Untranslatability in immortal classics literature : Linguistic and stylistic study (Fables De La Fontaine As A Model)

Abstract

This study aimed to highlight the importance of translating Immortal
Classics World Literature meant for varied linguistic communities
whatever might be their languages, cultures and. This type of literature is
mostly written in a high style in such a way that it becomes untranslatable
for structural and stylistic causes. Does the translator undertake to fully
reproduce the structure of the source text that leads obviously to a semantic
loss? Or shall he concede the structure to spare the meaning? We tried
to answer this issue by translating into Arabic language two tales of the
French writer La Fontaine whose elegant high style is well-known; we have
proposed linguistic solutions embodied in the techniques of translation
as an alternative to literal transmission, along with discourse analysis
to make out the hidden units. We concluded that untranslatability does
not reflect a weakness in the translator’s abilities, but on the contrary, it
often demonstrates two very important features: the distinctiveness of the
original language and the respect for the ethics of translation which dictate
the priority of conveying the meaning even if it completely changes the
structure. The results also show that Arabic language allows the transfer of
metrics and rhymes with its own inexhaustible lexical and structural tools.
In sum, considering its esthetic, social and didactic values, the translation
of Immortal Classics World Literature deserves attention and diligence
from the translators