LOSS AND GAIN IN CULTURAL TRANSLATION: AN INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE APPROACH

Annotasiya

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the phenomena of loss and gain in cultural translation from the perspective of intercultural competence. In contemporary linguistics, translation is increasingly understood as a complex process of intercultural communication rather than a simple transfer of linguistic units. Within this framework, meaning is not merely reproduced but actively negotiated, reconstructed, and adapted across cultural boundaries.

The study focuses on the English–Uzbek translation context, where significant linguistic and cultural differences create challenges in conveying both explicit and implicit meanings. Particular attention is devoted to culture-specific items, idiomatic expressions, and pragmatically loaded structures that often resist direct equivalence.

The research is grounded in key theoretical approaches within Translation Studies and Intercultural Communication. It draws on the concepts of dynamic equivalence, communicative translation, and intercultural competence as developed by Eugene Nida, Peter Newmark, Lawrence Venuti, and Michael Byram.

The findings demonstrate that loss in translation is inevitable due to structural, semantic, and cultural disparities between languages. However, gain emerges as a strategic and creative process through which translators compensate for these losses by employing techniques such as explicitation, adaptation, and pragmatic adjustment.

The article argues that intercultural competence plays a decisive role in balancing loss and gain, enabling translators to produce texts that are both semantically accurate and culturally appropriate. The study contributes to ongoing discussions in translation theory by emphasizing the importance of cultural awareness and pragmatic sensitivity in translation practice and education.