English Non-equivalent and Partially Equivalent Vocabulary in Georgian Translation

Abstract

This paper examines the translation strategies most frequently employed by Georgian translators in rendering non-equivalent and partially equivalent lexical units from English into Georgian. The transfer of such culture-bound lexical items constitutes a significant challenge in translation studies and has attracted considerable scholarly attention. The lexical units analysed in this study comprise realia and quasi-realia. Realia refer to culture-specific referents that lack direct equivalents in the target language, whereas quasi-realia denote referents for which target-language equivalents exist and share the same primary characteristics but differ in certain secondary or culturally marked features.The translation of non-equivalent and partially equivalent lexical units presents translators with a dual challenge: ensuring the comprehensibility of the target text while simultaneously preserving the national and cultural meanings embedded in the source text. To reconcile these competing demands, translators employ a range of strategies designed to facilitate effective intercultural communication. The choice of a particular strategy is determined by the specific characteristics of the communicative situation, including linguistic, cultural, and pragmatic considerations. The study is based on a comparative analysis of English-language literary prose and its Georgian translations. The findings demonstrate that, in translating realia, Georgian translators most frequently resort to such strategies as transcription, calquing, generalization, descriptive translation, omission and cultural substitution. The analysis highlights the pivotal role of strategic decision-making in balancing semantic accuracy, cultural specificity, and reader accessibility, thereby contributing to the successful mediation between source and target cultures.