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Challenges and Strategies inTranslated Childrens Literature:
J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter and the
Sorcerers Stoneas a Case Study
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DEDICATION
To my parents.
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Acknowledgment
There is no task that is more delightful than thanking those who have participated in a way or
another to the accomplishment of this paper. I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to
my professor and supervisor, Dr. Ali AnoirEl Majdouli, for his kind assistance, his valuable
pieces of advice and his patience throughout the writing of this research paper. My gratitude goes
also to my parents for their care and love. And at last, but not least, I want to thank my two
roommates, Mehdi and Mohamed, for all the help and moral support they gave me and also for
the memorable moments we have spent together.
To all these people, thank you.
Anas Khalfaoui Hassani
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Table of Contents
DEDICATION..1
ACKNOWLEDGMENT.2
INTRODUCTION4
I-Review of literature7
1-Childrens literature.7
1.1-Defining childrens literature...7
1.2-Childrensliterature and translation7
2-Culture and ideologyin childrens literature...9
2.1-On culture9
2.2-On ideology10 II-Methodology....12
1-Data collection...12
2-Proceeding with the Data..12
3-Limitations of the study12
III-The challenges of translating childrens literature13
1-Cultural differences...13
2-Idealogical differences...16
3-The question of power...19
IV-The strategies of translating childrens literature..23
1-Domestication and foreignization..23
2-Omission and addition...26
3-The rendition of proper nouns28
V-Case study32
1-case study reviewed...32
2-Major findings of the analysis38
CONCLUSION40
BIBLIOGRAPHY...42
TRANSLATION PART.45
APPENDIX..77
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INTRODUCTION
This research paper investigates the translation of childrens literature together with its
potential obstacles and some of the strategies adopted by translators in order to render foreign
texts into Arabic and trespass the impediments which are particularly cultural and ideological
most of the time. Age and gender are important factors which should be taken into account when
transferring adults texts into ones for children. Moreover, this paper highlights the various
strategies translators resort to in order to bridge the gap between a totally foreignpiece of writing
to a target culture and avoid any possible cultural or ideological breakdowns. Such strategies are:
omission, addition and sometimes modification. For the purposes of this research, an Arabic
translation of J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone will be considered for
analysis. This research paper adopts a descriptive and analytical approach in the examination of
the data collected. Furthermore, an evaluation of the Arabic translation, mainly in terms of
mistranslations, strategies used by the translator and breakdowns caused by cultural and
ideological fault lines between Arab and western cultures will be provided during the analysis.
Finally, the study will conclude with the major findings of the case study.
1. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDYAfter having been exposed, myself, to childrens literature when I was a child, and due to
my infatuation with literature in general, I have decided to choose translated childrens literature
as a subject study for my academic research. It is widely acknowledged that childhood is a
significant phase in every human beings life given the fact that children get to shape their
character, identity, and acquire moral values. And because literature can be one way to instruct
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children and educate them in accordance with the dominant values and morals of their
country;translation becomes an indispensable tool for this purpose.
However, when looking into the translation of childrens texts, few articles and papers
researching this topic are found; the lack of literature is very astounding concerning material
discussing this issue in the Arab world. Throughout the stages of my research, I encountered
many difficulties; the scarcity of related literature is included. Almost nothing has been written
about the translated childrens literature in Arabic. Therefore, I relied wholly on references
written in English. Based on this research paper, and to the best of my knowledge, there are
onlythree MA theses dealing with the translation of childrens literature.The first one discusses
the topic in question in terms of strategies and motivations in childrens literature (Khwira,
2010), the second covers childrens literature and its translation(wohlgemuth,1998), and the third
sheds light on thetreatment of personal names in the Finnish and German translations of the
Three First Harry Potter Books (Makinen, 2010). Moreover, few articles and books dealing
directly with translated childrens literature were found, especially ones focusing on books
translated into Arabic or vice versa.Thus, I believe that conducting such a research can be a good
addition to the field of translation and specifically to the translation of childrens literature.
2. STRUCTURE OF THE STUDYRegarding the structure of this study, the first chapter is a review of literature of the main
topics involved in this research. An introduction toChildrens literature is introduced in which a
general overview of this discipline is provided in addition to a preliminary review of the
translation of childrens literature.The second chapter consists respectively of the methodology
used in conducting this research; data collection, proceeding with the data and limitations of the
study. Chapter three presents the major challengesmost translators encounter while embarkingon
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the transfer ofa given text into one targeting children. Chapter four revolves about the strategies
and techniques used to overpass potential difficulties and challenges. Finally, chapter five
includes the analysis ofa case studytogether with potential findings.
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CHAPTER I: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
1- CHILDRENS LITERATURE1.1- Defining childrens literature
According to the Britannica Online Encyclopedia, childrens literature is:The body of
written works and accompanying illustrations produced in order to entertain or instruct young
people. Thegenre encompasses a wide range of works, including acknowledged classics of
worldliterature,picture books and easy-to-read stories written exclusively for children, and fairy
tales, lullabies, fables,folk songs,and other primarily orally transmitted materials.1
This definition does not cover the major aspects of this discipline and provides a basic
definition for childrens literature. Similarly, Wikipedia does not seem to have a relatively
different definition and describeschildrens literature as:Children's literature (also called juvenile
literature) consists of the books, stories and poems which are enjoyed by or targeted primarily at children.
Modern children's literature is classified in different ways, including by genre or the intended age of the
reader.2
We can deduce form the above definitions that both of them seem to ignore some intrinsic sides
of childrens literature such as the cultural aspect, let alone its relation to translation, which is
going to be analyzed in the following section of this research.
1.2- Childrens literature and translationOnce we examine the field of childrens literature in relation to translation, we
immediately find out that it has been marginalized for a good deal of time. Xenie
(2007:2),mentions in her research, quoting from OConnel(2006), that Childrens literature has
1Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/111289/childrens-literature
2Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_literature
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1353736/genrehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/343579/literaturehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/212246/folk-songhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/212246/folk-songhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/343579/literaturehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1353736/genre7/27/2019 Challenges and Strategies in Translated Childrens Literature
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long been the site of tremendous translation activity and so it has come as something of surprise to
me to discover recently the extent to which this area remains largely ignored by theorists, publishers
and academic institutions involved in translation research and training. We get to learn, at this stage
of the study, that the translation of childrens literature has known a long marginalization and has
been recently acknowledged as an important scientific domain.
Since the need for translation is basically cultural in that it stimulates and enhances
cultural dialogue between different cultures and promotes, in one way or another, tolerance and
mutual acceptance among people of different ethnicities, races and religions, the central role of
childrens literature in introducing children to new patterns and features of an alien culture which
they may not have been exposed to becomes essential. According to Khwira (2010: 28), who
quotes from (Shammas 2004: 106-7) translation is:
Importantin two main aspects: the human aspect related to theinteraction which goes beyond its target culture to reach other societies.
The social aspect is related to the absorption of a new coming culture
that enhances the native one.
We can notice from this quote that both the human and social roles of translation are of
paramount significance in childrens literature and constitute its backbone and objective. In
addition, it is essential to mention that translation occupies a significant position in the
framework of the target language, mainly the Arabic language, in terms of its culture and
literature. And if we consider this fact, the translation of childrens literature becomes one of the
most effective and didactic devices for teaching youngsters the morals and values that do not
contradict with what society deems appropriate for them.
Khwira maintains, in accordance with what Lathey (2006: 4) says, that translating for
children is quite different from translating for adults in two aspects: the social status of children
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and their development and the status of their literature which in turn characterizes whatever is
written for them. She strongly believes that the "unequal relationship" between the adult as a
writer and the child as a reader does govern the way of writing and even translating for children,
since adults dictate the child's behavior (ibid: 5).For her, the transportation ofchildren's literature
form one language and culture into another reflects distinct expectations and interpretations of
childhood (ibid: 2).
2- CULTURE AND IDEOLOGY IN CHILDRENS LITERATURE2.1- On cultu re
A number of researchers think that childrens literature canbe a means of cross-cultural
communication mainly because it is a way for both children and adults to communicate with one
another. According to Khwira (2010: 3), who quotes fromVandergift,children are introduced to
literature read by people of their age in other countries and become exposed to domains of other
lives and cultures through which they begin to understand and accept each other as being
uniqueand having different literary and cultural experiences.
Given the fact that any work of literature, be it targeting children or adults, is abundant
with culture specific items and is, most of the time, a representation and a mirror of a certain
culture, children of the target culture may not understand some cultural features of the source
culture. In this regard, Zohar Shavit (1981: 171-172) thinks that a translator can allow himself
complete authority regarding the peripheralnature of children's literature as long as they abide
by the following principles:
- Adjusting the text in order to make it more appropriate and useful to the child; in other terms, inaccordance with what society thinks is good for the child.
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- Adjusting plot, characterization and language to the childs level of comprehension and readingabilities.
According to Shavit (1981:172), these two principles dictate, to a certain degree, the
character and choice of the text to be translated. Furthermore, the first principle, which suggests
that children's literature is primarily didactic, was dominant for a long time. Nowadays, the other
concept,the one adjusting the text to the level of childrenscomprehension, is more dominant. A
case in point, the aforementioned principles may contradict each other but they always serve as
the basis for the selection and manipulation of the text to be translated.
The cultural aspect in childrens literature is so important due to the enormous influence
it can exert on children. Most children get to learn through what they read and this is enough
reason for translators to be careful in selecting the suitable books and stories in order to avoid
culture shock, or cultural alienation for the Arab child reader.
2.2-On ideologyAccording to Wikipedias definition, ideology is a set of conscious and
unconsciousideas that constitute one's goals,expectations, andactions. An ideology is a
comprehensive vision, a way of looking at things as in severalphilosophical tendencies, or a set
of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of this society (a "received
consciousness" or product ofsocialization).3
In other words, ideologies are sets of thoughtsthat govern patterns of human behavior
within a given society. Similarly,every social, political or economic act becomes an expected
attitude to certain stimuli within a given community. It is actually how society conceives all that
is related to society in general.
3Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expectation_(epistemic)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_theory_(philosophy)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophicalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socializationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socializationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophicalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_theory_(philosophy)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expectation_(epistemic)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea7/27/2019 Challenges and Strategies in Translated Childrens Literature
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Almostno work of literature is free form ideological affiliation and sometimes
supervision. But such supervision and ideological restriction becomes more obvious in
totalitarian and fascist regimes. For instance, in the years when Spain went through successive
fascist governments, especially when General Franco was in power, translation was heavily
supervised, censored and even directed to maintain the actual state of things. All different forms
of art, literature and translation, were monitored by the military forces and the church through
special committees called juntas de censurawhose job was to perform all acts of supervision,
manipulation, censorship and deciding whether a work of art is good for readers or not.
Another important factor is the translators own ideology and background. A translators
ideology and attitudes may influence his/her decisions and choices. A case in point, sometimes
the translator finds himself/herself in a dilemma; s/he should either preserve the source texts
original ideology, or intervene and make some necessary changes to make it appear more
appropriate to the target audiences ideology. Similarly, Xeni (2007:20) quotes Hervey (1997:
60) who believes that a translators ideology may relate to a number of issues:
In developing a strategy for translating a given ST under givencircumstances, translators invariably face a major ideological choice: should
their primary task be to represent, as closely as possible, the ideology of theST, and (in so far as this can be determined) the ideology held by the author of
the ST? Or should the TT be substantially adapted to the ideological needs ofthe target culture, even at the cost of gross ideational distortion of the ST?
Similarly, should translators, as paid professionals, serve the (implicitly orexplicitly) prescribed ideology of the organization financing publication of aTT? Or should they insist on their intellectual and moral autonomy in matters
of ideology?
It is noticeable that there is a real dilemma in determining whether to abide by the ideology of the
author or adopt one that is in conformity and accordance with what the target text- represented by the
translator- dictates and thinks suitable and not dangerous for its target audience who are children in this
case.
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CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY
1. DATA COLLECTIONFor the purposes of this study, the famousbook of J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter and the
Sorcerers stone will be provided for analysis.As to the translation, I was lucky enough to
stumble on an electronic copy of the book, published by " " , an Egyptian publishinghouse as the name suggests. As to the remaining references, all of them are electronic articles
and M.A theses discussing the topic of childrens literature and its relation to translation.
2.
PROCEEDING WITH THE DATA
With regard to the linguistic combination,the study will be conducted to examine the
Arabic translation of the English source text. The study will be conducted based on an analytical
approach in order to detect both the majorchallenges and the techniques used to renderthis text.
Besides, in thisresearch paper, I will try to answer the following question: To what extent is the
Arabic translation faithful to the English source text? Some tentative explanations will be
provided, too.
3. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDYDuring the search for references on the translation of childrens literature, I was struck by
the unexpected small number of resources dealing with the translation of childrens literature,
few of which are Google Books. The majority of the available references are mainly articles and
studies conducted by researchers and experts in the field. Another impediment was the scarcity
of stories intended to be read by children and translated into Arabic, which made my search for
the adequate case study somewhat difficult.
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CHAPTER III: THE CHALLENGES OF
TRANSLATING CHILDRENS
LITERATURE
1. CULTURAL DIFFERENCESWhile this research is basically concerned withforeign childrens literature and its
rendering into Arabic, I think it is significant to mention that the translator, just as the writer of
the original text, findshimself/herself challenged by a range of constraints most of which are
fundamentally societal views on childhood, parental tastes and the demands of publishers who
care mostly about financial gain. It follows from this that the only books that can be translated
into Arabic are the oneswhich do not transgress social and sometimes religious taboos, andshare,
more or less,the same moral conventions; which is not always the case.
However, according to Khwira who quotes Lefevere (1992: 79)moral conventions vary
across cultures, hence; any transfer across cultures causes challenges. For Lefevere, translation is
a means by which foreign influences can challenge the native culture and may sometimes subvert
it.Therefore; the work of the translator would not be confined to merely rendering a language
X toa language Y; instead, the need to be thoroughly knowledgeable about the source and
target cultures for a translator is of paramount significance. In the same context, Khwira quotes
Olk (2002: 121) who points out that:
Translators who seek to create target texts which will be accepted in
the target culture need to identify culture specificity in the ST and to finda communicatively satisfactory mediating position for cultural
divergences. Viewed from this perspective, translation in its very essence
is a form of intercultural communication which draws heavily on the
translators intercultural competence.
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It can be deduced from the above quote that in order to perform its communicative
purpose, translation in general and the translation of childrens literature in particular should take
into consideration culture-specific items. Given the fact that cultural implications are
exceedingly substantial to rendering any source text, many theorists have embarked on the
definition of culture. In her article Culture Specific Items in Literary Translations, Zare-
Behtash (2010) quotes Larsen (1984: 431), who defines culture as a complex of beliefs, attitudes,
values, and rules which a group of people share.
As a matter of fact, the most difficult sides of translating literature in general are the
differences existing between cultures. These cultural differences include history, social
structures, traditional customs, and most importantly of all, religion. Mdallel thinks (2003: 300)
that Islamas a religion is a major theme in the Arab literature for children. The figures show that
1,457 publications (11.80%) of the 12,323 books published have explicit religious themes like
the Prophet Mohammeds life, tradition and deeds [] in the category of non-fiction, we find
other publications about Islam that teach Arab children how ideal Muslims should behave.It is
worthwhile mentioning that even historical stories are mostly about prominent characters from
the bright age of Islam, or leaders and war heroes like Khalid ibn al-Walid or Salah Dine al-
Ayoubi. (ibid: 301)
Mdallel (2003: 301) explains that this concern with celebrating the glorious Arab past,
heroic Arab figures and the moralizing tone impregnating most of the Arab childrens literature
is a reaction to the frustration in the Arab world due to the Middle East conflict and the marginal
role the Arabs play on the international scene. Though Mdallel does touch one side of the sad
reality describing the actual status quo of the Arab world, I think that there is no harm if most of
Arab childrensbooks of fiction relate the glories of the past because, after all, one should get to
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learn about ones past, ancestors and origins in order for ones identity to be complete and
immune to subversion.
Yet, there are those who lament this situation and think that children should have the
right to read for pleasure, too. Mdallel (2003: 301) quotes from Faiza Nawars article
Imagination in Childrens Fiction (published in Arabic, 2001) where the latter proclaims that
the lack of imagination in Childrens Arab literature is mainly due to the multiple taboos and
the traditional educational and religious concerns governing the process of writing for children in
the Arab world. In addition to moral stories, children need to get exposed to pieces of literature
which can stimulate their imagination and broaden it.
A case in point, Saudi Arabian children are not allowed to have the chance to read the
Arabic translated version of J.K Rowlings Harry Potter mainly because the books describe
acts of sorcery and witchcraft; deeds Islam does not tolerate, according to Saudi Arabian board
of literary censors. This is an example to illustrate that sometimes cultural specificities, religious
in this case, make it impossible for some works of literature to reach other audiences around the
world.
To conclude, it is true that literature is a major reflector of culture and an important
medium of facilitating intercultural understanding and mutual dialogue between people all over
the world, but when it comes to rendering childrens literature, namely between western and
Arabo-Muslim cultures, a number of factors and restraints are to be taken into account in order to
ensure the smooth and riskless transition of a given text targeting a special audience as children.
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2. IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCESDue to the general belief that childrens literature has a major part in molding the way
children will think and interact within their social environment, I assume it will serve the purpose
of this study to examine whether the assumption that foreign literature and western one in
particular can affect the values and morals of little children who, unlike adults, absorb whatever
they read and take it for granted, especially when we know how different and exotic Arabo-
Muslim and Western cultures are to each other.
In order to have a clear idea about what ideology really means, I think providing a
definition would be crucial. Merriams Webster online dictionary defines ideology asa
systematic body of concepts especially about human life, culture or manner, or the content of
thinking characteristic of an individual, group or culture, or the integrated assertions, theories
and aims that constitute a sociopolitical program.4
However, Khwira (2010: 28) happens to have another definition in her M.A thesis that
was provided by Hollindale (1992: 19-27) in which he explains that ideology is a systematic
scheme of ideas relating to politics or society or to a conduct of a class or group, and regarded as
justifying actions.Since literature reflects the set of ideological values adopted or enforced by a
group of people or society, which sometimes differ from one country to another, it should come
as no surprise the extent to which childrens literature can be impregnatedwith the kind of values
and social or even political guidelines each society wants to teach to its children.
It is definitely inevitable to talk about childrens literature without highlighting its
didactic role. In this respect, Mdallel (2003: 301) quotes Nikolajeva (1996: 3) who argues that
childrens literature has from the very beginning been related to pedagogics and that childrens
4Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideology
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literature has always been regarded as a powerful means for educating children. Compared to
western countries where there is less inclination to use literature for educational and doctrinal
purposes, Arab countries still rely on it, together with school textbooks, to instill in the minds of
children the values of Good versus evil, embedded in fables, moral stories and fairy tales, as one
of the most prominent themes present in the majority of Arabo-Muslim literature.
In order to understand how the translation of childrens literature can be affected by
ideological and political trends, one has to go back to the socialist regime in the German
Democratic Republic5where literature was practically used, to a certain extent, as a key factor in
developing and raising socialist generations with no allegiance to individual, egotistic and
consumerist tendencies; traits that marked the capitalist ideology.In this regard, Wohlgemuth
(2003: 242) points out that literature played a key role within the socialist framework and was
widely used as a tool for education and indoctrination. Literary policy quite blatantly demanded
that literature be partisan, i.e. loyal to the party line. Childrens literature was assigned the same
role and therefore held the same status as literature written for adults.
As stated before, in a socialist regime like the GDRs, where literature had to be partisan
to the ruling elites interests, there were some rigid criteria that decided which to be translated
and which not. Therefore, In order to establish and maintain control over the book market in East
Germany, the literary and cultural authorities resorted to creating a powerful censorship system.
This means that all foreign literature, namely the western one, had to undergo a scrutinizing
process to see if there is some kind of ideological convergence between the two regimes. As a
result, Wohlgemuth (2003: 247) says that the GDR censorship committee insisted that publishers
and translators write more than one report, if necessary, to the censorship authority within the
5Informally known as East Germany; a State within theEastern Bloc during theCold War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Blochttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Bloc7/27/2019 Challenges and Strategies in Translated Childrens Literature
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ministry of culture. He maintains that these reports had to describe the main reasons why a
particular book had been chosen to be introduced to children and the possible benefits they can
get from it.
On the other hand, Wohlgemuth (2003: 246) illustrates that all literature was ruled out
which dealt with anti-Semitic, antisocial and anti-humanistic issues or which did not portray a
clear and unquestionably progressive socialist image. And once dealing with western literature,
since this latter represents capitalist patterns of thought, Wohlgemuth (2003: 248) states that the
most frequently claimed justification for having selected the book for translation was to depict a
morally depraved capitalist west, inhuman, aggressive and drifting towards its unavoidable
decline. Seemingly, publishers and translators of childrens literature were compelled to
exercise some sort of self-censorship in order to avoid the rejection of their work and opted for,
by and large, selecting works that would be welcomed by the board of censors.
It would be beneficial to learn first-hand GRD censors reasons to decline the publication
of a certain book. Wohlgemuth (2003: 248) included in his article what the external expert6
thought of Winnie the Pooh:
Winnie the Pooh is exclusively about fantasy, happiness and child play.Certainly our children are not less imaginative in their play, but it
cannot be denied that the fantasy of our children moves in another
direction. Our time is not so much about a single child with his toys onhis own_ and if this does prevail in a child, it is not desired and does not
match with our didactic ideals. (DR1/5039a, 1959)
It goes beyond doubt that all ideologies, be it socialist, capitalist or Islamic, exerts
fundamental State control over both what is to be published and translated when it comes to
foreign literature targeting young children. This explains the prestigious and central position
6The author did not specify which kind of expert exactly, though it is quite clear that it is about an expert in
censorship.
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childrens literature occupies as a major key agent in boosting cultural, educational and social
awareness among youngsters; totalitarian regimes; however,tend to take more interest in it to
ensure the continuity of their ideologies and the cultural and social homogeneity of their subjects
mostly through exercising some sort of mind control over them.
3. THE QUESTION OF POWERIn the field of translation, thereare a number of factorsor agents acting and influencing
one another and the process of translation in general. These agents are: the publisher, the
translator, intermediary groups and children themselves. However, it is worthwhile to stress the
fact that the aforementioned parties involved in the whole translation process of childrens
literature do not share the same equal amount of power to decide on what is to be translated or
not.
In a capitalist economy, money is the most important instrument of all business
transactions and; hence, creates power. This does not apply to non-capitalist and socialist
economic systems where trade is State governed. At first glance, one would think that publishers,
being in a privileged financial position, have the final say in the decision making of the books
which can be translated, whether there is profit in publishing the books in question or not, and
choosing the translators who will do the work.
Wohlgemuth (1998: 113), on the interactive relationship of the different components
involved in the issue of power, believes that one of the manifestations of power is asymmetrical
relationships. He goes on to say that an example of this asymmetry is peripheral cultures
dependence on imported literature, in which the values of their own culture take second place to
those of the stronger source text[] another example of asymmetry is the relationship between
parents and children. Being weak and inexperienced, children depend on adults to explain the
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world and how it works; adults can and do exploit this dependency in order to perpetuate their
ideals and norms - in fact, to perpetuate their culture. In this perplexing asymmetrical and
interactive relationship that binds many components together, one finds it compelling to ask the
following question: which participant dominates the others? And why?
According to Wohlgemuth (1998: 114), those who appear to be more influential in the
process of translation are translators,since they get to choose what to be adapted in the target
culture text and what to remain intact. In fact, it is thanks to Skopos theory7 that modern
translators enjoy this current state of affairs where they have a margin of liberty to manipulate
the original text taking into account the needs of the target reader instead of being
bigotedlyfaithful to the source text; provided that the meaning does not get compromised.
Illusionary as it might seem, the role of translators is somewhat exaggerated. After all, translators
are mere paid professionals; and no matter what high or low their wages might be, it is who pays
them who has the last say.
Publishers of childrens literature, contrary to expected, are surrounded by a number of
constraints, too. According to Wohlgemuth (1998: 116) publishers operate according to the
strict demands of the economy. They select for translation books they believe can be sold for a
profit. In doing so, they must balance likely demand against estimated cost. Both demand and
costs are therefore factors which constraint the publishers choice. In the Arab countries, just
like the western sphere, the issue of demand in publishing translated literature is governed by
what adults (parents, relatives) deems appropriate and fit for their children to read. However,
this does not apply to teenagers who, at this point of their age, start buying books by themselves.
7Skopos theory is a concept from the field oftranslation studies that was established by the German linguistHans
Vermeer.It comprises the idea thattranslating andinterpreting should primarily take into account thefunction of
both thesource andtarget text.Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skopos_theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation_studieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Vermeerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Vermeerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translatinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_%28language%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_texthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Target_text&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Target_text&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Target_text&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_texthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_%28language%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translatinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Vermeerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Vermeerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation_studies7/27/2019 Challenges and Strategies in Translated Childrens Literature
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It is clear now that, being limited by the constraint of demand, publishers are not totally in
control of this business.
Because parents want to raise their children the way it pleases them, literature intended
for youngsters becomes a powerful instrument for the purposes of this end. However, parents are
not the only group affecting the choices of childrens readings; governments exercise their
influence through libraries, schools and their own houses of publication to ensure the smooth
integration of children in society. Wohlgemuth (1998: 118) calls all these participants together
intermediary groupsgiven the nature of their function in the procedure of translation. It is true
that intermediary groups affect the demand on translated books, which eventually govern the
choice of publishers who decide which translators do the work; however, children, being the
target consumers of the whole industry, seem to have a say in the process, too.
Nowadays, being in a position of power more than ever before, children and teenagers
alike are both freer to buy the books they like. This is mainly because most children are given
more money than before by their parents who may sometimes prefer their children to develop a
sense of independence and free will. As a result, children often opt for pop literature as an
incredible source of entertainment. Wohlgemuth (1998: 120) explains that such a choice is
basically due to the fact that pop literature avoids explosive or controversial subjects and is
often vague, socially uncommitted and easy entertainment; It is hardly what most parents would
to choose to improve their children. However in possession of money, children have a powerful
tool in their hands; they have become an influential participant in the market.
In fact, the question of the distribution of power in childrens literature in general is
multi-faceted and the participants in it do not possess fair shares of power, nor does one
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prevailover the others. It is an interdependent situation where all agents involved have a specific
role to play.
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CHAPTER IV: THE STRATEGIES OF
TRANSLATING CHILDRENS
LITERATURE1. DOMESTICATION AND FOREIGNIZATION
Due to the general feeling among Arab scholars, writers, translators and publishers that
the values of the Islamic culture are being endangered by western thought and values through
childrens literature, the formers think it is their duty to keep future generations safe from such a
threat. In order to do so, andfor cultural and ideological reasons, foreign books, which are meant
to target young readers, may undergo a series of alterations, modifications and filter stages so as
to, either adapt the translated text to the dominant cultural and ideological norms in the target
audience, or preserve most of the culturally and linguistically marked features of the source text.
Such strategiescan be: domestication and foreignization.
To begin with, in order to formulate a comprehensive idea about how domestication and
foreignization work in the field of translation, it would be more practical to define each
separately. Being two completely different methods of translation, both domestication and
foreignization represent two extreme strategies.In his book The Translators Invisibility: A
History of Translation, Lawrence Venuti (1995: 5) defines foreignizing as the complete
opposite of domesticating texts: when a reader is taken to the foreign text, the translation
strategy in question is called foreignization, whereas when the text is accommodated to the
reader, it is domesticated. Bearing in mind this definition, it becomes clear how these two
techniques are distinct from each other, and thus one may wonder about the reasons why
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translators opt for one method and may reject the other, and whether it is possible to use both
strategies in a sensitive literary field as the translation of childrens literature.
As far as domestication is concerned, Makinen (2012: 19)quotes Ottinen (2004: 905) who
thinks that when adopting a domesticating method, translators assimilate the text to the target
cultures values both linguistically and culturally. The main reason for doing so is that the
advocators of such a method proclaim that translation should focus on transferring the meaning
above anything else. Similarly, Natalia Vid (2008: 2) states in her article that Translators who
are disposed to the domesticated method proclaim that the essential component of any literary
work is not its technical side, but something visible and often called the spirithas to be
successfully transferred into the target culture.
According toNikolaeva (1996: 27), mentioned in Vid (2008: 5), another reason that
makes translators choose domestication over foreignization is that, since childrens semiotic
experience does not allow them to interpret the signs of an alien semiosphere,a variety of
explanations, adaptations or direct changes may be necessary. Maintaining the same point,
Shavit (1986: 112-113) suggests that the translator of childrens literature may manipulate the
text in various ways. Such freedom is allowed as long as the translator is adjusting the text to
make it appropriate and comprehensible for children.Considering childrens ability to read and
comprehend, some translators may even choose to modify the plot, characters and language.
Therefore, the accuracy of the task performed by a translator of chi ldrens literature is
measured by how much it is relevant for the target audience. Ottinen (2003: 128) states that in
translating as in rewriting for target-language audiences, we always need to ask the crucial
question: for whom? Hence, while writing childrens books is writing for children,
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translatingchildrens literature is translating for children.Therefore,the interests of children as
target readership in this case, should be taken even more seriously than the interests of the adults.
To put it in a nutshell, vid (2008: 6) quotes Zena Sutherland (1981: 67) who firmly
believes that what may be a mild hazard for an adult can pose a serious barrier for a child. For
instance, names, titles, complex syntax, or allusions to cultural heritage or common knowledge
in foreign literature may be unfamiliar to members of recipient cultures. The translator of
childrens literature must keep this fact in mind in order to avoid creating an overly difficult
uninteresting translation which may alienate children from reading.Sutherland (1981: 69) agrees
that in the realm of childrens literature a new, domesticated and familiar text can be created
instead of a literary translation of the original text.(ibid: 2008:6)
However, domesticating childrens literature does not seem to be the perfect strategy for
some translators. Lawrence Venuti (1995: 18-22), as cited in Paloposki and Ottinen (1998: 374),
is one of the most prominent critics of domestication who attacked domestication as a site of
ethnocentric racism and violence and an ethnocentric reduction of the foreign text to target-
language cultural values (ibid: 20). As a matter of fact,though proved very practical in
translating foreign children stories, domestication received much criticism from the proponents
of foreignization.
For Venuti (1995: 291), quoted by Paloposki and Ottinen (1998: 374), foreignization is
more desirable than domestication in that the latter conforms to dominant cultural
values;whereas foreignization challenges the dominant aesthetics (ibid: 309). Secondly,
foreignized translations signal the linguistic and cultural differences of the foreign text (ibid:
311). And thirdly, foreignization seeks to restrain the ethnocentric, violent translation (ibid:
20). Based on the previous arguments which are in favor of foreignization, it can be deduced that
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the main purpose of translation is not to conform to the target culture rules and features but to
challenge them instead. To put it differently,Venutis preference for foreignization is not a
celebration of the foreign other itself, it is rather a strategic device to defy the image of the
other linguistically, culturally and aesthetically.
However, when it is about a very special audience as children, the question to use
foreignization in translated texts is open to debate. Ruokonen (2004: 78) claims that the
foreignness in the text should not surpass the readers ability; the text may become
incomprehensible and confusing. He continues, especially if the target readership consists of
children, the demands of a foreignizing text might be too hard for some readers.(ibid: 78) This
explains the reason why most translators of childrens literature happen to favor domestication
over foreignization.
Finally, bearing in mind the aforementioned arguments for and against both
domestication and foreignization, it seems that the latter is more desirable in the field of
translated children stories, especially in the Arab countries. Moreover, it should be noted that it is
not only up to the translator to decide which method to use; just like the distribution of power,
the choice involves many participants including publishers and sometimes censorship
committees.
2. OMISSION AND ADDITTIONBoth omission and addition are regarded to be typical deviations from the original text.
These two techniques prove necessary when adopting a domesticating or a foreignizing method_
addition is usually associated with foreignization_ in the translation of childrens literature.
OSullivan (2005), quoted in Cut Mansfields essay: Adaptation in Childrens
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LiteratureTranslation: a Narrative Theory Approach, argues that decisions about what to
include and exclude in childrens literature translation are based on two key factors : the
ideological aim of transmitting cultural norms and the translator or publishers beliefs about the
extent to which the child reader can understand foreignness. Seemingly, both cultural norms
and the target texts readability for children are the reasons which make a translator use either
omission or addition.
Backing up the idea of understandability, Khwira (2010: 20) argues that when a
translator sees that a specific part may be difficult for children to understand, they might change
or deletethis part to make it appropriate to the childrens cognitive abilities. She goes on to say
that this is why the three Arab translations of Daniel DefoesRobinson Crusoedelete the
opening dialogue between Crusoe and his father about the complicated ethos of bourgeoisie for
the sake of their target readers.(ibid: 20-21).
Another case where omission and addition become necessary is, according to
Shavit(2006: 128), cited in Khwira (2010: 20), when the model of the source text is not
available in the target system, translators modify it by omitting elements from the source text and
adding others from the target system to make this model fit in the target system, especially if
these omissions and additions do not affect the plot and the characterization of the text . To
make this argument even clearer, Khwira (2010: 21) gives an example of how a sentence in
RobinsonCrusoewas rendered into Arabic:
-No executioner in Germany could have done it sooner or better
. -
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It is clear now how the translator in this example made some changes in the Arabic translation in
order to make it fit into a model Arab readers are familiar with, even though the meaning was
somewhat altered.
In dealing with foreign literature intended for children, Arab translators are usually
confronted with certain themes which they omit and refuse to render in any other way. Such
themes may include racial attitudes, gender inequity, and magic as in the case of Harry Potter.
Khwira (2010: 22-23) explains that racial discrimination is the main reason why Khashafa and
the committee of translators omitted the story of Xury, a character inRobinson Crusoe, as it is
a clear depiction of racism and colonization in the book and these do not match the Arab
culture.
As to Addition, it should be stated that this technique, as it is usually associated with a
foreignizing strategy, is less used than omission. This is mainly because domestication happens
to be the most favored strategy for the Arab world, taking into account the several religious and
ideological constraints imposed on translation. Nevertheless, in a foreignized text, addition can
be applied through the use of footnotes in order to provide the readers with more details and
information about the alien element kept in the translation; otherwise, the translator may choose
to explain it using brackets.
3. THE RENDITION OF PROPER NOUNSThe translation of proper nouns in childrens literature is one of the problems any
translator has to face. According to Farghal and Shunnaq (1999: 61), as quoted by Khwira (2010:
54), proper nouns include names of specific people, places countries, months, days and
holidays. This definition, though not quite comprehensible, sheds light on the major
constituents of proper nouns to which we can add: a proper noun is one that begins with a capital
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letter. The question now is: when we learn that proper nouns and proper names specifically, are
the product of the local culture and not just mere linguistic elements void of any meaning, we
may wonder about the strategies translators use to render proper nouns in childrens literature.
Normally, proper names (names of people, surnames) are meant to be significantand
semantically loaded in the cultural context they are used in. this explains why writers are usually
inclined to give their fictive characters names with a semantic transparence, as mentioned in
Makinen (2010: 26), which serve the plot of the story. She goes on to add that to a degree
names were semantically transparent, often describing their referent somehow, for instance
profession (such as Smith, Potter in English, or Muller in German), or physical features (Crane,
Armstrong; Jung). (ibid: 26-27). Therefore, name creation in literature is by no means arbitrary
or random.
After having considered the central role characters names play in the world of fiction, it
is no wonder how important it is for proper names in children stories to have the same function.
This leads us to inquire about the ways proper nouns in general are rendered in literary texts
targeting young readers.
Given their delicate and sensitive position in any literary work, some translators may not
venture into translating proper nouns and keep them as they are. For Newmark (1981: 70-71), as
mentioned in Makinen (2010: 36), names in literature are usually left as they are. Since proper
nouns are fundamentally related to their cultural context, Van Coillie (2006: 131) backs up this
argument and says: the more important the context is to the book, the less self-evident it is to
change [them]. (ibid: 36). The strategy of leaving proper nouns as they are in translation is
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called transliteration8. In fact, this strategy was adopted in one of the Arabic translations of
Robinson Crusoewhere, as stated in Khwira (2010: 54), names are transliterated abiding by the
principle of foreignization.
Because translators take unlimited liberties in dealing with childrens literature on the
grounds of understandability, the childrens cognitive abilities andthe flow of the text, they may
choose to translate some proper nouns in case they have meaning. Klinberg (1986: 45), quoted in
Agulilera (2008: 6), recognizes that [descriptive names] with a contentor a meaning have to be
translated. He even assumes that a meaningful name plays a role within a story and not
translating it is suppressing part of the function it was created for. However, Khwira (2010: 54)
directs our attention to a very important point in an example where the three translators of
Robinson Crusoewere not successful when they transliterated all the names of characters in the
story and rendered only the name of the Indian savage Friday into "" , since it suggeststhat Friday has an Arab nationality. This means that all the humiliating behaviors of
kneeling and servitude [of Friday] come from an Arab (ibid: 54). After all, domesticating proper
names is not an easy task; translators are required to be more careful while rendering names with
religious or cultural connotations into the target text.
It is quite inevitable to discuss the issue of rendering proper nouns in children stories and
not to mention the unique case of Harry Potter. Aguilera (2008: 7) believes that the case of
Harry potterproves to be an interesting and phenomenal one in that: initiallywritten for the
British and American culture industry, the books were soon translated into more than forty seven
languages, and when inquired about the reason why several publishers in France turned the
series down at first, he said: the books to date contain more than one hundred proper names of
8Transliteration means transcribing, in this case proper nouns, into another language system on the level of
phonology, spelling, etc. E.g. Robinson Crusoe can be transliterated into Arabic as "
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people (and many place names), nearly all of which, in our opinion, should have been changed in
translation, since they are not really names, but comic spoofs on names made up out of English
words in the original.
In short, the translation of proper nouns in childrens literature can be a serious challenge
to most translators. Either opting for transliterating them or transferring their meaning to the
target culture text, certain aspects need to be taken into consideration in order not to compromise
the whole message, plot, events and mostly the characterization of the source text and hence
jeopardize the whole work.
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CHAPTER V: CASE STUDY
1. CASE STUDY REVIEWEDI have chosen, for the purpose of this research paper, to analyze and discuss the first five
chapters of the Arabic translation of J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter and the Philosophersstone.
This book, intended for young readers,is the first novel inthe Harry Potter series and was first
published on 26 June, 1997 byBloomsburys publishing house in London. However, in 1998,
Scholastic Corporationpublished an edition for the United Statesmarket under the title ofHarry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the version which is going to be the subject of this analysis. As
to the Arabic translation, except for being published by 9
" , it does not include anyinformation about the translator, nor the date of publication.
The reason why I have chosenthis book for my case study is due to its being a perfect
example of a literary text targeting children and adolescents alike, and due to the huge success
and positive criticism it received worldwide. Most reviews praised J.K. Rowlings work as an
original, folkloric and imaginative piece of literature; nonetheless, this did not spare it the harsh
attacks of some religious groups, be them Christian or Muslim, because of the acts of witchcraft
and sorcery exemplified in the book. These attacks were translated into action when the series
were banned in a few countries; Saudi Arabia is an example. Translated to more than sixty
languages, the series were rendered into Arabic, but was the rendition successful or not? This is
what we are going to see in the following analysis.
On the level of form, the translator rendered the title as "" whichmeans that the hefavored the British version of the title over the American one. To the best of my
9" isa publishing house which was founded in 1938. It publishes translations of international books for
children and was the first publishing house to ever translate the Harry Potter series. Adapted from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsbury_Publishinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsbury_Publishinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholastic_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholastic_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsbury_Publishing7/27/2019 Challenges and Strategies in Translated Childrens Literature
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knowledge, this was not a successful choice becausemost Arab children readers are not familiar
with what the Philosophers stone10
stands for. A clearer translation of the title would be "" . Though a literal translation of the American version, this title may be within
the grasp of young children. As to the arrangement of chapters, the translator maintained the
same order of the original book and assigned numbers to each one.
Concerning content, it should be said that proper nouns in Harry Potter and the
Sorcerers Stone, namely names of characters, can be divided into three categories: names of
Hogwarts students, names of Hogwarts professors and other staff members, and names of
wizards other than Hogwarts students or personnel. The total is 99 names. When compared to the
source text, we find out that the Arabic translation preserved the same number of characters
names, almost all of which were transliterated.Here is a list of some proper names as they occur
in the original text, their origin or meaning, and their transliteration into Arabic:
PROPER NAME ORIGIN OR MEANING TRANSLITERATION
Harry Medieval English form of Henry, a popularname for rulers and has Germanic originsHeinrichor home ruler.
11
Ronald Derived from the Old Norse Ragnvaldr, a
composite of reginadvice, counsel and valdrruler.
12
Hermione Of Greek origin. It can be associated with the
word ermine; a small animal in the Weasel
tribe.13
Draco Has Latin origins and means dragon; it could
also mean draconic, harsh and severe.14
10The Philosopher's Stoneis a man-made, blood-red stone with magical properties. It could be used to create the
Elixir of Life,which extends the drinker's lifespan, as well as transforms any metal into pure gold. Available at
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Philosopher%27s_Stone11
Makinen(2010: 76)12
(Ibid: 77)13
(Ibid: 78)14
(Ibid: 79)
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Elixir_of_Lifehttp://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Elixir_of_Life7/27/2019 Challenges and Strategies in Translated Childrens Literature
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Dumbledore An old English word for bumblebee: a large
hairy bee.15
McGonagall Rowling said that she named this character after
William McGonagall, a Scottish poet she just
loved16
Severus It comes directly from Latin Severus and
means severe.17
Proper names in Harry Potter and the sorcerers stone, or at least most of them, have
either English or Latin origins and sometimes have good or bad connotations given the nature, be
it good or evil, assigned to each character. However, the translator opted for the safest and
easiest way and decided to retain most of them as they are without manipulating or using their
semantic reference, with the exception of Sirius Blacks last name which was translated as
" . This could lead young Arab readers to associate Sirius Black, though a goodcharacter in the book, with evilness because of the unpleasant and negative connotations this
color represents for Arabs in general. I think, of all the semantically significant names in the
story, this one is the least to be translated; transliterating it is the right choice for me.
After analyzing the firstfive chapters ofHarry Potter and the Sorcerers stonein terms of
the strategies and techniques the translator used to render the terms, sentences and even passages
which may have been problematic to translate into Arabic, I have decided to draw the following
table to display the examples extracted from the book, their translations and some tentative
explanations and commentary.
15Makinen(2010: 79)
16(ibid: 80)
17(ibid:81)
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THE ORIGINAL TEXT THE TRANSLATION COMMENTARY
Because her sister and her
good-for-nothing husband
were as unDursleyish as it waspossible to be. p: 1
Omitted The translator may have
omitted this sentence because
s/he thought this wasunnecessary information and
rendering it would only make
the readers feel bored.
He supposed thiswas some
stupid new fashion. p: 2" .":4
The translator was not
completely faithful in
rendering this sentence andadded extra information that
does not occur in the original
text.
Clutching a large doughnut in
a gab. p: 3
Omitted Doughnuts are some sort of
cake that Arab readers are notfamiliar with. This could be a
culture-specific item exclusiveto Western countries.
However, it could have been
replaced by " or simply"" .
You-Know-Who has gone at
last. p: 3" .":6 You-Know-Who is anickname for lord Voldemort,
an evil character in the book.
The translator did not try to
render it at all.Muggles p: 3 "":6 I believe the translator should
have inserted some footnotesfor the target readers to better
understand what Muggles
really means.
Perhaps people have beencelebrating Bonfire Night
19
early. p: 4
"".:8
The translator did not indicate,using footnotes for example,
that it is about a national event
in Great Britain. The translator
opted for Domesticating it for
the sake of understandability.
18Muggles are the non-magical community according to wizards and witches. This special proper noun was
transliterated in almost all the languages into which the book was translated except in Arabic and French. French
translators preferred to translate it as Moldus. 19
Bonfire Night is an annual event dedicated tobonfires,fireworks and celebrations. In Great Britain, this modern
event is held on 5 November and no longer retains its sectarian significance: it is now simply a night of revelry and
fireworks. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_Night
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireworkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireworkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire7/27/2019 Challenges and Strategies in Translated Childrens Literature
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After all, they normally
pretended she did not have a
sister. p: 5
Omitted This information was already
introduced to the readers. This
could be the main reason why
it was omitted.
His nose was very long and
crooked as though it had beenbroken at least twice. p: 6
"." :10
This sentence was clearly
mistranslated.
A fine thing it would be if, on
the day You-Know-Who
seems to have disappeared atlast, the Muggles found out
about us all. p: 7
".:11.."Again, this sentence was
blatantly mistranslated.
Actually, it does not make anysense at all.
Would you care for a lemon
drop? [] A lemon drop.They are a kind of Muggle
sweet I am rather fond of.
p: 8
Omitted The translator may have
thought it would be moreappropriate if this sentence
was omitted because eating
sweets does not suit the wayDumbledore, a venerable
character, was introduced to
children as they are the targetreaders.
It is lucky it is dark. I have
not blushed so much since
Madam Pomfrey told me sheliked my new earmuffs. p: 8
"".:11 Seemingly, the translator didnot realize how much irony
there is in this sentence andmistranslated it eventually.
How in the name of Heaven
did Harry survive?p: 9
The text in bold was omitted.
"" :13The translator omitted that
part of the sentence for
cultural reasons. Translating itliterally would have sounded
odd for Arab, Muslim young
readers.
As she opened the door toput out the milk bottles.
20
p: 13
The text in bold was omitted. Omitted for cultural reasons.The milk delivery is very
specific to England.
I want you to look after the
bacon. p: 14"":19 For religious reasons, the
translator rendered bacon as" only.I wont blow up the house.
p: 17" The effect of the original
sentence was mitigated after
20"Milk bottles are bottles used for milk. They may be reusable glass bottles used mainly for doorstep delivery of
fresh milk by milkmen. Customers are expected to rinse the empty bottles and leave on the doorstep for collection."
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_bottle
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.":22 being translated. Perhaps, thetranslator thought blowing up
the house by a kid is a bit
exaggerated.
You will be in that cupboard
from now until Christmas.p: 18
"".:23
Christmas was rendered as
mainly becausemost Arab young readers arenot yet aware ofthe
significance of Christmas for
Christians.
Aunt Petunia hammering
on the door to wake you up.
p: 20
"... ".:25 The translator added to the fact of waking up.This addition can be explained
as a religious specificity toMuslims who are expected to
wake up at this time for
prayer.Aunt Petunia had to run andget him a large brandy.
p: 22
"".:28 A large brandy was replacedby for religiousreasons.
Dudley had already brokenhis new video camera, crashed
his remote control airplane,
and, first time out on his
racing bike, knocked down oldMrs. Figg as she crossed
Private Drive on her
crutches.p:21
".":30
This whole paragraph wasreduced to a short sentence
where almost all of the items
mentioned in the original text
were omitted.
As he looked at Dudley in
his new
Knickerbockers21
p: 24
" "...:31 The translator domesticatedthe text in bold.
Ah, go boil your head ,
both of you! p: 39.""
:50The translator clearly
domesticated the text in bold
because translating it literallywould mean nothing to Arab
readers.
21Knickerbockersare a form of men's or boys' baggy-kneedtrousersparticularly popular in the early twentieth
century USA. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbockers_%28clothing%2922
An insult, roughly equivalent to get lost. it is mainly used in Britain. Available at:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=go%20boil%20your%20head
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trousershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trousers7/27/2019 Challenges and Strategies in Translated Childrens Literature
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While Hagrid read his
newspaper, the DailyProphet. p: 49
" ".:59 Translating names ofnewspapers is considered amistake in translation.
Transliterating it is the rightchoice.
It was a tiny, grubby-lookingPub. p: 52 "". :62
The translator replaced pubby for purelyreligious reasons. A pub, a
place where alcohol is served,
cannot be rendered into a textin Arabic and especially for
Arab children readers.
And the bartender
reached for a glass sayingp: 53
".:63" The translator clearly triedhis/her best to avoid all that isrelated to pubs and alcohol in
general.
Passing an undergroundlake where huge stalactitesand stalagmitesgrew from the
ceiling and floor. p: 58
".":67
The translator opted forsimplifying what
stalactites, andstalagmites, mean instead of using thesetwo technical words which
most young readers would not
be able to understand or arenot familiar with.
2. MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE ANALYSISAfter going through the first five chapters of the book, it can be deduced form the above
analysis that the translator of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone relied on many techniques
and strategies in rendering most of the culture and religious specific items existing in the text. As
a matter of fact, omission was the translators most used device, which explains that s/he adopted
a domesticating strategy. As to addition, except for one example, the analyzed five chapters do
not include any added items or explanations to the target text. Moreover, throughout the analysis,
I could detect some mistranslations which were rather the result of misunderstanding the source
text. As a case in point, the translator was very careful in rendering some religious-specific items
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40
which s/he replaced or omitted in most cases. Concerning proper nouns, I believe that this book
proves to be one of the most difficult and challenging pieces of literature targeting children
because of the variety and semantic significance that distinguishes proper nouns in J.K.
Rowlings Harry Potter. However,the translator preferred transliterating most of the proper
nouns and clung to a foreignizing method.
All in all, we can say that the translator was quite successful in his endeavor to translate
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone into Arabic using mainly a domesticating method despite
making a few mistakes. After modifying the source text, the book became ready and safe for
children to read and enjoy it as well.
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CONCLUSIONThis research paper was a study of the translation of childrens literature in terms of some
challenges and strategies translators manipulate to render such texts accurately and
professionally. Throughout this study, we have noticed how different the nature of childrens
literature is compared to the adult one and how this fact influences its translation. In the first
part, we have gone through the main challenges which translators have to cope with: mostly
cultural and ideological. As to the selection of the appropriate material for children, we have
reached the conclusion that all the participants in this procedure share almost the same amount of
power in deciding what to translate or not and eventually depend on one another.
The second part does focus on some of the strategies used to better render culture-specific
items taking into account two different strategies. Most translators resort to either a
domesticating or a foreignizing method to render culture or religious specific items into the
target culture, Arabic in this case. To do this, translators may rely on two distinct techniques.
Omission and addition prove to be the two favorite tools for childrens literature translators.
Concerning the texts to be rendered into Arabic, most translators favor a domesticating method
over a foreignizing one given the childrens possible inability to decipher some cultural items in
the source text.
The last part was an analytical study of J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter and the Sorcerers
Stonewhich shed light on the major techniques the translator used to render a text into Arabic
despite some mild grumblings in some Arab countries that the book contains too much sorcery.
The results came to back up the main points and arguments discussed in the first and second part.
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This research was a modest endeavor to shed more light on a long marginalized discipline
in the field of translation studies. Hopefully, this work will be an addition to enrich the sphere of
childrens literature not only with a comparative piece of work but also with a reference work
that could be used for the purpose of consultation.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Aguilera, E. C. (2008) The Translation of Proper Names in Childrens Literature.
Unpublished Article. University of Granada.
Khwira, Z. H. T. (2010) Strategies and Motivations in Translated Childrens Literature:Defoes Robinson Crusoeas a Case Study. Unpublished MA Thesis. An-Najah National
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Makinen, K. (2010) Harry Potter and the Challenges of Translation: Treatment ofPersonal Names in the Finnish and German Translations of the Three First Harry Potter
Books by J. K. Rowling. Unpublished MA Thesis. University of Jyvaskyla.
Mdallel, S. (2003) Translating Childrens Literature in the Arab World: The State of theArt.Meta: Translators Journal. 48(1-2): 298-306.
Paloposki, O. and Oittinen, R. (1998) The domesticated foreign. In A. Chesterman and N.G. San Salvador and Y. Gambier (eds.)Translation in Context.Granada: EST Congress:
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Shavit, Z. (1981) Translation of Childrens Literature asa Function of its Position in theLiterary Polysystem.Poetics Today. 2(4): 171-179.
Thomson-Wohlgemuth, G. (1998) Childrens Literature and its Translation: AnOverview. Unpublished MA Thesis. Surrey University.
Thomson-Wohlgemuth, G. (2003) Childrens Literature and Translation Under the East
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Venuti, L. (1995) The Translators Invisibility: A History of Translation (1st edition).London: Routledge.
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Vid,N. (2008) Domesticated Translation: the Case of Nabokovs Translation of AlicesAdventures in Wonderland. Nabokov Online Journal.2(1): 1-24.
Zare-Behtash, E. (2010) Culture-Specific Items in Literary Translation. Internet.http://www.bokorlang.com/journal/51culture.htm.04/05/2013.
Websites:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/111289/childrens-literature Accessed 03/04/2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_literature Accessed 04/04/2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology Accessed 08/04/2013 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideology Accessed 12/04/2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skopos_theory Accessed 18/04/2013 http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Philosopher%27s_Stone Accessed 18/05/2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_Night Accessed 24/05/2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_bottle Accessed 25/05/2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbockers_%28clothing%29 Accessed 25/05/2013 http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=go%20boil%20your%20head Accessed
26/05/2013
Case Study:
Download link for the Source text:
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ter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cx
cJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGE
http://www.bokorlang.com/journal/51culture.htmhttp://www.bokorlang.com/journal/51culture.htmhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/111289/childrens-literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideologyhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideologyhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skopos_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skopos_theoryhttp://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Philosopher%27s_Stonehttp://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Philosopher%27s_Stonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_Nighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_Nighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_bottlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_bottlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbockers_%28clothing%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbockers_%28clothing%29http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=go%20boil%20your%20headhttp://www.google.co.ma/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fce.sharif.edu%2F~safarnejad%2Ffiles%2Fbooks%2Fharry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cxcJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGEhttp://www.google.co.ma/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fce.sharif.edu%2F~safarnejad%2Ffiles%2Fbooks%2Fharry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cxcJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGEhttp://www.google.co.ma/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fce.sharif.edu%2F~safarnejad%2Ffiles%2Fbooks%2Fharry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cxcJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGEhttp://www.google.co.ma/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fce.sharif.edu%2F~safarnejad%2Ffiles%2Fbooks%2Fharry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cxcJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGEhttp://www.google.co.ma/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fce.sharif.edu%2F~safarnejad%2Ffiles%2Fbooks%2Fharry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cxcJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGEhttp://www.google.co.ma/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fce.sharif.edu%2F~safarnejad%2Ffiles%2Fbooks%2Fharry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cxcJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGEhttp://www.google.co.ma/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fce.sharif.edu%2F~safarnejad%2Ffiles%2Fbooks%2Fharry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cxcJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGEhttp://www.google.co.ma/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fce.sharif.edu%2F~safarnejad%2Ffiles%2Fbooks%2Fharry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cxcJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGEhttp://www.google.co.ma/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fce.sharif.edu%2F~safarnejad%2Ffiles%2Fbooks%2Fharry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.pdf&ei=QuCjUbTrG8OO7AaghYHoBQ&usg=AFQjCNFWJ402cxcJUEAqdM4ZL05u6glFuw&sig2=7pH_w1ce09AqO-cgmi3sPQ&bvm=bv.47008514,d.bGEhttp://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=go%20boil%20your%20headhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbockers_%28clothing%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_bottlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_Nighthttp://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Philosopher%27s_Stonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skopos_theoryhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_literaturehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/111289/childrens-literaturehttp://www.bokorlang.com/journal/51culture.htm7/27/2019 Challenges and Strategies in Translated Childrens Literature
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Download link for the target text:
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http://www.4shared.com/get/_pRIYulg/Part1.html;jsessionid=DB400D9B3E080D74777B3BB12FF19A79.dc516http://www.4shared.com/get/_pRIYulg/Part1.html;jsessionid=DB400D9B3E080D74777B3BB12FF19A79.dc516http://www.4shared.com/get/_pRIYulg/Part1.html;jsessionid=DB400D9B3E080D74777B3BB12FF19A79.dc516http://www.4shared.com/get/_pRIYulg/Part1.html;jsessionid=DB400D9B3E080D74777B3BB12FF19A79.dc516http://www.4shared.com/get/_pRIYulg/Part1.html;jsessionid=DB400D9B3E080D74777B3BB12FF19A79.dc516