DESCRIPTIVE TRANSLATION AS A MEANING-PRESERVATION STRATEGY IN TRANSLATION PRACTICE
Abstract
Descriptive translation is used when a direct equivalent is missing or would mislead the target reader, so the translator conveys meaning through a short explanatory phrase. This thesis argues that descriptive translation is one of the most reliable strategies for preserving semantic content and communicative function when translating culture-specific items, institutional concepts, and equivalent-lacking terms. It also shows that excessive description may cause over-explicitation, stylistic heaviness, and meaning shift, especially in literary or highly stylized texts. The discussion is grounded in translation-studies views of meaning in context and the explicitation debate, linking strategy choice to audience needs and genre constraints. Examples with brief commentary demonstrate how controlled description can protect clarity without turning translation into commentary.