المدونة
Volume 13, Numéro 1, Pages 11-42
2026-06-10
Acculturation In Translating Carrollian Nonsense: Arabic Versions Of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland And The 1865 Original Edition
Authors : Amirat Omar .
Abstract
Abstract: This article examines the challenges of translating humour and nonsense in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) from English into Arabic. It draws on the princeps edition (Bodleian Library) to analyse the acculturation strategies adopted by Arab translators. Focusing on wordplay, parodic rhymes, and neologisms, it explores how Carroll’s textual features are reconfigured within Arabic rhetorical norms. Particular attention is given to the tension between semantic fidelity and the preservation of humour. The study shows that literal equivalence is insufficient to convey the original text’s effects. Instead, translators rely on transcreation, combining creative adaptation with compensatory strategies. It argues that acculturation requires a flexible approach capable of recreating the aesthetic logic of the source text while preserving its structural integrity.
Keywords
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ; translation studies ; acculturation ; nonsense ; literary humour ; transcreation ; English–Arabic translation
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