Facing Untranslatability - The Mainstream Arsenal of Strategies

In the face of linguistic and cultural untranslatability, translation emerges as a strategic act rather than a purely mechanical process. This paper presents a comprehensive inventory of translation strategies, grounded in both theoretical frameworks and practical considerations. It begins by exploring the concept of strategy through various academic lenses, distinguishing it from tactics, and identifying its core elements and domains. The study then shifts focus to translation-specific strategies, examining the requirements for strategic choice and the structural and functional factors that shape it. These include text type, language function, levels of signification, and the cultural and communicative contexts of both the source and target texts. Strategies are categorised into direct, oblique, and global types, encompassing literal translation, calque, modulation, adaptation, and broader approaches such as foreignisation and domestication. Through this layered classification, the paper highlights the need for adaptive, context-sensitive decision-making in the translation process. Ultimately, it argues that facing untranslatability requires more than technical skill-it demands a dynamic, reflective, and strategic engagement with meaning across languages and cultures.