Cultural Issues In Translating Text

In the "Cultural Implication for Translation" by Kate James, the author describes how translation is an activity which deals with at least two cultures, which makes translators face the problem of how to treat the cultural aspects of a source text and how successfully conveying these aspects in the target text. These problems vary according to how big the difference between the two languages is. Also, the aims of the source text will have implications for translation as well as the readers of both source text and target text.

Culture is important in translation. The difference between cultures may cause more severe complications for the translator than the difference in languages. The translator's role is to translate the source text into a suitable form of the target language. In other words, the target text must correspond to the source text version. When translating, it is important to consider the lexical impact on the target language reader and the manner in which cultural aspects may be perceived.

There are two methods for dealing with the problem of culture implications for translation: transference, which opts for keeping cultural names and concepts, and componential analysis, which excludes the culture and highlights the message.

To analyze this part, the writer focuses on the nature of the source text and the ideal reader. In the nature of the source text, he gives and example from La Première Gorger de Bière et autre Plaisirs Minuscules by Philipe Delerm: "Les Loukoums Chez L'Arabe." This text presents certain aspects of French life in both cultural and linguistic concepts. It contains several culturally specific words and notions whose implications for translation have to be considered.

He argue...

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...s that the term loukoums will need an explanation in the context of this text as the cultural knowledge of the target text reader differs from the source text reader's. He advises a qualifier to be added to translate chez l'Arabe as it has several cultural implications. He adds that it is useful to explain further the item by adding a footnote.

In this essay, the writer emphasizes on the fact that the cultural implications for translation is problematic. A translator must ensure that content and language present in the source text is fully acceptable and comprehensible to the target language reader. He points out that certain additions have to be brought to the target text and that missing background information should be provided by the translator in order to preserve specific cultural references. But still there is translation loss in a culturally bound text.