About the Definition, Classification, and Translation Strategies of Idioms

• Main Author: Kovács Gabriella
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sciendo 2016-12-01
• Series: Acta Universitatis Sapientiae: Philologica
• Subjects: translation of idioms; translator trainees; translation strategies; teaching material; task design
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/ausp-2016-0033

In translator training, the process of planning and implementing the teaching process and the design of teaching materials should be dynamic and flexible. With the future purpose to design teaching materials for idiom translation, this study proposes to explore those characteristics of idioms which might cause difficulties when translating them and some of the various classifications of idioms. Some of the relevant factors which might determine the appropriateness and acceptability of idiom translation and some of the translation strategies recommended in the specialized literature will also be presented. We proposed to analyse the idiom-translating solutions and strategies which the literary translator of the novel “A Game of Thrones” chose while translating it into Hungarian. Our aim is to decide whether the novel can be an appropriate source for authentic teaching material. We chose this novel mainly because it has recently become very popular among students, it is rich in idioms, and we believe that different aspects of idiom typology and different strategies used in idiom translation can be exemplified, demonstrated, and practised with the help of different tasks based on the original text and its Hungarian translation.