Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Mohammad Sadegh Kenevisi et al./ Elixir Ling. & Trans. 53 (2012) 11809-11814
Available online at www.elixirjournal.org
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Art i cl e h i st ory :
Received: 8 October 2012;
Received in revised form:
20 November 2012;
Accepted: 3 December 2012;
Hafez was a Persian mystic and poet who is well-regarded and remembered for his lyrical
poetry written in Ghazals, a complex and exclusively Persian verse-form. Like other Sufi
poets, Hafiz merged themes of ambiguity into his poems which has become an inseparable
feature of his poetry. An important source of ambiguity in natural languages, and
particularly in poetry, is the polysemy of lexical elements. The purpose of this study is the
identification of the lexical items which have been ambiguous and consequently seems to
have been problematic for translators in rendering them into English. In addition, the study
aims at recognizing the strategies at translators hand in dealing with these lexical elements.
In order to extract the data, eight poems of Hafez have been randomly selected. Nine
couplets of the poems that have been found to contain lexical ambiguities are randomly
selected. Following the identification of the ambiguities, the translations of them by two to
five translators have been analyzed to find out the strategies used by the translators in the
translation of ambiguous items. The result of the study shows that while in many cases
translators have attempted to use the context as a source of disambiguation and consequently
transfer one of the meanings of the ambiguous item, in other cases they have used other
strategies such as clarifications in the forms of parenthesis and footnotes.
Ke y w or d s
Hafezs poems,
Ambiguity,
Translation.
1. Introduction
Khwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi (also
spelled Hafiz) was a Persian mystic and poet who is now wellregarded as one of the most leading Persian poets of all time.
Like other Sufi poets, Hafiz merged themes of ambiguity into
his poems. Ambiguity is a speech device in which a user implies
a word, an expression, or a sentence, and having a connection
with other elements and structures of languages it brings into
mind some meanings. Since Hafezs Diwan, the collection of
his lyrics, is remarkably celebrated around the world, many
translators have translated it into different languages. According
to Loli (2002) the first poem by Hafez to emerge in English was
the work of Sir William Jones. Among the other English
translators of Hafez are Wilberforce Clarke (1840-1905),
Edward Byles Cowell (1826-1903), Gertrude Lowthian Bell
(1897), Arthur John Arberry (1977), Walter Leaf (1852-1927),
John Payne (1842-1916), and Paul Smith (1945) and Persian
translators such as Iraj Bashiri, Alaeddin Pazargadi (2004),
Shahriar Shahriari (2005) and Ordoubadiyan (2005).
2. Ambiguity in Hafezs Poetry
Ambiguity or equivocation is one of the distinctive features
of Hafezs poetry which has elevated the status of his Diwan
into a miraculous book. The importance of ambiguity is such
high in Hafezs Diwan that Persians, even now in the 21th
century, use it frequently for divination; that is they use Hafezs
Diwan as an art or technique of gaining knowledge of future
events or distant states by means of observing and interpreting
signs, through randomly opening the Diwan and reading the
opened lyric in the opened page. This divination or as Persians
call fal, is not achieved, unless the verses in the lyric are
Tele:
E-mail addresses: Kenevisi.Sadegh@gmail.com;
alireza.shirinzadeh@gmail.com
2012 Elixir All rights reserved
11810
Mohammad Sadegh Kenevisi et al./ Elixir Ling. & Trans. 53 (2012) 11809-11814
This is done by going from the form of the first language to the
form of the second language by way of semantic structure (p. 3,
Bolded in original). To do an effective translation the translator
needs to discover the meaning of the source language and bring
the intended meaning in the form of the target language.
Ambiguity, in the words of Cook (2009), is the bane of
translator (p. 232). The translator is in a dilemma. He has to
decide between one, two or even more choices. This plight gets
worse when the translator is translating poetry in which
ambiguity is intentional by the author in many cases. Hence one
of the responsibilities of the translator would be to make a
decision whether the ambiguity is intentional or merely
unintentional and casual. And if it has been used unintentionally
whether the author has been careless or lazy or ignorant (ibid).
Before translating a text the translator needs to fully understand
and discover the meanings and the possible ambiguities of the
source text. This analysis of the text which is called exegesis by
Larson (1997) include resolving ambiguity, identifying implicit
information, studying keywords, interpreting figurative senses,
recognizing when words are being used in secondary sense, and
when grammatical structures are being used in secondary
function, etc. He gives the example of its too hot to drink as a
lexical combination ambiguity in the source language which
could have different meanings as the food it too hot to ear, the
weather is too hot for us to feel like eating, the horse is too hot
after running a race and doesnt want to eat (p. 24). He
discusses that these ambiguities need to be resolved and only the
intended meaning must be communicated if the translator is
translating idiomatically. He points to the fact that some
ambiguities are due to the information that is left implicit in
some grammatical construction. The example that has been
provided by Larson (1997) is the sentence the shooting of the
hunters (p. 45). Two interpretations can be drawn from this
sentence. They are someone shot the hunters and the hunters
shot something. He points that usually such ambiguities are
resolved in translation since the receptor language will make the
implicit information explicit. The point mentioned by Larson
here, is the relationship between implicit information and
ambiguity for translation. The other factor that requires to be
considered by the translator in translating ambiguous words is
the text type of the source language. This indicates that if the
translator is translating poetry or a scientific text, the text types
and the genre of the texts should not be ignored and be taken as
the same since in the case of a scientific text the ambiguity,
almost certainly, has been unintentional and consequently
requires the full disambiguation of the text while in the case of
poetry ambiguity could have been a technique in the hands of
the author and have been used purposefully. In each of the case
the translator has different responsibility and has perhaps
different strategies available to him or her. To Hudson (2000)
the pragmatics of the source text is the solution for the
clarification of ambiguous forms when the form has two or more
meanings (p. 313). In the Hudsons approach therefore the
context of the source text that contributes to the meaning will
assist the translator in the disambiguation process of the text.
This means that in translating the ambiguous form the translator
should not depends only on the linguistic features of the text but
also on the context of its occurrence or the manner, place, time
etc. of the text. This could be of great help for the translator.
However, the problem remains when the author has exploited
ambiguity as a planned method as is the case in Hafezs poetry.
This intentionality in the exploitation of ambiguous forms by the
11811
Mohammad Sadegh Kenevisi et al./ Elixir Ling. & Trans. 53 (2012) 11809-11814
!# )
( & #* / !# $
TRLI: [bi] [mehre] [roxat] [rooz] [maraa] [noor]
[namaandast] / [vaz] [omr] [maraa] [joz] [shabe] [daijoor]
[namaandast]
GT: [without] [kindness/love/the sun] [your face] [day] [for
me] [light] [has not remained] / [and from] [life] [for me]
[except] [night] [dark] [has not remained]
These couplets are selected from two different Ghazals. In both
of these lines the word [mehr] is ambiguous since two different
meanings can be interpreted from this word and none of the
meanings outweigh the other. The word [mehr] can be
interpreted as affection / kindness and the sun. Clarke (1974)
has translated two couplets as :(1) From envy, the (glorious)
eastern sun rendeth his garment:/If, into a coat, my moon (the
beloved), love-cherisher, - goeth; (2) Without the sun of Thy
cheek, light for my day, hath remained not/And my life, save the
blackest night, aught- hath remained not. He has rendered [mehr
parvar] as love-cherisher. In addition to clarify the different
meanings of the polysemous word [mehr], he has brought the
other meanings in the footnote: mihr signifies: - the sun; love;
kindness (p. 297). While in the second couplet he has not
provided any clues for clarifying the different meanings of the
polysemous word [mehr], in spite of the fact that in both lines it
11812
Mohammad Sadegh Kenevisi et al./ Elixir Ling. & Trans. 53 (2012) 11809-11814
$ >
7 H / + $EF <
[gar] [cho] [farhaad] [am] [be] [talxi] [jaan] [baraayad]
[baak] [nist] / [bas] [hekaayat haye] [shirin] [baaz]
[mimaanad] [ze] [man]
[if] [like] [Farhad] [I am] [bitterly] [life] [lose] [fear] [there is
not] / [many] [tales] [sweat / of Shirin] [remain] [from] [me]
In the first couplet, the collocation sweat tales is used by
Hafez. However, as can be seen here the story of Shirin and
Farhad is also alluded by the presence of both the ambiguous
word [shirin] which can be interpreted as both sweat and
Shirin and furthermore the presence of the name Farhad. In
this couplet tales in one interpretation is the subject and
sweat as the adjective according to which the phrase means
interesting tales while in the second interpretation tales is the
noun governing the genitive and sweat is the noun in the
genitive case. Thus in this interpretation the phrase means
interesting tales narrated about Shirin or about Shirin
(Youssefi, 2009). The couplet is translated as: If I bitterly lose
my life like Farhad, no matter For, many sweat tales will remain
about me (Pazargadi, 2003); If, like Farhad, my life in bitterness
issueth, - there is no fear; Many sweet tales remains behind- of
me (Clarke, 1974). The translations show that the translators
have not rendered the second meaning of the word [shirin]
which has also used tactfully by Hafez to allude to Shirin the
beloved of Farhad. Another example is given in the following
couplet:
11813
Mohammad Sadegh Kenevisi et al./ Elixir Ling. & Trans. 53 (2012) 11809-11814
?
K / /+ $:1 , (,
TRLI: [labe] [piyaaleh] [beboos] [aangahi] [be] [mastaan]
[deh] / [bedin] [daqiqeh] [damaaqe] [moaasheraan] [tar]
[kon]
GT: [lip of] [cup] [you kiss] [then] [to] [intoxicated people]
[give] / [with this] [subtle tip / the subtle mouth of the beloved,
moment]
As can be seen in the gloss the word [daqiqe] has three different
meanings all of which can be interpreted and applied in the
above couplet. The first meaning refers to the clever suggestion
and the delicate tip of kissing the lip of the cup which is
mentioned in the first hemistich of the couplet. The second
meaning refers to the delicate lips and the small mouth of the
beloved. The third meaning points to the moment of kissing the
tip of the cup. The lip of the cup, kiss (subtleties of divine
knowledge, acquire); then to the intoxicated (holly travelers)
give: With this subtlety, wisdoms train, beperfumed make
(Clarke, 1974). Clarke clarifies the ambiguity in the line both by
giving explanations in the parenthesis and in the footnote. He
first clarifies the meaning of [labe piyaleh beboos] (to kiss the
cups lip) by defining it as to acquire the subtleties of meaning
by enigma in the footnote (p. 758). He continues to elucidate
on the meaning of [daqiqe] (subtleties) and points out that the
word signifies two meanings: (a) something very fine; (b) the
description of the subtleties of divine knowledge of enigma that
rise from the Arifs heart; and spill him in agitation; so that into
him another seeker poureth his own portion (ibid). He
continues that for, in the assembly of wine-worshippers, the
custom is to fill the cup, to kiss it, and to give it to the
intoxicated ones (ibid). Kiss the lip of the cup, and then offer it
to the intoxicated, And with his agreeable act refresh the brain
of companions (Pazargadi, 2003). The ambiguous word [daqiqe]
is translated as his agreeable act. Unlike Clarke no extra
clarifications or explanations is given by Pazargadi. That is to
say none of the meanings of the word [daqiqe] is rendered by
the translator and he has translated the word differently.
? 1 / + : K7 B9 >
TRLI: [Makon] [be] [chashme] [heqaarat] [negaah] [dar]
[mane] [mast] / [ke] [aaberooye] [shariat] [bedin] [qadar]
[naravad]
GT: [do not] [with] [eye of] [disparage][look] [at] [me]
[drunken] / [because] [grace of] [shariat (religion)] [with]
[this] [amount / fate] [goes not]
In this couplet the word [qadar] can be both interpreted as this
amount and the fate. Regarding the first meaning, Hafez says
that this small amount of drinking wine by him is not too
significant and it doesnt damage the Shariat, while with the
consideration of the second meaning, Hafez indicates that
drinking wine is his fate and destiny and there is no way to
avoid it. This second meaning, however, cannot be traced in
Clarks and Pazargadis translations: On the sin of me
intoxicated, put the skirt of (Thy) pardon; For to this (great)
degree (of sin), the grace of the shariat goeth not (Clarke,
1974). Look not upon me, intoxicated one, so disdainfully; For,
the honour of faith is not lost with such a measure (Pazargadi,
2003). Both of the translators have rendered the first meaning of
the word. They have translated [qadar] to this (great) degree (of
sin) and such a measure respectively and consequently the
second meaning of the word is lost.
7. Conclusion
The different interpretations and translations of ambiguous
words and phrases in the Hafezs poetry by different translators
show that different strategies and also factors have governed the
translators decisions in translating ambiguous words. The
decisions made by the translators imply that the analysis of the
text that is the fully understanding of the text and the possible
hidden meanings and ambiguities, which is called exegesis by
Larson (1997) and pragmatics of the source text by Hudson
(2000) is an importance factor that needs to be considered by
translators. This context analysis seems to be the most important
factor in the translation of ambiguities in the translation of
couplets which were studied in the present study. However,
other explicitation strategies such as providing explanations or
giving the other meaning(s) of the ambiguous term in footnotes
and parenthesis are the other ways applied for the translation of
lexical ambiguities.
References
(1) Alston, A. J. In search of Hafiz. London: Shanti Sadan,
1996.
(2) Arberry, A. J. Fifty Poems of Hafiz. Cambridge /London
/New York /Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
(3) Bell, G. L. Teachings of Hafiz. London: The Octagon Press,
1979.
(4) Cook, E. Ambiguity and the Poets. In Connotations.18(1-3),
230-245, 2009.
(5) Clarke, H. W. The Divan-i-Hafiz. London: The Octagon
Press, 1974.
(6) Empson, W. Seven Types of Ambiguity. London : Chatto and
Windus, 1953.
(7) Estelami, M. Teachings of Hafez: The Analysis of Hafezs
poetry. Tehran: Sokhan Publication, 2004.
(8) Haegeman, L. and J. Gueron. English Grammar: A
Generative Perspective. Oxford: Blackwells, 1999.
(9) Hudson, G. Essential Introductory Linguistics.
Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Inc, 2000.
(10) Javaheri. M. H. Ambiguity in the Translation of the Quran.
The Quranic Research Quarterly. 53, (14). 186-201, 2008.
(11) Kooij J. G. Ambiguity in Natural Language: An
investigation of certain problems in its linguistic description.
Amsterdam London: North-Holland Publishing Company, 1971.
(12) Larson, L. Meaning-based Translation: A Guide to CrossLanguage Equivalence. Boston: University Press of America,
1997.
(13) Loloi, P. (December 15, 2002). Hafez x. Translations of
Hafez in English . In Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved May 8,
2012, from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez-x.
(14) Oxford University Press. (2012). flushed. In Oxford
Dictionaries.
Retrieved
May
22,
2012,
from
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/flushed?q=flush
ed.
(15) Pazargadi, A. The poems of Hafez Shirazi. Tehran:
Rahnama Publication, 2003.
(16) Shahriari, S. (1999-2005). Hafiz-e Shirazi . In Hafiz.
Retrieved May 20, 2012, from http://www.hafizonlove.com/.
(17) Toth, A. On Lexical Ambiguity. In proceedings of the
International Interdisciplinary Conference of Ambiguity.
Catholic University in Ruomberok, 2009,edited by J. Keohe, 8,
2010.
11814
Mohammad Sadegh Kenevisi et al./ Elixir Ling. & Trans. 53 (2012) 11809-11814