International Journal of Language & Literature

Translating Metaphor and Allusion from Persian to English: A Comparative Study of Rumi's the Song of the Reed
Fatemeh Behnamnia

Abstract
Metaphor and allusion are two figures of speech which give the beauty and implicit meaning to exquisite literary works. However, these two figures of speech often cause difficulties and problems for translators. These problems even become more sophisticated and troublesome in perception and translation of poems due to difficulty in keeping both form and content of the poems. The present study aimed at identifying the strategies employed by translators, and determining their frequencies in transferring metaphor and allusion from source text to the target one. Mawlana is a grand poet in the West and many translators have made an attempt to spread his precious philosophical theological knowledge. In this study, Nicholson and Wienfield were chosen among the other translators of Mawlana's [Neyname] or the Song of the Reed. Then, their translations were analyzed regarding which strategies they used for translating metaphor and allusion. The frameworks for these investigations were based on the models presented by Larson (1984) for translating metaphor and Leppihalme (1997) for transferring allusion. According to the result of this study, it can be concluded that Nicholson and Winfield were both to some extent in favor of literal translation, underscoring the significance of ST status in their minds. This conclusion was drawn by analyzing and considering the most common strategies used for translating these two figures of speech.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijll.v4n1a23