Translating Culturally-specific Items In Literary Texts From English Into Arabic And Vice Versa

Abstract

The translation of cultural items found in literary texts is a more complex process than it may seem to certain translators. This paper attempts to shed light on various aspects of the translation of culture in literary texts from English into Arabic and vice versa; this includes the discussion of three main variables: ‘cultural translation’, ‘culturally-specific items’ (CSIs) and ‘literary translation’. To do so, following the descriptive-analytical method, this paper attempts inter alia to review literature on the origin of cultural translation and its relationship with translation studies, on the difficulties literary translators may face when translating CSIs, and on the procedures suggested in response to those difficulties. The results have shown that the concept of ‘cultural translation’ may have taken its origin from anthropology and, then, put into the context of translation studies, that literary translation is more complex than technical translation, that translating CSIs requires translator’s awareness of the differences between the source culture and the target culture, and that various procedures can be used to translate CSIs.