The Translatability of Near-Synonyms into English: Analytical Study of the Translation of Al-Qarni’s Book ‘La Tahzan’ (Published)
This study aims at discovering the obstacles that might encounter translators while translating near-synonyms into English in the social field and discourse. It concludes that if translators follow a specific arrangement of equivalences as suggested and explained by Werner Koller (1979), the process of translating near-synonyms from Arabic into English will be facilitated. The methodology adopted in this research is based on the analysis and comparison of a professional translator’s and MA students’ renditions of ten texts containing near-synonyms in ‘La Tahzan’ book. The importance and significance of this study is to discover difficulties that might face translators in the social filed and discourse, since some previous pieces of research proved that translators face difficulties in other kinds of discourses, such as the literary and Islamic field. The research chooses a professional translator rendition, Faisal Mohammad Shafeeq, and forty MA students to have a fair comparison. The choice of the 10 near-synonyms is based on searching in the old monolingual dictionaries for famous Arab linguists, and some of the interpretation books for the Holy Qur’an. The analysis aims at examining the extent to which the translators are able to find English equivalents for Arabic near-synonyms. Moreover, the research provides model translation for these near-synonyms, based on following the equivalence relations theory.
Keywords: connotative dimensions., denotative dimensions, near-synonymy- equivalence relations, translation
Translating the English Interrogative beta Clause into Arabic (Published)
This study aimed to investigate the translation of wh-interrogative clause functions from English into Arabic. The main purpose of this study to examine the extent to which the English nominal wh-interrogative clause functions in Hemingway’s “The Old Man and The Sea” in the Arabic translation by Ali Al- Kasimi have been preserved. In this study, the translatability of the selected text is dependent on linguistic features. To determine the translation of wh-interrogative clause functions in the source text into Arabic has applied Newmark’s theory of semantic or communicative translation to finding grammatical equivalence in translation of the literary text. The findings obtained from the analysis show that semantic and communicative the translation, especially; in the selected data was translated flexibly, no more semantically and no more commutative. Significantly, the study further recommends that translators in handling literary texts should be a communicative and semantic Translation.
Keywords: Clause, function, semantic and communicative translations, translation, wh- interrogative
Transfer in the Translation of Idioms (Published)
This paper investigates the role of transfer in the translation of English idioms by Arab learners of English. It attempts to spotlight on the difficulties of translating idioms and to indicate potential transfer that may occur in the process of their translation. The data of the study were collected from the translation of selected English idioms administered to senior Saudi English language majors. The general performance of subjects indicates poor competence in translating idioms from the target language. Results reveal lack of familiarity with the target idioms, particularly with their pragmatic and cultural aspects. The study urges that idioms worth greater attention in linguistic research and in ELT environment.
Keywords: Linguistic transfer, Transfer, idiom, opaque idiom, translation
Cultural Linguistics and Translation (Published)
Cultural Linguistics is an interdisciplinary sub-branch of linguistics that explores the relationship between language and cultural conceptualizations (Sharifian, 2015). Based on the principle of the Cultural Linguistics theory and Frame Semantics theory this research offers a descriptive comparative content analysis of translation of humor in literary humorous books. More precisely based on Lopez’s analytical framework (2002), which centers in the frames and cultural conceptualizations activated in the humorous texts, the present research explores and explicates the various translation problems which may arise in translating humorous elements in two of Woody Allen’s books: “Side Effects” and “Getting Even”. The present research also discusses various critical translation challenges under six comprehensive categories: Visual Frames, Situational Frames, Text-Type Frames, Social Frames, Institutional Frames and Generic Frames.
Keywords: Cultural linguistics, Frames, Humorous texts, translation
English Arabic Cultural Effect in Translation: A Relevance Theory Perspective (Published)
This study is framed within a competence-oriented model which provides the target text (TT) receiver with communicative clues. These clues allow inference to be optimally captured. Hence, this approach looks at translation as an example of communication mainly based on the cost and effect model of inferencing and interpretations. Strategies adopted in this paper are determined by context-specific consideration of relevance, with special reference to cultural aspects. Applied to translation, one of the most appropriate strategies is to re-produce the cognitive effect intended by the source text (ST) communicator with the lowest possible effort on the part of the TT receiver. This study concludes that when there is a lack of isomorphism or symmetry between the cultural contents of the two languages, the translator will have to opt for content-cognitive effect or cultural transplantation. The translator would have to assess the relevance of content and form in a specific context in order to achieve the same effect in the TT. It has been emphasized, however, that translation as a special instance of human communication leads to the conclusion that various methods may be justified in their own right, if we take into consideration the differences in the text-types, the intention of the author, readership, and the purpose of translation. In a nutshell, however, translation remains a craft which requires not just training and skill but also continually renewed linguistic and non-linguistic knowledge, considerable imagination as well as intelligence and common sense, and most of all talent
Keywords: Cultural Effect, Relevance, communication, translation
Theatrical Translation: Problems in Translating ‘The Sandbox’ From Standard English into Central Kurdish. (Published)
Translating is a problematic process, and the problems rooted in different aspects, different types of translation might acquire various obstacles, including literary translation and theatrical translation. Amongst other types of translation, the translation of theater has specific problems, as it deals with text and spoken message. Besides, translating from a developed language like English into a minor language of Kurdish may face some other problems. This article, sheds light on the relationship between translation and theater and the problems faced in translating the theater of ‘the sandbox’ from English into Kurdish, and the how the problems of translation solved through different translational strategies.
Keywords: English, Kurdish, Sandbox, Theatrical Translation, translation
Examining Nida’s Translation Theory in Rendering Arabic Proverbs into English: A Comparative Analysis Study (Published)
Proverbs exist in every language to express particular messages. However, when a proverb is translated, certain issues emerge due to its particular cultural and linguistic connotations which are different from one language to another. Nevertheless, such issues can be resolved by proper selection of translation methods. This study evaluates the accuracy of Nida’s (1964) translation theory in dealing with Arabic proverbs. For this purpose, the researcher employs Nida’s theory as a framework of this study. In addition, the researcher randomly selects 20 Arabic proverbs from different resources as the study data. In order to conduct this research, the researcher uses a comparative analysis approach. First, the study transliterates the data into English. Next, the researcher applies formal and dynamic equivalence strategies to render the research data. Then, the researcher compares and analyzes the final translation product in terms accuracy. The results show that although Nida’s theory is useful to some extent, Arabic proverbs lost some of their cultural and religious values in the target language.
Keywords: Proverb Translation, Translation Methods, translation