Problems in translating poetry

3. Socio-cultural Problems. There are also some words in a poem that may not sound good when translated to another language. The words could also be very offensive or inappropriate. They might be seen as vulgar even if in the original language, the word used is just right. Thus, the translator now has to choose the more appropriate word to use or find a more culturally sensitive equivalent of the word used in the original text. Words or expressions that contain culturally-bound word(s) create certain problems. The socio-cultural problems exist in the phrases, clauses, or sentences containing word(s) related to the four major cultural categories, namely: ideas, behavior, product, and ecology [7; 39]. The "ideas" includes belief, values, and institution; "behavior" includes customs or habits, "products" includes art, music, and artifacts, and "ecology" includes flora, fauna, plains, winds, and weather. In translating culturally-bound expressions, like in other expressions, a translator may apply one or some of the procedures: Literal translation, transference, naturalization, cultural equivalent, functional equivalent, description equivalent, classifier, componential analysis, deletion, couplets, note, addition, glosses, reduction, and synonymy. In literal translation, a translator does unit-to-unit translation. The translation unit may range from word to larger units such as phrase or clause. In addition, the translator may find the cultural equivalent word of the SL or, if he cannot find one, neutralize or generalize the SL word to result 'functional equivalents'. In componential analysis procedure, the translator splits up a lexical unit into its sense components, often one-to-two, one-to-three, or -more translation. Moreover, a translator sometimes adds some information, whether he puts it in a bracket or in other clause or even footnote, or even deletes unimportant SL words in the translation to smooth the result for the reader. Let's analyse these kind of difficulties as an example of Shakespeare's dramas.

Translating Shakespeare into Uzbek in verse form was connected with many serious difficulties. Shakespeare's plays are translated in clear rhythm, but without rhyme. The rhyme is used very seldom in the translation. In order to present this amazing play to the Uzbek reader Gafur Gulom used all the possible potentialities of the Uzbek language. In order to fully comprehend the world of characters and their spirit he studied several Russian versions of Shakespeare's plays. One of the most important problems in the interpretation art is to reflect the described character of the play in the literary translation. The ability of perfect reflection of the character defines the destiny of the interpreted version. Gafur Gulom managed to reach almost all of these goals.

Gafur Gulam was able to transform the conversations of the heroes in alive and free form. Their characters didn't become artificial and unreal. Here are the examples for comparison from M.M. Morozov's word for word translation in Russian and Gafur Gulam's Uzbek literary translation:

- Why, how now, no! From whence arise this?

- Which heaven hath forbid the Ottomites?

For Christian shame, put by this barbarous brawl:

Ha that stirs next to carve for his own rage

Holds his soul light; he dies upon his motion,-

Silence that dreadful bell! It frights the isle

From her property. – What is the matter, masters? –

Honest Iago, that look’st dead with grieving,

Speak, who began this? On the love, I charge thee.

Russiantranslation:

- Эй, вы, чтотакое? Из-за чего возникла ссора? Или мы превратились в турок и делаем с собой то, что небо не дало совершить оттоману? Во имя христианской совести прекратите эту варварскую драку. Следующий, кто шевельнётся чтобы предаться личному своему гневу, дешево ценит свою жизнь: он умрёт при первом движении. Прекратите звон колокола, наводящий ужас! Он волнует жителей острова. Что случилось, господа! Честный Яго, от огорчений ты выглядишь мертвецом. Скажи, кто это начал, Воимя твоей любви ко мне, приказываю тебе!

Uzbek translation:

- Xo'sh, Otello, nima gap, qanday qilib bu janjal chiqdi? Biz turklarmi, ikkita do'st shunday olishsa? Qachon berdi ko'k tangrisi buncha ijozat? Vaxshiy janjal yo'qotilsin! Siz xristian!

Kim quturgan g'azabni darrov yutmasa bu dunyoda yashamaydi;

Qimirlash-o'lim. Bu dahshatni yo'qoting tezdan

Vahimaga solur butun butun Qibris otasin.

Xun, nima gap, nima janjal?

Sen ayt-chi Yago. Nima uchun murda kabi bo'zarib ketding.

Bilmoqchiman kim boshladi bu ishni avval?!

Translating Shakespeare's works is a complicated art, which demands from interpreters not only the knowledge of the languages, but also the history of the Great Britain, especially the history of Shakespeare's time, it's economic and cultural life, also he has to be a great poet and professional interpreter, who is able to transfer Shakespeare's literary world, while translating. Gafur Gulam's translation, shown earlier, is close and sound like to the Shakespeare's poetical spirit. Interpreter could draw the main character specifically and more clearly. In his translation, Gafur Gulam could restore skillfully the realistic and literary perfectness of Shakespeare's characters. As a result, in Uzbek translation these characters came up animated(lively)

The essential conditions for a person to translate a poem from the original language to the target language should include his or her profound mastery of both languages and a deep understanding of the two different cultural backgrounds as well as his or her critical knowledge of and insights into both the poet and his or her works. However, unless the translator is full of poetic enthusiasm, imagination, and inspiration, all those above conditions are still not sufficient for good poetry translation. Poems can be translated because their contents can be expressed in another language. However, it is sometimes very difficult or even impossible to express the content of a poem perfectly in a different language because of the differences between the original language and the target language, especially in cases of phrases with double, triple, or multiple meanings, metaphors, and allusions. Furthermore, the artistic concept or imagery of a poem often consists of two aspects: the emotion and the scene. In the original poem, both aspects areinseparably mingled. However, because of the differences in cultural backgrounds, the translation sometimes keeps the scene but loses the emotion or vice versa. "You have to be able to give the manner of a scene that is hard to describe, to bring it as if before your eyes: it must hold inexhaustible thought in reserve, thought that appears beyond the words. Only then it is perfect"[8, 375]. In other words, the ideal poems express limitless implications in limited words. The words of those poems can be translated sometimes, but their implications "get lost" (to use Robert Frost's all too famous words) in the process of translation.

The conventions and forms of poetic composition in different languages can be very different. It can be very difficult to retain the original poetic form in translation. It is not surprising that versions of a poem in the same target language by different translators.