Abstract
Translating culture-bound words: A problem in bilingual lexicography
Highlights
Trajislators often liave problems when they have to translate culture-specific words
Semantic voids are usually found on the level of the individual word, Dagut (1981:63) asserts. This means that a semantic voids exists when there is no single target language word to convey the meaning of a particular source language word
A translator may use transcription when a target language does not have a designator which could serve as a translation equivalent for the word used in the source language
Summary
Trajislators often liave problems when they have to translate culture-specific words. These words very often do not have adequate translation equivalents in the target language In this paper, this problem is addressed from a semantic point of view, using Menachem Dagut's classification of semantic voids as a theoretical framework. "blank spaces" occur because each particuar language is "ignoring or giving prominence to different aspects of 'reality'", in Dagut's (1978:45) opinion It appears to him (1978:45-46) that "...the 'words' of a language are immediately recognizable indications of the features of experience which are of primary concern to the speakers of that language...". This means that a semantic voids exists when there is no single target language word to convey the meaning of a particular source language word To illustrate this point, Dagut (1981:64, note 9) quotes. 1 shall concentrate mainly on referential voids, the means of transfer which can be used in the case of such voids, and the extent to which denotational and connotational equivalence can be achieved
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