A Case Study on Translating Allusions in T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

Abstract

Allusions are expressions seen in literary works and they are typically interconnected with cultural aspects. Thus, transferring allusions are tough for translators. With respect to this, this study will focus on finding out the ways the translator translated the allusions into Turkish and the strategies favored most by the translator. Hence, the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot, and its Turkish translation titled “J. Alfred Prufrock’un Aşk Şarkısı” were analyzed. Before identifying the translation strategies, the allusions identified are categorized by means of the classification of allusions that are “proper-name” (PN) and “key-phrase” (KP) allusions put forward by Ritva Leppihalme (1997). Moreover, the way that allusions are translated and the translation strategies preferred by the translator were decided according to the strategies put forward by Leppihalme (1997). According to the results, a total of 13 allusions were found in the poem. 3 of them were PN and 10 of them were KP allusions. As for the preferred strategies to transfer PN allusions, the translator utilized only the “retention of name” strategy but the translator didn’t use "replacement of name by another" and "omission of name" strategies. To translate the 10 KP allusions, the translator used the “minimum change/literal translation”, “re-creation”, “reduction of the allusion to sense by rephrasal”, “replacement by a preformed TL item” strategies. However, the translator didn’t employ “use of a standard translation”, “extra-allusive guidance”, “the use of footnotes/endnotes”, “simulated familiarity or internal marking” and “omission of the allusion” strategies.