Realia (translation) en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Realia_%28translation%29

For other uses, see Realia (disambiguation).

In translation, Realia (plural noun) are words and expressions for culture-specific material elements.The word realia comes from medieval Latin, in which it originally meant the real things, i.e. materialthings, as opposed to abstract ones. The Bulgarian translators Vlahov and Florin, who were the first tocarry out an in-depth study of realia, coined the modern sense of the word. They indicate that sincerealia carry a very local overtone, they often pose a challenge for translation.[1] Realia must not beconfused with terminology: the latter is primarily used in the scientific literature to designate things thatpertain to the scientific sphere, and usually only appears in other kinds of texts to serve a very specificstylistic purpose. Realia, on the other hand, are born in popular culture, and are increasingly found invery diverse kinds of texts. Fiction, in particular, is fond of realia for the exotic touch they bring.

Contents

Types and examples of realiaVlahov and Florin classify them in various categories:

Geography

Ethnographyeveryday life: paprika, spaghetti, empanada, cider, bistrot, sauna, kimono, sari, sombrero,jeans, igloo, bungalowwork: carabinieri, concierge, machete, bolasart and culture: kozachok, tarantella, banjo, gong, commedia dellarte, harlequin, bard, geisha,ramadan, cinco de mayo, easter, Santa Claus, werewolf, vampire, mormon, quaker, dervish,pagoda, synagogue ethnic characterizations: cockney, Fritz, gringo, yankeemeasures and money: mile, kilometer, hectare, gallon, perch, ruble, lira, peseta, talent,greenback[2]

Politics and societyadministrative divisions: region, province, department, state, county, canton, principality,favela, bidonville, arrondissement, souk, promenade...organs and functions: agora, forum, knesset, duma, senate, chancellor, tzar, shah, pharaoh,vizier, ayatollah, satrappolitical and social life: peronist, tupamaros, Ku Klux Klan, partigiani, slavophile, lobbying,lord, bolshevik, agrg, untouchables, samurai, union jack, fleur-de-lismilitary realia: cohort, phalanx, arquebus, AK-47, katyusha, cuirassier[3]

Translating realiaTo translate realia, various strategies exist : they range from phonetic transcription to translation of the

overall meaning. Israeli scholar Gideon Toury offers one way of defining such solutions. According tohis characterization, each of these can be placed between two extremes: adequacy (closeness to theoriginal) and acceptability (making the word entirely consistent with the target culture). Here are thevarious possibilities at hand for translating realia:

Transcribing (i.e. copying) the word, character by character. This is called transliteration whenthe original word is written in a different alphabet.Transcribing according to the target languages pronunciation rules. For instance, the Hindi wordKamir becomes cachemire in French.Creating a new word or a calque, such as the English flea market inspired by the Frenchmarch aux pucesCreating a new word, analogous to the original one, but which has a more local ring to it, e.g.muezzin from the Arabic mu'adhdhinUsing a different but related word from the source language, passing it off as the original word.For instance, the Italian word cappuccino is often translated into English as latte, which in Italianmeans milk.Making the meaning explicit, such as jewish temple for synagogueReplacing the word with a similar, local one, such as the French art nouveau (literally new art)for JugendstilReplacing the word with one that is more generic or international, such as red wine forBeaujolaisAdding an adjective to help the reader identify the origin of the element of realia, as in theArgentine pampaTranslating the overall meaning. For example, the English sentence Does the National HealthService cover this drug? could become, in an American context, Is this drug expensive?[4]

How suitable each of these solutions is depends on various factors. One of them is the type of text thatis being translated. Adequate translations (in Toury's sense) of realia add some exoticism, a quality thatis often desirable in fiction. For non-fiction, nowadays adequacy is usually preferred to acceptability, soas to avoid the ambiguity that can arise from the use of more culturally neutral translations though theopposite preference has prevailed in the past. One must also consider how the element of realiarelates to the source culture in terms of importance and familiarity. If, for instance, it is rather commonin the source culture, then providing an adequate translation creates an exotic note that wasnt there inthe first place (though this can be justified by the fact that, after all, one is not dealing with an original,but a translation). If, on the contrary, the source culture perceives the element of realia as unusual,unless the translator renders such an element more culturally neutral, readers of the translation willmost likely also perceive it as unusual. Another thing to keep in mind when establishing a translationstrategy is that not all languages are equally open to foreignisms, and how familiar speakers of thatlanguage may be with the realia one introduces. Some languages, such as Italian, welcome suchwords and frequently integrate them into their vocabulary. Other languages, on the contrary, have theopposite tendency: they are wary of foreign words and are very impermeable to them. French is a goodexample of such protectionism. Lastly, the expected readership (which may or may not be similar tothat of the original) influences the choice of a suitable translation strategy. For example, the name of achemical compound will be translated differently depending on whether one expects the text to be readby chemists or schoolchildren.[5]

See also

References

1. ^ Vlahov, S. and Florin, S. Neperovodimoe v perevode. Realii, in Bruno Osimo. Manuale delTraduttore, Seconda Edizione. Hoepli, 2004, p. 63

2. ^ Geographic and Ethnographic Realia Logos, accessed May 26, 2011.3. ^ Political and Social Realia Logos, accessed May 26, 2011.4. ^ Osimo, Bruno. Manuale del Traduttore, Seconda Edizione. Hoepli, 2004, p. 645. ^ How Realia Can Be Translated Logos, accessed on May 26, 2011.

Realia (translation)ContentsTypes and examples of realiaGeographyEthnographyPolitics and society

Translating realiaSee alsoReferences