Investigating the English to Persian Translation of Neologisms in Two Translations of ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama based on Newmark’s Model

Authors

  • Shabnam Ismail Pour M.A. Student, Department of English Literature and Translation, Ro.C., Islamic Azad University, Roudehen

Keywords:

Neologisms, Newmark’s Model, Derived words, Functional equivalent, Shifts or transpositions, Becoming

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the types of neologisms in the book Becoming (2018) by Michelle Obama using Newmark's classifications, and to analyze the strategies employed in the two Persian translations (Salami & Mad Abadi) of neologisms based on Newmark’s procedure. In doing so, 120 neologism samples were extracted from two-thirds of the book, and their historical thesaurus of neologisms was verified by consulting The Oxford English Dictionary. Each of the 12 typologies of Newmark’s classification was applied. Based on Newmark’s classification, the result determined that “Derived words” 30 times (25%) was the dominant neologism. It indicates that most neologisms are created by adding one or more affixes to the stem of a word, typically derived through analogy from ancient Greek or Latin morphemes. Furthermore, “Derived words” pose a challenge for translators, as they are created by adding affixes to a base word. This difficulty may arise because derived words often convey different meanings from their original forms. Moreover, according to Newmark’s procedure, Salami applied 14 out of 17 strategies and “Functional equivalent” 25 times (20.8%), and Mad Abadi applied 15 out of 17 strategies and “Shifts or transpositions” 21 times (17.5%), which were the most. Conversely, "Through-translation," "Recognized translation," and "Naturalization" were the least utilized strategies, each appearing once (0.8%) by Mad Abadi and Through-translation” 1 time (0.8%) by Salami.

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Published

2026-05-31

How to Cite

Ismail Pour, S. (2026). Investigating the English to Persian Translation of Neologisms in Two Translations of ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama based on Newmark’s Model. LANGUAGE ART, 11(2). Retrieved from https://languageart.ir/index.php/LA/article/view/511

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