Proper Nouns in Translation: Should They Be Translated?

Abstract

The translation of proper nouns is not as easy as that of other parts of speech as this is more challenging for certain reasons. The present article presents a descriptive study of proper nouns in translation, scrutinizing the challenges and exploring the solutions. Building on some scholars’ approach and suggestions from other researchers, the article clarifies the nature and problems of proper nouns in translation; it seeks to answer three questions: 1) Should proper nouns be translated? 2) What are the problems on the way of translation of the proper nouns? 3) How can the translator overcome such problems? Moreover, strategies applied by the researchers to make their translation easier are also discussed. It follows that translating proper nouns is not simple and there is little flexibility about translating proper nouns.