Decision-making in the translation of proper-name allusions

Abstract

As an intertextual and culture-specific expression, allusion activates two texts simultaneously, embedding them with intended meaning from the source culture but not necessarily in the target culture. In the context of L1 translation being the majority, allusions can be puzzles that cause “cultural bumps” for translators unfamiliar with the source culture and language. It is a concern whether translators can accurately and appropriately handle allusions, e.g., proper-name and key-phrase allusions. This paper focused on the novice translator’s utilization of translation strategies in both directions of translation to find out how they deal with proper-name allusions and what might influence their choice of strategies. The results suggest that the translators have distinct preferences for the strategies used to translate proper-name allusions in both directions of translation. The findings further identified potential factors that motivated the novice translators’ decision-making process. They revealed their translation competence and awareness that may influence the decision-making of translators handling proper-name allusions.