نازنین قدرت

Translating book titles requires fidelity to the source text and cultural adaptation. Franklin Publishing House (FPH), active in Iran between 1954 and 1976, played a key role in shaping translation norms. This study investigates the translation strategies applied to book titles published by FPH during this period, using a microhistorical approach. A corpus of 790 translated titles from diverse genres was compiled through archival research in the Princeton University Library, the Library of Congress, the National Library of Iran, and other Iranian repositories. Titles were classified by genre and analyzed according to Yin’s (2009) framework, which distinguishes source-oriented strategies (literal translation, transliteration, and explication) from target-oriented strategies (adaptation, new title). Frequencies and percentages were calculated for each category. Literal translation was the most frequent strategy, while explication was the least common. Genre-specific patterns revealed a predominance of literal translation across most categories, particularly in historical and pure science titles. FPH’s predominant use of literal translation reflects its commitment to preserving source-text identity, a practice that aligned with its Cold War cultural diplomacy objectives and influenced translation norms within Iran’s publishing industry.