Dialogue in and between Different Cultures - International ...

References Translating Colloquial Language/Speech: The case of slang and dialect 69
must in some way reflect its uniqueness and diversity, even if the various
solutions may take very different forms.
Researching on strategies applied in the cases of dialects in drama, Anderman
(Xeni 2000, Xeni in press) notes that when dialect has to be translated:
− it is usually removed so that the audience becomes more familiar to the play,
− and most of the times abandoned and replaced by colloquialism.
Uddipana Goswami (2006) in an attempt to solve problems with dialects and local
languages in the novel she was translating into English thought of the following
ways:
− homogenize the language of the translated text - and simply qualify the
translated dialect with a short description: ‘and the she said in her own
dialect...’ – a very politically incorrect way, but the easiest; and certainly not
the most effective, nor evocative.
− transcribe the original dialect in the language of the translated text(TT) and
provide the meaning/gist in translation as footnote/parenthesis
− introduce a dialect of the language of translation in the TT to indicate the
difference/deviation.
Summing up suggestions on behavior patterns/strategies on behalf of the
translator while translating slang and dialect in particular and colloquial language
or speech in general the following list is provided:
1. Equivalent phrase in order to produce the same impact
2. Explanatory translation
(addition of phrases for explanation purposes within text)
3. Footnotes
(addition of information for explanation purposes out of text)
4. Making the text a bid less colloquial than overdoing it
5. Abandonment
(choosing normal speech)
6. Omission/ deletion
(deleting CL/S overall).
7. Norms in translation studies
It is widely accepted that strategies and behavior patterns are all governed by
principles and norms. Throughout the history of translation studies several
scholars studied the role of norms in translation studies. To name but a few:
Toury 1995, Shavit 1986, Chesterman 1997, Nord 1991, observed conventions
and norms contending that norms involve normative rather than purely
problematic expectations. They designate both regularities in behavior, i.e. recurrent
patterns, and underlying mechanisms which account for the regularity.