Colloquial Writing in Translation: The Case Study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

مطالعات زبان و ترجمه

Volume 57, Issue 2, August 2024, Pages 132-161   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/lts.2024.88209.1259

Author

Roya Monsefi^*

English Department, Faculty of Language and Literature, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University

Abstract

The present descriptive-comparative case study used purposive sampling based on the framework of Tabibzadeh. Fifteen translations of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were examined to determine the translators' strategies in transferring the ideological load of the original text and the ups and downs of social-class conflicts between the characters through their use of language. The narrator of the story was an illiterate boy who spoke in non-standard English which could make the translation challenging for the translators. The analysis of the mentioned 15 translations revealed that when the translators brought the text closer to the conversation by using informal words and conversational syntax, the translation had more coherence, and when the translators used non-standard colloquial words the transparency and fluency of the text were disrupted which could ultimately lead to serious loss in Persian language by introducing unfamiliar words.

Keywords

Colloquial Writing; Social Class; Language; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Translation

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