Intercultural Translation: Translating Political References
Intercultural Translation: Translating Political References

Summary/Abstract: Translation and communication between cultures has been a permanent concern of all translators, as this is, in fact, the true challenge of a translator, or an interpreter. Common ground has been considered an advantage, especially when the definition of common ground entailed geographic and linguistic similitude between the source language and the target language. Nevertheless, when it comes to certain words, which have a very serious historical, social , political and cultural load, the fact that the two languages and cultures are not very far (they share the same alphabet, the same ancient history, much of the same religion and cultural development) does not help. This study concentrates on a few such terms (socialism, working camp, totalitarianism, equality, equity, and power), which have such amazingly different connotations in Western Europe as compared to Eastern Europe, that they even seem untranslatable. Nevertheless, if Europe succeeded in getting to a similar understanding of such terms, much of today’s dissentions and turmoil could be brought to an end.

• Details
• Contents