Figurative language and culture-bound terms in interpreting: challenges and effects
Abstract
This study set out to find out if interpreters faced any challenges while interpreting
figurative language and culture-bound terms and the strategies they use. The key
objective of this study was to investigate how figurative language and culture-bound
terms were interpreted and if that had any impact on effective interpretation. This study
was driven by a need to find out how interpreters rendered any message that was not said
literally and words which were unique to certain culture, as is the case in figurative
language and culture-bound terms. This study was guided by the theory of dynamic
equivalence also known as functional theory. It was initiated through giving two
speeches, one in Kiswahili and the other one in English, to qualified interpreters. Then
the interpretations given were analyzed to see how the interpreters had tackled figurative
language and culture-bound terms and if it had any impact on effective interpretation.
The research established that interpreting figurative language and culture-bound terms
posed a big challenge to interpreters. The study also found that the way figurative
language and culture-bound terms were interpreted had an impact on effective
interpretation. These findings unearth a need to try and come up with clear strategies to
use when interpreting figurative language and culture-bound terms. This will ensure
anything communicated using the two is not lost in interpretation. Such strategies can be
passed to training interpreters.
Citation
Ndichu Rachael Nyambura (2013). Figurative Language And Culture-bound Terms In Interpreting: Challenges And Effects. Master of Arts in InterpretationPublisher
University of Nairobi