Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The article discusses the challenges of translating American influencer slang, with a focus on a self-help book by American blogger and author Tinx (Christina Najjar). It examines key features of influencer discourse-such as informal vocabulary, internet slang, author-coined neologisms, pop culture references, psychology and business terminology. The study argues that influencer slang, deeply embedded in digital culture, functions not only as a means of communication but also as a sociocultural instrument that fosters linguistic innovation and influences contemporary literary styles. The article highlights primary challenges of translating Tinx’s work into Ukrainian, including preserving irony, expressive nuances, and stylistic coherence; handling abbreviations and acronyms; effectively adapting pop culture allusions; and accurately capturing the author’s figurative language and specialized terminology. These intricacies demand a creative translation approach and a thorough grasp of the cultural context embedded in the original text. The study identifies key translation strategies: literal word-for-word translation, descriptive rendering, functional equivalents, transliteration, cultural adaptation, and context-driven combinations of these techniques based on pragmatic objectives. The findings emphasize that successfully translating influencer slang requires a keen awareness of cultural subtleties, language evolution, and the unique stylistic features of the source text. In order to convey Tinx’s signature style-marked by humor, self-irony, and an engaging, colloquial narrative manner – the translator must blend precision with creativity. Beyond linguistic accuracy, the principal objective is to maintain the interactive and casual tone that defines influencer communication. The article provides practical recommendations for translating contemporary non-fiction texts infused with elements of internet culture.
Author: Kateryna Mehela
Institution: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409568618