Translation of Allusions

Allusions and Their TranslationBy Amjaad A. Alrajeh

[email protected]

Ritva Leppihalme (1997)

Allusion

● “ALLUSION. Latin alludere, to play with, to jest, to refer to. A

reference to characters and events of mythology, legends,

history (Scott, 1965)

● ALLUSION. Tacit reference to another literary work, to another

art, to history, to contemporary figures, or the like. (Preminger,

1965)

● A reference, usually brief, often casual, occasionally indirect, to

a person, event, or condition presumably familiar but

sometimes obscure or unknown to the reader. (Shaw, 1976)

● A reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place, or event, or

to another literary work or passage (Abrams, 1984)” (cited in

Leppihalme, 1997, p.6).

Culture Pumps

● 'A culture bump occurs when an individual finds himself or

herself in a different, strange, or uncomfortable situation when

interacting with persons of a different culture'. (Carol M.

Archer ,1986, pp.170-1)

● Allusion is a kind of ‘culture bump’. “They are expected to

convey a meaning that goes beyond the mere words used.”

(Leppihalme, 1997, P.viii)

Functions of Allusions

1. Creating humor

2. Delineating characters

3. Carrying themes

Types of Allusions

● Historical allusion

● Literary allusion

● Biblical allusion

● Popular culture

● The arts (Kirillove, 2003)

Forms of Allusions

1. Proper Name (PN)

allusions

2. Key-Phrase (KP) allusions

(Leppihalme, 1997)

Translation Strategies for Allusions from Leppihalme (1997)

Translation Strategies for PN allusions

(1a) Retention of the name as such

David → دافید

(1b) Retention of the name, adding some guidance

David, the prophet →داود

Cupid →كیوبید، إلھ الحب

(1c) Retention of the name with detailed explanations

(footnotes etc.)

*David → داود

*David is a Prophet and a king. He is also known as a warrior who

slew Goliath.

(2a) Replacement of the name with another SL name

God's son→المسیح

Tower of ivory → مریم العذراء

Gate of heaven and Morning star are some of titles of Virgin Mary used

by Catholics. Since TL readers from another religion may not understand

these words the translator uses the general word.

(2b) Replacement of the name with a target-language name

Romeo and Juliet→قیس ولیلى

(3a) Omission of the name, but the sense conveyed through a

common noun

Jehosephat→أرض المیعاد

Jehosephat is the name of a valley where, according to Joel 3:2, the God

of Israel will gather all nations for judgment.

(3b) Omission of the name and allusion completely

Translation Strategies for KP allusions

A Use of a standard translation

ST: As father of the culprit... I am fined one guinea ... and with that I wash the ashes out of

my hair

TT: بصفتي والد المتھمة فأنا محكوم علي بغرامة جنیھ وبذلك أندم في التراب والرماد

B Minimum change or literal translation

ST: As father of the culprit... I am fined one guinea ... and with that I wash the ashes out of

my hair

TT: بصفتي والد المتھمة فأنا محكوم علي بغرامة جنیھ وبذلك أنفض الرماد عن شعري

C. Extra-allusive guidance added in the text

ST: As father of the culprit... I am fined one guinea ... and with that I wash the ashes

out of my hair

TT: بصفتي والد المتھمة فأنا محكوم علي بغرامة جنیھ وبذلك أندم في التراب والرماد كما جاء في اإلنجیل

D. The use of footnotes, endnotes, translator's prefaces and other explicit

explanations

TT:* بصفتي والد المتھمة فأنا محكوم علي بغرامة جنیھ وبذلك أندم في التراب والرماد كما جاء في اإلنجیل

*في اإلنجیل والعادات القدیمة یعتبر وضع الرماد على الشعر إشارة إلى الحزن والتوبة

E. The addition of intra-allusive features such as marked words or syntax

that depart from the style of the context

ST: As father of the culprit... I am fined one guinea ... and with that I wash the ashes

out of my hair

TT: بصفتي والد المتھمة فأنا محكوم علي بغرامة جنیھ وبذلك”أنفض الرماد عن شعري”

F. Replacement by a preformed TL item

TT: بصفتي والد المتھمة فأنا محكوم علي بغرامة جنیھ وبذلك أكفر عن ذنوبي

G. Reduction of the allusion to sense by rephrasal

H. Re-creation, using a fusion of techniques:

ST: As father of the culprit... I am fined one guinea ... and with that I wash the ashes

out of my hair

TT: بصفتي والد المتھمة فأنا محكوم علي بغرامة جنیھ وبذلك أنفض الرماد عن شعري وأكفر عن ذنوبي

I. Omission of the allusion.

Christiane Nord (1990)

According to Nord (1990) there is no significant difference between

allusions and quotations (p. 4). She suggests the following translation

strategies:

(a) “Direct quotation (U ̈bernahme): The ST quotation is inserted into

the target text without any changes.

(b) Transcription/transliteration: The ST quotation is transcribed or

transliterated in the target-cultural alphabet.

(c) Substitution: The ST quotation is rendered by means of an

existing TL formulation (the appropriate target-cultural source reference

can be included, if necessary).

(d) Literal translation (wo ̈rtliche U ̈bersetzung): The ST quotation is

translated as literally as possible, using idiomatically and syntactically

correct TL.

(e) Paraphrase: The meaning of the ST quotation is conveyed in TL

but the translated passage is not marked as an exact quotation.

(f) Adaptation: The ST quotation is replaced by an original TL

quotation with a corresponding function.

(g) Expansion/reduction: An explanation adapted to the

background knowledge of the target-cultural receiver is added to

the context of the quotation or an explanation adapted to the

background knowledge of the source-cultural receiver is omitted.

(h) The quotation is omitted or possibly replaced by another

device (Ersatz) to achieve the intended effect”.

References

Leppihalme, R. 1997. Culture Bumps: An Empirical

Approach to the Translation of Allusions. Cleve don:

Multilingual MattersLtd.

Mah ̣fu ̄z ̣, N. (1957). Qas ̣r al-shawq. Al-Qa ̄hirah: Maktabat

Mis ̣r.

Mah ̣fu ̄z ̣, N., Hutchins, W. M., Kenny, O. E., & Kenny, L. M.

(2011). Cairo trilogy. Palace of desire. New York: Anchor Books.

Nord,C. ( 1991) Text Analysis in Translation : Theory,

Methodology and Didactic Application of a Model for

Translation – Oriented Text Analysis, Amsterdam: Rodopi.

References

Pirnajmuddin, H., & Niknasab, L. (2011). Translating

Political Allusions: A Survey of A Portrait of the Artist as a

Young Man by James Joyce. TPLS Theory and Practice in

Language Studies, 1(7). DOI:10.4304/tpls.1.7.851-860