Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2009
Publication Title
Translation Journal
Volume
13
Issue
3
Publisher Name
Accurapid Translation Services, Inc.
Publisher Location
USA
Abstract
This paper proposes a possible concept of 'cultural untranslatability' in translation, focusing on what it is, how important it is, and when it occurs. The paper first explores cultural concepts for understanding of culture. The second part examines Hofstede's cultural dimensions and establishes an experimental definition of cultural difference. Drawing on actual translations between English and Japanese, the third part discusses the importance of the concept. Finally, it considers under what circumstances such untranslatable items are de facto culturally untranslatable, borrowing the concept of translation norms. The paper concludes that cultural untranslatability is an important, useful concept for translation between languages with a great cultural difference, and the notion of correctness peculiar to a socio-cultural context in a specific culture is the deciding factor in cultural untranslatability.
Recommended Citation
Kitamura, Kanji. Cultural Untranslatability. Translation Journal, 13, 3: , 2009. Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, Modern Languages and Literatures: Faculty Publications and Other Works,
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Copyright Statement
© Translation Journal and the Author 2009.
Comments
Author Posting © Translation Journal and the Author 2009. The article was published in the Translation Journal, Volume 3, No. 3, July 2009, https://translationjournal.net/journal/49translatability.htm.