A New Perspective on the Cultural, Linguistic and Socio-linguistic Problems in the Translation with Particular Reference to Mohammed Abdul-Wali’s Short Fiction

Abstract:

The appearance of the collection They Die Strangers (1966) in English (2001) by the Yemeni writer Mohammed Abdul-Wali, published by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, was a promising start for the Yemeni literature to be known to foreign readers. However, the socio-cultural differences and colloquial words and expressions that challenge the translators hinder a complete faithful translation in many of the short stories by Abdul-Wali. The aim of this paper is to show how the cultural, linguistic and socio-linguistic misinterpretations in the translation of two representative short stories affect the progression of their themes hence fail to convey the level of oppression and frustration in the lives of the Yemeni people during the 1960s. The study is new in its orientation for it will be presented through detailed analysis taking the context of each story as a principal element.