Towards a functional approach to the translation of Egyptian cartoons

Abstract

This paper focuses on the dilemma facing a translator if (s)he attempts to translate cartoons in general, with special reference to the translation of Egyptian cartoons into English. The dilemma is perceived to be threefold: the translator has to cope with the cultural distinctiveness of the cartoons; to interpret the double scripts expressed in the linguistic component; and finally to resolve the nonverbal and/or semiotic cues of the drawings and relate them to the incongruity expressed in the two scripts. The objective of this study is, thus, to propose a model that is based on Attardo and Raskin's General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH 1991); and theories of functional translation, such as Nord's (1991 [1988] and 1997), Reiss's (2000 [1971]), Baker's (1992) and others. The GTVH model, in other words, is adapted to be applicable to the semiotic interpretation and translation of cartoons. In the end, the study implicates using the translation of cartoons as an application of contrastive methodology in the AFL (Teaching Arabic as a Foreign language), the EFL/ESL, and in the Translation and Pragmatics classes.