Translating jokes from English into Arabic is a challenging task since jokes are strongly related to their languages and cultures. The task is becoming more challenging due to the subtitling rules, conventions, and constraints. The present study endeavours to investigate the translating techniques used by different Arabic subtitlers in different films to solve the technical, linguistic, and cultural problems of subtitling jokes in different American films. To achieve this pursuit we adopt Baker’s (2011) techniques for translating idioms and adapt them to meet the requirement of the subtitling of jokes’ punchlines, using a qualitative research method. The study reveals that subtitlers always translate the setting of the joke literally except for joke 4. The subtitlers use different translation techniques to render the punchlines; however, some of them fail to trigger a laugh. Unlike universal jokes, linguistic and cultural jokes are difficult to render. Besides, the subtitlers omit (the entire or part) of the joke which is inappropriate and unacceptable in the host culture.
{"title":"Techniques of Subtitling Jokes from English into Arabic","authors":"Ahmed Mansour, Abdennour Kharraki","doi":"10.48185/jtls.v5i1.892","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.48185/jtls.v5i1.892","url":null,"abstract":"Translating jokes from English into Arabic is a challenging task since jokes are strongly related to their languages and cultures. The task is becoming more challenging due to the subtitling rules, conventions, and constraints. The present study endeavours to investigate the translating techniques used by different Arabic subtitlers in different films to solve the technical, linguistic, and cultural problems of subtitling jokes in different American films. To achieve this pursuit we adopt Baker’s (2011) techniques for translating idioms and adapt them to meet the requirement of the subtitling of jokes’ punchlines, using a qualitative research method. The study reveals that subtitlers always translate the setting of the joke literally except for joke 4. The subtitlers use different translation techniques to render the punchlines; however, some of them fail to trigger a laugh. Unlike universal jokes, linguistic and cultural jokes are difficult to render. Besides, the subtitlers omit (the entire or part) of the joke which is inappropriate and unacceptable in the host culture.","PeriodicalId":516678,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Translation and Language Studies","volume":"18 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140509655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Research studies from around the globe on Omar Khayyam’s Persian quatrains and their translation into English by the poet, writer, and translator Edward Fitzgerald, are in abundance. Researchers are, in general, in praise of the translation and give credit to Fitzgerald for making Khayyam a world-renowned poet. However, the translation has rarely been approached from a socio-political perspective or a look into Fitzgerald’s ideological manipulation of the original. The present research study investigates two issues with Fitzgerald’s translation- ideological manipulation and selective translation. The study also looks into Khayyam’s life and his works. It probes into the effects this translation left on the literary scene. The study involves a comparative literary translation analysis to compare and contrast the elements found in Fitzgerald’s translation and two Arabic translations. Employing Lefevere’s (1992) theory of ‘translation as rewriting,’ this paper assesses the extent to which a translator’s ideology can lead to a misrepresented product of translation (Lefevere, 1992). The study adopts textual analysis as a research method to capture the epicurean elements recurrently emphasized by Fitzgerald in his translation.
{"title":"Khayyam’s Quatrains as Fitzgerald’s Rubẚiyat: Translation as Ideological Misrepresentation","authors":"Ismail Ali Alghamdi, Mohammed Albarakati","doi":"10.48185/jtls.v5i1.959","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.48185/jtls.v5i1.959","url":null,"abstract":"Research studies from around the globe on Omar Khayyam’s Persian quatrains and their translation into English by the poet, writer, and translator Edward Fitzgerald, are in abundance. Researchers are, in general, in praise of the translation and give credit to Fitzgerald for making Khayyam a world-renowned poet. However, the translation has rarely been approached from a socio-political perspective or a look into Fitzgerald’s ideological manipulation of the original. The present research study investigates two issues with Fitzgerald’s translation- ideological manipulation and selective translation. The study also looks into Khayyam’s life and his works. It probes into the effects this translation left on the literary scene. The study involves a comparative literary translation analysis to compare and contrast the elements found in Fitzgerald’s translation and two Arabic translations. Employing Lefevere’s (1992) theory of ‘translation as rewriting,’ this paper assesses the extent to which a translator’s ideology can lead to a misrepresented product of translation (Lefevere, 1992). The study adopts textual analysis as a research method to capture the epicurean elements recurrently emphasized by Fitzgerald in his translation. ","PeriodicalId":516678,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Translation and Language Studies","volume":"6 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140509436","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}