Charactonyms in Accredited Persian Translation of Classic Religious English Literature

Abstract

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).