An Analysis of Strategies Used in the Translation of Figurative Language in the English Version of Ngo Pa (The Romance of the Sakai)
Naruephon Thongsawat*, Lalita Nopsuwan, Pluk promdam

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prince of Songkhla University, Pattani campus, Thailand
*6520210381[at]email.psu.ac.th

Abstract

This study seeks to identify figurative language and analyze the strategies applied in translating it in the Southern Thai literary work ^Ngo Pa^ (The Romance of the Sakai). Ngo Pa is a play originally written by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in Thai while the English version was translated by Malithat Promthattavedi. The twelve scenes of ^Kanang^s journey to the forest^ to ^Lumhap escapes with Sompla^ as parts of the play written in Thai and the English translated version were selected as data for this study. The Knickerbocker and Renninger^s (1963) classification of figurative language and Mona Baker^s (1992) grouping of translation strategies were employed in data analysis. The findings revealed that figurative language appeared in 23 instances consisting of five types: simile 10 (43.48%), hyperbole 6 (26.09%), personification 4 (17.39%), symbolism 2 (8.70%), metaphor 1 (4.35%), while paradox and synecdoche were absent. Interestingly, it was also found that the top three translation strategies used in translating figurative language were: paraphrasing using related words 8 (34.78%), cultural substitution 7 (30.43%), and using a more general word 5 (21.74%), in descending order.

Keywords: Figurative languages, Translation strategies, Thai literature

Topic: Revitalizing Local Cultures through Interdisciplinary Approaches