Arabic Version of The Da Vinci Code Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Arabic Version of The Da Vinci Code - Essay Example Culture plays a key role in good translation. Likewise, a good translation transmits language with simple terms and phrases that can be understood by simple folk in a way that the meaning is not lost or is almost similar with that of the source text. How do you say "the mother of God" if that is not clearly understood in the target language, like in the Muslim or Arab world Muslims understand Mary as the mother of the "prophet" Jesus but not as the mother of God. Culture specific terms have to be dealt with clearly, i.e. the actual message being conveyed by the source language must be the message and meaning that should be understood by the target language. Two cultures are involved in the process. Translation is still highly valued and is required for science, politics, diplomacy, education, literature and many other uses. Although translating for all the variety of purposes is subject to many rules with many books and theories written on methods, translating works of literature alone stands out as most problematic. As Hatim and Mason (1990, p.188) argue, the more culture bound a text is, the more scope there may be for modification. "Translation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in one language by the same message and/or statement in another language" (Newmark, 1981, cited in Hariyanto, S.) Translating a sentence of the Da Vinci Code from English to Arabic requires a lot of skill and knowledge to be able to convey the real intention and meaning from the source text to target language. There are many considerations in this translation. Two cultures have to be properly understood in going into the meaning and message of the whole literature or book. Words are not translated literally but should be translated in such a way that they can be read between the lines, the way it should be understood by the Arab audience. Cultural elements within translation have been researched; authors such as Dickens, Harvey and Baker have discussed the techniques used in order to circumvent problems. They suggest four degrees of cultural transposition, from the extreme exoticism to the other extreme, cultural transplantation, with two intermediate degrees, cultural borrowing and communicative translation. Cultural transposition by Dickins et al. will, therefore, be the focus of this research. Research Questions: 1. What is translation 2. What is the relation between language and culture - translation and culture 3. What is faithfulness in translation And should the translator be faithful to the source text or target text 4. How should the translator deal with culture-specific terms in a text 5. Do the books I am going to examine meet the needs and expectations of their readers