UNVEILING PRAGMATIC DISPARITIES: A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF IMPLICATURE AND COHERENCE IN URDU TRANSLATIONS OF THE ALCHEMIST

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyse the non-equivalent discourse at the pragmatic level from the selected Urdu translation(s) of the English novel “The Alchemist”. Given multiple translated versions, the research aims to identify discursive commonalities and disparities. The conceptual framework of this study is based on Baker's (1992) “Discourse and Pragmatic Analysis.” Qualitative data indicate non-equivalence in Urdu translations of “The Alchemist” with the source text at the pragmatic level, namely implicature and coherence. The analysis of the data shows that, when translating the implicature of ST, translators did not properly comprehend its meaning. They deleted, omitted, and substituted text that conveyed the context and meaning, resulting in a mistranslation. The data analysis of coherence finds that the translators were unable to transfer the effects in ST and left their readers with the impression that they were incapable of generating coherence in the text. This study distinguishes and establishes key principles of translation, identifies the causes of non-equivalence, and shows that the altered meaning of the text creates unevenness, resulting in disregard of purpose and the conveyance of exact information.