Translating allusions as complex cultural resources for translators: the case of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway

Abstract

Allusions represent cultural elements originating from a specific culture, presenting a significant challenge for translators. The focus of this study was to investigate the strategies employed by translators in dealing with allusions, specifically proper-name allusions (PN) and key-phrase (KP) allusions. A comparative analysis was conducted between each type of allusion and its Persian translation to identify the strategies used by the Persian translator in translating these types of allusions from English into Persian. The findings revealed that the translator tended to use the ‘retention of name’ strategy over the ‘replacement of name by another’ and ‘omission of name’ strategies for PN allusions. Within the sub-categories of the ‘retention of name’ strategy, ‘retention of PN as such’ is proved to be the most frequently employed tactic. For KP allusions, the translator demonstrated a preference for the ‘literal/minimum change translation’ strategy. Despite the recurrent use of the ‘retention of name’ and ‘literal/minimum change translation’ strategies for both types of allusions, the obscured meanings hindered a deep understanding for the target audience. Consequently, the translator struggled to convey a clear meaning of the allusions, impacting effective communication with the target readers. The insights from this study are valuable for translation students, aspiring translators, and translation instructors.