Semantic Shifts in Translating the Pistachio Seller: Challenges from Arabic to English
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25130/Lang.9.2.5Keywords:
Arabic-English translation; semantic shifts; The Pistachio Seller; lexical equivalence; figurative language; cultural adaptation; translation studiesAbstract
This study will be covering the semantic shift in The Pistachio Seller by Reem Bassiouney, Osman Nusairi (tr.), the English translation. Semantic shifts — the changes in meaning that arise during translation — can fundamentally affect a novel’s characterization, representation of culture and thematic layers. This highlights the thin line that Arabic English literary translation walks between being faithful and being readable. Semantic equivalence must be maintained, paratextual features may be included in order to add a layer to cultural references, and lexical precision will be refined for the sake of accuracy. The study derives its translation theories from equivalence theory (Nida, 1964), domestication vs. foreignization (Venuti, 1995), and Baker’s (2018) view of non-equivalence, to analyze translator strategies. Employing a comparative textual analysis, this study illuminates relevant semantic shifts in lexis, figurative language and cultural localizations and judges their impact on English-speaking readers’ engagement with the novel. The findings show that lexical shifts change the characterization of characters, figurative distortions dilute the novel’s poetic and rhetorical impact, and cultural dilution softens references to religion and society, thus changing the original message. In doing so, the study adds to wider debates around the strategies employed in literary translation and reiterates the importance of these approaches when animating Arabic fiction through translation for the world over.
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