Investigating Translation Strategies for Cultural Mediation in the Arabic Translation of The White Tiger

Abstract

Abstract

This research aims at surveying the translation strategies that Suhail Najm adopted in the Arabic translation of Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger. Explicitation, transposition, and modulation will be elaborated on using Skopos Theory as a theoretical framework for which these procedures have been implemented in serving such a functional aim, namely, making the novel readable, culturally clear, and amusing to Arabic readers. It involves the comparative textual analysis of key excerpts in the source and target texts to show how humor, irony, and cultural nuances are mediated. The results revealed that Najm's explicitation unravels implicit meanings, while transposition has taken place to adapt the linguistic structures into Arabic syntax, and modulation changes the perspective in order to resonate with Arabic cultural norms. Such a strategy allows for bridging linguistic and cultural gaps and saving the thematic depth and stylistic essence of the novel. The present paper underlines how purposeful translation works for cross-cultural understanding.