Cultural Aspects of Idiom Translation. Case Study: "Three Men in A Boat" and "Three Men On The Bummel"
Cultural Aspects of Idiom Translation. Case Study: "Three Men in A Boat" and "Three Men On The Bummel"
Cultural Aspects of Idiom Translation. Case Study: "Three Men in A Boat" and "Three Men On The Bummel"
DOI: 10.5923/j.jalll.20170305.01
The Humanities and Pedagogical Sciences Department, State University “B.P. Hasdeu”, Cahul, The Republic of Moldova
Abstract Studies on humour translation acknowledge the cultural priority in terms of message and amusement convection
from source to target text. The tendency towards moving up and down the cultural translation scale which ranges from
exoticism to cultural transplantation (Hervey, 1994:28) is reflected in translators’ effort to reach maximal closeness to the
original text. One of the constitutive elements of the English comic literary text, the idiom, reflects the cultural identity of the
source text humour as well as its linguistic value. Its lexical structure and semantic integrity determine the equivalence effect
achievement. From these perspectives, the current paper aims at identifying the idiomatic expressions from J.K. Jerome’s
novels “Three Men in a Boat” and “Three Men on the Bummel”, at analyzing their target variants in terms of the applied
cultural translation strategies and humorous effect conveyance.
Keywords Idiomatic expression, Culture-specific items, Translation strategy, Diachronic perspective
From the cultural viewpoint of idiom translation, Darbelnet (1958), Catford (1964); Cerdá Massó (1986),
translator’s freedom is discovered in domestication (Venuti, Newmark (1988), Harvey (2003:2), Espindola and
1992), a translation strategy which “leaves the writer alone Vasconcellos (2006:24), Behtash and Firoozkoohi
as much as possible and moves the reader towards the writer” (2009:1578), Santoyo (2010:15), Guerra (2012).
(Schleiermacher, 1938 qtd. by Xun Lu:5) and “seeks to Furthermore, the target language variants offered by the
achieve complete naturalness of the expression by means of Romanian translators Levițchi (1957), Corduneanu (1959),
dynamic equivalence” (Nida, 1982), by means of Duțescu (1972), Bătrânu (1985), Decei (2006), Nițescu
“foreignness minimization” (Yang [2010:77-80], Munday (2009) are examined and compared in order to disclose to
[2001:146-147]) and by means of “adapting translation to the what extent the semantic and cultural translation strategies
context of the target language “(Lutas, n.d). have been applied. Thus, this comparative analysis is
bi-directional: first, it focuses on translation strategy
detection and their measurement on a percentage scale;
3. Method second-it dwells on showing their fluctuation along the time
axis which ranges from 1957 to 2009.
Our case study builds upon the close reading of J.K. Consider the instances below:
Jerome’s novels “Three Men in a Boat” and “Three Men on 1. Using an idiom of similar meaning and form reveals
the Bummel”, on the idiom identification and classification linguistic, semantic and cultural similarities between SL and
into culture-specific and culture-non-specific according to TL.
the criteria provided by such scholars like Vinay and
The old man burst into Bătrânul izbucni în Bătrânul izbucni în Bătrânul izbucni în Bătrânul a izbucnit Bătrânul izbucni în
tears. (Jerome, lacrimi lacrimi. Corduneanu plâns. Bătrânu în lacrimi. Decei lacrimi.
1889:65) Levițchi (1957:69) (1959:116) (1985:78) (2006:99) (Nițescu, 2009:70)
The idiomatic expression poke your nose, which stands for trying to discover things that do not involve you, was translated
by means of the Romanian equivalents să-ți vâri/ bagi nasul having the same meaning a se amesteca într-o afacere, într-o
problemă (care nu-1 privește). The same technique is applied to translating the idiom burst into tears- a izbucni în plâns/
lacrimi which means to cry. The same strategy was employed to idiom translation in the novel “Three Men on the Bummel”
where the idiom in the flesh and blood, which stands for a living human body, was translated by a Romanian equivalent
similar in form and meaning în carne și oase.
Source Text J.K. Jerome (1901:160) Target Text Duțescu (1972:303-4) Target Text Decei (2006:150)
2. Using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form is an alternative to the existing equivalent in the TL. For example,
the idiom playing the fool, besides being translated by its Romanian equivalent face pe prostul which is similar in form and
meaning, the translators Levițchi (1957) and Nițescu (2009), chose to preserve the meaning but to bring slight variations in
form such as in o face pur și simplu pe nebunul. Furthermore, the translator Bătrânu (1985) proceeded bringing variations to
the form still remaining close to the original meaning își face de cap whereas the translator Decei (2006) veered away from
the original meaning and form using a different idiom își bate joc de tine which is relevant to the general contextual meaning:
Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Learning 2017, 3(5): 103-109 105
Target Text
Source Text J.K. Target Text Levițchi Target Text Bătrânu Target Text Decei Target Text Nițescu
Corduneanu
Jerome (1889:19) (1957:17) (1985:25) (2006:26) (2009:19)
(1959:44)
Instead of helping Fără îndoială,
În loc să te ajute, ai Ai impresia, că în loc În loc să te ajute, ai
you, it seems to you Ți se pare că celălalt tovarășul
impresia că ajutorul să te ajute, amicul tău impresia că celălalt o
that the other man is în loc să ajute face pe Dumneavoastră în loc
tău o face pur și își bate joc de tine. face pur și simplu pe
simply playing the prostul pur și simplu. să vă ajute, pur și
simplu pe nebunul. nebunul.
fool. simplu își face de cap.
The translators of “Three Men on the Bummel” did use the same strategy when translating the idiom lost his temper though
it has a Romanian equivalent a-și pierde cumpătul. Yet, the translators preferred to vary its form își ieși din fire despite its
close meaning:
Source Text J.K. Jerome(1901:58) Target Text Duțescu (1972:237) Target Text Decei (2006:56)
Then he lost his temper and tried bullying
Apoi își ieși din fire și încercă s-o brutalizeze. Apoi își ieși din fire și încercă să o brutalizeze..
the thing.
2. Rephrasing implies using another lexical-grammatical pattern but preserving the semantic value of the idiom. Consider
the instances below:
Target Text
Source Text J.K. Target Text Levițchi Target Text Bătrânu Target Text Decei Target Text Nițescu
Corduneanu
Jerome (1889:135) (1957:145) (1985:156) (2006:205) (2009:150)
(1959:216)
Nu cred că
Nimic nu-l Nu mi-am închipuit,
I never saw such a Nu mi-am închipuit, niciodată că a răzui există un lucru mai Nu mi-am închipuit,
murdărește pe om
thing as potato zău, niciodată că e cartofi și a te tăvăli în groaznic decât răzuitul zău, niciodată că e
cum îl murdărește
scraping to make a atâta bătaie de cap să cartofilor pentru a atâta bătaie de cap
curățatul gunoi este același
fellow in a mess. cureți cartofi. întoarce pe dos o să cureți cartofi.
cartofilor. lucru.
ființă umană.
In these instances, the rephrasing strategy is obvious since it involves changes at lexical and grammatical level. For
example, Levițchi (1957) and Nițescu’s (2009) variants că e atâta bătaie de cap, illustrates a change from a verbal to a
nominal phrase and big lexical difference. There is even a slight difference in meaning: make somebody in a mess (make dirty)
and bătaie de cap- frământare a minții (mental effort). Other instances, though preserve the status of verbal groups denoting
the state of becoming dirty, consist of different lexical patterns: make a fellow in a mess- nimic nu-l murdărește pe om- a te
tăvăli în gunoi- a întoarce pe dos o ființă umană.
Rephrasing occurs in “Three Men on the Bummel” where transformations are made rather at the lexical level: take
somebody’s time- nu se grăbesc while the semantic value is preserved.
3. Omitting (Baker, 1993:73-78)- a technique of dropping the idiom in the TT because of a not finding its equivalent
Fortunately, the Romanian translators who translated both novels avoid applying omission, which proves their remarkable
skill and a certain cultural likeness between SL and TL. However, cultural clashes exist and they are influential to translation
efficiency.
We believe that cross-cultural awareness in idiom translation must be given more attention since fixed expressions may be
problematic because of the apparent similarity in meaning or reflect SC realia which have no equivalents in the TL. We also
consider that strategies such as foreignization and domestication (Venuti, 1995) can be applied to idiom translation.
Moreover, we support the translators’ attempts to employ cultural adaptation in the cases when idiomatic situations cannot be
found in TL because of the cultural clashes between languages.
We decided to address this area in order to demonstrate again that considering only the linguistic aspect in idiom
translation is insufficient without considering the cultural dimensions of it since they reflect their cultural background. The
instances below have been translated either by means of foreignization and domestication:
106 Irina Pusnei: Cultural Aspects of Idiom Translation. Case Study:
“Three Men in a Boat” and “Three Men on the Bummel”
Target Text
Source Text J.K. Target Text Levițchi Target Text Bătrânu Target Text 4Decei Target Text
Corduneanu
Jerome(1889:26) (1957:24) (1985:25) (2006:36) 5Nițescu (2009:27)
(1959:55-56)
For example the culture-specific idiom do not care two pence for them was translated by means of foreignization by the
translator Bătrânu (1985), who borrowed the culture-specific element denoting English currency unit vă prețuiesc nu mai
mult de două pence. Despite the obvious translation literalness, the present translator emphasizes his presence in the
translation process which cannot be stated about the others who chose to domesticate the culture-specific element. The
translators Levițchi and Nițescu employed cultural adaptation do not care two pence for them- nu le dă nici o importanță, nu
le pasă de ei nici cât negru sub unghie- … whereas Cordunreanu (1959) chose dynamic equivalence nu le dă nici o
importanță.. The translator Lia Decei (2006) domesticated only the culture specific-element pence-doi bani by means of
cultural equivalence: do not care two pence for them-care nu dau doi bani pe ei.
In the instance selected from the novel „Three Men on the Bummel” domestication is employed when translating the
culture-specific idiom hae’d the throat o’ a Loch Tay salmon which connotes always being thirsty and longing for alcohol
after eating some Scottish salty fish. Its cultural specificity lies in employing the Scottish culture-specific element Loch Tay
salmon which would seem totally unfamiliar and weird to the Romanian translator. In order to bring the TT closer to the
Romanian readers both translators used domestication; Duțescu (1972) trying to preserve the linguistic pattern parc-aș fi fost
înțărcat cu lacherdă whereas Decei (2006) domesticated not only the linguistic but also the semantic value: parc-aș fi Setilă.
Source Text J.K. Jerome(1901:95) Target Text Duțescu (1972:95) Target Text Decei (2006:90)
It’s a sair thing for wife an’ bairns when the guid Mare pacoste pe nevastă și pe plozi când
man canna keep awa’ frae the glass; an’ when alde ăl cumsecade nu se dă dus de lângă Tare-i trist pentru nevastă și plozi când bărbatul
the scent of the whusky comes to me it’s just as pahar și mie când îmi adie pe la nas miros de nu se poate ține departe de pahar; și eu când simt
though I hae’d the throat o’ a Loch Tay salmon; whisky, parc-aș fi fost înțărcat cu lacherdă; miros de whisky, parc-aș fi Setilă; torn și torn
it just gaes doon an’ doon, an’ there’s nae filling torn și torn în mine, doar-doar oi stinge până nu mai știu de mine.
o’ me.” pojarul, și tot nu-l poci potoli
As for the other idioms enframed in the same context, it is noteworthy that canna keep awa’ frae the glass was translated by
means of equivalence: nu se dă dus de lângă pahar and nu se poate ține departe de pahar whereas the idiom an’ there’s nae
filling o’ me.” was omitted by Duțescu and translated by equivalence by Decei nu mai știu de mine.
4. Findings
The observation of the corpus has revealed some discrepancy among the employed strategies to both novels. In “Three
Men in a Boat”, for instance, priority is given to SM and SF=TM and TF (source meaning and source form = target meaning
and target form) translation strategy whereas in “Three Men on the Bummel”, the paraphrase is the favoured translation
strategy. As for the least employed strategy, the omission is to be mentioned as being used in 16 instances of the first novel
and in none of the second. When placed on a timeline, it becomes clear that translation by idioms similar in meaning was
favoured by the translators who performed their translations in 1957 and in 2009, translation by target language idioms
similar in form- in 2006 and 2009, translation by target language idioms different in meaning- in 1959 and 2006, translation
by paraphrase- in 2006.
Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Learning 2017, 3(5): 103-109 107
idiomatic
70
Total number of translated idioms 60
“Three Men in a Boat” idioms similar
50 in form
40
430 instances idioms different
30 in meaning
S.M=SF SM=DF Paraphrase Omission 20
paraphrase
10
191 69 154 16
0
omissions
In the case of “Three Men on the Bummel”, such translation strategies as idiomatic translation (idioms similar in meaning),
translation by idioms similar in form, and paraphrase were used with more instances in the translation variant produced in
1972 except for those translated by idioms different in meaning which were employed in 2006 with more instances.
60 idiomatic
Total number of translated idioms “Three Men on the
Bummel” 50
idioms similar in
40
165 instances
form
30
idioms different
S.M=SF SM=D Paraphrase Omission 20 in meaning
10 paraphrase 30
43 39 83 -
0
omissions
As far as the cultural translation strategies are considered, a tendency towards domestication can be noted in both novels
with a slight predominance over foreignization in the case of „Three Men in a Boat” and with no foreignization in „Three
Men on the Bummel”. Situational equivalence is achieved in the majority of instances of the first novel but in fewer of the
second novel. The time axis shows that cultural equivalence was achieved to its highest extent in 1985 and 2006,
foreignization was favoured in 1985, domestication-in 1959, cultural adaptation- in 1957 and 1959.
8
cultural
Total number of translated idioms containing culture-bound 7
equivalence
items 6
“Three Men in a Boat” foreignizing
5
4
40 domestication
3
Situational Cultural 2
Foreignizing Domestication 1 cultural
equivalence Adaptation
adaptation
0
36 19 21 4 --------------
In “Three Men on the Bummel”, no fluctuation of translation strategies can be traced along time. Despite the fact that both
variants are situated at different ends of the axis, the translation strategies under analysis were used to the same extent.
108 Irina Pusnei: Cultural Aspects of Idiom Translation. Case Study:
“Three Men in a Boat” and “Three Men on the Bummel”
6
Total number of translated idioms containing
culture-bound items 5 cultural
“Three Men on the Bummel” equivalence
4
foreignizing
Ame extent 10 3
2 domestication
Situational Cultural
Foreignizing Domestication
equivalence Adaptation 1 cultural
adaptation
0
7 - 10 3
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Corpus Material
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