Language ,Culture And Society In Relation With Translation:
Studying on language, culture and translation and the relationship between them are valuable issues world due to the importance of human communication in the world. The variety of languages with different cultures and necessity of communications in human life caused translation to be a very effective factor In communicating, exchanging cultures, and knowledge. Thus, it seems that language and culture are closely related and it is essential to consider both in the process of translation.
We also define that translation has an important role in globalization of cultures especially pop culture leading to expanding ethnic habits and customs, or religious values. As languages and culture are complimentary of each other, and cultural features of every region is different, translators not only should concentrate on how to convey the same meaning, but also attempt to show the dissimilarities where tween two cultural perspectives.
Translation is viewed as a socio-cultural practice which is deeply immersed in its own context. Translation is not an activity that happens in isolation. It is carried out by individuals for various reasons and in order to fulfil specific purposes. The study of translation in social practices acquires the position of an activity in a particular cultural system. It also considers the role of the translator in the transmission of identities, in shaping images of communities and in the spread of political and religious doctrines.
Culture Turn:
We cannot start this module on "Socio-Translation without referring to the conceptual and methodological changes which took place within the world of translation studies in the 1980s. Until the 1970s, translations were produced and circulated but they were not considered worthy of academic attention.
New disciplines appeared which emphasized the context and the social importance of the subjects, such as Semiotics, Sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Cultural Studies, Women's Studies, etc. These new perspectives were bound to have an impact on the way translation was considered.
The name of the movement, the so-called "Cultural Turn" already explains what the whole change was about. It implied a process whereby translation started to be viewed as an activity immersed in a particular socio-cultural context.
Language, Culture and Translation in Meaning:
1: Language :
Language is used to maintain and convey culture and cultural ties, Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex system of communication or to a specific Instance of such a system of complex communication. The human language faculty is thought to be fundamentally different from those of other species. Human language is highly complex for it is based on a set of rules relating symbols to their meanings, thereby forming an infinite number of possible Innovative utterances from a finite number of elements.
The term culture originally meant the cultivation of the soul or mind; culture Includes behavior such as courtship or child rearing practices, material things such as tools, clothing and shelter, Institutions and beliefs, Culture is the sum total of the ways of living built up by a group and passed on from one generation to another Culture is a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs and many other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.
3:Translation:
The communication of the meaning of the source-language text is by means of an equivalent target language text, so translation consists of language and culture. Jerome said that two things are necessary for a good translation. an adequate understanding of the original language (source language) and an adequate command of the language into which one is translating (target language). Larson claimed that "Translation is a complicated process. Translation is no longer considered to be a mere cross-linguistic activity but it significantly is cross-cultural communication.
The Significant Roles of Translation in Transferring Culture:
1:Making Culture Universal:
Translation plays a vital role in making a culture universal and general. It acts as a bridge to communicate all kinds of languages specially those similar to each other considering their linguistic features and cultural customs in all parts of the world. Translation presumes the existence of boundaries between different cultures and the translator is aware of these boundaries and the inevitability of crossing them. Without cultural similarities and universalities, there is no way for people of different culture's to communicate with each other and translation will be impossible. When speaking of two languages which are to be translated equivalently, translators must convey the same referential, pragmatic and interlinked meanings. However, due to differences between two cultures, semantic equivalence is limited to some.
2:Getting Familiar with Pop Culture and Habits:
Since translation transfers the culture, unconsciously behind this culture, we get familiar with the pop cultures and people's habits of different regions. For example, "Mother Day" as a pop culture shows that people respect Mothers. So this special day has become a habit for all countries in different geographical regions. Also daily habits such as using the internet have become so common globally so using this is inevitable almost for all.
3: To Get Acquainted with Cultural and Religious Customs:
Each language has its own culture and religion, Each society publicizes its own specific culture through translation helps to know the variety of worships different cultures, for example: of Muslim pray In Mosque, Christian in Church, Jewish in Synagogue or celebrating "Christmas Day" has been expanded. Translation links cultures as a chain. Thus translation obviously is a cross-cultural communication, it is beyond structures and sentences, and not simply a mere language.
4:Give Advantages of the Source Language Cultures:
A proper translation makes the reader to ponder over the cultural context of the source language. Cultural borrowing is one of the advantages that transfer ideas, customs, and social behaviors from another culture. By an adequate translation, readers or audience of target language culture will acquire a lot of useful benefits for example hospitality, way of greeting and saying hello when they meet each other would be extend in the world through translation. The other example is table manners of some nations that reflect how that nation's culture is.
conclusion:
We should note that culture is not material phenomenon, it does not consist of things, people, behavior, or emotions. It is rather an organization of these things. It is the form of things that people have in mind, their model of perceiving and dealing with their circumstances. Culture would be transferred through language. One is limited by the language one uses to express one's ideas. Different languages will create different limitations, therefore people who share a culture but speak different languages, will have different world views. Still, language is rooted in culture and culture is reflected and passed on by language from one generation to the next. From this, one can see that learning a new language involves the learning of a new culture, Consequently, teachers of a language are also teachers of culture. Culture is vital in forming civilization. Knowledge, beliefs and perspectives transfer through language and culture. Culture links the past, present and future together, However, translation which causes to insert new words from foreign languages, in most cases damages that language.
Some Barriers in Translation:
How cultures transfer through the languages? For answering this question we should consider the relationship between culture and language which is deeply rooted. Translation is the only way which does it. The fact that there is only one human species is explained by the possibility to transfer sense, meaning from one language to the other, and by means of the word, thus, by translation. All translators who transfer natural meaning based on the cultural and religious norms of their society, encounter some limitations and censorship through translation. They are described as:
Religion is one of those obstacles that cause problem in translation. Religion can be understood only by its cultural language and to translate this religious context we face some limitations that cannot be translated. Because religious texts are described in an implicit way, natural and effective translation is almost impractical. Besides, religion and culture are intertwined and religion has taken its root from human mind and soul, people accept them by the core of their hearts. Therefore, it cannot be changed or distorted by anyone, because it leads to stimulate people and evoke negative reaction by them. Therefore or work their religion in the process of translation.
conclusion:
We talked about the limitations of translation process but let's add that translation not only transfers fundamental aspects and features of culture but also it transfers modern science, and foreign histories. Therefore, that a translator's job is to eliminate and destroy boundaries is not always true. It Crosses the borders to communicate cultures. The translator's main aim is bringing the original message to the target language receptor. Understanding a message means interpreting it on the basis of the required background knowledge. If such knowledge is missing due to cultural differences, it should be compensated for. The translator renders into another language what the words in the original message mean in their culture. The cultural specifics influence the way the language units are used and understood. Culture finds its expression in the language and through the language. Translation from language to language is in fact translation from culture to culture.
