Journal Article

Gender Bias in Translation

Abdelnasser, Hesham Sayed

2023

Overview

When comparing an original text to its translation, semantic differ- ences may become apparent. This is due to the fact that translations are a human product and can vary depending on the translator. The manipulation school refers to ways of adjusting or modifying a source text, consciously or unconsciously, by the translator so as to make it acceptable and correspond- ing to his own ideology. This paper investigates essential question regarding translation and translator's ideology from a translation studies perspective. It discusses how much the translation can be manipulated by translator's ideology. The main interest is in how ideology, specifically \"gender\", is conveyed and presented textually in translation. The study adopts Hermeneutic theory to understand, analyze, and compare the source text with the target text. Out of the various translations of the Shakespearian play \"The Taming of the Shrew\", the study compares a translation produced by Dr. Saheer El-Kalamawi to the transla- tion that is produced by Dr. Mohamed Enani in order to illustrate how gen- der can affect the product of the translation process. Being a female or a male can affect the process of translation. Alt- hough translation has been described as a cross-cultural transfer, it is im- portant to note that this transfer implies an ideological transfer as well, if ideology is understood in its broad sense, i.e., as the standard set of values, ideas and beliefs that govern a community, and consequently, a translator must possess in-depth knowledge of the ideas, beliefs, and values that con- nect to the languages being translated. This study intends to illustrate to what extent ideological considerations play a role when the translation is produced by a female translator and how far it differs from a translation produced by a male translator.

• Publisher: جامعة أسيوط - كلية الآداب
• Subject: التحيز الجنسي / التلاعب الثقافي / عمليات الترجمة