constructing pathways to translation - Higher Education Commission

Third, in planning translation strategy, the translator does not make a one-time decision
on how he will treat unmatched elements of culture, rather, he makes a new decision for
each such element, and for its each use in an act of communication.
1. Borrowing:
Borrowing or importation of the source language expression, is a frequently used
procedure and one that ensures a very precise transmission of cultural information,
provided that the knowledge of the extra linguistic reality has been answered in one other
way (by definition, visual representation, direct experience, etc). This is the reason why
this procedure is often combined with definition or substitution. It has the advantage that
once the expression enters the Target Language, it can be used freely in all the contexts
and collocations in which it is used in the Source Language.
There are certain restrictions on Borrowing, which prevent it from being applied in all
cases of Cultural Gaps. In the first place, Borrowing makes sense only if there is
sufficient need for it to ensure its more than once use.
Another restriction is that the form of the Source Language expressions must be such
that it can be easily integrated into the target language. Phonologically and
morphologically strange sounding or looking words, or those that are not easily
manipulated in different cases, genders, numbers, parts of speech, deviations, etc., stand
less chance of ready acceptance. For that same reason the borrowing of a complex
expression is more difficult than the borrowing of a simple expression. Similarly,
borrowing is easier from a language from which much of Borrowing has already been
done, than from one from which Borrowing is rare. For instance, it is easier for Urdu to
borrow terms from English, Arabic, Persian and Punjabi etc., than the other way around.
Another consideration is that it is possible to borrow terms occasionally, but not many of
them at the same time, since this would impede communication. Finally, the
sociolinguistic attitude of the linguistic community to foreign importation will also affect
the translator’s decision. Borrowing will be more difficult if translation is done into a
‘puristic’ language, than into one that is relatively open to foreign influences.
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