Umm Al-Qura University

Umm Al-Qura University

Issue 26: August, 2020/Article-8


- 2022/10/05

Translating Idiomatic Expressions in Literary Texts Saving the Pragmatic Meaning

 

Tahani Saleh Alabdali
Assistant Professor, Dept of English Language and Literature, College of Languages Translation, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
Issue: 26 | Pages:389-418| August 2020 | https://doi.org/10.54940/ll56275333PDF

Abstract

This paper investigates a problematic issue in many texts, particularly literary, that is of rendering hidden pragmatic meanings of idiomatic expressions into the TL. In order to arrive at the best strategy to do so from the perspective of the TL audience, in this case native speakers of English, the researcher provided the targeted audience with multiple translations of a single idiomatic expression, in context, and asked them to choose the best suiting translation from their point of view. Baker's strategies for translating idioms  was the framework adopted for this study (Baker, 2018). The findings emphasized the importance of conveying the pragmatic meaning of idiomatic expressions with reservation of the aesthetic elements of the text. They also suggested that pragmatic and cultural highlights, in addition to translation strategies curricula, should be part of translation training programs.

Keywords

Literary translation; Baker's framework; pragmatic function; translation of idioms. 

How to Cite 

Alabdali, T. (August 2020), Translating Idiomatic Expressions in Literary Texts Saving the Pragmatic Meaning, Journal of Umm Al-Qura University for Language Sciences and Literature, Issue. 26, pp. 389–418. https://doi.org/10.54940/ll56275333

License

 

Loading