The Difficulties Encountered in Literary Translation and the Possible Solutions

Abstract

This study focuses the attention on the difficulties encountered in literary translation and the ways of overcoming them in producing an effective translation. Accordingly, the difficulties that a translator may encounter are as follows: translating cultural words, similes, metaphors, taboos, idioms, phrases and proverbs, using dialogues according to characters and context, protecting the meaning, rhythm and format in poetry translation, conveying the idea using limited number of words in poetry translation, translating feelings and underlying meanings in drama and poetry translations. Data analysis is done with a qualitative approach using comparative methodology. Thus, the following solutions could be used in overcoming the difficulties such as: translating culture while making the reader understand the meanings of the cultural words, not harming the source culture and avoiding culture shocks when translating taboos, using foot notes where necessary, using equivalents if there are any, if not use a word, idiom, phrase, proverb that give the same meaning, using dialogues, descriptions, writing style according to the context, characters etc, using the theory of omission and addition where necessary. Thus the translator could overcome the difficulties by using aforesaid solutions in dealing with a literary translation.