This paper deals with the translation of the English past progressive into Arabic by examining both theoretical and textual considerations. First, it shows how the English aspect formally corresponds ...to the auxiliary verb كا ن 'was' plus the simple present (SP) form or the active participle (AP) form. Second, it is argued that the choice between the SP and the AP is subject to several grammatical and semantic constraints on Arabic verbs: +/- transitive, +/- telic, +/- completed, and +/- manner of motion. Third, the textual data (70 examples) drawn from two existing Arabic translations of Leonardo DaVinci by Walter Isaacs (2017) and Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton (2014) indicates that several translation procedures are employed to render the English past progressive, mainly including the past simple (48.57%), present simple (22.85%), formal correspondence (18.57%), and lexicalizing (7.14%). Finally, the qualitative analysis reveals that the progressiveness, emphasis, and dramatization that the English past progressive aspect may communicate are seriously compromised in Arabic translation. While there may be cases where some mismatches between English and Arabic verbs exist in terms of progressiveness which may call for the use of past simple or lexicalizing, the formal correspondence procedure is claimed to be the most valid and appropriate for capturing the functions of the English past progressive.
Negation hardly comes up as an issue in English–Arabic translation studies. The general assumption is that the translation of English negation into Arabic poses no serious problems to the translator. ...While this is generally true when it comes to rendering negation marked by generic negative particles/affixes (John is not happy and John is unhappy, respectively) and even lexical and rhetorical implicit negation (John denied having cheated on the test and Can a person like John make such a mistake?), the present paper aims to show that the appropriate textualization into Arabic of English adverbial and determiner negation (e.g., by the adverbials too and hardly, and the determiners little and few) can be a problematic area for Arabic translators. The textual data (270 examples) is extracted from several published translations (belonging to literary, popular science/journalistic, and economic discourse), in an attempt to show what strategies translators follow when encountering such negation and how successful they are. While the findings provide solid evidence for the serious mishaps (about 42% of the renderings involve one kind of problem or another) that Arabic translators experience in this area, the critical discussion unravels several textual strategies that can capture the subtleties inherent in adverbial/determiner negation. It is hoped that the investigation of this subtle, neglected area in English–Arabic translation studies offers significant insights for both student and professional translators.
The present study aims to examine dog expressions in English in terms of categorisation, structure, attitude, semantic molecules, and translatability. This paper shows that the richness of English ...dog expressions qualifies the conceptual metaphor HUMANS are DOGS at a status comparable to that of the universal conceptual metaphor HUMANS are ANIMALS. The data in this study consists of 110 English dog expressions, a large sample that may not exhaust the entire corpus. This data is mainly collected from internet sources, dictionaries, linguistic textbooks, and native speakers of English. Based on the analysis of these expressions, the results show that 91.25% map negative dog attributes and habits onto people despite the highly-esteemed position the dog now occupies in Anglo-American cultures. Idiomatic expressions are found to be dominant in the data (72.72%), followed equally by idiomatic comparisons (13.64%) and proverbs (13.64%). While idiomatic comparisons and proverbs are structurally realised uniformly in similes and sentences respectively, idiomatic expressions are varied in structure, which is mostly realised in noun phrases (50%) and verb phrases (43.75%). In terms of semantic molecules, dog expressions are shown to reflect a rich spectrum of source domains. Regarding translatability, only some dog expressions translate formally, while most call for either functional equivalence or paraphrase. To conclude, this paper fills in a gap by systematically investigating English dog expressions from several perspectives. Besides, it is particularly valuable for both non-native English speakers who may not be familiar with many of the dog expressions in the corpus and native English speakers whose lexical competence may fall short of accounting for all the expressions in the data.
Localized reality television competitions centering on food merge language and food to express the emotional depth that stems from identity. While many have examined the relationship between food and ...identity and language and identity separately, few have combined the two. Thus, this paper aims to study the cases of codeswitching (CS) in Arabic food competitions. The research is qualitative and quantitative in nature. Selected episodes of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) version of the reality series Top Chef were watched, and the instances of codeswitching were transcribed alongside the partial Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) subtitles that translate them. The use of English was examined and classified based on context, speaker, and translation strategy to better understand its use. The code switches were categorized into food-related and non-food-related. Food-related examples include universal food items, food textures and flavors, culture-specific food items, desserts, food preparation and presentation, courses, techniques, and tools. In contrast, non-food-related examples included general statements and sentences which typically had Arabic equivalents. The results show that subtitlers use a variety of strategies to domesticate food-related items, including direct translation, explicitation, transliteration, addition, and omission. The study found that understanding the use of CS aids in the choice of the most suitable translation technique, but this was not seen in the actual practice. The results also indicate that the frequency of codeswitching is influenced by the competitor's gender and geographical area. The study recommends that further studies be conducted on language choice and codeswitching in other contexts.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the translation procedures that are followed when rendering English fiction titles into Arabic. One hundred English fiction titles were collected and set ...against their Arabic counterparts. The quantitative analysis shows that the translation procedure employed in 60% of the sample is literal translation. The other translation procedures feature adaptation (20%), use of related words (12%), paraphrase/explication (5%), and transliteration alone (3%). Qualitatively, the analysis reveals that literal translation works very well when the title is lexically and culturally transparent. By contrast, adaptation is called for when the title includes culture-bound references or allusions. With regards to related words, they are employed when the title is lexically intricate or when a related word would render the title more attractive. The analysis also indicates that while explication may render a title more natural and attractive, paraphrase may produce flat and unnatural titles. Transliteration, for its part, is shown to work well with proper nouns, although it may need to be supplemented by other procedures in some cases. Other things being equal, commercial and marketing factors need to be taken into consideration when formulating as well as when translating a title.
Aortopathy is a known complication whose incidence is growing within the population of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) patients. Its pathology and relationship with other comorbidities remain unclear. This ...study was designed to determine the prevalence and predictors of proximal aortic dilatation after TOF repair. We retrospectively investigated all patients who underwent follow-up cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR; at least 4 years after TOF repair) between March 2004 and December 2019. The dimensions at the ascending aorta (AAo) and sinus of Valsalva (SoV) levels were measured. Aortic dilatation was defined as an internal aortic diameter that was >2 standard deviation of the previously published normal values. We included 77 patients (mean age 28.9 ± 10.5 years, 41.5% female, mean follow-up of 24.5 ± 8.1 years). AAo and SoV were dilated in 19 (24.6%) and 43 (55.8%) patients, respectively. Patients with dilated AAo and SoV were older during the corrective surgery (
< 0.001 and
= 0.004, respectively) and during CMR (
= 0.002 and 0.024, respectively) than patients without AAo and SoV dilatation. Patients of the dilated AAo group were more likely to have prior palliative shunt (
= 0.008), longer shunt duration (
= 0.005), and a higher degree of aortic valve regurgitation (AR) fraction (
< 0.001) and to undergo pulmonary (PVR) and/or aortic valve replacement (
< 0.001 and
= 0.013, respectively). PVR (
= 0.048, odds ratio = 6.413, and 95% CI = 1.013-40.619) and higher AR fraction (
= 0.031, odds ratio = 1.194, and 95% CI = 1.017-1.403) were independent predictors for AAo dilatation. Aortopathy is a common progressive complication that may require reintervention and lifelong follow-up. Our study shows that proximal aortic dilatation may be attributed to factors that increase the volume overload across the proximal aorta, including late corrective surgery and palliative shunt. We also found that PVR and higher AR fraction are independent predictors of AAo dilatation.
This paper explores a stylistic approach to translating literary texts from Arabic into English and vice versa. It is held that in order to be in a position to render literary texts effectively and ...accurately, one needs to: (1) analyze and describe varieties of language, (2) identify and discern all important aesthetic aspects of text in order to interpret and appreciate texts properly, (3) activate processes and experiences of reading along with one’s intuitive responses to the text, and (4) activate all aspects of knowledge stored in one’s mind on language, text-typological demands, generic conventions, sociological roles of participants in the real world and in text, cultural environment and so on. Through the analysis of authentic data, it argues that by adopting a comprehensive stylistic approach, translators, as special text readers, can easily derive a better understanding and appreciation of texts, in particular literary texts. The data analysis demonstrates that literary translators, in addition to possessing other types of competences, need to develop first an analytical and evaluating competence that enables them to analyze and appreciate stylistic features, and second transferring/translating competence that enables them to prioritize the competing elements with a minimum loss.
Abstract
The present study aims to examine the claim that the preverbal particle
qad
in the perfective is an aspectual marker of near past in Arabic, hence it corresponds to the present perfect in ...English. The authentic translational corpus drawn from two works (journalistic/scientific and literary discourse) clearly indicates that the preverbal
qad
is employed as a cohesive marker whose main function is to smooth and naturalize Arabic discourse. The study demonstrates that the translator’s choice between an Arabic simple past with or without
qad
is governed by the requirements of the flow of discourse rather than by aspectual marking. Failure to account for this discursive function of
qad
when translating from English into Arabic would in Arabic translations produce cohesion gaps which in English are usually taken care of by punctuation.
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