A Semantic Study of English Euphemistic Expressions and Their Persian Translations in Jane Austen’s Novel “Emma

Abstract

This qualitative study considered English euphemisms and their translation into Persian from a linguistic and translational perspective. The main aim of the study was to see how Warren’s (1992) semantic categories of euphemisms are treated in the process of translation from SL to the TL. The assessment of the translation of euphemistic expressions was carried out by focusing on Newmark’s (1981) approaches to translation. By focusing on the translation of English euphemistic figurative devices, and drawing on data from a famous English novel, Jane Austen's Emma, the researcher considered in detail the translation of euphemistic metaphors, metonymies, overstatements, understatements as well as reversals (antonyms) in the Persian translations of Emma. The results showed that Persian counterparts are not necessarily metonymical and metaphorical and are not necessarily euphemistic. The translations may nonetheless be highly communicative when certain strategies are applied. It was also found that the translator has freedom to translate formally and keep the same force as in the overstatement, understatement and reversal, and in the same vein, the translator has the freedom to translate non-euphemistically.