Open AccessForeignising versus Domesticating Translations of Arabic Colour-related Expressions
Author(s) -
Amal Abdelsattar Metwally
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of language teaching and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-0684
pISSN - 1798-4769
DOI - 10.17507/jltr.1002.21
Subject(s) - paraphrase , domestication , domestication and foreignization , arabic , generalization , translation studies , linguistics , translation (biology) , consistency (knowledge bases) , skopos theory , expression (computer science) , epistemology , computer science , artificial intelligence , perspective (graphical) , philosophy , genetics , biochemistry , chemistry , messenger rna , gene , biology , programming language
The present study attempts to focus on the translation of colour-related idioms and binomials as culture-specific expressions and questions the validity of the notions of foreignisation and domestication brought to the fore of translation studies by Venuti (1995). However, it is not intended here to question the quality of Venuti’s advocacy of foreignising translation, but rather to apply the notions of foreignisation and domestication, as well as paraphrase as one mode of domestication in translating colour-related expressions. More particularly, the study examines whether it is possible to observe any form of consistency in the strategies used for the translation of such culturally-bound expressions. This is attempted under the framework of the skopos theory and Berlin/Key studies on colours (1969). The paper describes already-existing translations in order to make generalizations about translation methods. Such generalization may be taken as guidelines for the translation of culture-bound expressions in general. The present study explores the translation of 84 Arabic colour-related expressions, and reaches the conclusion that “paraphrase” is a significant strategy for translating Arabic colour-related expressions into English due to the distant cultural backgrounds and the divergent historical affiliations of the two languages.