A Comparative Study of Allusion Strategies Used in Two Persian Translations of Hamlet Based on Leppihalme’s Model

The significance of this study is closely rooted in the significance of figures of speech and figurative expressions in literary texts (Ahmadi, ۲۰۱۷). In the same vein, according to Ahmadi (۲۰۱۷), without using figurative language, languages become harsh because words are like the skeleton of the language, and figures of speech are like their soul; thus, translating them is considered a significant area. This study aimed at investigating allusion strategies used in two Persian translations of Hamlet based on Leppihalme's model. The design used was a corpus-based comparative descriptive approach. The corpus included Hamlet by William Shakespeare and two Persian translations of the play by Masud Farzad and Mir Shamsodin Adib Soltani. To analyze the gathered data, qualitative content analysis was employed. Furthermore, to see whether there is any significant difference between the strategies used in allusion translations of Hamlet, a Chi-square test was used. To ensure the validity of the data analysis results, the researcher asked a translation expert to check the analyzed data. To enhance the reliability of the results, the researcher re-analyzed the corpus after two weeks to see whether the obtained results are the same. The results showed that Adib Soltani used ‘Using the name as such’, ‘Literal translation’, and ‘Replacing with a performed TL item’ strategies in translating the allusions. Moreover, it was revealed that Farzad utilized ‘Using the name as such’, ‘Omitting the name and the allusion altogether’, ‘Literal translation’, and ‘Replacing with a performed TL item’ strategies in translations of allusions. Obviously, the ‘Using the name as such’ strategy was the most frequent strategy in the two translations. Furthermore, ‘Literal translation’, and ‘Replacing with a performed TL item’ strategies were the least frequent strategies in the two translations. In addition, the results showed that there was a significant difference between the strategies used in the two translations. The results of this piece of research are useful for translators and translation students to become aware of the strategies used in English to Persian translations of allusions.