The Language of the Catcher in the Rye in the Persian Translations

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating whether the language of the Catcher in the Rye was conveyed in its Persian translations or not. To do so, first the language of this story (i.e. the linguistic features) was described: a description of the language of this story was provided by focusing on a famous article written on the language of the Catcher in the Rye by Donald. P Costello in 1959.Of the different elements of the language of this story mentioned by Donald .P Costello, the concepts of loosely dangling phrases , grammatical elements, repetition, slangy expressions, and swear words were considered to be investigated in  the  Persian translations. As far as the loosely dangling phrases were concerned, 30 examples were provided from the story and compared with their Persian translation. When it came to other concepts, 15 examples were considered for the grammatical elements,15 examples for the repetition ,15  examples for the slangy expressions ,and 15 examples for the swear words. The results of the study showed that none of the translators have done perfectly in conveying the concepts mentioned above .Even though each of these linguistic features are investigated separately, 15 examples are not enough to make a conclusion concerning which translator has done a great job in conveying a special linguistic features. Because of this, a general conclusion would be made concerning the quality of the translation, considering all the 90 examples together. However, generally speaking, it can be said that the second translator, Mohammad Najafi, has done a better job compared  to other translators in conveying the language of the story .It may be possible that the two other translators have done a better job  compared  to Mohamad Najafi in conveying the content of the story rather than its language .Finally, it can be said that similar study can be conducted in other foreign languages considering the linguistic features mentioned by Costello.