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244760

The Power of Names: Name Translation in Young Adult Fiction

Article

Last updated: 04 Jan 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Children's Literature

Abstract

The translation of any literary work is never an automatic process as it always involves many problems. The research tackles the importance of translating character names in literature as one of the most challenging activities that translators face. Names usually have various allusions indicating gender, age, geographical origin, history, specific meaning, playfulness of language, and cultural connotations. The research aims to draw attention to the importance of the cultural elements relevant to the choice of names and their translation. The research starts with a general theoretical background that addresses the translation of proper nouns. Then it discusses the importance of names in shaping the characters and sheds light on the question of whether names carry meaning or not. Following this, the research explains the translation strategies proposed by Jan Van Collie (2006) for translating character names, and the problems faced in translating proper names. The study investigates the different translation strategies used for translating character names in several works with special reference to Madeleine L'Engle's (1962) A Wrinkle in Time. Analysis has revealed that "reproduction" is the most frequently used strategy leading to the foreignization of the translated texts. Such foreignization technique, the researcher claims, hinders the appreciation of the work of art as it alienates the reader from the culture of the text.

DOI

10.21608/ijcws.2022.142040.1012

Keywords

Translating proper names, Domestication, foreignization, Reproduction, substitution

Authors

First Name

Amal

Last Name

Nouh

MiddleName

Ahmed

Affiliation

Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science and Education, Ain Shams University, Egypt

Email

amal.nouh@women.asu.edu.eg

City

Cairo

Orcid

-

First Name

Jehan

Last Name

Farouk

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science and Education, Ain Shams University, Egypt

Email

-

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

2

Article Issue

2

Related Issue

31160

Issue Date

2022-04-01

Receive Date

2022-05-31

Publish Date

2022-04-01

Page Start

34

Page End

62

Print ISSN

2682-4361

Online ISSN

2682-437X

Link

https://ijcws.journals.ekb.eg/article_244760.html

Detail API

https://ijcws.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=244760

Order

4

Type

Original Article

Type Code

1,246

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

International Journal of Childhood and Women’s Studies

Publication Link

https://ijcws.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

The Power of Names: Name Translation in Young Adult Fiction

Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023