Cultural Problems & Other Translation Issues

I- Cultural Problems in Translation

Culture: The total set of beliefs, attitudes, customs, behavior, and social habits etc..., of
the members of a particular society".
It is called “ the way of living for an entire society.

Cultural translation problems are the result of the differences between languages as a
set of lexemes, and meanings, as between cultures as ways of expressing oneself
identity, living style.

● Languages are loaded with cultural terms and expressions called culture specific terms.
E. Nida (1 964:"the person who is engaged in translating from one language into another
ought to be constantly aware of the contrast in the entire range of culture represented
by the two languages".

Culture-specific terms refer to words, phrases, or concepts that are unique to a

particular culture and may not have direct equivalents in other cultures or languages. In
the context of film translation, culture-specific terms can pose challenges for
translators because they require careful consideration to ensure that the meaning and
cultural nuances are accurately conveyed to the target audience.

These terms can include:

1. Idioms and expressions: These are phrases or expressions that have a figurative
meaning peculiar to a particular language or culture. Translating idiomatic expressions
literally may not make sense in another language, so translators often need to find
equivalent expressions that convey the same idea.

2. Cultural references: Films often contain references to specific cultural elements such
as customs, traditions, historical events, or popular figures. Translators need to ensure
that these references are understood by the target audience by either providing
explanations or finding equivalents that are relevant to the target culture.

3. Slang and colloquialisms: Slang terms and colloquial expressions are commonly
used in films to reflect the language spoken by characters in a particular social or
regional context. Translators must be familiar with the target language's equivalent
slang and colloquialisms to accurately convey the tone and style of the original
dialogue.

4. Names of places, people, and products: Certain names may be culturally specific
and may not have direct equivalents in other languages. Translators may need to decide
whether to keep the original names or adapt them to make them more accessible to the
target audience.
 5. Humor and wordplay: Humor often relies on wordplay, puns, or cultural references
that may not translate directly into another language. Translators may need to find
alternative ways to convey humor that resonates with the target audience.

In film translation, effectively handling culture-specific terms is crucial for preserving

the authenticity and meaning of the original content while making it accessible and
relatable to viewers from different cultural backgrounds.

In ‘In Other Words’, Mona Baker presents the common non-equivalents to which a
translator come across while translating from SL into TL Culture specific concepts.

➢ The SL concept which is not lexicalized in TL.

➢ The SL word which is semantically complex.
➢ The source and target languages make different distinction in meaning.
➢ The TL lacks a super ordinate.
➢ The TL lacks a specific term (hyponym).
➢ Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective.
➢ Differences in expressive meaning.
➢ Differences in form.
➢ Differences in frequency and purpose of using specific forms.
➢ The use of loan words in the source text.

Some strategies introduced by Newmark for dealing with cultural gap:

1. Naturalization: A strategy when a SL word is transferred into TL text in its original form.
Example:Ramadan kareem ‫رمضان كريم‬
2. Neutralization: Neutralization is a kind of paraphrase at the level of word. When the SL item
is generalized (neutralized) it is paraphrased with some culture free words.
3. Explanation as footnote: The translator may wish to give extra information to the TL reader.
He would explain this extra information in a footnote. It may come at the bottom of the page,
at the end of chapter or at the end of the book.
4. Cultural equivalent: The SL cultural word is translated by TL cultural word.

II- The Translation of Culture-bound Terms

Historically bound references

Geographical

● Objects from physical geography

● Geographical objects

● Endemic animal and plant species

Ethnographic

● Objects from daily life

 ● References to work

● References to art & culture

● References to descent

● Measures

Socio-political

● References to administrative or territorial units

● References to institutions and functions

● References to socio-cultural life

● References to military institutions and objects

Strategies for subtitling

Loan

Calque

Explicitation

Substitution

Transposition

Humour: The quality that makes a situation or entertainment funny: a novel full of humour.

What is that quality?

What causes laughter?

Is it translatable?

The Superiority Theory vs. The Incongruity Theory

The Superiority Theory : “our laughter expresses feelings of superiority over other people or over a
former state of ourselves (understood an incongruity)”

The Incongruity Theory : “the perception of something incongruous—something that violates our
mental patterns and expectations”

Irony: There is some kind of contrast or incongruity between what is said and what can be inferred
from the situation.
Setting Priorities:

● Top: e.g. TV comedy, a joke-story, one-liners, etc.

● Middle: e.g. happy-ending love/adventure stories, TV quiz shows.

● Marginal: e.g. as pedagogical device in school, Shakespeare’s tragedies.

● Prohibited: e.g. certain moments of high drama, tragedy, horror stories, laws, and any other
inappropriate situations.

Translating Different Types of Humour

1) International or bi-national jokes:

● Humorous effect “does not depend on either language-specific word play or familiarity with
unknown specific aspects of the source culture.”

➢ The joke should not cause major subtitling problems.

2) Jokes referring to a national culture or institution:

● A joke focuses on an institution or other culture-bound reference that is unknown to the

target culture.

➢ Adaptation is required.

III- 5yueyh
3) Jokes reflecting a community’s sense of humour

● Comparable, but of a somewhat different nature all the same, is the sense of humour that is
typical of a particular country or nationality. (‘community based’, rather than ‘national’)

4) Language-dependent jokes:

● Wordplays or puns (verbally expressed humour)

➢ It can rarely be translated literally. (substitution and compensation)

➢ homophones (different writing, identical pronunciation),

➢ homographs (same spelling, different pronunciation),

➢ homonyms (same spelling and pronunciation, different meaning)

➢ paronyms (approximate sound and spelling)

Puns:

5) Visual jokes:

➢ Since, in visual humour, the image obviously does the job, translators can rest on their
laurels.

6) Aural jokes:
 ● an attempt to include noises as well as the metalinguistic characteristics of speech, e.g.
accents and intonation

● (your, Brian, rascal, spirit, bravado, derring-do)

7) Complex jokes: combine two or more of the above features

o visual information and metaphor

Ideological issues: whose voice and whose message