The Translator as an Intercultural Mediator. Translation and Cultural Influences

Abstract

Based on certain selected examples of proverbs, idiomatic expressions, realia, movie titles, body language, and slang translated from English into Polish, this paper aims to show how translation and culture are inextricably intertwined and to examine and highlight the significant role the translator plays in facilitating intercultural interaction and understanding. The discussion will clearly illustrate translation pitfalls and emphasize the importance of gaining some knowledge about the culture one attempts to communicate with.
The study will analyse how the translator, as an intercultural mediator, systematizes and generalizes the process of translation. The translator‟s job does not consist solely in finding equivalent words in the target language. In fact, the most accurate translations will take into account many factors: intercultural differences, linguistic subtleties, language evolution and origin, as demonstrated by phrases such as proverbs, idiomatic expressions, proper nouns, etc. Various cultural influences will remain untranslatable and pose a serious challenge to any translator, sometimes inadvertently leading to incomprehension or misunderstanding at best or unintentional insult at worst. Therefore, the need to acquire knowledge about other cultures, their history and heritage remains crucial.
The purpose of this paper is to prove that intercultural interaction represents an important aspect of translation, a process that goes beyond transferring the sheer meaning of words from one language into another. The study of the complexity of both the translation and intercultural communication requires an interdisciplinary approach. Thus, and by building on shared commonalities and differences in the focus, methods, and concepts, both Translation Studies and Intercultural Communication Studies can successfully develop as independent disciplines.