Translating Rumi's Cultural Terms: A Case Study Of Coleman Barks' Translations

ABSTRACT This study explores the challenges and strategies in translating culture-specific items (CSIs) in the English translations of Rumi’s (Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi) poetry by Coleman Barks. Given the significance of accurately conveying cultural concepts for the understanding and appreciation of literary works, this research examines how the translator approaches preserving authenticity and conveying the implied meanings of these terms to English-speaking audiences. Utilizing Peter Newmark’s theoretical framework and analyzing examples from Barks’ translations, the study assesses the success of transmitting cultural concepts and their impact on the overall comprehension of Rumi’s poetry. The selected examples were classified into six cultural categories: socio-cultural, material culture, ecological, religious and traditional, gestures and customs, and miscellaneous expressions. Applying Peter Newmark’s translation frameworks, the analysis demonstrated that functional equivalence is the predominant strategy in Coleman Barks’ English translations of Rumi’s poetry. The differences between the source language (Persian) and the target language (English), along with their cultural variations, pose challenges in the precise and nuanced translation of cultural terms. The primary objectives of this research are to evaluate how different translation approaches affect English-speaking readers’ understanding of the mystical and spiritual themes in Rumi’s poetry and to provide a comprehensive perspective on the translation of cultural terms in Rumi’s works.