Translation Techniques 73473g

The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Mentouri University – Constantine Faculty of Letters and Languages

A study of

Translation Techniques When translating between English and Arabic

Project Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement For the LMD Licence Degree in English (Applied Language Studies)

Project submitted by: Ghali Hafida Gourzi Ouadie Aboulgacem Khellas Nawel Merrad Nessrine

Supervisor: Dr. Laouali Yamouna

June 2011

i Abstract

Jean Claude Vinay and Jean Darbelnet, the two Canadian writers, have mentioned in their famous book: Stylistique Comparée du Français et de l’Anglais the seven translation techniques that can be used when translating between English and French. In this short study, we have tried to apply the same seven translation techniques but when translating between English and Arabic. We have divided our work into two styles of translation. The first style is the Direct one, in which we have seen three translation techniques: Borrowing, Calque, and Literal Translation. The second style is the Oblique (indirect) one, in which we have seen the last four translation techniques: Transposition, Modulation, Equivalence, and Adaptation. As a conclusion, we have arrived to find that the seven techniques are applicable when translating between English and Arabic.

‫ﻣُ ﻠﺨّ ﺺ‬ ‫ اﻷﺳﻠﻮﺑﯿﺔ‬:ِ‫ ﻓﻲ ﻛﺘﺎﺑِﮭﻤﺎ اﻟﻤﺸﮭﻮر‬، ‫ ﺟﯿﻦ ﻛﻠﻮد ﻓﯿﻨﺎي وﺟﯿﻦ دارﺑﻠﻨﺖ‬،‫ذَﻛﺮَ اﻟﻜﺎﺗﺒﺎن اﻟﻜﻨﺪﯾﺎن‬ ‫ ﺗﻘﻨﯿﺎت اﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤ َﺔ اﻟﺴﺒﻊ اﻟﺘﻲ ُﯾ ْﻤﻜِﻦُ أَنْ ﺗُﺴﺘَﻌﻤﻞَ ﻋﻨﺪ اﻟﺘَﺮْ ﺟَ ﻤَﺔ ﺑﯿﻦ‬،‫اﻟﻤﻘﺎرﻧﺔ ﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻟﻔﺮﻧﺴﯿﺔ واﻻﻧﺠﻠﯿﺰﯾﺔ‬ ‫ ﺣﺎوﻟﻨَﺎ ﺗَﻄﺒﯿﻖ ﻧﻔﺲ ﺗﻘﻨﯿﺎتِ اﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤ ِﺔ اﻟﺴﺒﻊ ﻟﻜﻦ ﻋﻨﺪ‬،ِ‫ ﻓﻲ ھﺬه اﻟﺪراﺳ ِﺔ اﻟﻘﺼﯿﺮة‬.ِ‫اﻹﻧﺠﻠﯿﺰﯾ ِﺔ واﻟﻔﺮﻧﺴﯿﺔ‬ ُ‫ اﻷﺳﻠﻮبُ اﻷول‬.‫أﺳﻠﻮﺑﯿﻦ‬ ِ ‫س ﺗﻘﺴﯿﻢِ اﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤ ِﺔ إﻟﻰ‬ ِ ‫ ﻗﺴّﻤﻨَﺎ ﻋﻤﻠﻨﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ أﺳﺎ‬.ِ‫اﻟﺘَﺮْ ﺟَ ﻤَﺔ ﺑﯿﻦ اﻹﻧﺠﻠﯿﺰﯾ ِﺔ واﻟﻌﺮﺑﯿﺔ‬ . ُ‫ واﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤﺔُ اﻟﺤﺮﻓﯿﺔ‬، ُ‫ اﻟﻤﺤﺎﻛﺎة‬، ُ‫ اﻻﻗﺘﺮاض‬:ِ‫ت ﻟﻠﺘﺮﺟﻤﺔ‬ ٍ ‫ھﻮ اﻷﺳﻠﻮبُ اﻟﻤﺒﺎﺷﺮُ اﻟﺬي ﻓَﺤﺼﻨَﺎ ﻓﯿﮫ ﺛﻼث ﺗﻘﻨﯿﺎ‬ ، ُ‫ اﻹﺑﺪال‬:‫أﻣﺎ اﻷﺳﻠﻮبُ اﻟﺜﺎﻧﻲ ﻓﮭﻮ اﻷﺳﻠﻮبُ ﻏﯿﺮ اﻟﻤﺒﺎﺷﺮِ اﻟﺬي ﻓَﺤﺼﻨَﺎ ﻓﯿﮫ ﺗﻘﻨﯿﺎتِ اﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤ ِﺔ اﻷرﺑﻊ اﻟﺒﺎﻗﯿﺔ‬ ً‫ت اﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤﺔ اﻟﺴﺒﻊ اﻟﻤﺬﻛﻮرةِ ﺳﺎﺑﻘﺎَ ﻗﺎﺑﻠﺔ‬ ِ ‫ ﺗﻮَ ﺻﻠﻨَﺎ إﻟﻰ أن ﺗﻘﻨﯿﺎ‬،‫ ﻛﺨﺎﺗﻤ ٍﺔ‬. ُ‫ واﻟﺘﻜﯿﯿﻒ‬، ُ‫ اﻟﻤﻌﺎدﻟﺔ‬، ُ‫اﻟﺘﺤﻮﯾﺮ‬ . ِ‫ﻟﻠﺘﻄﺒﯿﻖ ﻋﻨﺪ اﻟﺘَﺮْ ﺟَ ﻤَﺔ ﺑﯿﻦ اﻹﻧﺠﻠﯿﺰﯾ ِﺔ واﻟﻌﺮﺑﯿﺔ‬ ِ

ii List of Abbreviations

SL: Source Language. ST: Source Text. TL: Target Language. TT: Target Text.

iii Arabic’s Phonetic Transcription Symbols

Vowels: /i/ High front short, as in /sinn/ ‫(ﺳﻦ‬tooth). /i:/ High front long, as in /fi:l/ ‫( ﻓﯿﻞ‬elephant). /a/ Low front short, as in /ḥal/‫( ﺣﻞ‬solution). /a:/ Low front long, as in /ḥa:l/‫( ﺣﺎل‬state). /u/ High back short, as in /hum/‫( ھُﻢ‬they). /u:/ High back long, as in /tu:t/‫( ﺗﻮت‬black berry). Consonants: /b/ Bilabial stop, as in /ba:b/ ‫( ﺑﺎب‬door). /t/ Voiceless non-emphatic dental stop, as in /taʕiba/‫( ﺗﻌِ ﺐ‬he got tired). /d/ Voiced non-emphatic dental stop, as in /da:r/‫( دار‬house). /T/ Voiceless emphatic dental stop, as in /maTar/‫( ﻣﻄﺮ‬rain). /D/ Voiced emphatic dental stop, as in /Daraba/ ‫( ﺿﺮب‬he hit). /k/ Voiceless velar stop, as in /kataba/‫( ﻛﺘﺐ‬he wrote). /g/ Voiced velar stop, as in the French word ‘gourde’ /guRd/ (flask). /q/ Uvular stop, as in /qarja/‫( ﻗﺮﯾﺔ‬village). /ʔ/ Glottal stop, as in /ʔkala/‫ ( أﻛﻞ‬he ate).

iv /f/ Voiceless labio-dental fricative, as in /faʒr/‫( ﻓﺠﺮ‬dawn). /θ/ Voiceless interdental fricative, as in /θaʔr/‫( ﺛﺄر‬revenge). /ð/ Voiced interdental fricative, as in /ha:ða/‫( ھﺬا‬this). /s/ Voiceless alveolar fricative, as in /sa:ʕa/‫( ﺳﺎﻋﺔ‬watch). /ṣ/ Voiceless emphatic dental fricative, as in /ṣaba:ḥ/‫( ﺻﺒﺎح‬morning). /z/ Voiced alveolar fricative, as in /za:ra/‫ ( زار‬he visited). /ʃ/ Voiceless alveo-palatal fricative, as in /ʃams/‫( ﺷﻤﺲ‬sun). /ʒ/ Voiced alveo-palatal fricative, as in /ʒa:r/‫( ﺟﺎر‬neighbour). /h/ Voiceless glottal fricative, as in /huwa/‫( ھﻮ‬he). /ḥ/ Voiceless pharyngeal fricative, as in /ʃa:ḥina/‫( ﺷﺎﺣﻨﺔ‬lorry). /ʕ/ Voiced pharyngeal fricative, as in /ʕabd/‫( ﻋﺒﺪ‬slave). /x/ Voiceless uvular fricative, as in /xuru:ʒ/‫( ﺧﺮوج‬exit). /R/ Voiced uvular fricative, as in /Rarb/‫( ﻏﺮب‬west). /m/ Bilabial nasal, as in /maka:n/‫( ﻣﻜﺎن‬place). /n/ Dental nasal, as in /nu:r/‫( ﻧﻮر‬light). /l/ Lateral, as in /laḥm/‫( ﻟﺤﻢ‬meat). /r/ Flap, as in /kabi:r/‫( ﻛﺒﯿﺮ‬great). /w/ Labio-velar semi-vowel, as in /walad/‫( وﻟﺪ‬boy). /j/ Palatal semi-vowel, as in /jad/‫( ﯾﺪ‬hand).

v Contents I.

Introduction.

1

II.

Direct Translation Techniques.

2

1. Borrowing.

2

2. Calque.

4

3. Literal Translation.

6

Oblique (Indirect) Translation Techniques.

8

1. Transposition.

9

III.

a. Obligatory Transposition.

10

b. Optional Transposition.

10

2. Modulation. a. Obligatory Modulation.

12

b. Optional Modulation.

13

3. Equivalence or Reformulation.

14

a. Types of Equivalence.

15

b. Fixed Expressions.

16

4. Adaptation.

IV.

12

18

a. Culture-Specific Concepts.

18

b. Lack of Lexicalization in the TL.

19

c. Lack of Specific in the TL.

20

d. Differences in Form.

21

Conclusion.

22

1 I. Introduction: As English becomes an increasingly global language, a lot of people become multilingual and translation becomes a crucial communicative activity. Today, translation is viewed as an act of invention that produces a new original in another language. Translation procedures are methods applied by translators when they formulate equivalence for the purpose of transferring elements of meaning from the ST to the TT. Generally, translation needs techniques and methods in order to get a new TT that is similar to the ST. Some of translation techniques are those seven mentioned by the two Canadian translators: Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet who wrote their famous book Stylistique Comparée du Français et de l’Anglais in 1958 in which they tried to make a comparative study between stylistics of the two languages French and English. After the publishing of this book, many translators all over the world translated the book in many languages. Moreover, many translators tried to apply those mentioned techniques in translation from English into other languages other than French. Vinay and Darbelnet mentioned in their book those seven translation techniques divided into two kinds of translation: Direct Translation which contains Borrowing, Calque and Literal Translation; and Oblique or Indirect Translation which contains Transposition, Modulation, Equivalence and Adaptation. In this research, we will try to apply those seven techniques when translating from English into Arabic and vice versa. This application will be as simple as our knowledge about translation in general as 3rd year students.

2 II. Direct translation Techniques: Direct translation is the simplest way of translating from one language into another. It is the direct shift from the ST into the TT without any complex methods or changes. This type of translation is used when structural and conceptual elements of the SL transferred into the TL. According to Vinay and Darbelnet, direct translation techniques can include: Borrowing, Calque, and Literal translation (31).

1. Borrowing: To borrow means “to have or to use something that belongs to somebody else, with the promise that it will be returned” (Oxford 45). However, borrowing as a direct technique of translation means that the words of the SL are transferred directly to the TT (Munday 56). As an example, consider the following words which are taken directly from English into Arabic without finding an equivalent in meaning: Pizza Computer

‫ﺑﯿﺘﺰا‬ /bi:tza/ ‫ﻛﻤﺒﯿﻮﺗﺮ‬ /kumbju:tar/

Arabic characters are completely different from English letters. The idea of direct transfer of the SL word is impractical. The SL word normally is changed into fixed Arabic characters with similar pronunciation. Due to the development of education and globalization, borrowing becomes a new raising situation in translation studies. So, translators adopt this method by keeping words in

3 the original translation and do not transfer these words into the TL in order to achieve textual equivalence. The advantages of the strategy of borrowing are that it brings an original connotation on the word in the TT. Arabic language creates new words by means of pronunciation. This word’s form acquires the original concept of SL. According to Vinay and Darbelnet borrowing is “the simplest of all translation procedures … used in order to introduce the flavor of the source language culture into a translation” (31). There are three types of borrowing that can be distinguished depending on the degree of the substitution of the foreign form into the TT (Chansou 281): 1. Loan word: The foreign form is completely adopted by the TL. 2. Loan blend: Only partial substitution is achieved; one component is replaced by a component of the TL. 3. Loan-shift: The foreign form is entirely substituted by a form of the TL; i.e. there is a total substitution. The following words are some other examples of words that can be borrowed between the two languages, English and Arabic: The Qur’an Al Qaida Facebook Skype Cream

‫اﻟﻘﺮآن‬ /ʔalkurʔa:n/ ‫اﻟﻘﺎﻋﺪة‬ /ʔalkaʕida/ ‫ﻓﺎﯾﺲ ﺑﻮك‬ /fajsbu:k/ ‫ﺳﻜﺎﯾﺐ‬ /ska:jb/ ‫ﻛﺮﯾﻤﺔ‬ /kri:ma/

4 2. Calque: Calque is a technique used to borrow the source language’s expression or structure and then transfer it in a literal translation (Vinay and Darbelnet 32). This strategy refers to the case where the translator imitates in his translation the structure or manner of expression of the ST. Actually this is the difference between calque and borrowing, since the latter transfers the whole word. Swell defines calque as the “literal translation into other language of complex expression or a word used figuratively” (607). Vinay and Darbelnet consider that calque is “a special kind of borrowing” (32). So, as borrowing mentioned, it has the same influence on the enhancement of culture integration. Sometimes this technique makes difficulties in conveying messages in the TL. Considering the aspect of pragmatics, also it fails to achieve the equivalent response in the TT. According to Baker, it is the study of meaning, not as generated by the linguistic system but as conveyed and manipulated by participant in communicative situation (217). Calque brings gaps between the coherence and presumption in pragmatics. Presumption refers to “the knowledge sender assumes the receiver to have or which is necessary in order to retrieve the sender’s messages” (Munday 217). If the information within the boundary of coherence exceeds that presumption, the target reader cannot get the message in the TT. Vinay and Darbelnet have distinguished between two types of calque (Venuti 85): Lexical calque: in which the syntactic structure of the TL is respected and a new made of expression is introduced. Structural calque: it introduces a new construction into the language.

5 Here are some examples of calque:

Weekend

‫ﻧﮭﺎﯾﺔ اﻷﺳﺒﻮع‬ /niha:jat ʔalʔusbu:ʕ/

Water scale

‫دورة اﻟﻤﯿﺎه‬ /dawrat ʔalmija:h/

football

‫ﻛﺮة اﻟﻘﺪم‬ /kurat ʔalqadam/

As we have seen, calque is also a direct translation technique that can be applied when translating from English into Arabic or the opposite.

6 3. Literal Translation: Literal translation is that direct translation from one language into another that gives a word for word translation. According to Vinay and Darbelnet, “word for word translation is a translation strategy used most common between languages of the same family and culture” (33). As English and Arabic do not share neither the same family nor the same culture, we will try to apply this technique when translating between them, and give the cases in which literal translation becomes unacceptable. Consider this example: The team is working to finish the report.

.‫اﻟﻔﺮﯾﻖ ﯾﻌﻤﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﮭﺎء اﻟﺘﻘﺮﯾﺮ‬ /ʔalfari:qu jaʕmalu ʕala ʔinhaʔi ʔtaqri:ri/

In this example, a word for word translation is used in order to shift from the ST into the TT. Every single word in the ST has its equivalent in the TT. The team Is working To finish The report

‫اﻟﻔﺮﯾﻖ‬ /ʔalfari:qu / ‫ﯾﻌﻤﻞ‬ /jaʕmalu/ ‫ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﮭﺎء‬ /ʕala ʔinhaʔi/ ‫اﻟﺘﻘﺮﯾﺮ‬ /ʔtaqri:ri/

The main problem that may occur in this kind of translation between English and Arabic is that some words, either in English or in Arabic, have more than one equivalent in the other language. Consider the words: ‘street’ and ‘road’ in English that means ‘‫طﺮﯾﻖ‬ /Tari:q/’, ‘‫ درب‬/darb/’ and ‘‫ ﺳﺒﯿﻞ‬/sabi:l/’ in Arabic. Thus, it will be confusing to the translator to decide on which equivalent is the appropriate according to the context.

7 According to Vinay and Darbelnet, there are some cases where literal translation is considered unacceptable (Vinuti 87). This can occur in one of the following occasions: 1. When literal translation gives another meaning or gives no meaning at all. 2. When literal translation is structurally impossible. 3. When literal translation does not have a corresponding expression within the metalinguistic experience of the TL. 4. When literal translation has a corresponding expression, but within the same . To illustrate some of those cases, consider the translation of some idiomatic expressions as in: Literal translation (no meaning) It rains cats and dogs. Another translation (right meaning) Literal translation (wrong meaning) The couple lives a cat and dog life.

Another translation (right meaning) It has no corresponding expression.

.‫إﻧﮭﺎ ﺗﻤﻄﺮ ﻗﻄﻄﺎ وﻛﻼﺑﺎ‬ /ʔinaha tumTiru qiTaTan wa kila:ban/ .‫إﻧﮭﺎ ﺗﻤﻄﺮ ﺑﻐﺰارة‬ /ʔinaha tumTiru biRaza:ra/ .‫اﻟﺰوﺟﺎن ﯾﻌﯿﺸﺎن ﺣﯿﺎة اﻟﻘﻂ واﻟﻜﻠﺐ‬ /ʔazawʒa:n jaʕi:ʃa:n ḥaja:t ʔalqiT wa ʔalkalb/ .‫اﻟﺰوﺟﺎن ﻋﻠﻰ اﺧﺘﻼف داﺋﻢ‬ /ʔazawʒa:n ʕala ʔixtila:f da:ʔim/ .‫واﻓﻖ ﺷﻦ طﺒﻘﺔ‬ /wa:faqa ʃan Tabaqa/

Also, according to Newmark, literal translation is more likely to be unsuitable when translating a literary work especially for the translation of poetry. Newmark claimed that “poems convey another expression by individual style and pronunciation in a certain form” (72).

8 III. Oblique (Indirect) translation Techniques: Oblique translation is the second way of translating messages. In some cases, it is very difficult to translate the ST into the TT element by element. That can occur because of some structural or metalinguistic differences between the SL and the TL. So, it will be obvious that the translator has to use some other complex methods in order to shift from the ST into the TT. These complex methods and procedures are called oblique translation methods (Venuti 84). In the coming section, four of these oblique procedures will be presented which are: -

Transposition.

-

Modulation.

-

Equivalence.

-

Adaptation.

9 1. Transposition: According to Vinay and Darbelnet, transposition is a method of translation which involves “replacing one word class with another without changing the meaning of the message” (36). This strategy is mainly found within the same language (Vinay and Darbelnet 36) as shown in the next example:

English The child kissed his mother. V The child gave his mother a kiss. N

Arabic .‫ﻗﺒّﻞ اﻟﻮﻟﺪ أﻣﮫ‬ V /qabala ʔalwaladu ʔumahu/ .‫أﻋﻄﻰ اﻟﻮﻟﺪ أﻣﮫ ﻗﺒﻠﺔ‬ N /ʔaʕTa ʔalwaladu ʔumahu qublatan/

In both languages as we have seen, the two messages are semantically the same. Though, the words ‘kissed’ and ‘‫ ﻗﺒّﻞ‬/qabala/’ have changed from ‘Verbs’ into ‘Nouns’ as ‘kiss’ and ‘‫ ﻗﺒﻠﺔ‬/qublatan/’. Thus, according to Vinay and Darbelnet, the first expression in this kind of translation can be called “the base expression”, while the converted form of the ST is called “the transposed expression” (36). When translating from English into Arabic or vice versa, the application of this method is possible. However, in some cases of translation, the translator is obliged to change the word class of a given word in the ST into another word class in the TT. In other cases, the use of transposition when translating is only optional.

10 a. Obligatory Transposition: Consider the following example:

The blockage was a success. N

.‫ﻛﺎن اﻟﺘﺼﺪي ﻧــﺎﺟﺤًﺎ‬ Adj. /ka:na ʔatasadi naʒiḥan /

In this example, considering English as a SL, the translator is obliged to use transposition. He must change the word class of the word ‘success’ which is a ‘Noun’ into another word class in Arabic by using the word ‘‫ ﻧــﺎﺟﺤً ﺎ‬/naʒiḥan/’ which is an ‘Adjective’. The use of the same word class from the ST into Arabic by using the word ‘‫ ﻧﺠـﺎﺣً ﺎ‬/naʒaḥan/’ which is indeed a ‘Noun’ will make the TT unsuitable.

b. Optional Transposition: Consider also the following example:

Since he got up. V

.‫ﻣﻨﺬ أن اﺳﺘﯿﻘﻆ‬ V /munðu ʔan ʔistajqaDa/ .‫ﻣﻨﺬ اﺳﺘﯿﻘﺎظﮫ‬ N /munðu ʔisti:qaDihi/

In this case, and again considering English as a SL, the translator is given the choice between two possibilities. The first one is using the same word class of the word ‘got up’

11 which is a ‘Verb’ by using the word ‘‫ اﺳﺘﯿﻘﻆ‬/ʔistajqaDa/’ which is a ‘Verb’ as well. The second choice is using the method of transposition by changing the word class in the TL and use the word ‘‫ إﺳﺘﯿﻘﺎظ‬/ʔisti:qa:D/’ which is a ‘Noun’ in Arabic. In both possibilities, the TT is suitable in Arabic what makes the use of transposition optional. The following table will give other examples of the word classes that can be used in transposition when translating between English and Arabic. Word Class Change

Adj. ↔ N

English The minister has met the medical students. Adj.

Arabic .‫اﻟﺘﻘﻰ اﻟﻮزﯾﺮ طﻠﺒﺔ اﻟﻄﺐ‬ N /iltaqa ʔalwazi:r Talabat ʔaTib/

This way seems to be endless. Adj. Adj. ↔ V

.‫ﯾﺒﺪو أن ھﺬه اﻟﻄﺮﯾﻖ ﻟﻦ ﺗﻨﺘﮭﻲ‬ V /jabdu ʔana haðihi ʔaTari:q lan tantahi:/

I was driving through the city. Prep.

.‫ﻛﻨﺖ أﻋﺒﺮ اﻟﻤﺪﯾﻨﺔ ﺑﺴﯿﺎرﺗﻲ‬ V

Preposition ↔ V /kuntu ʔaʕburu ʔalmadi:nata bisajarati:/ Yield V

.‫اﻷوﻟﻮﯾﺔ ﻟﻠﯿﻤﯿﻦ‬ N

V↔N (we find this in traffic banners)

/ʔalʔawlawija liljami:n/

12 2. Modulation: According to Vinay and Darbelnet, modulation is a method of translation which refers to “a variation of the form of the message, obtained by a change in the point of view” (36). As we have seen in transposition, using modulation can also be an obligation or only an option. According to Venuti, the translator is obliged to use this method when the literal or transposed translation is considered as unsuitable or unidiomatic in the TL (89).

a. Obligatory Modulation: Consider the following example:

A: Where is Ali?

‫ أﯾﻦ ھﻮ ﻋﻠﻲ؟‬:‫أ‬ /ʔajna huwa ʕali/

B: No one knows. .‫ ﷲ أﻋﻠﻢ‬:‫ب‬ /ʔala:hu ʔaʕlam/

In this example, it is suitable for an English person to answer the question by using the expression ‘No one knows’, while this expression when translated literally into Arabic, the TT ‘‫ ﻻ أﺣﺪ ﯾﻌﻠﻢ‬/la: ʔaḥada jaʕlam/’ seems to be unsuitable or mainly unidiomatic because the preferable expression in such cases is ‘‫ ﷲ أﻋﻠﻢ‬/ʔala:hu ʔaʕlam/’. Thus, the translator was obliged to use the strategy of modulation and change the angle of view. The expression in the ST means ‘no person knows’ while the angle has changed for the TT into ‘only God knows’.

13 b. Optional Modulation: Consider the following example: A equals the half of B.

.‫أ ﺗﻌﺎدل ﻧﺼﻒ ب‬ /ʔalif tuʕa:dil nisf ba:ʔ/ .‫إن ب ھﻲ ﺿﻌﻒ أ‬ /ina ba:ʔ hija Diʕf ʔalif/

From this example, the two expressions in Arabic have the same meaning. The first one is translated literally from the ST while the second is modulated. The modulation occurs in the sense of changing the point of view when comparing ‘A’ to ‘B’. Both expressions in this example seemed to be suitable in Arabic what gives the translator the choice between them because using modulation or not will not lead to any unsuitable or unidiomatic expression in the TL.

14 3. Equivalence or Reformulation: As it has been said before, language consists of literal and figurative meaning. The literal meaning is what the words constituting the sentences refer to in a direct way to object or states of affairs. The figurative sense, however, is different from the literal one because of the little role played by the meanings of individual words in an expression. Such a meaning is present in notions like proverbs, metaphors and idioms. The latter represents a large part of everyday language that differs from one community to another using specific technique which is called ‘Equivalence’. Equivalence refers to “a strategy to describe the same situation by using completely different stylistic or structural methods for producing equivalent text” (Vinay and Darbelnet 38). Equivalence is a term to describe the relationship which exists between SL and TL item texts. Equivalence can be considered as a very essential technique of translation as it can be the basis of translation. The TT must be equivalent to the ST in one way or another especially in meaning which is the most common basis for equivalence. Nida also argued that equivalence is important in translation. They said that “translating consists in producing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language matters, first in of meaning and secondly in of style” (12). However, a heated controversy emerged between theories about the theory of equivalence. They are divided into three groups. The theory of the first group is based on the linguistic approach, but they forget that translation is not only a matter of linguistics. The second group sees that translation equivalence is a transfer of the message from the source culture to the target culture and the semantic/pragmatic approach to translation. The third

15 group stands in the middle. It is the most convincing one because it gathers all approaches and sees that translation is not the equivalence of individual words, and not only the equivalence of the pragmatic meaning, however, it is the equivalence at all levels.

a. Types of Equivalence: i. At and Above Word Level: The translator takes into consideration words as single units, and then he considers a number of factors which affect the word such as gender, number and tense. ii. Grammatical Equivalence: The second thing that the translator considers is the grammatical categories, and then compares them in the two languages. If there are some cases where there is no equivalence, the translator tries to add or omit information. iii. Textual Equivalence: This is another level which is based on equivalence in of information and cohesion. iv. Pragmatic Equivalence: At this level, the translation is based on implicates and implied meaning. The translator, sometimes, has to go beyond the message and read between the lines what is implicitly said in the ST, and avoid any implication when translating the message into the TT recipients that can cause problems to them in understanding it.

16 b. Fixed Expressions: i. Idioms: Baker defined idioms as “frozen patterns of language which allow little or no variation in form, and in the case of idioms, often carry meanings which cannot be deduced from their individual components” (63). That is because these are very special and have no direct equivalences in Arabic, they pose many problems. Ghazala classified idioms in two categories. For each category, he provided a solution after stating the problem. i.i. Direct Idioms: According to Ghazala, these are metaphoric meanings translated directly, but should be understood indirectly. They are easy to translate. Their literal meaning helps getting their message. For example: Birds of a feather flock together.

.‫إن اﻟﻄﯿﻮر ﻋﻠﻰ أﺷﻜﺎﻟﮭﺎ ﺗﻘﻊ‬ /ʔina ʔaTuju:ra ʕala ʔaʃka:liha taqaʕo/

i.ii. Indirect Idioms: These idioms are those which cannot be translated literally to understand the meaning as the first type. For example: the expression ‘Break a leg’ is used to wish luck for someone. Hence, its literal translation ‘‫ اﻛﺴﺮ رﺟﻼ‬/ʔiksir riʒlan/’ cannot express its real meaning. The right translation must be ‘‫ ﺣﻆ ﺳﻌﯿﺪ‬/ḥaDun saʕi:d/’. ii. Proverbs: Ghazala claimed that these expressions are just like idioms. A proverb cannot be translated or understood as a collection of the individual meanings of the words. Moreover,

17 proverbs are metaphors…culture specific. Therefore, they should not be translated or understood directly (142). Ghazala classified proverbs into three categories (143): ii.i. Direct Proverbs: These can be translated literally. For instance: Like father like son.

.‫ﻛﻤﺎ اﻷب ﻛﻤﺎ اﻻﺑﻦ‬ /kama ʔalʔab kama ʔalʔibn/ .‫ﻣﻦ ﺷﺎﺑﮫ أﺑﺎه ﻓﻤﺎ ظﻠﻢ‬ /man ʃabaha ʔabaho fama Dalam/

ii.ii. Similar equivalence: The proverbs under this category need to be translated by equivalence; even the relation between the proverbs seems different. Take for example: ‘A leopard never changes its spots’. The literal translation ‘‫ ﻻ ﯾﻐﯿﺮ اﻟﻔﮭﺪ ﺑﻘﻌﮫ‬/ la: juRajiru ʔalfahdu buqaʕahu/’ makes no sense, but ‘‫ اﻟﻄﺒﻊ ﯾﻐﻠﺐ اﻟﺘﻄﺒﻊ‬/ʔaTabʕ jaRlib ʔataTabuʕ/’ conveys the original message clearly. iii. Metaphor: This concerns mainly the figurative language and when words are used figuratively, not in their real sense. Ghazala illustrated this through the word “fox” in the sentence “He is a fox” (150). The word Fox here is not used to say that the person is really an animal but to refer to its attitude i.e. he is con like a fox. Therefore, we translate it into Arabic as ‘‫إﻧﮫ ﻣﺎﻛﺮ‬ /inahu ma:kirun/. Ghazala described figurative language and focused on three characteristics which are quite important for translators and students to bear in mind while translating. Hence, figurative language may be metaphorical, indirect, and sometimes unclear (152).

18 4. Adaptation: Languages differ due to the cultural differences between them. Every linguistic community has its own universe and way of interpreting the world. Hence, a concept can be lexicalized differently from one language into another. Language has a very important role in building a culture and it is considered as its keystone. And because languages are different, they make it difficult for the translator to find the equivalent term for some culture-specific that need certain cultural knowledge. According to Vinay and Darbelnet, adaptation refers to “a method used in those cases where the type of situation being referred to by the SL message is unknown in the TL culture” (39). One of the clearest definitions of culture is provided by Newmark. He said: “I define culture as the way of life and its manifestation that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as a means of expression” (94). a. Culture-Specific Concepts: When culture-specific emerge, it may not be easy to find the most appropriate equivalent term to them, and it will be difficult to carry on the translation in isolation from cultural factors. Lotman claims that “no language exist unless it is steeped in the context of culture” (qtd. in Joelle 45). In this respect, Joelle states that the meaning given to a term can be shaped by culture. For example, the term ‘‫ ﻧﯿﻒ‬/ni:f/’ is a culture-specific term that refers to dignity in the Algerian culture, but it can be understood differently in the English culture i.e. with only its propositional meaning which is the part of the face (34). Hence, it will be literally translated as ‘Nose’. Another example is the term ‘‫ ﺻﺎع‬/ṣa:ʕ/’ which is a measuring

19 unit for cereals that is equal to 120Kgs. There is no exact equivalent term in English, because English people use the use the measuring unit ‘Bushel’ which equals only 33Kgs. b. Lack of Lexicalization in the TL: As it has been mentioned above, because of the cultural differences between the two languages Arabic and English, there are some concepts that exist in Arabic and do not in English; they are called ‘lexical gaps’. Lexical gaps can be related to religion, to food, to customs…etc. and they can be considered as culture-specific , but they have no equivalent in the TL. In other words, they are not lexicalized in the TL. Tymoczko states that such features of the source culture are often encoded in specific lexical items for which there are equivalent in the receptor culture or for which there are only rare or technical words (24-5). For example, the term ‘‫ أﻣﺎﻧﺔ‬/ʔama:na/’ is an Arabic religious concept or term that means that Muslims are ordered to keep intact what they are entrusted with, until they give it back to its owners. This term may not have any equivalent in English. Another example is the term ‘‫ ﺑﺮﻗﻊ‬/burquʕ/ which means a piece of cloth of black colour that covers the face except the eyes that some Muslim women wear. This term also has no equivalent in English. When these emerge in the ST, they cause problems to the translator. In other word, the English translator will be confused about how to translate a concept or a term that does not even exist in English as a TL.

20 c. Lack of Specific in the TL: Some languages tend to have a superordinate but lack some hyponyms1 that could be in another language. This could be because of the cultural differences between them as it has been mentioned. Every speaking community interprets the word in its own way. For example, because of the specifies of the weather and environment in most of Arab world, Arabic includes many hyponyms for the term ‘dates’ according to the shape, taste and colour. This is not the case in English which has only the general term ‘dates’. Dates

‫ﺗﻤـــﺮ‬

/tamr/

‫ﺑﻠﺢ‬ /balaḥ/

‫دﻗﻠﺔ‬ /dagla/

‫ﺳﻠﻄﺎﻧﻲ‬ /sulTani:/

‫ﻟﺤﻤﯿﺔ‬ /laḥmija/

‫ﺑﺮﻧﻲ‬ /burni:/

This number of hyponyms of the word ‘dates’ in Arabic causes problems to the translator about how to translate them into English where no equivalent exists. Another example is the term ‘Love’ that has many hyponyms in Arabic. The following figure shows the term ‘love’ in Arabic: Love ‫ﺣﺐ‬ /ḥub/

‫ﻋﺸﻖ‬ /ʕiʃq/ 1

‫ﻏﺮام‬ /Rara:m/

‫ھﯿﺎم‬ /huja:m/

‫ﺻﺒﺎﺑﺔ‬ /saba:ba/

‫وﻟﮫ‬ /walah/

‫ھﻮى‬ /hawa/

Hyponyms are words which mean different items that belong to the same class of meanings and covered by the same superordinate.

21 English language does not have equivalents for the hyponyms of the term ‘love’ in the Arabic language. For example, the term ‘‫ ﺻﺒﺎﺑﺔ‬/saba:ba/’ does not have a direct equivalent term in English. Hence, the translator can use the general term ‘love’ in order to refer to that hyponym as it has the same propositional meaning. According to Baker, the translator can “go up a level in [this] semantic field [in order] to find [the] more general word [which is ‘love’] that covers the core propositional meaning of the missing hyponym in the target language” (28). d. Differences in Form: Sometimes the translator cannot find the exact equivalent for some forms that are technical for the SL. For example, Arabic language can have a sentence in one word, such as ‘‫ ﺳﻨﺴﺘﻌﻤﻠﮭﻢ‬/sanastaʕmiluhum/’ which is not the case in English. The former sentence could be translated as ‘we will use them’, i.e. four . This could affect the balance in length between the SL an the TL such as in subtitling.

22 IV. Conclusion: Vinay and Darbelnet, in their famous book: Stylistique Comparée du Français et de l’Anglais, has mentioned seven techniques of translation between English and French. These techniques were: Borrowing, Calque, and Literal translation as direct translation techniques; and Transposition, Modulation, Equivalence, and Adaptation as oblique translation techniques. Many translators all over the world tried to apply these seven techniques when translating between other languages. As well, as we have seen in this short study, we have tried to apply the same seven techniques of translation when translating between English and Arabic. As a conclusion, we have arrived to find that the seven techniques are likely to be applicable when translating from English into Arabic or vice versa. Thus, we recommend that this study should be developed more and more by experts in translation because such a subject is needed to help students who want to go further in the domain of translation.

23 Works Cited Baker, Mona. In Other Words: A Course Book on Translation. London: Routledge, 1992. Print. Bull, Victoria, ed. Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. Chansou, M. “Claque et Création Linguistique”. Etudes Terminologiques et Linguistiques. Paris : Les Edition Didier, 1984. 281-85. Print. Ghazala, Hassan. Translation: Theory and Practice. Beirut: Dar El-Ilm LilMalayin, 1995. Print. Joelle, R. La Traductologie: Science et Philosophie de la Traduction. Alger: Office des Publications Universitaires, 1985. Print. Munday, Jeremy. ” The Translation Shift Approach”. Introducing Translation Studies. London: Routledge, 2001. 55-71. Print. Newmark, P. A Text Book of Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall, 1988. Print. Nida, E. Towards a Science of Translation. Leiden: EJ. Brill, 1964. Print. Swell, P. M. “The Occurrence of Calque in Translation Scripts”. Translation: An Advanced Resource Book. ed. Jeremy Munday. New York: Routledge, 2001. 607-15. Print. Tymoczko, M. Post-Colonial Writing and Literary Translation. UK: Fawcett Publication, 1999. Print. Venuti, Lawrence, ed. “A Methodology for Translation”. The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 2000. 84-93. Print.

24 Vinay, J. P. and Jean Darbelnet. Comparative Stylistics of French and English: A Methodology for Translation. Trans. Juan C. Sager, M.-J. Hamel. Philadelphia: John Benjamin’s Publishing Co., 1995. Print.