Analyzing the Albanian Translations of Ernest Hemingway’s "The Old Man and the Sea" Ismail Kadare and Vedat Kokona: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Translation, or more precisely translation studies, constitutes a very important topic nowadays and on which different theories continue to be thrown depending on the way of treatment and the importance given to the special aspects related to the translation process. Despite ongoing discussions, importance is attached to the fact that the translation should create an effect on the readers of the translated text as close as possible to that of the readers of the source text. This study aims to provide a detailed analysis based on the two versions translated into Albanian of the work The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway, namely by Ismail Kadare in 1963 and by Vedat Kokona in 1997. The methodology of this study analyzes the features and characteristics of the aspects especially the two translated versions of the original work, emphasizing the similarities as well as the changes that the translation methodology has undergone over the years. By comparing the two different periods, this study brings to light the possible transformations that take place in the translation process, as well as in this way determine the course that the translation took until a few years ago. This study allows us to observe if those features continue to be part of the translation process even today.  This research consists of two linguistic corpora, one in English and one in Albanian, which makes possible the realization of this work. Due to the nature of this work, the corpus in English is the work in the original language "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway, as well as the Albanian language corpus, which constitutes the two versions of the translation of the work in the original language as well as scientific literature rich and contemporary in the service of elaborating this paper.

Received: 11 September 2023 / Accepted: 20 October 2023 / Published: 5 November 2023