A study of English translations of manteq o teyr by Attar based on the correct understanding of the original text (A case study of Sholeh Wolpé and Dick Davis's translations from the Sheikh Sanaan story)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD. Student of Persian Language and Literature Department. University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran.

2 Yasouj university

3 associate professor of English language and literature Department, faculty member, University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran.

4 assistant professor of Persian language and literature Department, faculty member, University of Shiraz, Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Translation of poet requires a correct understanding of it. The poem's complexity leads to misunderstanding of it and translation errors. This study analyzes Sholeh Wolpé and Dick Davis's translations from Manteq o teyr by Attar with a descriptive and critical approach, focusing on the Sheikh Sanaan story. It evaluates the translator's fidelity to the source text and their correct comprehension of it. Study of these translations shows that the translator's main error is misunderstanding the ironic and syntactic constructions of the source text. The translator's incomplete literary knowledge and insufficient information about the artistic language of poetry cause this problem. Incorrect reading of source text has led to another type of error in these translations. Reading Persian texts is difficult because of the absence of movement (diacritical marks) and the presence of homophones in the Persian script. Reading Persian texts can be challenging for Persian-speaking readers also. Sometimes, cultural differences between poet and translator create gaps between the source and target text. In Davis's translation - as a non-Persian translator - there is some evidence of non-fidelity to the source text due to the cultural difference between the source and target communities. In these examples, the cultural tendencies of the translator (the target community) have modified text in favor of the target culture Finally, based on this research Wolpé's translation is closer to the original text than Davis's.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Journal of Poetry Studies (boostan Adab)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 16 September 2024

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics