A translation of selected sections from Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling book ‘A thousand splendid suns’, with reference to particular cultural aspects

Abstract

In this dissertation, the translator tackles the notion of cultural analysis through language. One might think that translating cultural aspects is not such a difficult task, since one can always replace a word with another that exists as an equivalent in the target language. However, this is not always the case. This is precisely where obstacles are created in translation, and these obstacles are what the translator wants to eliminate in this dissertation. This translation aims to make Afghan culture more accessible to the Maltese target audience, so that the reader can better understand the variations of culture. The translation focuses on particular cultural aspects found in the source text, which are then reproduced into the target text, always keeping the same meaning of the sentences. The meaning of these culturally-specific items is always the most important aspect in the process of translation, because one cannot translate a text and be loyal to both the target language and the source language if the meaning of the original text is lost in the translation. That is why it is important that cultural terms are well understood by the target audience. On the other hand, the differences between the source culture and the target culture will be exposed, while at the same time bringing them to the attention of the reader so that he would realise that even a language like Maltese, which is spoken by very few people, has the ability to offer strategies to overcome translation difficulties pertaining to cultural matters. The methods and strategies used to do so are discussed in the next section. The translation mainly focuses on selected sections of the book A Thousand Splendid Suns. The chapters will not be followed one after the other in sequence, since the translator had to choose pertinent sections from the book to translate them into Maltese. These sections were chosen with the purpose of representing the main character’s mediocre life under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, as she lives with a man who does not love anyone but himself. Apart from this, the chosen chapters include the main essences of the life lived by the people of Afghanistan. Hosseini uses the concept of symbols throughout the story and utilises this to build up the climax. By his own description of Kabul as a ‘thousand splendid suns’, the writer is trying to expose the complexity and beauty that is inhabited in Afghan hearts, albeit the fact that the city is surrounded with violence. The translation aims to depict this same complexity to the Maltese reader. Compared to the Maltese ordinary lifestyle, this kind of life also highlights the differences in the ways of life of the two cultures. The translator also chose some sections which include some events that are important in the history of Afghanistan. Therefore, the main task is not simply to translate the text into the Maltese language, but also to inform the reader of the background and history of Afghanistan. One cannot understand a foreign culture without acknowledging the background that makes it what it is. The chapters follow three sections of the book, from Part One to Part Three. There are no chapters from Part Four, since this is the closing part of the book and there is little cultural reference to translate into the target language. When it was first published, the ‘A Thousands Splendid Suns’ gave many readers a ‘culture shock’, especially for female readers, because the Western world is not familiar with the brutality that Eastern world women experience in the hands of men on an everyday level. This awareness of other cultures is, in the translator’s opinion, what the world needs to understand when it comes to appreciate equality and democracy. This is the reason why the translator chose this particular book, because by reading this book, one would be drawn to empathise with the world that is being represented. The issue on culture in relation to language is discussed in further detail in the Literature Review section. Following the Introduction, the Literature Review focuses on the theories that make translation possible, including other items of interest. Then there is a detailed translation into Maltese from the English source text of Khaled Hosseini’s novel, together with an analysis and definitions of particular items found in the text. In this section, the theories discussed in the Literature Review are put into practice. The last part of the dissertation consists of the Conclusion, where the translator closes the dissertation and comments about limitations of translation. The Bibliography, then, consists of a list of sources that helped in this dissertation.