Lexical Expansion in Marginal Aids: A Study on Translating Cultural Loaded Implicit Meaning

Abstract

This study investigates some areas in translation that are parts of the cultural background knowledge in the source texts. As the target text readers do not share the same background knowledge with the readers of the source text, in translation, some information should be added for making the target text more understandable for its readers. This study is based on Nida’s (1964) and further Nida and Taber’s (1982) addition and/or expansion theory. The researchers seek to see what the translator, Rehatsek (2004), did in translating Golestan into English regarding cultural loaded implicitation. The study showed that the translator used the lexical expansion strategy in marginal aids and added eighty two cases of footnote in his translation for conveying this kind of implicitation.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p2423