Abstract - University of Sistan and Baluchestanijals.usb.ac.ir/article_67_4a7235999cf74c618fccd19ab52bd5a0.pdfNewmark’s Procedures to Translation… 171 translation is an essential

ApplicabilityofNewmark’sProcedurestoTranslationofReligiousCulturalElementsfromEnglishintoPersian

MasoudSharififarShahidBahonarUniversityofKerman,Iran

[email protected]

Abstract

Thispaperaimed to investigate thedifferencesbetweenEnglishandPersianreligiouselementswhichmaybeproblematicintranslatingfromEnglishintoPersian. The study aimed also to investigate the way cultural elements ingeneralandreligiousonesinparticularweredealtwithintheselectedcorporaand tocheckwhether theproceduresproposedbyNewmark,weresufficientandadequatefortranslationoftheseelementsfromEnglishintoPersian.One book The Pilgrim’s Progress by J. Bunyan and its correspondingtranslated Persian versionwere analyzed. This paper wasmostly narroweddowntoreligiousculturalelements.Thefindingsindicatedthattherewasnoevidencetoshowa consistentefforton the part of translator to use any particular translation approach in theprocessofachievingadequatetranslation.ThefindingsshowedthatproceduressuggestedbyNewmarkhaveaccountedwellforthetransferofculturalaswellasreligiouselements; itwasobservedthat Newmark’s range of procedures was comprehensive and worked wellnearlyforculturalelementsincludedintheselectedcorpuses.

Keywords: Religious Culture, Newark’s Strategies, Cultural Elements,Procedures

Received:March2009; Accepted:November2009

IranianJournalofAppliedLanguageStudies,Vol2,No1,2010

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Introduction

Translationisanart,whichhasbecomeincreasinglyimportantintoday’sworld.Translatorsareresponsibleforbetterandmoreaccuratetransferofthisart.Inthe modern world the vast geographical distances are extremely decreasedthrough communication facilities and the need to exchange thoughts andopinionsamongdifferentnationsisstronglyfelt.Beingawareofotherpeople’sexperiences, knowledge, technical and cultural achievements help man inimprovingthestandardoflife.

This kind of communication is obviously possible bymeans of language.And language cannot exist unless it is steeped in the context of culture.Language is the heart within the body of culture and it is the interactionbetweenthetwothatresultsinthecontinuationoflife.Solanguageshouldnotbeseenasan isolatedphenomenonsuspended ina vacuumbutasan integralpartofculture.

Theroleofa translatorbecomesmorecrucialbecauseasa goodtranslationcan be useful, a bad or a wrong one can bemisguiding and to some extentdangerous. Thus, translation from one language to another cannot be doneadequatelywithoutknowledgeofthetwocultures.

According toNida as cited inDelisle (1980), in order to translate, onemustnotonlyknowa languagebutalsomustbe familiarwith theculture i.e.customs, civilization andmoresof thosewho speak that language.Nida alsoemphasizes thattranslation takesplace in thecontextof therelationbetweentwocultures,twoworldsofthoughtandperception.

However, aswe know translating is notmerely passing from one text toanother, transferringwords fromone languagetoanother.Rather, it involvestransposing one entire culture to another. According to Sapir (1949)

ApplicabilityofNewmark’sProcedurestoTranslation…

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translation is an essentialmeans throughwhich access to the culturesof thedifferentnationsispossible.Thusitcanberealizedjusthowimportantitistobeconsciousoftheideologythatunderliesa translationi.e.whentoadd,whattoleaveout,howtochoosethewordsandhowtosubstituteculturalterms.Itisnolongerpossibletolimitoneselftothewordorsentenceasa translationunit:thetranslatormusttakeintoconsiderationboththeoriginalandtargetcultureswithwhichheorsheisconnected.Ifitisacceptedthatmostpeopleareshapedto the form of their culture because of the enormousmalleability of theiroriginalendowmentsand theyareplastic to themoulding forceof thesocietyintowhich they arebornormaybe exposed to, then itmaybe claimed thattranslationfromoneculturetoanother istosomeextentpossible.Thispaperintends toexamine the culturaldifferencesbetweenEnglishandPersianandthe probable problems in translation. This will cause an emphasis on thenecessity of a cross-cultural comparative textual analysis between these twolanguages.

Translation, ingeneral,andcultural translation, inparticular,have led tomany heated discussions between translation theorists, linguists, languageteachers,contrastiveanalystsanderroranalysts.Thisshowstheimportanceoftranslationintoday’sworld.Nolongeristranslationconsideredjust“awindowopenedtoanotherworld”, ratheritisa channelopenedthroughwhichforeigninfluencescanpenetratethenativeculture.

Concerningtheculturalproblems,manystudieshavebeenmadeabouttheproblemsof translation fromEnglish intoother languagesandviceversa,butonlya fewattemptshavebeendoneforEnglishandPersian. Itisbelievedthatthispaperisoneofthefewstudiestoresearchtheproblemofreligiousculturaldifferences from English to Persian. It will highlight, through a contrastivetextual analysis of English and Persian cultures, those religious cultural


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differences thataredifficult for the translator to transfer.Further itwillalsopinpoint the applicability of suggested procedures for translating of thesestermsinselectedcorpus.

TheScopeoftheStudy

Thisstudyhasnecessarilybeenmodestbecause thegrounds itcoversarestillnew.Giventhe limitedsourcesavailablethispapercanprovideonlyan initialsurveyof theproblemsand ismore likely to raisequestions thanprovide theanswers to them. Itmay show theway the religious cultural itemshavebeentransferredbythetranslatorthantocriticizethem.Atthesametime,thisstudydoes not presume to delineate all the principles and procedures of culturaltranslation.Theattempthasbeenmadetoincludethoseelements,whichmighthave the greatest interest and relevance to cultural analysis inmore generalsense.

This research deals only with translation problems from English intoPersianandof themajor relevantproblematic forms; this study is limited toculturalreligiouselements.Consideringthefactthatotherformsareimportantaswell, thispaperavoids themdeliberatelybecause it isneitherpossiblenorplausible todealwithallaspectsofculturalelementswithin the scopeof thepresentwork.

Above all, since the realmof culture is so vast todealwith, thiswork isnarrowed down to only religious cultural elements selected from theclassification presented byNewmark (1988).He has adoptedNida’s (1964)breakdownof thevariousaspectsofcultureandoffershisownschemealongthe following lines: (1) ecology (2) material culture (3) social culture (4)organizations, customs, ideas: political, social, legal, religious, artistic (5)gesturesandhabits.However,itmaybedifficulttodrawa clear-cutdistinction


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betweenthemandoverlappingisunavoidable.The textualanalysiswill focusonThePilgrim’sProgressbyJohnBunyan

(1982) and its Persian version by Hamedi (2002). The study of itscorresponding Persian translation will contribute to the clarification of thefindingsoftheculturalcontrastiveanalysisofEnglishandPersian.

The contentionof thewriter isonly tohighlight the transferof religiouscultural elements into Persian and not to focus on the translator’sshortcomings,ifany.

ResearchMethodology

This part includes a definition of culture as well as religious culture; adescription of the corpus; the justifications for the selection of the Englishcorpus and Persian translations, classification of highlighted passages andfinallya descriptionofthemethodologyusedfortextualanalysisoftheselectedextractsfromthecorpus.

ReligiousCulture

Though Nida (1964) and Newmark (1988) have suggested a similarclassification for culture,neither of them has given a separate definition forsocialorreligiousculture.Theculturaltermsandelementsthoughareeasytoidentify,insomecasesaredifficulttobeclassifiedundera specificheadingandtheblurringof theseculturalcategoriesobscured the taskofresearcher.Thiscomplexityliesinthefactthatwhateverisconsideredreligiouslyacceptabletoa groupofpeoplecanbe regardedas social toanother.Religion isgenerallyheldtobethemostforcefulpromoterandexpressionofculturalidentity,unityand specificity (Budick: 1996). Amin-zaki (1995), clarifies it through an


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example.Accordingtohim,despitea commonbeliefbybothChristiansandMuslims

thatoathtakingandswearingareblasphemous,suchoathsarecommoninbothEuropeanandArabliterature.ThisistrueoftheIslamicsocietyofIranaswell.

Now,herewhateverisconsideredaccordingtoreligionasa taboosociallyisinuseand itcanbeclassifiedunder theheadingsofbothsocialandreligiousculture. In other words, social culture is created by relationships of thecomponent individuals in the social interaction while religious culture isassociatedwithactions,rituals,customsandtraditionsthatmaydistinguishthebelieversofonereligionfromotherreligions.

Corpus

The corpus of this study includes an English literary work, and its Persiantranslation. The work is The Pilgrim’s Progress by Bunyan, which was firstpublished in 1678. The extraordinary appeal, which this religious allegorymakestothehumanmind,isshownbythefactthatithasbeentranslatedintono fewer than one hundred and eight different languages and dialects.ThisreligiousworkextendedBunyan’sreputationoverthewholeoftheBritishIsles,to thecontinentandevenas farasAmerica.In thiswork,accordingtoTalon(1956),Bunyanspeakswiththevoiceoftheseventeenth-centuryworkingman;his work is the expression of a popular culture.And because he combinesdramaticgeniuswitha vigorousfaith,hehelpsusmorethananyotherwritertounderstandPuritanismbothasanintellectualmovementandasa wayoflife.Itbrings the riches of a strong personality, of thought and of an ancient anddeeply rooted popular culture (The Puritan culture). This book has beentranslatedintoPersianin2002underthenameofdarseyr-o-solukezāɁer.


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TextualAnalysisSince the findingswerededuced througha textualanalysisof thecorpus, themethodisa qualitativeone.Textualanalysisistheessentialpartofthiswork.

Thus theanalysesare carriedout in the corpus for theabove-mentionedpurpose,andthefollowingisthemethodofanalysis:

It focusedon culturalelements in: (a) the source text,and (b) the targettext.Theanalysesstartedfromword,sentence,andparagraphandthentothewholetext.

For thepurposeofanalysing the corpus, the studyanalysed the textasawhole and selected certain parts that reflect the intention of his paper.Thesourcetext(ST)andtargettext(TT)passageswerearrangedandclassifiedinpairs.AfterextractingandmatchingtheEnglishandPersiandata,themethodemployed by the translator was highlighted in order to show whether thetranslatorhaskept the source language (SL) culture,has converted it to thetargetlanguage(TL)cultureorhaschosenaninterculturalterm.

TheSelectedMethods

Newmark’s,suggestedprocedures,listedbelow,wereexaminedtotestwhethertheyareapplicable for translationofreligiousculturalelements,andwhetherthey have been employed consciously or unconsciously by the translator totransfertheseelementsintoPersianandfilltheculturalgapsornot.

The procedures are in fact a selected combination of those that arepresentedbyNewmark(1981:75-76)and(1988:81-90)andinclude:1.Transcription(adoption,transfer,loanwords)2.Literal translationusedwhen theSL term is transparentor semanticallymotivatedandisstandardised.


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3.ThroughTranslation:theliteraltranslationofcommoncollocationsnamesof organizations, the components of compounds. It is known as loantranslationaswell.

4. Recognized Translation: using the official or the generally acceptedtranslation of any institutional term. It is known as accepted standardtranslation.

5. CulturalEquivalent:ItisconsideredasanapproximatetranslationwhereanSLculturalwordistranslatedbya TLculturalword.

6. TranslationLabel:anapproximateequivalentora newtermthatisusuallya collocation for a feature particular to the SL culture. This is aprovisionaltranslation,whichshouldbemadeininvertedcommas.Itcanlaterbediscreetlywithdrawn.

7.TranslationCouplet:transcriptionofaninstitutionaltermfollowedbyitstranslation. Here, the translator complements transference procedurewitha secondtranslationprocedure.

8. Translation Triplets: a politically coloured term, a transcription plusdenotation.

9. DeletionandExpansion:a termoflittleimportanceintheTLculturemaybedeletedorexpanded.Thesearesaidtoberatherimprecisetranslationprocedures.Insomecasestheyarepractisedintuitively.

10.Naturalization:theprocessofanglicisingforeignnames.ItadaptstheSLword first to the normal pronunciation and then to the normalmorphologyoftheTL.

11.Transference:Theprocessof transferringanSLword toa TL textasatranslationprocedure.

12.Metaphors: thenameofan institutionmaybepersonified torefer to itsleadershipordirector.


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13. Neutralization: it comprises functional equivalent and descriptiveequivalent. The former neutralizes or generalizes the SL word; andsometimes adds a particular. The latter sometimes has to be weighedagainstfunction.

14. Synonymy:thesenseofa nearTLequivalenttoanSLwordina context,wherea preciseequivalentmayormaynotexist.

15.Compensation:thelossofmeaning,metaphororpragmaticeffectinonepartofa sentencemaybecompensatedinanotherpart,orinanadjunctsentence.

16.Paraphrase:theamplificationorexplanationofthemeaningofa segmentofthetext.

17. Componential Analysis (CA): splitting of a lexical unit into its sensecomponents,oftenone-to-twoormore.It isused in translatingculturalwords thatthereadership isunlikely tounderstand.CA isa flexiblebutorderly method of bridging the lexical gaps both culturally andlinguistically.Thistechniqueismoreprecisethanparaphrase,althoughitachievesaccuracyat theexpenseofeconomy.CAwhichwasdevelopedbyNida(Venuti:1995)isoneofa fewlinguistic-basedconceptsthathaveproved to be of immediate relevance for both the production and thestudy of translation. It is a means of clarifying ambiguities, elucidatingobscurepassagesandidentifyingculturaldifferences.

AnalysisofReligiousCulturalTerms

Religionplaysanimportantpartinshapingthelanguageandlifeofa society.AsChristianityandtheBiblehaveextensivelyinfluencedtheEnglishlanguageandEnglishwayoflife,IslamandtheQuranhavehadanevengreaterimpacton the life and the language of Iranians.Christianity and Islam havemany


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featuresincommon:bothbelieveinGod,speakofparadiseandhellandoflifeafterdeath;and invite thepeople tomoral virtues,e.g.,honesty, faithfulnessandrespectforothers.Theyalsodifferina numberofbasicpoints.

For example, the conceptof redemptionwhich forms the cornerstoneoftheChristianfaithcannotbefoundinIslam.Asa resultofthis,manyChristianconceptsmay losemuchof theirspirit inPersian translationofThePilgrim’sProgress.Infact,thereligiousthemesofthisbookarenotfullycomprehensibletoa Persianreader.

Further complicationsmayarise froma difference in theattitudesof thetwopeoplestoreligion.Forinstance,topicswhichappearquiteinnocenttoanEnglish readermay be objectionable to a Persian reader, and anything thatsmellsofanti-religionisnotacceptabletoPersianreaders.Thus,thetranslatorsof the religious texts suchas thisbookareoftenobliged towaterdown suchtopicsoromitthemaltogether.

ReligiousTerms

Thereligioustermspresentedinthestoryaresymbolic.Thisisanallegory,i.e.,a narrative in which the characters and events are all symbolic abstractconcepts;soChristian isunderstoodnot justtobea name,butto identifytheproper religious orientations, or the Slough of Despond is a physicalrepresentationoftheemotionalstateofdespondency.Theuseofsymbolisminthis allegory is direct and transparent; characters, places, and even concreteexpressions are abstract ideas, and the correspondence of story elements toideas is intendedtobeobvioustothereader.It istrulyan inspirationalstory,from the city of destruction through the SloughofDespond to theCrossofChrist,Whereheloseshissymbolicburdenofsins,witha cheerfulending:


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ST:ThenwasChristiangladandlightsome,andsaidwitha merryheart:hebothgivesmerestbyhissorrowandlifewithhisdeath(P.48).

TT:sepasmasihisarshād Ɂazshādivasabokidardelgoft:ārāmeshrābā anduhvazendegirā bāmargexodbemanɁarzānidāsht(P.54).

Christian,asthesymbolofallfaithfulpeople,setsoutona journeyduringwhichheencountersvariousthreatstogettosalvation:hisowndespairathissinfulnature (theSloughofdespond), theenticementsof thematerialworld(VanityFair),variousfellowtravelerswhowouldleadhimastraythroughtheirown faulty belief, and the devil himself (apollyon).He also receives supportfromtheassuranceofhisownelection(hisbeingreclothedandmarkedasoneoftheelect),fromtheguidinghandofChrist,fromtheBible(thescrollhe isgivenathisconversion),andfromotherfellowtravelerswhoadheretothetruefaith.FinallyhereachestheCelestialCitywhich isdescribedatthebeginninginChristian’sinitialversion(P.43),aspartofhismotivationforthejourney.Atthesame timeGodnever leaveshis truedisciplesalone in thisway.When inVanityFair,forexample,faithfuliskilled,Hopefultakeshisplace.HopefulissomovedthathebecomesChristian’scompanion:

ST:Thusonedied tomake testimony to the truth,andanother risesoutofhisashestobea companionwithChristian(P.127-128).

TT:yekidarrāhehaqbeshehādatmiresadvadigariɁazxākestarashsarbarmiāvaradtāmasihirāmosāhebvahamrāh bāshad(P.118).

Though thestorybearssomereligious terms thatareexclusively found inChristianity, the main theme of it may be universal. According to theappendicesprovidedby the translator, in IslamicMysticism,nearly the samespiritual journeyfora truefollowerofAllahcanbefound.Onewhowantstogetsalvationshouldexperiencethethreats,risksanddespairs,becausetheway


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isnoteasy.Therearealsoencouragementsandrewards.ThroughthePersiantranslation, it can be easily understood that the translator has had the leastproblemsfortransferringtheallegoricaltermsintheprocessofthejourney.

Eventhefundamentalconceptsusedintraditionsandnarrationsabouttheprophets likeMosesandAbrahamandotherpersons likeAdamandEveandtheirfirstsin,broughtintheQuranandBiblearetoa largeextendalike.Thusthemain themeof the storyhasbeen transferredprecisely like the followinginstances:

ST: Then they took them, and had them to theMount upon whichAbrahamourfatherhadofferedupIsaachisson,andshowedthemthe altar, thewood, the fire and the knife, for they remain to beseentothis veryday(P.303).

TT:sepasɁonān rā bekuhikepedaramān,ebrāhim,peserasheshāq rātaqdimkard,bordandvabā Ɂonān mehrāb,chub,Ɂātashvachāqurā ketā Ɂinruzberāyeroyatbāqibudneshān dādand(P.243).

ST: , … , showedthemoneoftheapplesthatEvedideatof,andthatshealsodidgive toherhusband,and that for theeatingofwhichthey bothwereturnedofparadise(P.302).

TT:…,vayekiɁazsibhāi rā kehaavā xordebudneshān dādand,keyekirā nizbehamsarashdādebudvabexātereɁān Ɂazbeheshtrāndeshodebudand(P.243).

Theproblem,however,remainswith thereligiousconceptswhicharenotcommonbetweenIslamandChristianity,amongwhichsomeareoutstanding:

Oneofthemostfrequentreligiousthemesinthebookis“trinity”whichisproblematic for the translator to transfer into Persian, and theway she hasdealtwith it,proves it.Trinity isoneof themaindoctrinesofChristians.To


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them, though God is one God, he exists in three distinct persons, usuallyreferred to asGod the father,God the son, andTheHoly Spirit.TheHolySpirit,however,worksintheinterestsofglorifyingChrist,andofbringingintoperfectionthegoaloftheredemptiveprocess.

This theme, however, has been denied in Islam. On the contrary,“Tawheed” is one of the unique characteristic of Islam that distinguishes itfromotherdivine religions includingChristianityand Judaism. It’s thebeliefthatmakesIslama strictlymonotheistreligion.ThustheTawheedcorrespondstotheTrinityinChristianity.TawheedstatesthatGodisoneandheisdevoidofanypartnerorsomeonetohimheisinneed.ItisstatedinQuran(4:171)that“ChristJesus,thesonofMary,was(nomorethan)anyapostleofAllah…saynot:trinity:desist:itwillbebetterforyou:forAllahisoneGod.”

Haneef(1985)emphasizesthatGodisnotlikea pieorapplewhichcanbedividedintothreethirds.IfGodisthreepersonsorpossessesthreeparts,heisassuredly not the single, unique individual which Christianity professes tobelievein.

The following examples show theway the translatorhasdealtwith thesedifferencesinPersian:

ST:GodsentforthhisSon, madeofa woman(p.341).TT:xodāvandfarzandānashrāɁazvojudezanāferid(P.270-271).

(Lit.God hischildren fromexistenceofwomancreated).

ST:TheSonoftheblessedisverypitiful(p.44).TT:farzande mobārakbesyār baxshandeɁast(p.51).

(LIT.childblessed very pitiful is).Remark:“son”isreplacedby“farzand”(child)inPersian.Newmark(N.M.):culturalequivalent


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ST:I havegrievedtheSpirit(p.44).TT:ruholqodosrā Ɂazxodamranjāndam(p.51).

(Lit.holyspirit frommyselfgrievedI).

N.M.:culturalequivalent

ST:…,andbyhisrighteousness,whichistherighteousnessofGod(forhehimselfisGod)(p.192-193).

TT:…,ɁazɁedālateɁu kehamānɁedālatexodāvandɁast,bahregir( ------) (P.171).N.M.:deletion

ST: Itmademe see thatGod the father, thoughhebe just,can justlyjustifythecomingsinner(P.185-186).

TT:berāyemanɁ āshkār kardkexodavandeɁādelgonāhkārirā keruybe suye veymiāvarad chegunemorede qazāvat va Ɂedālat qerārmidehad(P.166).

ST:Orthus,Christmakesmydutiesthatarereligiousacceptabletohisfatherbyvirtuesofhismerits(P.190).

TT: lazā masih bɁāese pazireshe takālife diniye man dar pishgāhexodāvandmishovad(P.169).

Remark:“father”isreplacedby“xodāvand”(God),inPersian.N.M.:functionalequivalent

Thefollowingexamplesshowthatthetranslatorhasnotbeenconsistentinhermethods:

ST:Godthefather,Godtheson,andGodtheHolySpirit(P.290).TT:xodāvandepedar,xodāvandepesar,xodāvanderuholqodus(P.233).

(Lit.God father, God son, God holy spirit).


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ST:WhatissupposedbyhisbeingsavedbytheTrinity? (P.291).TT:manzurɁaznejāt bevasiletaslischist?(P.234).

(Lit.intentionfromsavingby trinitywhatis).

N.M.:literaltranslation

Thenotionof“resurrection”ispresentbothinIslamandChristianity,butwithdifferent interpretations.Harun (2001: 8) confirms the existenceof thisconceptinIslam:“Ourprophet(saas)alsotoldusthatJesus(as)besentbacktoearthandrelatedthatinthattime,whichiscalledtheendoftime,theremaybe a period inwhich the earthwill attain unprecedented peace, justice andwelfare.”Itwasdealtwithasfollow:

ST:Hediedforoursins,androseagainforourjustification(P.185).TT:------------(P.165).N.M.:deletion

ST:HowbelieveyouastouchingtheresurrectionoftheDead?(P.293).TT:barxāstanemordegān rā darruzeqeyāmatchegunetojimikoni?(P.235).

(Lit.riseof deadindayofresurrection howjustifyyou).

ST:I believetheyshallrise,thesamethatwasburied(P.293).TT:mɁoteqedamkeɁānān hamchenān kedafnshodehand,barxāhand

xāst(P.235).N.M.:culturalequivalent

AnothersymbolwhichisamongthepopularEastersymbolsinChristianityis “lamb”. The Easter lamb represents Christ with the flag of victory. ItrepresentsJesusandrelateshisdeathtothatofthelambsacrificedonthefirstpassover.Christians traditionally refer toJesusas“the lambofGod”. It isasymbol of innocence and purity. The Persian translator dealt with “lamb”differently:


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ST:marriagesupperofthelamb(P.207).TT:zafāfeshāmebare(P.182).

(Lit.marriageofsupperoflamb).

N.M.:literaltranslation

ST:… betohimthatsittethuponthethroneandtothelambforeverandever(P.209).

TT:barɁonkaskebartaxtneshinadtaabadolabad(P.183).(Lit.betohimthatuponthronesitsforeverandever).

Remark:“lamb”isdeletedinPersian.N.M.:deletion

Another problem remains with the way the translator dealt with thealcoholictermswhichareforbiddeninIslam.Alcoholicdrinks,ingeneral,and“wine”, inparticular,aremingledwith the religious feastsofChristians.Thewine refers to thebloodof Jesus,andhis sacrificeon the cross,but theyaretotallyrejectedinIslam.Thefollowingextractclearlyshowsthiscontradiction:

ST:Thenext theybroughtupwas a bottleofwine, red asblood.SoGaius said to them,drink freely, this is the juiceof the truewinethatmakesgladtheheartofGodandMan(P.341).

TT: sepas sāKari āvardand ke dar Ɂon johari sorx rang be range xunbud. pas mizbān be /ishan goft āzādāne beyāshāmid, zirā Ɂābehayat baxshi Ɂast ke qalbe Ɂensān va xodāvand rā masrurmisāzad(P.272).

Remark:“bottleofwine”and“wine”inthesourcetexthavebeenreplacedby “sāKar” (cup)and “Ɂābehayatbaxsh” (lifegivingwater) in the targettextrespectively.


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N.M.:culturalequivalentOtheralcoholictermsweretranslatedasfollow:ST:Bottleofspirits(p.280).TT:Ɂābehayat(P.225).

(Lit.wateroflife)

ST:Wine(P.67).TT:ashrabe(P.69).

(Lit.drinks).

N.M.:culturalequivalent

ST:Ale– house(P.109)TT:------------(P.103).

N.M.:deletion

OneepisodeofthestoryisaboutthoseanimalswhosemeatsarenotcleaninChristianity,andquotesMosessayingwhodescribescleananimalsasbelow:

ST:Thisbrings tomymind thatofMoses,bywhichhedescribeth thebeast that is clean.He describes the clean animals as those thatparteththehoofandchewththecudandasexamplesnames,hare,dogorbearasunclean(P.103-104).

TT:goftehāyeshomāmerā beyādegoftemusā darsefarelāviān andāxtkedarvasfeheyvānātepāk farmud:(sefareLavian11:1-8).xodāvandbemusā vaharunfarmud indasturatrā beqomeɁesrāilbedehand.harheyvānike shekāfte sombāshad vanoshxār konadhalalgushtɁast.valigushteshotor,gurkanvaxargushrā nebyadxord.…hamchaningushtexukrā niznebāyadxord(P.98).

In the above source text only three animals, i.e.,hare, dog and bear arestated, while in the target text, on the one hand, the translator has added


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“shotor” (camel), “gurkan” (zebra badger) as well.On the other hand, theunderlined parts are the extra explanations that the translator has broughttogetherwitha footnote.

N.M.:expansionItisfoundthatthePersiantranslationisfullofundertanslations,toa large

degree, andovertranslations, to a lesserdegree,ofwhich some areworthofnoting:

ST: I haveheardmany cryout against sin in the pulpit,who yet canabideitwellenoughintheheart,houseandconversation(P.105).

TT:---------------------(P.100).

ST: But at last he gotmore confidence and then they all turned theirtales and began to deride poorChristian behind his back.And thusmuchconcerningPliable(P.21).

TT:---------------------- (P.32).N.M.:deletion

ST:(ThusithappenedtoIsraelfortheirsin,theyweresentbackagainbythewayoftheRedSea)(P.56).

TT:-----------------------(P.61).Remark: theabovesentencehasbeendeleted in thePersian text,buthasbeentranslatedandbroughtasa footnoteN.M.:deletion+footnote

Forovertranslations,thefollowingexamplescanbestated:ST:-------------(P.100).TT: (fekr mikonam bad nebāshad Ɂu rā por modeɁā bexānim dar

Zebāne motedāvel be Ɂin qabil ashxās por modeɁā miguyand(P.95).


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ST:-----------(P.115).TT:(kelisāyekātolik)(P.108).

ST:Besides,I willadd, that insteadof thosedangers, thoushaltmeetwithmuchsafety,friendship,andcontent(P.24).TT:bejāyebarxordbā Ɂonhamemoxāterāt qarine rahmat va safā va

rezāyatbāshi;vashāhedemaqsudrā darāKushgiri (P.34).Remark: inaboveexample,theunderlinedpart(Lit.andhavethewitnessofintentioninyourarms),isaddedinPersian.

N.M.:expansion

It is also found that the translator, in some cases, recoursed to theadaptation,but this strategydistorted the connotativemeaningof the sourcetext,likethefollowingcase:

ST: They also now comforted each other, that whose lot it was tosufferevenhe shouldhave thebeston’t; thereforeeachman secretlywishedthathemighthavethatpreferment:butcommittingthemselvestotheallwisedisposalofHimthatrulthallthings,withmuchcontentthey abode in the condition inwhich theywere,until they shouldbeotherwisedisposedof(P.120).

TT: yekdigar rā bā ɁinnaviddelxoshmidāshtandkeɁonkasbishtar ranjberadvabefeyzeshahādatresad tālɁeideraxshantarvahessehibishtardāradvanizharyekɁazɁondodarzamirexodxāstārechaninɁeftexāribudand. tavaakol be xodā kardeh, xod rā be soltāne haqiqie jahānsepordand va dar Ɂāleme taslim va rezā be Ɂentezāre qezāye Ɂelāhineshastand (P.111).

The above underlined phrases “feyze shahādat resad” (to receive thehonour of martyrdom), “tavaakol be xodā kardeh” (trusted in God), “be


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ɁentezāreqezāyeɁelāhineshastand”(waiting forGod’sdecision),whichhavereligious loads in Persian seem to be not appropriate equivalents for theoriginaltext.Otherexamplesforsuchadaptationsare:

ST:Yes,andtheyputmeinhopeandfear (P.47).TT:āritamāmeɁinvaqāyemerā darbim– o omidqarār dādehand(P.53).Remark:“hopeandfear” inEnglish ischanged into“bim– o omid”(fearandhope)inPersian.

N.M.:recognizedtranslation

ST:WewereborninthelandofVain– Glory (P.50).

TT: dar zaminimotevaaled shodehim ke shokuh va jalāli Keyre vāqedārad (P.56).

(Lit.inlandbornwerewethatgloryandmagnificencenotrealhas).

N.M.:paraphrase

Conclusion

Problemsof religious culture arenot,however, confined to the contentof amessage; they also involve lexical items aswell as religious restrictions. Forexample,theverbbaptizeisbasicallya ChristiantermorLord’sDay(P.404),which inChristianitymeans Sunday, a day considered as a holy day”whentranslatedintoPersianas ruzemahshar(P.315)( dayofJudgement)losesitsreligiousshadeofmeaningfortheMuslemreaders.

Greaterproblemsareposedby lexical items referring toobjects thatareforbiddenintargetlanguage.A goodexampleofthisisthelexicalitemswhichrefertothevarioustypesofalcoholicbeverages likevine,beer,etc.whichareforbiddeninIslam.

Theoriginaltextbearsanepigram,whichsupportsoneofthethemesofthe


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story. It implies thatGodwill always bewith hismen in his difficultway tosalvation:

Everyman,I willgowiththee,andbethyguide, inthymostneedtogobytheside.

Thisepigram isnotconsideredby thePersian translator,and isabsent intargettext.

The Persian equivalent of the title has a mystic implication. In itsdenotativemeaninginPersian,itmeanstravelling(seir)andtreatment(soluk)of thepilgrim.Ina mysticsense, itmeansa spiritual journeycommittedbyapilgrim.Thisequivalent,however,doesnotconveytheimpliedmeaningoftheoriginalone inwhich theauthorstressed theprogressnot thestaticstanceofthepilgrim.

Inrespecttothereligiousterms,itisobviousthatthegeneraltraditionsandnarrations about the prophets, paradise and hell, to name only a few, aretransferredwiththeleastadaptation.Onthecontrary,thosereligiousconcepts,whichareunique toChristianity,are found tobe themostproblematic.Thiscan be supported by the strategies she has adopted such as frequent use ofdeletionsandadaptations.

On the last, it should be noted that, due to great differences betweenIslamic and Christian values, the way they have been translated by thetranslatorintoPersianinthisbook,seemstobejustifiable.

ReferencesAmin-Zaki, A. (1995). “Religion and cultural considerations in translating

Shakespear into Arabic”, in Anuradha Dingwany and CarolMarier (eds.)(1995), Between Languages and Cultures, Translation and Cross-culturalTexts, PittsburghandLondon:UniversityofPittsburghPress.


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Budick,S.(1996).“Criesofalterity:Culturaltranslatabilityandtheexperienceofsecondaryotherness”,inS.BudickandI.Wolfgang(eds.),TheTranslatabilityofCultures, California:StanfordUniversity.

Bunyan,J.(1982).ThePilgrim’sProgress, Leicester:Charnwood.Delisle, J. (1980).Translation:An InterpretiveApproach,P.Loganetal.Trans.

Ottawa:UniversityofOttawaPress.Hamedi,G.(2002).darseyr-o-solukezāɁer,Tehran:MedhatPublications.Haneef, S. (1985). What Everyone Should Know about Islam and Muslims,

London:LibraryofIslam.Newmark,P.(1981).ApproachestoTranslation, Oxford:PergamonPress._________(1988).A TextbookofTranslation,London:PrenticeHall.Nida,EugeneA.(1964).Towardsa ScienceofTranslating:withSpecialReference

to Principles and Procedures Involved in Bible Translating, Leiden, TheNetherlands:Brill.

Sapir, E. (1949).Culture, Language and Personality, California: University ofCalifornia.

Talon,H.A.(1956).Johnbunyan, London:Longman,Green&co.

Abstract - University of Sistan and Baluchestanijals.usb.ac.ir/article_67_4a7235999cf74c618fccd19ab52bd5a0.pdfNewmark’s Procedures to Translation… 171 translation is an essential

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