SHAHEEN'S TRANSLATION STRATEGIES AND ORIENTATIONS IN RENDERING ANTHROPOMORPHIC METAPHORS IN CONRAD'S NOVEL "HEART OF DARKNESS"

Abstract

The translation of metaphor in literary texts poses one of the most challenging areas in translation studies, as metaphors carry complex semantic, cultural and aesthetic dimensions. This study investigates the translation of anthropomorphic metaphors in the first chapter of Conard's novel "Heart of Darkness" (1996), by Harb Shaheen (2004). It predominantly focuses on Shaheen's translation strategies and orientations. Based on Ullmann's (1972) categorization of metaphor and Newmark's (1981) model of translation strategies, the study utilizes quantitative and qualitative approaches to identify the anthropomorphic metaphors in the source text and analyze the strategies and orientations employed in rendering them into Arabic. The findings indicate that Shaheen generally adopts all Newmark's strategies focusing on literal translation and metaphor preservation, which reflects a fidelity-oriented approach. However many instances of paraphrase, semantic adjustment, reshaping and deleting the metaphorical image indicate occasionally creative intervention. The study concludes that Shaheen's translation exhibits a generally fidelity-oriented tendency with many creative modifications to accommodate linguistic and cultural considerations.