Postcolonialism and Foreignisation as a Translation Strategy: A New Perspective to the Arab Family Values in Translated English Films

Abstract

By Dr. Safa'a Ahmed Associate Professor of Interpreting and Translation Faculty of Languages, MSA University Abstract The intricate relationship between translation and mass media is particularly evident in the light of globalization, where the Arab media has heavily relied on translated materials as globalised, 'modernized', up-to-date and almost ready-made sources for its contents. The present paper aims to investigate 'postcolonialism' and the use of 'foreignisation' as a translation strategy in mass media and explore the latter's role in introducing some foreignised family values and roles alien to the identity of Arab societies from a new multidisciplinary perspective. Therefore, it raises three questions. What is the role played by the translation of English films in mass media in introducing some foreignised values alien to the Arab families bonding and values? How can foreignisation, as a translation strategy suggested by postcolonialists to resist colonialism, contribute itself to viewers' conceptions or misconceptions of social reality? What do the Arab youths think of this role? This qualitative and quantitative study uses content analysis and comparison to analyse the content of an English film and its Arabic translation, and questionnaire. Also, some secondary data, represented in visual images taken from the film Mrs. Doubtfire and thought to add high value to the research discussion and conclusion, complements the primary data. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach based mainly on Niranjana's postcolonial translation theory and Gerbner's Cultivation Theory in mass communication; images are anlaysed using Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis. My intention is, by no means, to apply the Cultivation Theory in order to measure the effect the repetitive exposure to TV has on family ties. It is rather to present new perspectives at the level of translation theorization, topic and the multidisciplinary approach adopted. The analysis and discussion of data and results reveal that contrary to what many postcolonial advocates claim that the translator should adopt a foreignisation strategy, it enhances colonialism, or neocolonialism, when used in the translation of English texts into Arabic, or into what they call the 'less hegemonic languages'. The translation strategy used and mass media, (traditionally represented in TV), have both challenged and undermined some of the Arab family values and roles.