Figurative language and culture-bound terms in interpreting: challenges and effects

Abstract

This study set out to find out if interpreters faced any challenges while interpreting figurative language and culture-bound terms and the strategies they use. The key objective of this study was to investigate how figurative language and culture-bound terms were interpreted and if that had any impact on effective interpretation. This study was driven by a need to find out how interpreters rendered any message that was not said literally and words which were unique to certain culture, as is the case in figurative language and culture-bound terms. This study was guided by the theory of dynamic equivalence also known as functional theory. It was initiated through giving two speeches, one in Kiswahili and the other one in English, to qualified interpreters. Then the interpretations given were analyzed to see how the interpreters had tackled figurative language and culture-bound terms and if it had any impact on effective interpretation. The research established that interpreting figurative language and culture-bound terms posed a big challenge to interpreters. The study also found that the way figurative language and culture-bound terms were interpreted had an impact on effective interpretation. These findings unearth a need to try and come up with clear strategies to use when interpreting figurative language and culture-bound terms. This will ensure anything communicated using the two is not lost in interpretation. Such strategies can be passed to training interpreters.