1. Introduction
“The Tale of the Three Brothers” is a captivating short story found within a collection known as The Tales of Beedle the Bard, penned by the acclaimed author J. K. Rowling. This collection serves as a companion to the Harry Potter series, enriching the magical world that has captivated millions. Within the rich tapestry of Rowling's fictional universe, these tales are regarded as cherished folktales for children, passed down through generations as part of wizarding culture. Each story in this collection is steeped in moral lessons and whimsical elements, allowing young readers to explore themes of love, sacrifice, and the complexities of human nature. “The Tale of the Three Brothers” stands out as a particularly poignant narrative, blending folklore with profound truths that resonate deeply, inviting readers of all ages to reflect on its timeless wisdom.
In recent decades, translating children's literature gained substantial attention. The field underwent significant evolution since the 1990s, incorporating both cultural and political approaches, alongside deconstructionist approaches
| [1] | Kumar, U., On Some Aspects of Translating Children’s Literature in Contemporary India. Translation Today, 2022. |
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. It presents unique considerations and challenges for translators
| [1] | Kumar, U., On Some Aspects of Translating Children’s Literature in Contemporary India. Translation Today, 2022. |
| [2] | Hryciv, N. and R. Syndeha, Peculiarities of translating children’s literature. Naukovì zapiski Nacìonalʹnogo unìversitetu Ostrozʹka akademìâ. Serìâ Fìlologìâ, 2021. |
| [3] | Li, H., Translating children’s literature. Perspectives, 2019. 27: p. 776-778. |
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. Furthermore, as the demand increases for translated children's literature, so does the need for robust theoretical frameworks for translators
| [4] | Alla, A., Challenges in Children's Literature Translation: a Theoretical Overview. 2015. |
| [1] | Kumar, U., On Some Aspects of Translating Children’s Literature in Contemporary India. Translation Today, 2022. |
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.
Recent studies shed light on the challenges of translating children's literature. For example, there is a consideration of balancing between "domestication" and "foreignization" strategies
| [5] | Venuti, L., The translator's invisibility: A history of translation. 2017: Routledge. |
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when adapting texts for young readers
| [6] | Zakanji, S., Translating for Children. 2013. |
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. Moreover, children's literature often addresses adult and child audiences alike, which poses challenges for both authors and translators
| [4] | Alla, A., Challenges in Children's Literature Translation: a Theoretical Overview. 2015. |
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the discrepancy in communication levels between adults and children further complicates the translation process
| [4] | Alla, A., Challenges in Children's Literature Translation: a Theoretical Overview. 2015. |
[4]
. When translating children’s literature, a translator needs to consider the purpose, audience, and content of the text, and adapt it to the target culture
| [2] | Hryciv, N. and R. Syndeha, Peculiarities of translating children’s literature. Naukovì zapiski Nacìonalʹnogo unìversitetu Ostrozʹka akademìâ. Serìâ Fìlologìâ, 2021. |
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. In such a case, a translator is not only a mediator between two languages, but a second author of the text, to certify comprehensibility for children
| [2] | Hryciv, N. and R. Syndeha, Peculiarities of translating children’s literature. Naukovì zapiski Nacìonalʹnogo unìversitetu Ostrozʹka akademìâ. Serìâ Fìlologìâ, 2021. |
[2]
. Scholars highlight the value of cultural and political awareness in the translation of children’s literature
| [1] | Kumar, U., On Some Aspects of Translating Children’s Literature in Contemporary India. Translation Today, 2022. |
| [3] | Li, H., Translating children’s literature. Perspectives, 2019. 27: p. 776-778. |
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. This paper discusses the challenges a translator can face when translating children’s literature and suggests possible solutions to mitigate the issues.
4. Challenges of Linguistic Equivalence
O’Sullivan
| [12] | O’Sullivan, E., Children's literature and translation studies, in The Routledge handbook of translation studies, C. Millán and F. Bartrina, Editors. 2013, Routledge. p. 454. |
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reiterates that children’s literature is unique in that it poses different parameters that can challenge translators. As many books rely on pictures and call for semiotic translation. Others rely on wordplay, rhythm, rhyme and onomatopoeia. All of these require a special kind of creativity on the part of the translator. However, the style of this story is simple prose, there is no particular attention to sound or rhyme. For example, if the author wished to have made the style euphonious, she would have written this line in the story ‘To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry before her untimely death appeared at once before him.’ In rhyming words as in, for example, ‘To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to wive before her untimely demise appeared at once before his eyes.’ Nonetheless, none of the aforementioned challenges existed. Thus, the translation depicts a simple prose style to match that of the original. This aligns with the chosen translation approach since dynamic equivalence is concerned with both form and content of the message itself
| [8] | Nida, E. A., Toward a science of translating: with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. 1964: Brill Archive. |
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.
The story begins with a signpost, ‘There were once’, which was translated into a common signpost in the beginning of most Arabic folktales (كان يا ما كان في قديم الزمان). This is the equivalent of ‘once upon a time’ and literally translates to ‘there may once, a long time ago, had been...’. Using the verb ‘may’ expresses uncertainty as the events might be fictional; storytellers have no authority to judge whether they truly happened or not, successfully averting questions from curious listeners
.
One of the challenges was the word ‘wizard’. Wizards are regarded positively in the fictional world of Harry Potter. This word is neutral and doesn’t hold negative connotations. Additionally, there are many synonyms in English for the word ‘wizard’, such as sorcerer, warlock, witch for females, conjurer, to name a few. Conversely, a synonym in Arabic might have negative connotations such as (كاهن) ‘kahin’ which literally means swindler. Or it mightn’t be an exact match as, for instance, the words (مُنجم) ‘munajim’ and (عرّاف) ‘a’arraf’, meaning astrologer and fortune-teller, respectively. Thus, to achieve a dynamic equivalence for this term and relate to children as closely as possible, ‘wizard’ was translated to (ساحر) ‘sahir’, meaning magician. This simple neutral term achieves the purpose as it is appealing to children and feels familiar and nonthreatening.
As previously mentioned, some magic-related terms such as ‘wand’ and ‘cloak’ have no simple one-word match in TL. Thus, clarifying adjectives had to be added to dynamically translate these references. For instance, the word ‘wand’ needs to be followed by an identifier that means ‘magical’. Producing the translation ‘magical wand’ in Arabic. Likewise, in this story the ‘Cloak of Invisibility’ is an object they use to magically disappear. Then, it will be described as ‘a magical invisibility cloak’. This addition of identifiers is called ‘addition’; it is one of the recommended adjustments techniques to use when applying dynamic equivalence in order to reach an optimal correspondence in TL
| [8] | Nida, E. A., Toward a science of translating: with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. 1964: Brill Archive. |
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.
Furthermore, the description ‘hooded figure’ is used to introduce the character of Death. It's a vague description that alludes to mysteriousness. However, in TL the phrase ‘hooded figure’ cannot be used to describe persons nor entities such as Death. If translated literally, it will seem to refer to an inanimate object. This will confuse children reading the story. Especially when Death engages in a sophisticated conversation with the three brothers. Nida
| [8] | Nida, E. A., Toward a science of translating: with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. 1964: Brill Archive. |
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explains that the focus of dynamic equivalence is directed at the response of the readers. Hence, the translation of this phrase must spark a similar reaction in the readers as it would in readers of the original. To mandate this issue and reach a natural rendering, Nida
| [8] | Nida, E. A., Toward a science of translating: with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. 1964: Brill Archive. |
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suggests fitting in the TL language, culture, context, and audience. Bearing in mind all these three factors, in addition to the young age of the audience, the most suitable method is to pair Nida’s
| [8] | Nida, E. A., Toward a science of translating: with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. 1964: Brill Archive. |
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expansion and clarification techniques. Thus, the translation will be ‘a mysterious person wearing a hood’.
Another challenge stems from the conservativeness of Arabian culture. Children are scarcely exposed to adults engaging in alcoholic drinking. Thus, the term ‘wine-sodden’ posed a challenge of a delicate status as most children might not understand that it means ‘drunk’. Replacing it with a phrase more subtle and culturally fitting meets what Nida
| [8] | Nida, E. A., Toward a science of translating: with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. 1964: Brill Archive. |
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describes as ‘a truly natural translation can… be described more easily in terms of what it avoids than in what it actually states.’ He also mentions that ‘naturalness of expression in the receptor language is essentially a problem of co-suitability of which the most important are…. Cultural context.’ To him, for a translation to sound culturally suitable and natural, anomalies should be avoided
| [8] | Nida, E. A., Toward a science of translating: with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. 1964: Brill Archive. |
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. Therefore, a translation that best serves this purpose is a straightforward simple adjective which delivers the core meaning of the phrase such as ‘fatigued’ or ‘exhausted’. He further recommends steering clear from complicating the text unnecessarily with explanations wherever this technique is applied
| [8] | Nida, E. A., Toward a science of translating: with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. 1964: Brill Archive. |
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.
Another issue is concerning the words death and Death; both are confusing when translated as nouns alone since Arabic doesn’t support lower/upper case letters. Therefore, distinguishment between death as a state and Death as an entity will be lost. The solution is applying the addition technique again by adding the word (ملك), which literally means ‘king’, but in Arabic is used to refer to the Angel of Death. In Arabic, Death is solemnly referred to by a single word and is often described as ‘King of Death’. To illustrate further, Text 1 includes a summary of a famous legend in the Arab literature about an interaction between King Solomon and Death
| [14] | Abee Shaybah, I. A. B. b., Musannaf. 2015: Konoz Eshbilya. |
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. Death is referred to as ‘King of Death’ (ملك الموت) throughout the story, as highlighted in Text 1.
كان سليمان جالساً مع أحد وزرائه - ودخل عليهم رجل وجلس ثم انصرف - فسأل الوزير سليمان: من هذا الذي كان يجلس معك يا نبى الله؟ فقال سليمان: انه ملك الموت - فلما سمع الوزير ذلك - خاف وتفككت اعصابه وقال لسليمان: ارجوك ايها الملك ان تأمر الريح ان تحملنى إلى بلاد الهند - خوفا من ملك الموت- ونفذ له سليمان ما طلب - وحملته الرياح إلى بلاد الهند -ثم حضر ملك الموت إلى سليمان - وقال له اين الرجل الذي كان يجلس معك- فقال حملته الرياح إلى بلاد الهند خوفا منك - فقال له ملك الموت: اننى لما رايته جالسا عندك - عجبت لذلك - لان الله سبحانه وتعالى امرنى ان اقبض روحه في بلاد الهند - في ساعة كذا - فلما رايته عندك - قلت سبحان الله - ان الله لا يغير الزمان ولا المكان - ولكنى عندما ذهبت اليه في بلاد الهند- وهذا المكان الذي حدده الله - رايته في انتظارى في المكان والزمان اللذان امرنى الله بهما - وقبضت روحه هناك.
Text 1, Summary of the Arab literary legend about King Solomon’s encounter with the 'King of Death'
Moreover, some expressions and words might be tricky when translated literally such as in the phrase: ‘separated from him as though by a veil’. If the word veil was translated as such, it would read as ‘hijab’ (حجاب) in Arabic, and seeing as the subject is a female, children might misunderstand this to mean a veil covering her hair, rather than an invisible barrier separating them. Thus, to avoid this misunderstanding the word veil is translated to (حاجز) which means barrier. This can be seen as an amplification. Another strategy by Nida
| [8] | Nida, E. A., Toward a science of translating: with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. 1964: Brill Archive. |
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whereby an implicit semantic element is made explicit. This amplification takes the text closer to the audience, who are children, and according to Lathey
| [9] | Lathey, G., Translating children's literature. 2016: Routledge. |
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this makes it more appealing and digestible.
For this reason, and for the reader duality aforementioned, to make this translation more familiar yet include textual nuances that can provoke cognitive responses, the phrase: ‘only when he had attained a great age’ was translated to (بلغ من الكبر عتيّا). An articulate, yet common expression in Standard Arabic which conveys the imagery of ‘growing significantly old’ while staying faithful to the linguistic and stylistic norms of TL. Keeping in line as well with the style and form of the original story. To illustrate, it is used in this verse from the Qur’an
| [15] | Qur’an. 2013, Almadinah. p. 305. |
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:
(قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا)
Which was translated by Yusuf Ali
| [15] | Qur’an. 2013, Almadinah. p. 305. |
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to: (He said: "O my Lord! How shall I have a son, when my wife is barren, and I have grown quite decrepit from old age?"). This increases the acceptability of the text since using homely and familiar terms that are common to people makes it more possible for children to read and enjoy
| [9] | Lathey, G., Translating children's literature. 2016: Routledge. |
[9]
.
Appendix
Original (English Text)
There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure.
And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travellers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him.
So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother.
Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead.
And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. The youngest brother was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.
Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death’s gifts.
In due course the brothers separated, each for his own destination.
The first brother travelled on for a week or more, and reaching a distant village, he sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made him invincible.
That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay, wine-sodden, upon his bed. The thief took the wand and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother’s throat.
And so Death took the first brother for his own.
Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that had the power to recall the dead, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry before her untimely death appeared at once before him.
Yet she was silent and cold, separated from him as though by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there and suffered. Finally, the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, killed himself so as truly to join her.
And so Death took the second brother for his own.
But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life.
Translation (into Arabic)
كان يا ما كان في قديم الزمان كان هناك ثلاثة إخوة مسافرين في طريق أعزل وعر وقت الفجر. وصل الاخوة نهراً عميقاً جداً لا يمكنهم المشي حوله، وعريضاً جدًا فمن الخطر السباحة عبره، لكن هؤلاء الاخوة كانوا بارعين جدا في فنون السحر، ولهذا فقد لوحوا ببساطة بعصيهم السحرية حتى ظهر جسر فوق النهر الغدّار. انتصفوا في قطع الجسر عندما قطع طريقهم شخص يتخفى تحت قلنسوته
خاطبهم ملك الموت، وكان غاضبًا حيث أنه خسر ثلاث ضحايا جديدة بالغش لأن كل المسافرين يغرقون غالباً في النهر. لكن ملك الموت كان ماكراً، فمثل أنه يبارك للأخوة الثلاثة على قدراتهم السحرية، وقال أن كل واحد منهم يستحق جائزة على ذكائهم في التملص منه.
فطلب الأخ الأكبر، والذي كان مقاتلاً، عصاً سحرية أقوى من أي عصا أخرى في الوجود: عصى تربح كل المعارك دائماً لصاحبها، فهي عصى لا يستحقها إلا ساحر قد هزم الموت نفسه! مشى ملك الموت إلى شجرة عتيقة على ضفة النهر وصنع عصى من أحد أغصان الشجرة وأعطاه للأخ الأكبر.
ثم قرر الأخ الثاني، والذي كان رجلًا مغرورًا، أنه يريد أن يهين ملك الموت أكثر، فطلب منه القدرة على إعادة الموتى للحياة. فأخذ ملك الموت حجرة من ضفة النهر وأعطاها للأخ الثاني وأخبره أن لهذه الحجرة القدرة على إعادة الموتى للحياة.
ثم سأل ملك الموت الأخ الثالث والأصغر عن ماذا يريد. كان الأخ الأصغر الأكثر تواضعاً وحكمةً بينهم، ولم يكن يثق بملك الموت. وعلى هذا فقد طلب منه شيئاً يمكنه من عبور المكان دون أن يتبعه ملك الموت. فخلع ملك الموت على مضض شديد عباءة التخفي التي كان يرتديها وأعطاها له.
وقف بعدها ملك الموت جانباً سامحًا لهم المضي في طريقهم، وفعلوا وهم يتحدثون في عجب عن المغامرة التي خاضوها ومعجبين في الهدايا التي أعطاهم.
وتفرق الإخوة بعد مضي وقت من الزمن، كل في وجهته.
سافر الأخ الأول لمدة أسبوع أو أكثر حتى وصل قرية بعيدة وبحث عن ساحر آخر كان له خلاف معه. وبطبيعة الحال حيث أنه يمتلك العصى العتيق كسلاح فلم يكن هناك مجال لخسارة المعركة، فلقي عدوه حتفه على الأرض، ثم ذهب الأخ إلى نُزل قريب، وقام بالتفاخر بصوت جهوري عن عصاه القوي الذي أخذه من ملك الموت نفسه، وكيف أن هذا العصى قد جعله لا يهزم.
وفي تلك الليلة دخل ساحر أخر خفية على الأخ الأكبر وهو نائم من شدة الإرهاق والتعب في سريره. سرق اللص العصى وللاحتياط أيضًا قام بقتله.
ونال بهذا ملك الموت على الأخ الأكبر وصار له.
وفي تلك الأثناء كان الأخ الثاني يرتحل إلى بيته حيث كان يعيش وحيداً. أخذ الحجر الذي يحمل قوة إعادة الموتى عند وصوله وأداره ثلاث مرات في يده، وتفاجئ واندهش بشكل الفتاة التي كان يأمل الزواج منها قبل وفاتها وهي في عمور الزهور يظهر ويتجسد أمام عيناه.
ولكنها كانت صامتة وباردة، معزولة عنه وكأنما بحاجز. بالرغم من أنها عادت إلى عالم الأحياء، لكنها لم تكن تنتمي له وعانت معاناة شديدة، وفي النهاية قاد الجنون والشوق الميؤوس منه الأخ الثاني إلى قتل نفسه حتى يستطيع أن يكون معها حقيقةً.
ونال بهذا ملك الموت على الأخ الثاني وصار له.
وبالرغم من بحث ملك الموت عن الأخ الثالث لسنوات وسنوات، فإنه لم يستطع إيجاده. وعندما شاخ الأخ الثالث وبلغ من الكبر عتيًا خلع عباءة التخفي أخيراً وناولها ابنه، ثم قابل ملك الموت وحياه كأنما يحي صديقًا قديمًا، وذهب معه عن طيب نفس وكقرين له مغادرين الحياة الدنيا.
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