Strategies for Translating Taboo Words and Expressions in Tayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North

Abstract

In translation studies, translating taboo words and expressions has become a daunting task for Arab translators working in the translation industry, due to the significant cultural variation. Therefore, the study aims to identify the taboo words and expressions in Season of Migration to the North, by Tayeb Salih, and the strategies Denys Johnson-Davies employed in 1969 to translate them into English. The study employed a qualitative descriptive approach; data were collected through documentation of the novel and its English translation. The data were analyzed using Wardhaugh’s (1986) theory of taboo words and Davoodi's (2009) taxonomy of translation strategies. Various types of taboo language and expressions related to were identified throughout the novel, such as sexual, body-related, religious, and social behavior taboos. The findings showed that sexual taboo is the most common type that appeared in the novel, with a frequency of 32 expressions, along with other types like animal death, religious taboos, and racism. It has been stated that the translator mostly uses literal translation to preserve the original text's explicit meanings, while applying euphemism and generalization selectively to reduce cultural sensitivity. The study highlights the difficulties of translating taboo language and stresses the importance of balancing accuracy with cultural acceptability.