Cultural context adaptions of children's literature : A case study of The joining
Date
2008-12-05T10:01:25Z
Authors
Salama, Sulaiman Abdullah
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Abstract
This research report is concerned with translation in which culture plays a major role,
and examines the issues involved in translating for a specific audience – in this case
Arabic-speaking Moslem children in Egypt. Translation is firstly discussed in a
broader context, demonstrating that translation needs to be understood either as
“rewriting” or “cultural textualisation” (Snell-Hornby, 1997:123). Secondly, the
translation of children’s literature is discussed as a type of translation operating
through an encounter with both culture and linguistics. Overlaps between language
and culture are located and the importance of contextual adaptation is emphasised in
relation to solutions proposed for addressing the cultural problems raised in the
translation of Peter Slingsby’s The Joining for Egyptian children. In conclusion,
suggestions are made concerning translation as adaptation in the form of possible
guidelines for future translators of children’s literature into Arabic.
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Keywords
translation, Egyptian children, “rewriting”, “cultural textualisation”, Arabic-speaking Moslem children