Basrayatha Culture

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Chapter Five:

5.1.Conclusion

The preceding chapters of this study have looked into the efforts exerted by the translator to overcome the cultural difficulties when trying to decode, and then encode, the culture-bound words and expressions. The previous part of the study has intended to clarify the reasons why there are significant benefits when adopting an insider/emic approach to fingering out the intended meaning.
The reason for choosing Basrayatha is that it is full of many cultural meanings that do not have cultural equivalents in the TT. This approach, insider vs. outsider, brings Basra culture, closer to the Western reader. The approach is a technique which consists of a broad understanding of the ST culture before language. …show more content…

Translating Iraqi/Basra literature into English is not an easy task, as our cultures even within the Arab world are remarkably different. As we can see in the translation of Basrayatha, certain cultural elements have not been translated in a way that makes it more acceptable/understandable to the TT reader. This has not contributed to the understanding of Iraqi/Basra culture. A translator cannot depend on his/her understandings of the text only. Before working on a translation project, the cultural background of the author of the ST in addition to what contributed to the creation of the text must be studied. Choosing equivalent expressions to be used in the TT needs to be selecting with thought and research so as not to cause problems. Furthermore, it has been observed that the translation of culturally bound texts requires special treatment. Many translators simply overlookthe cultural aspects of such texts that consequently lead to a plane text and confusion of the …show more content…

At the same time there are words that have cultural equivalents in the language of the TT, but the translator either manipulated or just left them out. The names and titles of historical events or places in Arab/Iraqi historical events were not translated into their established equivalents in English speaking cultures. A word for word translation is used in the translation process. For example the word بابل, instead of Babylon was transliterated into Babel. The names of the Arab/Israeli wars are translated literary- حرب اوكتوبر and حرب حزيران also translated into the October war and June war. There is an equivalent in the TT culture which is the Yom Kippur war and the six day

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