Translation Strategies in the English–Albanian Literary Context — read across Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice and 1984.
“The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”
“Hobe, shigjeta fati të tërbuar”
The primary aim of this study was to determine the translation strategies employed in rendering English metaphors into Albanian and to evaluate the influence of linguistic and cultural differences on the translation process. Through a comparative analysis of English originals and their Albanian translations from seminal works — Hamlet by W. Shakespeare, Pride and Prejudice by J. Austen, and 1984 by G. Orwell — this research sought to identify how translators handled metaphorical language in these texts. The study employed a combination of comparative and contextual analysis to evaluate translation approaches, cultural adaptations, and transformations of metaphors in Albanian translations.
In total, 50 metaphorical expressions were analyzed, equally distributed across the three works. The findings revealed that the primary translation strategies included metaphor preservation (direct translation), substitution with equivalent metaphors, paraphrasing, and in some cases, omission of metaphors. Preservation of metaphorical imagery was the most common strategy, particularly in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Orwell’s 1984, where metaphors carried significant symbolic or ideological weight. Substitution with equivalent metaphors was used when direct equivalents did not exist, while paraphrasing and omission occurred primarily to ensure clarity or to adapt culturally specific metaphors. The study also found that metaphors related to ideologies, politics, and social relations were frequently preserved to maintain their original meaning, particularly in works such as 1984, where the ideological message was central.
The research also explored the impact of social, historical, and cultural contexts on the translation process. It found that metaphors related to natural phenomena and everyday life were easier to preserve, whereas those related to abstract concepts or cultural references required more flexibility in translation. Furthermore, the study showed that the translator’s choices were heavily influenced by the genre of the work, with poetic and literary texts such as Hamlet benefiting more from metaphor preservation, while social novels like Pride and Prejudice allowed more room for substitution and adaptation.
The practical significance of this research lies in its potential to guide translators in choosing the most effective strategies when faced with metaphorical language. By providing examples of successful metaphor translations, the study helps translators understand when to prioritize the preservation of imagery and when to opt for functional equivalents or paraphrasing. Future research could expand the corpus of analyzed works and include empirical studies to assess the reception of metaphor translations by Albanian-speaking readers, further enhancing the applicability and accuracy of the proposed strategies.
Metaphor is an integral part of literary language, lending the text depth, imagery, and emotional resonance — yet transferring it between languages is rarely straightforward.
Growing interest in interlingual and intercultural communication demands a deep understanding of translating literary texts rich in metaphor. Comparing English literature with its Albanian translations exposes both universal and culture-specific aspects of metaphorization.
The work rests on cognitive metaphor theory: metaphor is not merely a stylistic device but a fundamental mechanism of thinking that shapes our understanding of abstract concepts through more concrete ones.
To define the features of rendering metaphorical language from English into Albanian, through a comparative evaluation of the originals and translations of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Orwell’s 1984.
Compare the effectiveness of different translation strategies in preserving the imagery and emotional tone of metaphors.
Identify metaphorical expressions in the original English works and the Albanian translations.
Analyze the translation strategies used for reproducing English metaphors in Albanian.
Grounded in Lakoff & Johnson (1980), metaphor maps one conceptual sphere (source) onto another (target). The study reads each example along three axes.
Personification — human properties transferred to inanimate objects or abstract concepts.
Comparison with animals, carrying their associated traits and connotations.
A combination of sensory modalities fused into a single image.
Frequently used and perceived as a generally accepted expression.
New, non-standard, created by the author for artistic effect.
One conceptual sphere is completely structured in terms of another.
Organizes concepts in relation to spatial orientations.
Abstract events, actions and states conceptualized as entities.
Three works differing in genre, time of writing and authoritative Albanian translation — analysed through comparative, contextual and translation analysis.
Dense, multi-layered metaphoricity reflecting inner worlds, political intrigue and tragic atmosphere.
Subtler metaphors describing social relationships, character traits and emotional experience.
Metaphor as a key tool for depicting a totalitarian regime, mind control and the destruction of individuality.
Each metaphor pair was assigned to one of five translation strategies, often used in combination.
Direct transfer of a metaphor, keeping its imagery and structure.
Substituting another metaphor with similar content and influence.
Demetaphorization — transfer of the literal meaning only.
The complete removal of a metaphor from the target text.
Explaining the meaning of the original metaphor for the reader.
Despite linguistic and cultural differences, translators show a steady tendency to preserve original metaphors — especially those with a universal cognitive background or central ideological significance.
Across the expanded corpus, the metaphor-preservation strategy dominated — translators worked to maximise the rendering of original imagery and ideological content.
Distribution across all 50 analysed metaphors (count & share)
Proportional weight of the five approaches
Approximate share of metaphors preserved in each text
Metaphors drawn from each work (50 total)
Universal, deeply symbolic images transfer readily, retaining poetic richness and philosophical depth.
Subtle social and psychological metaphors invite greater flexibility — substitution and adaptation appear more often.
Ideologically weighted metaphors are preserved to convey the totalitarian message without distortion.
A selection of the analysed pairs, each tagged with its translation strategy and the type of metaphor at work.
Frequency, a representative example, and an assessment of effectiveness for each translation strategy.
| Strategy | Frequency | Example (original → translation) | Effectiveness & critical note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metaphor preservation | 40 · 80% | War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength → Lufta është paqe. Liria është skllavëri. Injoranca është fuqi | High. Successful thanks to the universality of cognitive images or their key ideological role — maximum preservation of the author’s style, imagery and emotional impact. |
| Substitution with equivalent metaphor | 4 · 8% | barrage of conversation → breshëri bisedave | High. Replacing a military term with an atmospheric phenomenon conveys intensity and continuity — cultural adaptation that sounds natural in Albanian. |
| Substitution with non-metaphorical | 3 · 6% | must be in want of a wife → duhet të ketë nevojë për një grua | Medium. The main meaning is clear, but the “hunting / market transaction” connotation is lost — clarity at the expense of imagery and irony. |
| Metaphor omission | 2 · 4% | The news hit him like a ton of bricks → Lajmi e tronditi shumë | Low. Complete omission loses the vivid image and intensity. Justifiable only in extreme cases of untranslatability, but it impoverishes the text. |
| Adding explanation to metaphor | 1 · 2% | Applied for culturally specific metaphors where the image might be unclear | Varying. Can preserve meaning for culture-specific metaphors, but may disrupt the flow and conciseness of the text — clarity over stylistic integration. |
The dominant tendency toward preservation (80%) confirms the hypothesis — yet the data also reveals the flexibility of translation decisions across genres.
In Hamlet, where the metaphorical language is dense and multi-layered, the translator often resorted to preservation — both for universal images (night and day as inevitability) and where successful lexical equivalents existed.
In Pride and Prejudice, barrage → breshëri shows a conscious adaptation of a culturally specific image. Demetaphorization (must be in want of a wife) shows translators sacrificing imagery for clarity, weakening the irony.
In 1984, key metaphors carrying ideological weight (orthodoxy was unconsciousness, the Party slogans) were preserved — resonating directly with Albania’s historical experience of totalitarian regimes.
Direct substitutions with purely Albanian images were relatively few, indicating a tendency to preserve the connection with the original text and the universality of many metaphorical images.
The research hypothesis — that translators show a steady tendency to preserve original metaphors — is fully confirmed, applied in 85.7% of all 50 analysed metaphors.
High poetic density and dramatic weight: preservation dominates to maintain the aesthetic and emotional integrity of the original text.
Subtle metaphors of social relations and psychology: greater flexibility, with substitutions that prioritize fluid prose and cultural adaptation.
Metaphors as fundamental political constructs: almost always strictly preserved to ensure the uncompromised transmission of the totalitarian message.
Preservation is appropriate when imagery is universal or can be adequately reproduced by the target language. In cases of cultural or linguistic divergence, seek functional equivalents to retain the communicative effect.
The corpus volume (three works) may affect generalisability; the focus on metaphor restricts the overall picture; and there is no receptive analysis — evaluation is from the position of a translation-studies researcher.
Expand the corpus with texts from different genres and eras.
Survey native Albanian speakers to add empirical validation of how translated metaphors are perceived.
Focus on culturally marked metaphors and develop more detailed recommendations for literary translators.