IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS: “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING” OR A REAL CHALLENGE FOR TRANSLATORS

Abstract

Rendering idiomatic expressions from SL into TL is one of the most challenging tasks in the translation process. Identifying, correctly interpreting and finding a proper translation equivalent for idioms often become a major obstacle for translators. Idiomatic expressions are language- and culture-bound and their proper transfer from ST to TLrequires an excellent command of both mother tongue and foreign language as well as of SL and TL culture. The paper aims to investigate the process of translating idioms from English into Macedonian. The goal is to ascertain what strategies are employed in translating idioms (e.g. idioms with the same form and meaning; idioms with the same meaning but different form; literal translation of idioms; omission of idioms, etc.). For the purposes of this research, the paper offers an analysis of a random selection of idiomatic expressions used in Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, “Much Ado About Nothing”, and their translation equivalents in the Macedonian translation of the play, “Od vlakno ortoma” by Dragi Mihajlovski. The research unequivocally points to one strategy being clearly predominant– translating an idiom from SL with an idiom with similar meaning but different form from TL. The research further reveals that in the effort to preserve the same aesthetic effects in the target text, and depending on the context, the translator, in fact, employs a variety of translation strategies. At points the translator even introduces idioms where there are no such expressions in the original.