The study also showed less than fifty percent decrease in the number of errors in post-edited texts. However, some effective factors for improving the quality of crowd(sourced) post-edited outputs and the applicability of GTT were investigated based on the collected literature, an online interview with participants and the researchers’ own observations.

Text-Image Interactions in Translated Comics

Fatemeh Parham, Zahra Hossein Tabrizi — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0330

In children’s books meaning is communicated through the interaction of both the visual and the verbal elements. The present study thus attempts to examine whether text-image interactions in children’s books undergo any change in the process of translation. To this end, a corpus of 24 English comics along with their Persian translations was developed. Then relying on McCloud’s (1994) typology of text-image interactions, the selected English text-image pairs were compared with their corresponding pairs in Persian in search of any change. The results of the study revealed that changes in texts or in images gave rise to changes in text-image interactions in almost half of the cases examined (46%). This means that since different elements in children books are connected and it is through their cooperation that meaning is conveyed, any change in one element may effect a greater change at a different level and may affect the communication of the message.

Spatial Territories in Translation Studies

Farzaneh Farahzad, Samar Ehteshami — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0330

Space-driven concepts have always been present in Translation Studies. Translation has been historically viewed as a movement between source and target language/text and the field is replete of space-bound metaphors such as “translation as transfer” and “the landscape of translation”. Space in the current study was taken in its Lefebvrian sense, defined as a social construct and identified, among others, as being relational, multiple and dynamic. Therefore, not all views that draw on space would be considered as a spatial theory on translation and those theories that employ static space were excluded from this study. Upon critical analysis of theories on translation, four space-driven strands of conceptualization have been identified, namely, translation space, translation and urban space, translation and geography and translation and ecology; all based on interdisciplinary dialogue. Each of these strands introduced a new arena for studying translation though incorporating a similar episteme. Through mapping spatial theories of Translation Studies, the current positioning and future tendencies of the field would become more vivid.

Paratranslation and Image Schemas in the Quranic Translation: Mental Spaces

Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0330

Although translation itself is a cognitive process, translation from cognitive view is new. There exist many aspects in the translations of the Holy Quran which have been added to the original text. These aspects are diverse, different and can be classified on the wide spectrum. It is very difficult to justify them based on equivalence or many theories of translation. But, mental spaces and their internal structure, namely image schemas, can give us an effective tool how and why these elements appear in the text. It is even possible to predict which elements may be added to the text if we consider frames related to the verse. According to mental spaces theory and their internal structures these elements are viewed as prompts for activating a frame or frames relevant to the interpretation of the original text, historical origin or so. The translators each have activated one or more aspects of the frame for conceptualization. Comparing the translations reveal that these elements activate the same mental spaces.

A Curious Case of Taboo Rendition in Persian AVT

Behnam Rezvani Sichani, Mahmoud Afrouz — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0330

The pace of technological evolution, with particular reference to mass media outlets like films, has become so fast in recent years. Such rapid progress made audiovisual translation (AVT) a hot topic. This study aims to investigate the impact of local cultural norms and translators’ hiring institutions policies on Persian audiovisual translators’ decisions in case of taboo translation. In this paper, three translations of the film named I, Daniel Blake were analyzed. The translation corpus included an Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) dubbed version, a subtitle used by an authorized private video on demand (VOD) company and finally a fansubbed version. The theoretical framework of the current study was based on Sharifi and Darchinian’s (2009) classification of taboo interpretation in contemporary Iran and Khoshsaligheh and Ameri’s (2014) model for taboo translation. The results depicted that taboo translation in Persian AVT represent an ideological spectrum going from one extreme to its opposite. This complete range of decisions in Persian AVT truly reflects a famous dichotomy in translation i.e. Domestication and Foreignization.

An Efficient Method to Add Chunker Rules in Persian to English Rule-based Apertium Machine Translation System

Fri, 05 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Rule-based machine translation (RBMT) captures linguistic information about the source and target languages. This information is retrieved from (bilingual) dictionaries and grammar rules. This paper proposes an active learning (AL) method to grow structural transfer rules at the chunker level. To this end, two sets of experiments are performed based on two types of sentences extracted from Mizan English-Persian Parallel Corpus which are selected manually and randomly. The results show adding newly written chunker rules to the transformation file using pool-based AL technique improves translation system more compared to a random chunker rule selection baseline.

Narratives of Nationalism in Paratexts

Reza Yalsharzeh — Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Focusing on the social function of translation, this study uses Niklas Luhmann’s (1995) social systems theory to investigate how, despite the translation of western viewpoints, the Iranian socio-political system seeks to maintain its position against these perspectives. To this end, four English books written by western authors about the Iran-Iraq war were selected and the paratextual reactions of the publisher to the western narratives were analyzed. Translation as a boundary phenomenon not only opens the Iranian system to different ideological perspectives about the war but also it is utilized to respond to the west’s dissenting ideological narratives about it. The paratextual space of the Persian translations studied here abounds in opposing narratives that challenge the western ideas about the war. These dissenting narratives which reflect a part of the ongoing ideological and discursive clashes between Iran and the west manifest the Iranian socio-political system’s attempt to draw a distinction between itself and its ideological rival and, therefore, to secure its own position against the other. The role of the paratextual materials of the Persian translations in distinguishing the Iranian socio-political system from the western one and in bolstering the prevailing nationalist accounts of the Iran-Iraq war becomes evident in this study.

Resistance in Translations Published as White-Cover Books

Hussein Mollanazar, Roya Ghaderi — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0430

The present study was an attempt to find out how the activist Persian translations published illegally as White-Cover books were resistant to the target culture. The study was based on Baker’s (2006) argument about where to look for the activist translators’ political work, i.e., the text selection and framing methods, including paratexts, timing of release, and place of release. For the study of the paratexts, Pellatt’s (2013) typology was adapted to cover all the paratextual elements included in the corpus. The study showed that resistance was manifest in all the areas examined, but in different forms. Resistance to censorship was more evident in the text selection and the non-verbal paratexts, whereas resistance to the dominant ideologies and the state was more visible in the verbal paratexts, especially in the prefatorial materials as well as the inclusion or exclusion of the names of the translators.

A Survey of the Translation of Imam Hossein's Divan in the Base of Saving the Main Meaning

Hasan Esmailzadeh, Siyamak Asgharpour, Hadi Fazlinejadi — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0430

One of the best methods in analyzing the variables of a literature work is criticizing that work in the base of its main meaning. Imam Hossein's divan as a poetic sample, having an instructive descriptions and contents translated to Persian language by Amir Jabery. In this article with qualitative method and by considering the main meaning in translation attempted to analyze the methodology of the translator and the way of expressing themes and also content criticizing of Imam Hossein's divan. The result of this article shows that the translator in the area that is related to literary method of the sentences, debates, and transferring the meaning has an acceptable performance. But in expressing the meaning of the poems by literal translation in the target language and choosing accurate synonyms for the words and vocabularies some errors and slips are seen in his translation.

Paratextual elements in Translation: Study of a novel of Goli Taraghi

Mina Mazhari, Marjan Farjah — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0430

Paratexutal elements, especially on the cover of a book, play an important role in shaping the reader’s horizons of expectation of a literary work. Therefore, when it comes to translating, it is important to study the relations between these elements and the atmosphere of the book. In addition, paratextual elements on the cover of a book are considered the first and most effective part of a literary work that is related to the reader’s social and cultural world. Hence, translation of a book from a language into another language is actually the transition of a book from a linguistic-spatial-cultural fact into another linguistic-spatial-cultural reality and when a literary work is translated, these elements undergo various changes.

After providing some explanations on the paratext, its position in representing the atmosphere of a work, as well as its relation with the concepts of a culture, the present article aims to study the changes made in the paratextual elements of a novel written by Goli Taraghi, “Scattered Memories”, and its translation into French.

Lexical and Paratextual Differences in Self-Retranslation

Farzaneh Farahzad, Sajjad Tahmasbi Boveiri — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0430

Based on Berman’s retranslation hypothesis, the present article aimed at detecting and explaining the differences between the first and second Persian translations of two English novels (Nineteen Eighty-Four and Lord Jim) by the same Persian translator (Saleh Hosseini) over a decade at lexical and paratextual levels. To this end, first the translations and retranslations were compared with each other and both were compared with the source texts. Then, an interview was conducted with the translator in a bid to triangulate the data. The results indicated that the self-retranslations went through substantial changes at both levels. The results demonstrated that both self-retranslations were more target language oriented. Therefore, the results were in contradiction with Berman’s retranslation hypothesis which holds that retranslations are closer to the source texts than first translations. In fact, self-retranslations were found to be more natural, hence more target language oriented, explained by the translator as a result of a new understanding of the source texts intended meaning, target language and target reader. However, the contradiction might be due to the fact that in this article self-retranslation was investigated, and not retranslation in its general sense. So, it can be concluded that self-retranslation may not follow Berman’s hypothesis.

A Study of Nicholson's Translation of Idioms in the Text of Mathnawi: A Housian Approach

Reza Abbasi, Aliakbar Khomeyjani Farahani, Behrooz Mahmoodi Bakhtiari — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Juliane House introduces a considerable pattern used in translation of literary (non-scientific) texts. In her theory, House classifies translation into two major types: Overt and Covert. She believes that the overt method is appropriate for translating the culture-bound texts, and leads to translations that contain unfamiliar and alien cultural elements, in which the trace of translator is completely obvious, while the covert one is most suitable for non-culture driven texts and concludes to highly domesticated translations within which the trace of translator is not clear. Moreover, according to House’s theory the overt method cannot establish functional equivalence, while within the covert approach, maintaining such an equivalence is possible. The goal of this descriptive-analytic paper is to show Nicholson’s tendency to each of the two mentioned strategies in translating the idioms of Mathnawi into English. The results of this research revealed that the translator’s major tendency has been toward overt translation, which caused to maintaining the accuracy of translation as well as conveying the aesthetic aspects of the source text to the target text.

Intrasystemic Function of Translated Political Works in Iranian Society

Parviz Rassouli — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper analyzes the political purposes behind translating political works into Persian under the Reformist administration in Iran in order to investigate the social function of translation. First, the translated political books about international relations that had been initially published from 2001 until the end of the Reformist administration (2005/08/03) were retrieved from a bibliographic database. They were then examined paratextually in terms of the cover blurbs, translators’ prefaces, publishers’ notes, and notes by other agents. In paratextual examinations, some references to the political purposes behind translating the works were found. Out of 74 identified translations, 10 volumes had been translated with political purposes. The paratextual evidence about the political purposes was provided case-by-case. Finally, the social function of translation within the Iranian society during the period was discussed based on Luhmann’s social systems theory as applied to translation studies by Tyulenev (2012a).

An Analysis of the Self-Regulatory Strategies Used by Iranian English-Persian Translators in Translation Process

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Self-regulation is considered as self-generated ideas and actions, which are directed towards achieving academic objectives (Cleary & Zimmerman, 2004). The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate the English-Persian translators’ perception and use of self-regulatory strategies in translation process. To that end, three research phases were designed. In the first phase, 42 male and female translators were requested to participate in a semi-structured interview designed based on Pintrich’s (2004) model of self-regulation. In second phase of the study, 20 translators were requested to translate sample texts and participate in introspective and retrospective think-aloud protocols. Then, the data from think-aloud protocols and retrospective interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Based on the recurrent themes, a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire on self-regulation strategies of English-Persian translators was developed. This 31-item questionnaire was composed of three sub-sections. In the quantitative phase of this study, thirty English-Persian translators were selected through purposive sampling and invited to answer the questionnaire, thereby self-reporting their use of self-regulatory strategies in translation process. Finally, the results revealed that English-Persian translators ignored motivational, affective, contextual phases of self-regulation to a large extent, and might approach translation process only as a cognitive process. The findings of this study offer implications for translators and translation programs.

Authorial Style in English-Persian Literary Translation: Focusing on Key Phrase Allusions

Farzaneh Farahzad, Ehsan Zaheri — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0430

Literary translation has always been the subject of discussion from a multitude of perspectives. One of the most controversial aspects of literary translation is the translator’s treatment of the authorial style. One of the elements of authorial style comprises rhetorical figures, from among which key-phrase allusions seem to pose considerable challenges for literary translators. The present study was conducted to find answers to two questions: 1- Do English-Persian literary translators have a tendency to preserve the authorial style as regards allusion as a stylistic feature; and 2- Do English-Persian literary translators have a tendency to adopt a unified approach in the translation of allusions? A bottom-up analytical model was developed for this study and used to explore the translator’s treatment of key-phrase allusions as a feature of authorial style in the Persian translations of four classic novels by Conrad, Faulkner, Joyce and Golding. The results showed that the English-Persian literary translators examined in this study do not have a tendency to adopt the author-focused approach and to preserve the authorial style as regards the stylistic feature of allusion; however, they mostly showed a tendency towards adopting a unified translation approach, here called “audience-focusedness” in their treatment of the allusions.

EVS Patterns, Regulation Strategies and Quality of Persian/English Simultaneous Interpretations

Karim Shabani, Parima Khazaei — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0430

A mind-boggling obsession facing the recent interpreting studies is the how and why of ear-voice-span (EVS) regulation during simultaneous interpreting (SI) and its relationship with the quality of SI outputs especially in the case of two asymmetrical languages. The present case study aimed at investigating the EVS patterns and strategies used during Persian-to-English (henceforth P-E) (SOV-SVO) and English-to-Persian (henceforth E-P) (SVO-SOV) SI. Moreover, it sought to find out the relationship between EVS choices and quality of simultaneous interpretations. In doing so, live data were collected from a professional interpreter in two interlingually held conferences. The analysis of transcribed and synchronized audio files revealed the adoption of a wide range of linguistic and temporal EVS choices and regulation strategies. The results indicated that EVS patterns in the SOV-to-SVO direction were generally longer than vice versa. The quality assessment of interpretations by two raters with reference to Buhler's (1986) rating scale revealed that the choice of EVS strategies had a direct impact on the overall EVS length, imposed cognitive demand and, subsequently, quality of interpretations. On implication side, the study suggests the incorporation of detected strategies into the interpreter training syllabus.

On Lexical Borrowing in Translation of English Novels into Persian

Helia Vaezian, Adeleh Izadan — Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 +0430

Literary texts and so novels are loaded with culture-bound items. Since novels deal with human experiences and different aspects of the life such as personal and social aspects, they usually are loaded with culture-related concepts which can be considered as perfect candidates for borrowing during translation process. Thus, it can be asserted that borrowing is commonly used by literary translator in order to overcome the cultural and linguistic differences between the source text and the target text. The present study draws on the notion of lexical borrowing in the translation of English novels into Persian in order to detect whether there are changes made to the spelling and pronunciation of the borrowed items in the translated Persian novels under study compared to their original versions. It further intends to explore lexical borrowing in novels translated from English into Persian and find out what semantic fields are more open to borrowing than others.

Recurrent Vs. Convolutional Neural Machine Translation: Translating Persian Verbal Inflections into English

Sajedeh Sadat Hosseini — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0330

This study seeks to investigate the effectiveness of the rather new neural approach to machine translation with regard to contextual translation of Persian past tense verbal inflections (in pro-drop cases) into English. To this aim, the performance of the major architectures of neural machine translation, recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs), was analyzed and compared based on Waddington's (2003) holistic assessment method. Furthermore, the main source of errors made by the representatives of the RNN and CNN systems, Google Translate and Facebook respectively, was identified. Upon analyzing a sample chosen from the famous Persian Novel, "Modir-e Madrese" by Jalal Al-e-Ahmad, it became evident that the performance of both machine translation systems was adequate, with Facebook outperforming Google Translate. Moreover, rendering of neutral Persian singular third-person inflections into gendered English subject pronouns was found to be the main source of errors made by the two machine translation systems.

The Pursuit of Peace

Parviz Rassouli — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0430

This paper is to see what political works about the Reformist foreign policy were translated into Persian under the Reformist administration in Iran, and why they were selected for translation. As a historical and corpus-based study, the research focused on the period from 2001 to the end of the Reformist administration (2005/08/03). The translated political works about international relations that had been initially published in the period were retrieved from an online database. A corpus of paratextual material on each translation was compiled through a library–archival research. Then, Dialogue among Civilizations and Détentism, as two distinctive features of the Reformist foreign policy, were looked for in the corpus. Out of 74 translations initially published in the period, it was found that two and nine translations, respectively, had reproduced Dialogue among Civilizations and Détentism in their paratexts, which accounts for why the works were selected for translation. Ample paratextual evidence was provided about the themes, production context, and political features of those translations. Selection of political works for translation was finally argued as a political decision, and translation was discussed as related to politics within Luhmann’s social systems theory.

Towards a Model for the Analysis of ‘Translation Poetics’

Salar Manafi Anari, Maryam Saidi — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0430

Poetics is one of the concepts of literary studies which has been applied by translation studies theorists and scholars and its definition can be considered as a working tool for translation studies researchers. In this regard, this study, as a meta-analysis, attempts to critically review 62 studies which untitled poetics of translation in order to find out an operational definition for this concept in a theoretical framework. The findings show that most of the reviewed studies have used the concept of poetics for the investigation of different issues like 'history of poetry translation’, 'literary history', 'author or translator's style’, etc. without giving any clear definition for this concept in their research framework. Notwithstanding studies done by Popovič (1968/1971), Lefevere (1992) and Barnstone (1993) have used an operational definition for (translation) poetics. In spite of their shortcomings, their application of key tenants of these studies together could allow researchers of the present study to refine the concept of poetics, classify it in two forms of ‘poetics proper' and ‘translation poetics’, shed light on their relationship, revisit poetics as ‘translation poetics’ in the historical context of translation and finally develop a tentative model for the analysis of this concept. Through such a model, the role of translation in the establishment of ‘poetics proper’ and ‘translation poetics’ is determined.

A Comparative Study of the Holy Qur’ān’s English Translations by Muhammad Ali and Shakir: Plagiarism or Revision?

Mahmoud Afrouz, Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0430

The present article aims at comparing the Holy Qur’ān’s English translations by Maulana Muhammad Ali (1917) and M. Habib Shakir (1980). Shakir was a Pakistani merchant and Muhammad Ali was a scholar of the Qadiani sect. The logic behind the selection of their works was their irrefutable similarity. The main question is whether we can label Shakir’s work a revision of Muhammad Ali’s or not. The other issue was to identify the percentage of such a similarity. Since the possibility of detecting major differences between the two works was stronger in the selection of equivalents for culture-bound items, and more specifically, for religious-specific concepts, such terms were first extracted from the entire chapters of the Holy Qur’ān and the equivalents adopted by the two translators were identified. It was finally revealed that Shakir has employed more than 80% of the religious-specific terms being selected previously by Muhammad Ali. The similarities were not, of course, limited to RSTs. Even a cursory glance at some Surahs will reveal the indisputable similarity of the two works at various levels, from words to phases, sentences, Signs or even, the entire Surahs. In some research papers, the authors may erroneously consider Shakir’s work as an original one and make no mention of Muhammad Ali’s. Shakir’s work should neither be considered a plagiarism, nor an independent translation: it is merely a revision.

The Role of Syntactic Reordering in the Improvement of Persian to English Machine Translation of Separable Compound Verbs

Rezvan Motavallian, Ahmad Zaeri, Zahra Zamani — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0430

One of the controversial problems in Persian- English machine translation is the category of separable compound verbs. This kind of verbs has a broader range of numbers and application than light verbs. So it seems that improving the translation of these verbs is effective in the whole study. Providing a general list of separable compound verbs in Persian as the first and an effective step can play an important role in solving this problem. Since the prerequisite of syntactic pre-processing is identifying and categorizing the kinds of separable compound verbs. To this end, the verb valancy dictionary of Dadegan website composed of 4282 different verbs was scrutinized by the researchers. Among them, more than 1500 verbs were extracted as the separable compound verbs by using the web corpus. In the next step in order to show the amount of improvement in machine translation of separable compound verbs by applying syntactic pre-processing, 500 sentences containing separable compound verbs were chosen and given to Moses Decoder, once without pre-processing and once by applying the reordering rules on them. Of course before it, Mizan parallel was trained to this decoder. The Bleu score without pre-processing was 16 and after applying the reordering rules it improved to 16.3. This improvement shows the effect of syntactic reordering on machine translation of Persian separable compounds to its English equals.

Word-selection Methods in the Translation of Elliptical and Excessive Metonymy in the Holy Qur’ān Verses

Zahra Mohammadi, Simin Valavi — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Recognizing metonymy and its types are one of the keys to understanding the Holy Qur'ān. For this reason, without knowing and recognizing them, incorrect interpretations of Quranic verses are made. In this paper, firstly, the definition of the metonymy and its types, then the differences between the opinions of scholars on the elliptical and excessive metonymy have been provided. Finally, using the inductive-deductive method, examples of elliptical and excessive metonymies of the Holy Qur'ān has been given and the methods of word-selection translation of them has been analyzed in ancient selected translations (Tabari, Sur-Abadi, Nasafi, Meybodi and Abul-Futouh Razi). The result of this research shows that the mentioned translators have not used similar methods in the translation of elliptical and excessive metonymy, Tabari and Abul-Futouh Razi in most cases have translated in literal terms; however, Meybodi and Sur-Abadi and then Nasafi have mostly considered the implied meaning of the word and they have adopted content-based translation and have resorted less to literal translation.

Translation Analysis of Emphasis Devices of Qasr by Negative (Lā) and Exception (Illā) in Some English Translations of the Holy Qur’ān: A Case Study of Shakir, al-Hilālī-Muhsin Khān, and Irving Translations

Mahmoud Vaezi, Muhammad Riza Rasuli Ravandi, Mahdi Moseli — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

The study of emphatic devices as grammar-rhetorical technique in Qur'ān translations reveals the union, difference, balance or unbalance of their equivalents based on the theories of translation. Regarding the position of this technique in the source language, criticism and assessment of qasr by Negative (lā) and exception (illā) equivalents can lead to precise translation based on House textual theory. Study of this technique in the English translation of Shākir, Irving, al-Hilālī-Muhsin Khān by this norm that is based on equivalent structure of source text, though reveals some weakness, indicates their rather success. In such verses one can present a good translation from structure point of view by observing correct negation, Taking attention to the word that emphasis is on it, and making it emphasized and use of intensifying "only”, "merely”, "but" before it. Though felicitous miracle of the Qur'ān, linguistics differences and the translator role, himself, have an effective role in balanced or unbalanced translation of this technique, but based on linguistic position of this technique in source language, use of House overt translation method, make appropriate proportion in this field.

Metaphor in Hafez's Sonnets from the Perspective of Its Arabic Translations by al-Shvarabi and Shebli

Adnan Tahmasebi, Atiyeh Yousefi, Mohammad Reza Torki, Farzaneh Farahzad — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

The viewpoint about metaphor has completely changed from the past to the present especially after the theory of metaphor by George Laykoff and Mark Johnson enters into the field of cognitive linguistics. Based on this approach, metaphors reflect the conceptual system of the human mind that is influenced by its culture and experiences in the form of language. In this regard, it should be noted that one of the problems of translating poetry and specially Hafez's poem is linguistic and cultural concepts. In this article, we examine the methods used by the two Arab translators, Ibrahim al-Shvarabi and Omar Shebli, in translating the metaphors of the Hafez Divan, and show the impact of the methods employed in the translation of metaphors on the representation of cultural identity. For this purpose, we highlighted Hafez ghazals’ metaphors (50 ghazals of Divan of Hafez based on Qazvini version) according to classic comments, then explaining the method of translating each metaphor using Newmark's theory. The results show that Arabic-language translators, in spite of attempting to provide faithful translations and not deleting the phrases of Hafez's sonnets, have not succeeded in translating metaphors that depend on the cultural concepts of this poet.

On the Iranian-Armenian-Arabic Intercultural Exchanges and the Role of Translation

Mohammad Malek Mohammadi — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Sources, references and written literature of each nation are based on legends, epics, myths and oral literature. In result of exchanges between various cultural, political, social and religious factors, translation literature contributes to the creation of a culture and national literature. Armenian written literature is one of the most prominent examples that translation has had an effective role on its development and spread during different periods. The history of Armenian translation literature has been influenced continuously by Armenian cultural, political and social changes with its ups and downs. The Armenian translation movement was the beginning of the translation of the many Assyrian, Greek, Iranian and Arabic writer’s works and the formation of the Armenian golden age literature. This article after explaining the importance of translation in the development of Armenian literature, examines the importance of the most important feature and translation role of Iranian culture in the Iranian-Armenian intercultural exchange. The study of the Armenian Arabic cultural relations, the reflection of Islamic culture in the texts of Armenian mysticism and the first Armenian translations of the Quran Karim are among the other issues discussed in this article. Language, culture and translation are three effective factors in establishing the relationship between the three nations, the three different cultures.

A Comparative Analysis of Description in the Story of Zal and Roodabeh of the Shahnameh and Its Arabic Translation by Bondarī Esfahani

Seyyed Mehdi Masboogh, Shahram Delshad — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Abolqasem Ferdowsi has used beautiful artistic and literary descriptions and illustrations in many stories of Shahnameh. He put this fan to adjust the narrative time, give the visual aspect to the person, and used to create space and the formation of a curtain and the like. This research examines these definitions in forty bits from the story of Zal and Roodabeh. Considering the aesthetic functions, narratives and styles that these narratives have played in the narrative and reviewed how it was translated into Arabic translation. The results of the research show that Bondarī is influenced by his historical and religious approach in such cases, the removal, duplication, and transliteration are inaccurate. As a result, many of the logical relations of the narrative in his translation are shown without proportions and the beautiful poetry scenes of the poet have been translated into solid and uncreated and does not affect the size of the original language at all.

Student-centred Corrections of Translations and Translation Accuracy: A Case of BA Translation Students

Ghasem Modarresi, Seyyed Vahid Ghoreyshi — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Research into assessment is in its infancy in translation studies, and there is a paucity of research in this regard. The present study mainly aimed at: 1) examining if student-centered corrections of translations has any impact on the translation accuracy created by translation students, and 2) exploring the translation students’ reactions to the use of student-centered corrections of translations. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative approach to gather and analyze the data. A pool of 32 BA translation students participated in this experimental study. The students were required to fill in their Correction Cards while correcting their mistakes, following the student-centered assessment developed by Sainz (1994). The results of the ANCOVA revealed that there was a significant difference in the students’ accuracy scores for subjects in the experimental group and the control group. Moreover, the results emerged from students’ responses to the interview questions revealed that translation students were satisfied with student-centered corrections of translations. As for the translation students, student-centered corrections of translations allows for self-assessment and reassessment; they can assess their progress and measure their translation performance and reevaluate themselves as many times as needed.

The Relationship between Personality Type and Iranian Undergraduate Simultaneous Interpreting Trainees’ Improvement Rate

Mir Saeed Mousavi Razavi — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Having adopted as its departure point the impact of nonlinguistic factors on interpreting performance, the present empirical study has addressed the possible relationship between Iranian simultaneous interpreting trainees’ performance improvement and their personality type, i.e., extroversion/ introversion. Thirty five undergraduate students of English Translation at Allameh Tabataba'i University, both male and female aged 20–25, took part in the research. They received simultaneous interpreting training over eight months; with two contact hours per week, the total in-class training measured more than 60 hours. To objectively quantify the participants’ performance improvement, two tests of simultaneous interpreting (pretest and posttest) were administered and scored by three raters. Towards the end of the training period, a standard test of personality type was also conducted. The trainees’ simultaneous interpreting improvement rate was found to have almost no correlation with extroversion (r = -0.08) while it had a moderate positive correlation with the degree of introversion (r = 0.46) suggesting that introverts are better equipped for undertaking the mentally-challenging task of simultaneous interpreting.

Translatorial Interventions and Narrative Structure

Farzaneh Farahzad, Afsaneh Mohammadi Shahrokh — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper attempts to explore the relation between a narrative text in one language and its translated counterpart in another language, making use of Rimmon-Kenan’s (2005) narrative model, adapted to translation. First, the structure of narrative, i.e. story, text and narration is introduced in brief. Story level elements including events and characters, together with text level elements, i.e. time, characterization and focalization are chosen for analysis. These constituents of narrative are redefined to count for what happens through translation. Providing several examples, it is shown that all of these elements may change in the process of translation. Therefore, against the common belief among narratologists who claim that changing the language of a narrative does not affect its story (Rimmon-Kenan, 2005, p. 9), it is argued that the translator’s interventions in the narrative, regardless of its being conscious or unconscious, affect both the story and text levels of narrative. It is concluded that the translator’s perception of the story world and adjusting this world to the real world as experienced by the translator is the major factor responsible for these interventions. Therefore, providing several examples of translatorial interventions, the present study argues in favor of translators’ idiosyncrasies as the reason behind these interventions.

The Genesis of Drama Translation Field in Iran: A Sociological Approach

Hussein Mollanazar, Farideh Shabani Rad — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

This paper aims to investigate the gradual genesis of drama translation field in Iran within the context of a sociological approach to translation. The theoretical framework of this study is based on Bourdieu’s social theory. The study covers a historical and social review of Qajar period in Iran to trace the genesis of drama translation field. Understanding the early phases of the genesis of the field depends on understanding a number of socio-cultural factors which this research has tried to cover by means of a macro-structural investigation. The data in this study indicates that such socio-cultural developments as the rise of literacy rate, the translation movement, the press, the rise of new intellectual class, and the establishment of political institutions like Parliament during Qajar period reshaped Iranian society. From the Constitutional Revolution onwards, Iran saw the progressive genesis of different fields (political, cultural, literary, journalistic, criticism) and also the emergence of new cultural agents (drama translators, playwrights, critiques, theatrical groups, theater magazines). Accordingly, all these socio-cultural factors and the interactions among the agents made the genesis of drama translational field possible.

Fostering Creativity Through Difficulties of Poetry Translation

Mohammad Khatib — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0430

Poetry translation is generally seen as a highly demanding task and literary translation scholars have repeatedly highlighted its difficulties to the extent that some believe in its impossibility. The present study attempts to illustrate that these difficulties are unduly exaggerated and the constraints imposed by such difficulties are tightly tied to creativity. In fact, the constraints provide a fertile ground for creativity to thrive. Then different student translations of one of Shakespeare's sonnets are presented as an evidence of how challenges posed by translation can result in creative solutions. At the end, some suggestions are given on how literary translation courses can foster creativity.

Strategies of Censorship in Translating Children’s Stories from English into Persian

Khatereh Vahhabzadeh — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Censorship is a form of manipulative rewriting of discourse by one agent or structure over another agent or structure, aiming at filtering the stream of information from one source to another. Censorship has an important role in the translation of Children’s literature. The present research aimed to find answers to two questions: 1) in what domain (moral, religious, political, and military) is censorship mostly applied in translation of children’s stories? 2) Which censorship strategies were utilized more in children stories? To this end, a corpus comprising 25 stories for children plus their Persian translations was complied. Next the corpus was studied utilizing Toury's norms and Dukate’s categorization. Then all the 25 books and their Persian translations were compared and contrasted. The results indicated that, religious censorship in pictures and text chunks of children's stories had the highest frequency. It seems that sensitivity of censorship strategies mostly concentrates on the religious issues.

A Comparative Study of the Quality of Persian Translations by Google Translate and SDL Free Translation

Helia Vaezian, Ali Pakdaman — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

As the aim of machine translation is to replicate human translation, it is of much significance to incorporate human judgments of translation quality into system development. While there have been a large number of studies on the quality of machine translation outputs in many language pairs, there are limited studies on the quality of machine translation outputs in the context of English into Persian translation as assessed by human evaluators. With this in mind, the present research investigated into the quality of translations by Google Translate and SDL Free Translation in terms of clarity, accuracy, style and informativeness as assessed by professional as well as student translators in the context of translation from English into Persian. The texts chosen for evaluation by two machine translation systems consisted of four extracts adapted from two different genres. The first two passages were travel guides while the other two passages were manuals. Our data indicated that while both systems provided translations which were of poor quality in terms of clarity, accuracy, style and informativeness as assessed by our evaluators, the quality of translations by Google Translate was higher than that of SDL.

Knowledge of Persian in English Translator Training Major: Importance, Status quo, and Recommendations for Improvement

Reza Rezaei — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

Considering the ever-increasing communication among nations and the ensuing need for international relations in cultural, political and economic arenas, growing need for translators and interpreters has become more obvious, leading to the formation of translator training courses in different countries. Iran has also been active in this area for more than two decades. Yet, a pressing problem that may act as a possible factor to inhibit the course and lead to production of low quality translations and translators is a severe lack of lettered knowledge of Persian in translation students along with the ignorance of some trainers in that regard. These may contribute negatively to the aims of translator training programmes. The present paper, therefore, discusses the importance of a lettered knowledge of Persian, the first language of trainees, and then analyses the results of a questionnaire sent to translator trainers that tries to elicit relevant information. Finally, both old and new translator training curricula are scrutinised to come up with some ideas for improvement in that area, intending to contribute to the overall quality of the translator training programme.

Dynamic Equivalence in Four Old and New Translations of Rumi’s Mathnavi

Salar Manafi Anari, Tolou Mollabashi — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper reports a research which aimed at investigating the level of dynamic equivalence (D-E) in four translations of forty five didactic couplets chosen from the First Book of Rumi’s Mathnavi. In order to do so, a parallel corpus-based study was carried out based on Nida’s concept of dynamic equivalence. The subjects participating in the study were educated native English speakers who were asked as target readers to rate the translations in terms of being dynamic. The results showed that Nicholson’s translation is more dynamic and capable of communicating the ST message to its audience than the two translations that were published in the 21^st century and the marked shift of emphasis from the formal to the dynamic dimension in translating literary texts that Nida (1964, p. 160) mentioned does not still hold regarding the translations of the Mathnavi.

The Impact of Gender-based Ideological Perspective of Translators on Translations of the Holy Qur’an

Azadeh Eriss, Mohammad Reza Hashemi — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

In the translation of Qur’anic verses, lexical choices can illustrate gender ideologies of translators and, consequently, change the attitude of individuals towards Islam and the status of women in Islam. The purpose of this study is investigating the impact of the gender-based ideological perspective of translators with different orientations in translating women-related verses. Since most of the Qur’an translators have been men, this research seeks to determine the extent of the impact of patriarchal ideology in translating some verses of the Qur'an. In this regard, two Persian translations of the Holy Qur'an were selected, one translated by a female translator and one by a male translator. Also three English translations of some verses related to women in the four surahs of Nisa, Al-Ahzab, Noor and Mumtahanah, translated by an Iranian woman and male translators with Eastern and Western orientations in their translation of woman-related verses. The translations were analyzed based on the model of critical translation analysis proposed by Khanjan (2011). The results showed that gender ideology of translators can consciously and unconsciously affect their translations. Although translators have translated accurately, their translations depict their conception of man from the Word of God. Gender ideology, prevailing social views and the translator’s conception of men and women, unconsciously affects the translator’s thoughts, beliefs, and lexical choices. Translators’ error in the translation of religious texts is a possibility but it is better that readers consider translation errors a probability.

The Impact of Translation on the Culture and National Identity of Iranian Turks in Iran

Behruz Bekbabayi, Ehsan Amirzadeh — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

With the emergence of postcolonial theories in Translation Studies in 1990s, translation became a tool for both colonization and decolonization. Previously, translation was considered as a marginal act and copy of the original. However, postcolonial theories indicated that translation is a political act for revitalization and preservation of culture and identity, especially minority identities. After the victory of Islamic Revolution, translation into (Iran) Turkish language began, the number of which is growing every year. In order to investigate the impact of translation on the culture and national identity of Iranian Turks, the data related to the number of books translated into (Iran) Turkish language were collected. The results indicated that translation has had a significant role in preserving Turkish identity in Iran and resisting against cultural assimilation.

Student Trainees’ Performance in Simultaneous Interpreting Aptitude Test: The Role of Emotional Quotient and Self-Efficacy

Gholam-Reza Tajvidi, Sima Ferdowsi — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

The present study investigated the possible relation between student trainees’ performance in simultaneous interpreting aptitude test, EQ and self-efficacy. A sample of 70 interpreting trainees participated in this study. The Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On, 1997) and the self-efficacy questionnaire (Sherer et al., 1982) were administered. The results showed that simultaneous interpreting was not a gender sensitive activity. However, the findings demonstrated that higher self-efficacy improved performance in SI aptitude test. Moreover, the study revealed a positive correlation between EQ (total and its 12 subscales) and self-efficacy. Additionally, three of the subscales of EQ (i.e. Flexibility, Self-Respect and Stress Tolerance) were found to function as positive predictors of SI aptitude score. The study concluded that learning interpreting skills in and by itself does not necessarily result in successful interpreting because of personal differences.

Methods and Strategies of Translating Ambiguity in Literary Texts

Mahmoud Afrouz, Morteza Sabourzadeh — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

Ambiguity is a literary device used by poets to achieve multiple meanings by using only a few words. Hafiz is for sure one of the main figures and stars in Persian literary firmament known for having used this literary device in his poetry. The study aims at analyzing the concept of ambiguity in the Divan of Hafiz and its German and English translations in order to present a practical model for rendering this figure of speech. To analyze the collected data, first, the couplets containing ambiguous elements were detected in the Divan, then, the English and German translations of each couplet were identified. Subsequently, the methods being employed in rendering ambiguous elements were determined and compared. The efficiency of the procedures was also discussed. The findings demonstrated that literal translation was the most frequently employed procedure by the English translator, while the German translators had mostly adopted ‘sense for sense’. Although being an important strategy, ‘preservation’ is quite limited in use because of the linguistic differences. It was proved that from among the three strategies being employed by the Divan translators, ‘amplification’ can best assist translators to cope properly with the challenge of translating ambiguous elements. Although not being employed by translators, ‘compensation’ can be a practical strategy for the reproduction of the ST aesthetic features.

Translating the Other in American Animations

Hussein Mollanazar, Hamideh Nemati Lafmejani — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

The present research was an attempt to explore the strategies employed by the translators and the dubbing team to translate the Other’s culture. Aixelá (1996) and Corrius and Zabalbeascoa’s (2011) frameworks were modified to analyze the Other’s elements and the third language. Regarding translation of Otherness, the tendency was standardizing of the third language and softening the Other’s references in the animation movies. Totally, dubbing is considered to be a means to nationalize the Other, however due to the numerous visual references it is not fully accomplished. Some creative solutions were detected in Persian dubbed versions for translating the third language including using L2 regional/social accent and L4 (fabricated accents/dialects).

Visually or Verbally Postmodern? A Study of Translated Picture Books

Fatemeh Parham — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

One peculiar feature of picture books is the role they ascribe to pictures as part of the narrative, leading to diverse patterns of interaction between texts and illustrations. Postmodern authors, illustrators, and translators benefit from this text-image interaction to break the common frames and conventions of picture books. The present study attempts to identify the postmodern features of picture books by developing a comprehensive model of these features. It then focuses on Persian translated picture books with postmodern influences to decide on the nature of these features and to classify them as realized through the visual channel, the verbal channel, the layout or a combination of these channels.

Zabihollah Mansouri and the Enigma of Pseudotranslating

Kambiz Mahmoodzadeh, Mahdi Vahedikia — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

Zabihollah Mansouri’s translations have stirred up heated debates among scholars and critics for more than half a century as for authenticity and fidelity, to the extent that some have imparted these texts with authorship in the guise of translation, i.e., pseudotranslation. This study is to present a classification of Mansouri’ books which are catalogued and received as translation based on the alleged sources and elucidate his oeuvre against the contours of pseudotranslation as presented by scholars, particularly those specified by Toury (1995). Accordingly, it is shown that form among the various types of translations classified, only those falling within translation proper and adaptation proper can enjoy the status of translation. The various other translations in his translation bibliography, i.e., those which cannot be tracked down to a specific source text or else are modeled on a number of texts are in step with pseudotranslation criteria.

A Bourdieusian Perspective on Translator Training: Sociological Reflections and Implications

Farzaneh Farahzad, Hamid Varmazyari — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

The advent of sociological turn in Translation Studies has yet less been felt in translation pedagogy. An immensely influential sociology already informing translation (studies) is that of Pierre Bourdieu's. From the perspective of Bourdieu's concept of field within his power and practice theory, translator training is a social field with characteristics shared with other social fields. The present article, taking a sociological approach to translation pedagogy, attempted at exploring and applying elements of the field analogy, along with its accompanying notions, in the field of translator training. The findings particularly point to the role of habitus, capital and position-taking in understanding the practices observed in the field of translator training as well as how Bourdieusian sociology can inform this dynamic social space. Agents' socialization, here that of trainee translators and translator trainers, which is closely linked with their academic specialization and different types of identities, draws on their habitus and capitals, consisting of dimensions and types. Besides, capital conversion accounts for some practices in the field of translator training.

Translatorial Preface: A Persuasive Narrative “Reframing” Device

Maryam Hosseinzadeh — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0430

The study posited translatorial prefaces, the personal narrative of translators, as a device in reframing the narratives of the source text and trying to persuade the readers to buy into the mediated narratives. The concepts of “persuasion” and “reframing” have been derived from Aristotle and Baker, respectively. One hundred translatorial prefaces written by Iranian translators to the fictions, translated from different languages into Persian during sixty years (1330–1390, 1951–2011CE) in Iran, were hence selected randomly. They were then investigated to figure out how the source texts’ narratives were reframed by translatorial prefaces and what persuasive modes were at work to convince the readers. The findings of the study indicate that translatorial prefaces can reframe the narratives of the source text through different reframing strategies in addressing the why, how, and who of reading. Translators also employ the three persuasive modes of ethos, pathos, and logos to inspire the readers’ trust in their narratives. Translatorial prefaces in other words, are found to be among the rare effective opportunities for translators to constitute their own narratives.

Discourse Differences in the Theories of Untranslatability of the Holy Qur’ān

Mahmoud Karimi, Hosein Shojaei, Mohammad Alimohammadi — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0430

Translation of the Qur’ān has always had its own opponents and proponents. Some scholars have held that translation of the Qur’ān originates from the very age of the holy Prophet. Some others have considered the Qur’ān untranslatable. Regardless of the arguments of the two groups, discourses prevalent in the society have had their own influence in raising these views. These influences have sometimes been affirmative. However, in most cases, they have been in contrast to another discourse, hence negative and defensive. Discourses in the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries were mostly jurisprudential and theological. In contrast, in the 14^th century, sectarian and socio-political discourses predominated due to the wide cultural and ideological challenges towards Muslims. Emergence of the view holding untranslatability of the Qur’ān based on different discourse approaches can be emanated from different sociological and contextual factors of these two ages. Concentrating on maintaining the verbal form of the Qur’ān for conveying its meanings, concern over instrumental use of translation, and finally, the duty of safeguarding religion gave rise to presentation of the theory of untranslatability of the Qur’ān by Muslim scholars in order to prevent religious deviations.

A Semantic Analysis of English Equivalents of Idioms of Mathnawi in Nicholson’s Translation

Reza Abbasi, Ali Akbar Khomeyjani Farahani, Behrooz Mahmoodi Bakhtiyari — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Mathnawi is one of the most significant masterpieces of Iranian literature which has been fully translated into English by the famous English orientalist, Reynold Alleyne Nicholson and invoked by many scholars ever since. This research aims to study the different approaches of the translator in terms of the translation of idioms in Mathnawi, on the basis of Baker's (2011) six fold theory to determine the translator's success in rendering the figurative speech of this corpus. In order to do so, over one thousand of Mathnawi's idioms and special expressions were collected and after analyzing their various concepts and meanings in Persian, they were compared with their English equivalents to show the translator's major tendency. The results of this research reveal that in the mentioned translation, the translator's dominant method has been word for word or literal translation, and the relevant reasons are mentioned in the essay.

Commercial Paratexts on the Book Covers of Translated Literary Books in Iran

Mazdak Bolouri — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0430

This paper examined the commercial paratexts on the book covers of translated literary books in Iran over the past thirty five years. The purpose was to reach a better understanding of marketing and advertisement methods for translated books and to learn about the viewpoints of translators and publishers about readers and the book market. Also, the position of the translator and translation in the advertisements on the book covers was analyzed. To do so, the covers of 200 books were examined on the basis of Kovala’s model and the paratexts were classified. Further, the aspects which the paratexts drew attention to and the functions which they foregrounded were noted. The results showed that such paratexts focused on the publisher, the book and its writer, the translator and his/her translation, and the cover designer. The paratexts drew the reader’s attention to such things as the literary/artistic value of the work, its commercial success, its appeal for the reader, its awards, and the list of best books it had appeared on. These paratextual elements, when playing their informative, conative, phatic, and poetic functions, mostly concentrated on the work itself and its writer and did not pay much attention to the translator and translation. It seems that advertisers of translated books consider the readers as more interested in the literary work itself rather than its translation. Consequently, not much is said about translator and translation in the advertisements on the book covers.

Metaphor Typology and Translation in Shakespearean Plays

Maryam Kamal, Salar Manafi Anari — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0330

The present study was conducted first to see if the metaphors have been maintained in Persian translation of four Shakespearean plays, and then, to see where metaphors have been maintained, and also to find out what types of metaphor in English have been translated to what types of metaphor in Persian. Finally, it aims to see whether the changes (not maintaining the metaphor or replacing its image with a Persian one) have affected Shakespeare’s rhetorical language. To answer the questions, all the metaphors (966 in total) of Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V were extracted and categorized according to the types of metaphor in English and then their Persian translations were extracted and analyzed and their type in Persian were identified. It was found that 484 (50.01%) of metaphors were maintained and 482 (49.99%) were not. It was also shown that 77.65% of structural metaphors were translated into Mosarraheh metaphors, 61.29% of orientational metaphors and 36.94% of ontological metaphors were translated into a non-metaphorical form. While the results show that more than 50% of metaphors were maintained, it was concluded that Shakespeare’s rhetorical language is not maintained because 50% is not enough to conclude that Shakespeare’s language was maintained. Also, it was concluded that, cultural and literary differences (common usage of irony and‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ metonymy instead of metaphor) between the languages have been substantial in not maintaining more metaphors.

Death of a Salesman: From Page to Stage

Nastaran Arjomandi, Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0330

Considering the original dramatic text Death of a Salesman, the objective of the present research is to study and analyze different modes of adaptation carried out advancing from Persian page translations toward its considered stage performance. Using Ladoucer’s (1995) model for the translation of drama texts, the Persian (audiovisual) stage performance and the two published Persian page translations involved, were analyzed so that the cases of alteration were identified and compared with/to one another. The results of the study revealed that in the case of page translation, alterations were carried out mostly due to linguistic and cultural mismatches and for the sake of the target readership. On the other hand, in the theatrical system, the alterations could be observed at a higher level in the form of freer adaptations, where not only the linguistic and cultural mismatches, but also the style and creativity of the theatre members, especially those of the director are involved. Thus, in the context of the theatrical production, different modes of adaptation are carried out when the authority of the theatre producer along with the value, taste, and interest of the theatre goers are to be taken into account.

Map of Translation Research in Iran: A Local Meta-analysis

Reza Arta — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The valuable background of research on translation in Iran propelled us to measure the strengths and weaknesses of the present state of Translation Studies in Iran. For this purpose, 956 research projects published in the form of dissertations and journal articles were analyzed using Van Doorslaer’s (2009) classification of research areas in Translation Studies with a few modifications. The results showed research on translation act has been slightly more frequent than research on translation studies. On the level of translation practice, written translation was the most favorable compared to multimedia translation and interpreting. Regarding written translation, the studies focused on translation strategies, textual elements in translation and translation mode. In translation studies research, approaches to translation and applied research on translation studies were more common than the other two subcategories i.e. translation theories and research methods. From among the subareas of applied translation studies, translation didactics received the most attention and translation evaluation, terminology, technology, and institutional and professional environments were the next most prevalent subareas respectively.

Investigation of the Accessibility of Online Citations in Iranian Researchers’ Articles Indexed in ISI in Translation Studies

Oranus Tajedini, Azita Ghazizadeh, Ali Sadat-Mousavi — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

This study was intended to investigate the URLs of web resources in Iranian researchers’ articles indexed in ISI in translation studies. This applied research was of quantitative measurement type. The research method was citation analysis. The statistical population of this research was all articles by Iranian researchers in translation studies in ISI database which were indexed in SSCI (Social Science Citation Index). The results of this research revealed that in articles written by Iranian researchers indexed in ISI in translation studies there were 2411 citations of which 18 percent were online citations. The most frequently used domain in all three fields was .org. The most stable and persistent domains were .org and .com. The most frequent file format was pdf which had the highest rate of stability together with html. The status of inaccessible internet addresses in all investigated articles regarding error messages also indicated that in translation studies, 404 error message (Not found) was the most frequent error with 24 percent. The average half-life of online citations calculated in all investigated articles was 1 year and 11 months.

Translation as Interpretation: A Hermeneutical View toward Translation

Salar Manafi Anari, Farnaz Safdari — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The present paper investigates translation from a hermeneutical angle. Seeking the interrelationship between translation and hermeneutics besides exploring the very similar interpretive basis of the two, this study presents the hermeneutical theory as a legitimate discourse for discussing contemporary translation. Not far from expectation, translation is a dynamic task to be performed on the basis of a deep understanding of the source text. This makes translation a hermeneutical act by its very nature. At this juncture, one may say that the whole matter of translation is about hermeneutics and interpretation. The first and foremost implication of this acknowledgement is the celebration of the pluralistic nature of translation which does not simply succumb to any transcendental thinking so prevalent in translation tradition. This plurality is illustrated through investigating different translations of T.S. Eliot's poems through Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics. As revealed in this study, the translator's understanding of the source poem and his subsequent translation is an interpretive one. This means that different translations which illustrate different fusions of horizons can stand as equally valid interpretations, and each translation is far from being definitive and determinate.

The Qualitative Assessment of Arabic Translation of Nezami's Haft Peikar Based on Antoine Berman's Theory: A Case Study of al-Arāes al-Sab’ of Abdul Aziz al-Baghghush

Ali Afzali, Marziyeh Datubar — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Antoine Berman, with his theory "tendances déformantes" (deformation tendencies), emphasized on the importance of the Other by underscoring the original text. He believed that translators must respect the original text and be faithful toward it. In this paper, we examine the Arabic translation of Haft Peikar by Abdul Aziz Al-Baghghush, using seven parameters of Berman's theory. The conclusion shows the main reasons of deviation in Arabic translation from Haft Peikar of Nezami are as follows: translator's incompetence in the Persian language, grammatical and lexical differences between Arabic and Persian and naturally mismatch of culture, civilization, and traditions between these two nations.

Conflict Resolution Strategies in the Iran-Iraq War Books

Hussein Mollanazar, Marzieh Maddahi — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Iran is located in the Western Asia, an area with a long history of violent, bloody conflicts. Iranian translators who work in this context are frequently asked to cope with highly-charged texts which narrate and comment on its current and past conflicts. This study was aimed to examine and classify their strategies of conflict resolution in dealing with such texts in Iran. The focus was on detecting the most and least frequent strategies. Salama-Carr’s (2007), and Webne-Behrman’s (1998) definition of conflict were adopted, and Thomas-Kilmann’s (1974) typology of conflict resolution strategies were used as theoretical framework. The corpus included five books of the Iran-Iraq War along with their Persian translations. The books were published by Marz-o-Boom Publications with the aim of broadening readers’ view, and providing them with Iraqi or Western (Other) perspective on the war. A descriptive statistical analysis of the corpus was carried out. The results revealed that all Thomas-Kilmann’s (1974) resolution strategies, i.e. accommodating, avoiding, competing, compromising, and collaborating were used in the corpus. Compromising and accommodating were the most and least frequent strategy, with the percentages of 54.4 % and 1.3%, respectively. The findings suggest that, in a conflict situation, collaborating and compromising are two frequent and useful strategies in the translation context that could provide the readers with Other’s perspective but direct their reading at the same time. Accommodating and avoiding are rarely used in such a situation as the first means yielding to Other’s view point, and the latter does not address the conflict. Competing is used in dealing with sensitive national and ideological issues.

Nominal Metaphor Translation: Extension and Reference to Universal Metaphors by General Terms

Babak Yazdani Fazlabadi, Omid Khatin-Zadeh — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0330

Looking at nominal metaphors from the perspective of class-inclusion model of metaphor comprehension and universal (conceptual) metaphors view, the present article aimed to investigate the changes that might happen in a metaphor when it is translated from one language to another one. Participants of this study were 30 undergraduate students in the Department of English of Shahid Chamran University. All participants were Persian native speakers. They were given 35 nominal metaphors to translate from English into Persian. Based on the obtained results, it was found that when English nominal metaphors are translated into Persian, the vehicles of the metaphors tend to be replaced by general words. On the basis of class-inclusion model and universal metaphors view, two possible reasons are suggested to be behind this tendency. Firstly, general words are more readily extended. Consequently, they easily create larger categories that might include both literal and metaphorical sense of the vehicle. Secondly, general words create higher-order or sometimes universal metaphors under which a large number of metaphors are categorized. Universal metaphors are shared by many, and perhaps by all languages of the world. Therefore, they are readily understood across various languages and cultures.

Persian to English Translation Problems of Topicalization Process in Apertium Platform

Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Machine translation encounters several problems in translating from Persian language to English, due to morphological, lexical, and structural divergences between these languages. It becomes especially more difficult when the source language (SL) has specific characteristics which are unavoidable in the process of machine translation systems. This article is going to present some syntactic problems, the Apertium shallow-transfer rule-based machine translation (RBMT) platform encounters in translating structures with topilcalization from Persian to English, and tries to solve them based on the Apertium structural transfer module. Then, this developed Apertium system is evaluated using word error rate (WER) and position-independent error rate (PER), metrics and its quality is compared with that of Google translate as a statistical machine translation system. The Apertium Persian monolingual dictionary was extracted from the frequent words of Wikipedia Persian Monolingual Corpus and Persian side of Mizan English-Persian Parallel Corpus. The result shows that the syntactic translation problems mainly arise from Persian syntactic structures with topicalized constituents which are difficult to be handled by the Apertium structural transfer module. One way to solve them is writing new structural transfer rules to translate these structures more adequately.

Towards a Fuzzy Logic of Translation

Hussein Mollanazar, Ghodrat Hassani — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

This study pits Aristotelian logic against fuzzy logic in the context of translation. It takes as its point of departure the fuzziness of language in general and translation in particular, arguing that seeking pinpoint precision in translation is doomed from the outset and the myriad of dichotomies and apparent contradictions in translation no longer have to be viewed from the either/or lenses of Aristotelian logic. It is, therefore, all the more reason for us to account for fuzziness in translation more seriously and systematically. One prime theoretical candidate enabling us to investigate translation as such is fuzzy logic, which despite its potential has rarely been exploited in translation theories. While Aristotelian logic accords a value of either 0 or 1 to propositions, fuzzy logic allows truth values to range from 0 to 1, rendering propositions both true and false, on the one hand, and partially true and partially false, on the other. Then, the study sets out to look at the issue of equivalence, which has been traditionally beset by dichotomous thinking, from a fuzzy-logical perspective and discusses its theoretical implications.

Strategies Applied by Native and Non-native Translators to Transfer Polysyndeton: A case study on the Holy Qur’an

Mahvash Gholami, Seyedeh Asiyeh Moosavi Fard — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

‘Fa’ and ‘wa’ are two frequently used conjunctions in Arabic language creating a figure of speech called polysyndeton. As far as there is no exact equivalence in English possessing all functions of ‘fa’,it is unlikely to preserve this figure of speech in English translation of those sentences in which polysyndeton is created by ‘fa’.However, in the case of ‘wa’, polysyndeton can be kept in English translation because ‘wa’ and ‘and’ match in most functions (ten out of sixteen functions).In this research all verses in four surahs in the holy Qur’an containing this figure of speech were identified and their English translations by two native Arab and two non-native English speaking translatorswere compared. The results of the data analysis revealed that the translations by native translators (Mohammad Shakir and Talal Itani) were more ‘faithful’ to the original text. This could be due to the fact that they were aware of Arabic language tendency towards frequent use of conjunctions. On the other hand the non-native translators (Pickthal and Arberry) had a tendency towards higher degree of naturalness than the native translators. In these translations, the procedure of translation with different conjunction had the highest frequency for rendering the conjunctions.

A Study of Realia Translation Strategies in the Novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns”

Marzieh Khoramabadi, Samad Mirza Suzani — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The present study aimed at investigating the realia translation strategies used by Iranian translators in the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns”. To do so, the first twenty chapters of this best-seller novel were selected as the source text. Likewise, two Persian translations of this novel were chosen as the target text. While the first translation was carried out by a professional translator, the second translation was done by an amateur one. First, using Mikutytė’s (2005) model of realia, all the Cultural-Specific Items (SCIs) were extracted from the source text. These included 735 items. Then, each of the terms was compared with its two corresponding Persian translations to see what strategies have been used. The Researcher used Davies’ (2003) model of realia translation strategies. In addition, one more strategy was added to this model named normal translation. This referred to those cases when the translators had not used any of the seven translation strategies proposed by Davies (2003). As the findings of the study revealed, normal translation and preservation were the most frequent strategies used by both of the translators. While the professional translator used additions as the third most frequent strategy, the no-professional one tended to use omissions in most of the cases and this was detected to be the third most frequent strategy. Results also indicated statistically significant differences among the frequencies of the strategies in both translations.

The Influence of Hebrew Language on Nominal Group Elements in Judeo-Persian Translations of the Torah

Hamed Norouzi — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

In the past, the translators have typically chosen morpheme to morpheme or source-oriented method for the scriptures translations. In this method, the source text would have a great influence on syntactic structures of target language. One of the scriptures translated to Persian by this method is the Torah. Usually the translations of the Torah can be seen in Persian-Hebrew texts. Most of this translations belong to 4th to 8th century A.H. In this article the author seeks to review some influences of Hebrew language on Persian nominal group elements in Persian-Hebrew translations of the Torah. For this purpose, the modifiers, numerative adjective, agreement in number and etc. were reviewed. Eventually, we will see the translations of the Torah are more difficult and strict compared with other translations of scriptures, so that translators tried to literally enter syntactic structures of Hebrew in Persian language. In addition, the influence of Hebrew language in Persian-Hebrew texts is a lot in the field of word components order, average in phrase structure and low in morphology.

The Role of Poetics in Translations of Molana’s Mathnawi Poems Translated from Persian into English

Hussein Mollanazar, Zahra Fakoori — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The present paper is an attempt to find and discuss the poetics of poetry translation of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty first centuries of English language and to compare it with three translations of the Book One of the Mathnawi translated from Persian into English in order to understand the relation between the poetics of poetry translation of a particular time and its corresponding translation. To achieve this, first the poetics of poetry translation of these three centuries were found through library research. After that, each of these poetics was compared with the translation which was done with its corresponding time. The result made it clear that none of these three observed the poetics of their time. Although these translations were not in accordance with the poetics of poetry translation, this incongruity did not make them unacceptable.

The Relationship between Crystallized Intelligence and Translation Performance of Undergraduate Translation Students

Mahmood Azizi, Ghasem Moddaresi — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Translation students’ crystallized intelligence, as an important theme in the psychology of translation, has not been investigated by the professionals in the field of translation studies. Students majoring in English translation studies are not well familiar with the importance of knowing how to use their skills, knowledge and experience in their translation practice. To this end, the current study mainly aimed at: 1) examining the association between crystalized intelligence and translation performance of the undergraduate translation students, and 2) investigating if the participants’ age makes any difference between crystalized intelligence and translation performance of the undergraduate translation students.In doing so, a pool of 62 students majoring in Translation Studies participated in the study from different universities. The results confirmed that there was a large, positive correlation between crystallized intelligence and translation performance (r= .64, n=62, p<.05). Having divided the students into two groups including the first group (from 21 to 23) and the second group (from 23 to 25), the results obtained from Pillai’s statistics showed that the age of the participants could moderate between scores obtained from crystallized intelligence and scores obtained from translation performance. Finally, the study offered practical implications for both translation students and translation teachers.

Translation and Redefinition of Gender Schemas: A Study on Three Women Journals during Pahlavi Era

Farzaneh Farahzad, Zeinab Amiri, Fatemeh Javadi — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

This descriptive, library and function-oriented study examinedthe role of translation in changing, consolidating or redefining gender schemas of the audience in three women journalsof Pahlavi era. Gender schemas are acquired through socialization. They are patterns and information frameworks by which people recognize the values, norms and gender roles of society. Thus, three women journals belonging tofirst and second Pahlavi eras entitled "Ālam-e Nesvān", "Ālam-e Zanān"and "Bacheh Qashang" were selected. First, the amount of the translations and the thematic frequency of the translated materials were evaluated. Next, considering the social status of women and common gender schemas of the era, the respective role of translation in redefining this type of schema was analyzed. In other words, this study attempted to find the answer to this question, did translation in these publications serve to establish common gender schemas of the time or try to change, and provide new pattern?

Representation of Otherness in Persian Translations of English Travelogues: A Case Study of Glimpses of Life and Manners in Persia by Mary Lady Sheil

Hussein Mollanazar, Zeinab Amiri — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The paper at hand investigates the relationship of translation and otherness. It studies the role of the translator's ideology in representing the orientalist identity (the concept of other) given to Persians by European travelers. One of the most influential English travelogues written about Iran during Naser al-Din Shah Qajar era (1848–1896) by Mary Sheil—the wife of Justine Colonel Sheil—is thus employed. First, the study aims to see whether self/other binary opposition of orientalist identity is revealed in the travelogue the way Edward Said (1978) states. Second, the Persian translation is analyzed to understand how the translator represents the orientalist identity (if any) ascribed to Persians in the ST. To that end, Jensen's (2009) conceptualization of embracement and resistance is used. The collected ST units are classified into 4 thematic categories including: Persian Peoples, Ameer Kabeer, Persian Women and Religious Culture. It was found that the image of ST other (the way Said (1978) describes it) had been most resisted in Religious Culture and Ameer Kabeer, while Persian Women and Persian Peoples were mostly embraced.

Determining the Type and Weight of Clauses of Relational Process in Google Translate Persian into English by Translation Evaluation Model of HAR from Halliday's SFG

Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Lexico-grammar errors in 10 clauses of relational process, translated by Google Translate Persian into English, are analyzed from SFG using the HAR pattern designed by the authors. Since the ratio of the unmarked identified-identifier clauses to marked identified-identifier clauses and the ratio of unmarked carrier-attribute clauses to marked carrier-attribute clauses in Ph.D. thesis was 4 to 1, here 4 unmarked and 1 marked identified-identifier clauses and 4 unmarked and 1 marked carrier-attribute clauses have been deliberately selected to be investigated. HAR error codes of 2, 3, 4, and 6 which are considered as more serious errors due to having more direct relationship to textual and experimental metafunctions were less than other error codes, meaning these two metafunctions are considerably taken into account by Google Translate in relational process.

Dialogism and Polyphony: Silent Cry of Text

Sepideh Navabzadeh Shafi’i, Moluk Daneshmand — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Novel is inherently full of linguistic and paralinguistic subtleties. More than one actor is usually presented in novel; each of them has its own tone and speech by which they enter into interaction and dialog with each other. Through these conversations some parts of the actors’ identity along with the author’s intention is revealed to readers. This issue could be considered relevant to Bakhtinian concepts of dialogism and polyphony. According to Bakhtin, each narrative personality has its own voice (Ahmadi, 1393, p. 109) and finally all these different voices together form the literary text. Recognizing and reflecting these two phenomena in literary translation has great significance as it results in creating almost the same aesthetic-affective impact of the original text. In this qualitative-analytical study, the way of reflecting and transferring these features in translation is investigated; to this end, a contrastive analysis was applied to two different translations of Le père Goriot by Balzac. The results indicate that the translator’s awareness of coexisting voices in a text and ability to distinguish the various registers and tones of the actors end in preservation of dialogic and polyphonic nature of the original text; consequently by avoiding homogenization a more faithful translation has been provided.

Delving into Note-Taking Technique in Consecutive Interpreting: Academic Context in Focus

Shilan Shafiei, Mansoor Tavakoli, Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The present study is a short report on the broad research project of training and assessment of consecutive interpreting in English translation at B.A level in local universities. The focus of this report is on note-taking technique which is believed to be a major one in consecutive interpreting training based on the interpreting studies literature. The participants of the present research report were from Jahrom State University. These participants were exposed to a ten-week instruction of consecutive interpreting techniques one of which is note-taking. For an in-depth analysis of the application of this technique, after the administration of a 7-minuteaudio-visual test of interpretation and the collecting of the students’ note-taking sheets, a retrospective interview was utilized to scrutinize the process of note-taking applied by the trainees The results indicated that the note-taking technique can be employed as an aid to memory retention in the consecutive interpreting training classes.

Translational Versus Non-Translational Persian: A Corpus-Based Study of Children’s Literature

Helia Vaezian, Mohammad Reza Esfandiari — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The introduction of corpora into Translation studies is relatively new with the first corpus-based translation research carried out in the 1990s. It waswhen translation researchers started to use the quantitative data provided by language corpora to formulate hypotheses aboutsimilarities across all translated texts. The present research sets out to investigate into thesimilarities and differences between translational and non-translational Persian children’s literature. To this end, a small monolingual comparable corpus of Persian children’s literature comprising 53,208 words of translational and 53,715 words of non-translational prose fiction books is compiled. The researchers then use both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods to explore into the differences between translational and non-translational Persian children’s literature. The results areinterpreted in the light of Baker’s universals of translation and Toury’s law of interference. Our data supported Baker’s universals of translation as well as Toury’s law of interference in the context under study.

Barks and Distortion of Mowlana's Poems: Ideological Manipulation in Poetry Translation

Asma Sabermahani, Arezoo Pooryazdanpanah Kermani — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Every nation's literature is indicative of the beliefs, interests and culture of that nation and translation of literary works plays a significant role in conveying them to other nations. Unfortunately, sometimes due to the manipulation of the source text, many semantic and formal aspects of the literary work are not retained in the process of translation. Generally speaking, ideological manipulation might be applied consciously or unconsciously. It is sometimes applied consciously to distort the ideology of the poet or author of the source text. As a result, the target audience will be provided with a distorted and untrue image of that poet or author. The present study was aimed at investigating the issue of ideological manipulation in English translation of Mowlānā's poems and the consequence of the translator's manipulation of these poems. To this end, five poems were selected randomly from Dīvān-e Šams-e Tabrīzī and Masnavi-ye Ma'navi. Then, they were compared with their English translation rendered by Barks (1997) based on Zauberga's (2004) theory of ideological manipulation. The results of this study demonstrated that the most frequently applied strategy was deletion and the translator has presented a distorted and untrue image of this great Iranian poet and mystic to the West.

Translationese in Novels Translated from English into Persian

Mina Mirzaee, Salar Manafi Anari — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The present study was designed to examine the effect of translationese on the target texts. To reach this aim, the study relied on the two Persian translations of the three English novels, ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘Wuthering Heights’, and ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which were translated respectively under the titles, ‘ جین ایر’, ‘ بلندیهای بادگیر ’, and ‘ غرور و تعصب ’. In the first phase of the study, the investigator, based on Mollanazar’s (1990) model, randomly collected fifty English sentences with their two translations. In the second phase, the collected sentences were given in the format of a test to twenty undergraduate M.A. Students of translation studies at Allameh Tabataba’i University who were expected to indentify translationese, based on their linguistic knowledge, in any of the two target texts; and to underline the parts they found as translationese. The results of the research showed that translationese led to having difficulty of understanding and reading the target texts and unnaturalness. furthermore, as far as the percentage of translationese in 50 sentences are concerned, Reza Rezaee had performed better in his three translations of the respective novels which were also translated by Mehdi Afshar, Ali Asghar Bahram Beigi, and Shahrokh Pooranfar.

Applying Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis for the Investigation of Translation of Multimodal Texts Case study: Cinderella story, online version (Children’s Literature)

Mitra Mousavi — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The new era of communication has become increasingly multimodal in form. The use of texts accompanied by images, sounds and other modes is so prevalent that most websites are equipped with such communicative channels. According to the available definitions, these texts can be considered multimodal. Use of images in human communication dates back to a time before writing emerged. Modern human beings enjoy facilitated communication thanks to the writing being combined with images, color, and other modes. Instances of them can be observed in multimodal texts, such as advertisements, comic strips, magazines, newspapers, websites and picture books or even e-books that are widely used todays. By using the suggested model of Machin and Mayer (2013) and Kress (2010) to analyze discourses consisting of texts and images, the present study intends to investigate and compare the original version of Cinderella story with its translation, which are published in Disneyland and Koodakan websites respectively. The study also aims at examining the changes made in the process of translation from a semiotic point of view.

Psychological POV through Modality System in Three Persian Translations of Woolf's To the Lighthouse

Gholam Reza Tajvidi, Abolfazl Horri — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

This paper examines the ways in which the three translators have rendered psychological ‘point of view’ (PPOV) in their Persian translations of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse (TTL) through ‘modality’ system under so-called ‘translational narratology’ (TN). Having collected data manually rather than electronically from the forty five pages of the three parts of Woolf’s novel and its three Persian translations as a mini-corpus, this paper examines some frequent modals as ‘must’, ‘should’, ‘could’, and ‘might’ as the linguistic markers of PPOV through the modality system of English and Persian. With regard to ‘could’ as modality,the results show that the three Persian translators have tried, though through different Persian lexicon of ‘tavân’ and ‘shodan’, to translate ‘could’. As for 'must' as a deontic modal, Persian ‘bâyad’ plays an important role in the Persian language.In this sense, modality as qualifying the speaker’s statement or opinion has changed to an aspect expressing the habituality and the continuity of the action. The immediate result is that such changes if repeating frequently all through the translation, may affect the overall meaning of the text at the macro-level.

Loss and Gain in Poetic, Prose, & Explanatory Translations of the Holy Qur'ān

Salar Manafi Anari, Younes Mostafaei — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0430

The Qur'ān is an extremely rich source of wisdom, beauty, and Salvation, this is why in whose service so much time, money, and talent have been spent (Yusuf Ali, 1937, p. ix). Despite all these efforts the Book still remains highly challenging. The Holy Qur'ān with its divine nature, impregnable language, deepest meanings, and a pleasant melody still challenges translators. The prioritizing of, or better say, approximating some features of the Qur'ān by translators will result in loss of some other aspects in translations. The present research was carried out to find out which of the poetic, prose, and explanatory English translations of the Qur'ān have been more successful in preserving the form and meaning of the Holy Qur'ān using Nida and Taber’s framework (1969). The corpus of the study consisted of Surah Ya Sean and its three different English translations, namely poetic (by Fazlollah Nikayin), prose (by Arthur J. Arberry), and explanatory (by Yusuf Ali). The research found that the poetic translation is the one which has suffered the most in terms of both form and meaning. Prose translation has been the most successful in preserving the form and explanatory translation the most successful one in preserving the meaning.

Unintended Framing and Linguistic Habits: A Narrative Account

Farzaneh Farahzad, Kaveh Bolouri — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0430

This article draws on the notion of ‘narrative’ and ‘framing’ (Baker, 2006) to see whether or not the ideologically controversial aspects of the narratives encoded in Harry Potter book series have been framed in its Persian translations. In so doing, the article focuses on a Persian translation of one of the books of the series and examines the sites, in and around its text, at which the process of framing may be carried out. As with the sites inside the text, all cases of mismatch between the translated text and its source texts are examined and regarding the sites around the text, paratextual information is investigated. The result of the textual analysis showed many cases of mismatch which together led to a religiously charged text. However, this religious frame did not seem to be in line with the information found around the text. That is to say, the translator seemed to have unintentionally framed the text differently. In addition, based on the similarities between the tone of mismatches and the tone of paratextual information, it appeared that linguistic habits played a role in this reframing. To see if the translator had unintentionally reframed the source text, she was interviewed, and the result was positive. Also, similar mismatches were looked for in some other works of the same translator to see if linguistic habits had played a role and so many similar mismatches, which contributed to the same religious narratives, were found. Therefore, it appeared that, the translator influenced by her linguistic habits had reconfigured the narratives encoded in the source text unintentionally.

Translation Discourse in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh

Ali-Mohammad Poshtdar, Sohrab Saeedi — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Iranian poets and scholars’ propensity towards Persian-writing snowballed after the arrival of Islam. Islam entered non-Arab countries along with the Arabic language and strongly influenced languages of those nations. The Iranians were the only people that despite accepting the new religion maintained their national language and culture, yet made uninterrupted endeavor to retain the purview and Sharia of the Qur'an and the prophetic ma’surat, and translated many of those works into Persian. Ferdowsi (330-411 AH) is one of the fourth century literati, who insists on using his own national language and has shown this endeavor in the Shahnameh. Using content analysis approach, this paper intends to review the Shahnameh’s prologue lexicon as a sample in the field of translation discourse; it is anticipated that Ferdowsi has chosen around 90 percent of his words from Persian equivalents and knowledgeably avoids using Arabic lexicon.

Foregrounding and Backgrounding in the Holy Qur'ān and its English translations

Salar Manafi Anari, Maryam Ramezanpour Sobhani — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Unique linguistic and rhetorical features of the Holy Qur'ān have created many obstacles for translators. In the Qur'ān, form and content are closely interrelated, and word order has both semantic and rhetorical roles in verses. Concerning this, foregrounding and backgrounding in the Qur'ān realize some functions, and the present study was motivated by three research questions in this regard. The first question is whether the Qur'ān translators, in confronting foregrounding and backgrounding in the verses, produce marked or unmarked translations; and the other two questions are whether there is any difference between the translators in dealing with such verses regarding their native languages. In this regard, the Surah Al-An'ām and three English translations done by Arberry, Abdel Haleem, and Saffarzadeh were selected to be studied by considering the Hallidayan approach in determining markedness in English. The findings of the research illustrate that in less than one third of the cases, the translators have used marked structures. Abdel Haleem has the least number of marked translations. So the results show that it is not always the case that Qur'ān translators render such marked phrases by marked structures in English, and also it seems that the translators' native languages do not cause preference in this regard.

Observing both Accuracy and Beauty in Translating Islamic Terms of the Holy Qur'ān: (IM)POSSIBLE?

Mahmoud Afrouz, Hussein Mollanazar — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0430

Accuracy, naturalness, clarity, and formal correspondence are considered by translation scholars to be features of ‘Good Translation’. Preservation of all these features does not seem to be always necessary and/or feasible. Therefore, sometimes one feature may be required to be sacrificed for the sake of another. The significance of some expressive religious texts, like the Holy Qur'ān, does not consist merely in its content. The formal beauty or aesthetic features of this greatest literary work cannot simply be neglected. Now, the issue is whether it is practical to preserve both accuracy of the content and beauty of the form as much as possible, or the translator would have no choice but to sacrifice one. In the present paper, the Holy Qur'ān and its 14 English translations were studied and compared based on Aixela’s model. Among the translators, only the Iranian great scholar and poet, professor Nikayin, was the only translator presenting a poetic rendition of the Holy Qur'ān, and therefore, the only one who had attempted to preserve the beauty of the miraculous work. He was also proved to be successful in accurately rendering the concepts underlying Islamic Term and Concepts (ITCs). It was concluded that capable and highly creative translators would potentially be able to observe both the formal beauty and the content of ST, simultaneously.

The Appropriateness of the Vocabularies Applied in Children’s Translated Literature: A Corpus-based Approach

Mina Zandrahimi, Azadeh Sharifi Moghaddam — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0430

In order to facilitate any communication with child’s world, the level of difficulty and size of the vocabularies used for children is expected to be lower than adult’s literature so that the comprehension of the translated children text can become easier for children. This research intended to answer the following question: Are the vocabularies prepared in the children’s translated book in Persian appropriate for their age group in comparison with the Persian core vocabularies? The present study claimed to be descriptive and qualitative in its approach to translation. The following paper was based on descriptive translation studies proposed by Toury. Moreover the corpus applied in the research was monolingual comparable corpus. To answer the research question, the following procedures were attempted: 64 stories from different publications and the Iranian primary school core vocabularies, prepared by the Organization for Educational Research and Programming, ministry of education of Iran whose organizer was doctor Nematzade, were compared. The research revealed that the vocabularies in the children’s translated books were not completely appropriate for their age group in comparison with the core vocabularies.

A Study of Radif in a Ghazal by Hafiz and its Russian Translation

Mahnush Eskandary, Ali Saeidi — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0330

This study examines the Russian translation of a ghazal by Hafiz and shows the difficulties of ghazal translation. The special features and qualities of poetry which are absent in prose render poetry translation more challenging. The present paper studies how radif in a ghazal by Hafiz is translated into Russian. Moreover, the semantic, syntactic, morphological and cultural features of radif are analyzed. Since form and content are highly intertwined in Hafiz poems, translation of radif becomes even more difficult. The results of the study revealed that the translator could not reach the deepest layers of Hafiz poem and produce an acceptable translation.

The Impact of Ideology on Strategies Applied in Persian Dubbings of Sponge Bob Square Pants

Farzaneh Khodabandeh, Katayoon Afzali — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0330

Audiovisual translation (AVT) is a challenging type of translation mainly because of its multimodal nature; in other words, when translating an audiovisual (AV) product, in addition to linguistic content, visual aspects of an image need to be taken into consideration. This study suggests a new line of research in the analysis of AV materials focusing on characterization. The aims of the current study were twofold: 1) investigating the traces of ideology in localization and adaptation strategies used by dubbers in the translation of cartoons, and 2) examining any changes in characterization resulting from applying localization and adaptation strategies. To this end, first, a corpus of fourteen episodes of the Sponge Bob Square Pants series and two of its translations conducted by GEM Junior and Pooya TV were selected. Then, first, the strategies used by dubbers in translating cartoons based on Bastin's (2005) adaptation model were discerned; next, to specify the reasons for which the strategies were applied, Chaume's (2002) model of signifying codes was used. After that, based on the adaptation and localization strategies used by dubbers, the ideologies of the two cartoon channels and the ideology of Iran's society regarding the concept of childhood were identified. The findings revealed that while transcription was the most frequently used strategy in GEM Junior TV, situational/cultural adequacy was the most frequent strategy used in Pooya TV. The findings indicated that Pooya TV's translation was target-oriented, translating in a way that is more familiar and acceptable in target culture. However, GEM Junior TV's translation was source-oriented and used a street talk language in some parts. Also, the findings of the study showed that in Pooya TV's dubbed version, some characters were delineated to be less impolite and violent.

Manifestations of Otherness in Audiovisual Products

Hamideh Nemati Lafmejani, Fatemeh Parham — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0330

The present study intended to develop and test a model to study the manifestations of Otherness in animations. To this end, three existing models—Di Giovanni (2007) and Bosinelli, Di Giovanni and Torresi (2005), Di Giovanni (2003) and Lippi-Green (1997)—were modified and integrated. The developed model was then tested with a corpus of nine American animated movies with multicultural setting/characters. Based on the findings of the corpus analysis and the identification of cases that were not subsumed under any category of the model, the model was further developed into a comprehensive one. The study revealed that American film industry benefits from dichotomizing Self and Other and stereotyping the Other in animations.

Journal Citations in the Iranian Journal of Translation Studies: A Bibliometrical Analysis

Hamid Varmazyari — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0330

The development of the field of Translation and Interpreting Studies requires applying new methods of analysis and interpretation. One such means is bibliometrics, to use the term in a general sense, which helps researchers in analyzing scholarly publications. Taking a bibliometric approach, the present paper analyzes citations to a selection of translation and interpreting international journals in the articles published in the Iranian Journal of Translation Studies during a period of 10 years in order to investigate the popularity, accessibility and citability of such journals. In so doing, this study, while touching upon the notion of quality, also sheds lights on some advantages of introducing bibliometrics into translation and interpreting studies and serves as a source of information concerning these journals and journal ranking. The results found Meta, Target and Across Languages and Cultures as the three most cited journals and some relationship between journal accessibility and popularity/citability.

Translation of Metaphors about Shirin in Shirin wa Khosrow Poem

Giti Faraji, Ali Mohammad Poshtdar — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0330

Translating literary texts compared to other text types entails more difficulties. The main characteristic of this kind of texts is the application of words in their figurative senses; that is, the use of metonymy, simile and metaphor. This is usually realized through the avoidance of explicitation and the primary meaning of the words and sentences. The present study intends to examine a number of metaphors about Shirin in Shirin wa Khosrow poem and their translations into Arabic to find out what strategies are used to translate the metaphors. The results of the study revealed that several strategies were used to render metaphors about Shirirn. Some metaphors are translated literally, some are substituted by an equivalent metaphor in the target language and some are translated into Arabic using a descriptive-explanatory note.

Strategies Opted for in Translating Twelve Categories of Quranic Terms

Mahmoud Afrouz, Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0330

The present study is an attempt to touch upon the Quranic terms and the strategies being opted for in their translations. To facilitate analyzing the data, the following steps have been taken: (a) classifying Quranic terms and their English equivalents (b) specifying the strategies of rendering them through applying Ordudari and Mollanazar’s (2016) model (based on Aixela’s (1996) model), (c) determining the frequency of each translation strategy (d) and examining the existence of a relationship between the frequency of a strategy and its effectiveness. It was found out that 40% of all Islamic terms and concepts belong to proper names (PNs) and 52% of PNs consist of God’s name. There has also been no conspicuous regularity or consistency in the strategies employed in rendering Quranic terms. Aixela’s general strategies of ‘conservation’ and ‘substitution’ have been identified as the least and the most frequently employed strategies, respectively. Finally, as far as the sub-strategies are concerned, ‘synonymy’ and ‘linguistic translation’ were found to be the most repeatedly used ‘substitution’ and ‘conservation’ strategies, respectively. The two least often utilized conservation strategies are ‘repetition’ and ‘intertextual gloss’. From among the substitution strategies, ‘autonomous creation’ and ‘deletion’ has been used less than the rest. Finally, neither of the potentially most effective strategies of EG, IG, EC and IC were found to be the most frequently used strategy. Interestingly, IG and EG are even less repeated than the least helpful strategies of OA and AU.

Translation and Intersubjectivity

Shabnam Naderi, Farzaneh Farahzad — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0430

As a branch of philosophy, ethics is mainly concerned with regulations which govern interpersonal relationships in communications and secure social order within societies. Translation as a site for the realization of cultural transfer and interpersonal relationships has embraced moral overtones throughout history and has proved a fertile ground in studying ethics. Moreover, involving multiple subjects, translating invokes an ethics which governs actions and reassures parties of the legitimacy of their activity. The present research, conducted at a macro-level, studied ethics in translation through an integrated model. The data in this study were classified according to Chesterman's (2001) five models of translation ethics. Then, situated in Jurgen Habermas' model of communicative rationality as reconstructed by Liu Weidong (2011) within the field of translation studies, the classified data were further elaborated on. The present research introduces the integrated model for studies both at micro and macro levels and provides a general account of how principles of ethics are at work when an Iranian context is concerned.

A CDA Analysis of News Headlines in Translation: The Case of Persian and English

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper, written within van Dijk's social-cognitive approach (van Dijk 1988, 1995, 1998a, 1998b), attempts to investigate certain ideological aspects of news headlining in an English-Persian translation context. Some news headlines translated into Persian have been chosen through a self-selection process in order to be compared with their English originals. The analysis of sample data suggests that the polarization of Self versus Other is generally influenced by translators'/target news producers' (dis)approval of the ideological content of the source headlines in question, and is realized through maintaining, manipulating or excluding original headlines in the target news stories. These translation strategies are typically served through the purposeful application of linguistic expressions (both at lexical and grammatical levels) or non-linguistic elements (such as images, photos and graphic drawings).

Translation in Children's Magazines between 2004 and 2008 and Suggestions for Qualitative Improvements

Saeed Ghafari, Pegah Ghiassi — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

The present research intends to examine translations in Iranian children’s magazines published between 2004 and 2008 and offers some suggestions for the qualitative improvement of translations in such magazines. The paper also aims at identifying the areas which are ignored in children's magazines; these purposes are fulfilled using content analysis of the corpus of the study; six translation-related questions are posed and the paper has attempted to provide answers to these questions through the analysis of the corpus. In the end, based on the obtained results, some suggestions are made for the qualitative improvement of translations in these magazines.

The Relationship between Imagination and Translation Ability of Iranian Translation Students

Hamid Marashi, Fahimeh Arefnia — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

This research was conducted in order to determine whether there was a relationship between Iranian translation students’ translation quality and their level of imagination. To this end, a production test of translation (a nontechnical text of around 200 words selected from a sample TOEFL reading section) and a standardized imagination questionnaire (translated into Farsi for easier comprehension) were administered to 310 students of English translation at Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch. Out of this total, 205 completed both tests and were thus included in this study: 145 BA students and 60 MA students. The study followed an ex post facto design with no treatment. The subsequent data analysis following the administration of both tests showed a significant correlation between the participants’ translation quality and their level of imagination; furthermore, a linear regression analysis revealed that imagination was a significant predictor of Iranian translation students’ translation ability.

Principle of Preserving Information Unmarkedness and Its Implications for Translation

Habib Gowhary — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

Information structure theory as one of the latest developments in linguistics can have implications for translation. The distribution of old and new information in a given discourse can affect linguistic coding in morphological, syntactic and phonological areas. This study pursues three goals; first, a principle under the title of "Preservation of Information Unmarkedness" is introduced which is a vital factor in linguistic coding of mental referents and propositions. Second, the effects of this principle on linguistic coding at morphological, phonological and syntactic areas are analyzed contrastively in English and Persian. Third, some of the implications of this contrastive study for translation are presented. The findings of the study revealed that the said principle in both languages affects the linguistic coding in all areas of syntax, morphology and phonology, but in different ways. The results also imply that translators should be more careful in replacing the morphological forms of source language, and more relaxed in translation of syntactic structures and prosodic patterns of SL. In other words, in these two latter areas (syntax and prosody), a literal translation has a higher chance of success than in morphology.

Translation, Hybridity and Migration

Farnaz Safdari, Hussein Mollanazar — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

Translation studies as an interdisciplinary approach has brought together many disciplines such as psychology, literature, philosophy and more recently cultural studies besides many other fields. Apart from the growth each of these fields has brought to translation theories, the expansion of cultural studies and especially post-colonialism into the field has made the borderline between cultural studies and translation studies fuzzier. As a result of this and following the cultural turn in translation studies, micro-level considerations have given way to macro-level ones, viewing translation in the larger context of culture as a whole. This study, having the same concerns, aims at exploring textual and cultural hybridity in the English translation of The Blind Owl translated in the migration setting.

Expansion, Reduction and Correspondence in English Translations of the Poems of Hafiz

Salar Manafi Anari — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

This research is a contrastive analysis and comparative study of four English translations of some poems of Hafiz in order to find the frequency of lexical expansion, reduction, and correspondence in the translations. The theoretical framework is lexical expansion and reduction proposed by Nida and Taber (1969), but the researcher has also added »lexical correspondence«, as the third strategy, to those two. In analyzing the English translations, the researcher investigated the corpus to see which one of the three strategies is most frequently and which one is least frequently used in the translations. The result shows that lexical expansion is the most frequently used strategy, and lexical reduction is the least frequently used one in the translations studied. The reasons for this result are: firstly, definite and indefinite articles as well as various prepositions are widely used in the English language; secondly, Persian poetry is highly condensed and compact from semantic point of view; therefore, when it is translated into English, it will be in need of being expanded and explained; thirdly, most of the translators are usually inclined to have their translations explicit, free of any ambiguity, and intelligible for the readers.

Information Structure and Translation in Quranic Texts

Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

Verb-initial constructions do not have the same information structure as noun-initial structures in Traditional Arabic – the language of the Qur'an. Translating Arabic noun-initial verbal constructions which are marked, into other languages like Persian and English, which in their unmarked order place subject in the initial position, requires thorough investigation. Initial nouns in verbal constructions play a specific part in discourse, and hence are pragmatically different from VSO structures in Arabic. Consequently, when translating these constructions we need to take great care of their syntactic structure. Persian, in comparison to English, because of its more flexible word order, provides more freedom in incorporating extralinguistic factors.

A Study of the Transference of Simile Components in Persian and English Translations of the Qur'an

Omid Akbari, Mohammad Yazdani, Azam Ghamkhah — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

This article presents a comparison of translators’ strategies in translating the figurative language of the Qur'an. In recent years, some research has been done on Qur'an translation, but little attention has been given to the methods of translating figurative language of this Holy Book. To this end, all the similes of the Qur'an were selected as samples for research and the changes of similes during the transference into Persian and English translations were examined. The statistical test of Chi Square was used to show the significance of translation differences in transferring similes' components. The results revealed that some changes occur in the process of transferring simile components, but there is no significant relationship between partial point of similarity and explicitation strategy in Qur'an translation.

Improving the Translation of Idioms by Google Translate

Vahid Reza Mirzaeian — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

One of the most challenging and difficult aspects of translation is related to the translation of idioms by both machine systems and human translators. The problem arises from the recognition of the idioms on the one hand and translating them on the other hand. Idiom recognition is not easy since an idiom may change its form based on the context in which it is used. Using systematic idiom collections and special rules to recognize idioms, the problem can be solved to a great extent. Moreover, the inclusion of a morphological as well as syntactic parser can greatly enhance the idiom recognition and translation process. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we want to test Google Translate to see how well it is capable of translating idioms and next to provide means to improve the quality of translation of idioms by Google Translate.

A Review of the Development of Translation Evaluation Models and the Proposal of an Eclectic Model

Sirwan Aminzadeh, Mohsen Mobaraki — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

Translation evaluation is a delicate process which plays a pivotal role in translator training; it is a means by which translation education can fulfil its objectives. The importance of evaluation has led to many studies and researches during the last decades and various models have been presented for translation assessment. The reason behind the shift from one model to the next seems to be the quest for greater objectivity. This paper seeks to illustrate to what extent this objectivity is realized in different models of assessment. Besides, these models are appraised based on five criteria of an acceptable evaluation; at the end, a new eclectic model is proposed.

Identity in Translation

Farzaneh Farahzad, Samar Ehteshami — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

The current study was designed to investigate how identity-reflecting items have been translated from Persian into English. To identify identity-reflecting items, Spivak’s model of language and Thriveni’s taxonomy of cultural items had been used. Moreover, Chesterman’s taxonomy of translation strategies was applied to enable the researcher to compare source text with the translated text. Three categories of identity-reflecting items were identified; namely, rhetorical items, cultural items, and silenced items. All of these items were first traced in the Persian texts and then compared with their respective translations. Upon analysis of the data, it became apparent that for each category certain translation strategies were used and strategies appeared to overlap to some extent.

Gender and Ideology in Translation with a Critical Discourse Analysis Approach

Tahereh Ahamdipour, Ozra Rezaee — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

This paper examines the relationship between gender of the translator and the extent to which his/her ideology is reflected in his/her translation. The study uses a descriptive methodology with an ex-post facto design and analyses the data within the framework of critical discourse analysis as applied to translation by Farahzad. The 24 subjects participating in this study were selected through purposive sampling and with an equal number in both genders. They were given certain texts to translate and their translations were analysed within CDA framework. The results showed that both male and female participants had reflected their ideology in their translations, while this proved to have a greater frequency in male translations. Moreover, since all the participants were Iranian, compliments, which is a known Iranian cultural element, were also studied; for this purpose, the participants were asked to translate a particularly selected text from Persian into English; the analysis of their translations revealed that both male and female translators reflect compliments in their translations, but this time, it had a higher frequency in female translations.

The Efficiency of Argumentative Approach to Translation Quality Assessment of Literary Texts, Based on Malcolm Williams' Article

Zahra Ataee, Amin Karimnia — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

In the present paper two different Persian translations of Jibran K. Jibran’s The Prophet are objectively assessed using Argumentative Approach. Then, the efficiency of the approach in identifying, comparing and contrasting the drawbacks and strengths of the two translations is examined. The findings revealed that the Argumentative Approach was not able to identify the obvious stylistic differences between the two literary translations studied, as were identified by Vinay and Darbelnet's model. Finally, the researchers suggested some modifications for this approach in order to improve its efficiency.

Shift of Addressee in the Qur'an and Its Realizations in English and Persian Translations

Shohreh Shahsavandi, Omid Khanehzad — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0330

Shift of addressee is one of the main issues in the Qur'an which has not yet been properly investigated; its determining function, as a result, needs focus and attention. While expounding on the concept itself within the Revelation, this paper has attempted to examine the problems of some English and Persian renderings of the Qur'an with respect to the shift of addressee and has then tried to offer some solutions to them. The results obtained indicate that the translators clearly lacked proper knowledge of the concept of shift of addressee and the oral language of the Qur'an. In brief, a total number of 2181 verses with vocative architecture were found in the Qur'an among which 62 verses involved shift of addressee, and were analyzed under four categories of context-based, stylistic, strategic and language-based.

The Relationship of Attitude towards Literature and the Quality of Literary Translation

Sarvnaz Khatib — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0330

The present study is an attempt to investigate the relationship between the attitudes of translators towards literature and the quality of their literary translations. To this end, 32 students majoring in English translation were selected as the participants of the study; an attitude questionnaire was devised and administered to estimate the attitudes of the translator trainees towards various aspects of literature; they were then asked to translate extracts of two short stories – ‘Father and I’ and ‘The Rocking Horse Winner’. The translations were rated and the results were compared with their responses to the attitude questionnaire. It was revealed that there is indeed a significant positive correlation between translator trainees’ attitudes towards literature and the quality of their renderings of literary texts. Therefore, to promote a more fruitful instruction on literary translation, it is suggested that translation teachers attempt to implant positive attitudes towards literature in translator trainees by applying effective methodology, selecting appropriate material and creating an amiable ambience where students can voice and rely on their personal interpretations of literary texts.

A Cognitive Approach to Translation of Conceptual Metaphors in Documentary Films

Azita Afrashi, Ghasem Vadipoor — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper favors a cognitive approach to metaphor launched by Lakoff and Johnson’s influential book, Metaphors We Live By (1980). The aim of the study is to identify the aspects of similarities and differences of conceptual expressions between the source and target languages, and try to explore the translation strategies used by the translators based on the most outstanding translation hypothesis proposed by Kovecses (2005). The corpus comprises two collections of documentary films which are nine hundred minutes altogether. The results obtained from the comparison of linguistic and cultural peculiarities of the metaphorical expressions between the two languages revealed that similarities in metaphorical expressions increase translatability, while differences hinder the translation process. The analysis also showed that the translators tended to copy the original and reproduce in the TT the same image as given in the ST. It seemed that the tendency towards isomorphism is resulted from the translators' poor knowledge concerning cognitive approach as related to conceptual metaphors.

The Evaluation of Translations of Three Persian Systems of Machine Translation, Based on Catfords’ Shifts

Mohammad Hossein Ghorashi, Sirwan Aminzadeh — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0330

Since in the process of machine translation the source author is a human but the target translator is a machine, and up to now the human performance has been structurally and lexically more developed than that of the machines, sampling of human’s translation is more profitable for machine translation. This adherence makes the system ready to encounter the precise grammatical strategies of the source text efficiently. Emphasizing this conforming, the authors of this study try to scrutinize the performance of three systems of MT (Pars, Padide, and Google), translating from English into Persian, to see to what extent they could observe this point. Systems' translations are examined on the basis of Catford's shifts and are then compared to corresponding human translations. Then a statistical analysis of machines' performances in contrast to human performance is done; it is revealed that although Google's performance is much better than that of Pars and Padide, these systems still need to be improved to efficiently cope with complicated structures.

Translating Legal Texts during the Qajar Era and Its Impact: An investigation into translation settings, trends and styles

Zahra Alizadeh Birjandi, Hasan Emami, Somayeh Raja’i — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0330

Qajar thinkers, in quest of the reasons of Iran's backwardedness and innovative reformations, focused on the translation of western works in differing fields. Since the absence of law and legal structures was considered as the chief reason of Iran's backwardedness, a serious approach was developed towards legal works and law books of European countries. An investigation of the translated works in this field as well as the style of the translators may illustrate the effects of translations and their stylistic features on the concept of law and relevant institutions in Qajar society. The present paper examines the role of these translations and analyses their styles; it also focuses on the dominance of the writing style and its outcomes.

Developing a Valid Scale for Translation Quality Assessment in the Undergraduate Translator Training Program

Gholamhassan Famil Khalili — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0330

The rapid expansion of translator training which is highly interrelated with the socio-cultural and economical developments in our country has underscored the need for efficient translation quality assessment (TQA). Unfortunately most of the works addressing TQA focus on the theoretical domain and the ones which have taken a practical stance to TQA mostly lack the necessary empirical robustness. The research reported here was conducted in order to address one of the fundamental requirements in TQA at the undergraduate translator training program. It involved development of a scale for TQA based on a well-established theory of translation competence – the PACTE (2003) multicomponential model. Three experienced raters used the developed scale for rating more than two hundred translation protocols written by undergraduate university students coming from three universities. Eventually the validity of the scale was established through calculation of different reliability estimates as well as running an exploratory factor analysis of the ratings.

On Translatability or Untranslatability of Discourse of Satire

Mohammad Ghazanfari — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0330

Contemporary Persian literature, especially, on the eve of the Constitutional Movement (1905-9) and afterwards, considers “satire” as a literary genre in which social and political injustice and flaws are underscored in a humorous language. This article, on the basis of Nida’s “principle of equivalent effect” (1966), asks if satire can transcend the geographical and cultural frontiers. The author maintains that, from a translational perspective, texts of satire may be divided into two main groups: ‘form-oriented’ and ‘meaning-oriented’ – the former, usually containing figures of speech, hardly translatable. The discussion proceeds by presenting instances of satire in both English and Persian and the difficulties on the way of translators.

“Self” and “Other”, Deforming Translation Tendencies and Untranslatability from Antoine Berman’s Perspective

Mehran Zendehboudi — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0330

Translation has always been a space for the encounter of "self" and "other". Most of the French translation scholars and philosophers such as Jean-René Ladmiral, Jacques Derrida, Emmanuel Lévinas and even Paul Ricoeur have concerned themselves with these two concepts. One of the contemporary translation scholars who has based his translational approach upon these concepts is Antoine Berman. The present paper deals with the significant features of these two concepts within the frame of translation theories. Moreover, it briefly reviews what Berman has called “deforming translation tendencies”. The concepts of Self and Other lead us to “untranslatability”. The last section of this paper studies Mounin and Du Bellay's approaches.

Dynamic Assessment of Interpreting Students’ Listening Abilities

Karim Shabani — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 +0430

Enamored with the ambition of providing a more nuanced picture of learners' underlying potential and future-in-the-making, Vygotsky spearheaded an innovative assessment procedure more aptly known as Dynamic Assessment (henceforth DA) which serves simultaneously as an evaluative and instructional practice to diagnose learners' specific areas of difficulties and to promote those which are in the state of ripening (Vygotsky, 1978; Poehner & Lantolf, 2005; Poehner, 2009). DA currently in vogue in developmental psychology is getting prolifically utilized by the interested scholars in adjacent disciplines (Lantolf, 2001; Poehner, 2005; Antón, 2008; Ableeva, 2008) with the goal in mind to revitalize the potential applications of Vygotsky's Socio-cultural Theory (SCT) of mind and his revolutionary concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) for the assessment of learners' linguistic abilities. This study, more evocative of Vygotsky's SCT perspective on human's mental functioning, was designed to test the feasibility of dynamic assessment as an assessment and instructional procedure to diagnose and promote the listening abilities of interpreting students in classroom context. Poehner's (2009) recently introduced group-based (G-DA) and concurrent format of DA served as the theoretical basis for the construction of our assessment procedures. Concurrent and interactionist G-DA protocols were collected over a time span of eight weeks of instruction. Microgenetic and qualitative excerpts of G-DA protocols are provided to illustrate the effects of G-DA interactions on the students' listening abilities. The results indicated that the G-DA instructions can better diagnose the students' sources of difficulties at the time of listening to the news broadcasts and help promote those which are in the state of maturation. The G-DA interactions had the function of moving the entire class forward in its ZPD while co-constructing ZPDs with individual students within the social microcosm of the classroom context. Finally, it is argued that the G-DA has the potential to serve as an innovative teaching and assessment procedure to enhance the students' listening abilities in interpreting classes.

Translation of Simile in the Holy Qur’an

Bahareh Zamani, Abbas Emam — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0330

Translators of the Holy Qur’an have a number of concerns. Among them, figures of speech are likely to play a major role. Taking this fact into account, the present study sets out to investigate one of the main categories of figures of speech, namely simile, in the Holy Qur’an and its five English translations by Shakir (1985), Arberry (1955), Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1996), Pickthall (1996), and Saffarzadeh (2001) to find out which patterns have been opted for in the translation of simile. To collect and analyze the data, the following steps were taken: first, a number of Quranic similes and their equivalents in the five English translations were identified. Next, the English translations were analyzed in order to extract the patterns used by each translator in rendering the Arabic similes. Finally, the distribution of the translators' preferred patterns was presented in separate tables for subsequent analysis and discussion. The researchers' analysis revealed the translators' concern for observing faithfulness to the extent possible.

On Fronted Themes in Translation of Dramatic Texts into Persian: A Corpus-based Study of Markedness in Translation

Mir Saeed Mousavi Razavi — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 +0430

Conducted within the comparative research model in translation studies, the present work is a descriptive-analytical corpus-based study addressing the translation of fronted themes, as the main category of marked structures, from English into Persian. The corpus built for the purpose of this study is a parallel one comprising 3500 English sentences appearing in two plays by Arthur Miller along with their Persian translations. Having studied all these sentences, a total of 145 marked (NCWO) items were spotted out of which 98 ones were instances of fronted themes. These were extracted along with their Persian counterparts and were further classified into three sub-categories of fronted time/place adjuncts, fronted objects/complements, and fronted predicators. Comparative analyses of these items and their Persian renditions revealed that about 61% of all the fronted themes had been translated into marked Persian sentences while nearly 38% had unmarked renditions, and a negligible 1% had been left untranslated. However, the overall results by no means represent the ratio of marked translations-unmarked translations within this category of marked structures since there are drastic variations in the results pertaining to markedness correspondence in translation of different sub-categories of fronted themes. These sub-categories and their variations are discussed at length separately. The results and discussions presented show how important it is to handle markedness phenomena carefully in translation and how the translators' failure to do so can result in translations which are propositionally similar but communicatively different.

An Investigation of Negation in Persian Translations of the Holy Qur’an

Mehrzad Mansouri — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 +0430

This study has investigated negation in Persian translations of the Holy Qur’an. A typological study of negation in different languages illustrates that negative elements can generally be classified into two categories: standard negation used in negating basic sentences, and other negative elements like negative adverbs and negated adverbs. Languages use some or all types of negation devices. The study of negation in translations reveals the changes and developments in negation in Modern Persian. It also shows that in some translations negation has been presented as a free morpheme appearing in differing positions, from the right most part of a sentence to almost the left most part attaching as a prefix to the verb. This research also indicates that the base, to which the negative marker is attached, affects the selection of appropriate morphological form. The findings of this study suggest that translations of the Holy Qur’an can be useful sources for translation studies in general and Persian translation studies in particular.

Functions of Translation in Nations’ Literature: The Case of Persian and Arabic Literature

Ebrahim Mohammadi, Hassan Emami — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 +0430

Translation is one of the primary ways to cross the borders of one literature and enter “another's” territory and it is a means to prevent the literature of a nation from retreating and consequently declining. The present study therefore attempts to show the role of translation in creating and directing the relations between literatures of different nations. It also tries to illustrate that translation has an outstanding position in comparative literature. To achieve this goal, first some functions of translation in literature (the effect of the text selected for translation on the target language literature, understanding the history of nations through the study of translated works, the effect of translation on the history of nations, and arousing the interest of target language recipients towards the literature of source language) are presented. Then, to show the mutual effect of Persian and Arabic literatures, the most prominent functions of translations from Pahlavi into Arabic are reviewed; these functions include: establishment of historiography in Arabic culture and literature, creation of fables with political themes, use of dialogue and debate in the structure of literary texts, expansion of narrative literature, etc.

A Comparative Study of Translation at Colonial and Post-Colonial Periods in Iran

Hussein Mollanazar, Mohammad Reza Hosseini — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 +0430

The present paper studies the impacts of colonialism on translation within the framework of post-colonial paradigm. To this end, two translations of Haji Baba of Ispahan written by James Morrier, which were carried out during colonial and post-colonial periods, are compared with each other and with the original. This book is a sarcastic story about Iran and Iranian tenets and morale and was later considered a serious book and taught to British Army officers in India who were supposed to go to Iran on mission. The first translation belongs to Mirza Habib Esfahani who translated the book during the rule of Qajar dynasty – which is a period in the history of Iran known for the intervention of colonizing powers. The second translation is done by Mehdi Afshar and is translated after Islamic Revolution in 1979 which is considered the post-colonial period. In the comparison process, expansions and reductions were extracted, analyzed and categorized. Results reflected negative reaction of translators against colonization and colonizers which were more serious during the colonization period and a little subsided in the post-colonial period. It is worth mentioning that the reaction of translators was in line with their political orientation during their lives, according to their biographies.

Translation of Regional Expressions in Two English Translations of Savushun

Saeed Taki, Zahra Beheshtirooi — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 +0430

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.

Translation of Marked Structures in English Novels

Habibollah Mashhady, Mahbubeh Noura — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 +0430

Translation is a complex activity which requires competence in different aspects. Since translation involves linguistic competence, it is essential for translators to be aware of language differences. The purpose of this study is to identify and categorize the different strategies used by Persian translators in marked structures in the following works: The Old Man and the Sea, Animal Farm, Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. In doing so, the above English novels are selected as the literary source texts to be compared closely with their corresponding translated texts in Persian. Based on the results, most of fronted structures are translated into marked structures and most of cleft-structures are rendered into unmarked structures. The reasons underlying the differences of methods between two types of marked structures can be explained in terms of marked structures in Persian language. Since this research is about literary and written texts, it is proper to do it on the audiovisual texts like films and describe the translation of markedness in subtitling.

Translation Quality Assessment: Assessing Concept or Construct?

Reza Rezvani, Mehdi Riazi, Rahman Sahragard — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 +0430

The practice of translation quality assessment is intimately tied to and framed by the theoretical assumptions and beliefs about quality translation and translation quality, regardless of whether they are explicitly articulated or tacitly fostered. Thinking through these theoretical quality assessment underpinnings can aid assessment researchers and practitioners to develop deeper understanding of translation quality and hence its assessment. While translation assessment literature abounds with traditional, narrow approach of forcing translation quality into artificially neat dichotomous or polytomous divisions, we tend to argue that this approach is unhelpful as it proved to be unable to engender a common shared platform of discourse among assessment theorists and practitioners, particularly when it comes to translation assessment in education. It also appears that the concept of translation quality has been confused for the construct of translation ability. Maintaining that quality impinges on quality performance which, itself, is underlied by the construct of translation ability, we argue that we need to turn the debate on and the quest for the hardly practically applicable polar divisions to more theoretical and empirical characterization of what quality generates from. As a step forward, we further suggest that translation researchers and testers address the relationship between translation competence and translation performance in the context of translation assessment research and practice.

Rethinking Elements of Métissage in Cultural Hybridity

Katayoun Davallou — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 +0430

Originally a key term in biology where it referred to the off-spring of mixed origins, the concept of hybridity gained a new dimension with the rise of cultural studies. In relation to translation, the two major patterns of hybridity appear to be cultural and textual hybridity. To determine the elements of the former pattern, this research, in a meta-analysis study, revisited the concept in translation studies as well as cultural, postcolonial, and diasporic studies. The findings indicate that cultural hybridity appears to be ever marked by miscegenation (interracial, intercultural, or intersocial), oppression (political or cultural), immigration (real or virtual), contact (unidirectional or bi-directional), and assimilation (of the oppressed or the oppressive).

English Translations of the Holy Qur’an: A Bibliography

Ramin Khanbagi — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0330

This paper attempts to illustrate that besides the practical impossibility of exact rendition of Sacred Texts, especially those belonging to a totally different cultural background, the exact translation of the Holy Qur’an poses yet another difficulty, i.e. the speculative impossibility of rendering a Sacred Text that proclaims itself to be the Word of God. For this very reason, in some translations, it is explicitly stated in the introductory essay or highlighted in the title, that what is at hand is nothing but an interpretation or a reading of the original text. Moreover, the author has tried to shed light on some typical errors made by Muslims as well as non-Muslims, in their handling of Quranic translations. A comprehensive bibliography of English Quranic translations has been amended for those interested in this area of linguistic studies.

The Effects of Translation Training on Handling English into Persian Translation Traps

Mir Saeed Mousavi Razavi — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0330

The present study addresses the role of translation training in handling English into Persian translation pitfalls by comparing the quality of translations carried out by non-trained and trained translators in terms of naturalness and closeness. Participants in the study included 15 English teachers who were competent in English but who had not received any translation training (Group1) and 15 BA and MA students of English Translation (Group2). A translation test comprising 15 items which embedded a total of 20 translation traps was developed and the subjects were assigned to take it. Translations were collected and scored in terms of naturalness and closeness. The results obtained from the two groups were indicative of some interesting and meaningful differences. The mean score of the subjects in group 2 (trained translators) turned out to be considerably higher than that of the subjects in group 1 (non-trained translators) implying the effect of training on the quality of translation. The coefficient of correlation between the subjects' being trained or non-trained in translation and their scores on the translation test (worked out through applying the Point Biserial Correlation formula) turned out to be 0.86 indicating the significance of the correlation. Furthermore, an item-to-item analysis of the renderings was carried out which proved that trained translators outperformed non-trained ones in rendering all the items (to a varying degree depending on the nature of the item in hand).

Shift Strategies in Translation of the Holy Qur’an into English

Salar Manafi Anari, Zahra Saghar — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0330

This research was an attempt to discover the most frequent shifts in English translations of the Qur'an using Vinay and Darbelnet's framework. The corpus of the study consisted of five English translations of the Qur'an (those of Shakir, Ghali, Yusuf Ali, Arberry and Pickthall) prepared to be analyzed manually to discover the shifts. The researchers found that in order for the translations of the Qur’an to be exact and faithful equivalents to the Original, shifts are indispensable. Shifts take different forms: structural, cultural, stylistic and semantic. This study revealed that the most frequently occurring shifts are structural and semantic ones. The frequency of shifts in each sub-corpus as well as their frequencies in the entire corpus are measured and discussed.

A Model of Lexical Explicitation in Literary Translation

Mehdi Vahedi Kia — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper sets out to introduce a model of explicitation in literary translation. The paper opens with a brief review of the notion of explicitation and the way it has been treated in translation taking a lexical approach. Further, our proposed model will be brought forward which will encompass eleven categories of addition to the text where such additions are recoverable from the context and hence believed to pertain to explicitation. The model primarily aims at providing more details than the criteria used for distinguishing explicitation in most research in this area. The examples of explicitation presented for each category are taken from English translations of modern Persian literary texts in the study. The paper may shed light on explicitation as a tendency observed in translations and its different types of occurrence and can be used in translation training courses. Moreover, the model may well serve as a means to enhance self-awareness in translators helping researchers in psycholinguistic-oriented approaches to the study of translation.

Domestication: The Problem of Barks’ Translating Rumi into American English

Abolfazl Horri — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0330

This paper examines the problem of domisticated translation of Molana by Coleman Barks into American English. In the first place, the paper raises the question why Molana has been the bestseller in America and not in other countries like Iran; it is then argued that domistication is the most fundamental problem of Barks in translating Molana into American English which is due to his insufficient familiarity with Persian language and culture. To prove this, the paper closely compares and contrasts two translations of one of Molana's sonnets by Nicholson and Barks and arrives at the conclusion that under the American hegemony and superiority, Barks has offered a very shattered, vague and secularized image of Molana, which befits the nostalgia of American readers and appeals to their taste: the American Rumi and not the Iranian Molana.

Translating Initial Non-verbal Constituents in the Holy Qur’an

Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0330

Constituents starting with phrases other than verbs are common in the Holy Qur’an. Normally constituents like noun phrases, prepositional phrases and adverbs are fronted in Quranic Arabic. And, since unmarked structures in Arabic start with verb, these types of structures are therefore marked and their initial element plays a fundamental role in discourse. Non-verb initial constructions, due to their discourse functions, require a close attention to the discourse enterprise when being translated. Initial noun phrases can either be subject or object. Subjects are more problematic to translate than objects. Moreover, Persian, with its pro-drop nature and freer word order in comparison to English, facilitates a more successful translation.

WordNet and Machine Translation

Akbar Hesabi — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0330

This paper passes under review the history of WordNets and introduces some of the most prominent projects of WordNet construction in order to illustrate how these tools can be employed as lexicon in finding equivalents in machine translation projects. Then the process of designing and developing the Persian noun WordNet – as a part of the Persian WordNet which is an important tool for processing Persian language – is discussed. At the end, the applications of WordNets in general and more specifically their application in machine translation are put forward.

Analysis of the Usage of Basic Vocabulary in Persian Translational and Non-translational Children’s Literature

Mostafa Assi, Samaneh Zandian — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0330

The purpose of this research was to compare the lexemes used in books for children aged 7 to 12 and the basic vocabulary for the same age groups. To this end, a comparable monolingual corpus of Persian translational and non-translational children’s literature was used from Persian Linguistic Database (PLDB). This corpus was compared with the list of Iranian Primary School Students Core Vocabulary. Results indicated that there was no acceptable conformity between the lexemes used in translational and non-translational texts prepared for children aged 7 to 12 and the basic vocabulary for the same ages. From the findings of this study, it can be assumed that in writing and translating books for children, the list of Iranian Primary School Students’ Core Vocabulary may be a reliable source; though other supplementary elements are also required.

Student Interpreters’ EVS Choices during Simultaneous Interpreting

Karim Shabani — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0330

Ear-voice span (EVS) being vulnerable to such variables as language combination (Lee, 2006), Speaker's delivery rate (Lyda, 2007; Wei, 2002), speech propositional density (Gile, 2008), etc. during the process of simultaneous interpreting (SI) has been envisaged as a reliable measure of interpretation quality since the early discoveries in interpretation research (Gerver, 1976; Barik, 1973). This study aims at measuring the EVS patterns adopted during SI in Persian/English language pair and assessing their effects on the quality of interpretations. In an experimental procedure, we compared the EVS patterns of two groups of 10 advanced trainees, one group interpreting from Persian into English and the other from English into Persian. With the aid of Sound Forge, a comparative analysis was made on synchronized SL-TL wave files to detect different EVS patterns adopted by the subjects. The quality assessment of interpretations demonstrated that the asymmetrical word order between the two languages highly influenced the subjects' online EVS choices leading them to select longer patterns during Persian-English SI and, subsequently, more faulty interpretations.

Sequencing Texts on the Basis of Difficulty in a Translation Programme

Farzaneh Farahzad — Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0330

A major issue in teaching translation courses is how to sequence the texts designed for the practice of translation in a translator training course. The general policy is to sequence them in terms of difficulty. In the case of translation, text difficulty is of two types, one concerning comprehension (of the SL) and the other concerning translation-specific difficulties. Both types function at three levels: the lexical, the syntactic and the concept levels, the last of which seems to form the greatest source of difficulty. Concepts, either concrete-referenced (CRC) or abstract-referenced (ARC), may be universal or non-universal. Universal CRCs and ARCs are easier both to comprehend and to translate. Non-universal ones are not necessarily difficult to translate, particularly after the comprehension problems are solved. As for sequencing the material designed for practice, the article provides a framework for determining difficulty at lexical and syntactic levels, and suggests that the most effective technique is to rank the texts first on the basis to the type and category of their general concepts (CRCs/ARCs), and then on the basis of their lexical and syntactic difficulty as determined by the scales given in the article.

Time: the Major Difference between Translating and Interpreting

Kambiz Mahmoodzadeh — Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0330

The aim of the present paper is to probe into the possible similarities and differences between translating and interpreting which naturally involves translations and interpretations as well. Though seemingly performed under different circumstances, the two come to share a lot in common, as indicated by the paper, leaving room for one major factor which gives way to a good many differences between the two conducts.

The Scope of Translatability in Poetry

Salar Manafi Anari — Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0330

In poetry the writing is in a compact and condensed form and the language is more emotional and connotational rather than referential or denotational. In this kind of writing and language the content and container are so inseparably linked together that if separated from one another in the process of translation, much will be lost of the ineffable emotional meaning and the formal features and delicacies of the original, as most of the poetic characteristics resist translation and remain untranslatable. One cannot translate the musical sound, the inner rhythm, the connotational information, and other essential characteristics of a poetic discourse without radical adjustments and transformations, in which almost all the poetic devices and innate subtleties of the source text will be lost. The scope of translatability in poetic discourse is a major debate within translation studies. Robert Frost maintains that ‘poetry is what is lost in translation’, Roman Jakobson’s resolute belief is that poetry is by definition untranslatable, and Shelley believes essentially in the impossibility of poetical translation. Some other scholars, however, argue that all meanings are always translatable and what can be conveyed in one language can be conveyed in another, too. In this article we survey different theories regarding the translatability and/or untranslatability of poetry and come to this conclusion that neither possibility nor impossibility of poetry translation should be recognized in an absolute sense. A message can essentially be conveyed in any natural language; it is only the form of communication which differs in different languages as well as in poetry and prose. Thus, although it is possible to translate a poetic discourse in a way acceptable in the target language, it is impossible to convey all the poetic features and subtleties of the original in the translation.

Translation Studies: Language, Literature and Culture

Hussein Mollanazar — Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0330

This paper discusses the distinguishing features of two major approaches to translation that have been dominant during the second half of the 20th century and are still the most influential ones: linguistics-based and culture-based translation approaches. The two approaches have their own characteristics that have led them to move in two opposing directions. Some major features of linguistics-based translation approaches— usually known as ‘scientific’— are source-orientedness, use of linguistic models, paradigms and findings in devising translation theories, a reluctance for analysing literary texts, development of the concept of ‘equivalence’ and replacing it for the old traditional dispute between the translator’s ‘faithfulness versus freedom’ and a general tendency towards prescriptiveness. Culture-based approaches to translation studies have different features that have put them at odds with linguistics-based translation approaches. These features include the ‘empirical nature’ of translation studies, the recognition of different interpretations as well as several possible translations of a single text, target-orientedness and descriptive study of the ‘actual translational behaviour’ (the product and function of real translated texts). It also explains the cultural views towards translation as a subsystem of the target-language (literary) polysystem that study translation in its historical context of situation and relate the translated texts to the socio-cultural norms and constraints. This paper also deals with the concepts of ‘norms’, ‘domestication’, ‘foreignization’, ‘heterogeneity’, ‘analogy’, and ‘opacity’ developed by culture-based translation scholars such as Susan Bassnett, André Lefevere, Theo Hermans, Gideon Toury, Andrew Chesterman, Lawrence Venuti and Tejaswini Niranjana.

Challenges for Lexicography in Iran

Erfan Qaneeifard — Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0330

The objective of this paper is to introduce the challenges that face the lexicography’s process in Iran in order to caution those who are interested in lexicography that as long as modern principles and methods of monolingual and bilingual lexicography are not observed and the lexicographer is not equipped with the necessary expertise and skill of the field, these shortcomings of the standard principles and consequent critical reviews will persist in the lexicography and dictionary-related domains in Iran. This complicated disorder will constantly increase until some logical and scientific solution can be found for the above-mentioned fundamental challenges. Admittedly, it is not enough to discuss this matter in just a single paper. The objectives of this survey are to provide a relatively different attitude, to find out a standard method of compiling better dictionaries, to look for new horizons and professional strategies of editing dictionaries based on modern scientific up-to-date principles and to remove existing shortcomings.

The Relationship between Translation and Linguistics

Kourosh Safavi — Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper attempts to investigate the relationship between translatology, the scientific study of translating/translation, and linguistics and determine where it stands as opposed to other sciences within the framework of humanities. To achieve this, the paper will embark on introducing private and social languages. Then, reference will be made to translating and types of translation. Later, the manner in which message is interpreted will be dealt with, leading to posing the main question, the answer to which will indicate whether or not translatology should necessarily be considered as a sub-branch of the study of language.

Translation of the Quran: Challenges and Strategies

Muhammad Hasan Taqiya — Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0330

‘Say: If men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Quran, they could not bring the like of it, though some of them were aiders of others.’ Abstract It is now the 15th century A.H. and the Holy Quran, the only divine book, free from distortion, continues to shed light on the world and provide guidance for people of the world—Muslims in particular—throughout their lives. This boundless divine ocean plays a significant role in promoting moral, cultural, social, and other aspects of the society; provided that God’s Word is utilized properly. In order to benefit from this divine revelation, attempts should be made to grasp and digest the Quranic concepts and teachings. Today, translation is considered as a way of understanding the Quranic teachings though in the past there were some objections against the translation of the Quran. Unfortunately, most of the existing translations of this holy book do not contribute to our objective, i.e., understanding the Quran properly for they do not establish communication between the message of the Book and the readership. Thus, the author of the present paper intends to deal with the existing problems and challenges, as well as presenting the strategies necessary in the translation of the Quran.

English Translations of the Glorious Qur’an: An Annotated Bibliography

Alireza Anoushirvani — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

The translation of the Holy Qur'an into English is of special importance, for many nations throughout the world obtain their knowledge of the Qur'an through its English translation. I have undertaken the task of surveying the existing English translations of the Qur'an and drawing up an annotated bibliography for the scholars interested in this field. The present bibliography includes only complete translations of the Holy Qur'an in English. With respect to those translators whose English translations have been published several times, I have chosen the most recent edition. However, if a new print is accompanied by revisions or if it is published under a new title, then it is mentioned under a new entry as an independent edition. Attempt has been made to provide full and precise bibliographical specifications unless such information either does not exist in the book or could not be retrieved. The bibliographical information is alphabetically arranged in terms of the translator’s name. Under each entry, annotations have been provided.

A Theoretical Framework for Translation Criticism

Farzaneh Farahzad — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

What is known at present as translation criticism is in fact translation assessment. It basically makes use of contrastive analyses to compare target text segments with their corresponding source text segments, and to look for right and wrong and matches and mismatches, both of which are inspired by the equivalence fallacy. This reductionist approach, although efficient as a technique in teaching translation, seems inadequate for translation criticism, which like literary criticism, needs a theoretical framework, for which contrastive analysis can no more account. The present article argues that Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) provides a proper theoretical framework which can accommodate in itself cultural and political perspectives for translation criticism. So, instead of looking for the right or wrong, translation criticism needs to look for what a translator’s choices (lexical, grammatical, etc.) imply, and what ideologies they represent. Within the framework of CDA, translation criticism can look into translations through the different ideological lenses of colonialism, post-colonialism, feminism, power relations, and the like. As such, translation criticism extends beyond linguistic analysis to analysis of ideologies, and requires a new language of its own, which is yet to develop.

Bilingualism and Teaching Interpreting

Kambiz Mahmoodzadeh — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

This paper explores the phenomenon of bilinguality and discusses its various modes and dimensions in relation to communication and to the practice of interpreting. Dimensions proposed by different researchers in the field as well as the three types of bilingualism as discussed by Weinreich (1953) are thoroughly reviewed. The paper concludes making five recommendations in connection with training interpreters and the degree of bilinguality of would-be interpreter trainees.

Chimerical Idea of Total Equivalence in Translating the Word of Allah

Salar Manafi Anari — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

Equivalence is a controversial concept discussed so widely in translation studies. Some theorists take it to be fundamental in translation theory and define translation in terms of equivalence, while others consider it a chimerical idea impossible to be realized, especially in translating literary and religious texts. The first group of theorists make a distinction between identity and equivalence and maintain that it is the equivalence, and not identity, that should be sought in translating, whereas for the second group looking for equivalence is in fact indulging in an unrealistic fancy that cannot be realized. The present article is an attempt to discuss various types of equivalence to see whether they can convey the total meaning of the Word of Allah or not. The result of this study shows that it is impossible to reproduce the complete equivalence of the Word of Allah in any translation, no matter how precise it may be.

Function-Based Translation

Gholam Mohammad Faghiri — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

This paper deals first with our lingual understanding of the world and its different stages, and secondly with the codification of reality in the form of linguistic signs and the nature of these signs in lingual and literary works are discussed. It then proceeds to the emergence of different functions of language including the communicative or instrumental function which produces lingual works and then to the non-instrumental or aesthetic function which generates literary works. The latter function is explained in relation to foregrounding, motivated nature of signs and literariness. Thus, function-based translation with a view to the criteria discussed herein is recommended as an approach towards the translation of lingual works and particularly literary texts. Finally, translation is presented as a dialogue between two worlds: the SL and the TL.

A Selection of Translation Links and Resources

Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

The following list of links introduces three types of useful sites: (1) centres and departments that offer translation courses for those students who are willing to continue their studies, (2) resources and tools for professional translators, and (3) sites and webpages for translation studies scholars who are interested in translation research, theoretical discussions or who would like to take part in conferences and seminars on translation issues. A complete list of translation links and resources makes a directory or a complete book. It indeed requires a full-time scholar to collect and update them. I believe it is an area of expertise. Therefore, this list cannot be exhaustive; for instance, it lacks links to dictionaries and glossaries. An attempt was made to exclude dead links at the time of writing this paper.

Translation Workshop: A Study of What Is Needed

Ramin Rahimy — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

The question of juxtaposing two languages has been a long-term controversy since the early stages of the scientific study of language. However, rendering from a language into another maintaining the original message, which is in fact, referred to as ‘translation’ can be looked upon from at least two points of view: namely, a theoretical framework and a practical basis. In the translator-training courses at Iranian universities, the former is dealt with in the form of some theoretical modules taught in class, and the latter is implemented in a translation workshop. Yet the actual representation of the theoretical framework needs a special environment as well as the necessary facilities. The present article aims at dealing with this environment and any probable deficiencies. Also, a possible relationship between theory and practice in such cases is discussed. An attempt is also made to avoid a highly technical and specialized discussion, sticking merely to highly relevant points.

Some Intralingual Criteria for Systematic Criticism of Translation

Koorosh Safavi — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper deals with some intralingual criteria which may serve as a means of systematic criticism of translation. It introduces the criteria, describes interlingual versus extralingual criteria, and explains how the two can be used for systematic criticism of translation. Examples of interlingual criteria are given in the final section of the paper.

Supremacy of Translation over Writing: A Psycholinguistic Analysis

S.M. Ziahosseiny — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

Through an analysis and comparison of the mental processes involved in writing a piece of literary text, and then translating it into another language, it was found that a translator is involved in many more such subtle mental behaviours: a) comprehending the original text; b) finding the linguistic equivalents in the target language to convey the similar message and beauty in the mind of the reader of the translated text. It is concluded that the translator has supremacy over the writer with respect to mentality as well as social prestige, though both enjoy a high rank in civilized communities.

Culture in Translation and Translation of Culture-Specific Items

Hassan Hashemi Minabad — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

This paper is an attempt to shed light on questions such as culture, translation and the strategies used for translating culture-specific items (CSIs). Examples of culture-specific items are presented following which the strategies and processes developed and employed in order to produce an acceptable translation in the target language of CSIs found in the source language texts will be discussed. The paper concludes presenting instances of extreme adjustment and adaptation of CSIs found in the western literature as were translated by Iranian translators during Qajar Era in late 19th century and early 20th century.

A Functional Approach to Sentence Information Structure in Translation

Alireza Khanjan — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

The textual organization of a sentence is the result of a mutual interaction between the two parallel and interrelated systems functionally labelled as ‘information and thematic structures’. In any given context, the speaker/writer decides to choose among various thematic/informational patterns and tries, through mapping one structure on the other, to achieve discourse ‘textuality’. Different patterns of thematic/informational mappings may be affected by the so-called ‘tone groups’ resulting in ‘marked structures’ of different degrees typically carrying implicit meanings or special functions. Such structures are of a great significance in translation so that the way they are treated in the target text can make a basis for evaluating the overall translator’s performance in achieving ‘functional/pragmatic equivalence’. Since the information organization of a sentence is typically realized through the speaker’s speech and since there is normally no speaker/writer present to read over his/her written text, it is the reader/translator’s own reading (interpretation) that helps rendering the various patterns of information distribution in micro-linguistic terms. This is exactly where the translation process may face some serious challenges.

Accuracy, Clarity and Naturalness in Translation of Religious Texts

Salar Manafi Anari — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

Intelligibility of the meaning, normality of the style, and naturalness of the language all are of prime importance in translated texts, but they are not the only factors to be taken into account in evaluating a translation. The original text is considered as the keystone in assessing the accuracy and adequacy of a translated text. It may happen that a translation is clear and intelligible in its meaning, normal in its style, and natural in its language, but does not correspond to the original in the content of the message. That is, neither the intelligibility nor the naturalness of a translation is a sign of its faithfulness to the original. This study is an attempt to discuss the significance of accuracy, clarity and naturalness in religious translations in order to find out how much these criteria are important and influential in evaluating such translations.

Alpha, Beta and Gamma Features in Translation: Towards the Objectivity of Testing Translation

Ramin Rahimy — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

This article aims at introducing a rather brand new model to score a translation more objectively than before. Here, the three key concepts of accuracy, clarity and naturalness have been discussed and exemplified in details. Also, a number of mathematical parametric values have been applied to the three criteria of the study; then the formulaic representation, including some equations, have been elaborated on. It should be noted that the applicability scope of this model is not ample enough to cover a wide range of units of translation, however, its main concern in terms of translation testing is to state that it is rather unfair to claim that scoring a piece of translation objectively is completely impossible. Attempts have been made here to explain everything in a straightforward and understandable language so that the readership would be able to follow the topics without any problem.

Translation of Scientific Texts

Taher Sarhady — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

The purpose of this paper is to crystallize the nature of scientific texts from different perspectives and to illustrate how interaction is made between interlocutors in this respect. Doing so, we hope to shed light on the translation of English texts for specific purposes. As an introduction, the notion of ‘translation’ is defined as a dynamic and process-oriented task; then methods of translation in general and technical translation in particular will be discussed. It is essential to discuss the characteristics of technical texts in terms of generic, sociolinguistic, and linguistic factors involved in their evolution. An attempt will be made to clarify the problems the translators encounter in translating technical texts and their choices to tackle the issue on the basis of the appropriate text-types. Finally, some characteristics of efficient translators in facing with the respective difficulties will be elaborated.

Persian Verb-Last Sentences in Simultaneous Interpreting

Karim Shabani — Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 +0330

One of the liveliest ongoing debates concerning research on interpreting is the issue of language-specific structural asymmetries as a point to be taken into consideration in the process of simultaneous interpreting. The traditional approach to the aforementioned issue is pioneered by Seleskovitch and Lederer who reject the role of typological differences. Quite contrarily, the current view advocated by information-processing (IP) theorists looks at the typological differences of the two language pairs with more dilated eyes and assumes some difficulty emanating from the left-branching and especially verb-last structure of the input language in the SI process. This study is designed to investigate the significant relation(s) between Persian SOV word order and Persian-English simultaneous interpreting. To this end, a contrastive and exploratory analysis of the two languages was conducted. A corpus consisting of several speakers’ inputs along with their synchronized interpreters’ outputs were collected and meticulously compared so as to find out whether the Persian-English interpreters adopt any strategies in connection with the verb-last word order of Persian, and if so, what strategies and to what extent.

Hybrid Texts

Farzaneh Farahzad — Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0330

The term 'hybrid' in translation studies refers to texts that are mixtures of two different languages and cultures. It applies both to translated texts, i.e. target texts where linguistic and cultural traces of the SL are preserved, and texts, particularly literary works, which are a blending of the languages of the ex-colonized and ex-colonizers, e.g. a poem or novel written in English by an Indian poet or author in which s/he preserves her/his cultural signs. The article shows that immigration literature constitutes a body of hybrid texts written by immigrant writers. It concludes that the post-colonial writer shares certain qualities with the immigrant writer: they both are hybrid and in search of new identities, in an in-between world. This gives rise to linguistically and culturally texts which belong to the in-between world, a world located between the native and the colonizer's/host culture.

Establishment of Stylistic Equivalence in Literary Translation

Alireza Khanjan — Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0330

This paper tries to present a diachronic review of the literature on how to establish a stylistic equivalence in literary translation. To this end, firstly the term ‘style’ is taken into consideration as it has been dealt with both in 'literary theory' and 'linguistic theory' and then present approaches to 'translational equivalence', in general, and 'stylistic equivalence', in particular are examined.

On Code-switching and Code-mixing among Bilinguals

Kambiz Mahmoodzadeh — Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0330

Communication between and among bilinguals does not always take place in the same manner. In fact, interaction among bilingual individuals depends on the circumstances, topics under discussion, and even the mood of the interlocutors. For this reason, upon careful consideration of the communication between and among bilinguals, one will definitely have to deal with bilingualism in general and code-switching and code-mixing in particular. It is the objective of the present paper to introduce bilingualism in brief, and deal with code-switching and code-mixing in detail, for bilinguals may follow different patterns in their conversation and adhere to one of the possible choices. Attempts will also be made to provide examples in either one of the cases when deemed necessary.

Theoretical Foundations of Translation of Religious Texts: An Argument

Mehrzad Mansouri — Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0330

In view of the significance of accuracy in translation of religious texts, this paper briefly discusses the theoretical foundations of translation. Then two approaches toward translatability or untranslatability of religious texts are introduced. According to the first approach, based on a belief that there exists a relationship between religious texts and the divine revelation and that it is out of the reach and authority of humans to determine and manipulate the linguistic form of revelation, it is deemed impossible to translate religious texts. Conversely, according to the second approach, as it is deemed necessary for all humans to understand the message of divine revelation and as the message of the divine revelation does not exclusively belong to the speakers of a certain language, it is inevitable to translate religious texts. Relying on the arguments set forth by these two approaches, a third approach is proposed in this paper, trying to observe the requirements and limitations prescribed by these two contradictory approaches. According to this view, the so-called 'conditional translatability of religious texts', new definitions are provided for the 'translator' of religious texts, 'readership' of translated religious texts, 'religious text' and its varieties.

Translation Movement

Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0330

The concept of translation movement is controversial, and brings several questions to mind. In this article, an attempt is made to investigate the debates around the concept throughout the translation history. While surveying this phenomenon, historically, in Iran and the word, we will discuss its definition, necessity, effect (advantages and disadvantages), the socio-cultural and political factors making the ground for it, and also the prerequisites for the emergence (or establishment) of translation movement.

Chomsky’s D-Structure, Translation, and Various Aspects of Meaning

Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi, Saeed Ketabi — Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0330

Translation is defined as the transfer of meaning from a language system into another without any change or reduction in meaning. Chomsky’s model, as a framework for translation, would render meaning from SL D-structure into TL D-structure, but Chomsky’s methodology in distinguishing competence from performance poses certain serious implications for transfer of meaning. D-structure is a level of conceptual meaning, containing simply those aspects of meaning which are lexicalized and which are incorporated in the D-structure through lexical registration rules. However, contextual meanings which are treated under pragmatics will be capable of transfer, unless they either are lexicalized both in SL and TL, or are arbitrarily represented in a word or lexical item in SL and TL.

The Role of Translation in Dialogue among Civilizations

Tayebeh Mosavi Miangah — Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0330

Translation brings cultures closer. In our globalized world, translation is the key to understanding and learning foreign cultures. This study is an attempt to show the mutual relationship existing between culture and language and to review various opinions in this respect. Differences among cultures and civilizations as well as the effect of translation in linking different beliefs, languages, religions, thoughts and cultures and in facilitating the process of dialogue among civilizations are studied considering anthropological aspects of cultural differences and translatability vs. untranslatability of cultural elements within Whorf's and Chomsky's theoretical frameworks.

On the Refutability of Untranslatability: A Cross-cultural Approach

Ramin Rahimy — Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 +0330

This paper aims at introducing ‘untranslatability’ and examining its dimensions. Focusing on the issue is noticeable and significant in that any comment on its various aspects may lead us to provide a solution for the attainment of a closer TL equivalent for different units of translation which lack an exact equivalent, or which seems very difficult to find an equivalent for. Here, untranslatability is defined from different scholars’ points of view, then, its refutability conditions are discussed with a focus on some reasons.

Meaning in Translation

Farzaneh Farahzad — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper deals with the concept of meaning in translation. It first challenges the validity of the dominant reductionist techniques of meaning analysis, i.e. componential and propositional analysis, and then studies the concept of meaning in terms of the static and dynamic parts of meaning. It assumes that all the target language versions of a given source text share the static part of meaning to some extent, but differ in their interpretations of the source text and are open to further interpretations in the target language. The paper further concludes that this fact justifies the plurality and diversity of target language versions.

A Macro/Micro Functional Approach to Stylistic Equivalence in Translation of Fiction

Alireza Khanjan — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0330

The translator of literature, in general, and fictional works, in particular, has to do a stylistic analysis at both macro/micro levels in order to achieve some higher levels of ‘stylistic adequacy’. The macro stylistic analysis involves discovering the ‘how’ (or ‘quality’) of a work while in micro stylistic analysis the translator/analyst is required to explore into ‘why’ the text possesses that quality. The macro analysis is typically accomplished through investigation into the ‘surface’ layer of the work and leads to a general view of the overall stylistic strategy (or strategies) resulting in the so-called ‘ideational’ metafunction of language; but the micro analysis drives the translator/analyst to reflect upon the ‘inner’ components of the work as well as having an eye on the surface parts. Being involved in such a two stage analysis, the translator, on one the hand, treats the text as a ‘product’ and tries to capture the stylistic features leading to the aesthetic function of language, generally through some mechanistic procedures of ‘text analysis’, and on the other hand, s/he faces the fictional work as a ‘process’ and tries to pay attention to the ‘production’, ‘reception’, and ‘understanding’ steps of textual interaction as well as to study the ‘impacts’ of the text on readers mostly through the common methods of ‘discourse analysis’, ‘text interpretation’, and ‘intertextual analysis’. Thus, s/he identifies the actual concrete realizations of the writer’s macro stylistic strategy (strategies) resulting in the so-called ‘textual metafunction’ of language. What is finally resulted from such a macro/micro analysis determines the ‘operational strategies’ employed by the translator in his/her way to select ‘functional choices’ which are of similar stylistic values in the target text.

On Quality Assessment of Interpreting

Kambiz Mahmoodzadeh — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0330

Communication in a bilingual or even a multilingual context may in certain circumstances necessitate the assistance of a mediator. That is to say, in the absence of the mediator there is a strong possibility that communication will be distorted. The objective of this paper is to describe the performance of the mediator as well as evaluating his/ her conduct in the hope that this will pave the way for the establishment of certain criteria based on which one could assess his/her translational competence and performance.

The Role of Translation in the Development of Humanities

Salar Manafi Anari — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0330

What normally comes to mind as translation proper is the interlingual translation, i.e. transferring a meaning or message out of the 'form' of a language into the 'form' of another. Translation, whether intralingual or interlingual, has had and will have an important role in expressing thoughts and developing human sciences. Intralingual translation, i.e. to put a meaning in other words in the same language, is important in developing the thoughts within a single society; and interlingual translation is valuable for expanding communications and developing sciences and technologies between nations throughout the world. A review of the history of translation development shows that translation in its customary meaning has played a very significant role in transferring sciences and technologies and expansion and development of human knowledge and culture. This article intends to elaborate on the role of translation in the development of humanities. For this reason, while discussing the nature of translation from different perspectives, it deals with the evolution of translation throughout history in view of its impact on the flourishing of human sciences.

The Effect of Teaching English Basic Sentence Patterns on the Students' Translation Quality

Seyed Mehdi Mansouri, Ramin Rahimy — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0330

The aim of this article is to investigate three different models of presenting and teaching sentence structure and their effects on more beneficial comprehension of translation unit. Although sentence is, perhaps, claimed to be the best unit of translation, observations and experiences have indicated that translation trainees sometimes encounter serious problems in rendering units of translation from or to different languages. Thus, the question this study tried to answer was whether there were a relationship between the type of sentence structure model and the trainees’ better performance on a test of translation. To answer this question, 45 Iranian students of Translator-Training Programme were selected and randomly assigned to three groups. After a treatment with three different models of sentence structure, the students were tested on translation. The data were analysed using a one-way ANOVA, and it was concluded that difference in the model of teaching affects students’ better performance on translation.

The Use of Modern Technology in Translation

Tayebeh Mosavi Miangah — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0330

Rapid development of translation industry in the world today reveals the growing need for translation tools. This article tries to briefly study various translation tools. These tools are considered as very helpful devices in the translation process. The most important tools involved are translation memory, machine-readable dictionaries and machine translation software. Using modern technology in translation not only accelerates the translation process itself but also augments its consistency and efficiency.

Equivalence in Different Dimensions

Taher Sarhady — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0330

Translation is an activity of enormous importance in modern world and it is a subject of interest not only to translation scholars, linguists, professional and amateur translators and language teachers but also to electronic engineers and mathematicians. Translation may be defined as the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL). The central problem of translation practice is that of finding TL translation equivalents. The present paper elaborates on the nature of translation equivalence and its components from different perspectives in the hope of making translators cognizant of the deliberate task they carry out in the process of translation.

Anticipation Strategy and Simultaneous Interpreting

Karim Shabani — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0330

Anticipation as an on-line strategy in SI is conceived as rendering a constituent in the output language by the simultaneous interpreter before receiving its original counterpart in the input language. A potpourri of intriguing cues, though piecemeal, is normally taken as a backdrop by the interpreter to hypothesize on the speaker's unfinished utterances. The present paper takes its point of departure from the basic assumption that anticipation is regarded as inevitable in SI process particularly in the case of two structurally asymmetrical language-pairs. With this in mind, we will, following an introduction, present an overview of the how and why of the different types of knowledge at the interpreter's disposal at the time of anticipating during SI and then proceed with multiple examples taken from different live corpus to justify the mainstream position. Finally, on implication side, the paper will offer some tips on how to foster the said strategy for making an appropriate anticipation.

On Machine Translation for Persian

Mehran A. Taghvaipour — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0330

This paper is an attempt to clarify the aims of MT and highlight some of the reasons why Persian MT is now a matter of necessity for Iranians in terms of its scientific, philosophical, social, and commercial benefits. After giving a short history of MT, I will illustrate that translation quality is not all that matters in the 21st century. I will show that there are some other factors involved that make MT an attraction for translators and non-translators the same. I will briefly review a few types of MT systems. From the rule-based approaches, transformer and linguistic knowledge (LK) architectures, and from the empirical approaches, example-based and statistical architectures are reviewed to give the reader an idea about how MT engines work. Linguistic and/or computational problems of each approach are discussed in short. It is argued that MT systems are better to use a combination of various architectures rather than sticking to a single approach. As an example of such architectures, Bond’s (2002) proposal for a Multi-Pass Machine Translation (MPMT) is reviewed. Wherever possible, technicality is avoided and references are made to the Persian language so that the material is more attractive and tangible for non-MT practitioners.

Journalistic Transcreation: A New Approach

Ehsan Bakhshandeh, Parviz Mosallanejad — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0430

This article tries to present a newer approach pertaining to journalistic translation which is journalistic transcreation. In this approach the researcher defines translation as the process of conveying message form one language to another. In the present article, the researcher will discuss whether translators (working in the Iranian English language press) really translate news stories or they transcreate them. To show this, the researcher shall first study the translation process and then focus on the principles of journalism. At the end, the researcher comes to this conclusion that Persian-English journalistic translators are translators by definition, but news writers and reporters in practice. Accordingly, the researcher suggests that the term transcreation be used instead of translation from the perspective of journalism.

The Theme in Translation

Saeed Ketabi, Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0430

Theme and thematic structure of the clause and text plays a fundamental role in producing the same SL discourse in TL. Theme as the point of departure of the message plays a pivotal part not only in text interpretation but also in implications derived from the text ipso facto. Modification in theme or thematic structure from SL into TL falls the text foul of futile translation at the expense of losing some aspects of SL discourse, and hence producing a distorted translation. It is, hereby, necessary to embody knowledge based on thematic structure of SL.

A Bibliography of Persian Poetry in English Translation

Ramin Khanbagi — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0430

Looked upon at the first sight, language is a reflection of one’s people culture and civilization. But with a deeper insight, not only is it a means by which people, through discourses attempt to interact, understand and eventually come to sympathy with each other; it is the universe in which people begin to contemplate. In other words, our thinking takes place in the realm of our language. If that be the case, without it, the very act of thinking seems to be, at least, improbable. The Persian language, if not counted as the only characteristic of the Iranian people, most surely is regarded among the most important ones; since, through Persian, Iranian national, cultural and religious aspects are interwoven in a unique manner. In other words, different aspects of Iranian culture are either mirrored through the Persian language, or to state it more precisely, Persian is the universe of such entities. With these in mind, many non-natives, as well as native speakers of the Persian language, have tried to render this immense and precious bulk of literature into European languages, to make them accessible for those interested in the perennial wisdom of Persian World. May thus then this bibliography be considered as a gateway to the Mundus Imaginalis of the Persian poetry.

A Framework for Translation Evaluation

Ali Akbar Khomeijani Farahani — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0430

'Survey of Islamic Texts Translated into English' is one of the courses offered in the English Language and Literature BA programme and also in the English Translation BA programme. The main objective of this actually four credit course is to teach the students how to evaluate the Islamic texts translated into English (and probably other languages) and determine the merits and demerits of the translation and decide whether it is a satisfactory and acceptable translation or not. To the best of my knowledge, a unified and systematic format has not yet been developed to achieve this goal. That is why some university professors teaching this course encourage the students to do translation rather than evaluate the Islamic texts translated into English. In this paper I suggest a format which can be used to evaluate the English translation of Islamic texts and decide whether the translation under discussion meets the requirements of a successful translation or not. This format is practically a set of criteria, which can be used to systematically evaluate the translation of a text from a source language into a target language and establish its merits and demerits.

Concurrent Strategies in Translating into Persian Matthew Arnold's "To Marguerite—Continued"

Farhad Koolinia, Hussein Mollanazar — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0430

This paper is a descriptive account of the communicative strategies developed in the process of translating into Persian Arnold's "To Marguerite — Continued". The description is mainly based on the model developed by Krings (1986), that is, comprehension, equivalent retrieval, equivalent monitoring, decision-making, and reduction, though the boundary between equivalent monitoring and decision-making is difficult to determine and even their hierarchical order seems polemical. In some cases, however, the models resorted to are those proposed by others that are pointed to in the paper.

The Position of Persian Literature in English

Salar Manafi Anari — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0430

What is usually understood as 'Persian Literature' is that which has been prevalent in Persia after the Arab Conquest. It is this post-Islamic Persian literature that has been translated into English, and being naturalized in English literature, it has highly influenced some of its distinguished men of letters. Although it is impossible to reproduce all the aesthetic-poetic features of the Persian poetry in English translation, the reflection of Persian ideas and thoughts in English literature indicates that many English scholars were profoundly impressed by the masters of the Persian poetry, especially by Sa'di and Hafiz of Shiraz. The present article is an attempt to discuss the position of the Persian poetry in English literature. It explains how and why some outstanding British Orientalists, such as Sir William Jones and his associates and followers, tried to make the Persian language and culture available to the employees of the East India Company.

Test Forms and Trainees’ Translation Performance

Ramin Rahimy — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0430

This study investigates translation testing as one of the most controversial issues in language studies. The question this study tries to answer is whether there is a relationship between test forms and translation trainees’ better performance on a specific form. To answer this question, 45 senior students of translation training programme from the Islamic Azad University of Tonekabon were selected and participated in the experiment. They were randomly assigned to three groups and were tested on different forms of translation tests (with the same content). The data of the study was analysed through the one-way ANOVA, and the relationship between the variables of the study was proved, rejecting the null hypothesis of the study.

Translation of Wordplays and Figures of Speech with a Special View to Translation of Puns

Hassan Hashemi Minabad — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0430

This paper deals with wordplays and figures of speech as well as how to translate them. After introducing the problem, some general issues, such as untranslatability, will be raised concerning translation of figures of speech. Then seven major techniques that have been extracted and generalized from works done by Persian and English translators regarding translation of figures of speech will be discussed, and some examples will be given for each technique. Since pun is the most significant and most frequently used form of wordplay, special attention is paid to this figure of speech and it is elaborated in particular. Several examples, taken from the works of Persian and English translators, will illustrate this form of wordplay.

Domestication in Literary Translation: The English Translation of Hedayat’s Blind Owl

Mohammad Ghazanfari — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0330

Relying partially on Hatim and Mason’s (1990, 1991, & 1997) theoretical framework for the analysis and assessment of translated works, dealing with the sets of constraints relating to genre, discourse, and text as semiotic systems within which the expression of ideology occurs; Mason (1994); Calzada Pérez’s (2002) critical framework for translational phenomena; and Schleiermacher’s dual distinction, namely, ‘foreignization’/‘domestication’, this paper investigates the ideological consequences of an English translation of Hedayat’s Bouf-e Kour [The Blind Owl], originally written in Persian, by D. P. Costello (1957). The study has mainly focused on the generic, discoursal and textual features of the target text that may be considered as representations of ‘domestication’, in the sense of the dichotomy originally proposed by Schleiermacher (1813). The extent to which such instances may be regarded as manifestations of ideological orientations by the translator has been the researcher’s concern. The reason why a Persian source text and its translated English version have been chosen for comparison is to test the hypothesis that the present status of English as a ‘dominant’ language, associated primarily with a dominant culture (i.e. Anglo-American culture), serves as a motive for translators into English to appeal to a ‘domesticating’ strategy (see, for example, Venuti, 1995). The study finally comes up with the conclusion that the target text under investigation may as well be categorized among ‘domesticating translations’ into English.

On Cultural Distance and Translation Strategies

Marjan Khanjankhani, Mohammad Khatib — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0330

This paper attempts at exploring the problems involved in the transfer of meaning from one culture to another as well as possible solutions such as the techniques that can be applied to the successful interpretation of texts in their cultural context. Considering these techniques, it is aimed to see what the most frequently-used strategy in dealing with cultural distance in the process of translating is. In order to cope with the research question, a test comprising 20 culture-bound items was developed and administered to 30 senior undergraduate students of English translation at Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch. Participants were asked to translate them from English into Persian without any time limitation. After collecting data, the frequency of each strategy was calculated to see which of the following strategies was most frequently-used in dealing with cultural distance in the process of translating: 1- Loan Word (Borrowing) 2- Literal Translation (Literalism) 3- Generic word with a descriptive phrase (Paraphrasing) 4- Cultural Substitute 5- Cultural Equivalence

Spell-boundness by the Primary Meaning in Translation

Samad Mirza Suzani — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0330

Of the most crucial issues in rendering translation from English to Persian is the requirement to pay special attention to various meanings of words and expressions in different contexts. English as a widely-used language has an extended range of vocabulary in which a lot of terms in different contexts may take several different syntactic and semantic structures and convey less familiar or unexpected meanings. Despite the importance of this issue, it is most often observed that translators are unfortunately easily exposed to the potential threats of sticking to the first equivalent proposed in dictionaries and neglect the other implications of words, as if the first equivalent given has a fascinating attraction that forces the other meanings back. In this paper, the author mentions some of the reasons for translators' lack of attention to other meanings of words in the process of translation and then the linguistic factors that bring about such problems are categorized into five groups. Next, more examples are provided to clarify the importance of preventing being spell-bound by the first meaning, and finally some suggestions will be given to improve the process of translating texts from English to Persian Language.

The Holy Qur’an: Translation and Ideological Presuppositions

Hussein Mollanazar, S. Mohammad Mohaqeq — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0330

Translation is an operation carried out on language use. This undoubtedly means that translation itself is always a site of ideological encounters. Throughout centuries, individuals and institutions have applied their particular beliefs to the production of certain effects in translation. This paper intends to study the effect of translators' ideological presuppositions on the Qur'an translations. The method followed in this study is descriptive and the researchers do not intend to judge the correctness of translations or appropriateness of the application of translators' ideological presuppositions.

Tower of Babel and the ‘Genesis’ of Translation: Walter Benjamin’s and Jacques Derrida’s Readings of the Old Testament

Amir Ali Nojoumian — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0330

This article is a close reading of perhaps the most famous stories (‘narratives’) in the history of mankind: 1) God’s creation of the world and the act of naming (appellation), 2) human being’s eating off the tree of knowledge and the expulsion from the garden of Eden, and 3) the building of the tower of Babel, its destruction by God, the dispersal of mankind and languages, and consequently the inevitability of translation. These stories are narrated in the light of the readings of two leading figures in the contemporary critical theory: Walter Benjamin and Jacques Derrida. Through recounting these three stories, I intend to narrate the ‘genesis’ of language and translation in three phases: Appellation: The first phase of language signifies God’s word. In this phase, God’s creation is synonymous with his Word: “In the beginning was the Word”. Human being’s act of naming other creatures becomes an imitation of God’s creation. At this stage, words (or better to say ‘names’) have no communicating quality. They only represent themselves. Tree of Knowledge: In the second phase of the story of language, knowledge, judgement, or outside values enter the realm of language. This is the first ‘fall’ of language. Words are now only vehicles or tools for communicating things outside themselves. They lose their sacred immanent essence. They are no longer ‘names’. Tower of Babel: The third phase or the second ‘fall’ of language occurs when human being’s aspiration to ‘singularize’ languages becomes frustrated. At this stage, by the dispersal of languages and the ever-increasing creation of new ‘tongues’, human beings can no longer understand one another. They now need translation. This article, by going through the above three narratives, intends to explain the basis of the biblical philosophy of language and translation.

Ethics for Simultaneous Interpreters

Karim Shabani — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0330

The main ambition of the present paper is two-fold; to pinpoint some pre-required professional ethics in terms of the qualities for the novice who decides to try his hand at simultaneous interpreting, mostly taken from the fully-fledged SI literature and, second, to offer some practical tips for the novice on how to break into this mode of interpreting.

Translator and Theoretician: Who is Where in Translation Studies?

Gholam Reza Tajvidi — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0330

The article initially introduces different approaches adopted towards translation theory, and clarifies the aims and object of a translation theory. Subsequently proceeds to explore the relation between the translator and theoretician in translation studies, following which certain conceptual tools are introduced and elaborated on as a requirement for development of a common language to be used by translators, theoreticians and translation instructors in their discussion of different issues prevailing in the realm of translation studies.

What is Translation Criticism?

Muhammad Hasan Taqiyeh — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0330

Criticism has been prevalent among people from many years ago. It is regarded as one of the literary expressions we use. At the same time, different derivations of the word as critic, criticize, critical, critique, are also widely used. Translation criticism can be defined as looking comprehensively at different aspects of a translated work. Here, we confess that not only we feel the absence of a comprehensive view toward translation, but also it has been ignored in many aspects. Though the scope of translation criticism is infinite, but we there are some principles for the work which the author intends to talk about. So the question is: What are the principles of translation criticism? Or how we should criticize translation? There is no doubt about the value behind the translation criticism. If the work is done with reliance on certain principles and be based on awareness, then an astonishing improvement and change will come about. Some people state that translation criticism works on the negative aspects of the work. They say criticism is finding the present deficiencies. We oppose to this view and believe that criticism should care about the positive as well as the aspects of the work. One of the goals involved in translation criticism is to make the society aware of the delicacy involved in translation. We should make sure whether the translator has achieved his goals or not. One question is posed here. Who is responsible for criticizing the translated papers? Translator? Author? Or a third person? It is obvious that critic is the best answer.

Translation in Derrida’s Philosophical Discourse

Mehran Zendehboudi — Wed, 05 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0330

From among different approaches to translation, the philosophically-oriented ones enjoy a prominent and advantageous position. It was Jean-René Ladmiral who coined the technical term “Traductologie” when discussing the epistemological principles of translation studies. Compared to Post-Modern philosophers, Derrida has made a greater contribution to the development of discussions on translation and translation studies, the evidence being that the first book ever published by Derrida was itself a translation of a work by Edmund Husserl. This article initially presents an overview of the attitudes adopted by certain philosophers to the question of translation. Discussed subsequently is the position of philosophical translations compared to that of the translation of other text types. The article concludes providing an analysis in brief of Derrida’s philosophical discourse on translation.

English-Persian Translation of Neologism

Samad Mirza Suzani — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

The teachers who are somehow involved in the task of translation most often hear their students' complaining: "Sir, we couldn't find some special words in our dictionaries." Fromkin and Rodman (1988, p. 123) categorize all strings of sounds into three sets of existing words, possible but nonoccuring words and impossible words. Newmark claims there may be at least eighteen types of unfindable word in a source language text (1988, pp. 176–177). However, in this paper, we will focus on one of the most important categories of unfindable words called neologisms. Neologisms in this study may include any newly-coined words, new collocations, compound words, new terminology, old phrases with new senses, acronyms, abbreviations, blends, eponymous words and derivational combinations. We will categorize neologisms into nineteen groups according to their structures and then an attempt will be made to give samples for each group with special attention to semantic transparency and phonaesthetic and synaesthetic effects in the process of translation. This paper hopefully seeks to become a head start towards opening perspectives to further researches on behalf of the interested researchers and educators.

Representation of Ideology and Power in Translation

Zahra Mirza, Alireza Khanjan — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

The paper starts with a review of literature on the role of ideology in translation followed by a discussion about the conceptual nature of ideology. Then it goes on to focus on the ideological dimensions of translation within the theoretical framework of 'critical discourse analysis' and ends up in the presentation of a few samples of 'ideological orientations' in translation.

Application of Corpora in Translation

Tayebeh Mosavi Miangah — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

We live in the world of technology, and computers with their numerous application areas are increasingly coming over our private as well as business lives. And translators are not exceptions in this respect. Compiling and using corpora are among computer applications which are of great help for translators. This article looks at the problems in translation process that can be easily solved as well as benefits that are gained using monolingual and bilingual corpora. However, the main concern here is to show the advantages of monolingual target corpora as translation aides, while the advantages of the different forms of bilingual corpora will be fully discussed in another article. The aim of this paper is to illustrate two ways in which students can exploit the monolingual target corpora in order to improve the quality of their translations: finding information about collocates, especially adjectives that collocate with nouns, and verifying or rejecting decisions on a translation equivalent for a specific term or phrase.

Walter Benjamin: Translation and the “Kinship of Languages”

Amir Ali Nojoumian — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This article is a study of the ideas of translation and the original text in the writings of Walter Benjamin in order to explicate the curious relation of the Ur-text (original) to the transferred text (translation) and ask the following question: Does translation help towards developing the “kinship of languages”, or does it instead “kill” the original and substitute it with a decayed text? Benjamin, in his 1923 essay “The Task of the Translator”, argues that the translator’s task can be even more significant than the role of the writer of the original text. He believes that the translator, through the decayed barriers of his own language, releases “the pure language”. The translator, in his view, liberates the language imprisoned in a work in his re-creation of that work. Therefore, I would argue that Benjamin overturns the hierarchy and views the original text, as well as the translated text, as overcoming the “decayed barriers” of the respective languages as a means of both survival and revival. As Benjamin says, “[i]n translation the original rises into a higher and purer linguistic air, as it were”.

Text Typology, Text Readability and Translation: Guidelines for Selection of Translational Texts

Gholam Reza Tajvidi — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This paper introduces readability or text difficulty level and the factors contributing thereto from educational perspective in general and for translator training purposes in particular. Two most-frequently applied readability formulas, Flesch and Fog, are presented including the criticisms leveled by translation researchers and linguists against such quantifications. Subsequently, the question of text difficulty is discussed from translation studies perspective following which textuality standards, text type and text analysis for translator training purposes are put forth. The paper concludes with the introduction of five translation difficulties and problem areas as features presumably shared universally by all languages including Persian. Presented in the final section of this paper are certain guidelines for text selection and classification in educational settings and for pedagogical purposes; texts which are compatible with translational competence level of the translation trainees.

Application of Cohesive Devices in Translation: Persian Texts and Their English Translations in Contrast

Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi, Sakineh Taghizadeh — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This research focuses on a discoursal element; namely, cohesive devices in terms of density, in Sa`di's Gulistan. Sixteen stories from the second chapter of Gulistan (on the manner of dervishes) were selected and compared with their translated versions by Arberry (1945), Ross (1890), and Rehatsek (1964). Cohesive devices, as language specific markers for holding relationship between parts of a text, were first identified and then classified into grammatical and lexical cohesive ones. Grammatical cohesive devices comprise reference, substitution, ellipsis, and conjunction, while lexical cohesive devices comprise reiteration and collocation in which reiteration itself includes full repetition, synonymy, superordinate and general word. The model followed in the research was Halliday and Hasan's (1976). The results obtained from the comparison of density of each type of cohesive devices between the original Persian text and the English versions reveal some differences, even among the very English versions. This suggests lack of one to one textual correspondence between the two genetically the same but typologically different languages, English and Persian, in so far as the base model is concerned.

A Comparative Study on the Factors Affecting Multimedia Translation

Hossein Vossoughi, Shirin Farrahi Ashtiani — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

Although shifts are considered as one of the universals in the translation process, the dichotomy of faithful vs. acceptable translation has been the main concern for translation studies for many years. However, the invaluable researches performed by scholars have mainly focused on the interlingual translation. The new technology has introduced new media and a new form of translation, i.e. multimedia translation. The research questions of this study aimed to see if there are any shifts in the product of translation when it is performed from one medium to another and if so, what the causes of the shifts are. This research showed that shifts do occur in multimedia translation mainly in the form of addition, omission and alteration that can be categorized as microtextual and macrotextual. The translator’s choice of shifts can vary according to the nature of the media, expectations and culture of the audience and the skopos of the translator. It seems that the occurrence of shifts in multimedia translation does not make the translation less faithful to the source text.

Discoursal Thematization Processes in News Translation

Mansoor Fahim, Azizullah Fattahi — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This study is intended as a foray into thematic patterns and developments of Theme-Rheme structures of the text, with the eventual aim of exploring what happens to the English news texts (STs) when they are rendered into their counterpart Persian texts (TTs). This paper is also an attempt to shed light on Fries’s (1995) first hypothesis that ‘different patterns of thematic progression correlate with different genres’. For this purpose, ten VOA’s (Voice of America) news reports were randomly assigned and carefully analyzed in association with their respective Persian news reports rendered and produced by Persian speaking staff of VOA. It was made clear, then, that the thematic structures of the TTs are basically similar to those of the STs. Furthermore, most of the texts (news genre) turned out to be in harness with a specific pattern of thematic progression, namely, ‘a progression of Themes derived from a general notion’. Some hypotheses are posited, at the end, which, it is hoped, could be taken as perspectives for further research.

Abstract Representation in Machine Translation

Akbar Hesabi — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This paper tries to introduce the notion of 'abstract representation', one of the key notions in Machine Translation (MT). This aim is going to be gained through giving some examples of abstract representation which have been found in different references. In the first systems of MT, experts in computer sciences and linguists tried to use 'abstract representation' to give a proper translation, but because of the complexity of this notion and the problems which early computers faced, some of them decided to forsake 'abstract representation' totally. They started using methods without abstract representation such as example-based and statistical approaches, but after a while, these methods, too, failed to solve the problem. Today again, the latest methods of machine translation are trying to apply 'abstract representation' besides new findings of other methods to solve the problems of machine translation.

Cross-cultural Problems of Translation of Compliments

Samad Mirza Suzani — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

In this paper, various strategies employed for the speech act of compliments in Persian and English are studied and some examples of cultural misunderstandings that may happen to be troublesome in translation of compliments exchanges in English and Persian contexts will be presented. The present study of compliments in Persian and English shows that the use of polite expressions is mostly less positive in Persian in comparison with those of English. Moreover, Persian speakers seem to be more modest, indirect, ambiguous, lengthy and obscure than the English ones. Besides, Persian speakers, unlike the English ones, as a socio-cultural norm, mostly have the tendency to leave the compliments somewhat vague and avoid assertive statements and all these differences may bring about negative transfer in the process of translation of from L1 to L2 and vice versa. To bridge between socio-pragmatics and interpretation/translation fields, the present study will try to open perspectives on a better understanding of underlying universal social and linguistic conventions in both Persian and English cultures. Furthermore, such a study can provide us with valuable information on cross-cultural problems concerning the translation of speech act of compliments in English and Persian and therefore prove of extremely value to both fields of Translation and TESOL.

A Study of Iranian Professional Translators' Attitudes: Its implications for Translator Training

Ali Mohammad Mohammadi — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This paper intends to analyze the Iranian translators' attitudes in order to extract the principles and requirements for educational planning of translation within the framework of Richards and Rodgers' (2001) model. This model prepares the ground for a scientific language teaching method which is also applicable to translator training. It includes three stages of approach, design, and procedure. The approach deals with theories and beliefs about the nature of translation and the acquisition of translation competence. The design covers characteristics and kinds of objectives, the selection and sequence of contents, and the role of the teacher and the student. And in the procedure the kind of actual classroom activities and teaching methods are investigated. This paper has analyzed the Iranian translators’ views through retrospection and interview. The results of the study reveal that 97% of the total 34 translators (in this survey) believe that there is a meaningful and positive relationship between the linguistic competence and translation competence. Moreover, 67.41% of them maintain that there is a positive relationship between linguistic performance and translation performance. The nature of the data implies a cause and effect relationship between the variables which should not be ignored in the process of educational planning in translation.

Machine Translation and Human Translation: In Harmony, Not in Opposition

Tayebeh Mosavi Miangah — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This paper tries to study some advantages and disadvantages of machine translation in comparison with human translation. It is believed that using computers in translation is not a threat for the livelihood of the human translator, but using machine translation as well as translation tools including translation memory can accelerate translation process and prevent translating repetitive, time-consuming and boring texts. Two criteria, need and use, have been considered to compare relative quality of machine translation and human translation. Each of these two kinds of translation can be selected according to the type of demand. Machine translation with the goal of lowering linguistic barriers between nations can have a very effective role in dialogue among civilizations and communities having different languages and cultures.

Jacques Derrida: Translation and the Paradox of Decadence and Survival

Amir Ali Nojoumian — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This paper is a study of the ideas of translation and the original text in the writings of Jacques Derrida in order to explicate the curious relation of the original to the translation and ask the following question: Does translation give the original an after-life and enable it to survive, or does it instead ‘kill’ the original and substitute it with a decayed text? Jacques Derrida, in turn, takes two main themes from Benjamin’s essay and gives these terms a more generalised meaning: Derrida examines the notions of the ‘kinship of languages’ and ‘survival’ in the act of translation and then situates them within his new definition of the ‘text’. I would argue that Derrida sees translation as inevitable. Translation is inevitable in the sense that the translation preserves the multiple meanings of the original text and in turn demands more translations to create more multiple meanings. Translation as an act of interpretation makes every text prone to multiple translations none more authoritative than the other, but the texts demand translation as it is the secret to their survival. In a roundtable on the question of translation and Benjamin, Derrida recapitulates his reading of Benjamin’s theory of language. He speaks of a ‘mutual contract’ between the translation and the original in general terms. The translation and the original not only demand one another and suspend each other’s decay but they also enable language to survive through this symbiotic relationship.

Translatics

Ramin Rahimy — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This article aims at investigating multiple dimensions of the scientific study of translation. The question this study tries to answer is whether it is possible to study translation scientifically assuming different levels of study that can be comprehensive enough to provide us with the label ‘Translatics’. To answer this question, the term ‘Linguistics’ – the scientific study of language – has been elaborated on, then, new levels of study have been defined for translation via a sort of comparison with linguistics levels. Furthermore, any technical discussion has been avoided to maintain the straightforwardness of the argumentation.

Translating the Holy Qur'ān: Conversational Implicature

Shohreh Shahsavandi — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

The Holy Qur'ān has been revealed in the Arabic language, utilized its linguistic mechanism and at the same time has its own linguistic and non-linguistic peculiarities. As a book of guidance, the Noble Qur'ān has been sent down to show the way of life to every Muslim, and if its guidelines are followed, to guarantee their life to come. Unfortunately, not all Muslims know the Arabic language to gain access even to its literal meaning. Many of them have to resort to its translations to understand the surface meaning. It is a pity that nearly all these translations suffer from different kinds of shortcomings. Some of these deficiencies are due to overlooking the role that applied linguistics, contrastive linguistics and translation theories play in translating from one language to another. This article is an attempt to shed light on the application of Grice's Conversation Implicature on the processes of understanding the divine message and its rendering into another language.

Computer-Aided, Machine Translation in the Age of Communications

Ehsan Bakhshandeh, Parviz Mosallanejad — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

With the advent of the third millennium, communication has become the heart of human concern. In addition, the technological revolution has caused the necessity of convergent exchange of information regarding cultural and linguistic divergences. Therefore, no one can deny the significant role of a lingua franca or the translation as a bridge. Now with the huge amount of information exchange, no more do the traditional tools work. That's why Machine Translation (MT) or International Networks of Translation should step into the scene. Although this necessity is undeniable, still there are some oppositions and criticisms. For sure human race cannot admit the substitution of their-own-made machines. It is true the human factor in machine translation is essential but is it fair to ignore the overall contribution of machine translations. Nevertheless, still we have the problem of "untranslatability" in some areas such as the translation of literary texts; machine translations have proved their out-performances in spelling and terminological consistency and their speed to facilitate the translation process. The inability of machine translation to refer to the real world knowledge is unavoidable. But is it possible to have robots exactly as human being? Wouldn't that be a creation? Hopefully we should expect improvements; but are human beings fair enough to judge the present amazing capabilities in machine translation?

Translation: Problems and Prospects of Definition

Esmail Faghih — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper is the result of an attempt to recount some of the problems of a few important definitions of translation proposed in the 20th century and to propound a comprehensive account of this thoughtful and creative action. The proposed definition, similar to the present practices of TEF/SL, is communicatively oriented and accordingly it is not limited to linguistic competency. Distinctive characteristics of this approach are: 1. discourse oriented, and 2. process based. The main body of the paper is devoted to an account of the details of this model of definition with its major subdivisions of: 1. comprehension, 2. re-stating, and 3. quality control. To clarify the discussion, examples are provided from students' translations.

An Introduction to the Principles of Translating Humor

Abolfazl Horri — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This paper examines the basic principles of translating humor. Firstly, it reviews briefly the historical and linguistic background of humor, and then it presents the definition and the etymology of the given word. Secondly, it studies humor and the difficulties of translating it in the light of the general principles of translation. In doing so, the paper divides humor into two categories, culture-bound humor and language-bound humor. It then focuses on the latter as well as wordplays and examines their difficulties while being translated to another language. Finally, the paper tries to present some strategies for translating humor in general and wordplays in particular. They read as: translating the source text wordplay with wordplay in the target text; translating it in a way that loses some aspect of the wordplay; replacing it with some other device aimed at creating similar effect; or omitting it (Delabastita 1996b:134). In a word, what seems to be so important in translating humor as well as wordplay is preserving the comic effects in the target text.

Relevance Theory and Explicitation Strategy in Translation

Amir Mahdavi Zafarghandi — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This paper starts with Relevance Theory as a major development recognizing that linguistically decoded information usually tends to be very incomplete and that pragmatic inference plays a critical role in the derivation of the proposition explicitly communicated. This not only holds in the case of subsentential utterances, but it is also the case for the vast majority of fully sentential cases (Carston, 1997; Sperber, 1986). Accordingly, what is communicated is usually a set of fully propositional thoughts or assumptions, which are either true or false against an external state of affairs in the world. Next, the paper examines the translation process as proposed by Bell (1991: 213), maintaining that the writer's intention is mediated by the context in which the text was produced, by the writer's assumptions and decisions as for 'what constitutes a relevant and recognizable frame of reference in which to anchor the communication' (Traugott and Pratt 1980: 273) and the conception of the 'ideal reader' who shares the same frame of reference and at whom the text is aimed. The narrowed scope of the present study concentrates on explicitation strategy in translation, which is viewed as a kind of shift between source and target texts, examining its conditions of use (Williams and Chesterman, 2003: 6). The English translation by Edward Rehatsek of the Gulistan of Sa'di (Tashibi, 1988) serves the purpose of the study. Thus, numerous examples are analyzed. This way, the investigation not only unravels the regularities of the translator's behaviour, but also clarifies the general principles that seem to determine how certain things get translated under certain conditions.

The Effect of Translation on Persian Morphological Structures: A Realistic Approach

Mehrzad Mansouri — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

The interference (or borrowing) of some foreign morphological elements and structures in languages are natural. Persian is one of the languages which have been affected in this respect. Some viewed this phenomenon negatively and as a factor which 'destroys' the lexical, morphological and even syntactic structure of the language. In this study it has been argued that the effect of other languages on the morphological structure of Persian is remarkable but not unnatural. This study also investigates the morphological structures copied from other languages. Among these important structures are specific types of acronyms, abbreviations and some suffixes and suffix-like elements in Persian.

Translation as a Means of Testing Reading Ability of EFL Students

Habibollah Mashhady — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

The present study is carried out to determine the relationship between translation ability and such variables as language proficiency and reading ability, identify the reliability and validity of translation tests as reading comprehension measures in relation to other testing methods (in this case multiple-choice), and explore the effects of reading test type and proficiency level on the performance of the participants. To answer the research questions of this study, 114 Iranian EFL students studying different English majors were selected and tested. Concerning the first and the second research questions, correlational analyses were conducted to determine the degree of relationship between the participants’ translation ability and their language proficiency, on the one hand, and the relationship between translation ability and reading ability, on the other hand. The results indicated that language proficiency and reading ability enjoyed the same level of correlation with translation ability, respectively (0.72, 0.71). On the subject of the third research question (reliability of translation reading test), the most common method of estimating inter-rater reliability between raters, the correlation coefficient was used. It was calculated to be (0.79) which can be considered significant. Regarding the research question number four which focused on the question of validity of translation tests, correlation with criterion measure of passage comprehension (multiple-choice) was calculated. The results indicated that there is a significant correlation between the two tests of reading comprehension ability, translation reading test and multiple-choice reading test, (r = 0.62, p < 0.0001).

Euphemism in Translation

Samad Mirza Suzani — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

Despite the importance of euphemisms in both translation and TEFL, most translators and those involved in the task of teaching translation seem to concur that there has been little research on this issue. However, two important points should not be overlooked in this regard: 1. Fluency in both verbal skills and S-T translation can not be achieved without a reasonable command of euphemisms. 2. For language learners and translator trainees euphemisms most often represent a part of language largely untaught and a great number may be semantically opaque; hence, making students encounter with a lot of various problems. In this study euphemisms are categorized into four groups, based on the importance and area of implication, and then the importance of euphemisms in the process of translation will be discussed through providing various examples. Afterwards a translator's need to master both denotative and connotative meanings of terms will be discussed.

Translation and the UG

Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi, Saeed Ketabi — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0330

Apparently it is an unattainable goal to delimit translation. Pertinent to the seemingly unlimited power of translation is the intricate choices it makes available on different levels both linguistic and extra linguistic. Universal grammar admittedly attests ample evidence in support of the view that it is possible not only to come up with demarcating translation but also to put boarder on it. This article aims at doing the feat of explicating the role of UG in translation, inculcating its relation with some terms common in translation studies and introducing translation as a process in Chomskyan framework.

On the Natural Semantic Meta-Language Theory and the Issue of Translatability

Azita Afrashi — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0330

The Natural Semantic Meta-language Theory (NSM) presented by A. Wierzbicka introduces a list of universal semantic primes and the syntactic rules which create other complex concepts out of these universal basic semantic components. After introducing the NSM theoretical framework, the present paper puts forward the idea of the existence of the innate and universal translatable semantic components across languages.

Hermeneutic Considerations in Translating Philosophical and Religious Texts

Hamidreza Ayatollahy — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0330

As Iranians became more interested in and attracted to understanding the philosophical and religious schools of thought after the revolution, many translations of important Western books and articles appeared on those schools. But these translations and their contents have encountered serious challenges. If those challenges are neglected we will experience a kind of misunderstanding of Western thoughts as well as some irrelevant cultural influences of those thoughts. In this paper, I will present some vulnerabilities of translation of philosophical and religious texts; and focus on the necessity of seriously considering the hermeneutic foundations of these translations so that it will be possible to have suitable interpretation of the translated ideas.

Turkish Terms/Concepts for Translation from the Pre-Ottoman to Ottoman Periods: An Overview (1)

Cemal Demircioğlu — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0330

This paper offers a brief historical overview of the pre-Ottoman and Ottoman periods in order to explore and provide for the first time a lexicon of Turkish terms/concepts for translation. The examination of various primary and secondary materials and their extratextual discourse retaled to translation here will serve as a small-scale genealogy as well as a background for observing multiple translational practices in Ottoman culture. My argument in this paper is that Turkish terms/concepts of translation are various and that translation in Ottoman culture should be considered within a broad scale without excluding its heterogeneity and culture-specific aspects and practices. This argument will entail, in retrospect, a wide-ranging perspective in identifying a variety of translation (terceme) practices. In this paper, I will first focus on translational terms/concepts in east Turkic or Old Turkic, particularly on Uyghur Turkish, which was recorded in runiform script and documented in manuscripts of frequently religious character produced in central Asia. Then I will examine those in west Turkic (Oghuz Turkish), i.e. Old Anatolian Turkish, which evolved later into Ottoman Turkish in Asia Minor. Finally, I will analyze the late nineteenth century definitions of translation in Ottoman Turkish lexicons.

Strategies of Appropriation: Khayyam and Rumi

Farzaneh Farahzad — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0330

“Translation as a practice shapes, and takes shape within the asymmetrical relations of power that operate under colonialism.” (Niranjana, 1992:2 cited from Munday 2001:134) The present paper attempts to explore the issue of representation by focusing on two major translations of Persian poetry and literature, one produced in mid 19th century and the other produced in late 20th century. The first part is devoted to Edward Fitzgerald's so-called translation of Khayyam's Rubaiyat, and his strategies of appropriation, which range from adding new verses and quatrains of his own to the Rubaiyat, to alteration of symbols and images, and exclusion of significant cultural elements, all of which have transformed Khayyam into a Western poet-philosopher. The second part briefly discusses the rather recent translations of Rumi's works by Coleman Barks, who seems to be following the same path as Fitzgerald after more than a century, and somehow contributing to a rather similar representation of Persian literature. It further concludes that Western image of Persian literature produced over time still persists, and defines translation within the same old framework of power relations rather than literary exchange.

Advantages of Comparing and Contrasting Translations with Their Originals

Hasan Hashemi-Minabad — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0330

In the literature of translation studies and in translation classrooms, students and learners are required to read Persian classics and modern fiction to master the ability to write Persian; little mention is made of functions and advantages of comparing and contrasting translations with their originals. It, being one of the fields of contrastive textology, is of vital importance in language learning, translation education, translation studies, lexicography, finding equivalents for SL expressions and terms, standardization of neologisms, etc. The paper attempts to introduce the concept, enumerating its uses and privileges and giving examples of its uses in learning morphology and syntax of SL and TL.

Neo-Orientalism and Modern Persian Literature

Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0330

The process of representing works from a literary tradition in a different cultural framework through translation is not determined exclusively by the translator or the one who seems to be selecting the works to be translated. In fact, in the majority of cases, this process is greatly influenced by elements of the culture which is going to host these works. In the case of modern Persian literature and its representation in the West through translation, some of these elements which function through the market are highlighted by an approach which, under the guise of a postmodernism/postcolonialism, perpetuates the old orientalist clichés and concepts. An examination of some of the Persian literary works translated and published in anthologies during the past two decades in the United States clearly demonstrates how neo-orientalist clichés have succeeded in imposing themselves on the process of selecting which works are to be translated. These clichés are constructed based on the notion that literary works of Persian literature (and many other literary traditions of the region) are useful to the West only because they could reveal social and political issues in Iran. This notion informs and is informed by preconceived views about those social and political issues. Accordingly, therefore, specific and limited expectations about Persian literature are instituted. Such a market is further defined by another approach which assumes that Persian literary work is in an elementary stage and that thus readers can have only limited literary expectations from it. Clearly this image also influences the selection process, but the main consequence of such an approach is that it ignores the need to study the unique characteristics of the Persian literary tradition and that the translated works are then almost never subject to rigorous critical examination; and so the vicious cycle continues. Considering these obstacles which frustrate efforts to use translation as a tool to present a true image of the Persian literary tradition, I argue that the act of translation should be accompanied by a theoretical undertaking aimed at establishing concepts and structures through which works of Persian literature in translation can be explored. It is only in this context that the act of translation could lead to the presentation of true examples of the Persian literary tradition within Western cultures.

Why do you have to mumble? A Glance at the Performance of Interpreter

Kambiz Mahmoodzadeh — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0330

Performance of the interpreters could in many ways be assessed by the audience, whether professional, or not. Coming out of a conference, or a negotiating session in which an interpreter performed as a mediator between and among a number of individuals involved, s/he may hear a number of different types of comments on his/her performance, such as "had it not been for the quick wit of the interpreter, we wouldn't have come out of the session with agreement.", or " what a talented interpreter. He perfectly handled both sides so swiftly and authoritatively." One thing we must bear in mind is that not all comments are in favor of the interpreters and their performances. It is possible that the interpreters will be the target of strong criticisms by the audience of a lecture delivered, or the negotiating members of a delegation. It is thus the objective of the present paper to glance at the performance of interpreters and find out why some of them prove weak in their performances. In other words, the present paper is aimed at providing interpreter trainees and probably novice interpreters with certain clues so that they can overcome their weaknesses and prove successful mediators in probably all sessions their performance is required. Now, let us investigate the probable weaknesses of interpreters and find out if it is possible to categorize them. Attempts will also be made to/ provide possible solution to the probable problems in this connection.

Translation and Global Culture: Middle Eastern Women's Literature in the Global North

Shouleh Vatanabadi — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper addresses a few major questions concerning the politics of selection, translation and distribution of the works of the Middle Eastern women writers, such as: How does the knowledge on Middle Eastern women's literature shape geopolitical and gendered hierarchies, or is it shaped by it? What is the location of these texts within the academic hierarchy of knowledge? How can these texts that travel through translation be, in Spivak's words, de-anthropologised? The paper, therefore, examines the distribution of the works of women authors of the Arab, Persian and Turkic worlds translated into English and published in the U.S. recently. It focuses on the ways in which these texts, informed by the politics of reception and representation, and confined to a certain mode of discourse, are appropriated to symbolize gendered otherness in the curriculum of a diverse body of academic disciplines. The paper also discusses the ways in which these texts, depending on their success, move back to the Middle East, translated into other Middle Eastern languages once they are packaged in the West to be further appropriated in otherizing the other in the Middle East.

Turkish Terms/Concepts for Translation from the Pre-Ottoman to Ottoman Periods: An Overview (2)

Cemal Demircioğlu — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This paper offers a brief historical overview of the pre-Ottoman and Ottoman periods in order to explore and provide for the first time a lexicon of Turkish terms/concepts for translation. The examination of various primary and secondary materials and their extratextual discourse related to translation here will serve as a small-scale genealogy as well as a background for observing multiple translational practices in Ottoman culture. My argument in this paper is that Turkish terms/concepts of translation are various and that translation in Ottoman culture should be considered within a broad scale without excluding its heterogeneity and culture-specific aspects and practices. This argument will entail, in retrospect, a wide-ranging perspective in identifying a variety of translation (terceme) practices. In this paper, I will first focus on translational terms/concepts in east Turkic or Old Turkic, particularly on Uyghur Turkish, which was recorded in runiform script and documented in manuscripts of frequently religious character produced in central Asia. Then I will examine those in west Turkic (Oghuz Turkish), i.e. Old Anatolian Turkish, which evolved later into Ottoman Turkish in Asia Minor. Finally, I will analyze the late nineteenth century definitions of translation in Ottoman Turkish lexicons.

On Translation of International Tests: Statistics in Translation

Mansoor Fahim — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0330

The major aim of this study is to provide translators with an overview of translation of international tests and questionnaires. First, a distinction is made between translation and adaptation, it is discussed that in translation, linguistic equivalence is of great importance and in adaptation, both the linguistic and cultural equivalences are of great concern. To ensure linguistic equivalence, qualitative and quantitative examinations are recommended, and to warrant cultural equivalence, quantitative examinations are proposed. In the end, the guidelines laid down by the International Test Commission (ITC) for translation of tests have been presented.

Translation and Movement of Structures

Saeed Ketabi, Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This article is an attempt to demonstrate the role of movement in translation in the framework of Chomskyan Universal Grammar. Specifiers as the landing site of moved phrases play a fundamental part in producing different structures driven from the same sentence, hence their pivotal roles in stylistic translation. Specifiers of IP and CP, though indirectly and beyond the theory, have the ability to account for discoursal factors including implicatures derived from word order and thematization. This proviso enables UG to work out extra linguistic factors in translating into TL in the wake of SL structure, implicatures and style by and large. Allied to specifiers of IP is the pro-drop nature of SL and TL which is apt to be the second influential stylistic factor on a par with movement into specifier of CP. The power of specifiers for accounting both linguistic and nonlinguistic factors makes Chomskyan formal linguistics more advisable as a base for translation studies accordingly.

Folān and Folāni in Translation of Persian Literary Texts

Behrouz Mahmoodi Bakhtiari — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This article deals with one of the challenging Persian words in the field of translation (especially literary translation). This word is Folān, which is noteworthy in two respects: First, it is a text-bound word which is not conceivable out of context, and secondly, it is a culture-bound word, which does not necessarily have a proper equivalent in different languages, such as English. These two issues cause the translator of the Persian texts (especially the literary texts, where this word is abundantly used) to face several problems. In this article, different samples of this word have been checked with their equivalents in different reliable translations of Divān-e Hāfez, Masnavi, Golestān and Bustān, and the results have been provided as a list of equivalents.

A Survey of Foreignization and Domestication Strategies in English-Persian Literary Translations

Robab Montakhab, Hussein Mollanazar — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0330

Relying on the distinction between two key cultural strategies of foreignization and domestication postulated by Venuti, this research explores the way in which foreign literature has been portrayed in Persian context. To this end, three world famous novels originally written in English are compared with their Persian translations. The outlet of the research is based on the solid foundation of the practical models of translation that have been gleaned from a number of studies. This product-oriented descriptive translation research is a qualitative attempt to describe and analyse the applied foreignization and domestication procedures. The research questions aims to explore the dominant strategy in the dichotomy of foreignization/ domestication as well as the scope of application of these two strategies in the corpus of the research. According to the obtained results, domestication has been introduced as the most pervasive cultural translation strategy applied in the corpus of the research as well as each ST-TT pair.

Using Specialized Monolingual Corpus in Translating Political Texts: A pilot study

Tayebeh Mosavi Miangah, Maryam Mohammadi Dehcheshmeh — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0330

In recent years, electronic corpora have played a crucial role in different areas of linguistics such as language learning and teaching, lexicography, translation and many others. It is suggested that exploiting monolingual as well as bilingual corpora can help translators (whether human or machine) to a high degree. This paper tries to show the effectiveness of a specialized monolingual corpus in translating various collocations usually found in political texts from English into Persian by a translation trainee. This interesting experiment compares the accuracies of collocation translation using conventional resources (e.g. monolingual as well as bilingual dictionaries) and a specialized monolingual corpus. The results show how the quality of translation by a would-be translator can be improved using corpus-based translation tools. Concretely, the present experiment demonstrates a 51.3% improvement in finding correct equivalents when a specialized monolingual corpus is used as translation aid as opposed to monolingual and bilingual dictionaries.

Competent Translator and the Awareness of Translation Shifts, Norms and Strategies

Hossein Vossoughi — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This study concentrates on the practical aspects and the operational task of the translation process and the actual problems that the translator has to tackle. In order to raise the awareness of the translation trainees and to achieve their expectations in practicing translation projects, a comparative corpora study has been implemented on the translation of a specific linguistic category termed "infinitive phrase" from English into Persian, and through a procedural shift analysis, the researcher has detected the norms of translation product, and has discerned the strategies the translator had applied in the process. The researcher has then described the types of shifts, norms and strategies involved, in order to highlight them and to depict them for pedagogical implications and for the future decision-making by the translation trainees, translation amateurs and even professional translators to increase their translation competence and become more competent.

Speech Acts in Drama Translation

Marjan Ghourchian — Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 +0330

One of the most important aspects of drama and definitely drama translation is that it should be performable. In order to preserve the performability, the communicative function of linguistic forms should be recognized and conveyed by the translator. As noticed by some translation scholars (e.g. Snell-Hornby [1988] and Hatim [1998]), speech acts have a vital role in this process. Translators may employ different strategies to overcome difficulties in translating speech acts. Knowledge of difficulties of drama translation, speech acts (especially their different linguistic forms in different languages) and the different strategies of translating speech acts can help translators fulfill their duty as communicators. Studying speech acts as linguistic tools which can contribute to the production of better translations and recognition of the strategies adopted by translators in treating speech acts may pave the way for further researches on this neglected genre and may contribute to producing more adequate translations. This research, which was based on parallel and a comparable corpora, intended to present a classification of the linguistic forms representing the most frequently-used speech acts in Persian dramas by analyzing randomly-selected pages of authentic Persian.

The Peculiarities and Norms of Film Subtitling

Nazar Ali Harati — Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 +0330

The amazing impact of the audiovisual media on the world has caused the dwellers of the translation territory think of a wider and more flexible definition of translation which embraces the new forms of linguistic and cultural transfer. Although subtitling differs from text translation in several aspects, it is considered as a special form of translation (Hatim and Mason, 1997). The commencement of subtitling dates back to the silent films era (Schwarz, 2002) and it has been a common practice in some small countries such as Scandinavian ones (Broddason, 2006). However, it is still a new phenomenon in most countries, including Iran in which it is mostly reserved for feature films offered in video shops. Film subtitling, which might deceptively seem simple, is considered as a complex undertaking with its own restrictions which stem from its unique audiovisual framework (Chaume, 2004). This paper attempts to both explain the peculiarities of this special form of translation and deal with the common standards that should be observed in this field.

Linguistically Translation Resistance of the Quran as a Literary Text

Abolfazl Horri — Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This paper studies the Quran as a literary text. First, it reviews the permit for (not) translating Quran and juxtaposes the proponents' and opponents' positions. After reviewing literature, this paper mentions the methods underlying the literary translation in brief. Finally, the postulate of Quran's untranslatability is examined by Quranic instances taken from over ten different Persian and three English translations from linguistic point of view (mostly phonology) and rhetoric. These include, among others, alliteration, minimal sets, words play, rhyme, rhythm. In the end, it is concluded that the Quranic subtle linguistic and complex rhetorical problems, if not completely untranslatable, remain resistant to translation.

Poetry Translation, from Text to Metatext

Alireza Khanjan — Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 +0330

The paper starts with an analysis of poetical discourse within the theoretical framework of Systemic-Functional linguistics (Halliday, 1985 & 1994). Then it goes on to put emphasis on the roles of "system" and "function" notions in analyzing, interpreting and translating poetry. Through giving some samples of English Poetry translated into Persian and vice versa, the paper tries to clarify the necessity of rendering the way the source poet deals with the three metafunctions of language particularly with the "ideational" and "textual" matafunctions. It will be argued that the translator's selections among linguistic signs and the way s/he combines them within the target system should, as far as possible, be based upon the ideational aspects and the textual patterns of the original poem (though the target choices are not necessarily supposed to be equally correspondent with the source elements). Furthermore, it will be emphasized that the final translated work should be in line with the target readers' criteria of textual acceptability and with their intertextual experience of what is considered to be a poem.

Natural Lexical Equivalence in Translation: A Semiotic Approach

Mehrzad Mansoori — Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This study has analyzed the process of finding the closest/most natural lexical equivalence in terms of a semiotic approach. Having been analyzed some possible types of equivalence, It has been argued that what is compared is not the linguistic signs but the images made by the words. In this respect the translator starts a play, in trail and error method, to find the closest image or picture of the linguistic form in Target Language (TL) for Source Language(SL) word or linguistic sign. Since the image is abstract the translator is imposed to finish the play in words as he had started with them.

A Comparative Evaluation of Two Persian MT Systems

Vahid R. Mirzaeian — Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 +0330

There are various centers working on the filed of machine translation in Iran but so far only two of them have produced commercial applications available in the market. The aim of this paper is to evaluate these two applications and comment on their advantages and weaknesses. In order to achieve this goal, we first review the general principles covering the evaluation of the output generated by MT applications; then we will have to proceed with our own evaluation.

Development Communication, Translation and Culture

Ehsan Bakhshandeh, Hadi Khaniki — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0330

Communication -which is tightly dependent on culture and civilization- and development are two closely-correlated concepts, the absence of each can affect the other one. In a modernized society, national development, i.e. inward-looking, plans are devised based on communication facilities and capabilities playing a major role in social development. However, not all plans are inward-looking. Besides, government officials and decision makers have been advised by experts to examine development plans of other nations and invest in the technology sector within different cultural contexts. This appears impossible, somehow, to transfer technology, compare and contrast different development plans (particularly outward-looking ones) without communicating with other states through a unified language, the main part of which will be culture and translation. In fact in the process of modernization, communicating with modernized states through a unified language and translation appears unavoidable. Although heads of states participating in the World Summit on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in the Information Society emphasized on the significance of linguistic diversity in the age of information, they could not deny the dominancy of the English language as the main language of international exchange and the gravity of translation as the main tool of communication among cultures and civilizations. In the present paper, researchers have focused on clarifying relation(s) between development communication and translation while incorporating culture, civilization in particular, into this context.

Letter Similes in English Word Formation and Their Translation into Persian

Hasan Hashemi-Minabad — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0330

Objects, tools and phenomena in English and European languages sometimes are likened to letters based on their exact or relative similarities, coining new compounds. The article tries to study letter similes in English and investigate the ways they are translated into Persian. It terminates with a list of letter similes and their Persian dynamic, functional equivalents to shed light on the subject.

Theoretical Principle of Narratology and Translating Narrative Texts

Abolfazl Horri — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This paper examines the relationship between narratology and translated narrative texts. Firstly, it reviews the literature. It then examines different narrative communication models in translated narrative texts. The narrative model has but a direct relationship with the narrator, a voice that narrates the text. With translated narrative text, however, comes to the scene another voice, which is the translator's and is as important as the narrator's. This voice belongs to the translator, who will be the voice of the narrator of the translation. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the translator as one of the main components in translated narrative model.

A Comparative Study of Culture-Bound Terms in Translation: Sa`di's Golestān or Rose Garden in Persian and English

Ahmad Moinzadeh — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This research investigates the problems which translators are faced with while translating culture-bound terms (CBTs). These terms refer to the concepts, traditions and materials available in one culture, hence in the language thereof, but non-existent in the other culture and the language thereof. The purpose of this study is to identify the strategies opted for by different translators faced with these terms. The researchers identified CBTs in the original (Persian) text – which was the second chapter of Sa`di’s Golestān or Rose Garden and their English renderings in five different translations done by English translators. Then the translation procedures used by each translator were determined. Lastly, according to different sense components of the cultural items, the strategies more capable of rendering the underlying concepts of the CBTs were identified. The researchers resorted to authentic references and dictionaries to identify the cultural and implicit meanings of the CBTs in the original language. The findings of the current study were as follows: (a) None of the English translators of Sa`di’s Golestān can be said to have been thoroughly successful in rendering all the underlying concepts of the CBTs; (b) Regarding the nature of the text under study, it seems that among various translation procedures, the two which make a couplet, including ‘transference’ and another procedure such as ‘descriptive equivalent’ or ‘footnote’ would have a higher potential for conveying both the local color of the source text and much of the underlying meaning of the culture-bound terms.

A Translation Theory Based on Generative Linguistics

Mehrzad Mansouri — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0330

Any theory of Linguistics can have contribution in development of translation theories. Undoubtedly of the most important and popular theories in Linguistics in the last decades is Transformational Generative Grammar, called Generative Linguistics which has been developed as Government Binding (GB) theory as well as Minimalist Program (MP). The study has attempted to describe translation in terms of GB and MP theoretical foundations. In this study the most important issues in translation like the definition of translation, faithfulness to SL or TL readers, assessment of translation, constraints in translation, as well as the effect of translator have been studied in this frame work. In addition to the theoretical analyses, the pedagogical implication has also been proposed to improve translation syllabus.

Contrastive Analysis of Objective Complement in Persian and English: Evidence from English translated texts into Persian

Mehdi Meshkato-Dini, Khalil Ghazizadeh — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0330

Although the contrastive analysis of objective complement (objective predicate) in Persian and English has been carried out by the researchers during the last few decades, because of the structural complexity of the construction on both theoretical and applied points of view, it seems to need further study and investigation. This paper deals with the topic on the minimalist approach with evidence from some English translated texts into Persian.

Is Pun Translatable? The Case of English Translations of Sa'di's Gulistān

Helen Ouliaeina, Mahmoud Afrouz — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Translation suffers from many inherent limitations, one of which is translating a pun meaningfully in another language. In the present paper, we will analyze how puns have been dealt with in the five English translations of The Gulestān of Sa'di (1258) by E. Rehatsek (1956), Eastwick (1852), R. Burton (1888), and J. Ross (1823). Representing some definitions of pun by both TL and SL scholars, the researchers try to typify pun in both TL and SL. Although, perceptibly, there cannot be claimed to exist one clear cut solution to this problem, there seems to be some strategies that can be taken into consideration as effective and useful ones; consequently, it is attempted to touch upon some possible strategies for translating puns, and then presenting a brief analysis of the strategies employed by the translators of the work in rendering the puns efficiently. It will be determined whether they have resorted to a particular strategy, and whether they have been consistent in utilizing a specific strategy they might have realized as the most effective one in pun translation. The last section draws some general conclusions. It seems noteworthy to mention that the research was conducted with the intention of providing a description in order to come to a better understanding of one of the most challenging areas of translation, namely pun translation and emphasizing the fact that, though there are some strategies for rendering puns, one cannot claim that they may be absolutely practical in reality - as is evident in the case of Sa'di’s Gulestān.

Hybrid Texts, Sources and Translation

Mohammad Bagher Roozgar — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0330

Since long, war and attempts to dominate a nation, colonialism, and more recently, advances in technology and globalization have made people communicate widely with each other. These phenomena, more strongly the more recent ones, have influenced the whole levels of the human life. Among such levels, the linguistic one is to be elaborated on in this paper. The primary focus is on “hybrid texts” which are studied from a Translation Studies perspective. First the term is defined and located within the field. Then varying factors influential in the creation of such texts - what is called hybridization - are discussed. Finally, the relation between translation and hybrid texts is argued. The paper indicates that translation, depending on the approach of the translator, has both a hybridizing and a dehybridizing effect when it comes to such texts.

A Structural-Functional Model for the Stylistic Analysis of Critical Discourse

Gholam Mohammad Faghiri — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This article first provides a definition of style, stylistic features and a method to recognize these features. Then different approaches to stylistics – structuralist linguistics, formalist linguistics, discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis – are introduced. Critical theory is compared with other linguistic schools in theory and practice. Then, various material, mental, relational, verbal, behavioral and existential processes, which are included in the ideational function of Haliday’s systemic grammar, are illustrated with Persian examples. This paper aims at introducing a structural-functional model of textual sytlistics that can be applied in critical theory.

Subtitling Norms: a Comparative Study of Iranian and American Films

Fatemeh Jabbarzadeh — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0330

The present study investigates the application of norms in subtitling of some Iranian and American films. The questions this study seeks to answer are: what norms are applied in subtitling of Iranian and American films? And what are the similarities and differences between the norms applied in subtitling of Iranian and American films? In this article, a short theoretical discussion will be given about the main topics: audiovisual translation, especially subtitling, and norms. The material for the study consists of 5 Iranian films subtitled in English and 5 American films subtitled in English. Considering translation as a norm-governed activity, the researcher's main concern has been studying norms applied in the translation of some challenging concepts including culture-specific items, verbal visual signs and language varieties. By nature, this research is descriptive which is aimed at comparing the Iranian and American subtitled films with the focus on normative patterns governing their translation process. As in the field of translation studies norms are frequently used patterns, through this research some patterns applied by translators in the course of translating challenging concepts were extracted. The extracted patterns are: 1. the informal form is replaced by formal one; 2. the social dialect is rendered as it is uttered; 3. the local dialect is identified in brackets; 4. the CS item is replaced with a proper target CS item; 5. the CS item is manipulated to be understandable; 6. the CS item is preserved intact; 7. the CS item is omitted; 8. Verbal-visual signs are not subtitled; 9. songs are subtitled; 10. songs are not subtitled. Through this research the extracted patterns were considered the basis for analyzing the instances existing in the selected films.

Sports Idioms and Duality of Meaning in Translation

Samad Mirza Suzani — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0330

There have been many terms incorporated into English as idiomatic expressions as a result of the mass media's mania for games and sporting events. Moreover, regarding the increasingly important role of games and sports in the development of global interactions and understanding among the world's nations, a mastery of terminology involved in every one of the sports seems indispensable. Sports terms, on the other hand, can present a challenge in the process of translation so that a translator has to be very familiar with the regulations and jargon for different kinds of sports both in SL and TL. Sports terms and idioms can mostly embody duality of meaning. That is, sports terms and idioms can be interpreted as not only being related to the sporting event itself, but also as having something to do with non-sports situations such as business and social interactions. This duality of meaning is the main focus of the present study. If a translator understands the sport, the game and the way it is played, he/she will understand better the idiomatic expressions derived from these games and henceforth can produce a more successful translation out of the texts.

The study of Proper Name Allusions in English Translations of Sa’di's Gulistan

Hossein Pirnajmuddin, Mahmoud Afrouz — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Translating allusion is one of the most challenging tasks to be performed by a translator. Allusions are potential problems of translation process due to the fact that they have particular connotations and implications in the source language (SL) and the foreign culture (FC) but not necessarily in the TL and the domestic culture. Taking this into consideration, the present paper aims at touching upon the rendering of proper name allusions (PNs) in the Gulistan of Sa’di (1213) in five English translations by R. Anderson (1861), E. Rehatsek (1956), Eastwick (1852), R. Burton (1842), and J. Ross (1839). The paper probes different strategies employed by the translators of Gulistan to help the TL readers to perceive the implied and associational meanings of proper names in Sa’di's masterpiece. After tracing the PNs in the Gulistan and identifying their equivalents in the five English translations, the model of Leppihalme (1997) was applied to the collected data in order to find out which strategies have been preferred by each of the translators and why. Central to the study is the analysis of the significance of "retention" as the most frequently-used strategy here for tackling such elements.

Textual Explicitation in Two Text-types: Expressive and Informative

Mohammad Bagher Roozgar — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0330

Explicitation is the process of rendering explicit into a target language what is implicit on the linguistic surface of a source text. Being a general notion, explicitation is of different types, i.e. obligatory, optional, pragmatic, and translation-inherent, and occurs at different linguistic levels, e.g. grammatical, semantic and pragmatic. Taking Blum-Kulka’s (1986) explicitation hypothesis as its starting point, this study focuses on intersentential elliptical structures as a potential source of explicitation. The objective of the study was to see how explicitation is dealt with in expressive and informative text-types. Thus, a corpus was compiled comprising in turn of two sub-corpora. One consisted of 3 English narratives along with their Persian translations, and was named corpus A. The other contained 3 psychological texts as well as their translations in Persian, and was named corpus B. These texts were taken to represent expressive and informative types of texts. The analyses were made on the first 200 translated sentences of each source text. Sentences which had ellipses (nominal, verbal, and clausal) were first located in the original texts. Subsequently, their translations were identified in the target texts. Attention was then paid to see how explicitation behaved in these structures and in the two sub-corpora. Observations indicate that (1) informative texts tend to be explicit by nature, (2) they are far more explicit than expressive texts, and (3) in translation, too, the tendency to be explicitated is much higher in informative than in expressive texts.

Personification in Translation: Translation of Animal Personifications in Orwell's Animal Farm

M. H. Talebinezhad, Farzaneh Baghery — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0330

This study was carried out in the hope of proposing the most effective strategy for translation of personification in general and animal personification in particular. In doing so, a list of animals in Orwell's Animal Farm was made since the study of all animal personifications was not feasible. Then a comparison between the personifying characteristics of these animals in English and Persian was also made. The results showed that there are some differences between animal personification in English and Persian. This requires specific translation strategies which are proposed in the article.

Pronouns in Translation: Language and Extralanguage (Focusing on Religious Texts)

Saeed Ketabi, Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0330

Pronouns in translation, unlike other grammatical categories including nouns, verbs, etc are probably prone to be considered without drawback. But a close estimate of ad hoc features which pronouns conflate simultaneously, both in relation to language system and extralinguistic factors, reveals that it is almost a far-reaching goal to simply assume the proviso envisaged above. Due to their deictic meaning, pronouns, relate the text and context including place, time, etc which are responsible for different interpretations of the text. Pronouns have grammaticalized gender, case, and number differently in the languages of the world and their imposing role on syntax and morphological properties in some languages of the world has to be accounted for in translation. Moreover, social relations are categorized, in some languages including Persian, in pronouns or the pronoun system. Pronouns are not interpretable unless their antecedent be specified. The goal upon which this article seeks is to enumerate pronouns and their merits in translation, though particular attention is given to pronouns in divine sources.

Neurology, Neurolinguistics and the Process of Translation in the Brain

Akbar Hesabi — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0330

In this article after introducing different views about how the brain functions in bilingual aphasics based on the neurosciences and neurolinguistic researches, the findings of these fields of research regarding translation process ، comprehension and production will be discussed. Then the writer’s view will be put forward. Based on the observations as well as the system of brain function it can be assumed that recovery of the language impairments in translation, comprehension and production regarding the brain self-organizing, can be influenced by the process of harmonizing of software of translation, comprehension and production with the hardware of brain and in a subtle view due to the recovery of impairments in decoding of languages.

Intertexuality and Its Theoretical Consequences in Translation

Alireza Khanjan, Zahra Mirza — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper starts with a rereading of the theory of 'intertexuality' and goes on with tracing it back to works of Bakhtin, Kristeva, and Barthes. The findings indicate that an acceptation of intertextuality, even though from a non-radical standpoint, would have some implications for both the theory and the practice of translation among which are ''uncertainty of meaning and non-originality of the source text", "putting emphasis on the importance of contextual elements", "putting emphasis on the role of translation in the text survival process" and as a result, "raising the translator’s professional position", "posing again, the dialectic of (non)translatability problem", "the necessity of adjusting the translation terminology" and finally, "the demand for doing a typological analysis" prior to translation.

Official Translation Certification Issuance in Iran: Quality Assessment

Amir Mahdavi Zafarghadni, Mercede Sharifi — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0330

This paper seeks to scrutinize the translation certification assessment through an in-depth descriptive research. After reviewing various methods of translation assessment, a full description is provided concerning all the stages of the assessment program. This way, each stage of assessment is critically evaluated, clarifying the reasons for some of the unsystematic procedures and the need for moving towards a more viable model of translation process-oriented certification assessment. For data collection, 8 authorities of the examining board of the Technical Office of Official Translators at Justice Department and 31 participants were given a questionnaire and an interview on the procedures of the assessment. The further analysis of the data revealed that the most crucial stage of assessment was based on a non-standard summative test, and that there were a number of irregularities in each and every stage of the assessment without considering the procedures undertaken by the translator to resolve problems (Hatim and Mason, 1990: 3). In conclusion, a holistic view of translation assessment programs is offered based on the translating processes.

A Study of the Russian Imperative Mood and Its Translation into Persian

Mohammad Reza Mohammadi, Mahboobeh Aliyari Shooreh-Deli — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0330

From typological perspective, both Russian and Persian belong to the same language family (i.e. Indo-European). They have many common features in their lexical and syntactic structures. Imperative mood, as a verbal feature, has been a matter of interest and wide exploration both in Russian and Persian. Russian imperative mood and verb forms are very closely related to each other, and most of the meanings of imperative mood are conveyed by the help of verb forms. Due to the important grammatical role of verb in morphology as well as its significant role in sentence construction, most often we see that it is not transferred or translated correctly into Persian. The present paper is an attempt to study some of these meanings and the way they are best transferred or translated into Persian.

The Impact of EFL Students' Cultural knowledge on Their translation Performance

Ahmad Mohseni — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0330

This article explores the influence of the cultural knowledge of our students of English (EFL students) on their translation performance. The study found that the students often lacked sufficient knowledge on L2 culture in order to deal with widely-used cultural concepts. Even though insufficient knowledge affected the students' translation behavior negatively in several ways, actual translation often failed to reveal that they were based on deficient knowledge. The findings suggest that factual reference source have an important role to play in translation activites, and that process-oriented classroom approaches are necessary to detect overty correct solutions based on insufficient cultural knowledge.

English Linking Verbs and Their Translation into Persian

Vida Nooshinfar — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0330

Teaching English and translation courses to the junior and senior students of translation studies has brought about the idea whether the familiarity with the differences of languages can be of help in translation or not and how much emphasis it may require. This article is going to compare English and Persian linking verbs and their compliments with emphasis on translation.

Thematicity and the Act of Translation in Practice

Taher Sarhady — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0330

The way something is said has as much weight in a discoursal view of language as what is said, and variations in the ways of saying are all discoursally motivated (Lotfipour-Saedi, 1992). Included among these variations are the thematization strategies or the decisions on what to place in the thematic position of every theme-rheme unit in the text. The present paper investigates thematic arrangements across Persian and English languages with respect to the thematic elements in the hierarchical organization of a text that contribute to its development. The main issue at stake is to trace how Persian thematic elements are conveyed to English in the process of translation. In doing so, I have come up with the conclusion that most of the SL themes under study can be remained intact in the TL in such a way that it can be a leading hint in translation studies.

Application of Lexical-Functional Theory in Designing an English-Persian Translation Machine

Jalilullah Faroughi, Nader Jahangiri — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0430

This article, at first, introduces lexical-functional theory as a theory which: (a) has psychological reality; (b) is computationally exact; and (c) makes relationship between different levels of language. Then, it deals with sentences which are ambiguous for translation machine and, consequently, the machine generates two constituent structures for them: i.e. distinguishing "phrasal verb + noun phrase" from "verb + prepositional phrase" and distinguishing "noun phrase + prepositional phrase" from "noun phrase" and "prepositional phrase". To disambiguate these sentences, the solution taken by a human translator, i.e. using semantic information, is modulated for machine through lexical mapping theory.

The Relationship between Translation Ability, Language Proficiency and Writing Ability of EFL students

Habibollah Mashhady — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0430

Translation ability as a communicative and language ability is closely interwoven with writing ability in L2. This relationship makes it to be considered as an effective means of learning, teaching and testing L2. This study aims at finding out the relationship between the ability to translate, foreign language proficiency, and L2 writing ability. It examines the performance of 114 Iranian female and male language learners on a TOEFL Test, a Direct Composition Test (DC), and a Translation Composition Test (TCT). The findings reveal that language proficiency and writing ability are highly correlated with translation ability and the relationship between translation ability and writing ability is high and significant. It also maintains that translation is a valid and reliable method as a means of testing writing ability of EFL students.

Translation of Proper Names: Problems and Approaches

Samad Mirza Suzani — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0430

Since the problem of translating proper names has always been existent as a controversial issue, the main aim of the present study is to raise problems and take approaches to the translation of proper names from SL to TL. For this purpose, first some major problems concerning the translation of proper names will be mentioned. Then proper names will be generally categorized based on different semantic groups, followed by a number of examples. At the end, further suggestions for a better translation of proper names will be given. It is hoped that such a study open perspectives to interested readers and translators on this aspect of translation.

On the Test Methods and Translation Criteria Used to Assess Iranian Students’ Translations in Translation Courses

Abdolmehdi Riazi, Zahra Davoodi — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0430

One of the main reasons for students’ dissatisfaction with their exam scores in translation programs is related to the way their translations are evaluated. Although translation courses have been taught for several years in Iranian universities (both Islamic Azad universities and State universities), almost no organized study has been done on the type of tests and the criteria used to assess students' translations. The present study set out to survey the way translation instructors evaluate students' translations. Participants were solicited for their test method preferences and the criteria they used to assess students' translations. To achieve the objectives of the study, a 22-item questionnaire was administered to 36 male and female translation instructors who have taught translation courses in 9 different Iranian universities. Results of the data analysis indicated that there is agreement among translation instructors in assessing students’ translations. Almost all of the instructors preferred to use essay-type questions in translation exams. They also indicated that they paid attention to the grammatical points, word equivalence, genre, register, and shifts to assess students’ translations. The findings of this study may be useful to the students majoring in translation as well as translation instructors. Students will certainly improve their translations if they are aware of the criteria used to evaluate their translation. Translation instructors who do not have much experience in teaching or testing translation courses can also use the findings of the study to improve their tasks.

A Socio-Semiotic Approach to the Study of Translation Equivalence in Rendering Ideological Concepts

Towhid Siami — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0430

The aim of the present paper is to offer a new approach to the study of ‘equivalence’ in translation. It assumes that different contemporary theories of translation equivalence can be substantially divided into three major groups. In the first there are those translation scholars who adopt an idealistic abstract notion of equivalence and use it in their own definitions, criticism and the teaching of translation. The members of the second group do not believe in the concept of ‘equivalence’ and avoid using it in their writing. Finally, There are other translation scholars who seem to stand in the middle and borrow the concept of ‘equivalence’ from the first group and claim to study it from an objective perspective. Having reviewed the theory of equivalence as interpreted by some of the most innovative theorists of the above mentioned groups, the paper applies the principles and concepts of the theory of language as a social semiotics (Halliday, 1978) to the study of the problem of equivalence in translation and draws the conclusion that the term ‘equivalence’ seems to be a misleading concept and should therefore be replaced by the concept ‘translation loss’ unless, according to Hatim and Mason (1990), the gap between the discourse of SL (English) and TL (Persian) cultures is bridged.

Translation Problems of Emotional Internal Body Part Metaphors in Persian and English

M. Reza Talebinezhad, Roya Ranjbar Mohammady — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0430

Emotions are usually expressed through conceptual metaphors. Many emotional concepts are embodied, i.e. they have a basis in bodily experiences. The notion of embodiment emphasizes the role of the human body in our cognitive experience of the world. The purpose of this study was to show how Persian and English speakers conceptualize the role of the body in emotion and the impact of emotion in the body and how this is manifested in these two languages. Its aim was to identify how emotional concepts are embodied in both languages and as a result to determine the similarities and differences of these two languages in using emotional internal body part metaphors. The internal body parts were chosen for this study because, in comparison to the external body parts, they are more subject to greater cultural diversity in the understanding of how they work and relate to each other. The materials for this study were gathered from different sources and dictionaries related to the translation of literary devices, particularly the translation of metaphors. The Persian metaphors were collected from three dictionaries and the English ones were gathered from twelve dictionaries. Then the metaphors found in both languages were compared and contrasted to determine which emotions the internal body parts convey in both languages and to see to what extent these body parts express the same or different emotions in both languages. The results of this study showed the embodiment of emotional concepts in human experiences and the fact that Persian speakers use more internal body parts in their emotional expressions.

A Contrastive Study of English-Persian Dictionaries

Mousa Ahmadian, Hossein Askari — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0430

The inevitable changes that all aspects of a language undergo require lexicographers, especially those who compile bilingual dictionaries, to stay abreast of the latest changes. Each dictionary, indirectly, reveals the compiler's style, his knowledge of the source and target languages, and his knowledge of lexicography. This paper endeavors to undertake a contrastive study of four English-Persian dictionaries: Aryanpour (1377), Bateni (1369), Ja'fari (1383) and Haghshenas (1381). The contrastive study focuses on three areas 1. Semantic categorization, accuracy in choosing equivalents, and semantic domain 2. Grammatical usage and abbreviations, and 3. Phonetic transcription. At the end of each chapter a brief assessment of the above mentioned dictionaries will be provided. The wide-range uses of these dictionaries by students, language learners, researchers and, most especially, translators make such studies indispensable. However, this paper is not to find faults in the dictionaries, since the painstaking task of dictionary writing is clear to the users.

Translation of Fiction: A Sociosemiotic Approach

Fazel Asadi, Tahereh Samenian — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0430

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of fiction translation and to explore the impact of application of sociosemiotic approach on translation of fiction. The applicability of the sociosemiotic approach to translation of fiction is examined from two perspectives: theory basis and translation practice. Four qualified professors with PhD degrees in Teaching, Linguistics, Literature and Translation participated in this study by completing three surveys about translations of Joyce’s “Araby” and giving scores to them according to certain criteria such as: title, genre (myth and archetype), setting and atmosphere, point of view, tone, symbolism, epiphany, allusion, imagery and intertexuality. The findings confirm significant effects. The conclusion may be drawn that this type of translation method deserves significant attention during the development in other sciences.

A Critical Glance at Repetition and Parallelism in Literary Texts from a Discourse Analysis and Translation Studies Perspective

Mohammad Ghazanfari — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0430

Through a survey on historical and philosophical traces of the phenomenon of “repetition” in the West, this paper deals with the significance and role of rhetorical repetitions in literary texts from the perspective of discourse analysis and translation studies. Addressing the issue of translating repeated elements in texts from a discourse analysis perspective and pointing out the crucial role that proper rendering of such elements can play in relaying the content, style, and diction of the source text (ST) into the target text (TT), to underline the rhetorical significance of repetition, the author presents instances of repetition from the fields of oration, religious discourse, and literature. The paper finally compares portions of a number of published Persian translations of a few literary texts, including parts of a few plays by William Shakespeare, to indicate to what extent the translators have appropriately relayed rhetorical repetitions in the source text to the target text.

Collocational Clashes in English-Persian Translations

Giti Karimkhanlui — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0430

It is generally accepted that collocational problems are present in the process of language learning, and they play an important role in the process of second language learning as well as translation. In spite of the fact that a majority of EFL learners have a good knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in English, they lack necessary knowledge of the collocational patterns. Moreover, collocations and restrictions related to their use are not considered important by teachers and learners. This study is a two-process study in which concerning the importance of linguistic issues in translation, the matter of collocational clashes in translation is investigated. The focus of the research is on how and to what extent SL collocations affect TL collocations and in what areas of translation we observe clashes between the two languages of English and Persian as we consider the choice of collocations. How selection of collocations in TL is affected by SL? Are natives and non-natives aware of the collocations in their language? In order to answer these questions six Persian translations of two English novels were studied. The clashes of collocations were collected. They were used in two multiple-choice tests that were prepared to show the fundamental factors which result in unacceptable collocations. They were given to the students of Persian literature and students of English language. The results were analyzed for further study. During this study it was found out that some causes for collocational clashes were more frequent as compared to other causes. The most frequent ones were as follows: type-setting errors mistranslation non-observance of collocational possibilities in TL

The Role of Ideology in Quranic Translations

Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi, Haydar Ali Meimeneh, Saeed Ketabi — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0430

It is absolutely indispensable to translate without resorting to extralingustic factors. Process of Translation is under the pressure of ideology (as an extralinguistic factor) concerning all linguistic factors including syntax, lexicon, phonology, etc. Ideology itself establishes a foundation (loose or taught) in background which directs (consciously or unconsciously) translators into the linguistic choices yielding different products. Moreover, it is not language system choices per se which is under the influence of ideology. Implications and implicatures are determined and controlled on a par with ideological presuppositions as well. It is, however, crucial to note that no component of language per se may be ideological. In return, ideology is reflected in language system. This article, too, aims at delving into the role of different ideological backgrounds on translation; though exclusively focusing on the Holy Quran. Critical discourse analysis views are powerful enough to account for such approaches because they take into account textual form and extralinguistic factors simultaneously in tandem.

A Study of Metaphor as an Aesthetic Function of Language in the English Translation of the Divan of Hafez

Mahmoud Afrouz — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0330

In general one can claim that translation is an activity that poses many problems for translators. The present study is going to touch upon metaphors in the Divan of Hafez (1310) in its English translation by Wilberforce Clarke (1881), to investigate how procedures employed by the translators can help TL readers in perceiving the implied meanings associated with metaphors in Hafez poetry. As far as the translation of metaphors in the Divan is concerned, it was observed that the most frequently employed procedure (literal translation) could not be considered as the most effective one. The procedure 'couplets' (literal translation plus notes of any kind) seems to be one of the best procedures of translating metaphors since it makes the TT reader aware of the concepts and meanings underlying ST metaphors.

Strategies Adopted in Translating Quranic Single Words in an Ancient Glossary

Ali Mohammad Poshtdar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0430

Iranians were the first non-Arab nation who translated the whole Quran and its single words. Their endeavour from the early Islamic era to compile the Quranic Persian glossaries is admirable. This paper intends to demonstrate an Iranian translator's strategies adopted in translating Quranic single words into Persian. The said translator, who lived about seven hundred years ago, like any modern translator, used the same strategies known to translation scholars today. Some of these strategies were: providing suitable equivalents for each word that could preserve its function and structure, accompanying translated words with a short or long description, translating a word into an Arabic-Persian compound phrase and finally annotating the untranslatable borrowed words (i.e. Arabic loan words) that were used in the Qura'n.

Investigating Cohesion in Simultaneous Interpretation: A parallel corpora-based study

Karim Sha'bani — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0430

The present paper takes the discoursal concept of cohesion, as one of the textuality standards, to evaluate the accuracy of a live SI corpus consisting of several SL (Persian) speeches and their TL (English) interpretations in terms of the degree of cohesion constituted. Different components of cohesion broadly dichotomized into grammatical and lexical types along with their sub-components have been detected both in the SL and TL texts and, then, compared. Finally, some recommendations are made as to the exigency for observing cohesion in the Speaker's and Interpreter's speeches so as to secure mutual understanding.

ایدئولوژی و ترجمه: مطالعۀ موردی

Farzaneh Farahzad, Farah Madani — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

به نظر می‌رسد ایدئولوژی‌های جاری در متن هر جامعه نقش چشمگیری در تکثیر و یا حتی تغییر آثار فرهنگی ایفا می‌کند. اگر زبان را محل اجماع جهان‌بینى‌ها، بافت تاریخى، قدرت و دیگر مؤلفه‌هاى اجتماعى- فرهنگى بدانیم، تحلیل انتقادى گفتمان (CDA) در صدد آشكارسازى این روابط است. از این رو، این تحقیق به بررسی تأثیر ایدئولوژی‌های جاری در سه دورۀ مختلف تاریخی بر ترجمۀ رمان آمریکایی «بر باد رفته»، نوشتۀ مارگارت میچل، در چارچوب تحلیل انتقادی گفتمان پرداخته است. در این تحقیق که به صورت مقابله‌ای و «در زمانی» انجام می‌شود، ترجمه‌های این رمان در سه دورۀ مختلف پیش از انقلاب اسلامی (دهۀ 50)، و پس از انقلاب اسلامی (دهه‌های 60 و 80) انتخاب شده‌اند. این کتاب توسط غلامحسین قراگوزلو (دهۀ 50)، شبنم کیان (دهۀ 60) و سوسن اردکانی (دهۀ 80) ترجمه شده است. بررسی‌ها و تحلیل‌ها در دو سطح خرد و کلان انجام شده است و نتایج به دست آمده تأثیر ایدئولوژی‌های حاکم در این سه دورۀ تاریخی- اجتماعی را به وضوح نشان می‌دهد.

بررسی سبك مترجم در متون روایی ترجمه شده : همگانی‌های ترجمه در ترجمة فارسی به سوی فانوس دریایی وولف

Abolfazl Horri — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

این مقاله، سبك صالح حسینی را در مقام مترجم متون روایی در ترجمة رمان به سوی فانوس دریایی وولف در پرتو همگانی‌های ترجمة پیشنهادی بیكر بررسی می‌كند. ابتدا به پیشینة مطالعاتی اشاره می‌شود. آنگاه، گفته می‌شود آنگونه كه سبك نویسنده اهمیت دارد، سبك مترجم اهمیت ندارد. سپس، به مطالعات سبك‌شناختی در متون روایی اصلی اشاره و تعاریفی از سبك ارائه می‌‌شود. در ادامه، به سبك‌شناسی مترجم ادبی می‌پردازد و همگانی‌های ترجمة پیشنهادی بیكر را به منزلة یكی از شیوه‌های بررسی سبك مترجم در ترجمة فارسی رمان مذكور مورد نظر قرار می‌دهد. این همگانی‌ها عبارتند از تصریح، ساده‌سازی، متوازن‌سازی و طبیعی‌سازی. در پایان این نتیجه حاصل می‌‌آید كه صالح حسینی به واسطة همگانی‌های ترجمه، صاحب سبك است و از طبیعی‌سازی به منزلة پربسامدترین شگرد برای بر جای گذاشتن ردپای خود در متن استفاده كرده است.

نقدی پسااستعماری بر چگونگی ترجمۀ دیوان حافظ

Ijad — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

بررسی تاریخ ترجمه در غرب نشان می‌دهد که مطالعات ترجمه عمدتاً متمرکز بر مباحث ترجمۀ آزاد/ ترجمۀ وفادار و اهمیت متن مبدأ/ مقصد بوده است. در این مطالعات کمتر از زاویۀ دید قدرت و یا تاریخ به متون ترجمه شده نگریسته شده در حالی که تاریخ استعمار انباشته از مواردی است که فرهنگ استعماری غالب نوع ترجمه به زبان‌های مقصد «بدوی» و «محلی» را تعیین و هدایت کرده است و جریان اصلی ترجمه عمدتاً در دست فرهنگ غالب (خواه مبدأ، خواه مقصد) و نه در دست فرهنگ مغلوب بوده است. در این مقاله تلاش شده از زاویه دید مطالعات پسااستعماری و تاریخی، به بررسی و نقد پسااستعماری ترجمه‌های انگلیسی موجود از اشعار شاعر بزرگ کلاسیک پارسی‌گوی، حافظ پرداخته شود. پس از ارائۀ تاریخ ترجمۀ دیوان حافظ، 5 الگوی «قوم‌مدارانه» در ترجمۀ این آثار که منتج به بازنمایی غیرواقعی و مخدوش حافظ از واقعیت تاریخی، فرهنگی و ادبی‌اش گردیده در بخش «نقدی پسااستعماری بر چگونگی ترجمه‌های حافظ توسط مترجمان» ارائه شده است.

نوواژگان در اولیسِ جیمز جویس و چند نمایشنامۀ شکسپیر

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

نیومارک (1988:140) معتقد است که نوواژگان از بزرگ‌ترین چالش‌های فراروی مترجمان حرفه‌ای و همچنین مترجمان متون غیرادبی است. مقالۀ حاضر بر آن است تا ترجمۀ فارسی برخی نمایشنامه‌های شکسپیر و فصل هفدۀ اولیس، اثر جمیز جویس، را بررسی کند تا از آن طریق ماهیت نوواژگان این آثار همراه با روش‌های ترجمه به کار گرفته شده را مشخص نماید و در نهایت پیدایی مترجم در این ترجمه‌ها را تعیین کند و ملزومات ترجمۀ آثار چنین نویسندگانی را، که از نوواژگان استفاده کرده‌اند، تعیین سازد. در پایان از مطالعۀ حاضر چنین بر می‌آید که ترجمۀ نوواژگان و پیدایی مترجم از جمله مسائلی هستند که کاملاً وابسته به روش‌ها و رویکردهای اتخاذ شده از طرف مترجم بوده و نوواژگان به عنوان جزئی از سبک نویسنده دقت عمل بیشتری در انتخاب برابرنهاده می‌طلبد.

بررسی ضمیر فاعلی پنهان در ترجمه‌های فارسی و انگلیسی قرآن کریم

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

بیان مجهول اساساً در زبان‌های متفاوت به وسیله ساخت‌های مشخصی که در هر زبان وجود دارد صورت می‌گیرد. علاوه بر این ساخت‌ها در برخی موارد بیان مجهول در قالب ساخت معلوم نیز ارائه می‌شود. نامشخص گذاشتن فاعل غالباً در این ساخت به عمد و بنا به دلایل خاصی صورت می‌گیرد. در برخی از این ساخت‌ها گویشور زبان بنا به ضرورت‌های زبانی از جمله ملاحظات معنایی، منظورشناختی و نحوی فاعل را نامشخص می‌گذارد. در ترجمه، که برخی از محدودیت‌های زبانی کنار می‌رود، می‌توان به مشخص کردن فاعل اقدام کرد. در این پژوهش با بررسی ترجمه‌های انگلیسی و فارسی قرآن کریم نشان داده شده است که می‌توان در مواردی که ضرورت‌های زبانی و نیازهای اطلاعاتی ایجاب می‌کند فاعل را که در متن اصلی به صورت نامشخص بیان شده است در ترجمه مشخص نمود. در این پژوهش ابتدا ترجمه کلیه جمله‌هایی که عبارت «یسئلونک» در آن به کار رفته است در یکی از جدیدترین ترجمه‌های قرآن کریم مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفته است تا نشان داده شود در چه مواردی مترجم به کشف فاعل می‌پردازد. در بخش دیگری از این پژوهش با بررسی جمله‌ای از یک آیه (یسئلونک عن الانفال) در بیش از 40 ترجمه فارسی و 7 ترجمه انگلیسی نشان داده شده است که چگونه ساختار زبانی می‌تواند در حفظ یا مخفی کردن فاعل مؤثر باشد.

رویکردی انسان‌شناختی به تعامل فرهنگ و ترجمه:کاربردهای آموزشی و پژوهشی برای تربیت مترجم

Ali Mohammad Mohammadi — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

در حوزۀ تعامل، رابطه و تأثیر و تأثّر متغیّرها بر یکدیگر تجزیه و تحلیل می‌گردد. فرهنگ و ترجمه از متغیرهای مؤثر در گسترۀ ارتباطات انسانی محسوب می‌شوند. بحث اصلی این مقاله تحلیل محتوایی گفتمان محققان دربارۀ تعامل فرهنگ و ترجمه می‌باشد. پژوهش حاضر با رویکردی توصیفی، تحلیلی، و تطبیقی دیدگاه‌‌های ترجمه‌شناسان، زبان‌شناسان، و مترجمین را در بارۀ چگونگی تعامل فرهنگ و ترجمه تجزیه و تحلیل کرده است. متغیرهای چهارگانه‌ای مورد توجه پژوهشگران واقع شده است. 44/67% پژوهشگران تعامل فرهنگ و زبان را تجزیه و تحلیل نموده‌اند. 86% دیدگاه‌‌ها دربارۀ تأثیر فرهنگ بر رفتار گفتمانی مترجم ‌است. 13/35% محققین نیز بر این باورند که ترجمه‌‌ها در طول تاریخ، ماهیت فرهنگ‌‌ها و هویت ملی انسان‌‌ها را تحت تأثیر قرار داده‌اند. نتیجه‌ای که از این مطالعه استنباط ‌می‌‌گردد این است که زبان‌‌ها از طریق فرهنگ‌‌ها گسترش می‌یابند و فرهنگ‌‌ها از طریق زبان و فرهنگ در کانون عوامل مؤثر در کاربرد موفق زبان در عالم ترجمه قرار دارد و باعث کشف، گسترش، و رشد و اعتلای امکانات، روش‌‌ها، و راهبردهای ترجمه‌ای مترجم می‌گردد و رابطه‌ای علّی و معلولی بین فرهنگ و ترجمه وجود دارد. بنا بر این، تربیت مترجم باید در برگیرندۀ مطالعه فرهنگ جامعه‌ای باشد که زبان از آن ریشه ‌می‌‌گیرد و در آن به کار برده ‌می‌‌شود. لازمۀ اتخاذ چنین رویکردی بازنگری و تحول در ابعاد گوناگون نظام تربیت مترجم از قبیل تهیه و تدوین مطالب درسی، برنامه‌ریزی آموزشی و پژوهشی، و آموزش زبان با هدف تربیت مترجم است. به خاطر این که در آموزش تعاملات انسانی مثل آموزش زبان و ترجمه در جستجوی شناخت افکار انسان‌‌ها هستیم و لازمۀ آن انسان‌شناسی است.

ترجمۀ فارسی صفات در سبک تأثرگرایانه جوزف کنراد: رمان «دل تاریکی»

Shahrzad Parvaresh, Hossein Pirnajmuddin, Helen Ouliaeinia — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

در این تحقیق سبک بی‌همتای کنراد از نظر صفات در رمان «دل تاریکی» با دو ترجمۀ فارسی آن مقایسه شد تا شیوه‌هایی که مترجمان مختلف استفاده کرده‌اند، مورد بررسی قرار گیرد و مشخص شود کدام یا کدامین شیوه مناسب‌ترین روش جهت انتقال سبک امپرسیونیستی کنراد است. بررسی صفات از طریق نرم‌افزار AntConc صورت گرفت و معادل‌های فارسی استخراج شدند. نتایج نشان داد که رمان «دل تاریکی» مملو از صفات است. همچنین بسیاری از این صفات توصیفی و مبهم هستند که گویای نگرش و ادراک نویسنده نسبت به پیرامونش می‌باشد و به منظور تحت تأثیر قرار دادن و به فکر واداشتن مخاطبان مورد استفاده قرار گرفته‌اند. این روش با اصول سبک تأثرگرایانه در ادبیات همخوانی دارد. مطالعۀ کنونی همچنین نشان داد که با وجود اینکه نثر کنراد به نوعی شعرگونه است، تا حد زیادی در زبان فارسی قابل انتقال است. ولی این امر مستلزم آشنایی مترجم با سبک کنراد و استفاده مناسب از راهکارهای ترجمه است.

ترجمۀ نقش‌های معنایی، منظوری و سبکی علائم نشانه‌گذاری در انواع متن

Maryam Saeedi — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

ترجمه، فرآیند انتقال معنای متن مبدأ به زبان مقصد است. طی این فرآیند، معمولاً علائم نشانه‌گذاری متن مبدأ در متن مقصد یا نادیده گرفته می‌شوند و یا به درستی به کار نمی‌روند. در اکثر موارد معمول‌ترین کاربرد علائم نشانه‌گذاری که همان حفظ انسجام عبارات و جملات ‌است، در متن مقصد منظور ‌می‌شود؛ این در حالی است که نقش‌های متفاوت زیادی را ‌می‌توان در متون مختلف برای علایم نشانه‌گذاری تعریف کرد. در این خصوص، نظریه‌پردازانی چون نیومارک (1988)، نورد (1991) و رایس (89/1977) بر در نظر گرفتن علائم نشانه‌گذاری در فرآیند تجزیه، تحلیل و نوع‌شناسی متن تأکید کرده‌اند و مترجمان را ملزم می‌دارند تا این علائم را در متن مقصد انتقال دهند. هدف مقاله حاضر این است که نحوه برخورد مترجمان با علائم نشانه‌گذاری و ترجمه آنها را در انواع متون بررسی کند و نشان دهد که راهکار انتخاب شده مترجمان چه تأثیری بر متن مقصد می‌گذارد.

آموزش ترجمه: بررسی مشکلات و پیشنهادها

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0330

مروزه ترجمه بیش از پیش جایگاه خود را در میان علوم مؤثر انسانی یافته و اهمیت آن بر فرهنگ و تفکر ملت‌ها مشخص شده است به طوری که می‌توان گفت تأثیر ترجمه خوب گاه بیشتر از سال‌ها فرهنگ‌سازی است. از سوی دیگر ادبیات پیشین اهمیت دیدگاه و پیشنهادهای استادان و دانشجویان را در آموزش ترجمه مورد تأکید قرار داده است. با توجه به این اصل، توجه به نیازها و مشکلات اهل ترجمه، و به طور خاص استادان ترجمه در دانشگاه‌ها، اهمیت بسیار زیادی پیدا می‌کند. در این جستار مشکلات تدریس ترجمه در دانشگاه‌ها و پیشنهادهای مطرح شده برای بهبود کیفی و کمی تدریس ترجمه از دیدگاه استادان این رشته بررسی می‌شود. در این مقاله کوشش شده که با استفاده از روش تحقیقی مناسب نتایج کاملا˝ به شیوۀ علمی و با رعایت بی‌طرفی اراﺋﻪ شود.

شیوه‌های ترجمۀ نوواژه‌ها در ادبیات كودكان و بزرگسالان

Abbass Eslami Rasekh, , — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0330

سبك ترجمه بر پایه اهداف متن و مقاصد مؤلف انتخاب می‌شود. اما به وجود آوردن ترجمه‌ای كه برگردان كاملی از سبك متن مبدأ باشد، نیازمند مشاهده و تعمق در سبك نگارش مؤلف اصلی است كه یكی از ابعاد دست یافتن به چنین سبك اصیلی، ترجمه نوواژه‌ها است. ظهور نوواژه‌ها در خزانه واژگان از ویژگی‌های ژانر ادبی است كه وظیفه انتقال معانی قابل القا به خواننده را بر عهده دارد. در این مقاله نحوه اتخاذ شیوه‌های مشابه در بین مترجمین فارسی زبان برای ترجمه نوواژه‌ها در دو اثر ادبی مورد بررسی قرار خواهد گرفت: (1) رمان هزار و نهصد و هشتاد و چهار نوشته جورج اورول و (2) رمان هری پاتر و محفل ققنوس نوشته جی کی رولینگ. نتایج این پژوهش بر بررسی و دسته‌بندی شیوه‌های ترجمه مترجمین فارسی زبان بر اساس چهارچوب نیومارك (1988) تأكید دارد و شیوه‌های مورد نظر را در ادبیات كودكان و بزرگسالان مقایسه خواهد كرد.

Translation and Task Components

Sasan Baleghizadeh — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0430

This article is an attempt to explore classroom translation activities within the task framework proposed by Nunan (1989, 2004). A (pedagogic) task is defined as having six components: goal, input, activity, teacher role, learner role, and setting. It is argued that classroom translation practice (CTP), a term used in this article to refer to any act of translation assigned by the teacher, comprises these six components and thus can be treated and taught like a task. The article comes to an end by raising the important question of how translation tasks can be sequenced as a topic for further investigation.

بینش‌های نظری دربارۀ جامعه‌شناسی ترجمه

Mohammad Fazeli — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0330

ترجمه کتاب یکی از مهم‌ترین صورت‌های آفرینش و بازتولید فرهنگی است و از همین ‌رو در زمره موضوعات شایان توجه شاخه‌های مختلف علوم انسانی قرار دارد. تاکنون بیشتر از موضع آن دسته از علوم انسانی که با متن سر و کار دارند به ترجمه پرداخته شده است. از این موضع، مقولاتی نظیر ترجمه‌پذیری، صحت ترجمه، معادل‌گذاری، هرمنوتیک و نظام‌های انتقال معانی بین زبان‌ها بیشتر اهمیت دارند. مقاله حاضر تلاشی برای فراتر رفتن از مسئله متن است و می‌کوشد تا از سه دیدگاه نظری مطالعات ترجمه، جامعه‌شناسی فرهنگ و جامعه‌شناسی علم، ترجمه را همچون کنشی اجتماعی که با مقولات فعالیت و مصرف فرهنگی، مقاومت سیاسی-اجتماعی و رقابت در میدان علم مرتبط است نشان دهد و حد و مرزهای پژوهش جامعه‌شناختی درباره ترجمه را شناسایی نماید. با توجه به فقدان چنین دیدگاهی در جامعه‌شناسی ایران، می‌توان این مقاله را «طرحی برای جامعه‌شناسی ترجمه» دانست.

Modality in English and German

Abbas Ebrahimi — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0330

The meaning of modality has always been concerned with forces that either determine or condition the human action. The forces that are important for the use of modality are primarily of two kinds. Firstly, the free will of human being, secondly, the power of circumstances. According to Lyons the two main concepts of modality are "necessity" and "possibility". These concepts are dependent on the two forces mentioned above. Necessity and possibility may therefore be divided into other concepts such as intention, determination, persistence, compulsion, duty, hope, prediction, assumption. To express all these ideas, language mainly used modal auxiliaries. According to Palmer there are two basic assumptions concerning modality. The first is that modality may be regarded as a grammatical category just as we view aspect, tense, number, gender, etc. The second is that this category can be identified, described, and compared across different languages. This paper, therefore, concentrates on some major English- German modal auxiliaries through which modality may be expressed and compared. The concept of "wish" is excluded here and it will be dealt with in a separate paper.

ترجمۀ متون سیاسی در مطبوعات

Mahvash Gholami — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0330

ترجمه متون سیاسی که با نام ترجمه سیاسی نیز شناخته می‌شود از جمله فعالیت‌های مهم رسانه‌های خبری است. مترجم این نوع متن علاوه بر خصوصیات معمول هر مترجمی باید ویژگی‌های دیگری نیز داشته باشد. چنین مترجمی الزاماً در واقع کارشناس علوم سیاسی است و باید از وقایع تاریخی مهم، سخنرانی‌های سرنوشت‌ساز شخصیت‌های سیاسی و نقل قول‌هایی که از آنها شده اطلاع داشته باشد. همچنین لازم است با نویسنده یا مترجم متنی که ترجمه می‌کند و گرایش سیاسی او و یا مؤسسه‌ای که متن را چاپ کرده آشنایی داشته باشد. مؤسسات خبری و رسانه‌ها از تکنیک‌ها و تدابیری خاص استفاده می‌کنند تا اهمیت وقایع را در جهت منافع خود کمرنگ کنند یا آن را مهم جلوه دهند. مترجم متون سیاسی باید از این تکنیک‌ها و تدابیر با خبر باشد و ضمن ترجمه سعی کند حقایق را به گونه‌ای که بوده و در جهت منافع مؤسسه خود به تصویر بکشد. در این مقاله به برخی از این تکنیک‌ها نظیر تغییر دادن واژگان، تغییر دادن نظم و ترتیب سلسله وقایع و یا جملات و تغییر جهت‌گیری و دیدگاه متن، دست‌چین کردن وقایع خاص مطابق با اصول تعریف شده اشاره خواهد شد.

Translation Criticism: A CDA Approach

Farzaneh Farahzad — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0430

The present paper attempts to provide a tentative model of translation criticism inspired by CDA. It is based on the idea that unlike translation quality assessment, translation criticism needs to deal with what a metatext does in the target society and what ideologies it represents. Based on the concept of intertextuality, it examines the metatext both as independent from, and in relation to its corresponding prototext at two levels: the microlevel which examines everything in the text, and the macrolevel which examines everything about the text.

راهبردهای دوبلۀ کدهای بیانگر در کارتون از انگلیسی به فارسی

Parina Ghomi — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0330

پژوهش حاضر در چارچوب رویکردی توصیفی به مطالعات ترجمه علاوه بر تحلیل راهبردهای دوبله کارتون از انگلیسی به فارسی، سعی در معرفی برجسته ترین هنجار موجود در دوبله کارتون دارد. بدین منظور محقق برآن شده است تا بستری مناسب جهت توصیف و تبیین راهبردهای دوبله دشوارترین عناصر متن چندرسانه‌‌‌ای یا به عبارتی «کدهای بیانگر» فراهم آورد. پس از بررسی جامع و تطبیقی پیکره، هفت راهبرد دوبله محرز شد. این راهبردها عبارتند از: 1) بسط، 2) دگرنویسی، 3) انتقال، 4) جابجایی، 5) کاهش، 6) تکرار و 7) حذف. با توجه به اینکه ترجمه فعالیتی هنجارمدار است، محقق در تلاشی مضاعف در صدد تعیین برجسته‌ترین هنجار دوبله کارتون برآمد. نتایج پژوهش حاکی از آن است که هنجار همخوانی که در چهار نوع همخوانی لب‌ها با صحبت‌ها، همخوانی طول سخن با آغاز و پایان حرکت لب‌ها، همخوانی حرکات بدن با صحبت‌ها و تیپ‌سازی شخصیتها نمود یافته است در تعیین راهبردهای دوبله نقش اساسی داشته است.

Evaluation of a Translation Theory through Comparative Study of Thirty Three English Translations of Surah al-Nas

Jalilullah Faroughi, Homeira Nazari — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0430

The first author of the present article has published another article entitled "the study of Terrier's theory in translation" in "Motarjem" journal. That article discusses the theoretical foundation of the theory claiming that firstly, the presence of a semantic field in one language does not imply its presence in the other one; secondly, semantic fields in languages do not coincide; thirdly, even if we accept that they coincide they are not covered with the same number of words. Considering that the translators of the holy texts translate them with ultimate caution, in this article we have tried to compare 33 English translations of Surah "Al-Nas" and their Persian equivalents to evaluate those claims.

Potential Normative Relationship between Textual Features of Persian Translational Texts and their Acceptance by Readers

Kambiz Mahmoodzadeh, Mehdi Rezaeifar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0330

The present study is concerned with objectively observable factors that facilitate acceptability of translated texts in Persian. It considers textual features like information load (also known as lexical density), range of vocabulary (also known as lexical variety or type-token ratio) and average sentence length to be arguably objective observable factors. The research, that has been carried out as an MA thesis in Translation Studies at Allameh Tabataba’i University, intends to determine whether a norm could be said to operate in the form of a significant relationship between these textual features and acceptance or popularity of translated texts with readers. A comparable corpus of Persian translational and non-translational fiction was built and used as the material for the study.

ترجمه و سیر فرهنگ‏سازى آن در ادبیات عرب

Momtahen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0330

هیچ شكى نیست كه ترجمه از زبان‏هاى دیگر به زبان عربى رخنه كرده، و نقش بسزایى در تاریخ ادبیات عرب بازى كرده است. این امر فقط در دوران نهضت ادبى كه مصریان در دوران محمدعلى پاشا شاهد آن بودند روى نداد، بلكه با آغاز شكل‌گیرى حكومت عباسیان و فرهنگ‏سازى محیط، ترجمه از فرهنگ‏هاى مجاور به سرزمین مسلمانان نفوذ كرد و پس از تلاش‏هاى نخستین براى ترجمه، و شكل‏گیرى كتاب و نگارش، در عصر امویان، به طور جدى خود را نشان داد.

رویكرد ترجمه و حضور مترجم در شاهنامۀ فردوسی

Ali Mohammad Poshtdar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0330

شاهنامه فردوسی صحنه حضور قوم ایرانی و تاریخ اسطوره‌ای و مكتوب وی در طول چندین هزاره است. سراینده این اثر به مناسبت شرح حال قوم ایرانی از اقوام مجاور نیز یاد كرده است. در تقابل قوم ایرانی با اقوام مجاور كه عمدتاً‌ تورانی (ترك زبان - چینی)، رومی و عرب هستند، به ضرورت از ترجمه و برگردان سخن یكی برای دیگری‌ یاد شده است. این پژوهش به قصد یافتن زمینه‌های حضور مترجم و ضرورت ترجمه از زبانی به زبان دیگر، شاهنامه فردوسی را از آغاز تا انجام بررسی كرده و پانزده مورد از حضور مترجم یافته است. ‌بیشتر زمینه‌های كاربردی مترجم در میدان جنگ و ترجمه از زبان تركی (تورانی) به فارسی و در مرحله بعد از رومی به فارسی و از فارسی به رومی و در آخر از عربی به فارسی بوده است. در دو مورد مترجم برای عقد قرارداد صلح و در یك مورد برای خواستگاری و ایجاد پیوند میان ایران و روم حضور داشته است.

The Effects of Direct Composition Test and Translation Composition Test as Test Methods on Students’ Writing Performance

Habibollah Mashhady — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0330

The use of L1 in L2 performance is not deniable. This study investigates the effects of using translation as a means of testing L2 language writing. To be specific, It examines the effects of two test methods, Direct Composition test (DC) and Translation Composition Test (TCT) on students’ writing performance. To conduct the study, 114 language learners studying at different universities of Tehran and majoring in English translation, literature and teaching were involved. Using a TOEFL test they were divided into three- proficiency levels low, intermediate and high. Then they were asked to perform on two writing test methods, Direct Composition and Translation Composition test. However, analyzing the finding of the study indicates that the two major factors of composing process and proficiency level were found to affect the quality of writing texts. Translations were rated significantly higher than direct compositions. All the three proficiency levels benefited according to the new test (translation composition), but this benefit was more significant with the low-proficiency level students. The study also scrutinized `the effect of these test methods on various components of writing skill.

Translator's Presence in Translated narrative Texts Through Proposed Shifts by Leuven-Zwart (1)

Abolfazl Horri — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0430

This bipartite paper examines the translator's presence in the translated narrative texts through shifts as proposed by Leuven-Zwart. First, the related literature is reviewed. Then, the concept of shifts is mentioned through references to Catford and Viny and Darbelnette to Zwart. Having compared and contrasted Don Quixote's German translation, Zwart proposes two models for the analysis of both SL and TL; namely, comparative and descriptive models. The former compares the items of SL and TL from micro-structure level. Having taken transeme as the smallest meaningful unit for comparative model, Zwart finds a common field between transemes of both SL and TL that she calls it architranseme. Having both transeme and architranseme of both SL and TL in the mind, she finds a tetra relational shift: non-shift; modulation; modification and mutation. In part two, these shifts are analyzed through references to some translated literary text; Golestan, to the Lighthouse, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, among others. It is probable, as a conclusion, that any shift in the micro- structure of narrative text would have effects on the macro-structure of the translated narrative texts of which it is mentioned in descriptive model upon which it is focused later.

Genealogy of Quran Translation and the Meaning of the Word “Translation” in the First Quran Persian Translation

Ali Mohammad Poshtdar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0330

Genealogy of Quran Translation and the Meaning of the Word “Translation” in the First Quran Persian Translation The first Qur'an translators were Iranians, the biggest non-Arab Muslim nation with an ancient culture. In order to transfer the Qur'an and Islamic teachings to the east Iranian population (Khorasan), Iranians began to learn Arabic and excelled so much in Arabic that they wrote the first lexico-morphological and rhetorical books on Arabic mostly needed to understand the Qur'an. From the second half of fourth century after hegira, following the order of Amir Nouh-e- Samani and consensus of east Iranian Ulama, the Qur'an was translated into Persian. In those days the word “Translation” did not mean finding the synonym word in the target language. At first the words “commentary”, “narration” or sometimes “paraphrase” were used, but from the second half of the third century after hegira Jahiz al-Basri used it with its today's usual meaning for the translation of literary and historical texts and from the fifth century after hegira this word was used for Qur'an translation too.

The Application of Verb Forms of Russian Infinitives in Simple Sentences of Dual Bases and Their Translation into Persian

Mohammad Reza Mohammadi, Saideh Dastamooz — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0430

The present paper, using a translational approach, tries to study the application of verbal forms of infinitives in Russian two-element simple sentences. In fact, it summarizes the ways such sentences are translated into Persian. Both infinitives and two-element simple sentences are widely used in Persian, but, unlike Russian infinitives, Persian infinitives have no verbal forms and play different roles, e.g. a noun, in the sentence. This paper aims at studying the ways of conveying the meanings of verbal forms of infinitives in Russian two-element simple sentences into Persian. The paper also analyzes the application of such verbal forms in Russian two-element simple sentences in view of their translation into Persian.

Transformation of Cohesive Tools and Explicitation in English Translations of the Holy Quran (A Case Study of surah Yusuf)

Azadeh Najafi, Hiva Asadpour, Mohammad Yazdani — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0430

This article is a contrastive study to investigate the transformation of language differences from source language to target language during the process of translation. The very first emphasis of the present article is to make clear the differences of cohesive tools (in this study, conjunctions) in the source language (the Arabic language of the Holy Qur'an) and the target language (the English translations of the Qur'an) and the explicitation of these tools in the translated texts. For this, the surah of Yusuf has been contrastively compared with its five English translations, i.e. translations of M.H. Shakir, Mohsin Khan, M. M. Pikthhal, Yusuf Ali. A. Qaribullah. The results show that the differences of cohesive tools in the source and target languages need a high amount of explicitation during the process of translation. Meanwhile, this study clarifies the two strategies which translators generally adopt for explicitation of the source text.

Translation Universals: From Hypothesis to Theory

Gholam-Reza Tajvidi — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0330

This paper provides a brief introduction to different kinds of hypotheses; explanatory, descriptive and interpretive, following which three approaches to the study of translation products, i.e. prescriptive, pejorative and descriptive, are discussed. The paper concludes elaborating on the potential relation between these approaches and the study of translation universals: specific characteristics which, it is hypothesized, are typical of the translated language as distinct from non-translated language. Such characteristics would be the same irrespective of the translation direction and/or whatever the language pair involved in the process of translation.

Arabic Comparative [Af’al Tafdil] and Its Application

Mansoureh Zarkoub — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0330

Of the first steps in the academic learning of a language is gaining knowledge of its grammar. Likewise, those involved in learning Arabic language in universities and colleges have to first become skilled in its morphology and syntax. Evidently, as long as grammar is inculcated in learners as a list of points to be memorized, it soon gets forgotten and boring. A solution may be making a contrastive analysis of native and second (foreign) languages. It may result in learners’ better understanding and learning of both languages. Comparative sentences constitute one of the grammatical categories of Persian and Arabic languages. Making a contrastive analysis of this type of sentences in Persian and Arabic may reveal a number of subtle points rarely referred to in grammar books that fail to help learners in translating from Persian to Arabic and vice versa. For example, Arabic comparatives are commonly defined as making comparison between two persons or objects whereas this definition cannot be generalized to all sentences. There are some instances of their application that involves no comparison but is used to determine the limits of something. Furthermore, comparison is sometimes made in the surface structure of sentences not their deep structure and also other points that are elaborated on in the article. The present paper aims to present these points not only to prepare the ground for their implementation in two languages but also to prove the fact that in many cases comparatives are manifested in the surface structure of sentences; however, their comparative features almost fades away in the deep structure of sentences.

The Assessment of Difficulties of Persian Translators of English in Comprehension and Translation of English Compound Words

Moslem Sadeghi — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0430

Nowadays compounding is a source of many English neologism, so comprehension and translation of new compound words or phrases is a controversial issue in English language translation. The aim of this study was to provide answers to some teasing questions such as: the extent to which compound words are problematic for Persian translators of English, the causes of these problems, the strategies which were utilized and finally, proposing an effective model for translating the compound words. Thirty participants, both male and female, who were studying at semesters seven and eight of English translation at Islamic Azad University of Bandar Abbas were selected for this study. Sixty compound words from different newspapers, dictionaries and books were selected. Two elicitation instruments were also devised to measure comprehension and translation of compound words. Thus each subject was administered two tests of M/C and production formats. Not only aimed tests at assessing the variables such as: syntactic, semantic and cultural reference ambiguities that affected comprehension of compound, but also the strategies utilized by subjects to translate them were also taken into the consideration. Data were collected and the answer to each question was examined closely, both in terms of difficulty and underlying strategy. Findings suggested that comprehension of some compound words were problematic due to decontexualization, idiomatic and syntactic ambiguity. Results indicated that the subjects utilized figurative strategies in dealing with idiomaticity, which in turn supported "Direct Access Hypothesis" claiming: free translation is available in reaching idiomatic meaning. It means translators should not assume that primary meanings are transferred, but they should look at idiomatic meaning in both elements.

The Structure of Proust's Sentences in Translation

Rozita Ilani — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0430

The book "In Search of Lost Time" is considered as one of the most important myths of the contemporary era and among the foundations of today's world literature. The characteristics of its writing style and the issues discussed in it are still objects for many researches from different aspects of linguistics. The findings of such researches have made the meanings between the lines of this book shine more vividly. The Persian reader who begins to read the Persian translation of this masterpiece, too, expects to reach the depth of the author's message beyond Persian words. This requires utilization of the findings of those linguistic researches. Here, the role of the translator is raised as the one who introduces the author. Her knowledge of the source language is a vehicle that guides her to the next step. The translator should be able to transfer the author's style and organization of writing. This is a very difficult task for the translator of Marcel Proust's great work. The structural differences between French and Persian on the one hand and Proust's unique style on the other hand make the translation task accompany with a lot of extra researches. But how should we put this book into Persian? What we intend to deal briefly in this article is first to study some features of writing in this ever-lasting work that include length of sentences, variety of verb tenses and moods, use of metaphors and the author's annotations. Then a method will be offered for their translation. The introduction of the characteristics of Proust' writing style can lead to a closer faithfulness to the author of the novel and clarifies the meanings that are hidden within sentences through structural analysis of the book.

تصریح و متنیت در ترجمه

Sasan Baleghizadeh, Ahmad Sharifi — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

در این مقاله متنیت به عنوان رویکرد نویدبخشی برای مطالعه تصریح، که یکی از ویژگی‌های محصول و فرایند ترجمه است، در نظر گرفته شده است. انواع مختلف تصریح از متن انگلیسی «دیباچه» و دو باب از گلستان سعدی تحت عناوین «در فواید خاموشی» و «در تأثیر تربیت» ترجمه ادوارد ریهاتسک (1964) استخراج شده و از نظر ویژگی‌های متنیت مورد بررسی قرار گرفته است. در این مطالعه، از چارچوب نظری کلادی (1998) برای شناسایی و دسته‌بندی انواع مختلف تصریح و از چارچوب نظری نیوبرت و شرو (1992) برای بررسی آنها از لحاظ ویژگی‌های متنیت استفاده شده است. تجزیه و تحلیل داده‌ها نشان می‌دهد که تمامی انواع تصریح شامل تغییری در جهت مطابقت با ویژگی‌های متنیت در زبان مقصد هستند. به عبارت دیگر، مترجم الگوهای هدفمندی، مقبولیت، موقعیت‌مندی، اطلاع‌دهی، انسجام، پیوستگی و بینامتنیت را تغییر داده است تا متن مبدأ را در چارچوب ارتباطی متن مقصد قرار دهد. از آنجا که الگوهای تصریح در رفتار ارتباطی مترجم منظم است می‌توان گفت که تصریح در این مطالعه تحت تأثیر هنجار ارتباط قرار دارد و ویژگی‌های متنیت شرایطی هستند که این هنجار تحت آنها عمل می‌کند.

رویكردی نوین به ترجمۀ اشعار كلاسیك انگلیسی با نگاهی بر «كوری خویش» اثر جان میلتون

Narges Javadpour, — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

این مقاله خلاصۀ پژوهشی است كه ترجمۀ منثور شعر را آخرین گزینه در ترجمۀ شعر می‌داند. بحث كلی پیرامون ترجمه‌پذیری اشعار كلاسیك انگلیسی به شعر فارسی و امكان بهره‌گیری از قالب‌های شعری نظیر این اشعار است. به منظور كاهش اضافات ناشی از ترجمۀ شاعرانه به محتوای اصلی، رویكردی جهت ترجمۀ شعر پیشنهاد می‌شود كه بر مطالعات سبك‌شناسی، علمی و تفسیری شعر اصلی بنا نهاده شده است. بر همین اساس، نمونه‌ای از اشعار كلاسیك انگلیسی، سرودۀ جان میلتون، توسط شعرا و با استقاده از این رویكرد جدید به فارسی ترجمه می‌شود. بر این باوریم كه ترجمۀ شاعرانه‌ای كه بتواند ویژگی‌های خاص شعر اصلی را در بر داشته باشد، حاصل همكاری تنگاتنگ مترجم با شاعری آگاه به علم عروض است. این پژوهش گلچینی از نظریات ترجمه را جهت ارزیابی ترجمه به كار می‌گیرد و گرایش ویژه‌ای به سوی شاعر زبان مبدأ دارد.

رویکردی پژوهشی به ماهیت نقدترجمه: کاربردهای آموزشی و پژوهشی

Ali Mohammad Mohammadi — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

بحث اصلی این مقاله تحلیل گفتمان محققان و پژوهشگران زمینۀ نقد ترجمه به منظورکشف ماهیت نقد ترجمه است. این مقاله با نگرشی تحلیلی، توصیفی، و تطبیقی دیدگاه‌های زبان‌شناسان، ترجمه‌شناسان، و مترجمان را تجزیه و تحلیل کرده است. نتیجه نشان می‌دهد که به نظر همه محققان، نقد ترجمه ماهیتی پژوهشی دارد و می‌تواند آثار مختلفی بر ابعاد گوناگون نظام تربیت مترجم داشته باشد. لازمۀ چنین رویکردی بازنگری و تحول در زمینه‌های تهیه و تدوین مطالب درسی، آموزش، و روش‌های آزمون ترجمه می‌باشد و روش‌های سنتی دیگر پاسخگوی نیازهای رشته مطالعات ترجمه در عصر فناوری اطلاعات و ارتباطات نیست. با توجه به این که در رشته‌های مرتبط تحقیقات گسترده و نظام‌مندی صورت گرفته است، می‌توان اصول و مبانی آنها را مطالعه كرد و اشتراکات را اقتباس نمود و با اتخاذ روش‌های خلاق، نظام آموزشی مدون تربیت مترجم را ارائه کرد. به خاطر این که در این حوزه‌ها در طول سال‌ها، تحقیقات فراوانی انجام گرفته است و ترجمه‌شناسان می‌توانند با تجزیه و تحلیل آنها رسیدن به هدف در ابعاد گوناگون را تسهیل نمایند.

روندها و نمودهای التقاط

Hussein Mollanazar, Fatemeh Parham — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

التقاط، یکی از پیامدهای اجتناب‌ناپذیر ماهیت متغیر دنیای امروز، مدتی است که در حوزۀ مطالعات ترجمه توجه محققان را به خود جلب کرده است. بسیاری از پژوهشگران به بررسی این پدیده همت گماشته‌اند و آن را با رویکردهای مختلف و از زوایای گوناگون مورد مطالعه قرار داده‌اند. پژوهش حاضر این رویکردها را (به پدیدۀ التقاط) در راستای چهار روند کلی طبقه‌بندی نموده است. علاوه بر این، در میان پژوهشگرانی که به مطالعۀ التقاط پرداخته‌اند، تنها تعداد بسیار معدودی مستقیماً و به صراحت نمودهای این پدیده را بررسی کرده‌اند، و البته این عدۀ اندک نیز نمودها را صرفاً با دیدگاهی خاص و در پرتو رویکردی خاص به دست داده‌اند. بنابراین، طبقه‌بندی جامع عناصری که سبب ظهور ویژگی التقاط در متن می‌شوند در پیشینۀ مطالعاتی این حوزه به چشم نمی‌خورد. این مقاله، با تکیه بر مدل‌‌های زبانی و فرهنگی و با استفاده از پیکره‌ای بزرگ، درصدد ارائۀ طبقه‌بندی جامع و همه‌جانبۀ نمودهای التقاط است.

ترجمه، تعبیر یا انشا: هنر «ترنزیشن»

Karim Sadeghi — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

«ترنزیشن» اصطلاح جدیدی است كه محقق آن را از ادغام معادل انگلیسی واژه‌های ترجمه، تعبیر و انشا، جهت نمایان كردن فرایند ترجمه‌ای دانشجویان رشتۀ زبان انگلیسی (غیرمترجمی) ابداع كرده است. این فرایند بیشتر خصیصۀ دانشجویان با توانایی پایین زبانی است كه در آن متن ترجمه شده، مبتنی بر كلمات كلیدی متن مبدأ بوده ولی از نظر محتوایی با آن فاصلۀ بسیاری دارد. متن ترجمه شده (در صورت عدم مقایسۀ آن با متن مبدأ) كاملاً معنی‌دار و قابل قبول است و شبیه داستانی است كه مترجم با بهره‌گیری از تعدادی از كلمات متن مبدأ سر هم می‌بافد. مقالۀ حاضر، گزارش تحقیقی را در این زمینه، با 62 دانشجوی ایرانی دبیری زبان انگلیسی كه واحد ترجمۀ پیشرفته را می‌گذراندند، ارائه نموده، و دلایل این فرایند، راهكارهای پیشگیری از آن و نیز پیامدهای حاصل را بررسی می‌كند.

معنای تلویحی گفتاری و نمود آن در ترجمه‌های فارسی و انگلیسی قرآن کریم: بررسی موردی داستان حضرات یوسف و موسی (علیهما السلام)

Shohreh, Ebrahim — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

این نوشتار در نظر دارد نظریۀ معنای تلویحی گفتاری زبانشناس و انسان‌شناس آمریکایی،گرایس (Grice) را در گفتگوهای شخصیت‌های داستان‌های حضرات یوسف و موسی (علیهما السلام) و ترجمه‌های فارسی و انگلیسی آن در قرآن کریم موردیابی و تحلیل نماید. بدین منظور معنای تلویحی گفتاری در گفتگوهای این دو داستان در چهار ترجمۀ فارسی و چهار ترجمۀ انگلیسی از آیات مورد نظر مورد نقد و بررسی قرار می‌گیرد. ابتدا موارد معنای تلویحی گفتاری که در بردارندۀ اصول کیفیت (quality) در گفتار، کمیت در گفتار (quantity)، حالت در گفتار (manner) و ربط در گفتار (relation)، در این داستان‌های قرآنی می‌باشد، ارائه و سپس ترجمه‌هایی از آنها بررسی می‌شود. با توجه به اینکه معانی تلویحی گفتاری در این گفتگوها به صورت ضمنی بیان می‌شوند، مترجمان با به‌کارگیری راهبردهای شفاف‌سازی ترجمه، باید آنها را تصریح کرده تا خواننده بتواند معنا و منظور نهفته در این جملات را به سادگی درک کند. راهبردهای شفاف‌سازی ترجمه به‌کارگرفته شده توسط مترجمان مورد نظر در این مقاله عبارتند از: استفاده از پاورقی، قلاب، کمانک و هیچ یک از این سه راهبرد.

کاربرد پیکره‌های یکبارمصرف در آموزش ترجمه با نگاهی به وضعیت آموزش ترجمه در ایران

Helia Vaezian — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0330

مقالۀ حاضر به بررسی کاربرد پیکره‌های یکبارمصرف (Disposable Corpora) در ترجمه می‌پردازد. پیکره‌های یکبارمصرف در مواقع نوعی جدید از پیکره‌ها هستند که به واسطۀ همگانی شدن اینترنت و کاربردهایی که به صورت بالقوه دارند وارد عرصه ترجمه شده‌اند و به دلیل ویژگی‌های خاص خود بسیار مورد توجه قرار گرفته‌اند. چنین پیکره‌هایی شامل مجموعه‌ای کوچک از متون اینترنتی هستند که مترجم به صورت موردی و بر حسب نیاز برای ترجمه یک متن خاص می‌سازد. اینگونه پیکره‌ها معمولاً زمانی ساخته می‌شوند که مترجم در درک متن مبدأ و یا در ایجاد متن مقصد نیازمند اطلاعاتی است فراتر از آنچه که اکثر فرهنگ‌های لغت ارائه می‌دهند. پیکره‌های یکبارمصرف که می‌توانند یک‌زبانۀ مقصد یا دوزبانۀ مقایسه‌ای باشند، برای کسب اطلاعات بیشتر در مورد زبان مبدأ و یا زبان مقصد ساخته می‌شوند و معمولاً بعد از استفاده رها می‌شوند. از ویژگی‌های منحصربه‌فرد این پیکره‌ها سهولت فرایند ساخت آنهاست که این امکان را به مترجمان می‌دهد تا بدون نیاز به پیکره‌های بزرگ‌تر که معمولاً دسترسی به آنها مشکل است، از فواید قابل توجه آنها در ترجمه بهره گیرند. با توجه به عدم وجود پیکره‌های بزرگ در زبان فارسی و مشکلات موجود بر سر راه مترجمان در دسترسی به اندک پیکره‌های فارسی موجود، پیکره‌های یکبار‌مصرف می‌توانند به صورت کاربردی به عنوان منبعی جدید توسط مترجمان و معلمین ترجمه به منظور آموزش ترجمه در ایران مورد استفاده قرار گیرند.

بررسی ترجمۀ اسامی خاص در رمان‌های ترجمه شده از انگلیسی به فارسی برای نوجوانان

Reza Ananisarab, Bahar Eshraq — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0330

ترجمۀ اسامی خاص در ادبیات تخیلی همواره مورد توجه مترجمان و محققان بوده است، زیرا تصمیمات مترجم هنگام ترجمۀ این اسامی بر صورت، معنی و نقش آنها در بافت ادبی تأثیر می‌گذارد. این جستار، با استناد به نتایج تحقیقی تجربی که با استفاده از طرح پژوهشی چندروشی به انجام رسیده است، راهکارهایی را که مترجمان فارسی‌زبان برای ترجمۀ اسامی خاص در ادبیات فانتزی والای نوجوانان، به ویژه در دو مجموعۀ «سفر دلتورا» و «سه‌گانۀ ارثیه»، به کاربرده‌اند بررسی می‌کند. سپس به ارتباط راهکارها با تعدادی از عوامل احتمالی مورد توجه مترجمان در ترجمۀ آنها می‌پردازد و تأثیر احتمالی تصمیمات مترجمان را بر صورت، معنی و نقش اسامی ترجمه شده مورد بحث قرار می‌دهد. نتایج تحقیق نشان می‌دهد که انتقال (آوانگاری) و ترجمه، دو راهکار اصلی مورد استفادۀ مترجمان فارسی‌زبان، حاکی از گرایش آنها به دور نشدن از متن اصلی است. کاربرد معدودتر راهکارهای جایگزینی و ادغام دو استراتژی با هم را می‌توان به این امر نسبت داد که ادغام دو استراتژی منحصراً در ترجمۀ اسامی مکان‌ها استفاده شده و کاربرد جایگزینی نیز به موارد بسیار خاصی محدود شده که مترجم توانسته است با استفاده از منابع بافت فرهنگی واژه‌های جدیدی بیافریند. در رابطه با تغییر دستوری اسامی خاص در فرایند ترجمه، تحلیل داده‌ها نشان می‌دهد که تفاوت‌های میان دو زبان، به ویژه تفاوت‌های معنایی، دلیل احتمالی این تغییرات است.

تأثیر پیش‌ ویرایش بر کیفیت خروجی ماشین ترجمۀ پدیده

Sasan Baleghizadeh, Mojtaba Hatef — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0330

هدف این تحقیق بررسی تأثیر پیش ویرایش بر کیفیت خروجی ماشین ترجمۀ پدیده است. ابتدا متن‌های خروجی نرم‌افزار پدیده جهت مشخص کردن مشکلات متداول زبانی این نرم‌افزار مورد بررسی قرار گرفت؛ سپس با توجه به مشکلات عمده، پیش ویرایش مناسب تعریف شد. پس از اعمال پیش ویرایش، کیفیت خروجی ماشین ترجمۀ پدیده قبل و بعد از پیش ویرایش با استفاده از مدل ارزیابی کارول از لحاظ قابلیت فهم و صحت مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفت. نتایج تحقیق نشان داد که پیش ویرایش، بهبود قابل ملاحظه‌ای در کیفیت خروجی ماشین ترجمه پدیده به دست نمی‌دهد.

بررسی کاربرد افعال وجهی در ترجمه‌های انگلیسی قرآن کریم

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0330

متون دینی از جمله قرآن کریم به دلیل اینکه به وسیلۀ افراد مختلف در یک زبان واحد و همچنین در زبان‌های گوناگون ترجمه می‌شوند منابعی بسیار ارزشمند در تحلیل متن به منظور کشف پارامترهای سبک فردی و عمومی در نگارش و ترجمه به حساب می‌آیند. در این پژوهش با عنایت به این مهم شش فعل کمکی وجهی در ده جزء از هفت ترجمۀ انگلیسی قرآن کریم (ترجمه‌های آربری، پیکتال، قرایی، ایروینگ، صفارزاده، شاکر و یوسف‌ علی) مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. این پژوهش نشان داد که بسامد افعال وجهی به طور کلی در ترجمه‌های فوق‌الذکر از تفاوت معناداری برخوردار است. همچنین، هریک از افعال وجهی جداگانه در ترجمه‌های مورد بررسی نیز دارای بسامد متفاوتی هستند. این پژوهش همچنین نشان می‌دهد که علاوه بر اینکه نگرش و ایدئولوژی مترجمین تأثیری بسزا در تغییر متن دارد، پیشینۀ زبانی مترجم، مشخصاً بومی ‌و غیربومی بودن وی، در تولید متنی متفاوت مؤثر است. متفاوت بودن بسامد افعال وجهی در ترجمه‌های مورد بررسی از دیگر نتایج این پژوهش است؛ در حقیقت، در شرایط یکسان نیز مترجمان از فعل وجهی یکسانی استفاده نمی‌کنند.

مشکلات ترجمۀ ماشینی در زبان فارسی به کمک سه نرم‌افزار

Vahidreza Mirzaeian — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0330

امروزه صحبت زیادی از ترجمۀ ماشینی و قابلیت کامپیوتر در انجام این مهم به میان می‌آید. با توجه به عدم درک صحیح از قدرت کامپیوتر در این حوزه و شناخت ناکافی افراد، در این مقاله سعی شده است ضمن معرفی اجمالی ترجمۀ ماشینی و موانع و مشکلات آن، عملکرد سه نرم‌افزار مطرح در این حوزه در زبان فارسی به نام‌های پارس و پدیده و نیز سایت گوگل مورد تست و ارزیابی قرار گیرد. این مقاله به هیچ وجه در صدد کم‌ارزش جلوه دادن زحمات بیکران تهیه‌کنندگان این دو نرم‌افزار و سایت ترجمۀ گوگل نیست؛ بلکه قصد آن داریم ضمن ارائه تصویری مبتنی بر واقعیت نشان دهیم ترجمۀ ماشینی امری بسیار عظیم و بزرگ است و در صورت عدم پشتیبانی و حمایت مادی گسترده در این حوزه، نمی‌توان به نرم‌افزارهایی این چنینی اکتفا کرد و تا ارائه یک مترجم قدرتمند فرسنگ‌ها راه در پیش رو داریم.

نمودهای التقاط در متون تولید شده در «هجرت» و «وطن»

Hussein Mollanazar, Fatemeh Parham — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0330

التقاط ویژگی‌ایست که در فضاهای فرهنگی خاصی مانند «دایاسپورا» یا هجرت ظهور می‌کند. با این حال، صرفاً متون تولید شده در دایاسپورا از این ویژگی برخوردار نیستند. متونی که در وطن – در این پژوهش، ایران – تولید می‌شوند نیز ممکن است تا اندازه‌ای دورگه محسوب شوند. اما اینکه این دو دسته – متون تولید شده در وطن و دایاسپورا – تا چه اندازه به لحاظ نوع و میزان التقاط با یکدیگر متفاوتند، پرسشی است که تا کنون بدان پاسخ داده نشده است. از این رو، مقالۀ حاضر بر آن است تا با استفاده از پیکرۀ عظیم 670,000 کلمه‌ای، متشکل از یازده رمان و مجموعه داستان کوتاه که در بازۀ زمانی 10 سال، از 1378 تا 1388، در ایران و دایاسپورای ایرانی تولید شده‌اند، معلوم نماید که میان از این دو دسته متون، از نظر نوع و میزان التقاط چه تفاوت‌هایی وجود دارد.

تحلیل مقابله‌ای ضرب‌المثل‌های انگلیسی و فارسی از نظر معنایی و واژگانی

Khalil Ghazizadeh, Azadeh Najafi — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0330

در پژوهش حاضر به مقایسۀ ضرب‌المثل‌های فارسی و انگلیسی از نظر میزان تطابق‌های معنایی و واژگانی پرداخته شده است. روش کار در این بررسی توصیفی ـ تحلیلی بوده است که در نهایت از میان ضرب‌المثل‌های مقایسه شده (جامعۀ آماری برابر با 500 ضرب‌المثل) نتایج زیر به دست آمد (نتایج براساس ترتیب بیشترین درصد بیان شده است): 55.2 ٪ از ضرب‌المثل‌های مقایسه شده مطابقت واژگانی نداشتند، ولی مطابقت معنایی داشتند. 30.6٪ از ضرب‌المثل‌های مقایسه شده مطابقت واژگانی نسبی و مطابقت معنایی کامل داشتند. 8 ٪ از ضرب‌المثل‌های مقایسه شده مطابقت واژگانی و معنایی کامل داشتند. 6.20٪ از ضرب‌المثل‌های مقایسه شده نه مطابقت معنایی و نه مطابقت واژگانی داشتند. نتایج آماری این مطالعه نشان داد که نقاط مشترکی که در ضرب‌المثل‌های دو جامعۀ زبانی فارسی و انگلیسی دیده می‌شود، بیشتر به تطابق‌های معنایی مربوط می‌شود و دیگر اینکه تطابق واژگانی (اعم از کامل یا نسبی) همواره تطابق معنایی را به دنبال داشته است، اما عکس این قضیه صادق نیست؛ یعنی وجود تطابق معنایی هیچ‌گاه به معنی لزوم تطابق واژگانی نبوده است. از نتایج ضمنی و درخور توجه این پژوهش می‌توان به یافتن ضرب‌المثل‌هایی در دو زبان اشاره کرد که به ظاهر معادل یکدیگر هستند، ولی تعریف و کاربرد دقیق ارائه شده از آنها نشان می‌دهد که بار معنایی متفاوتی دارند. به هنگام تحلیل داده‌های مورد مطالعه، به طور خودکار ضرب‌المثل‌هایی در هر دو زبان یافت شدند که نتیجۀ گرته‌برداری یا ترجمه از یکدیگر بودند.

نقش اصل همکاری گرایس در دستیابی به تعادل در ترجمه

Asieh Seifi, Kambiz Mahmoodzadeh — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0330

تعادل همواره به عنوان یكی از مفاهیم اصلی نظریۀ ترجمه مورد توجه بوده و بیشترین بحث‌ را به خود اختصاص داده است. هدف از انجام این پژوهش، تأكید بر نقش اصول كاربردشناختی بر روانی و قابل فهم بودن ترجمه برای مخاطب و یا به زبانی دیگر دستیابی به تعادل ترجمه‌ای است .در این مقاله نقش سه شرط از اصل همكاری گرایس (كمیت، شیوۀ بیان، ارتباط) – به عنوان عواملی مهم در حفظ پیوستگی متن - بر اساس میزان موفقیت سه متن ترجمه شده از كتاب «پیامبر» اثر «جبران خلیل جبران» مورد بررسی قرار گرفت و تأثیر آن در ارائه ترجمه‌ای متعادل بر اساس پرسشنامه‌ای سنجیده شد. آزمودنی‌های این پرسشنامه چهل نفر از دانش‌آموختگان رشتۀ مطالعات ترجمه بودند. نتایج به دست آمده بدین شرح است: آزمودنی‌ها بیش از همه به نمونه‌های ترجمه‌ای ناقض شروط ارتباط و شیوۀ بیان حساسیت نشان داده و رعایت آنها را در انتقال پیام متن مبدأ و ارائه ترجمه‌ای متعادل و مطلوب مؤثر می‌دانند، اما نقض شرط كمیت را مانعی جدی در انتقال پیام متن مبدأ و ارائه ترجمه‌ای متعادل و مطلوب محسوب نمی‌كنند.

Manipulation in Translation of Children’s Literature

Sasan Baleghizadeh, Fatemeh Ranjour — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

The present study attempted to explore the manipulative aspects of translating for children, taking into account the linguistic and cultural differences between English and Persian, and to establish some common manipulative strategies used by translators. The study adopted a descriptive attitude toward the study of translation and the corpus was approached mainly from qualitative perspective with some elements of quantification. The categorization was mainly based on Dukate’s work on the typology of manipulation. Two well-known British children’s novels, i.e. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling and their translated Persian versions formed the corpus of the study. The results show that in translation of children’s literature, whenever the given part of the text is not in conformity with the target language cultural, ideological and didactic considerations, it is omitted, substituted or attenuated in such a way as to conform to TL ideological and pedagogical values. However, even in cases where there were no cultural or ideological clashes between the source and target texts, the translators had tried to modify the source text so as to make it conform with the reading habits and linguistic expectations of target language readers.

Representation of Gender Relations in AVT &

Mina Qavami adel — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

This study was an attempt to investigate representation of gendered identities and gender relations through talk in both the English original and the Persian dubbed versions of a gender-sensitive movie named “The Hours”. Adopting Farahzad’s model of translation criticism and Fairclough’s CDA, the study – which was mainly descriptive and subjective – sought to answer two questions: “1. Does the dubbed version of a gender-sensitive English movie change the representation of gender identities and gender relations by manipulating the language, compared with the ones reflected in and by the original version? 2. If yes, How?” Therefore, gender relations in both versions were examined according to the answers provided to ten questions raised by Fairclough at three levels of vocabulary, grammar and textual structure.

Translator's Presence in Translated Narrative Texts through Shifts Proposed by Leuven-Zwart (3): Descriptive Model

Abolfazl Horri — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

This tripartite paper examines the translator's presence in the translated narrative texts through shifts as proposed by Leuven-Zwart. In the first paper, the related literature was reviewed and through references to Catford and Viny and Darbelnette to Zwart, the concept of shifts was mentioned. Having compared and contrasted Don Quixote's German translation, Zwart proposed two models for the analysis of both SL and TL; namely, comparative and descriptive models. The former compares the items of SL and TL from micro-structure level. Having taken transeme as the smallest meaningful unit for comparative model, Zwart found a common field between transemes of both SL and TL that she calls it architranseme. Having both transeme and architranseme of both SL and TL in the mind, she found a tetra relational shift: non-shift; modulation; modification and mutation. In the second paper, these shifts were analyzed through references to some translated literary text. Now in this last paper and based on Zwart's descriptive model, it comes to fore that any shift in the micro-structure of narrative text would have effects on the macro-structure of the translated narrative texts.

Word Building, a Forgotten Element in Translation of Scientific and Technical Terms

Amir Hosseini, Mahmoud Azizi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

As a result of the industrial revolution and the numerous advances in science as well as the inventions and innovations achieved by human beings, a good deal of new words and terms have appeared to identify the new concepts. The newly coined words usually share the same origin with the place of science production. The development and propagation of new science in societies and countries are coincident with the spread of new words. This is where the languages and cultures of the science-consuming societies – including our country – are affected by the language and culture of the societies that have produced those scientific concepts. If the language and culture enjoy required richness and preparedness and follows a well-thought plan for embracing new science and dealing with the subsequent new words, the adverse influences can be reduced to the minimum possible level. The entry of Iran into the areas of nuclear industry and the transfer of nuclear science and technology is an obvious instance in this regard. The present paper looks at the necessity of adopting appropriate mechanisms for receiving and localizing science and relevant scientific and technical words; it then presents the solutions, suggestions and different viewpoints of the learned and the authorities in this regard.

Explicitation in English into Persian Translation: A Study of Text Types

Rasoul Igder, Amin Kariminia — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

This study intends to provide some deeper insight into the notion of explicitation through studying text type which has not been fully studied in Persian as far as the researchers know. It holds Reiss' text type theory as a starting point to conduct a descriptive research. Explicitation as a cohesive device at levels of lexis and syntax is the focus of this study. Thus, the purpose is to observe the behaviour of explicitation at lexical and syntactic levels with regard to two types of text (informative and expressive), both qualitatively and quantitatively. In this study, three narrative and three scientific texts (translated from English into Persian) are taken as the corpus for expressive and informative text types. The findings clearly indicated that explicitation is text type dependent and expressive texts showed higher level of explicitness in comparison to informative texts.

English Present Participles and Their Equivalents in Persian

Tahereh Khezrab — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

The main objective of this study was to find out whether English Present participles change in the process of translation into Persian. The material for the study was collected from the book, 'Animal Farm', written by George Orwell (1990) and its three translations into Persian. Based on the content or text analysis, the researcher could determine different grammatical structures in Persian for English present participles. Of this storybook, 10 complex sentences containing present participles were selected from each chapter. These English structures were analyzed based on Catford's model (1965) of shifts in translation. Then, the frequencies and percentages were estimated and represented in figures 1, 2 and 3. The grammatical structures in Persian were distributed such that Persian verb structures had the most (40%), and implications and phrases (3%) the least frequencies. The other grammatical structures such as clauses or adverbs obtained different levels of frequencies among the frequencies of the above mentioned structures. This paper provides other researchers an insight into translating these structures from English to Persian or other languages through analyzing the methods by which we can relate these structures to their translations; furthermore, the researcher can develop the methods for other grammatical structures.

Gender of Russian Nouns and Its Translation into Persian

Mohammad Reza Mohammadi, Raheleh Barari — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

The case of grammatical gender is one of the important topics studied in the Russian morphology. Nouns are considered to have four different genders in Russian: masculine, feminine, neutral and common. Two of them, i.e. masculine and feminine (animate nouns), are closely related to natural or real gender. The gender of nouns determines that of their modifiers, such as adjectives, quantifiers, pronouns, etc. Taking a translational view, this paper attempts to categorize the grammatical gender of nouns in Russian based on the animate-inanimate category and compare them with their corresponding nouns in Persian. Since there is a great difference between these notions in Russian and Persian, and Iranian learners of Russian face problems in utilizing and translating such words, this paper surveys and suggests different methods of recognizing the natural gender of nouns and translating them into Persian.

The Role of Large Monolingual Corpora in Improving Machine Translation Quality

Tayebeh Mosavi Miangah — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Collocations, recurrent combinations of words whose co-occurrence probability is higher than chance, are frequent in natural languages. Since bilingual dictionaries do not offer proper equivalents for most of such collocations, the majority of machine translation systems perform poorly when faced with collocations, and as a result, their output quality decreases to a high degree. Monolingual corpora have recently been used in solving various linguistic problems including natural language processing, statistical machine translation, language teaching and the like. The present study describes the process of creating and exploiting a large monolingual corpus of Persian. This corpus enables us to solve the ambiguity problem of English collocations when translating into Persian with an English-Persian machine translation system. Using such a corpus as a target language corpus and an English-Persian bilingual dictionary, we study the efficiency of this corpus in finding the most appropriate Persian equivalents for English collocations in order to enhance the output quality of a machine translation system. The results of the experiment on a test corpus were very encouraging and achieved 90.83% success.`

Hybridization, Dehybridization and Rehybridization

Fatemeh Parham — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Translation scholars are in the belief that when a hybrid text gets translated, its elements, whether hybrid or non-hybrid, undergo certain changes. The present study, thus, endeavours to probe into the nature of these changes. In other words, it attempts to illustrate what fates elements of a hybrid text are to encounter in the process of translation. Exploring an English hybrid text taken from immigrant literature along with its translation into Persian revealed that in the process of translation, some of the elements of the hybrid text remain intact and are transferred to the target text without any change; i.e. they preserve their original hybrid or non-hybrid quality. However, certain other elements undergo changes which we classified under the three categories of hybridization, dehybridization and rehybridization.

Semantic Collocations in the Holy Qur'ān and their English Translations

Ebrahim Davoudi Sharifabad, Morteza Rahimi Yeganeh — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0330

Collocations are regular co-occurrences of words. Getting familiar with collocations like sirāt mustaqēm (صراط المستقیم) and yawm dēn (یومالدین) is a necessity for English translators of the Holy Qur’ān. In this study, nine well-known English translations of the Holy Qur’ān are analyzed with respect to semantic collocations. Frequent semantic collocations are extracted from the Qur’ān and the componential analysis reveals the original concepts enclosed within sample collocations. The results indicate that some new meaning components are introduced into the contexts as collocational clashes. Therefore semantic collocations of the Holy Qur’ān may not be translated into other languages word-by-word. A semantic collocation can be considered as a unit of translation. In this study, at first, the concept of collocation and its role in the translation of the Holy Qu’an is explained, and then five kinds of collocations are discussed. The relevant tables showing the total number and frequencies of different kinds of collocations are also presented.

Adequacy or Acceptability? Toward Making the Style of the Author Known

Somayeh Delzendehrooy — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0330

Without translation, the style and technique of an author will not go beyond the borders of the author's country. Thus translators have an important responsibility for making known the style and technique of authors worldwide. In this study, based on Toury’s notion of ‘adequacy’ and ‘acceptability’, it is tried to highlight the significance of the role of translators in transferring the style of the author. To this end, Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse and its two translations, one by Saleh Hosseini and the other by Silvia Bejaniyan, are chosen as the corpus of the study. Woolf's style in To the Lighthouse, known as free indirect discourse, is discussed to see how the translators have treated her style in Persian. It is observed that Hosseini, having subjected himself to the ST, has been more watchful of Woolf's style creating an adequate translation rather than Bejaniyan, who, by moving towards TT, has domesticated the original text producing an acceptable translation hence ignoring Woolf’s style.

A Glance at the Ailing System of Teaching Translation in Some Iranian Universities

Khalil Ghazizadeh, Alireza Jamalimanesh — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0330

It goes without saying that to produce high-quality translations, competent translators are needed; those who have gained adequate expertise through university education. However, the translations offered by so-called translators and experts are most often of low quality. Despite this necessity, no serious research has been conducted to evaluate the criteria set for designing and offering translation courses taught at Iranian universities, and whether they are appropriate or not. This paper looks at the present situation of translation teaching in some Iranian universities from the following angles: the whys and wherefores of translation teaching at universities, the major weaknesses, and the necessity of viewing translation teaching as a learning process. Besides, an attempt has been made to introduce some remedies for healing the ailing system of teaching translation in some Iranian universities. The findings of this paper have been obtained through interviews and direct observation of translation classes held at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Imam Reza University as well as Sheikh Bahaeei University of Isfahan. Our findings revealed that: a. those who teach translation at universities in Iran lack professional background in translation; b. translation teachers have not received any kind of training in teaching translation; c. the processes of developing objectives and selecting material are carried out randomly; d. there is a severe shortage in resources and classroom facilities; e. there is severe lack of coordination in the program, and as a result the overall program is not very successful. These results imply the necessity to re-evaluate the criteria set for designing and implementing the translation courses taught at Iranian universities.

Analysis of Translation Teachers’ Feedbacks on Students’ Translations

Mohammad Reza Hashemi, Elnaz Pakar — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0330

The role of feedback in changing behaviour and learning is one of the main principles of the Chaos Theory and Cybernetics. A positive or negative feedback loop can increase or decrease learning. According to the Attribution Theory, individuals attribute their success and failure to four factors: a. ability, b. effort, c. success and d. task difficulty. Due to the fact that the teacher plays an important role in enhancing students’ learning ability, the effect of his educational comments and feedbacks on students’ behaviour can be analyzed. This interdisciplinary research reports an investigation and analysis of teachers’ educational comments and feedbacks on students’ translation, based on “Chaos Complexity Theory”, “Attribution Theory” and “Cybernetics”. Suggestions are made for the enhancement of teaching translation.

Translating Personal Deixis as Point of View Indexes in Three Persian Translations of Woolf's To the Lighthouse

Abolfazl Horri — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0330

This paper examines translation of personal deixis in three Persian translations of To the Lighthouse. Firstly, the theoretical framework and the related literature are reviewed. In fact, as a means for determining spatio-temporal point of view in narrative fiction and for revealing the relationship between characters’ utterances and their point of view, deixis shows whether narrator's or characters’ perspectives are realized in the story or not. Secondly, translation of personal deixis of To the Lighthouse is examined by comparing and contrasting the original with selected samples of its three translations into Persian. Finally, it is discussed that by reducing the narrator’s and characters’ duet to a single voice, Hosseini has translated indirect discourse into direct discourse (80%) while the two other translators have preserved the quality of the original discourse.

The Impact of Shifts on the Translated Text at Macro-Level A Case Study of Browne's Translation of Dehkhoda's Satires

Alireza Khazaee Farid — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0330

The purpose of this paper is to apply the systematic model proposed by Munday, to a short Persian text (ST) and its English translation (TT) in an attempt to explain the impact that shifts have had on the TT at macro-level, and to interpret the TT using Lefevere's notion of rewriting. To this end, Munday’s notion of shifts, Lefevere's notion of rewriting and Lambert and Hendrik van Gorp's notion of Macro-level are explained, and then, within Munday's framework, the original and the translated texts chosen for this purpose are described from a socio-cultural point of view and their ideational, interpersonal and textual functions are discussed. Finally, the translated text is explained in the light of Lefevere's notion of rewriting.

An Investigation of Word Order in Persian and English Translations of the Holy Qur’ān

Mehrzad Mansouri — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0330

Word order is one of the most important elements in the structure of any language. Some translators believe that in the Holy Qur’ān, word order plays a significant part in conveying meaning and thus any change in the word order results in distortion of divine words; they therefore try their best to preserve the word order of the original in their translations. The present paper investigates word order in a number of Persian and English translations of the Holy Qur’ān. It is discussed that some language peculiarities are effective in opting for SL or TL word order in translation. It is argued that some of the peculiarities of Persian language enable the translators to preserve the word order of the source language; in fact, even in cases where a marked word order in the target language makes the translation closer to the original, translators have preferred the marked TL word order. As regards English translations, most of them have used a natural TL word order; this is because English is case assigner, i.e. any change in its word order may result in a change in meaning or an ungrammatical structure.

The Impact of Domestication and Foreignization on Comprehensibility of Translations of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Amir Marzban, Marjan Mortazavi — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0330

Venuti (1995) defines domesticating translation as “a replacement of the linguistic and cultural differences of the foreign text with a text that is intelligible to the target-language reader”, and foreignizing translation as “a translation that indicates the linguistic and cultural differences of the text by disrupting the cultural codes that prevail in the target language.” The present study attempts to investigate two translations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, to discover the relationship between domestication and comprehensibility of the text through comparing the frequency of domestication and foreignization translation strategies employed by two different translators: Pirzad and Soleymani. Since Pirzad presented a more domesticated translation, one group of subjects were provided with her translation, and the other with the translation of Soleymani who was more interested in foreignizing. After administering comprehensibility test and analyzing the results through t-test, it was revealed that the group of subjects who had received Pirzad's translation came up with better scores and also there was a significant relationship between domestication and comprehensibility of the children at 0.01 level of significance.

Strategic Assessment of EVS Regulation during Simultaneous Interpreting

Karim Shabani — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0330

As a temporal aspect of simultaneous interpreting (SI) and a variable susceptible to source language (SL) factors, ear-voice span (EVS) has been used as a reliable measure of both interpreter's cognitive processing and the quality of his output (Barik, 2002; Gile, 2008; Goldman-Eisler, 1980). This study sets out to measure temporally and linguistically the EVS patterns adopted by a professional interpreter during Persian-English SI alongside a strategic assessment of his EVS regulation. The speaker’s and interpreter’s outputs were collected in a real conference setting. With the aid of Sound Forge, a comparative analysis was made on synchronized SL-TL wave files to detect different EVS patterns adopted by the interpreter. Following the detection of EVS patterns, an intertextual assessment of interpretations was carried out to detect the types of EVS regulation strategies. Quite commensurate with Goldman-Eisler’s (1972) findings, the results from linguistic EVS measurement indicated that the SL verb is a main determinant of meaning and a reliable point of departure for the interpreter to commence interpreting. However, shorter EVS patterns like NP, NP+NP and NP+PP were also found to act as interpretation openers and the interpreter facing the verb-last structure of Persian input did not always give out long EVS patterns, but strategically opted for short and optimal VP-less EVS patterns with reliance on a set of regulation strategies to eschew insidious cognitive overload and present a successful SI performance. From didactic optique, it is recommended that the EVS regulation strategies detected in this study like skipping, filtering, generalization, stalling, chunking and anticipation could be wisely incorporated into an interpreter training syllabus.

Strategies Used in Translating Humor

Sirous Damiri, Alireza Ahmadi — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

The present study focused on investigating the strategies used in translating humor. To this end, two English texts along with their corresponding translations into Persian were studied using Delabastita’s translation strategies of wordplay (1996). The results indicated that the most commonly used strategies by Iranian translators were: 1. rendering the humor of the source text into a humor in the target language, and 2. omission, and the least commonly used ones were 1. editorial techniques, and 2. literal rendering of the source text humor in the target language. The results also indicated that taboo humors were mostly translated either by omitting the taboo term in the humor or by rendering the humor into non-humor. It was also found that most of the humorous elements related to political events were much easier to be translated into another language with no change in the elements of humor.

Censorship in Dubbed Movies

Mina Ghavami-Adel — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

The present research is an attempt to investigate the cases of censorship in dubbed movies shown on TV in Iran – namely “Godfather” series, and to establish the norms based on which the whole system is operating to apply this strategy in AVT as a mode of translation. Adopting Toury’s Descriptive Translation Studies and Even-Zohar’s Polysystem Theory, this descriptive study tried to find the answer to the following questions: What are the most common manifestations of censorship in Persian dubbed movies on Iranian TV? Are they rule-governed? In what ways? What are the determining factors in the application of censorship? Are they ideological? Does censorship cause any significant change in the entire meaning of the film? If yes, how much? After collection of relevant data, they were analyzed using translation shifts, for it seems that censorship is a kind of shift in ideology. As a result, units of analysis ranged from censorship of the scenes to censorship of the words uttered.

Ways of Communicating Meaning of Russian Verbs with Prefix “по-” in Persian

Mohammad Reza Mohammadi, Elhameh Ramezani Jazie — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

This study explores differing ways the meaning of Russian verbs with prefix «-по» can be conveyed in Persian. The difficulty students experience when translating such verbs into Persian encouraged the researchers to conduct the present study. In effect, the main source of difficulty is the fact that when prefix «-по» is attached to the stem of verbs, it can convey different meanings. Since in Persian we do not have too many of such prefixes and they cannot express the grammatical function of words either, both lexical and grammatical meanings of the prefix «-по» are translated into Persian using features other than prefixes. It is worth mentioning that when prefix «-по» is attached to Russian verbs, they can express several meanings simultaneously, whereas Persian verbs rarely have such quality.

The Effect of Writing Style of Translator-Writers on their Translated Works

Ebrahim Mohammadi, Jalil Allah Faroughi Hendvalan, Zahra Rezaee — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

This paper attempts to find out whether the personal writing style of a writer can affect his/her translation. To find an answer to this question, the writing style and translations of two writers, with distinguished writing style, are studied: from Simin Daneshvar, an original novel named “Souvashoon” as well as the translation of “The scarlet letter” and from Ahmad Shamlou, some short stories from the collection “the doors and walls of China's great wall” and the translation of “the little prince”. The findings of the research indicate that the writing style of a writer-translator is transferred to his translation(s).

A Study of the Role of Translation from French into Persian in the Formation of Persian Political Lexicon by Looking at Ettelaat Newspaper

Khadijeh Naderi Beni, Mahnaz Rezaie — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Persian language like any other language has been and is affected by foreign languages. Language of Persian media has been affected in the same way. The question here is how this language has been shaped and taken its present form; and whether journalistic language changes too and the language that present journalists use is different from that of a few decades ago. The answer is that in the process of changing and reforming the journalistic language the effect of translation should not be ignored. And, since one of the most important purposes of collective media, including newspaper, is reflecting political events, it is clear that the effect on this media of other languages is more obvious in politics than in other kinds of news. Considering the fact that lexicon is an important part of any language, the present article is an attempt to explore those political words that are tainted by translation. The examined words in this paper are taken from political news and articles that have been translated from French journals and printed in Ettelaat newspaper from 1341 to 1344.

The Process of Discourse Comprehension: Implications for Translation

Karim Sadeghi — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Translation involves a mediating language. To better understand the nature of translation, one first needs to know what language itself is since translation is above all rendering one form of language into another. It has also been argued that text comprehension is a prerequisite for text production, a technical version of which is translation; hence an appraisal of the process of discourse comprehension appears vital for understanding the processes at work in translation. It is accordingly the aim of this paper to first clarify the meaning and nature of language itself. Then, the factors involved in text comprehension will be delineated with a particular focus on the relationship between text and context – since as House rightly asserts, 'the notion of context, its relation to text, and the role it plays in translation has received much less attention' – in an attempt to pave the way for the first step of translation, i.e., comprehension, to gain realisation in as uninterrupted a way as possible, since otherwise, no acceptable translation may follow.

A Different Perspective on Modification in Translation

Fahimeh Sahraei Nezhad — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Concepts like “faithful” versus “transparent”, “honest” versus “comprehensible” and many other binary terms have always been controversial in the theory and practice of translation. The origin of these controversies can be found in whether or not we allow modification in translation. In general, modifications imply any alteration or manipulation in the form of the source text in order to properly convey the meaning into the target language. This paper aims to study the relation between modification (discoursal and lexical) in translation and the image schemata that exist in the minds of receivers. Image Schemata refer to the abstract mental structures formed through our interactions with the outside physical world around us, or as a result of social conventions. These abstract patterns play a crucial role in our understanding, reasoning, and conceptualization of phenomena. It is concluded that at a general level all kinds of modifications in translation are implemented in line with image schemata.

Original versus Translated EAP Texts: the Problem of Main Idea Equivalence and Global Understanding

Zia Tajeddin, Mohammad Reza Rezaeian-Delouei — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Most academic and scientific writing is nowadays done in English and students are therefore required to read books and do assignments using this medium. The present research was aimed at a comparative study of reading comprehension of EAP original texts and their translations. As many as 50 MA students, majoring in different branches of management, were randomly selected. Out of these 50 students, 30 were asked to take an English reading comprehension test, consisting of 15 multiple-choice questions – 4 questions addressed main ideas of passages to measure global understanding and 11 measured local understanding. The rest of the students took the same reading test for the Persian translations of the same passages; they also took a Nelson test so that their homogeneity in terms of language proficiency would be ensured. The results indicated that the students tended to understand main ideas of the English texts better than those of their translations; however, as regards details, this was not true; i.e., they did not understand details of English texts better than those of Persian translations. The findings suggest that the process of transfer from SL to TL mainly affects the finding of complete equivalences for main ideas, rather than details, due to the fact that the former are higher-order propositions and usually operate at textual level.

Motivations and Goals of Translation in Iran: A Historical Perspective

Reza Amini — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0430

There are lots of evidences indicating that the history of translation in Iran return back to millenniums ago. Being under the influence of ever-changing condition of the country, translation in Iran has had many ups and downs. In some periods, the amount of translation has been so remarkable that we have had “the movement of translation” in those periods. The goals and motivations for translation during the time are different. Among these goals and motivations are delivering the messages and orders of the government to the people and tribes in different part of the Iranian empire, and its neighbors, filling the scientific gaps of the society, having access to the scientific findings of other nations and finding ways to get rid of the factors behind the country being undeveloped, expanding religious beliefs, personal motivations, and so forth. Some of these motivations, as filling the scientific gaps in the country, can be seen along the history of Iran, but some are special to specific historical periods being influenced by political and social conditions.

Compliments in English Comedy Films versus Their Persian Subtitles: A Functional Comparative Study

Maryam Bordbar, Mohammad S. Bagheri — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0430

Compliments, and in general speech acts, have always been a subject of study both in sociolinguistics and pragmatics in order to touch cultural differences between languages. This study aims at investigating American compliment functions versus their Persian counterparts. Regarding the significance of different genres and their different effects on the compliment functions, comedy film subtitles are considered as the corpus of this study. To this end, 300 compliments were identified and analyzed in three American comedy movie subtitles. The data were coded and categorized under Leech’s (1983) six maxims, to assess the instances of differences between English and Persian compliment functions. The results revealed that 2% of compliments had a different function in Persian versus English compliments. It was also concluded that the maxim of Approbation was regarded to be the most frequent function of Persian compliments in the subtitles while, the maxims of Sympathy, Generosity, and Agreement were employed more in English. Moreover, some compliments were detected whose function was not defined in Leech’s Politeness Principle. These, however, only occurred in sarcastic situations and pertained to comedy genre.

Ideological Aspects of Drama Translation: A Case Study of Persian Translation of Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People”

Mahvash Gholami, Samaneh Farhadi — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0430

Translation of drama has received little academic attention in Iran, especially from the ideological point of view. Based on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework and with a particular emphasis on van Dijk's social-cognitive model (van Dijk 1988, 1998b, 1995, 1998a), this study attempted to investigate the effect of ideological tendencies of translators in two English translations of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People along with its Persian translation by Amir Hossein Aryanpour. The analysis of selected sentences showed there have been significant changes made by the Persian translator, intentionally or unintentionally, leading to the polarization of us versus them by his (dis)approval of the ideological content of the original drama. This polarization has mostly been realized through omitting or manipulating of particular source sentences in the target text, or adding new elements (at lexical and/or syntactic levels).

Persian Translation Movement at the Safavid Era

Mohammadreza Hosseini — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0430

The Safavid dynasty integrated borders of ancient Iran for the first time after early Islamic Period. They tried to prevail Shi'ism in order to boost national integrity among Persians. In order to reach the aforesaid goal, they supported and sponsored translation of Shi'ism teachings and theology. The mentioned official “patronage” led to a translation movement in which religious translated texts moved to the center of the literary system of Persia. The aim of compiling and translating religious texts into Persian was helping laymen-type Iranians to have access to Shi'ism teachings. Other text types were also translated into Persian too. For example important available historical, medical and geographical books were translated into Persian. The Safavids were interested in boosting ties with European governments. One of the tactics in this respect was tolerating Christian religious missions which led to translation of Christian and Jewish Holy books. Many of the translators were officials and appointed prayer leaders who knew Arabic and sometimes the King himself ordered a book to a translator. In summary, state-sponsored translation movement contributed to propagation of Shi'ism in Iran and many of the said translations are still available in the market.

Substantial Motion in Translation

Salar Manafi-Anari, Esmat Shahmoradi — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0430

This study aims to investigate the applicability of Mulla Sadra’s theory of substantial motion in translation. For this purpose, it explores the concept of motion, as the move from a state of potency to actuality, in the triple classification of text, translator and translation. It is in search for meaning and the shifting intensities of the reality of the source text, on the one hand, and the cognitive and intellectual motions in the translator on the other. The study further explains translation as a gradual process of permanent motion. It offers a classification of motion found in the theories of translation studies. Finally, the study offers the theory of substantial motion in translation.

The Impact of the MA Translation Studies Program on the Students’ Translation Ability

Hamid Marashi, Elmira Mohammadi — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0430

This study sought to evaluate the graduate program of Translation Studies in terms of training expert translators in the field of humanities and social sciences. In so doing, 87 students studying in the first and third semesters from Islamic Azad University at Central Tehran, South Tehran, and Science and Research Center were selected and they participated in the study. Accordingly, the students were first homogenized based on their general English Proficiency and then took a translation ability test consisting of four different texts. The translations were scored according to Hurtodo’s rubric by three raters who enjoyed inter-rater consistency. Based on the statistical analysis of the gathered data, it was concluded that the third-semester students showed higher mean scores on the four types of the translation texts all of which were statistically significant. Thus the null hypothesis of this study stating that the MA Translation Studies program had no significant effect on the students’ translation ability was rejected.

Developing the Capabilities of MetaTexis Translation Memory Software and evaluating it in translating various texts from English into Persian

Tayebeh Mosavi Miangah — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0430

Translation Memory (TM) is a way of collecting, storing and reusing translations. It is a computer tool with the aim of providing facilities to reuse the existing translations. In its simplest form it contains a database in which translator can store previous translations for future use and easy search. As the raw output of automatic Machine Translation (MT) systems are not very reliable in most areas, in recent years there seems to be an increasing tendency among the translators towards using computer assisted tools like TMs. In this study we tried to localize a TM system called MetaTexis to be applicable for translation from English into Persian. To examine the potential of this TM system, the required adjustments on the system were made and the performance of the system was evaluated through an experiment using five different text types, including literary, law, political, religious and technical texts. The results of the experiment show that this TM system works well on technical texts, while the highest rate of translation errors belongs to the literary texts. The total accuracy of the system performance for the English and Persian language pair achieved 90.78 percent which is encouraging for the pair.

Norms of Localization in Translating Persian Multimodal Texts: The case of videogame demos

Farkhondeh Touiserkani, Katayoon Afzali — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0430

Audiovisual translation is different from other types of translation in that in its translations, in addition to speaking content, visual aspects of an image need to be taken into consideration. Viewing this difference, the aims of the current study were threefold: 1) investigating the likely constraints of translating videogame demos, 2) investigating the norms of localization in translating videogame demos and 3) identifying the ideologies that the use of these norms indicates in the society. To this end, first, a corpus of 33 videogame demos and their Persian translations were selected and analyzed. Next, the likely constraints of translating videogame demos were specified. Then, according to Tomaszkiewich’s (1993) model and Bastin’s (2005) adaptation model, the norms of translating videogame demos were identified. Finally, what the norms of the translation of videogames showed about the ideology of the present society was recognized. The findings revealed that situational and cultural adequacy and creation in Bastin’s model are two norms most frequently used by translators. In addition to the Bastin’s model of translation strategies, two other norms, i.e. euphemism and colloquial language were recognized in translating videogame demos. The findings indicated that since the videogames have been designed for fun, they have been translated colloquially.

A Prospective Approach to English Subtitling of Persian Phatic Expressions

Mojde Yaqubi, Wan Rose Eliza Abdul Rahman, Hasuria Che Omar — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0430

In subtitling movies, subtitlers are often faced with the seemingly difficult task of translating culture-specific elements of source text (ST) such as ‘phatic expressions’. Phatic expressions are normally used to open, prolong and close the communicative acts and also to shape the role relationship between communicating parties. Situation of usage and form of phatic expressions vary across cultures which lead to translation errors. However, to reproduce phatic function in target text (TT), the translator can either adapt the forms to target-culture conventions (instrumental translation) or explain to the target receivers that the forms used are meant to be phatic in the source culture (documentary translation). Taking this into account, this paper investigates the English subtitling of Persian seventy seven phatic expressions collected from an Iranian movie named Lizard (2004). To this aim, this study a) finds those subtitles, in which function of these expressions has been recreated, b) investigate the type and the frequency of all translation strategies applied for transferring them in the subtitlings and finally c) categorizes culture-specific types of phatic expressions in the movie. It is hoped that this study will shed light on the issues and strategies involved in dealing with phatic expressions in translation, in this case, audiovisual translation (AVT).

Non-selection of Foreign Literary Works in the System of Translated Literature in Iran

Farzaneh Farahzad, Mazdak Bolouri — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

This paper focuses on the non-selection of certain 20th century Anglo-American novels for translation into Persian in the post-Revolution era in Iran. It explores the influence of the state patronage and its ideology on the non-selection of literary works for translation. The non-appearance of these novels is surveyed with reference to their themes, and at the same time the regulations of book publication are consulted to see if any of the examined themes are regarded as forbidden by the Islamic state. Through this, the paper explains why professional translators have not chosen those novels. It also tries to consider cases where translators have opted for novels with such themes, and surveys the consequences of their action. The results show that foreign novels with certain themes are not selected for translation in the post-Revolution Iran, and whenever they are, they are either seized and announced ‘unprintable’ or are subjected to ‘amendments’ to bring them in line with the regulations the state has established.

Baker’s Narrative Theory Examined in the Postmodern Theory of Lyotard

Farzaneh Farahzad, Fatemeh Parham — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Postmodernism is an interdisciplinary concept, tied to theories from a whole range of fields in humanism including philosophy, art, sociology, psychoanalysis, politics and literature. However, the link between postmodernism and translation studies and its impact on theories of translation seem to be under-explored. The present study examines Baker’s ‘narrative theory’ within the framework of the postmodern theory of Lyotard, one of the prominent figures of postmodern world. The results of the study showed that Baker’s narrative theory has traces of postmodern thought and can be considered a postmodern theory in translation studies.

A Quantitative Study of Rhythm of Literal and Metrical Translations of Khayyam’s Rubaiyat Based on Grabe and Low’s Theory

Sima Ferdowsi, Vahideh Abolhasanizadeh — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Poetry translation has always been the focus of attention within the field of literary translation. Therefore, various methods have been introduced for it. The present study tried to offer a quantitative comparison of literal and metrical strategies of poetry translation focusing on the rhythm of the language. To do so, 19 Persian quatrains of Khayyam were randomly chosen and compared with their English literal and metrical translations. Then a text grid has been made for each sentence in a way that the boundaries of each vowel were determined. Grabe and Low (2002) presented an empirical quantitative measure of rhythm one of whose factors is measuring vowel durational variability by nPVI. The durational variability of vowels was measured by nPVI. The results of comparing literal and metrical translations nPVI indicated that both of them were closer to English than Persian, and literal nPVI is less than that of metrical, but the difference is not significant. The findings of the study clearly revealed that both methods create a poem based on the rhythm system of the TL.

A Study of Haiku Translation in Iran

Samir Hassanvandi, Amir Hassanvandi, Zahra Jannessari Ladani — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The history of Haiku translation in Iran goes back to thirties in which neither form nor content were of concern. Gradually the translators became familiar with the principles and theories of Haiku and began to translate Haiku more precisely. Haiku has a special form and structure in translation. The translator has to follow that form and structure. In case of any negligence in its translation, the product would be a poetry other than Haiku. Translation of Haiku is neither easy nor difficult. Only by having the knowledge of theories and principles of Haiku, a translator can render Haiku appropriately. Haiku translation in Iran is of different kinds as far as form and content is concerned, but only one form and one content is deemed appropriate which is introduced as the perfect translation of Haiku in the present article. The current study aims at investigating the translation of Haiku in Iran with regard to its internal and external form and structure.

Exploring Archaism in Translation Theory and Modern Persian Poetics: Towards a Persian Translation Paradigm

Mohammad Ali Kharmandar — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The purpose of this study is to explore the position of archaism in Modern Persian poetics and translation theory. Assuming that a considerable number of translation theories have emerged from theorists’ native contextualized determinants, the study emphasizes a more active participation of Persian language in proposing translation theories, models and norms. Providing historical, academic and functional justifications demonstrating the cultural significance of archaism in Iran, the study then situates archaism theoretically within three translation theories, namely hermeneutics, polysystem and postcolonial literature. A basic implication, from the viewpoint of translation theory historiography is that although translation theory is largely dominated by a Western narrative, diverse languages can explore their native potentials in developing translation theories and paradigms. Furthermore, the study suggests that from the first decade of the twenty-first century, the Iranian academic community has been exploring archaic potentials of Persian, showing a rising trend of native self-discovery. Persian scholars, using the arguments in this study, can progressively develop a Persian paradigm of translation.

On Translation of Metaphor in the First Book of Rumi’s Masnavi: Approaches of Nicholson and Mojaddedi

Mohammad Javad Mahdavi, Ahmad Hosseinzadeh — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

In Western world, Persian literature is mostly known by its classics which are transferred into the Western literature through translation. Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad bīn Muhammad Balkhī (1207–1273), known as Rumi, is a Persian mystical poet who has had a significant status in the English translated literature in the past 150 years. His most influential work, Masnavi, has been a critical case for the Western scholarly researches on Persian literature. This mystical masterpiece is enriched with different types of rhetorical devices which have interested various types of readers throughout centuries. One of the most important rhetorical devices is metaphor, a topic under scholarly discussions since the Aristotle’s Rhetoric in the 4th century BC. Metaphor has a key role in literary translation studies as well, both in prescriptive translation techniques and in descriptive translation models. In the present research, the methods for translation of metaphors in two English translations of the first book of Masnavi are described – the famous prose translation of Nicholson (1926) and a new verse translation by Mojaddedi (2004). To do so, 155 metaphors are extracted from the Persian text, and their English equivalents are described accordingly using Larson’s model for metaphor translation (1998). The main finding is that, despite the 80-year span between these two translations, the first choice of both translators for rendering metaphors is literal translation.

Interpreter-Training-Specific Techniques: A Didactic Approach

Kambiz Mahmoodzadeh, Mir Saeed Mousavi Razavi — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

As an experimental study, the present work addresses the effect of applying certain interpreter-training-specific techniques (such as shadowing, improvisation, anticipation, split-attention exercises, memory enhancement exercises, etc.) on the quality of simultaneous interpreting by the trainees. A standard test of General English (IELTS) was administered prior to the commencement of the experiment to ensure homogeneity. The participants (initially 102 who were then reduced to 70) were all undergraduate Translation students, 35 of whom received the treatment (experimental group) and the remaining 35 did not (control group). Two tests of simultaneous interpreting (a pretest and a posttest) were conducted and then rated by three judges. T-test results for the pretest (t=0.59) showed there was no significant difference between the two groups whereas t-test results for the posttest (t=5.1) indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group significantly. Such an improvement is believed to have resulted from the application of the techniques specific to training interpreters.

Translation and Globalization

Fatemeh Mirza Ebrahim Tehrani — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Today, at the age of globalization, we face a large volume of translated texts. The role of translation in enriching people’s culture and their daily life is obvious. Translation is considered as a crucial means to establish communication in order to understand foreign cultures, and this would be almost impossible in the absence of translation. In fact, translation is a mirror of globalization – a manifestation that is sort of invisible but significant. Because of globalization, we need to adopt a dynamic approach to translation. Relying on Gravity Model, this paper aims to find out which languages are involved in translation; i.e. from which languages and to what languages translation is done. In the process of translation, on the one hand we learn that the structure of translation is a hindering factor in defining cultural variety, and on the other hand, we realize that translation is a resort for starting a campaign to attain symbolic rights, and by doing so, to understand the cultural and literary characteristics of languages and countries.

Explicitation in English-Persian Parallel Texts

Mohammad Rahbar — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

This paper attempts to trace strategies of explicitation in English-Persian parallel texts. For this purpose, Jack London’s White Fang (1906) and its translation into Persian (Sepeed Dandan) translated by Soleimani (2008) were used as a basis for analysis. Samples of texts were selected and examined, with the specific purpose of identifying instances of explicitation and explaining the reasons behind the occurrence of explicitation in the texts. It was found that there are cases of explicitation in the form of lexical additions in the Persian translated text compared to the original English text. In addition to that, adjustments were also made in the Persian translated text in order to overcome cultural differences. It was found that there are also instances of shifts of cohesion and coherence in the target text through the use of adverbs and adverbial conjunctions.

A Syntactic Analysis of English Translations of the Qur’an on Some Problematic Accusative Structures

Ali Alizadeh, Taher Jahanjuyan — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The present research aimed at a syntactic analysis of some problematic accusative structures in four English translations of the Qur’ān. The corpus of research includes renderings by Pickthall (1930), Arberry (1955), Saffarzadeh (2007) and Iranpanah (2001). The syntactic structures studied comprised twenty-three cases of translations of Quranic accusatives. To carry out the present study, the pathology of these structures was conducted using Arabic syntactic graphs to further clarify the analyses of the accusative structures in Source Text. Finally, a classification of the identified problems in the translations of the accusative structures and a qualitative and quantitative comparison among the translations of the two British and two Iranian translators are given. The paper also deals with probable origins of the problematic translations.

Evaluating Professional Interpreters under Appraisal Theory: The Case Study of Rouhani’s Address at UN General Assembly

Samir Hassanvandi, Mohammad Taqi Shahnazari — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Being of a nascent and interdisciplinary nature, Translation Studies constantly draws on the findings of other established disciplines. Among these, linguistics had a crucial role to play with many scholars in the field applying Systemic Functional Linguistics theories and concepts to translation. This study drawing on Appraisal Theory, a recent development of SFL, aimed to explore the critical points at which interpreters might fail in the course of interpreting. In doing so, the researcher tried to analyze the Iranian president Rouhani's address at United Nations General Assembly in 2013, elaborating on the Attitude sub-system of the Appraisal Theory. The main aim of this study is to pin down those moments in the speech that are highly rich in Attitude and figure out whether they remain unchanged or are likely to change in the course of interpreting and ultimately shed light on the possible shifts that might occur during interpreting. By making a comparison between the original speech (Persian) and its translation (English), the study revealed that the critical moments in the interpreting remained unchanged with no sign of variation, underlining the very important role of translation/interpreting in this highly sensitive global stage.

On Translation of Phatic Communion and Socio-cultural Relationships between the Characters of Novels

Katayoon Afzali — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The current study aims to examine the likely changes that the ignorance of cultural differences in translating phatic communion may cause in socio-cultural relationship (power relationship) of characters in fictional dialogues in translated novels. To this end, three novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Carroll, The Third Policeman by O’Brien and Burmese Days by Orwell and their translations were selected. First, they were read carefully, and then their literary criticisms were studied to analyze characters in terms of their social status and power relationship. Next, phatic utterances were extracted from the texts and were classified into three types of phatic communion according to Laver’s Framework (self-oriented, other-oriented & neutral). Finally, each phatic token was compared with its translation to see whether or not their translation has changed the socio-cultural relationship between characters in the novels in question. The findings of the study revealed that 27 percent of the translated phatic utterances have changed the character’s power relationships.

The Development of Norms over Time and its Effect on Translation Process

Ali Alizadeh, Fatemeh Heidari — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The present study intends to compare two translations of The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan with each other and with the source text in order to investigate the effect of socio-cultural factors and norms developed in the time of translators’ lives on the quality of their translations as well as on their translational decisions. The first translation belongs to the Qajar era translator, Mirza Habib, and the other one has been done by a contemporary translator, Mehdi Afshar. This study employs Toury’s descriptive-comparative model which allows studying translation in terms of the target culture’s context as well as its social norms. The findings revealed that the translators have translated the novel differently and they have tried to produce a text which complies with the expectations of their target audience at the time. In other words, they have reacted to the constraints governing their decision while translating. Another finding of the study is that neither translator had been completely faithful to the original text because of the prevalent social constraints of their life time. Finally, this research considers historically-changing socio-cultural/political context as an essential factor in creating as well as describing and explaining translations.

Evaluating Translations of the Holy Qur’an for Children within the Framework of Skopos Theory

Khalil Ghazizadeh, Elham Safi Keikaleh, Zahra Esmaeili — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The present study aims to evaluate the strategies applied to translate the Holy Qur’an for children, and intends to demonstrate that according to Skopos theory, different translators employ various strategies when translating the Holy Qur’an for children. To achieve this goal, translations done by Rahmandoust, Fouladvand, Elahi Ghomshei and Khorramshahi are studied and compared. The first studied translation has been conducted specifically for children, while three others have not specified any particular age range for their audience. The findings indicate that Rahmandoust has utilized the following strategies proposed by Chesterman (1997) to present a translation appropriate for children: at semantic level (cohesion change, repetition), syntactic level (distribution change, simplification) and pragmatic level (explicitation, information change, coherence change and visibility change). Considering the aforementioned findings, this conclusion can be drawn that most strategies are applied to the pragmatic level when considering children as readers of the translation.

An Approach to English Translations of Some Couplets from the Bustan of Sa’di

Salar Manafi-Anari — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The aim of this article is to have an approach to three English translations of some couplets from the Bustan of Sa'di through a contrastive analysis and comparative study. The Bustan of Sa'di has been translated into English many times by both orientalists and Iranian translators, but the quality of such translations has rarely been assessed. Therefore, the quality assessment of these renderings seems to be necessary so that the degree of validity and literary value of such great cultural works might be recognized. In the present study two English translations by orientalists and another one by an Iranian translator have been surveyed in order to see which one is closer to the original, especially in the English equivalents given by the English translators for the Persian culture-specific items of the Persian couplets.

A Study of the Translation of Passive Voice in Persian Translations of the Holy Qur’an

Mehrzad Mansouri — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The present study investigates the factors that create diversity in translation of passive voice from Arabic into Persian in terms of structure as well as vocabulary. To this end, fifty Persian translations of the Holy Qur’an were examined. Various forms of words, different options in Persian grammatical tenses and translator's interpretation were found to be responsible for the observed diversity. Moreover, diachronic development of passive voice in Persian, context and the translator's interpretation were shown to be the major reasons why such diversity comes about. In this study, by controlling the variable of context, it was shown that translator’s interpretation was a factor involved in creating diversity. Controlling translator’s interpretation revealed that context of situation was also an important factor in creating diversity in translations. Furthermore, complex predicates with different light verbs as well as the simultaneous presence of Arabic words and their Persian equivalents were the other factors that contributed to the diversity of translations.

Bibliography of English Translations of Shahid Mutahhari’s Works

Hussein Mollanazar, Mehrnaz Poostforoush — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Through his lectures and writings—articles and books—Ayatullah Murtaza Mutahhari became a famous and much-respected figure throughout Iran. His wide-ranging knowledge and scholarship are reflected in the scope of his writings, which cover the fields of ethics, exegesis, history, law, philosophy, sociology, theology and many other subjects. He wrote over sixty books that have been published originally in Persian, and translated into several languages. The researchers hope this bibliography of Ayatullah Mutahhari’s works translated into English will assist scholars in different fields of study who still feel an urgent need to investigate as well as translate and improve translations of his books in other languages. Most of the translated works indexed here can be downloaded from Islamic websites free of charge. Though a few of them can only be bought via online bookstores, such as Amazon.com.

Malapropism as a Literary Device and Its Translation into Persian

Abouzar Oraki — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Malapropism in literature refers to the wrong use of one word by substituting a word with a similar sounding form that has a different often unrelated meaning, especially one that creates a funny change of meaning. As a literary device and a subcategory of wordplay, malapropism has received little attention in translation studies though wordplay itself has been studied in several works. Regarding the dual functions it has, both as a literary device to create hilarity in the audience or readership and as a tool in characterization, its translation, which is of paramount importance, poses problems to translators. The purpose of the present study is thus to investigate the Persian translation of a selection of malapropisms used in some of the greatest literary masterpieces. To this end, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (2006) and its Persian translation by Daryabandari (2001), Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Much Ado about Nothing (Wells & Taylor, 2005), all translated by Pazargadi (2010) have been chosen to see how they have been treated in translation. In this study, due to the lack of space, only one translation of each work is presented.

The History of Qur’an Translation in German

Rana Raeisi — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

This article examines the history of Qur’an translations in German from the beginning until now. The first translations appeared late in the 17th century with the work of Schweigger. The translations of this period are presented with the aim of supporting the church and rejecting Islam. Most of them were based on the Latin version of Ketton that had been done in the 12th century in Spain. Then because of Enlightenment and interest in the Orient among Europeans began a new wave of translations with the aim of gaining knowledge by Orientalists. Some of these translators like Rückert payed attention to the aesthetic aspect of the Qur’an too and tried to put it in German. Among the works of Orientalists, the translation of Paret is very scientific and reliable. The Ahmadiyya Muslims translated the Qur’an in the late 60s of the last Century with the aim of promoting the beliefs of this sect. Afterwards, other Muslims have translated the holy Qur’an and tried to present optimal and understandable translations for Germans.

The Role of Translation in the Persian Literary Renaissance and Contemporary Persian Literature

Elham Sadeqi — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0330

According to Even-Zohar (1990), literary works are part of a complex system of interrelated social, cultural, historical, and literary elements. This principle forms the basis of polysystem theory and is also true about the translated literature. Even-Zohar believes that the translated literature often occupies a peripheral position in the polysystem; however, there are three situations in which translated literature maintains a primary position: when a literature is "young," in the process of being established; (b) when a literature is either "peripheral" (within a large group of correlated literatures) or "weak," or both; and (c) when there are turning points, crises, or literary vacuums in a literature. This paper is an attempt to study the role of translation in the Persian literary renaissance and contemporary Persian literature and use polysystem theory to uncover the reasons why the translated literature managed to occupy a primary position in the Persian literary polysystem.

Shifts in Cohesive Devices of the Source Text and its Impact on Translation: The Case of Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Asma Ahmadi, Mohammad Ghazanfari — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The present research was an attempt to identify shifts of cohesion in target texts based on a contrastive analysis between an original English novel, namely, Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and its two Persian translations. The study analyzes the consequences of such shifts at levels of explicitness of the TTs and identifies the likely changes in the universe of discourse of the ST in case the lexical cohesion is manipulated. The main approach adopted in the study has been that of Halliday and Hasan (1976) to identify cohesive ties in the categories of reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical cohesion in the ST. The methodological and theoretical framework to study the consequences of shifts of cohesion on the TTs has been that of Blum-Kulka (1986). The results indicate that there are differences among the five categories of cohesive devices in terms of the level of explicitness. On average, ellipsis, substitution, lexical cohesion, conjunction, and reference had the highest to lowest levels of textual explicitness, respectively. The results further indicate that changes in the universe of discourse of the ST due to manipulation of lexical cohesions could result in higher levels of textual explicitness.

Transference of Satire at Cultural Level in Translations of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Rezvan Barzegar Hossieni, Mohsen Mobaraki — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Satire is a socio-cultural phenomenon and the socio-cultural differences among languages make it difficult to translate. The present study tries to comparatively investigate the transfer of satire at cultural and social levels in order to explore to what extent the translators are successful in translation of satire. To this end, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and its two Persian translations by Daryabandari and Pirnazar were chosen. One of Chesterman's (1997) pragmatic strategies, explicitation, was used to examine the transfer of satire at cultural and social levels. Finally, the success of the translators was compared.

Drama Translation and Politeness

Bahareh Divandari — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

In this paper politeness and translation are brought together. Translation is a cross linguistic socio-cultural phenomenon, while politeness, being a pragmatic phenomenon, is not only sociolinguistic but exceedingly culture-bound. Both phenomena are described as reflecting and realizing the cultural, social and linguistic aspects of language. The focus here is on the description and explanation of differences and similarities in English-Persian politeness strategies as they have emerged through the translation process. The purpose is to find out whether politeness is realized in translation. Brown and Levinson’s (1987) seminal theory of politeness and the successive contributions form the framework of this study.

FrameNet and WordNet: Two Valuable Tools for Translation

Akbar Hesabi — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

This study was an attempt to introduce two useful and relatively new tools for researches in linguistics, translation and natural language processing. For this purpose first, the theories of word meaning representation were introduced and then the semantic basis for building these tools was discussed. At the end, the structure of the tools, their advantages and the reason why these tools can prove useful to these scholars were discussed. It was proposed that designing and building a Persian frameNet should be started as soon as possible.

Translation of Cultural Features in Informative Texts: A CDA Approach

Mohsen Jazeb — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Tourist books play a significant role in introducing the culture of countries. These tourist books are translated in order to expand the boundaries of the source culture, and to make it known to different countries with different languages and cultural backgrounds. However texts are not left intact during the process of translation. In fact texts undergo ideological changes in the process of going from one language to the other. As Farahzad and Ehteshami (2011, pp. 45-46) observe "the current trend [in translation] is congruent with the doctrine of universality, which would seemingly lead to the obliteration of differences and consequently identities". The present study sought to have a critical look at the translators' choices and the consequences these choices have in representing the culture and identity of the source society. The corpus for the present study included three tourist books and one tourist CD with their translations in English. First, the books and the CD were compared with their translations in order to find the most frequent translation techniques applied in translation of culture specific items (CSIs). Then the results were discussed from the viewpoint of critical discourse analysis.

Elements of Orientalism as a Socio-Historical Literary Translation Model: Tracing Sa’di in European Renditions

Mohammad Ali Kharmandar, Fatemeh Nematollahi — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Over the past five centuries, the West has experienced parallel yet integrated developments that have led to profound asymmetries in world histories. Colonial ideology, coupled with a (pseudo)scientific anthropological and ethnographical underpinning, has resulted in the establishment of disciplines such as Orientalism which positively or negatively “represent” or “translate” the Eastern world within a Eurocentric paradigm. The purpose of this study is to propose a causal holistic socio-historical literary model of Orientalist translation. Primarily, the theoretical foundations of the study are explored, and then an actual condensed literary history (European renditions of Sa’di) is presented. Following an intensive comparison of theoretical considerations and the actual sample, four elements are extracted: scholarly agency, continental translation, industrial/scientific superiority of Orientalists, and literary richness of Eastern cultures. The study proposes implications and suggestions that contribute to, among others, philosophy of history and translation, critical Occidentalism, comparative literature, and Persian Translation Paradigm.

A Descriptive Study of the Methods and Challenges of Legal Translation

Abolghasem Mehrabi, Hamid Akbari, Fatemeh Afkhami — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Legal translation is a specialized task and of crucial importance as a translation error in such texts may result in lawsuit and financial loss. Legal texts are among the most demanding specialized texts to be translated. Translating such texts requires precision and knowledge of law and culture. The present paper attempts to describe the challenges and methods of legal translation. The writing style, technical terminologies, problems and existing methods of translating legal texts are examined. Such texts are classified into two general categories in this study: legal formal texts and legal documents. The study illuminates several dark points regarding translation of legal texts.

Translator Students’ Perceptions of Their Success and Failure in Translation Practice

Ghasem Modarresi, Hosein Shams — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Identifying the reasons to which students majoring in translation attribute their perceived successes and failures would yield useful information for translation students and teachers. The current study, as an initial attempt in the context of Iran, aimed at: 1) exploring the factors to which students majoring in translation attribute their perceived successes and failures in translating English texts, and 2) examining the ways in which these attributions vary according to the gender of the participants. To this end, the researchers opted for a simple questionnaire to discover students' attributions. In so doing, a pool of 197 subjects from different universities participated in the study. They were students of the third or the fourth year. The results of the study showed that out of 50 attributions for perceived success and failure, the most commonly cited attributions for doing well were practice, motivation, effort, and dictionary use. Lack of translation skills, lack of self-confidence, text difficulty and lack of effort were among the most commonly cited attributions for not doing well. The results also revealed important findings regarding attribution differences between males and females. The research work offers psychological and potentially useful implications for students and teachers.

Source- and Target-Oriented Strategies and Procedures in the English Translation of Persian Cultural Words in Mowlana’s Mathnavi

Mozhgan Mohajerin Kermani — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Translators who work on texts from remote cultural backgrounds may confront difficulties conveying the source culture to the target language and culture accurately, due to cultural differences. Relying on the distinction between source-oriented and target-oriented strategies proposed by Venuti, this research tries to examine the two key strategies used in the English translation of cultural words in the Mathnavi. To this end, cultural words in the original Persian text were identified and compared with their English translation by Barks. This research is product-oriented and attempts to describe and analyze translators’ overall preferences in the application of domestication and foreignization strategies. The research objectives are to explore the dominant strategy of domestication and foreignization used by Barks in translating the Mathnavi. Additionally, the scope of application of these two strategies and procedures is explored. The obtained results showed that domestication was applied more in the Persian-English translation of the Mathnavi. The most frequently used procedures were literal translation, cultural adjustment, and explanation.

Translation Procedures Used in Persian Translation of English Technical Terms of Psychology

Mustafa Shabanipoor, Ahmad Moinzadeh — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

This study is a descriptive enquiry attempting to identify the difficulties facing translators and lexicographers in finding appropriate Persian equivalents for English technical terms of psychology and the procedures used in English-Persian dictionaries to tackle the problems. The framework used in the study is Vinay and Darbelnet’s (1958) model of translation strategies at the level of lexicon. The data collected comprised 200 English specialized terms of psychology randomly selected from The Concise Dictionary of Psychology (1998) along with their 694 Persian equivalents proposed by the three bilingual dictionaries. The study identified the problems the translators and lexicographers might face in translating specialized terms of psychology from English into Persian. The findings also show which translation procedures are used more frequently to translate the specialized terms of psychology into Persian. The findings might provide translators with some information as to what difficulties they might face in translating specialized terminology and what strategies they could adopt to tackle those difficulties.

Persian Translations through Time: Passive Forms

Shima Tayebi Jazayeri — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Languages are dynamic and always changing. These changes encompass all aspects of languages. Along with changes in languages, translation changes too. The present paper studies one of these changes in one of the linguistic layers of language: passive forms, in translation of contemporary Persian literary texts. Therefore, the researcher examines translated texts published in different years to find the changes that might have occurred in translation of such structures. The corpus includes literary best sellers of contemporary Persian texts along with their English source text. Regarding the methodology, the researcher extracts passive sentences from the English text and their translations from the Persian texts; then through a comparison among translations of passive structures in different eras, it is determined whether any change has occurred in translation patterns of different years and if so, what kind of change. The findings of this research will be useful in researches on history of translation, linguistics and translation teaching.

The Correlation of Form and Meaning in at-Takwir Chapter of the Qur’an and Its English Translation ‎from the Viewpoint of Acoustic Features

Vahideh Abolhasanizadeh, Azita Ghazizadeh, Anis Masoumi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between form and meaning in at-Takwir chapter ‎of the Qur’an as compared with its English translation. The analysis was done on the basis of vowel ‎duration and sonority of verse endings as representatives of form. Firstly, measuring the duration of ‎vowels in this chapter showed that there was a relationship between vowel duration and the meaning ‎of verses so that the vowel duration of the first 14 verses, which were connected with threatening ‎concepts and wrath, was significantly less than that of the other 15 verses, those that were rendered ‎in a quiet manner. Analyzing the English translation of this chapter, nonetheless, showed the reverse ‎trend. Secondly, the sonority of the last consonant of each verse of at-Takwir chapter was ‎investigated. Results indicated that in the first 14 verses all the last consonants were obstruent. On the ‎other hand, in the second 15 verses, the sonorant sounds outnumbered the obstruent ones. Both ‎these trends were compatible with meaning. Furthermore, comparing this chapter with its English ‎translation showed that in both sections of English translation the number of sonorant consonants was ‎more than that of the obstruent ones which suggested lack of a meaningful pattern compatible with ‎meaning in English verse endings.‎

Polysemic Words in English Translations of the Qur’an: A comparative study of translation by ‎Saffarzadeh, Pickthall, Shakir and Arberry

Abass Ashrafi, Elham Seyedalangi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Polysomic words in different languages create problems in the process of understanding, ‎interpretation and translation of the text. In the past, the Qur’an researchers have investigated ‎polysemic words under the categories of wujūh and nazāyer (polysemy). Furthermore, in the field of ‎linguistics, in order to identify meaning and concepts of homonymous and polysemic words, linguistic ‎and metalinguistic contexts have been taken into consideration. Therefore, in this study, some key ‎words of Surah al-Nūr which are polysemic words have been chosen and their English translation by ‎Saffarzadeh, Pickthall, Shakir and Arberry have been investigated in order to analyze the strengths and ‎weaknesses of the translations. The result of this study shows that none of these translations has ‎adequately translated the polysemic words of Surah al-Nūr.‎

A Study of the Persian Translations of Metaphors in the Quranic Chapters of "al-Baqarah", "’Āl-i ‎‎‘Imran", "Nisā", "al-‘An'ām", and "’A'rāf"‎

Abbas Eghbaly, Zeynab Rahimi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

The Qur’an, a book of the most eloquent words, is full of rhetorical arrays of metaphors, the ‎understanding of the meanings of which has resulted in the study of the beauty of artistic expressions ‎in the Holy Qur'an. Translation of this material including metaphors has also been frequently reviewed. ‎In the present research, the researchers draw on rhetorical references to explore the interpretation ‎and translation of words such as "maraz", "’ashtarū", "’ajal", "bishārat", etc. in the Quranic Chapters of ‎‎"al-Baqarah", "’Āl-i ‘Imrān", "Nisā", "al-‘An'ām", and "’A'rāf". The study explores the metaphorical uses ‎of these terms and looks at translations offered for them by four renowned translators (Ayatī, Ilahī ‎Qomsheī, Khoramshāhī and Foolādvand). The analysis reveals that the translators vary in their ‎approach to these metaphors and they do not translate all these as metaphors. The literal, semantic, ‎and interpretive translations offered by the four translators are examined.‎

The Relation between Repetition of Quranic Words and Collocations, and Their Translations

Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Ghoreishi, Hadi Baghaei, Ali Alizadeh — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

One of the major and significant issues in translation is choosing equivalents for words and collocations ‎in religious texts including the Qur’an. This research studied Arberry’s and Yusuf Ali’s translations on ‎Quranic words and collocations from the viewpoint of selecting the same equivalents. To do so, the ‎Quranic collocations were divided into five groups and the translations of the two translators were ‎examined based on equivalent selection for the two first groups. Then, 14 samples of words and ‎collocations from the given groups were chosen and the numbers of equivalents selected by the ‎translators were calculated by Zekr Quranic Software. The result indicated that Arberry used fewer ‎equivalents in the translation of words and collocations of the second group than those of the first ‎one, while there were no significant changes between the number of equivalents chosen by Yusuf Ali ‎in the first and second groups.‎

Collocation Errors in Translations of the Holy Qur’an

Parvin Kafash Roodi, Omid Akbari, Behzad Ghonsooli — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

The present study aims at identifying, classifying, and analyzing collocation errors made by translators ‎of the Holy Qur’an. Following the descriptive analytical research, analysis of collocation errors was ‎done based on Corder’s (1971) model. Four English translations of the Glorious Qur’an rendered by ‎Arthur John Arberry, Thomas Ballantyne Ivring, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, and M.H. Shakir ‎were selected. The data were classified into three classes: typical or accepted collocation, ‎inappropriate collocation patterns, and no collocation patterns. Moreover, the categories of the ‎collocations of the source and target texts were determined. Findings indicated that some translators ‎made collocation errors which manifested their low and deficient competence in using collocations ‎within English language and across Arabic and English language. Such weak linguistic performance is ‎attributed to various reasons. Collocationally the most acceptable translation was done by Ivring but ‎the least appropriate translation was made by Pickthall. The results of the study can help tackle ‎collocation errors made by translators and also solve some other problems concerning collocational ‎patterns across languages.‎

The Effect of Ellipsis on Differences between English Translations of the Holy Qur’an

Salar Manafi Anari, Qasem Faez, Narjes Khademi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Ellipsis, as one of the rhetorical textual elements, is used in different languages in different ways. In ‎the Holy Qur’an, with all its unique miraculous rhetorical features which makes it stand on the highest ‎level of eloquence, ellipsis is used in three ways: ellipsis of the letters, ellipsis of the words and ellipsis ‎of the sentences; which leads to different results such as: simplification of understanding the concepts ‎of the verses, resolving the complications in comprehending the true meaning of the Qur’an, making ‎the meaning of the text more comprehensive, beautifying the rhythm and making the verses rhyming. ‎Considering the differences between Arabic and English structures, and the importance of translating ‎the Qur’an in a correct and meticulous way for the accurate understanding of the words of God, this ‎research studies different cases of the ellipsis in the verses of the Qur’an and compares them in the ‎four English translations (Arberry, Irving, Yusuf Ali and Qara’i) to understand how ellipsis can affect the ‎English translations of the Holy Qur’an and make them differ from each other. The result is that the ‎translations of Qara’i and Yusuf Ali are closest to the meaning of the verses by designating the omitted ‎words and phrases of the Holy Qur'an.‎

Ideological Conflict and Translating Metaphors in the Holy Qur’an: Cognitive view

Abolfazl Mosaffa Jahromi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

This article has been grounded on how ideological conflict and metaphors interact in the Holy Qur’an to ‎determine strategies of translation. Due to different ideological backgrounds of Shia and Sunni ‎regarding the existence of metaphors in the Holy Qur’an strategies for rendering metaphors are not ‎the same among these groups. Shia translation is replete with metaphors as they accept interpretation ‎‎(ta’wil) in the Holy Qur’an. Conflict and its amount are under work in determining the strategies for ‎translation because metaphors and their contrast or conflict to ideology differ and this is a key factor ‎affecting the translators. After all, strategies exhibit unpredictability which means it is difficult to say ‎how the translator may decide.‎

Toward Translator's Agency: A Bourdieusian Insight on Translating the Glorious Qur'an into English

Mehrnaz Poostforoush, Hussein Mollanazar — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Translators use different strategies in dealing with translation issues, but all of them are aware that no ‎translation of the Qur'an into any language can be a substitute for it. While avoiding to decide about ‎the quality of these translations, this study aimed to investigate some Quranic verses translated into ‎English with focus on the influence of each of the selected translators' habitus, using the theoretical ‎framework mainly derived from Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural theory applied to translation. To this end, ‎the researcher, selected some verses of the Qur'an with four different English translations of them ‎that were done by professional translators namely, Sale (1734), Arberry (1955), Shakir (1985) and Yusuf ‎Ali (1998) who had different ideological backgrounds. The first one belongs to polemical Christian, the ‎second one belongs to a Christian, the third one is a Shia Muslim, and the last one is a Sunni Muslim. ‎Describing the translator's agency, the researchers made a comparison between four translations in ‎order to identify the patterns of choice each translator opts and to link these patterns to each ‎translator's personal ideological background.

Versified Translation of the Qur’an in Mathnavi

Ali Mohammad Poshtdar — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Versified translation of the Qur’an was current in the 4th century A.H. Ferdowsi, Naser Khosrow, ‎Sanayi and Molavi are considered the best Persian poet translators of the Qur’an. Mathnavi is a mystic-‎didactic book and Molana tries to teach his readers by transferring the Qur’an’s‏ ‏concepts. He uses the ‎Qur’an’s verses more than 400 times directly and indirectly. This paper just discusses the Qur’an’s ‎verses as translated and used in Mathnavi. For this reason,‎‏ ‏all the six sections of Mathnavi of ‎Nicholson were reread and each verse is analyzed separately. An initial investigation of Rumi's ‎Mathnavi revealed that four methods were employed in his translation of the Qur’an verses:Direct ‎translation of verses while preserving grammatical structure of the source language; Versified ‎translation of the verses by maintaining one or more words from the source language; Free sense-for-‎sense translation by relying on the structure of the target language; Free sense-for-sense translation ‎of the prophets’ anecdotes and Quranic accounts by employing the techniques of allusion, brevity or ‎expansion.‎

A Comparative Study on Two Translations of the Holy Qur’an‏:‏‎ A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach

Davood Taghipour Bazargani — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

The present study, working within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), aimed to ‎compare two translations of the holy Qur’an (i.e. the 1955 translation of Arthur Arberry and the 2001 ‎translation of Tahereh Saffarzadeh). Therefore, the researcher, using the three-dimensional analytical ‎framework of Fairclough (1989, 2001) (i.e. description of text, interpretation of the relationship ‎between text and interaction, and explanation of the relationship between interaction and social ‎context) sought to have a critical discourse analysis of these two translations to see whether any ‎difference can be found in them because of some significant parameters such as gender, time, place, ‎ideological beliefs and presuppositions of translators, and …etc. Based on the findings of this study, ‎the researcher came to the conclusion that these two translations are different, and, more ‎importantly, that this difference is not just a linguistic difference, but rather an ideological one. Data ‎analysis indicated that Saffarzadeh’s translation is as interpretive and ideological as possible. Her ‎translation is full of interpretive lexical choices (equivalents) as well as discursive structures (e.g. ‎overcompleteness, euphemism, nominalization, passivization, addition, and…etc.) which are ideology-‎laden and can indicate ideological implications. Arberry’s neutral lexical choices and his attempts to ‎keep the grammatical structure of the signs of the Holy Qur’an, nevertheless, has created a translation ‎which is less interpretive and less ideological.‎

Translation Problem and Problem Solving in Translations of the Glorious Qur’an: A cognitive psychology ‎approach

Akram Tayyebi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Problem solving is an interesting subject of study in cognitive psychology. It is cognitive processing ‎directed at transforming the problem situation from the initial state to the goal state, when problem ‎solver has no obvious solution at hand. Translation is a higher-order cognitive task involving a chain of ‎decision-making activities of problem solving behavior. I investigate problem-solving stages for the ‎process oriented problems, mentioned by the translators of the Glorious Qur’an in their metatexts. ‎For this purpose, I adopt problem-solving stages proposed by Mayer (1379) and Mayer and Wittrock ‎‎(2006). Problems of these translators are ill-defined and they use creative thinking in order to produce ‎ideas for solving them. Defining translation problem and identifying problem-solving stages are among ‎prerequisites for research in translation process such as the relationship between problem-solving and ‎expertise of translators.‎

Quranic Discourse Revisited: An Inquiry into the Nature of Quranic Discourse in the Light of ‎the Qur'an & Hadith and in the Scholarly Literature

Mohammad Yazdani, Salar Manafi Anari — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0430

Qura’n translation critics’ current approach to the nature of the language of the Holy Qur’an, ‎regulating their treatment of the subject of Qur'an translation, implies their consideration of ‎the Holy Text as belonging to (a combination of) text-types already structured within human ‎discourse. The present study was undertaken to probe into the nature of the Quranic text, ‎focusing on its specific discourse features. To further this aim, three sources (the Qur'an, ‎Hadith, and the scholars’ literature) were studied, and the Qur'an’s self-descriptions were ‎investigated, followed by the analysis of discourse strategies employed by the Qur'an for ‎textual development. The findings support our hypothesis that Quranic discourse cannot be ‎categorized under the same types as already defined in the fields of linguistics/translation ‎studies. It was concluded that the taken-for-granted implication that the Holy Text fits into ‎pre-defined discourse realms calls revisiting so that a better mutual understanding can be ‎brought about regarding such long-held debates as (un)translatability; also, it was suggested ‎that fields such as ‘Qur'an linguistics’ and ‘Qur'an Translation Studies’ are deemed necessary ‎if more objectivity is aimed at in Qur'an translation criticism.‎

A Descriptive Study of the Overlap between Two Literary Linguistic Systems: Introducing a Translation ‎Model

Masoumeh Ahmadi, Seddiqeh Sherkat Moqaddam — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

Many translation errors stem from the difference between the linguistic structure of the original and ‎target languages. However, a decent translation can be obtained by considering the style of the ‎original text, its point of view, the author’s approach to influencing the reader, the concurrency or ‎other time-related relationships between the original and the translated text, and the historical and ‎cultural contexts of the two texts. While interacting with one another in translation, the linguistic ‎structures of the original and target languages may overlap both in syntax and in semantics. If the ‎overlap is substantial, it produces familiar equivalents and meaning. Otherwise, the translator moves ‎towards a calque translation. Therefore, using mathematical models, a range of translation methods ‎can be introduced based on the overlap between linguistic systems. In this paper, we briefly review ‎literary texts, point out solutions for the complications that arise in the translation of such texts, and ‎finally introduce a basic descriptive model of translation based on the mathematical assumptions ‎mentioned above.‎

Transferring Iranian and Islamic Symbols through Intersemiotic Translation: A Case Study of the ‎Illustrations of Rubaiyat of Khayyam

Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Ghoreishi, Elaheh Toosheh, Hasan Emami — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

From ancient times until now, mankind has used pictures for communication purposes. The symbols ‎used in such pictures can have an important role in transferring the culture of a society. Intersemiotic ‎translation, as introduced by Jacobson (1959), is a kind of translation in which the signs of a verbal ‎system transform into the signs of a visual system. This paper is an attempt to examine the transfer of ‎old culture of Iran to the target society through visual translation based on Schleiermacher’s theory ‎and the three approaches that Pereira introduced for illustrating. Puttapipat, a contemporary ‎illustrator, illustrated based on Rubayiat in 2009. As an intersemiotic translator, not only does he help ‎with the transfer of Iranian old culture by using Iranian and Islamic symbols, but he also contributes to ‎the better understanding of the main essence of Khayyam’s pure poems.‎

Anthropological Approaches to the Concept of Translation

Alireza Khoddami — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

Anthropology‏ ‏has long focused on the interrelations between culture, language and thought. The ‎important point is that the practice of discipline of anthropology is fundamentally a translation, a ‎translation from one language to another or from a cultural experience to another. The question is ‎whether such a linguistic relativity allows the translation of one culture into another. In the absence of ‎words in the target culture, can they be interpreted? In the light of the contributions of pioneers of ‎anthropology and the new anthropologists and given that the language is a historic fact in a constant ‎change, it seems that the main goal of translation is not reduced to render a copy of the original ‎language. The translation is constantly interpreted and reinterpreted conforming to the requirements ‎of the new historical context.‎

Translation of Lorca’s Poems by Shamlou within the Framework of Translation Studies and Cultural ‎Turn

Jeiran Moghaddam Charkari — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

The translations of Lorca’s poems by Shamlou, the Iranian poet, are very well known to the intellectual ‎community of Iran. In the pre-Islamic revolution period, which is the focus of this paper, these poems ‎turned into symbols of resistance against the Pahlavi dictatorship among the cultural elites. The ‎present paper aims at identifying the alterations these poems have gone through in the process of ‎translation from Spanish into Persian. This study also looks into how these alterations have ‎constructed a certain image of Lorca’s poems in Iran. The paper is based on the theories of Lefevere, ‎who regards a translated work as an outcome of a socio-political process and believes that any given ‎translation has been produced for a certain cultural and linguistic group. For this purpose, first we ‎study the society of Iran in the period when the translations were made. Then, we study the elements ‎that Lefevere identifies as the cornerstones of translation at that period. As an example, we pick ‎Lorca’s Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias. We examine not only the alterations of structures and ‎meanings in the translation, but also the rationale behind these alterations in order to figure out the ‎goal Shamlou pursued by translating Lorca’s work to Persian.‎

For or Against Translation? An Analysis of the Supreme Leader’s Discourse on Translation

Hussein Mollanazar, Ehsan Alipour — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

The present paper was an attempt to describe and analyze the ‘discourse’ of the Supreme Leader of ‎Iran on translation under the rationale that the analysis could reveal how translation was conceived at ‎the highest levels of the political system of Iran. To do so, the Supreme Leader’s statements were ‎collected from the website of The Office of the Supreme Leader and analyzed for his views and ideas ‎about translation. The result indicated that the Supreme Leader viewed translation both as a threat ‎and as an opportunity. The translation was considered a threat when it served the ‘cultural invasion’ ‎and the ‘soft war’ waged by the west against Iran; when it contributed to mere ‘imitation’ and ‎‎‘translation-orientedness’. On the other hand, it was viewed as an opportunity when it gave access to ‎the meanings of important religious works, filled the gaps in the society, contributed to the production ‎of knowledge and science, and served as a means of exporting the ideas and values of the Islamic ‎Revolution.‎

Iranian Novice Interpreters’ Strategies in Translating Political Speech

Asieh Sahhaf, Masood Khoshsaligheh, Khalil Ghazizadeh — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate interpreting strategies used by Iranian novice ‎interpreters when translating political speech from English into Persian. The study also sought their ‎opinion about the method of teaching interpreting and its effectiveness in the undergraduate ‎education they experienced. To do so, the six participants were asked to consecutively interpret two ‎short segments of Obama’s speeches. The selection of the participants was based on the criteria of ‎having successfully completed a BA and MA in English Translation and having passed all the courses ‎including those on interpreting and translation of political texts with high scores. For data collection, ‎the study used in-depth interview, retrospective interview, and observation techniques. The results ‎revealed that participants used syntactic modification strategy more than others by far, and the ‎strategies such as paraphrasing, calque, approximation, and borrowing more frequently than ‎segmentation, chunking, queuing and ellipsis. In this study participants’ reactions in facing challenging ‎situations were investigated and a specific behavior as a result was reported. Moreover, they were ‎not able to use note-taking skills effectively. The findings of this study can be of interest to teachers ‎and curriculum developers of interpreting courses.‎

Translation of Patient Information Leaflet: Functionality plus Loyalty

Farideh Shabani Rad — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between functionalism, loyalty and fidelity in ‎translation of patient information leaflets. To make the functionality concept applicable to the ‎translation of this particular genre, the principle of loyalty is discussed, which, unlike faithfulness or ‎fidelity, refers to a trustful and fair relationship between the persons interacting in a translation ‎process. This study uses a small comparable corpus including 100 English patient leaflets and their ‎corresponding Persian translations. First, a brief overview of generic features of this text type is ‎offered. Then the corpus is analysed according to certain extra-textual and intra-textual factors, ‎relying mainly on Nord’s functionality plus loyalty concept to determine whether the translation of ‎patient information leaflets has the same function as their source texts and how much they are ‎faithful and loyal. Analysis of the corpus reveals that concerning extra-textual features, there are ‎hardly any differences in functionality between English and Persian translations of patient information ‎leaflets and as regards intra-textual features, they are highly faithful.‎

The State of Interpreting Studies in Iran: An Overview of Papers and Theses

Shilan Shafiei, Hossein Barati — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

This paper presents the results of a study on research in the field of interpreting from 2000 to 2015. A ‎compendium was developed based on 17 articles (in English & Persian) gathered from three major ‎translation and interpreting (T/I) journals and on twenty-four theses from thirteen universities. ‎Inspired from a previous study in the field, this study conducted a thematic analysis to generate a ‎descriptive map of the field in Iran. Studies were generally classified into three inter-related themes: ‎interpreting practice, interpreter training and assessment, and review of interpreting research. ‎Proportions of studies in each category and sub-category were shown, accompanied by a discussion of ‎representative studies in each category. The findings of the present study may help the Iranian ‎contributors to the field to pay more attention to interpreting research and training.‎

Directionality in Translation

Saber Zahedi — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

Directionality in translation is one of the most basic issues in theory and practice. For a long time, ‎debates were merely over the superiority of native over non-native translation. Since the very ‎beginning, many translation scholars have implicitly denounced non-native translation. From the late ‎‎90s onward, a brand new attitude has emerged with respect to directionality in translation, ‎represented in the works of Pokorn (2005), and Anderman and Rogers (2005). The goal of this research ‎is to explain and analyze a range of ideas on directionality in translation both in Iran and the West. The ‎study explains the existing ideas and concludes that directionality is viewed in two major ways. Some ‎believe that translation into the first language is the best type of translation, and as a result they ‎disapprove of non-native translation. This negative attitude is both explicitly and implicitly present in ‎the discourse of translation scholars. The second type of ideas, however, doubts the objective nature ‎of the pessimism over non-native translation and believes that the only way to unravel the problem of ‎directionality is through objective research. They have also accepted translation into second language ‎as a prevalent reality of our modern world.‎

Authorial Style in English into Persian Literary Translations: A Focus on the Strategies Applied for ‎Translating Metonymies

Ehsan Zaheri — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0430

Translating literary texts such as novels has always caused difficulties for translators since their ‎aesthetic features and diverse authorial styles call for further attention on the part of translators. ‎Metonymy is one of these aesthetic features. By meticulously scrutinizing the strategies applied for ‎translating metonymies, one can gain insights into translators’ regard for faithfulness to authorial style ‎which is of great significance in literary translation. One question was posed: In regard to the strategies ‎applied for translating metonymies, do Iranian translators tend to follow the styles of authors while ‎translating English novels into Persian? Ten English novels and their Persian translations were selected ‎to serve as the corpus of the study. The extracted data were metonymies as defined by Abrams (2005, ‎p. 103). A modified version of the model proposed by Larson (1984, p. 114) was adopted for classifying ‎and analyzing the data. The typologies of metonymy proposed by five Persian scholars were also used ‎to determine the conventional types and sub-types of metonymy in Persian. Based on the findings of ‎this study, Iranian translators do not tend to follow the styles of authors while translating English ‎novels into Persian, at least in relation to the strategies applied for translating metonymies.‎

Paratextual Manipulations of Persian into English Translations of Political Texts: The Case of MEMRI ‎from Narrative Theory Perspective‎

Ahmad Alibabaee, Narges Shokohipoor — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Conflict time periods take studies on political text translation to the forefront of translation studies. ‎Assuming that each party in a conflict may attempt to maintain its interest, this study aimed to ‎identify the translation devices commonly used to reframe and disseminate desired narratives by ‎MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute). To investigate whether such devices are used in ‎MEMRI’s website, 37 dispatches were selected and analyzed based on the narrative theory and ‎the notion of framing. The results showed that MEMRI had used such reframing devises in ‎paratextual levels as title, heading and introduction to reframe the translations in a way to highlight ‎Iranians' hatred and aggression towards Israel. Moreover, there were cases where MEMRI's ‎translations were accompanied by specific images that made the reader doubt the dependability ‎of Iran's claims. It is, thus, concluded that all of these attempts may potentially be due to the ‎MEMRI's predisposition to show Iran as a potential threat for Israel. Several ideas and issues are ‎also discussed to delve into the use of such devises for reframing.‎

The Role of Translation in Introducing Foreign Linguistic and Cultural Elements into Contemporary ‎Persian Literature: The Case of Ahmad Shamlou’s Poetry ‎

Mohammad‎ Ansari, Vahid‎ Medhat‎ — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Nowadays with the advancement and spread of translation, the mutual influence among peoples ‎and nations is inevitable. This influence is evident in various fields, especially in the field of culture ‎and literature. Our country is no exception to this fact, and contemporary Persian language and ‎literature have been influenced by other nations in terms of linguistic and cultural elements, which, ‎in fact, is the product of the spread and progress of translation. One of the contemporary Persian ‎poets in whose poetry one can find signs of alien linguistic and cultural elements is Ahmad ‎Shamlou. This paper aims to examine Shamlou’s poetry so as to determine the amount of the ‎entrance of elements of foreign language and culture and to express the origin of these elements. ‎In doing so, the effect of western literature and culture on Shamlou’s poetry was investigated in ‎the four main categories of 1. linguistic and lexical elements, 2. thematic and content elements ‎‎(including mythological, historical and cultural elements), 3. poetic borrowings, and 4. stylistic and ‎syntactic elements. It was observed that Shamlou’s poetry, both linguistically and thematically, has ‎been greatly influenced by world literature and world social and cultural developments, which, in ‎turn, owes much to the development and promotion of translation.‎

A Polygenetic Investigation of Explicitation in English and Persian Translations of the Holy Qur’an

Amin Karimnia, Razieh Gharekhani — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

This research looked at the new notion of polygenesis in the translation of sacred scriptures. ‎Polygenesis is an extension of the descriptive translation studies and relies heavily on the ‎explicitation as a translation universal, and assumes that genetically different translations of a holy ‎text can create similar readings. In this study, four translations (2 English and 2 Persian) of the ‎Surah Al-Qiyamah (as a Surah needing explicitation in translation) of the Holy Qur’an were ‎considered, within a qualitative descriptive and critical paradigm. Two purposes were proposed to ‎guide the study: first, to find instances of explicitation in each of the translations descriptively and ‎qualitatively, and second to evaluate the coherence of the current notion of polygenesis. Results ‎showed that, except for one verse, there was no other verse to show similar strategies used by ‎more than two translations. The critical purpose revealed that polygenesis suffered from statistical ‎ambiguities and there were many issues to be considered for it to be validated. Future studies can ‎address these aspects of ambiguity in polygenesis.‎

A Study of Ahmad Shamlou’s Translation of Federico García Lorca’s Poems in Iran from the ‎Viewpoint of Descriptive Translation Studies and Cultural Turn

Jeiran Moghaddam — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

The works of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca have been translated into Persian by many ‎translators. But the narrative produced by Iranian contemporary poet Ahmad Shamlou seems to ‎have earned a unique place among Iranian intellectuals. The “accepted” Lorca in Iran is a ‎revolutionist who meets a painful death in opposing the fascist regime of Francoist Spain. Lorca ‎becomes a symbol for the Iranian intellectual of the 1970s by Shamlou’s pen to evoke the senses ‎of opposition and resistance. In this manner, Lorca’s works are translated into Persian somehow ‎guided by the idea of his heroic death and have become popular poems with the theme of ‎revolution. As a result, these poems are more the works of a Lorca created by Shamlou in the ‎process of translating/rewriting and less those produced by the Spanish Lorca. The purpose of this ‎study is to analyze the elements which have made Shamlou’s Lorca into a hero and compare ‎Shamlou’s narrative with credible biographies of the Spanish poet and take a brief look at the most ‎important changes introduced by Shamlou in poems of Lorca and realize how he changed the ‎poems into the poems of a hero. It needs to be mentioned that the aim is not to appraise the ‎authenticity of this narrative and poems; rather the aim is to find the reasons which have led to the ‎acceptance of this specific narrative of life among all existing choices and countless possible ‎narratives.‎

Automatic Translation of Source Language Noun Phrases Using a Raw Corpus of Target Language

Tayebeh Mosavi Miangah — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

A common problem concerning translation between every two languages is the existence of a ‎sequence of nouns and adjectives for which several translations are possible, or noun phrases ‎which are lexically or structurally ambiguous. The situation becomes even more critical when some ‎of these nouns or adjectives in the sequence are also ambiguous regarding their part of speech. ‎That is, an adjective may also be a noun or vice versa. This paper is an attempt to present an ‎approach for analyzing noun phrase structure based on large unannotated corpora. The proposed ‎method is a language independent one, an automatic approach based on co-occurrence ‎frequencies of data in the raw corpora, and thus can be considered as an unsupervised learning ‎method. The performance of the method has been evaluated through an experiment in which a ‎sample corpus of 280 lexically ambiguous words (ambiguous between noun and adjective) in the ‎framework of noun phrases are tested. The results obtained from this experiment show that the ‎total error rate considering all types of ambiguous noun phrases is as low as 7.2%, with the overall ‎program accuracy of 92.8% which is very promising.‎

Memory-Enhancement Techniques in Interpreter Training

Mir Saeed Mousavi Razavi — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Having a strong memory is not only a useful asset to an interpreter, but also a crucial one. So much ‎so that it is virtually impossible to succeed in this profession if one does not enjoy a powerful ‎memory, hence the undeniable importance of memory training in interpreter education. The ‎present paper addresses the role memory-enhancement exercises play in the course of training ‎interpreters.‎‏ ‏There are three sections to this paper: first, certain theoretical considerations have ‎been put forth regarding the significance of memory in interpreting as well as memory-‎enhancement exercises in interpreter training. In the second section, six of the major memory-‎boosting techniques have been presented along with their different variations and the ways in ‎which they can be put into practice: comprehensive listening, intensive listening, (re)classifying ‎information, mnemonics, condensation, and shadowing. The final section, as expected, has ‎provided a summary of the paper with certain concluding remarks.‎

The Effect of Translating Punctuation Marks on Style

Sepideh Navabzadeh Shafi’i, Moluk Daneshmand — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Nowadays issues such as identifying the translator’s narration of the original text and the method ‎of conveying it to the reader is of interest to the theorists of translation. In the interaction of the ‎source and target texts, this is the essence of the meaning that is conveyed from one text into the ‎other. To figure out the meaning of a verbal message, features like tone, pause, and stress are ‎effective; while in a text, in the absence of the author, words alone do not have the ability to ‎create these effects. Hence, the authors employ punctuation marks to compensate for this and to ‎convey their intention to the reader unambiguously; these symbols are also used to express ‎emotional moods in the text and create aesthetic-emotional impact. Therefore, the use of ‎punctuation marks can be regarded as part of the author's style and the translator is bound to carry ‎it over. But it is not that easy and it is an inherent problem in translation. In this research we are ‎going to study the importance of these symbols in the text and the method of conveying them in ‎translation. To this end, we provide a theoretical foundation and examine the translatology of La ‎Douleur by Marguerite Duras.‎

Conceptual Metaphors of TIME in Translations of Rubayyat of Khayyam

Ehsan‎ Panahbar, Akbar Hesabi, Hussein Pirnajmuddin — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

The present study aims to investigate TIME conceptual metaphors in Rubayyat of Khayyam and in ‎Fitzgerald’s translation based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and the Cognitive Translation ‎Hypothesis and Conceptual Universality and Culture-specificity Hypothesis. Accordingly, the ‎following questions are asked: is there any difference between the mappings of TIME conceptual ‎metaphors in Rubayyat of Khayyam and TIME conceptual metaphors in its English translation? And ‎what are the strategies used by the translator in Similar Mapping Conditions (SMCs) and Different ‎Mapping Conditions (DMCs)? Accordingly, using metaphor identification methods, two quatrains of ‎Rubayyat of Khayyam containing TIME conceptual metaphors were selected in a purposive ‎sampling method and compared with their translations. The results indicated that in case of ‎universal and near-universal conceptualizations, the mapping topologies of TIME conceptual ‎metaphors are similar in the original and target texts because the translator faces SMCs, while in ‎case of culture-specificity, facing DMCs, the translator changes mapping topologies and ‎consequently conceptualizations. Furthermore, the translator can employ some conceptual ‎strategies to re-conceptualize conceptual metaphors in DMCs. In addition, the translator has ‎mostly employed the strategy of congruent metaphors in case of facing DMCs.‎

Manifestations of Translation in Written Works of Naser Khosrow

Ali Mohammad Poshtdar — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Naser Khosrow Qobadiani (394–481 A.H.), a 5th century philosopher and poet, is of the legendary ‎figures in the realm of science and art. To meet the requirements for numerous Persian works and ‎poems, due to his intimacy with Arabic language, and being of the first Persian-speaking literati, he ‎has translated many philosophical and religious terms from Arabic into Persian. In this direction, ‎investigating manifestations of translation in Naser Khosrow’s works and his techniques for ‎choosing lexis is the subject of this research which is carried out using library content analysis. A ‎notable result of this study that one can point to is Naser Khosrow’s religious and jurisprudential ‎equivalents in his written works and his philosophical interpretations in the principles of faith. ‎Every one of the equivalents is significant and provides special illumination, which proves the ‎potentiality of the Persian language in finding equivalence and also the breadth and generativity of ‎its word formation (conjugation, derivation, etc.) methods.‎

The Analyzability of Translational Language as a Third Code: SL/ST and TL Centripetal and ‎Centrifugal Force

Gholam Reza Tajvidi, Mohammad Reza Rezaeian Delouei — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

The purpose of the present theoretical-conceptual research was to analyze features of ‎translational language as a third code. Firstly, third code is defined and the demarcation between ‎third code and translationese is highlighted. Then, the relation between source code and third ‎code is analyzed, and the third code is described as being both dependent on and independent of ‎the ST and SL. Third code is described as revealing varying degrees of visibility of the source code, ‎sometimes reducible to the source code itself. Not only third code, but also source and target ‎codes may consist of any number of codes, apart from SL and TL codes. Furthermore, not only the ‎ST itself, but also the SL affects the third code. Finally, the relation between target code and third ‎code is investigated to show that third code might deviate either from target system or from target ‎norm of usage.‎

Spatio-Temporal Deixis as the Signpost of Point of View in Three Persian Translations of Woolf’s To ‎the Lighthouse

Gholam Reza Tajvidi, Abolfazl Horri — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0430

This paper examines spatio-temporal deixis as the signpost of point of view technique in three ‎Persian translations of Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. In this regard, some challenging questions are ‎raised: what happens generally when point of view is translated into the target language and ‎culture? Due to the linguistic differences of the two languages of Persian and English, how is it ‎possible for a translator to keep or change such items as deictic expressions? Does any change of ‎deixis in the process of translating, affect the whole text and hence, the social and ideological ‎position of the original text? To answer these questions, this paper, having reviewed the main ‎literature on the topic, tries to propose a linguistic and stylistic methodology for studying ‘point of ‎view/focalization’ in both original and translation through the main narratological typologies, ‎Uspensky’s among others. Having taken some deictic expressions as “now”, “then”, and “here” as ‎examples, the paper comes to this conclusion that the three Persian translators have acted in the ‎same vein, although they have chosen different equivalents for the same deixis in different ‎sections of the novel. However, the challenge lies in the way in which the translators have dealt ‎with these deictic expressions.‎

Comparative Analysis of Retranslations of Literary Works in Iran: Retranslations of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath

Kamran Ahmadgoli, Majid Hesampour — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

The theory of retranslation as developed by Antoin Berman and Paul Bensimon is based on the idea of ‘deviation’ of the first translations from the source language and their proximity to the target language. It is based on the belief that as time passes and as readers become more familiar with source culture and concepts, new translations move inevitably towards more source-oriented texts. The present article attempts to find out about the validity of ‘retranslation theory’ through a case study of Persian retranslations of John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. Taking advantage of Newmark’s procedural model as applied to three major retranslations of the novel, the frequency and percentage of the procedures are determined in each case and it is finally concluded that the claims in ‘retranslation theory’ do not hold true for the retranslations of The Grapes of Wrath into Persian.

A Comparative Study of Manipulated Concepts in Literary Translations Published under the Reformist and the Fundamentalist Administrations in Iran

Mazdak Bolouri — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

The present study attempts to examine and classify the manipulated concepts in the literary translations published under the Reformist and the Fundamentalist administrations in Iran after the Islamic Revolution. It tries to analyze the role of the administrations’ domestic and foreign policies in imposing manipulations on the translations of Anglo-American literary works. The results show that ‘moral’ issues such as the description of sexual activity were among the most frequently manipulated concepts in both administrations, but the Fundamentalist administration adopted a more extremist approach in imposing manipulations on such concepts and, at the same time, added more concepts to its no-no list; many concepts which were not considered as taboo during the Reformists’ rule turned out to be forbidden under the Fundamentalists.

Gottlieb’s Strategies in the Translation of Persian Movie Subtitles into English

Mahvash Gholami, Mozhdeh Rahmani — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Audiovisual translation and subtitling as one of its subcategories have gained attention in Iran in the last few decades. This study is based on the analysis of samples from seven Persian movie genres with the focus on Gottlieb’s interlingual subtitling strategies. The aim of this study was to identify the most and the least frequent strategies used for the translation of Persian movies into English and to see if the type of genre has a significant effect on translation strategies used in subtitling. To this end, 1010 frames (7526 words) from seven movies representing different genres were selected along with their corresponding English subtitles. The selected frames were analyzed based on Gottlieb’s interlingual subtitling strategies and the results − analyzed by SPSS − showed that “transfer” was the most widely used strategy in all genres, except in war genre in which “decimation” was the most frequent one. The least frequently used strategy in the translation of Persian movies by subtitling was “transcription”. The results of Chi-Square indicated that movie genre has a significant role in Gottlieb’s interlingual subtitling strategies used for the translation of Persian movies into English.

Translation Quality Assessment: An Evaluation-Centered Approach

Samir Hassanvandi, Akbar Hesabi, Saeed Ketabi — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) or Translation Evaluation (TE) is a major and continuing concern within translation studies field. Despite recent attempts by various translation scholars to provide a more objective TQA model, there is still a lack of sufficient published models and general consensus on how to evaluate translation. Seeking a more objective model in TQA, this study aims to broaden the scope of application of Appraisal Theory (AT) and introduce it as a model for translation evaluation in Persian and to test out its efficiency and practicality as a model for translation evaluation. It indeed aims at evaluating translation from a new perspective, namely AT with particular focus on Attitude sub-system to understand how professional and trainee translators reconstruct the attitudinal markers available in Rouhani’s 2013 UNGA speech in their translations. The findings revealed that there were no systematic differences in the way Attitude is manifested in the professional translation of the speech. Multiple translations provided by trainee translators revealed the persistence of attitudinal values to a great extent in translation. Only four students showed a statistically significant difference. This study concludes with a tentative comparative model for TQA drawn by analogy to House’s (1997) model.

Form-based Translation Criticism: A Case Study of The School Principal by Jalal Al-e Ahmad

Salar Manafi Anari, Somayeh Adili — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

This paper tries to deal with translation criticism from an objective perspective based on the model proposed by Reiss (2000). On the basis of Bühler’s three functions of language, Reiss distinguishes three text types (content-focused, form-focused and appeal-focused texts) and also adds a fourth one, audio-medial texts. She then provides detailed guidelines for translating and criticizing the translation of each type. The focus of the present paper is on the translation of a form-focused text from Persian into English. A Persian short story entitled The School Principal written by Jalal Al-e Ahmad and its translated version by John K. Newton were selected, and based on the model of Reiss (form-focused texts), the analysis was carried out. The results show that in most cases the translator could transfer the linguistic elements and extra-linguistic determinants into English, and the translated version can be considered as an equivalent of the original.

Ethics in Translation: Code of Ethics in an Iranian Context

Shabnam Naderi, Farzaneh Farahzad — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Having its roots in philosophy, ethics is at present a term with applications across a broad range of disciplines and inter-disciplines. Translation as a communicative act and a site for the realization of concepts such as fidelity, particularly as redefined by the so-called cultural turn theories, falls partly into the scope of ethics. The present paper reports a study designed to investigate ethics of translation in the Iranian context, using Chesterman's (2001) five types of translation Ethics (ethics of representation, ethics of service, ethics of communication, norm-based ethics and ethics of commitment). The data in this research are collected from 30 Iranian publishers' contracts with translators, regardless of the genre and text types, the skopos and briefs, and the name and fame of the translators. The contracts are examined for the code(s) of ethics mentioned in them, their model and typology, and the values and norms governing each. The data are studied closely in order to extract codes of professional conduct within an Iranian context. Furthermore, based on the results the very definitions of ethics are challenged to find out to what extent they are true in practice when an Iranian context is concerned.

Techniques of Translation in an Old Translation of the Qur’an in the Manuscript of Jame’ al-Qisas

Ali Mohammad Poshtdar — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Understanding the revelation language in the Holy Qur’an is necessary for every Muslim or non-Muslim who is the addressee of this language. Understanding through exegesis and translation, from the very early days of the revelation of the Qur’an, would be done by the holy Prophet (PBUH) and his companions and the innocent Imams (PBUT). Probing into the methods of exegesis and translation of the Qur’an is a significant issue in the research into the Qur’an, especially for Iranian Muslims who, besides exegeting the verses of the Qur’an, have embarked on translating the Qur’an into Persian. The book of Jame’ al-Qisas is an eleventh-hegira-century manuscript that narrates the prophets’ stories. To narrate the stories of the prophets’ lives, the author has made frequent references to the Qur’an and has benefited from an old translation of the Qur’an which is very close to the language of the translations of the Qur’an in the third and fourth centuries. In this paper, the Quranic verses and their Persian translations are extracted and analyzed to identify the translation techniques used by the translator in earlier centuries. The results of the study showed that the translator has followed the structure and content of the source text closely.

Reflection of Ideological Orientations in Translation of ISIS News: A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach

Asma Sabermahani, Mina Zandrahimi — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

The media plays a significant role in delivering news and transmitting the corresponding ideology to the world. Generally speaking, news agencies are influenced by the dominant ideology of the ruling groups in broadcasting. Likewise, translation of the political news is influenced by the ideology of the dominant power in the target society. Translation is believed to be a purpose-oriented and conscious process. In fact, a translator is consciously or unconsciously influenced by his ideology or the ideology of the ruling class that results in the manipulation of the ST. This study aimed at investigating the impact of dominant ideology on translation of ISIS news through critical discourse analysis (CDA). To this end, Farahzad's model of CDA as well as Zauberga's theory of ideological manipulation were used. The data were gathered from ISIS-related BBC news and was compared with its Persian translations presented by “BBC Persian” and some of Iran’s government news agencies. The results revealed ideological manipulation in Persian translations. Moreover, according to Farahzad's CDA model, “lexical choices” and “tense” were of the highest frequencies and considering Zauberga's theory of ideological manipulation, “deletion” and “addition” were the most frequently used strategies in transmitting the dominant ideological orientations in the target society.

Text Type and Coherence from a Systemic Functional Perspective: A Case Study of Translation Students’ Knowledge of LCPs in Political News

Tohid Siami, Mina Ebrahimi Eradi — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

This study attempts to investigate the role of lexical cohesion in the translation of political news from English into Persian. It also investigates the relationship between translation students’ language proficiency and their ability to render Lexical Cohesion Patterns (LCPs) in political news translation. The subjects were students of translation at Azad and Payam-e Noor Universities (Boroujerd Branch). They were selected based on the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and were placed in three different groups of elementary, intermediate, and advanced level. The subjects were given political news items containing different LCPs to translate. The findings showed that there was a direct relationship between the students’ language proficiency and their performance on LCPs.

Investigation of Iranian Researchers’ Scientific Production in Translation Studies in the Web of Science from 1900 to 2016

Oranus Tajedini, Azita Ghazizadeh, Ali Sadat Mousavi — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0430

Today, the most reliable scientific development index is the number of documents indexed in the scientific databases in the world. Accordingly, the present research intended to investigate scientific productions of Iranian researchers in translation studies based on the number of documents indexed in Web of Science from 1900 to 2016. To analyze the data, scientometrics and citation analysis methods were used. The research population was comprised of all scientific productions of Iranian researchers in translation studies indexed in the Web of Science. The research results revealed that most scientific productions of Iranian researchers in translation studies were research papers. 50 research works were carried out by Iranian researchers in which 69 researchers took part, which indicates scientific cooperation among these researchers. The highest number of scientific productions occurred in 2011. However, no research work was indexed in translation studies in the Web of Science from 1900 to 1992 by Iranian researchers. Moreover, most researches in translation studies belonged to the branches of Islamic Azad University and Allameh Tabatabai University of Tehran. Finally, the research results demonstrated that most researches of translation studies were indexed in Perspectives, Studies in Translatology.

Women Translators in Contemporary Iran

Farzaneh Farahzad, Afsaneh Mohammadi Shahrokh, Samar Ehteshami — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0330

The current study was designed to investigate the relations of women’s translational choices and their social presence in contemporary Iran (1900–2010), concerning the historical and social setting of each decade. All the books, translated by women and published in contemporary Iran were categorized on the basis of the publication year and themes. They were then classified and analyzed with regard to the historical and social setting of each era. The time span was divided into three periods, labeled hidden presence, contested presence and professional presence. After analyzing the data, it became apparent that women’s translational choices differ significantly in each of the above-mentioned periods. Hidden presence (1900–1930s) could be considered as an introductory phase in the practice of translation among women, based on the number of the translated books and their themes. During contested period (1940s–1979), women started working as professional translators along with keeping their traditional roles in the society. During professional presence period (1980–2010), women worked as professional translators, which is closely related to the social and historical setting of the country in that era.

Edward FitzGerald's Ideas on Translation

Mostafa Hosseiny — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0330

It is generally agreed that the translation of poetry is a special case within literary translation, that is, poems, plays, and novels. The translation of poetry―because of sound patterns, choice of words, arrangement of words, peculiar rhythms, etc.―is widely held to be the most difficult form of translation. Undoubtedly, Edward FitzGerald (1809–1883) is one of the greatest poetic-translators in the world, and his translation of the Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayyam (1859) is one of the most widely read poetic translations. He never wrote an independent paper or a book on his ideas on translation. The present paper tries to extract and bold his ideas on translation through the introductions that he wrote on his translations such as Six Dramas of Calderon, Aeschylus' Agamemnon, and Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayyam and among his letters to his friends notably Edward Cowell. He believed that a translation must live even though one cannot retain the original. In his terms, better a live sparrow than a stuffed Eagle.

Grammatical Errors in Translation from Persian into French made by Iranian Students of French: A Contrastive Analysis

Mohammad-Javad Kamali — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0330

Translation courses at tertiary levels are regarded as having pedagogical purposes to help students of French practice linguistic skills and improve their language proficiency accordingly. In the process of translation, it is quite normal and inevitable to make errors, as it is evident in the learning process of any other skills. While translating from L1 to L2, language learners make more errors since they are encountered with a variety of limitations and hindrances, mainly due to poor linguistic competency, as compared to translating from L2 to L1. This descriptive study aims at analyzing the common grammatical errors in translation from Persian (L1) to French (L2) made by Iranian students of French as a Foreign Language at the levels of BA and MA being enrolled in Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Branch. The findings indicate that subjects of the study make idiosyncratic errors while trying to use particular structural elements of French in their translation. Altogether, L1 transfer has been found to be the main and more frequent source of errors rather than overgeneralization of L2 linguistic elements.

A Sociological Approach to Translation: Translation and Asymmetrical Exchange of Cultural Capital

Sayyed Mohammad Karimi Behbahani, Samira Saeedi — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0330

This study aims at a sociological approach to translation based on Bourdieu’s (1991) theoretical framework. It investigates the flow and proportion of translation from English, German and French as means of accumulation of capital and the reverse as consecration with regard to the political, social, literary, and linguistic relations. On the other hand, translation from Arabic, as a dominated language, to Persian is also under investigation. Translation strategies and procedures involved in the process of exchanging capital are also of concern. This study elaborates on methods through which Iranian translators may obtain more capital as a result of translating texts from dominating languages. A duration of up to two hundred years is investigated. Online data bases and encyclopedias have provided the required data. Findings of the study proves that exchange of translations between dominated languages in case of Arabic and Persian language is different from what was hypothetically expected. Moreover, it is concluded that by adopting a foreignizing strategy in the process of translation from dominating languages to Persian, more capital may be secured.

House's Newly Revised Translation Quality Assessment Model in Practice: A Case Study

Salar Manafi Anari, Hamid Varmazyari — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0330

This study, concerning Julian House's (2015) newly revised Translation Quality Assessment model, aimed at two things: first, to pinpoint some of the developments in this revised model as compared with the previous version and second, to apply it to a Persian translation of Chomskey's Media Control to estimate its viability. The results of the application of the model indicates that the translation, by Sari Aslani, has fallen short of fulfilling the functions of the source text. Furthermore, House's new model proved practical in assessing political translations.

Rendering the Islamic Concepts of the Holy Qur'an: Towards a More Comprehensive Model

Mahmoud Afrouz, Hussein Mollanazar — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0330

Translating religious terms is one of the most challenging tasks to be performed by a translator since they may have particular connotations in the source culture but not necessarily in the TL. Taking this fact into consideration, the present paper is going to touch upon the Islamic concepts of the Holy Qur'an in its fourteen English translations, to investigate how strategies employed by the translators can help the TL readers in perceiving the implied meaning connected with such concepts. In order to analyze the accumulated data, generally, the following steps have been taken: (i) tracing the Islamic concepts, (ii) identifying their English translations, (iii) applying Aixela’s (1996) model to the collected data, (iv) specifying some shortcomings of her model, and finally (v) presenting a table to illustrate the results as comprehensibly and intelligibly as possible. It was found out that there are a number of strategies which are employed by the fourteen translators of the Holy Qur’an yet are left unmentioned by Aixela. The mentioned strategies are considered as subcategories of ‘substitution’ and include: couplet, absolute modulation and limited modulation.

Glocal Translation

Ahmad Shirkhani, Amir Ali Nojoumian — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0330

This article studies the relationship of glocalization and translation. It is argued that translation provides the condition of glocality where the global and the local establish communication. The invisibility of translation in globalization is highlighted and it is shown that translation has adapted itself to globalization by enforcing some qualities such as hypermobility, increasing connectivity, and etc. Introducing the theoretical foundation of Roland Robertson's concept of glocalization, this article claims that glocal translation allows the interpenetration of the local and the global. From a glocal perspective, translation brings about interconnection between the global and the local, it promotes heterogenization, and enforces the agency of the local on the global scene.

First Steps in Collecting and Translating Iranian Folklore: A Case Study of Folktales and Folk Plays

Zohreh Taebi Noghondari, Abdullah Nowruzy, Yasamin Khalighi — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0330

Folk literature which has been translated into Persian as ‘Adabiat-i ‘Ammeh and sometimes ‘Adabiat-i Tudeh is one of the most important parts of every nation's literature and a great manifestation of the worldview of its people. The set of beliefs and traditions which has been formed through centuries and is considered as a cultural treasure of a nation needs to be collected, recorded and translated carefully if it is going to become eternal and global. This important task has been done during past centuries by writers and translators. What seems to be ignored or does not receive an appropriate attention is a historical investigation into the works of these two groups. In this article, the investigators try to study in detail the first steps in translating the folktales and folk plays through a historical approach. At first, in order to clarify the concept which the investigators mean when discussing the translation of folk literature, different definitions of ‘Adabiat-i ‘Ammeh and its different categories are presented and discussed. Then, a historical investigation into translation of folk literature especially folktales and folk plays in Persian literature is discussed.

Translation of Some Types of Singular Metonymies in the Last Ten Units of the Qur’an: A Case Study of the Translations Done by Elahi Ghomshei, Makarem, Moezzi, and Fouladvand

Simin Valavi, Maryam Hassani — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0330

The Holy Qur’an has excellent layers and to find their meaning, translation of the verses is needed. During the last half century, translations of the Qur’an have encountered many criticisms. This study investigated the translations of metonymies into Persian in four translations (Elahi Ghomshei, Makarem, Moezzi, and Fouladvand). In this regard, metonymies are chosen due to their interest in the last ten units of the Qur’an from authentic interpretation and rhetoric using an inductive-deductive method and their translation has critically been investigated. Our findings indicate that the translators have occasionally performed a literal translation and have ignored the figurative sense of the original words and have sometimes described the virtual concept of the verses. However, the translation of metonymies is not uniform for the studied verses and none of the translators has respected a certain style.

Investigating Expectancy Norms in Dubbing in Iran: An Exploratory Study

Saeid Ameri, Masood Khoshsaligheh, Ali Khazee Farid — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Although dubbing has always been Iran’s preferred mode of audiovisual translation, the recipients of dubbing have not yet received much attention from researchers in academia. By addressing this gap in the literature, this study ventured into the relatively uncharted territory of dubbing reception and tried to offer a number of insights into the expectancy norms in dubbing into Persian among professional viewers of dubbing. In doing so, the comments and attitudes of 15 professional viewers of dubbing were qualitatively gathered and were analyzed and coded through the grounded theory technique. Five categories emerged from the data analyses, namely; voice-talents, translation, translators, dubbing directors and other norms. Additionally, the results suggested that professional viewers paid a special attention towards dubbing in Iran; thus, the outcomes of this research could promote the quality of dubbing in Iran. In the light of the findings, the present study has a set of pedagogical implications for teaching translation and dubbing at universities and institutes.

The Translatability of Cultural Elements in the Translation of Colloquial Language: A Case Study of Zola’s Assommoir, Based on Newmark Theory

Mahjabin Ayati, Mohammadreza Farsian, Mehran Zandehboudi — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Getting away from the grammar and standard language of a society, colloquial language makes up the language of a specific social or corporate group. This language, rooted in a specific group’s culture, sometimes, proved incomprehensible for the other groups of the society. This makes it difficult for a translator to transfer the textual elements of this language. In this field, some essays have been published in ISI journals; however, this paper is focused on the first novel which has brought the working class of the nineteenth century and their language in literature. Assommoir, the seventh novel in Rougon-Macquart series by Emile Zola published in 1877, is considered as a cornerstone in the history of French fiction and even the world literature. This novel has been translated into Persian in 1361 (1982) by Farhad Ghebraee; this is the only Persian translation of this novel, presented in Iran. Focusing on the theoretical framework presented by Peter Newmark, this essay will explore how the colloquial language and the story’s cultural elements get transferred and examine the probable difficulties of this transfer and will try to estimate the rate of the so-called translator’s success in this task.

Target-Oriented Approach in the Analysis of Translations: A Case Study on Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady

Mahvash Gholami, Rafeh Matouri Pour-Meherzi — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), as a theory among target-oriented approaches to translation studies underscores the descriptive rather than prescriptive aspect in research. Gideon Toury, the founder of this theory, has identified three sets of translational norms which can change during the course of time to contribute to the description of translations. The present study, using DTS as the main framework, intermingles this theory of translation studies with debates over gender linguistics. The focus of the study was investigation of the function- and product-oriented aspects in the translation of Henry James's "The Portrait of a Lady" by Majid Massoudi; at the same time the relation of gender and language in the translated text was studied. For investigating the function-oriented aspect a Persian novel – "I Put off the Lights" by Zoya Pirzad – was chosen and a set of questionnaires based on FIC (Feminist Identity Composite) by Fischer, et al (2000) were distributed among a sample of Iranian readers. The analysis of the data showed that these texts fulfill the same function. The product-oriented aspect was investigated by comparing target text (TT) and source text (ST) and identifying the norms. The findings manifested that the translation was source-oriented and “adequate”, tending to show interference from the ST without the translator's major interference when rendering the gender related parts.

Footnote as Translator’s Footprint: Serving dehybridization or hybridization?

Mahboubeh Khalili, Hussein Mollanazar — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0330

The present paper provides new insights into the issue of footnote as translator’s footprint. As footnotes were previously considered to be only at the service of dehybridization, this study attempted to investigate the role of footnotes in producing hybridity. The original English version and the two Persian translations of a popular best-seller, The Kite Runner, were used as the corpus and studying footnotes in the frame of hybridity and dehybridization was taken as the point of departure. After scrutinizing the total number of footnotes extracted from the two Persian translations, six types of footnotes were identified of which one type had no connection to the two phenomena of hybridization or dehybridization; in fact it took a neutral stance toward them. Another was at the service of dehybridization as it was asserted in previous studies, and the other 4 were incontrovertible evidence that footnotes also serve hybridization and that they can even lead to a case of doubled hybridity.

The Role of Translation in Civilization Dialogue in Abbasid Era

Ahmad Lamei Giv, Abdossattar Nikkhouyi — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Civilization is human achievement through continuous efforts in different aspects toward improving the worldly and spiritual life. Confluence of great civilizations, including Greek, Persian, Syriac, Hindi, etc., during the Abbasid dynasty, made this period the Golden Age of Islam. Different factors influenced civilization dialogue atmosphere. Among others, rendering the books of other civilization into Arabic is considered one of the most influential causes of establishing civilization dialogue in this era. The present study tries to introduce important civilizations and cultures of that time as well as its cultural and civilization achievements, explain the influential role of Translation Movement in establishing Civilization Dialogue in Abbasid Era, and elaborate on some positive results of translation regarding scientific, cultural, social, and political areas. Additionally, it is tried to investigate some negative consequences of fast translation movement in this era through a historical-analytical approach. As indicated by the results of the study, translation movement had an influential role in establishing civilization dialogue, and the translation of the civilization’s work was the main cause of what is introduced as the Era of Islamic Scientific-Cultural Movement.

Molana's Techniques Used in Translating the Prophet's Traditions in Mathnavi

Ali Mohammad Poshtdar — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Versified translation has got certain requirements: The translator needs to have mastery over the two languages as well as the subject matter, artistic talent, and familiarity with the readership. Among the examples of versified translation is Molana's Mathnavi, which is considered as a brilliant piece in mystic literature. The present paper is an attempt to find answers to the following questions: What strategies has Molana, as a translator-poet, applied in translating the Prophet's words? What is the scientific-artistic background with which he has been able to create the greatest adapted version of the Prophet's Tradition in Persian? As a muhaddith ('reciter of traditions')" and faqih ('jurisprudent') as well as a poet and leader, Molana has been able to translate a great number of the Prophet's traditions by using artistic techniques of direct or indirect quotation, hall o tahlil ('extreme paraphrasing'), translated quotation, 'aqd ('versified quotation'), and talmih ('allusion'), i.e. a range of propositional and lexical borrowings in the versified text of Mathnavi, and hence enriched both Persian and Arabic languages structurally and semantically.

The Role of Multimedia Corpora in Improving EFL Learners’ Interpreting

Esmaeel Ali Salimi, Sara Nosrati — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Nowadays, the field of interpreter training has many flaws. Most translators do written translations; and the universities and related educational centers have focused on translator training; consequently, there are few efficient and skilled interpreters. In recent years, many researchers and scholars have welcomed applying the corpora in language teaching and translator training. However, compared to translator training, more research studies have been carried out in the area of language teaching. We can incorporate and make use of the corpora in the area of interpreter training, too. For this purpose, the online Backbone corpus was used in this study. At first, the undergraduate students of English translation were taught to use and work with the mentioned corpus. Second, they were asked to make use of this corpus in learning and practicing interpreting and then give their ideas and express their experience of learning interpreting by making use of this online corpus. In this study, the efficiency of using the corpora in learning interpreting was evaluated.

The Qur'an's Language Through Translation: An Inquiry into the Manner of Reflection, in Translation, of Qur'anic References & Its Relationship with the Qur'an-specific Language

Mohammad Yazdani, Azam Ghamkhah — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0330

This study was undertaken as a probe into the occurrence, in translation, of the explicitation of the referential system of the Qur’an and into the way the Qur’an’s specific language is related to this event. Thus, the extent of explicitation in English translations was calculated, followed by the determination of the relationship of this event with the basic differences between the SL and the TL. To this end, a story in Surah Al-Kahf was selected, contrasted to five TTs. Following the analysis of the sample data, the manner of the reflection of Qur’an-specific cohesion was investigated. The findings demonstrated that the extent of the event of explicitation in the TTs exceeds that of Implicitation. Moreover, the most distinct case of cohesive shifts belonged to ‘reference to lexical cohesion.’ Finally, suggestions were provided regarding future studies to enable an objective verification of the hypotheses proposed in this research. This study was a preliminary step towards acquisition of more comprehensive knowledge of the Qur’an-specific language and the way translation phenomena are influenced by this.

Translation Directionality from the Viewpoint of Iranian Scholars

Saber Zahedi, Reza Arta — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0330

Western Translation Studies has been traditionally oversensitive to translation into the second language, and in practice the rule of thumb has it that translation should always be done into the translator's first language. This article is the analysis of the present views on translation directionality in Iran with reference to implications of such views. Iranian scholars recognize L2 translation as an accepted activity as well as the marked direction of translation with an emphasis on a scholarly knowledge of the target language. This study reviews a number of ideas on the disapproval of L2 translation and the necessity of translating into the first language. This results in the marginalization of one direction and centralization of the other. Finally, it is argued that some Iranian scholars maintain that an erudite and scholarly native knowledge should supersede an ordinary native knowledge of the target language which is the result of the interplay between the two former factors.