Research Article
Translatability and Untranslatability in Hemingway's Literary Style
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 3, September 2025
Pages:
91-100
Received:
5 June 2025
Accepted:
23 June 2025
Published:
30 July 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ellc.20251003.11
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Abstract: The quality of translation is influenced by the nature of the language and the clarity of the ideas within the translated fields. While the quality level increases in texts pertaining to abstract sciences (such as mathematics), experimental sciences (such as physics), and applied sciences (such as computer science), to the extent that human translation nearly matches machine translation and neural translation, a divergence begins to emerge among translations related to social sciences (like legal translation), theology (such as the translation of sacred texts), and the humanities (for instance, literary translation). This divergence highlights a significant issue in translation studies: the distinction between translatability and untranslatability. In this context, the present study examines the nuances of American novelist Ernest Hemingway's creative writing philosophy. It discusses the feasibility of translating his texts into languages that are quite distant from their original context, such as Arabic. Since Ernest Hemingway does not place much emphasis on content—given that his works are essentially autobiographies in novelistic form—this study concentrates on analysing the expressive form of this exceptional novelist, rightly regarded as the king of narrative language and the undisputed master of narrative style. The study traces Hemingway's straightforward language, comprehensible to readers of all ages, and his plain style, which embeds his attitudes towards his era. It concludes that any translation of Hemingway's works should aim to transpose the form of his works morphologically, stylistically, syntactically, and semantically, in order to merit the label of translation and bolster the arguments of those who advocate for translatability.
Abstract: The quality of translation is influenced by the nature of the language and the clarity of the ideas within the translated fields. While the quality level increases in texts pertaining to abstract sciences (such as mathematics), experimental sciences (such as physics), and applied sciences (such as computer science), to the extent that human transla...
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