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CULTURAL TRANSLATABILITY AND UNTRANSLATABILITY: A CASE STUDY OF

TRANSLATION OF “ROSTAM AND SOHRAB”

Article · December 2015

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 Journal of Global Research in Education and
Social Science
6(3): 138-147, 2016
ISSN: 2454-1834
International Knowledge Press
www.ikpress.org

CULTURAL TRANSLATABILITY AND

UNTRANSLATABILITY: A CASE STUDY OF
TRANSLATION OF “ROSTAM AND SOHRAB”

BANAFSHEH MOHAMMADI1 AND ABDOLLAH KESHAVARZI2*

1
Department of English, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran.
2
Department of English, Firoozabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran.

AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS
This work was carried out in collaboration between both authors. Author AK designed the study, wrote the
protocol and interpreted the data. Author BM anchored the field study, gathered the initial data and performed
preliminary data analysis. Both authors managed the literature searches and produced the initial draft.
Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Received: 13th October 2015

Accepted: 26th November 2015
Published: 8th December 2015 Original Research Article
__________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to explore cultural untranslatability in the Story of “Rustam and Sohrab” in
Firdowsi’s Shahnameh and its equivalent translation by Helen Zimmern. To this end, the cases containing the
untranslatable cultural elements or elements culturally difficult to translate were identified by comparing the
Story of “Rustam and Sohrab” with its English translation by Zimmern. Besides, strategies used to render
cultural and linguistic elements problematic in translation were identified through using categories proposed by
Vinay and Darbelent (2000) and Newmark (1988). The results showed nouns including common nouns, name of
places, and name of persons accounted for 89.8% of the cultural untranslatable elements while adjectives
included only 10.3% of the cultural untranslatable elements. Personal proper names were the most frequent
category of cultural untranslatable elements followed by common nouns and names of places. The most
common strategies used to render cultural elements were transference and retention through translation and the
second most frequently used strategy was replacement. Other strategies being used less frequently were
naturalization, synonymy, and literal translation.

Keywords: Cultural translatability and untranslatability; Shahnameh; story of Rustam and Sohrab; translation
strategies.

1. INTRODUCTION related to the beliefs, customs, history, literature, and

shared knowledge of the speech community in which
Language and culture are two inseparable phenomena the original text has been created. This shared or
that underline any act of translation. To transfer a common knowledge makes the members of the same
message from the source text into the target text, the speech community capable of communicating and
translator must somehow overcome linguistic and understanding each other. However, in interlingual
cultural barriers. Cultural aspects of translation are communications such as translation, this knowledge
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Corresponding author: Email: [email protected];

 Mohammadi and Keshavarzi; JOGRESS, 6(3): 138-147, 2016

must be transferred to the target readers to enable argued that each linguistic community has its own
them to understand the messages or the meanings perception of the world, different from those of other
contained in the target text. linguistic communities. This shows that the existence
of different worlds is determined by language [2].
Accordingly, throughout the history, translation has
played an important role in conveying thoughts and The third approach to translatability, which developed
knowledge from one nation to other nations. Apart in France in the late 1960s, was the Deconstructionists
from this importance, the act of translating is not approach, which challenges the notion of translation
simply changing a message from the source language as a transfer of meaning. Andrew Benjamin, Michel
into the target one; translation is an act of problem- Foucault, Paul de Man and Jacques Derrida, the
solving. Sometimes it is difficult to solve problems founder of this approach argue that as the translation
existing in translation, and so the notion of of a text involves a rewriting of the original text, the
untranslatability emerges. target texts is not considered as subsidiaries of the
original text but as dependent on translation [2]. Three
According to Newmark [1], there are three types of important concepts operationalized in this approach
text: 1) informative text-type in which the topic or are the translation process, the originality, and the
content is the main focus, 2) the expressive text-type authorship of a text. The translation process is “a
in which the author and the aesthetic dimension are validation of the text that is being translated”.
important, 3) vocative text-type in which the reader- Secondly, originality is not a chronological concept.
response is important. Literary texts and especially In other words, it is not about which text was
poetry fall under the second category. The features of produced first but it is a qualitative matter as it refers
poetry make the translation of such texts more to the nature of the text which was conceived first.
difficult than other texts. When translating a piece of a Finally, the authorship is questioned as the translation
poem, the translator may also encounter a number of is regarded as a process which constantly modifies the
problems arising from rhythm, diction, and formalistic source text [2]. In the same line, it can be suggested
elements. In addition, the translator has to preserve that translatability/untranslatability is a matter of
the exact sense convoyed by the poem while taking degrees as there is no text or element of it that is
into account linguistic, literary and aesthetic, and absolutely translatable or totally untranslatable.
socio-cultural problems. The aesthetic and literary
aspects cover issues such as poetic structure, As such, a study of these untranslatable elements can
metaphorical expressions, and sounds. Socio-cultural provide useful insights on how translators tackle such
issues occur when the translator faces expressions elements in the translation process. In the same vein,
containing four major cultural categories: ideas, the present study tries to explore linguistic and
ecology, behavior, and products. Such aspects make cultural untranslatability in an English translated
some elements of poetry impossible to translate or version of Shahnameh by Ferdowsi. The rationale for
untranslatable. choosing Shahnameh is that Ferdowsi is one of the
undisputed giants of the Persian literature. After
The concepts of translatability and untranslatability Ferdowsi's Shahnameh a number of other works
have been widely discussed and scholars have taken similar in nature appeared over the centuries within
on two different approaches to the notion of the cultural sphere of the Persian language. Without
untranslatability: the monadist approach and the exception, all such works were based in style and
Universalist approach [2]. The first approach was method on Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, but none of them
adopted by Nida, Jakobson, Bausch, Hauge, and Ivir. could quite achieve the same degree of fame and
They believed that translatability is ensured by the popularity as Ferdowsi's masterpiece. Therefore,
existence of linguistic universals such as syntactic and Ferdowsi has a unique place in Persian history
semantic categories shared by all languages. Other because of the strides he made in reviving and
scholars adopted the second approach based on which regenerating the Persian language and cultural
the reality is interpreted in different ways by different traditions. In addition, Shahnameh or The Epic of
linguistic communities and thus the translatability is Kings is one of the definite classics of the world. It
jeopardized [2]. This approach is known as the Sapir- tells hero tales of ancient Persia. The contents and the
Whorf hypothesis because of the work done by poet's style in describing the events take the reader
Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. According to back to the ancient times and make him/her sense and
Sapir, “the real world is to a large extent feel the events. Another reason for conducting this
unconsciously built up on the language habits of the study on Shahnameh was that there is little research, if
group. […] The worlds in which different societies any, on the translatability or untranslatability of
live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world linguistic and cultural elements in Shahnameh. For
with different labels attached.” [2]. Accordingly, it is that reason, this study is going to explore linguistic

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 Mohammadi and Keshavarzi; JOGRESS, 6(3): 138-147, 2016

and cultural untranslatability in the Story of “Rustam another way, the relation between the creative subject
and Sohrab” by Ferdowsi, the well-known poet of and its linguistic expression in the original language
Persian language and its equivalent translation by does not find functional cultural translation equivalent
Helen Zimmern. in the target language.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW According to Cui [3], cultural untranslatability arises

from two sources: untranslatability resulting from
Untranslatability is a property of a text of any culture gap including material culture, traditional
utterance in one language when there is no equivalent culture, religious culture, and traditional culture and
text or utterance in another language [3]. Catford [4] untranslatability resulting from culture conflict.
made a distinction between linguistic untranslatability Culture gap occurs when an item in one culture is
and cultural untranslatability. Linguistic nonexistent in the other culture while culture conflict
untranslatability originates from the differences in the occurs when connotations of a word or an item in one
source language and the target language. In contrast, culture are quite different from its connotations in
culture untranslatability is due to the absence in the other culture.
target language of relevant situational features. Nida
According to Catford [4], cultural untranslatability is
[5] uses the term loss in translation when the
less absolute than linguistic untranslatability. Given
translator is facing terms or concepts in the source
the dynamic nature of language and culture, Bassnett
language that do not exist in the target language.
[7] goes beyond this definition and argues that as far
Newmark [6] recognizes such problems as deviation
as language is the primary modeling system within a
in translation. Untranslatability is still a controversial
culture, “cultural untranslatability must be de facto
issue. Currently it is believed that translation is a
implied in any process of translation” (p. 41).
possible and feasible task, but there are still some
language items that are difficult to translate which A few studies have addressed the notion of
give rise to the problem of untranslatability. translatability/untranslatability of literary works.
Dehbashi [8] compared the translations of Shahnameh
According to Catford [4], “Failure to find a target by Davis [9] in terms of semantic features of Persian
language equivalent is due entirely to the differences poetry to observe semantic features of Persian poetry
between the source language and the target language. and specifically the story of “Rostam and Sohrab”, to
Some example of this type of untranslatability would view if they are kept intact, changed, or lost in the
be ambiguity, play on words [puns], poligosemy [the English translation of Shahnameh. They analyzed the
quality or state of having a few meanings, as opposed translations in terms of loss of translation, gain in
to having a single meaning or many meanings] etc.” translation, and the loss of figurative language. The
Linguistic untranslatability occurs in situations where results showed that in Davis' translation, %74 of
the linguistic elements of the original text cannot be selected verses were translated correctly (gain), %2 of
substituted by adequately in structural, linear, Loss in Davis' translation, and in %24 of cases the
functional, or semantic terms as a consequence of a translation has been done with the loss of figurative
lack of denotation or connotation [7]. However, language.
untranslatability is a matter of degree as some texts
are more translatable than others. As a case in point, a Mashhady and Noura [10] studied untranslatable
text with an aesthetic function contains some elements elements in the story of “Rustam & Sohrab “selected
which make its rendering more difficult in the target from Shahnameh by Firdowsi and its equivalent
language compared with a text with informative translation by Warner & Warner. The authors also
function which makes the translation process easier. focused on the relation of untranslatability in the story
of “Rustam & Sohrab” with the semantic translation
Cultural untranslatability refers to the translation of Warner & Warner and the style of Ferdowsi. The
difficulties that originate from the gap between the authors concluded that they are untranslatable for two
source culture and the target culture. Catford [4] states reasons: the translation method used by Warner &
that cultural untranslatability occurs when “A Warner (semantic) translation, and the highly
situational feature, functionally relevant for the source qualified style of Ferdowsi. In addition, according to
language text, is completely absent from the culture of the authors, there are many other factors influencing
the target language as a part. For example, the names the extent of translatability and untranslatability of a
of some institutions, clothes, foods and abstract text.
concepts among others” are instances of cultural
untranslatable items (p. 99). Cultural untranslatability Jayasimha [11] explored cultural translation through a
refers to a situation where the relations of expressing cognitive approach and focused on the possibilities of
certain cultural terms in the source text does not find analyzing complex cultural symbols that have been
adequate rendering in the target culture. To put it found difficult for translation from Telugu to English

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by many translators. According to the author, one of 3.1 Materials

the major challenges faced by translators is the
translation of cultural symbols as every culture has The materials used in this study to collect the data
some peculiarities as well as rigid complexity based were from the Story of “Rustam and Sohrab” in the
on its geographic, historical, anthropological, and Shahnameh by Iran’s national poet, Ferdowsi (c. 940-
sociological conditions that are deep-rooted into the 1020 CE) and an English rendering of this story in the
perceptive models of that particular civilization or Shahnameh by Helen Zimmern.
language. Aldahesh [12] conducted a study on
untranslatability of the Qur’ān. He demonstrated that 3.2 Procedure
concerning the translation of the Qur’an there are
three types of untranslatability for both Muslim An English rendering of the Story of “Rustam and
intellectuals and Qur’ān translators including Sohrab” in the Shahnameh by Helen Zimmern was
linguistic, cultural, and theological untranslatability. analyzed to see how much Zimmern has been
The results of the study also showed that while both successful in her translation in reaching Firdausi’s
the Muslim intellectuals and translators of the Qur’ān points of view. To collect data, the text under analysis
agree upon the fact that the Qur’ān specific linguistic was read carefully and the instances containing the
and cultural aspects are untranslatable, they prioritize untranslatable cultural elements or elements difficult
the ways in which they deal with such aspects. to translate were identified. Therefore, the main
However, both groups confirm the possibility of variable manipulated in this study was cultural
rendering the meanings of the Qur’ān into other untranslatability that was represented by
languages and assert the inevitability of this process. untranslatable cultural elements or elements difficult
In addition, it is argued that the notion of Qur’ān’s to translate. Lexical items with cultural connotations
translatability rather than its untranslatability should such as nouns, noun phrases, adjectives, and adjective
be the main concern of scholars. phrases were selected as the unit of analysis. To this
Given the significance of Shahnameh as one of the end, untranslatable cultural elements and their
magnum opus of the Persian literature and the equivalent instances in English were identified and
importance of considering cultural and linguistic listed in a table (See Appendix III). Then,
elements in translation, the present study aims to compensation strategies used to render cultural
provide a contrastive analysis of an English rendering elements problematic in translation were identified
of “Rustam and Sohrab” in Shahnameh translated by using categories proposed by Vinay and Darbelent
Helen Zimmern to explore cultural and linguistic [13] and Newmark [1] (See Appendix I and II for
translatability and untranslatability. Accordingly, the compensation strategies and their definitions). Finally,
present study seeks to answer the following questions: the collected data were analyzed by SPSS (Version
19) using descriptive statistics including mean,
1. What are cultural untranslatable elements in standard errors of mean, and frequency analysis.
English rendering of “Rustam and Sohrab” in
Shahnameh by Helen Zimmern? 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
2. What strategies were used to translate cultural
untranslatable elements in English rendering of As it was mentioned, the aim of the present study was
“Rustam and Sohrab” in Shahnameh by Helen to present a contrastive analysis of an English
Zimmern? rendering of “Rustam and Sohrab” in Shahnameh
translated by Helen Zimmern to explore cultural
3. METHODOLOGY translatability and untranslatability. Table 1 shows the
type and frequency of cultural untranslatable elements
This section addresses the materials used to collect the in the English rendering of “Rustam and Sohrab” in
data, the procedure taken to conduct the study, and the Shahnameh by Helen Zimmern:
method of data analysis.

Table 1. Type of frequency of cultural untranslatable elements

Cultural Frequency Valid percent Cumulative percent

Common nouns 12 30.8 30.8
Adjectives 4 10.3 41.0
Name of places 3 7.7 48.7
Name of persons 20 51.3 100.0
Total 86 100.0

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 Mohammadi and Keshavarzi; JOGRESS, 6(3): 138-147, 2016

As it is evident, nouns including common nouns, the past as a tool for protecting someone
name of places (proper names), and name of persons especially a child from the evil eyes has been
(personal proper names) account for 89.8% (30.8 + translated as onyx which is a rather general term.
7.7 + 51.3) of the cultural untranslatable elements
while adjectives include only 10.3% of the cultural Some strategies that were used to render culture-
untranslatable elements. Thus, nouns are the most bound elements by Zimmern were not found in
frequently found cultural untranslatable elements in either framework proposed by Vinay and
the English translation of Shahnameh. Of these nouns, Darbelent [12] or Newmark [1]. An example of
personal proper names include 51.3% of cultural such strategies is retention through translation
untranslatable elements as the most frequent category which was employed mainly to translate personal
followed by common nouns (30.8%) and names of proper names. In this stance, two processes are
places (7.7%) as the second and third most common applied: firstly, the original form of the proper
categories. This is shown in Fig. 1. name is retained and secondly, some extra
elements of the proper name are translated into
Some examples of common nouns as cultural target language, especially in the cases an epithet
untranslatable items occurring in the English or a title accompanies the proper name under
translation of Shahnameh include di:v (spook) and question. For instance, Rakhsh-e tizpa was
mɔ:hre (a brachial fastened on arms as a symbol). translated as Rakhsh, the swift of foot and Tus-e
Nozar as Tus, the son of Nuder.
In addition, examples of adjectives with cultural
associations include tæhæmtæn (having an Another strategy was replacement and addition
elephantine body) and pæri:rui: (peri-faced). Names where the original SL item is replaced with
of places include Turan and Samengan and some another SL item with some additional elements.
instances of the names of persons are Sam, Rostam, For example, the word tæhæmtæn as an epithet
and Goodarz. Other examples of such nouns are for Rostam was translated by Zimmern as Rostam
presented in the Table 2. the Pehliva. Finally, retention and replacement is
another strategy not found in other categories. In
Table 3 presents the most frequent strategies used to
this case, the original form of the proper name is
render cultural untranslatable items.
retained but the second element is replaced with
As it is shown, the most common strategies used to another non-equivalent element. As a case in
render cultural elements are transference and retention point, Sam-e Savar (Sam, the horseback) was
through translation, each being used in 25.6% of the translated by Zimmern as Sam, the son of
cases. The second most frequently used strategy is Neriman. In fact, the second element of the
replacement which has been employed in 20.5% of proper name, i.e. the epithet has changed. Some
the cases. Other strategies, on the other hand, are used of these strategies have been also proposed by
less frequently. These strategies include Leppihalme [14]. Sometimes metaphors have
naturalization, synonymy, and literal translation, each been translated by replacing it with the referent
occurring in only 5.1% of the cases. Finally, name or object. As an example, Ferdousi has
neutralization, replacement & addition, retention & used the words Khorshid (the sun) and Mah (the
replacement, and cultural equivalent were found as moon) as metaphors for Rostam and Sohrab and
the least frequent strategies, each being employed Setare (stars) for other kings as in the past it was
only in 2.6% of the cases. These strategies are thought that the sun and the moon were superior
illustrated as follows: to stars as they seem bigger and brighter than
stars, so was the case with Rostam and Sohrab
One of these strategies used as compensation for and they were more powerful, more good-
the loss of cultural items was replacement which looking, and much taller than other heroes and
refers to replacing one item in the SL with kings. To avoid ambiguity, however, Zimmern
another item in the SL with exactly the same has used Rostam and Sohrab for Khorshid and
meaning. An example is the use of Mazandaran Mah and Setare for other kings.
(a region in the current Iran) instead of its
equivalent name in the ancient Iran, i.e. Turan. Another point relevant to our discussion is
Another strategy used to translate culturally translation of allusions as culture-bound
untranslatable elements is neutralization which elements. According to Abrams [15], an allusion
means that SL word is neutralized or generalized, is a short reference, either direct or indirect, to a
i.e. this word is explained by some “culture free” person or event or a literary work. Allusions may
words. For instance, mɔ:hre which means a originate from different sources, some of which
brachial fastened on arms as a symbol or used in may include "history, literature, cinema", and

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 Mohammadi and Keshavarzi;; JOGRESS, 6(3): 138-147, 2016

"television" [16]] or allusions may arise from their enemies

nemies so he was referred to as the crown
crown-
topical events, music, ic, sculpture, and paintings giver or crown-saver.
saver. However, Zimmern did not
[17]] and their intelligibility varies across cultural mention the allusions associated with such
and language contexts. However, some allusions elements and she omitted them as the loss in
are transcultural. For instance, anyone who is a translation [8]. Another case is the phrase Akhtar-
little familiar with the Western culture will have e Kavian translated by Zimmern rn as the flag of
some idea of who Hamlet wass and what his Kawah,, alluding to the story of Kaveh and his
dilemma was. There are a number of allusions in uprising against Zahak, the snake snake-shouldered.
the story of Rostam and Sohrab. An example is However, one reason for omitting this allusion is
ta:jbæxʃ (crown-giver)
giver) as an adjective used to possibly that the story has been mentioned
describe Rostam as a person who used to save elsewhere in Shahnameh and its translated
many kings and their crowns and thrones against version.

Cultural elements

Common nouns
Adjectives
Name of places
Name of persons

Fig. 1. Frequency and types of cultural untranslatable elements

Table 2. Some examples of culturally untranslatable items

Element Meaning Element Meaning

Mubid Zoroastrian priest Dastan An adjective which refers to Rostam
Rostam Name of the Iranian hero Savar Knight (horse rider)
Keriman The generous Jahangir One who conquers the world
Sam-e Nariman Sam the son of Neriman Turan A region in northern Iran (Mazanderan)
Ormuzd The ancient Iranian god Guzhdeham-e pir Gustahem the aged
who stands against
Ahriman (devil)
Tahamtan Rostam the Pehliva Zhand Zindeh (name of a person)
Kiani The family of Kaianides Jahanjuy The winner of the world (Sohrab)

Table 3. Most frequent strategies to render cultural untranslatable elements

Strategies Frequency Valid percent Cumulative percent

Transference 10 25.6 25.6
Omission 1 2.6 28.2
Replacement 8 20.5 48.7
Naturalization 2 5.1 53.8
Synonymy 2 5.1 59.0
Neutralization 1 2.6 61.5
Retention through translation 10 25.6 87.2
Replacement and addition 1 2.6 89.7
Retention and replacement 1 2.6 92.3
Literal translation 2 5.1 97.4
Cultural equivalent 1 2.6 100.0
Total 39 100.0

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5. CONCLUSION language. Another reason for untranslatability of

some elements is the unique style of Shahnameh [10].
The aim of the present study was to explore cultural
untranslatability in the Story of “Rustam and Sohrab” COMPETING INTERESTS
by Ferdowsi and its equivalent translation by Helen
Zimmern. To this end, the instances containing the
untranslatable cultural and linguistic elements or Authors have declared that no competing interests
elements difficult to translate were identified by exist.
comparing the Story of “Rustam and Sohrab” with its
English translation by Zimmern. Besides, strategies REFERENCES
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APPENDIX

Appendix 1. Translation strategies proposed by Vinay and Darbelent [13]

No. Strategy Description

1 Borrowing It is used for the creation of a stylistic effect, for example, “in order to
introduce the flavor of the source language (SL) culture into a
translation, foreign terms are used.
2 Calque It is a special kind of borrowing” when an expression from another
language is borrowed and then all of its elements are translated literally.
3 Literal translation It is the direct transfer of a SL text into a grammatically and
idiomatically appropriate TL text.
4 Transposition It is a method when one word class is replaced with another without
changing the meaning of the message.
5 Modulation This is a variation of the form of the message, obtained by a change in
the point of view and it is used when a literal or transposed translation is
considered unsuitable, unidiomatic or awkward in the TL.
6 Equivalence It is a method of creating equivalences. As a result, most equivalences
are fixed, and belong to a phraseological repertoire of idioms, clichés,
proverbs, nominal or adjectival phrases as well as to many
onomatopoeia of animal sounds.
7 Adaptation It is used in cases where the type of situation being referred to by the SL
message is unknown in the TL culture, thus, a translator creates a new
situation in the TL text that can be considered as equivalent one, which
is called a situational equivalent.

Appendix 2. Translation strategies proposed by Newmark [1]

No. Strategy Description

1 Transference It is the process of transferring a SL word to a TL text in its original
form.
2 Naturalization It is a procedure when a SL word is adapted first to the normal
pronunciation, then to the normal morphology of the TL.
3 Cultural equivalent It means approximate translation, where a SL cultural word is translated
as TL cultural word.
4 Functional equivalent It requires the use of a culture-neutral word and it is called the most
accurate way of translating, i.e. deculturalising a cultural word.
5 Descriptive equivalent This is a procedure where the meaning of the culture-bound term is
explained in several words.
6 Neutralization It means that SL word is neutralized or generalized, i.e. this word is
explained by some “culture free” words
7 Componential analysis It means comparing an SL word with a TL word which has a similar
meaning but is not an obvious one-to-one equivalent, by demonstrating
first their common and then their different sense components.
8 Synonymy It is a strategy where a near TL equivalent” is used to define SL
concept.
9 Through-translation It is the literal translation of common collocations, names of
organizations and components of compounds. It denotes calque or loan
translation.
10 Shifts or transpositions It involves a change in the grammar from SL to TL, for instance, (a)
change from singular to plural, (b) the change required when a specific
SL structure does not exist in the TL, (c) change of an SL verb to a TL
word, change of an SL noun group to a TL noun.
11 Modulation It occurs when the translator reproduces the message of the original text
in the TL text in conformity with the current norms of the TL, since the
SL and the TL may appear dissimilar in terms of perspective.

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 Mohammadi and Keshavarzi; JOGRESS, 6(3): 138-147, 2016

No. Strategy Description

12 Recognized translation It occurs when the translator normally uses the official or the generally
accepted translation of any institutional term.
13 Compensation It occurs when loss of meaning in one part of a sentence is compensated
in another part.
14 Paraphrase This procedure means that the meaning of the CBT [culture-bound
term] is explained. Here the explanation is much more detailed than that
of descriptive equivalent.
15 Couplets, triplets or It is a procedure when occurs when two or more different translation
quadruplets strategies are used to deal with a translation problem.
16 Notes, glosses, and This is the procedure when additional information appears either in a
additions. text or as a footnote.

Appendix 3. An excerpt of datasheet

No. Cultural untranslatable English equivalent Compensation strategies used

lexical item
1 Turan Mazandaran Replacement
2 Mohre Onyx Neutralization
3 Rakhsh-e tizpa Rakhsh, the swift of foot Retention through translation
4 Rostam Rostam the Pehliva Replacement and addition
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