Strategies for Translation of Similes in Four Different Persian Translations of Hamlet

Abstract

The present study aimed at examining four different Persian translations of Hamlet to find out the strategies used for translation of similes based on the strategy model proposed by Pierini (2007). The Persian translations selected were those by Beh Azin, Farzad, Pasargadi and Shahin. To collect the relevant data, the whole original text of Hamlet was read thoroughly and finally 85 examples of similes were extracted from it. Later, through comparing the English similes and their Persian equivalents, the type of strategy used for each simile was determined. The results indicated that from among the six strategies proposed by Pierini, all the translators had applied the first strategy, literal translation, much more than the other ones. Meanwhile, none of the translators had used reduction of the simile, if idiomatic, to its sense in their work. Further, very low application of retention of the same vehicle plus explicitation of similarity feature(s) and replacement of the vehicle with a gloss was reported in the four translations. To answer the second research question, Chi-square test was drawn on to find out whether there was a statistically significant difference in the application of each strategy in the four translations. The results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in the application of strategies in the four translations of Hamlet meaning that the four translators had used the strategies similarly.