Foreign Words

Example 45

ST "Ma'am, Sergeant Rupert, NOPD." (p. 111)

TT1 “Ben New York emniyetinden ÇavuĢ Rupert'im.” (p. 105)

TT2 "Hanımefendi, ben ÇavuĢ Rupert, New Orleans Emniyeti'nden," dedi. (p. 124)

TT1 TT2

Applied Strategy (Venuti)

Foreignization Foreignization

Applied Strategy (Aixela)

Conservation (Linguistic translation)

Conservation (Linguistic translation)

Most of the action in The Pelican Brief takes place in New Orleans; as a result, Grisham makes a reference to the police department of New Orleans with its acronym, i.e., NOPD, which stands for The New Orleans Police Department. Both TT1 translator and TT2 translator resorted to Venuti‟s foreignization approach via Aixela‟s linguistic translation strategy. TT1 translator evidently mistranslated the acronym NOPD as New York emniyeti (New York police department) because it is not The New York Police Department in question here. Moreover, we see that it was translated it with lower case, which might result from either his preference or editorial mistake. This reminds us of the fact that translators should be cognizant of the source text CSIs in order to avoid mistranslation.

In contrast, the TT2 translator evidently was aware of what the acronym denoted in the source text and managed to translate it as New Orleans Emniyeti. In this way, she used a reference in the target text whose denotation is close to the source text. The analysis shows that both translators remained visible as translators by linguistic translation strategy. As noted by Aixela (1996, p. 62) objects and institutions foreign to the receiving culture but understandable because analogous and even homologous to the native ones usually entails linguistic (non-cultural) translation.

produced in the US. In The Pelican Brief, Grisham makes use of several instances of CSIs that convey the cultural otherness of this diversity. This section seeks to analyze how translators reacted in the face of these CSIs in light of translation strategies offered by Venuti and Aixela. As pointed out by Aixela (1996, p. 69), the references to CSIs belonging to third cultures are a special case and should be treated as such.

Example 46

ST We have no suspects. None. Nada." (p. 64) TT1 Sanık diye biri yok elimizde. Hiç. Sıfır. Hava." (p. 64) TT2 Elimizde Ģüpheli yok. Hiç. Nada." (p. 74).

TT1 TT2

Applied Approach

(Venuti)

Domestication Foreignization

Applied Strategy (Aixela)

Substitution (Autonomous creation)

Conservation (Repetition)

Spanish, which is used by people from countries of Latin America and Spain living in the US constitutes an important part of the US culture. It has made invaluable contributions to the US in terms of language and culture. There are quite a lot of words borrowed from Spanish. It is necessary that translators be aware of this fact while translating foreign words belonging to Spanish. Nada, which means “nothing” is one of the loan words from Spanish which has made its way into the informal US English.

One can clearly see that TT1 translator resorted to Venuti‟s domestication approach via Aixela‟s autonomous creation strategy. He seemingly came up with a translation which denotes the informal aspect of the CSI by translating it as “hava”, which is an informal way of saying “nothing” in Turkish. Moreover, hava also rhymes with nada, which makes it special as an autonomous creation. On the other hand, the TT2 translator applied Venuti‟s foreignization approach by Aixela‟s repetition strategy. By keeping the original reference in italics, she evidently increased exotic character of the CSI by retaining it in the target text. Her approach seems to allow target language readers to feel the cultural otherness of the CSI, which makes her visible as a translator.

Example 47

ST "Surely you have a motive." ”Mucho motives…” (p. 64) TT1 "Neden çok...” (p. 64)

TT2 "Neden çok. Mucho.” (p. 74)

TT1 TT2

Applied Approach

(Venuti)

Domestication Foreignization

Applied Strategy (Aixela)

Substitution (Synonymy)

Conservation (Repetition)

This example reinforces the fact that Spanish has made massive contributions to the US culture and language. The CSI in question is “mucho”, which is borrowed from Spanish and means much or many in English. The analysis shows us that the TT1 translator preferred to remove the foreign connotation of the word by using Venuti‟s domestication approach. He seems to think that it is irrelevant to introduce target text readers to a CSI related to a third culture in the US. It should be noted that he might have preferred this strategy for stylistic reasons as synonymy strategy is closely linked with style. However, his domesticating strategy, which favours a fluent translation devoid of cultural otherness leads to his invisibility as a translator. In contrast, the TT2 translator chose Venuti‟s foreignization approach via Aixela‟s repetition strategy by italicizing the term. Therefore, her effort to introduce target text readers to a CSI peculiar to an ethnic group in the source culture allows her to be more visible as a translator.

Example 48

ST .. he loved Europe, especially Spain, and so it was adios for him. (p. 361)

TT1 Avrupa'yı, özellikle de Ġspanya'yı çok severdi. Onun için veda etme zamanı gelmiĢti.

(p. 326)

TT2 … baĢta Ġspanya olmak üzere Avrupa‟yı severdi. Öyleyse Amerika‟ya elveda diyecekti.

(p. 395)

TT1 TT2

Applied Approach

(Venuti)

Domestication Domestication

Applied Strategy (Aixela)

Substitution (Synonymy)

Substitution (Synonymy)

In his work, Grisham makes an occasional use of words that refer to the Spanish existence in the US culture. To illustrate, he uses the word adios, which means goodbye in Spanish or Spanish-speaking contexts. In this example, he seems to have intentionally employed the word adios in the same context with Spain.

The analysis shows us that both TT1 and TT2 translators resorted to Venuti‟s domestication approach via Aixela‟s synonymy strategy. It is necessary to note that adios is already known among Turkish readers. The word is orally recognized and in use in Turkish although it is verbally not recognized on the database of the Grand Turkish Dictionary. As Aixela (1996, p. 63) remarks, synonymy strategy is usually based on stylistic grounds. The translators might have preferred this strategy for stylistic reasons. Thus, they preferred to use a parallel reference in Turkish to avoid repeating the CSI. Therefore, they both remain invisible as translators due to their domesticated and fluent translation which does in no way allow target text readers to have a glimpse of the cultural otherness.

Example 49

ST They run the West Wing like the Gestapo. (p. 313) TT1 Bodrumu Gestapo gibi yönetiyorlar bu ikisi. (p. 281) TT2 Batı Kanadı‟nın Gestapoları. (p. 342)

TT1 TT2

Applied Approach

(Venuti)

Foreignization Foreignization

Applied Strategy (Aixela)

Conservation (Repetition)

Conservation (Repetition)

Gestapo is the abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei, which means Secret State Police in German that acted as the political police of Nazi Germany. Making a simile to the political police force of Nazi Germany, the author most probably suggests an allusion to the corrupt and cruel aspect of the administration. One can easily realize that both TT1 and TT2 translators had a recourse to Venuti‟s foreignization approach by means of Aixela‟s repetition strategy. It is necessary to note that Gestapo and its

connotation is already known among target text readers to certain extent. The exoticizing strategy whereby both translators keep the original reference eventually allows them to be visible as translators.

Example 50

ST Grantham darted to his bag, flipped through some papers, and presto! (p. 230) TT1 Grantham çantasını açtı, birtakım kağıtları karıĢtırdı... (p. 208)

TT2 Grantham çantasına uzandı, kimi kağıtları karıĢtırdı ve işte! (p. 251)

TT1 TT2

Applied Approach

(Venuti)

Domestication Domestication

Applied Strategy (Aixela)

Substitution (Deletion)

Substitution (Synonymy)

This example deals with the analysis of an interjection, which is of Italian origin. The exclamation “presto” is used to indicate the abrupt appearance of something often as if by magic. The analysis above clearly reveals the fact that both TT1 and TT2 translator resorted to Venuti‟s domestication approach. However, their strategies offered by Aixela vary.

One can clearly observe that TT1 translator applied the deletion strategy by completely removing the foreign flavor of the CSI. He might have considered it unacceptable or irrelevant for target text readers; thus, he removed it from the translation, which led him to become invisible as a translator. On the other hand, in her effort to avoid repetition of the CSI, the TT2 translator applied the synonymy strategy.

To this end, she preferred to employ a parallel reference in the target culture. However, her translation lacks the connotation of abruptness conveyed by the exclamation.