Investigating Difficulties in Translating Arabic-English Cultural Expressions: A Case Study of Zaraiyb al-Abid, (The Slave Yards)

الملخص

The main purpose of the study is to investigate the strategies used in translating cultural terms and expressions of a literary text. The researcher intends to analyze some Libyan Arabic cultural expressions and their translations in order to discuss the strategies used by the translator to reframe narratives in the target language. Baker's (2007) narrative theory is adopted as a theoretical model for this study. Some cultural expressions were collected from the English translation of Najwa Bin Shatwan's novel (زرايب العبيد) and its translation, (The Slave Yards) will be investigated to identify the translation strategies used for their translation. Results revealed that despite the number of translation strategies, still, obstacles face translators when translating literary texts. The researcher found out that the data of the study did not reflect all Baker's (2007) narrative strategies. Besides, it is hard, for translators to render specific cultural expressions of other cultures. Some recommendations were suggested.