Idioms and especially proverbs are the symbols of a nation’s manners, behaviors, traditions, customs and culture which indicate the life style of those particular people during years. They reflect the way that a particular group of people think, imagine, act or believe as one of the aspects of their culture which is different from other nations and they face with them every day.
In other words, “differences between different cultures are symbolized by the elements of language such as idioms and proverbs, and studying these languages and comparative analysis of idioms and proverbs between languages lead to realization of differences and similarities which exist between cultures” (Wardhaugh, 1986).
There are many factors which may have a crucial role in the formation of idioms and proverbs of a language/dialect among which, society and its related issues such as culture, religion, age, gender, etc. can be mentioned. There are some other factors such as climate, geographical position of the place and natural elements existing in that place which have influence on the formation of idioms and proverbs as well. All these factors affect the formation of idioms and proverbs during years and according to conditions and environments in which they are used; therefore, they may be different in form and meaning in different areas, and even among the dialects of a region.
Therefore, to get familiar with the language that is used in each particular area, it is suggested that one should refer to popular culture and folklore which exist in that area. Idioms and proverbs are those parts of this popular culture that can reflect all the important issues in that area.
However this aspect of culture that is affected by region is rarely introduced to target readers through translation and translators only content themselves with finding an equivalent for these types of idioms and proverbs based on what there is in existing dictionaries. Therefore, in such kind of translations, the flavor of native culture in source language is not recognized by target readers, and if the source writer’s aim is to introduce the culture by the regional elements through his/her writing, the translator won’t be able to transfer it to target readers by this way of choosing equivalents.
Paying attention to the influence of nature as an effective factor on language, the idioms and proverbs may even vary from one area to another within the same language; therefore, a single concept may be stated differently in different areas of a country. Here the role of translator and the strategies he/she uses for the translation will be importan
clarify this problem, the author of this article is willing to consider several idioms/proverbs of Persian language which are mostly used in two provinces of Iran, Yazd and Mazandaran for instances. The article aims to concentrate on the Persian idioms / proverbs which include elements such as name of animals, plants or wind, rain, sun, desert, water, soil, mountain, and so on in their lexical constructions and the way they are translated into English will be investigated based on Baker’s strategies of translation.
These two provinces have been selected because of having two different regional conditions: Mazandaran Province with a wet, humid climate and with lots of annual rain and thick forests, and the other one, Yazd Province is a desert area with a hot and dry climate, cold nights, lots of sand, and little amount of annual rain.
Idioms and proverbs of the Persian language in the above mentioned areas may be categorized into five main groups including:
1) Those that are influenced by the animals and birds;
2) Those that are influenced by plants;
3) Those that are influenced by rivers and sea;
4) Those that are influenced by Natural elements such as wind, sun, water, etc.
5) Those that are influenced by other related concepts to region.
Strategies of translation
Baker (1992) has proposed four strategies for translating idioms and proverbs which are described briefly as follows
a) Using an idiom of similar meaning and form
First category of strategies consists of those idioms and proverbs that convey the same meaning in both source and target language, as well as the same lexical items which are used in their surface structures. It means that a same pattern of lexical items is used in both languages to express a single concept of meaning.
Using a single pattern of lexical items in these idioms or proverbs shows that there is a cultural and social relation between two languages of Persian and English. However, this similarity may be as the result of borrowing an idiom or a proverb from one language.
For example, in Mazandaran province there is an idiom:
/babr- e – pu∫ali/ (which means a straw tiger)
it is translated into English by paper tiger.
It can be observed that both languages uses tiger in their surface structures to convey this meaning that there is an enemy or opponent who seems powerful but actually is not
b) Using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form
Idioms and proverbs of this category are those that convey a meaning which is similar to the meaning that there is in target language, but the forms or the lexical items used in their surface structures are different.
In this strategy, meaning concepts are expressed by dissimilar lexical items in target language which can be a reflection of different points of view in both Persian and English society. Since in each society, observable and familiar concepts in the same region are used to convey a meaning, the idioms and proverbs which are in this category can show the differences between regions and societies. As Lakeoff (1987) has mentioned language is a concept which is dependent on experience. In other words, language talks about what people experience, the way they live and about what they care; it actually transfer the experience of a nation.
For example, it can be observed that fortune or misfortune, good luck or bad luck have always existed in all people’s lives and their beliefs all around the world either in Persian societies or English societies. However, the difference is in the elements they use for talking about these concepts and the elements they use as the symbols of good luck or bad luck may be reflected in the idioms and proverbs of each society.
For example in Mazandaran province, people use these idioms or proverbs to talk about fortune or misfortune:
/in təυr ke bæraje to oftad, bæraje ∫oqale dabu næjoftad /
Literal translation:
You made a good fortune for yourself in a way that for Daboo’s jackal didn’t.
Daboo: name of a village in Mazandaran
/?alut∫e ∫ekufe bær tæn kærde væ madær bæt∫e be donja ?aværde æst/
Literal translation:
Sloe has put on blossom and mother has borne a child.
/?ab rudxane je t∫alus hami∫e xike pænir be hæmrah nædaræ
Literal translation:
The water of Chalus River always has no cheese sack with itself.
Chalus River: name of a river in Mazandaran
/gorg be mijane gale je sædtaei oftad væli fæqæt gusfænde jek dane je mæra bord/
Literal translation:
Wolf went in the middle of flock but he only took my sole sheep.
/dær tæle je hæme æyya mi oftæd, dær tæle je ma sæbz qæba/
Literal translation:
Ayya falls in everybody’s trap, but in our trap, Sabzqaba.
Ayya & Sabzqaba: name of two birds
In Yazd province the followings are used to talk about good luck or bad luck:
/emsal digær t∫ahe∫an kenare ?ab æst/
Literal translation:
Their well is beside water this year.
/in ruzha həυza∫ zud por mi∫ævæd/
Literal translation:
His pool is filled soon.
However in English the followings are used to talk about the above concepts:
You have been born under a lucky star.
His bread is buttered on both sides.
Luck smiled on him.
He fell on evil days.
He came to a bad end.
The weakest go to wall.
A comparative analysis shows that in Mazandaran, name of animals such as jackal, wolf, sheep, or birds such as Ayya or Sabzqaba or name of a crop like sloe or blossom or Chalus river is used to talk about good luck or bad luck, however the same concepts in Yazd, are signified by elements such as pool, water or well and in English the elements are star, buttered bread, evil days and so on.
Another example is about having wishes in people’s lives:
In Mazandaran, people use pheasant or in Yazd people use camel and cottonseed to talk about great wishes, however in English cat and mouse are used.
/?adæme gorosne xabe qæreqavol mibinæd/
Literal translation:
Hungary man dreams about pheasant.
/∫otor dær xab binæd pænbe dane/
Literal translation:
Camel dreams about cottonseed.
In English:
Cat dreams of mice.
However, what is obvious is that a single concept of meaning has been expressed by specific elements which exist in each region, and it can be said that each region uses its exclusive and familiar concepts to talk about a single meaning.
c) Translation by omission
As with single words, an idiom may sometimes be omitted altogether in the target text. This may be because it has no close match in the target language, its meaning cannot be easily paraphrased, or there are stylistic reasons.
d) Translation by paraphrase
When there is no equivalent in target language or when idiomatic language seems inappropriate in target text, idioms and proverbs may be translated by paraphrase. In this strategy, only the meaning of idiom or proverb without paying attention to what form it has or what is its surface structure is expressed by a non-idiomatic language to target readers.
As it can be observed, the idioms and proverbs which have been translated by this strategy are those local and traditional ones that don’t have an equivalent in English. For example:
/?aftab væ baran ne∫aneje ærusi ∫oghal æst/
Literal translation:
Sun and rain are symbols of jackal’s wedding
This proverb is used to describe people who are cunning and it is only uses in Mazandaran province
Or
/ræqs-e-∫otori/ (camel dancing)
There is a tradition in desert areas and among those who ride camels in deserts that they make camel to move its body in a way following no rule that makes them laugh. This tradition has been gradually become an idiom among those people to describe any movement or dance which follows no rule.
In Mazandaran, when somebody is unemployed and poor, they use:
/∫oghl væ kæduei nædaræd/
Literal translation:
[He] has no job or zucchini.
Since in Mazandaran, zucchini is cultivated a lot, it can be a sign of having property or job.
Or for example, since in desert areas, wind is blowing hard and everything blows away, people uses this element to describe a situation in which something is mortal.
/hær kæs mord, bad u ra ba xod bord/
Literal translation:
Everybody who died, the wind blew him away.
Conclusion
Region and environment for having different elements may have different influences on idioms and proverbs of the area in which they are applied. It means that each area uses the familiar concepts to convey a meaning in the form of idiomatic expressions; therefore concepts which are used in idioms and proverbs to express a meaning may vary from one region to another. For example when a region uses the name of an animal in a proverb, the other area with different regional or environmental features may use the name of a plant to convey the same meaning. It demonstrates that in first
region, that specific animal and in the other region, that specific plant is more familiar for the residents, and this leads people to use what is more tangible for them in their daily conversation.
In the field of the translation of such idioms and proverbs, based on Baker’s strategies, it was clarified that the most applicable strategy was the second, i.e. using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form. The first activity that a translator does when s/he faces with each kind of idiom or proverb in the text is to refer a bilingual dictionary to find an equivalent. Sometimes but rarely, s/he can find a single form in both source and target languages for a single meaning; therefore, the second strategy is preferred. And when the translator couldn’t find any equivalent, s/he simply tries to convey the meaning by paraphrasing.
However, what is important is the reason that a translator chooses a strategy among all the existing strategies, and it seems that it depends directly on the type of contexts in which these kinds of idioms and proverbs are used. In this respect, texts may be classified into different categories such as historical texts, literary texts, journalistic texts, scientific texts and so on. For example, in scientific texts or some journalistic articles that have nothing to do with a regional idiom/proverb or if there is any, it is for support or completion of other materials within the text, their translation based on whatever strategy does not differ in understanding of the text for the target reader or it may even be omitted in translation; therefore the translator can easily choose the best strategy s/he thinks to translate it.
Thus, the problem is when the text is mainly about that specific region and it needs to get the reader familiar with that region. For example, in historical, literary or cultural texts in which such kinds of idioms or proverbs are used as a part of the text to introduce the characteristics of that specific region to readers, the translator needs to transfer the regional aspect to target language to make the text understandable as it has been in source language. Now what and to what extent, a translator should do to transfer this influence to target readers.
Although the author has tried to choose the nearest equivalent to source text, based on lexical patterns, among several equivalents that each idiom/proverb had, but it can be observed that the influence of region, environment and nature isn’t reflected in second strategy, and if the translator only tries to translate those specific idioms/proverbs by these two strategies, s/he will fail in this intention to transfer the flavor of source regional characteristics to target readers in particular texts such as historical, literary or cultural texts. Therefore it seems that a further strategy other than the above mentioned strategies is needed.
To do with this problem, first it may be recommended that depending on the value of the idiom/proverb within the text, the translator tries to offer a combination of both literal translation and paraphrase in order to transfer the meaning. However, sometimes it may not be enough, and further explanation is needed. In this case, the translator may provide the extra information in the footnote.
In some types of texts that the numbers and the position of the idiom/proverb may be important or may be because of aesthetic value, the translator may introduce a symbol at the beginning of the text meaning that where it is used, there has been an idiom or proverbs of a particular kind in source text, and it is for referring target reader’s mind to what has existed in source text.
References:
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Lakoff, G. (1987). Women, fire and dangerous things: What categories reveal about the mind. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Mollanazar, H. (2001). Principles and methodology of translation. Tehran: SAMT.
Moosavi, M. (2008). A Versified Dictionary of Farsi Proverbs and Their English Equivalents.Tehran: Computer World Publication.
Nazari Teimoori, E. (2004). A Dictionary of Proverbs and Colloquial idioms (Persian to English). Tehran: Yadvare Ketab Publication.
Parsa, A. (2003). A Evolution of Twelve Thousands Persian Proverbs and Thirty Thousands of Their Equivalents. A Book of Literary and Philosophy. Vol.65, Page 66.
Trudgill, P. (1974). Sociolinguistics: an introduction to language and society.4th edition. Penguin
Wardhaugh, R. (1986). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Yadollahpour, M. (2008). A Consideration on the Influence of Region on Mazandaran Proverbs. Unpublished.