Yes Minister's Open Government: Translation and Commentary

Abstract

This thesis investigates the most appropriate translation strategies and approaches to use when translating political humor. To this end, a translation into Arabic of Chapter One, that is Open Government, of the well-known British comedy YES MINISTER! The Diaries of A Cabinet Minister, by The Right Hon, James Hacker MP, Edited by Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay, is conducted. The chosen text is a typical example of political humor that is full of multi-layered cultural and subtle political references and innuendos, as well as wordplay. The translation is followed by a step-by-step commentary explicating the decisions made to render the text under study within the framework of the various theoretical approaches dealt with in the thesis. The thesis also looks into how humor is conveyed through the translation. Where deviations from the norm occur in terms specific cultural as well as political references, word play, stylistic and linguistic manipulations, etc., various strategies have been found to be the most appropriate to adopt in order to bridge the cultural gap and bring the text a step closer to the target audience, namely, addition, paraphrasing, explication, and domestication.