Cultural Considerations In The Translation Of Non-Finite Forms
Keywords:
non-finite forms; infinitive; gerund; participle; cultural equivalence; translation strategies; dynamic equivalence; domestication; foreignization; literary translation; English-Uzbek translation; semantic connotations; pragmatic meaning.Abstract
This study examines the cultural considerations involved in translating English non-finite verb forms—infinitives, gerunds, and participles—into Uzbek. While most existing research emphasizes grammatical and syntactic equivalence, the present investigation highlights the cultural connotations carried by non-finite constructions and the challenges they create in literary translation. A qualitative comparative approach, supported by a parallel corpus of English novels and their Uzbek translations, is used to identify cultural nuances embedded in non-finite forms and to evaluate translation strategies such as adaptation, explicitation, and functional substitution. The findings reveal that linguistic accuracy alone is insufficient, as cultural factors—including politeness norms, temporal perception, and individual versus collective orientations—significantly shape meaning. Dynamic and functional approaches are shown to be more successful in maintaining cultural equivalence than literal or formal strategies. The outcomes of the research contribute to translation studies and demonstrate the need for cultural sensitivity when rendering non-finite forms across typologically and culturally distinct languages.
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