PROBING AMPLIFICATION, DOMESTICATION, AND UNTRANSLATABILITY IN THE URDU TRANSLATION OF SHAKESPEARE’S OTHELLO

Abstract

This study explores the projection of amplification, domestication, and untranslatability in the Urdu translation of Shakespeare’s Othello by Anayatullah Dehlvi. The traditional approaches to translation are realized to hide cultural depiction and naturalness of language. They are regarded mathematically inflexible, which conceive one to one relation in languages. They are eclipsed and translation in the recent era is viewed with the lens of broader spectrum. In this descriptive study, the researcher uses the purposive sampling technique to select various extracts from the Urdu translation of Othello representing amplification, domestication, and untranslatability. The qualitative analysis reveals that the role of these strategies is enormously helpful because of connecting the source and target cultures. Nida’s modal of functional equivalence is used as theoretical framework. It is also realized that untranslatability is a cultural phenomenon, which sometimes crops up on the grounds of religion and ethics. In the Muslim cultures, translation of sexuality and nudity is categorically discouraged. On these grounds, it is recommended to incorporate these strategies in the Urdu literary translations to reduce foreignness and unpack the cultural discourses