Findings
How do you deal with the word tarouf in your work?
Though the concept of
tarouf
permeates all Iranian writing and speech, the
word itself will occur relatively infrequently in the kinds of business
documents which translators handle. They were initially rather defensive
when we asked them about the difficulties in translating
tarouf
. Once they
understood we were not criticising their practice, but interested in how
they dealt with the problem, they explained that where possible they would
seek a word which captured as far as possible the particular element of
tarouf
which was relevant in that passage. (Note: if the translated
passages were then subjected to back translation, often seen as the acid
test of good translation, the second translator would almost certainly not
translate any of these words as „
tarouf
‟). The challenge of translation
posed by
tarouf
was not confined to the word itself. There are what might
be called „
tarouf
phrases‟, expressions of politeness which serve a „phatic
function‟ (Tietze, 2007), that is, a function in maintaining social
22
relationships. A good example is a phrase which translates as „I hope
your hand doesn‟t hurt‟. The phrase is loosely comparable to expressions
in English such as „I hope I didn‟t put you to any trouble‟ or „Thank you, but
you really shouldn‟t have‟, used to express gratitude for another‟s
exertions for your benefit. Literal translation of these expressions of
tarouf
can produce English phrases which are difficult to understand. If the
anticipated reader has no knowledge about Iranian culture, translators
may use footnotes to explain the role or meaning of the phrase.
Another aspect of
tarouf
is the use of repetition – certain Farsi passages
would contain multiple phrases which say broadly the same thing in
different ways, and might seem like unnecessary repetition, and the
translator might choose to edit out some of the repetition. It is important to
note that our respondents are all working between English and Farsi, and
typically with British and American clients. Translating into a language
other than English, or for a culture which uses repetition to serve a phatic
function, the translators might choose to translate the passages in full.
The interpreters noted the word rarely arises in business meetings, so it is
not in itself a challenge for interpretation. However, what does arise very
frequently are the „
tarouf
phrases‟ we described above. The example
23
cited, „I hope your hand doesn‟t hurt‟, is frequently used even in situations
where the effort is minimal. For example, in a meeting where a document
is handed round by each person taking a copy and passing the rest on,
one would be expected to use this phrase to express
tarouf
.
How do you deal with the concept of tarouf in your work?
The interpreters frequently encountered language and behaviour which
was, to an Iranian, recognisably an example of
tarouf
. They admitted that
in many cases they simply ignored it, but this depended on the situation.
In cases where it was impossible to ignore they would try to translate in a
way which was as close as possible to the intended meaning whilst
presenting it in ways which their clients would find recognisable because
of their own culture. This approach of „translation by analogy‟ is potentially
problematic, since it can give the listener a false impression that they
understand a particular cultural concept. As an example, an American
tourist in the UK asked the first author about cricket, adding „it‟s kinda like
baseball, right?‟ Just as our interpreters have to make a judgement about
how much interpretation is actually necessary, so the author had to think
about how much the listener needed (or wanted) to understand the
differences in rules, history, the way in which the game could once be
seen as a microcosm of the British class system, etc. Describing the
24
choices available when a speaker uses a „
tarouf
phrase‟, one interpreter
suggested he might substitute it with an English expression which serves
a similar function, if he did not have enough time for a long explanation
(e.g. in oral translations of short meetings). Alternatively, he might
translate the expression word for word into English and provide the
addressee with an explanation of the phrase and its function in daily
conversation at a later point (e.g. in a break between meetings). The
interpreters made clear that if they think translating the word or phrase
may cause confusion they do not translate it.
We noted above that translators might edit Farsi passages, and the
interpreters performed a similar editing when translating from Farsi to
English, but significantly they reversed this when translating from English
to Farsi. For example, at a first meeting between two business people,
the Iranian speaker would engage in an extended introduction involving
many compliments and courtesies. The interpreter might render this as
„He is delighted to welcome you here, and is really looking forward to
working with you‟. By contrast, if the English speaker then replied with a
polite but fairly brief response to this courtesy, the interpreter would tend
to add in some additional
tarouf
phrases so as to convey the appropriate
level of courtesy and respect. This process sometimes created difficulties
25
for them, when the speaker questions the relative brevity (or loquacity) of
the interpreter‟s „translation‟ of what they have just said. In such cases,
and in order to appear professional, the interpreter may have to move
beyond translation or interpretation, and engage in explanation. In this
way, they take on a role as a cultural guide.
The need to „explain‟
tarouf
arises in part because of the difficulty of
translating it. We were interested to discover that interpreters are very
conscious of making choices about whether to engage in this activity. For
example, in a situation which they anticipate as being a one-off meeting
with a client, they generally ignore the issue, unless something occurs
which they feel forces them to offer an explanation. The issue of striking
differences in the length of the original speech and the translation is one
example, another is when clients comment upon behaviours they observe
which form part of
tarouf
, but which are bewildering to the non-Iranian.
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