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Translating The Untranslatable: The (Un) Translatability of Humor in Arabic Literature

This document provides an overview of the theoretical framework and challenges of translating humor, specifically in Arabic literature. It discusses linguistic and cultural untranslatability and types of humor like verbal, visual, universal and culture-specific. Strategies for translating verbal humor are outlined, including literal translation and explaining humor. Guidelines are provided for a research paper analyzing humor translation techniques in a published English translation of an original Arabic work of fiction. Suggested references on humor translation and related topics are also included.

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Yousef Medo
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152 views15 pages

Translating The Untranslatable: The (Un) Translatability of Humor in Arabic Literature

This document provides an overview of the theoretical framework and challenges of translating humor, specifically in Arabic literature. It discusses linguistic and cultural untranslatability and types of humor like verbal, visual, universal and culture-specific. Strategies for translating verbal humor are outlined, including literal translation and explaining humor. Guidelines are provided for a research paper analyzing humor translation techniques in a published English translation of an original Arabic work of fiction. Suggested references on humor translation and related topics are also included.

Uploaded by

Yousef Medo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Translating the Untranslatable: The

(Un)Translatability of Humor in
Arabic Literature

Fourth Year
Research Orientation Session
(2020-2021)
Theoretical Framework
Untranslatability in Translation

 Untranslatability is when no equivalent can be found

when translating into another language.


  Untranslatability of the text as a result of linguistic or cultural

differences
 Can everything be translated (universalist approaches) or is

nothing, in reality, translatable (monadist approaches)?


 Is untranslatability truly an insurmountable barrier precluding

effective transfer of the meaning of a text to another language?


Types of Untranslatability

 Catford (1965) distinguishes two categories of


untranslatability: linguistic and cultural.
 Linguistic untranslatability occurs due to formal
linguistic incongruities between the character and
structure of the source language and the target language
 Cultural untranslatability occurs when a given concept
functioning in the source culture is entirely absent from
the culture of the target readership
Humor
Humor

 Humor can be broadly defined as those utterances or


situations where the ultimate outcome is laughter
 Humor can be universal, i.e. recognized in more than one
country or society,
 However, the majority of its instances is highly culture-
dependant and embedded in the reality in which a specific
group of people lives.
 Humor has for a long time and is still viewed as
untranslatable and arguably one of the most challenging
phenomena in translation
Types of Humor

 The most basic division of humor includes two categories:


 Verbal humor: every occurrence of a humorous element
which is found in utterances, both oral and written
 Visual humor: one that can be seen and the humorous
quality of which is a product of situational goings-on.
 Some propose another division based on translation
difficulty of humor:
♠ Universal humor ♠ Culture-specific humor
♠ Language-specific humor (e.g. puns)
Techniques of Verbal Humor
Strategies of Humor Translation

Mateo (1995) proposes 9 strategies for translating verbal humor:


1. ST humor becomes TT humor with literal translation
2. ST humor becomes TT humor with 'equivalent effect' translation
3. ST humor is enhanced in TT with some word / expression
4. ST humor is replaced by a 'synonym' in TT
5. ST humor becomes TT sarcasm (i.e. more overt criticism)
6. The hidden meaning of ST humor comes to the surface in TT (no
humor in TT)
7. ST humor is explained in footnote in TT
8. ST humor has literal translation with no humor in TT Humorous
9. ST is completely deleted in TT
Sample Analysis

ST: ‫لصبار‬77‫ غير ا‬7‫مخاخهم‬7‫يأ‬777‫ ف‬7‫طلع‬77‫لليممكني‬77‫ ا‬7‫يه‬7‫ارف‬7


‫خصيًا مشع ا‬77‫نا ش‬7‫أ‬
TT: Personally, I don’t know what will grow in their brains
beside cactus!” (Al Khamissi, 2006)
“The technique of sarcasm is used to show how children
are empty-headed as they have absolutely no activities to
do. The translator uses literal translation here, which
expresses the intended meaning and transfers the
humorous effect of sarcasm. The humor relies on a
universal fact; cactus grows on deserts and dry areas of
land”.
General Guidelines

 You will write a research paper of 10-15 pages


 Your paper will be divided into TWO parts:
 Theoretical Part: a review of literature of the topic of
“Untranslatability of Humor” using the keywords
highlighted in bold in the presentation
 Practical Part: an analysis of humor translation in an
Arabic work of art translated into English using the
techniques and strategies of translation mentioned in the
presentation
General Guidelines

 Only novels, collection of short stories, plays and poems

originally written in Arabic can be used as source text


(ST) in the analysis.
 You are NOT to translate on your own. The ST must have

an English published translation.


General Guidelines

 You are NOT allowed to change the source text you

choose for analysis after submission; so make sure that the


ST you choose contains enough instances of humor to be
analyzed in your research.
Suggested References

Berger, A.A. (1993). An anatomy of humor. London & New York: Routledge
Berger, A.A. (1997). The art of comedy writing. London & New York: Routledge
Catford J. C. (1965). A linguistic theory of translation. London: OUP
Mateo, M. (1995). The Translation of Irony. Meta, 40 (1), 171–178. DOI:
10.7202/003595ar.
Munday, J. (2001). Introducing translation studies: Theories and applications.
London & New York: Routledge.
Raphaelson-West, D. S. (1989). On the Feasibility and Strategies of Translating
Humour. Meta, 34 (1), 128–141, DOI: 10.7202/003913ar
Venuti, L. (2002) Translating Humour, Performance Research, 7:2, 6-
16, DOI: 10.1080/13528165.2002.10871845
Vandaele, J. (2010). Humor in translation. In Y. Gambier & L. van Doorslaer
(Eds.), Handbook of translation studies (Vol. 1). John Benjamins Publishing
Company. https://www.academia.edu/13073366/Humor_in_Translation

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