- Home
- e-Journals
- Babel
- Issue Home
Babel - Current Issue
Volume 71, Issue 1, 2025
-
The retranslator as the propagandist of MOI
Author(s): Katayoon Afzalipp.: 1–21 (21)More LessAbstractTranslations are reflections of their historical, social, cultural, and political contexts. Given this, the current study aimed to explore the ways Nicholson (1898) and Arberry (1967) dealt with translating culture-bound terms and Quranic allusions in the translations of Rumi’s mystical poems in Divan-e-Shams-e- Tabrizi into English and then identify the textual relationships between the two. To do so, the comparative model of research and the notion of tertium comparationis was used. The strategies used by (re)translators for translating culture-bound terms and Quranic allusions were first identified and categorized in a selection of twenty poems from Divan-e-Shams-e- Tabrizi. The study’s findings showed strong filial relationships between the two versions, where both had used cultural adaptation and explicitation of cultural-bound terms by using the addition strategy used in their endnotes. However, the dissidence lay in the content of the endnotes, and the way discursive contexts of the (re)translators shaped their translation strategies was discussed.
-
The interwar Romanian translation of Dracula
Author(s): Anca Simina Martinpp.: 22–43 (22)More LessAbstractBarbu Cioculescu, co-translator of the 1990 Romanian rendition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula alongside Ileana Verzea, has claimed that their rendition marked the Romanian audience’s first interaction with Stoker’s magnum opus. In 2005 and 2009, however, scholarly articles surfaced positing the existence of an overlooked interwar translation. Nearly a decade later, this lost translation resurfaced through the efforts of a minor publishing house, which published it in book-length form in 2023. Serialized between 1928 and 1929, this newly rediscovered rendition, authored by Romanian poet and prose writer Ion Gorun, stands among the earliest ten translations internationally, predating the novel’s publication in Ireland, Stoker’s homeland, by half a decade. This study explores the rediscovery and peculiarities of Gorun’s rendition, concurrently examining the socio-historical milieu surrounding its original release and elucidating the factors contributing to its century-long elusiveness. Furthermore, the study shows that, despite promoting Stoker’s novel as being set in Transylvania, Gorun’s translation tends to de-exoticize the Irish writer’s portrayal of the region, either for fear of censorship or to circumvent confusion and disapproval among the local audience.
-
Influence du compte-rendu intégré des problèmes et décisions (CRIPD) sur la qualité de la traduction
Author(s): Charlène Meyerspp.: 44–80 (37)More LessRésuméCet article a pour objectif de tester la méthode de rapport des problèmes et stratégies de traduction (Compte-rendu intégré des problèmes et décisions abrégé CRIPD) de Gile (2004, 2005) en confrontant les commentaires de traduction rédigés par des étudiants avec les erreurs qu’ils ont commises dans leurs traductions. L’hypothèse formulée est que plus les commentaires sont nombreux, variés et précis, moins les traductions comporteront d’erreurs. Pour vérifier cette hypothèse, nous avons constitué un corpus électronique de 60 traductions commentées dans le cadre du cours de traduction spécialisée du Master en traduction multidisciplinaire de l’Université de Mons. Les résultats montrent qu’il y a effectivement un lien de corrélation entre la quantité et la qualité de commentaires et le nombre et le type d’erreurs relevées : les étudiants ayant fourni des commentaires (i) nombreux (ii) variés et (iii) précis ont tendance à faire globalement moins d’erreurs que ceux qui rédigent peu de commentaires ou des commentaires peu variés et moins précis. Ces résultats ouvrent des pistes d’encadrement individuel ciblé sur les besoins de chaque étudiant en traduction.
-
Subtitling strategies of swear words in the stand-up comedy Mo Amer: Muhammad in Texas
Author(s): Islam Al Sawipp.: 81–108 (28)More LessAbstractStand-up comedies often employ swear words as a technique to create audience rapport and playful discourse. However, translators face significant challenges in subtitling swear words in these performances for conservative cultures, such as Arabic. This research uses a qualitative and quantitative approach to analyze the Netflix special Mo Amer: Muhammad in Texas to identify swear words, their Arabic subtitles, and the subtitling strategies used and their frequency, utilizing Ljung’s (2011) swear words’ classification and Khoshsaligheh and Ameri’s (2014) subtitling framework. The results revealed that among the 174 identified swear words, “fuck” and “shit” were the most frequently used, at 52% and 16% respectively. Translators employed euphemism, deletion, and taboo to non-taboo strategies, with euphemism emerging as the most predominant at 44%. The strategy of subtitling via taboo to taboo was not used when rendering swear words into Arabic, probably due to cultural considerations for the audience. The findings enhance cross-cultural subtitling practices for stand-up comedy and promote inclusive and engaging experiences for diverse audiences. Further implications are discussed.
-
East Asian translations of Jean-Paul Sartre’s pre-1950 literary works
Author(s): Sabrina Choi Kit Yeungpp.: 109–132 (24)More LessAbstractStarting from his first appearance in an East-Asian literary magazine and ending with his last works to be translated before the decline of his popularity in Hong Kong and Taiwan during the Cold War, the period 1938–1975 saw extensive translations of Sartre’s literary works in East-Asia (Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong). This study examines Sartre’s literary works published before 1950, by which most of his renowned ones have been published in France. Divided into Japanese and Chinese sections, it first elaborates on the state of translation of Sartre’s literary works in East Asia from 1938 to 1975 before explaining the phenomenon of multiple translated versions and their differences. The focus then turns to two specific translation cases, one in Japanese and another in Chinese, as examples to illustrate the relation between the vibrant scene of translation attempts within the East Asian region and the wartime situations of the Second World War and the Cold War era. By conducting these investigations, this essay aims to outline how, in Japan, the wartime situation impacted the practice and publication of translations and how, in the case of China, the wartime experience of translators shaped their translation strategies and interpretations regarding Sartre’s literary works.
-
Review of Vidal Claramonte (2022): Translation and Contemporary Art: Transdisciplinary Encounters
Author(s): Sarah I. Aldawoodpp.: 133–136 (4)More LessThis article reviews Translation and Contemporary Art: Transdisciplinary Encounters
-
Review of Blumczynski & Wilson (2023): The Languages of COVID-19: Translational and Multilingual Perspectives on Global Healthcare
Author(s): Christophe Declercq and Antoon Coxpp.: 137–140 (4)More LessThis article reviews The Languages of COVID-19: Translational and Multilingual Perspectives on Global Healthcare
-
Review of Gallai (2023): Relevance Theory in Translation and Interpreting: A Cognitive-Pragmatic Approach
Author(s): Lili Hanpp.: 141–144 (4)More LessThis article reviews Relevance Theory in Translation and Interpreting: A Cognitive-Pragmatic Approach
-
Review of Choi (2022): Government Translation in South Korea: A Corpus-based Study
Author(s): Tao Lipp.: 145–148 (4)More LessThis article reviews Government Translation in South Korea: A Corpus-based Study
-
Review of Petrilli & Ji (2023): Intersemiotic Perspectives on Emotions: Translating across Signs, Bodies and Values
Author(s): Krisztina Zimányipp.: 149–153 (5)More LessThis article reviews Intersemiotic Perspectives on Emotions: Translating across Signs, Bodies and Values
Volumes & issues
-
Volume 71 (2025)
-
Volume 70 (2024)
-
Volume 69 (2023)
-
Volume 68 (2022)
-
Volume 67 (2021)
-
Volume 66 (2020)
-
Volume 65 (2019)
-
Volume 64 (2018)
-
Volume 63 (2017)
-
Volume 62 (2016)
-
Volume 61 (2015)
-
Volume 60 (2014)
-
Volume 59 (2013)
-
Volume 58 (2012)
-
Volume 57 (2011)
-
Volume 56 (2010)
-
Volume 55 (2009)
-
Volume 54 (2008)
-
Volume 53 (2007)
-
Volume 52 (2006)
-
Volume 51 (2005)
-
Volume 50 (2004)
-
Volume 49 (2003)
-
Volume 48 (2002)
-
Volume 47 (2001)
-
Volume 46 (2000)
-
Volume 45 (1999)
-
Volume 44 (1998)
-
Volume 43 (1997)
-
Volume 42 (1996)
-
Volume 41 (1995)
-
Volume 40 (1994)
-
Volume 39 (1993)
-
Volume 38 (1992)
-
Volume 37 (1991)
-
Volume 36 (1990)
-
Volume 35 (1989)
-
Volume 34 (1988)
-
Volume 33 (1987)
-
Volume 32 (1986)
-
Volume 31 (1985)
-
Volume 30 (1984)
-
Volume 29 (1983)
-
Volume 28 (1982)
-
Volume 27 (1981)
-
Volume 26 (1980)
-
Volume 25 (1979)
-
Volume 24 (1978)
-
Volume 23 (1977)
-
Volume 22 (1976)
-
Volume 21 (1975)
-
Volume 20 (1974)
-
Volume 19 (1973)
-
Volume 18 (1972)
-
Volume 17 (1971)
-
Volume 16 (1970)
-
Volume 15 (1969)
-
Volume 14 (1968)
-
Volume 13 (1967)
-
Volume 12 (1966)
-
Volume 11 (1965)
-
Volume 10 (1964)
-
Volume 9 (1963)
-
Volume 8 (1962)
-
Volume 7 (1961)
-
Volume 6 (1960)
-
Volume 5 (1959)
-
Volume 4 (1958)
-
Volume 3 (1957)
-
Volume 2 (1956)
-
Volume 1 (1955)
Most Read This Month Most Read RSS feed

-
-
The Myth of the Negro Past
Author(s): Melville J. Herskovits
-
-
-
Can "Metaphor" Be Translated?
Author(s): Menachem Dagut
-
- More Less