Arabic translation across cultures (original) (raw)
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The Difficulties in Translating Culture-Specific Expressions from Arabic into English
Journal of Education and Practice, 2019
This paper examines the problems faced by undergraduate students in Jordan majoring in translation when translating culture-specific expressions from the Arabic language into the English language. To attain this aim, 11 B.A translation students were given twenty cultural expressions to translate them from Arabic into English. These expressions were taken from volume two of the Jordanian Arabic novel "Mudun al-milh" (Cities of Salt) by Dr. A Munif. The findings show that the participants encounter various types of problems when translating these expressions. These problems are frequently related to; 1. unsuccessful attempts to attain the equivalent in the English language, and 2. inadequate knowledge in translation techniques and translation strategies. This study concludes with some recommendations, including providing at least two courses that deal with cultural differences, cultural awareness, and cultural knowledge, particularly in the academic programs that qualify translators.
Translating Idiomatic Expressions from English into Arabic: Difficulties and Strategies
Translation is the process of rendering aspects and features of a target text semantically, culturally and pragmatically into another language. However, translating idiomatic and culturally-bound expressions has been a challenge for translators as they are culture-bound and involve many cultural elements. This study aims at investigating difficulties encountered by Omani undergraduate students majoring in English language teaching and literature when translating idiomatic and culturally-bound expression from English into Arabic. Additionally, it attempts to identify and demonstrate some of the strategies that they used to translate and overcome such challenges and suggest what could be done to help them handle such challenges and improve their translation skills and competencies. A translation test along with a short survey was administered to 60 Omani undergraduate students majoring in English language and literature at the department of English Language and Literature in a public college in Oman. Reliability and validity for both the translation test and questionnaire were established. The mostsalient challenges difficulties reported by students and the most frequently coping strategies that they were used as strategies in translating idiomatic and culturally-bound expressions and handling them were presented.Some of the study's recommendations and key pedagogical implications were also highlighted and discussed.
Strategies of Arabic -English Translations: Problems and Solutions
This paper sheds light on the impediments of translation and on the strategies that should be followed for clarity of intent. It focuses on basic prospects of linguistic, lexical, and cultural problems. The paper tackles the ambiguity some new learners might fall with during translation. It exposes models of Arabic sentences, expressions and proverbs to English and back for a precise translation. The objective of this work is to avoid some peculiarities which are dealt with as defects in both academic and non-academic fields of translation. This paper is, therefore, an attempt to expound these problems so the translator can aware of the lacunae which might go unseen in the process of translation. It is also to seek which meaning is possibly intended by the writer based on, not a customary translation, however, diversity of times and attitudes as well. To ease the function to the foreign speakers and to make this work more attainable, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions are considered whenever necessary.
The Hindrances in Translating Specific Cultural Concepts from Arabic into English
This paper investigates problems faced by undergraduate students in Sudan majoring in English language when translating specific cultural concepts from Arabic language into English language. To attain this aim, the researcher randomlyselected 100 undergraduate students who were registered for the B.A program inthe Department of English at Al Imam AlMahdi University in Sudan during the 2012/2013 academic year. The researchers carried out a translation test that consisted of 18 sentences which the learners were then required to translate from Arabic into English. Each sentence comprised of specific cultural concepts based on Newmark's (1988) classification of cultural terms. The researchers also carried out interviews with lecturers who specialize in translation to get further data from their point of view concerning these difficulties, the reasons and their proposed solution. The findings show that the undergraduate learners faced various types of complications when translating specific cultural concepts. These difficulties are frequently associated with; 1) translating specific cultural concepts, 2) unsuccessful attempts to attain the sameness in English language, and 3) lack of knowledge of translation techniques and translation strategies. Based on this result, this research work proposes a solution to narrow the gap between specific cultural concepts such as figuring out programs that deals with specificcultural conceptsthat suit translators.
An Investigation of the Translation of English Culture-Bound Expressions into Arabic
International Journal of English Language Studies
The present study investigates the effective strategies that can be employed in translating English culture-bound expressions into Arabic. The study mainly explores the translation and idiomacity of some colour-related expressions of comparison (i.e. similes), collocations and binomials. The paper examines whether it is possible to observe any consistency in the strategies used for the translation of these colour-related idiomatic expressions. This is attempted under the notions of foreignization and domestication proposed by Venuti (1995), the framework of Berlin/Key studies on colours (1969), and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which are all concerned with the interrelationships between language, culture, and translation. The researcher is the instrument of this study. In translating the culturally-bound expressions, the researcher uses two techniques to solve the cultural gap between the source and target languages. The paper reaches the conclusion that no translation strategy should...
Title: Understanding Idioms and the Process of Translating themfrom English into Arabic
Idioms are set of words that produce indirect meaning. They have significance in any language. They constitute an important ratio in any language's lexical component. Translation of idioms into and from any language causes a lot of difficulties to translatorsin general and foreign language learners in particular. The burden of translating idioms into accurate and correspondent equivalents in target languages is demanding and worrying. Actually, several factors play roles in facilitating or complicating understanding and subsequently transferring the meaning of idioms into other parallel language(s). Doubtless, culture is a pivotal element in evolution of idioms. Nearly all idioms are derived from cultural backgrounds. Certainly, almost all languages lexical stores contain diverse types of idioms. In order to decode the meaning of idioms and idiomatic expressions, foreign language learners in general, and translators in particular should possess profound linguistic and cultural knowledge in both source and target languages
Strategies for Translating Idioms and Proverbs from English into Arabic
British Journal of Translation, Linguistics and Literature
Translation is essential for promoting understanding of different genres and in different languages. As more and more information is published globally, the need for translating a wide range of document types has emerged, including books and movies, that often require that they are rendered to meet the linguistic needs of the target audience. While linguistic and grammatical translation might be easy, culturally bound items in the conversation impact the approaches used in translation, often causing various challenges in effectively rendering a source from one language to another. Proverbs and idiomatic expressions are essential to everyday communication but are culturally bound to Spatiotemporal conditions. Giving them a literal translation might distort the intended meaning, primarily due to the cultural differences between the source and target languages. The current analysis is of the translation techniques adopted in the work of George Orwell, Animal Farm, and One Thousand and ...
Preserving Meaning and Context: A Study of Cultural Adaptation in the Translation of Arabic Proverbs
Alsinatuna, 2023
This research delves into the intricate dynamics of translating proverbs, aiming to ensure that the essence of the source language is accurately conveyed in the target language. Translating proverbs presents unique challenges due to the inherent cultural and contextual nuances embedded within them. To address this, employing culturally equivalent strategies becomes crucial in faithfully representing the intended meaning. The process of translating through culture is not merely a mechanical task; it serves as a bridge fostering a profound understanding between different cultures. This bridge facilitates the effective communication of proverbial messages in the target language, exemplified by the proverb "Qabla ar-rima tumlau al-kanain." A literal translation fails to capture its essence, but a cultural approach reveals its Indonesian equivalent: "sedia paying sebelum hujan." This stark contrast underscores the necessity of cultural adaptation to convey the intended message accurately. This qualitative study relies on data sourced from various references, such as "
ADAB AL-RAFIDAYN, 2020
Translation can be viewed as a cross-cultural task in which the translator acts as an intercultural mediator. Thus, the unique culture of the East can be introduced to the West world via the process of translation. One way of introducing Arabic culture to the West is through the translation of Arabic famous literary works into English. Ziqaq Al-Midaq by Najeeb Mahfooz, the Egyptian novelist and the winner of Noble Prize, is one of the best Arabian novels that has been translated into many languages including Italian, French, and English. Humphrey, D. & Gassic, T. made great efforts to put the novel in English but they have succeeded in one place and failed in another as the present study will show to the reader later on. Ziqaq Al-Midaq is full of culture-bound expressions that would trigger many difficulties and make the translation of it a thorny and tricky task because many of these items do not have equivalents in the target language. Also, the recurrent inappropriate choices made by the selected translators seriously affected the quality of their translation product .
Strategies for Translating Idioms from Arabic into English and Vice Versa
An idiom is a form of speech or an expression that is peculiar to itself. Grammatically, it cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements. Culture plays an important role in the course of the idiom interpretation. Only by having a solid foundation of the culture of the target language, the translator can catch the implied meaning. It, therefore, requires enhancing cross-cultural awareness and needs open – minded understanding of the culture of the second language from different aspects. Moreover, the difference between the source language and the target language as well as variation in their cultures makes the process of translating a real challenge. Among the problematic factors involved in translation are the social and the religious cultures. The main objective of this study however will focus on the problem of translating idioms both in social and religious culture from Arabic into English language and vise versa. The strategies that could contribute to overcome the obstacles facing a translator in this subject are proposed and discussed.