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SYNTACTIC CHANGES IN ENGLISH-ARABIC TRANSLATION: WITH

REFERENCE INTO BBC NEWS TEXTS

Abstract

This study focuses on the stylistic changes that occur when translating English political

news into Arabic. It attempts to find the answers to the research question, “ What is the

nature of the stylistic changes that occur in the Arabic translation? Towards this end, it

will examine the stylistic change in Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) procedure such as

transposition (shift). At the same time, it will also look at the same data from the

perspectives of the ideas of styles in Ghazala (1995) such as fronting, complex-simple,

formal-informal. In another words, although the headings will use the labels in Vinay

and Darbelnet (1995), each data will be examined from the ideas of Ghazala (1995) as

well. Wherever necessary, the stylistic difference shall be captured using both X‘-Theory

representation either as phrase markers (tree diagrams) or in linear structures using label

bracketing and narrative descriptions. The findings have shown that translating from

English news into Arabic has involved many linguistic forms (words, phrases, clauses,

sentences, metaphorical expressions) that have cultural import.

Key words: Syntax, Morphology, Style, Culture, and Discourse

Vinay and Darbelnet (1995).

Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) consider comparative analysis an essential applied linguistic

approach to translation as it is a more direct approach. They focus on the pragmatic

stratum which determines the choice of lexical and grammatical devices in the text. In

their approach, they offer two strategies: direct translation and oblique translation. The

former strategy comprises three procedures: (a) borrowing, (b) calque, and (c) literal

translation. They employ direct translation whenever a structural and conception

parallelism exists between both languages. The latter strategy, oblique translation, has

four procedures: (a) transposition (shift), (b) modulation, (c) equivalence, (d) adaptation

which are used whenever grammatical, lexical, structural or conceptional divergences are

required due to certain stylistic effects in the source text. Each of the above ideas will be

elaborated below

Transposition (Shift).

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For Vinay and Darbelnet (1995:36) this involves replacing one word class with another

without changing the meaning of the message. They add that besides being a special

translation procedure, transposition can also be applied within a language. They note that

in translation there are two type of transposition: (a) obligatory transposition and (b)

optional transposition. They also indicate that this method requires the translator to

change the grammar of the SL text; and the translator needs to shift the grammatical

make-up of the SL to fit that of the TL to achieve an equivalent effect or to produce the

same effect on the readership of the translation as was obtained on the readership of the

original.From a stylistic point of view, the base and the transposed expression do not

necessarily have the same value. Translators carry out a transposition if the translation

obtained fits better into the text or allows a particular nuance of style to be retained. The

transposed forms are generally more literary in character than the original (Vinay and

Darbelnet, 1995:36).

Ghazala (1995).

Ghazala (1995:242) notes that style of short sentences has an important function as it

heightens the tempo of action in a text which is written in the form of a story apart from

the fact that such a style accelerates events and arouses suspense. He adds that it is the

only type of style which reflects a function of acceleration, that can be sensed by reading

the text aloud and quickly. Hence, in order to keep this function, it is suggested that short

sentences be re-echoed in the Arabic translation (Ghazala, 1995:242). Ghazala further

notes that the style of long sentences is better to be imitated in Arabic because it has

important stylistic functions which are a part of the meaning of the text. He adds that

translating an English long sentence into Arabic long sentences might be less problematic

than breaking it into short sentences (Ghazala, 1995:245).

The X‟ Theory.

According to Culicover (1997:134) X‘-Theory is a theory of phrase structure; that is a

theory which constitutes a possible phrase in natural language. He adds that within this

theory phrase structure concerns the hierarchical and left-to-right relationships between

syntactic categories. He further suggests that every phrase has a head; certain head take

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complements; and such a relationship is characterized by the fact that they are sisters:

each c-commands the other, and they are dominated by the same node, Culicover

(1997:135) as in (1) below where V‘ (verb phrase), V (verb) is the head while NP (noun

phrase) is the complement. Within this theory, as in the diagram in (1) below the V‘, V

and NP are all nodes, and the V and NP nodes are sisters and that V‘ and NP c-

command the other which means between them there exist some grammatical

relationships.

(1) V‘

V NP

He also contends that, ‗An important principle of X‘ Theory ―…is that across syntactic

categories, complements, specifiers, and adjunct bear the same configurational

relationship to the head.‖ Culicover (1997:136). Further, ―In English…the complement

of the head appears adjacent to it and to the right of it, while the specifier appears to the

left.‖ Culicover (1997:136). In other languages the sequence may be the reverse; that is,

instead of V-NP

Data Aanalysis:

Stylistic Changes Due to Transposition (shift).

In the following subsections, we will present some stylistic changes due to the

changes in tenses and changes in syntactic constituents.

Stylistic Changes to Past Continuous Tense.

Consider the following data in (10a) and its Arabic translation in (1b): (1) (a) ST: ‗Maliki endorsed as new PM‘

Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has asked Shia politician Jawad al-Maliki to

form the country's next government.

BBC Saturday, 22 April 2006.

(b) TT: ١اف ادرغ اؼشالاا ى : اس٠ذ ذؾى١ زىح ذث اط

لاي ااى ف اي وح ٠ما تؼذ ذى١ف طشف اشئ١ظ خال ي اطثا ترؾى١ اسىح امثح ا ٠ دح

ا١١ؾاخ اغسح ف اد١ؼ اؼشال ف١ا فغش ػ ا غؼ ضغ زذ ال ػاي اؼف اطائف١ح.

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( c) Trs: (al maleki : ureed tashkeel hukuma tumathel atyaf al mujtam‟ al „raqi)

( wa qala al maliki fi awal kalimah yalqaha b‟da takleefih min taraf al raees jalal al

talabani bitashkil al hukuma al muqbila enahu yanwi damj al milishat al musalaha fi al

jeish al „raqi, fimah fasarah „la enahu mas‟a liwad‟ had li a‟mal al „unf al taefeyah.)

With respect to the data in (1a) above, we are concerned with the clause Iraq‟s President

Jalal Talabani has asked. Its linear structure is as in (a‘) below and the structure of its

corresponding Arabic translation in a phrase marker is in (b‘):

(a‘) ST: Iraq‘s President Jalal Talabani has asked… [ [ Iraq‘s President] [ [ Jalal Talabani] ] [ has asked]…]

IP N‘ IP V‘

(b‘) TT: […[takleefih min taraf al raees jalal al talabani. …]

V‘

V Adjunct

takleefih P‘

‗asking‘ P Adjunct‘

min taraf D‘ ‗by‘ Adjunct

al-raees ‗the President‘ IP

[ ... Jalal al-Talabani]

It is noticed that the translator has made stylistic changes that lead to optional

transposition. From the above data, it is noticed that the English phrase has asked in the

ST is a present perfect, and to translate this into Arabic, the translator must used a past

simple. This is because Arabic has no corresponding tense for the English present perfect.

It is noticed, however, that the translator has used the past continuous tense translating has

asked into ذى١ف (takleefahu) (orally takleefih) ‗was asking‘. If the translator had

translated has asked into the past simple, the stylistic structure would have been

acceptable. The translator has, however, made an optional stylistic change by using the

past continuous tense in the TT text.

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The verb phrase has asked consists of the verb has and the main verb asked in a past

form. On the other hand, the same structure in the TT consists of two lexical words which

are the main verb ذى١ف (takleef) „asked‘ and the pronoun ا (ahu) ‗him‘ (colloquially as –

ih) that refers to the PM, al-Maliki.Looking at both (a‘) and (b‘) above in a broader

syntactic term, the English ST is of the structure [ N‘-Subordinate sentence—Predicate…]

where the sentence begins with a genetive noun phrase, the corresponding Arabic

translation has a structure [V‘-P‘-D‘-[ Subordinate sentence]] where the sentence begins

with a verb. In Ghazala‘s (1995) view of style, this is a case of movements which he

terms as ‗fronting‘, making the sentence a formal style.

Stylistic Changes to the Past Simple Tense.

We will now consider the English data in (12a) and its Arabic translation in (3b) below:

(2) (a) ST: „US warns Russia over aid to Iran‟

BBC Wednesday, 19 April 2006

US officials believe it has helped bolster Iranian nuclear know-how.

(b) TT: اػذج ا٠شا ٠اطا ثح اش٠ى١ح عى تلف غ

٠ؼرمذ اغؤ االش٠ى١١ ا اخثشاخ اف١ح ار ذمذا سع١ا ال٠شا عاػذخ االخ١شج ف ذؼض٠ض لذسذا

ا٠ح.

(c) Trs wa ya‟ataqed al-masulun al-amrikiyoun ana al-khibrat al-faniyah alati tuqadimaha

rusyia lie ran sa‟dat al-akhira fi ta‟ziz qudrataha al-nuwawiya

The following linear structure in lablled braketting in (a‘) and (b‘) show a syntactic

difference between the ST and the TT:

(a‘) ST:…. it has helped bolster Iranian nuclear know-how.

[… [ it ] [has [helped [ bolster [Iranian nucleaur know-how]]] IP Spec I‘ V‘ V‘

(b‘) TT: ٠ؼرمذ اغؤ االش٠ى١١ ا اخثشاخ اف١ح ار ذمذا سع١ا ال٠شا عاػذخ االخ١شج ف ذؼض٠ض

ا ا٠ح. لذسذ

sa‟dat al-akhira fi t‟aziz

[…..[ s‘adat [al-akhira [fi t‘‘aziz…]]]].

IP V Adv P

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From the above examples, it is noticed that the present perfect tense has helped in the ST

has been translated into the past simple tense in the TT. The translator does not retain the

original tense as there is no similar tense in Arabic; instead, he has to resort changing it to

the past tense. It is an obligatory change when translating a present perfect tense like has

helped.

Stylistic Changes to Future Simple Tense.

We will now move on to consider an English data containing a continuous tense in (5a), its

corresponding Arabic translation in (5b) and the Arabic transliteration in (5c): (3) (a): ST: Abbas moves to Gaza for pull out

BBC: Monday, 25 July, 2005

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has announced he is moving his office to

Gaza until the completion of Israel's withdrawal from the territory.

(b) TT: ػجبؽ ٠م مغ ا غؼح زبثؼخ االـذبة االؿغائ اػ اشئ١ظ افغط١ سد ػثاط ا ع١م ىرث ا غضج زر اراء ا الغساب االعشائ١ امطاع

(c) Trs:„bas yanqul maqarahu ela ghaza li mutaba‟t al ensehab al esraeli

A‟lana al raees al filistini mahmud abas enahu sayanqul maktabahu ela ghaza

hata entiha al ensehab al esraeeli min al qata‟.

The following linear structures in (a‘) and (b‘) in leballed bracketing show a difference

between them:

(a‘) ST: … he is moving his office…

[…. [ he ] [ is [ moving [ his office]]]]

IP Spec I‘ V‘ N‘

(b‘) ا ع١م ىرث

)enahu sayanqul maktabahu) […[ enahu] [ sa [ yanqul [Maktabahu]…]]


‗de will move office -his‘

It is noticed that in the (a‘-b‘) above, the translator has changed the present continuous

tense of the ST to a future simple tense ط (sa) „will‘ and ٠م (yanqel) ‗move‘. Besides,

the translator has kept the sentence structure [Spec- I‘-V‘-N‘] in both languages. While

the basic structure remains similar, the shift in the tense is in keeping with the inherent

style of the Arabic language which is in congruence with Hatim‘s (1997) view when

translating across cultural boundaries.

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Style in Past Continuous Tense of the ST.

In this subsection we will show three cases of the behavior of past continuous tense of the ST

when translated to Arabic ST. The first case is exemplified by the data in (8a-c) below where a

past continuous tense of the ST becomes a present continuous in the TT:

(4) (a) ST: Syria devices Hariri probe „bias‟

BBC: Saturday, 21 January 2006

He said he was studying projects to free up the party system and draw more

Syrians into the political process,

(b) TT: االؿض ٠زمض جخ ازذم١ك ف اغز١بي اذغ٠غ

اوذ االعذ ف خطات ػض ػ اخشاء اصال زاخ ع١ا ع١ح لاي ا ٠ذسط خطح رؼذ٠ لا ا الزضاب اذازح اداي

.اا اض٠ذ ااط١١ الخشاط ف اؼ اغ١ا ع

(c ) Trs: wa akada al asad fi khetabih „zmih „la ejra eslahat seyaseeyah wa qala

enahu yadrus khuta li t‟deel qanun al ahzab wa etaha lil majal amam al

mazeed min al muateneen lil enkherat fi al amal al seyasi

The underlined part of the ST and the TT can be assigned the following linear structures in (a‘)

and (b‘) respectively:

(a‘) ST: …he was studying projects…

[ [ he ] [was [ studying projects….]]] IP Spec I‘ V‘

(b‘) TT: ا ٠ذسط خطح

enahu yadrus khuta…

[… [enahu [ …. [ yadrus [khuta …]]] IP Spec I‘ V‘ (+continuous, +present)

Between the (a‘) and (b‘) above, basically the syntactic structure is the same. The

difference that remains is in the change of the tense from a past continuous in the ST to a

present continuous in the TT. The Arabic verb form ٠ذسط (yadrus) ‗+male, studying‘ is in

the present continuous and is recording the third person male subject noun phrase.

Stylistic Changes in Prepositional Phrases.

In this subsection we will consider three cases of stylistic changes due to changes in

prepositional phrases. First, we consider (11a-c) below:

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(5) (a) ST: Maliki endorsed as new Iraqi PM

BBC: Saturday, 22 April 2006

President Bush also hinted that the agreement on Iraq's new leaders could

pave the way to the start of an American withdrawal.

(b) TT; اب ى : اع٠ض رلى١ دىخ رث اغ١بف اجزغ اؼغال

اضاف تػ " غ ذؾى١ اض٠ذ اماخ اؼشال١ح, عرغسة اماخ االش٠ى١ح"

( c) Trs : al maleki : aureed tashkeel hukuma tumathel atyaf al mujtam‟ al‟raqi

wa adafa bush: m‟a tashkeel al mazeed min al quat al „raqeeyah.

Satansaheb al quat al amrikeyah. Wa bidawraha „tabarat wazeerat al

kharejeyah al amrekeyah kundaleeza rais al etefaq “ enjazan haman”.

We are concerned with the underlined constituents in (5a-c) above. The following phrase

markers in (a‘) and (b‘) show the difference in the prepositional phrases under the P‘

nodes:

(a‘) ST: …could pave the way to the start of an American withdrawal.

I‘

I V‘

V N‘

could

pave D‘

P‘

the way P‘ Adjunct

to the start P‘

of an American withdrawal.

(b‘) عرغسة اماخ االش٠ى١ح

Satansaheb al quat al amrikeyah....

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I‘

I V‘

sa

‗will‘ V adjunct‘ ‗draw‘

D‘ adjunct

al quat D‘ ‗the forces‘

al amreekiyah ‗ the foreign‘

Noticeably, in translating the prepositional phrase of the English ST ...to the start of an

American withdrawal… into Arabic, the translator has done two things: (a) has dropped

the preposition to in the English prepositional phrase and has replaced it with the future

model ؽ (sa) ‗will‘, and (b) has reorganized the English prepositional phrase of an

American withdrawal into Arabic inflectional phrase Satansaheb) عرغسة اماخ االش٠ى١ح

al quat al amrikeyah) (literally: ‗will draw the forces the american‘). Overall, what has

been a [I‘-V‘-D‘-P‘-P‘] constituent sequence of two prepositional phrases in English has

been changed stylistically in Arabic to be [ ...I‘-V‘-D‘-D‘] without a prepositional

phrase.

Stylistic Changes in Adverbial Phrase.

In this subsection we will show three examples of stylistic changes in adverbial phrases.

Consider the first case in (14a-b) below: (6) (a) ST: Sharon arrives in Paris for talks

BBC: Tuseday, 26 July, 2005.

Only a year ago, Mr. Chirac was making it plain that Mr. Sharon

was not welcome in Paris.

(b) TT: اء سادثاخ غ ؽ١شانؽاس ف تاس٠ظ ال خش

لث ػا ازذ فمظ, وا ذصشف ؽ١شان ٠ز تضذ تا ؽاس غ١ش شزة ت ف تاس٠ظ راه تؼذ ا دػا ا١د

افشغ١١ ا ادشج ا اعشائ١ تغثة ا اػرثش ذصاػذا ف اؼذاء غا١ح ف فشغا .

( c) Trs: qabla „am wahaed faqat kana tasaruf Chirac….

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The following phrase markers in (a‘) and (b‘) below show the syntactic similarity

between the ST and the TT:

(a‘) Only a year ago, Mr Chirac…

COMP‘

COMP‘ IP

Spec. Mr. Chirac …..

ADV‘

Spec ADV‘

Prt‘ Spec ADV

only D‘

a year ago

(b‘) لث ػا ازذ فمظ, وا ذصشف ؽ١شان

… qabla „am wahed faqat kana tasaruf…

COMP‘

COMP‘ IP‘

Spec Spec I‘

ADB‘ Ø V‘

kana tasaruf Chirac (+past) „behave Chirac‟.

qabla am wahed faqat ‗before one year

That is, in both ST and the TT texts, the sentential adverb phrase is positioned at the

beginning of the sentence. A closer look at the structures, however, show that the Arabic

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adverbial phrase also consists of four lexical words (qabla am wahed faqat) to the ST three,

a year ago.

Stylistic Changes in Noun Phrases.

In this subsection we will look at stylistic changes in noun phrases or determiner phrases

(i.e., a noun phrase containing a determiner). We consider the data in (7a-c) below:

(7) (a) ST: Iraq poised to choose new premier.


The main Sunni coalition, the Iraqi Accord Front, has shown initial agreement

with Mr Maliki's nomination, a spokesman said.

(b) TT: ادؼ١ح اط١ح اؼشال١ح ذضش ف ذشؽ١ر ااى.

وبذ ججخ ازافك اؼغال اثغػ اجبػبد اـ١خ لض ا ثضد ٠ اجؼخ افمزب اجضئ١خ ػ رغك١خ جاص

ابى صت عئ١ؾ اػعاء.

(c) Trs: Wa kanat jabhat al tawafeq al „raqeeyah wa heya abraz al jama‟at al

suneeyah fi al bilad qad abdat al youm al jum‟a muwafaqateha al mabdaeyah „la

tarsheeh juad al maleke lemansab reasat al wizara.

The phrase markers in (a‘) and (b‘) below show the difference between the structure of

the noun phrases:

(a‘) ST: The main Sunni coalition….

N‘

Spec Adjunct

D‘ N‘

D N N Adjunct

the main

N

Sunni coalition

t

h

e

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(b‘) TT: (اتشص اداػاخ اغ١ح ).

(wa heya abraz al jama‟at al Suneeyah…)

COMP‘

COMP Adjunct

Conj N‘

wa N Adjunct

‗and‘

heya A‘

‗she‘

A Adjunct

abraz N‖

‗main‘

D‘ Adjunct

al jama‟at D‘

‗the group‘

al Suneeyah.

‗the Sunis‘

The noun phrase of the structure [D‘-N‘] in …the main Suni coalition…of the ST has

changed into a complex conjoined noun phrase [conj-N-A-D‘D‘] in the Arabic TT as in

and- she- main -the ‗ (wa heya abraz al jama‟at al Suneeyah) اثغػ اجبػبد اـ١خ

group- the Sunnis‘. Here, the translator has translated the above noun English phrase into

Arabic with a different structural form as perceived by him and incongruence with his

perception of the Arabic language. In particular, he begins his phrase with a conjunction

(wa) ‗and‘ and added the necessary determiners اي (al-)‗the‘ for each of the nouns so that

it becomes grammatically acceptable and easily understood by an Arabic reader .

Stylistic Changes in Verb Phrase and Complex Clauses.

In this subsection, we will examine the stylistic changes that occur to the English ST data

with respect to verb phrases and verb phrase complement. First, we will consider the data

in (8a) which contains a verb phrase complement and its translation in (8b) as well as its

transliteration in (8c) below:

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(18) (a) ST: Iraq poised to choose new premier‟


Members of Iraq's new parliament meet on Saturday to vote on a new

prime minister and other posts after months of wrangling over candidates.

(b) TT: ادؼ١ح اط١ح اؼشال١ح ذضش ف ذشؽ١ر ااى

ذؼمذ ادؼ١ح اط١ح اؼشال١ح ) اثشا( اخراػا ا١ اغثد صادلح ػ ػذد ااصة اغ١اد٠ح ف اذح تا ف١ا

اوثش ز ااصة اثاسج دذي صة سئ١ظ اسىح .

(c ) Trs: T‟aqed al jam‟eyah al wataneeyah al „raqeeyah ( al barlaman) ejtema‟an al

youm al sabt lil musadaqa „ala adad min al manaseb al seyadiyah fi al dawlah bima

fiha akthar hatheh al manaseb ethara lil jadal wa huwa manseb raees al hukuma.

We are concerned with the underlined constituents of the ST and the TT. The following

linear structures in (a‘) and (b‘) show the syntactic difference:

(a‘) …meet on Saturday to vote on a new Prime Minister …

[…meet on Saturday [ [to vote [ on [a [new Prime Minister]]]…]]]

V‘ IP V‘ P‘ D‘ A‘

(b‘) ا١ اغثد صادلح ػ ػذد ااصة اغ١اد٠ح ف اذح

(… al youm al sabt lil musadaqa „la „dad min al manaseb al seyaseeyah fi al

dawlah…) [ …[ al youm [al sabt [lil musadaqa ala adad [min al manaseb [al seyaseeyah [fi al dawlah…]]]]]]]

D‘ D‘ P‘ P‘ D‘ P‘

‗the day‘ ‗the Saturday‘ „for endorsement‟ on number from the politicians the country…

What used to be a verb phrase complement in the ST, ..on Saturday v[to vote on a new

Prime Minister ] has been translated into Arabic TT as a series of determiner phrases and

prepositional phrases. There is no verb. So, the structure is completely changed. The verb

to vote in the ST text has been translated into TT as a postposition determiner phrase

ػ صادلح (lil musadaqa „la) ‗the endorsement on‘ = [D-N-P]. Apparently, the

translator has translated it in accordance with his perception of the Arabic language and

hence making it appropriate to the Arabic readers which is congruent with Fishman‘s

(1972) ideas that language is a reflection of the socio-cultural and the values and

orientations of its speakers.

Stylistic Changes in Adjectival Phrases.

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In this section we will present the variation of stylistic changes in five adjectival phrases, namely

sharp opposition, initial insurgent, new high, parliamentary session and suspected insurgent.

Consider first the case on the adjectival phrase sharp opposition as in (9a-c) below:

(9) (a) ST: Iraq poised to choose new premier


Attempts by Mr. Jaafri to remain as prime minister had raised sharp

opposition from Sunnis, Kurds and sector groups

(b) TT: ف ذشؽ١ر ااىادؼ١ح اط١ح اؼشال١ح ذضش

وا ذشؽ١ر ادؼفش لذ اخ ؼاسضح ؽذ٠ذج خاة االوشاد اغح اداػاخ اؼا١ح.

(c) Trs: (al-jam‘eeyah al-wataneeyah tandur fi tarshih al-j‘fari).

wa kana tarsheeh al j‟fari qad wajaha mu‟arada shadeeda min janeb al

akrad wa al sunah wa al jama‟at al „lmaneeya

We are concerned with the underlined constituent. The linear structures in (a‘) and (b‘)

below show their differences:

(a) ST: …had raised sharp opposition from Sunnis,…

[ …….[ had [ raised [ sharp [opposition] [from Sunnis]]]]. IP I‘ V‘ A‘ N‘ P‘

(b‘) TT: … لذ اخ ؼاسضح ؽذ٠ذج

... qad wajaha mu‟arada shadeeda…

[… [ qad [ wajaha [ [mu‟arada] [shadeeda…]]]. IP CONJ‘ V‘ A‘ N‘ A

‗and‘ ‗faced‘ ‗opposition‘ ‗hard‘

There is a difference in the order of the noun and the qualifying adjective: in English it is[

A‘-N‘ ] while in Arabic it is [N‘-A‘]. Also in Arabic significantly the adjective phrase

begins with a conjunction (wa) ‗and‘ which is structurally typical in Arabic.

Stylistic Changes in Articles: a, an, the.

In this section we will examine cases of English data containing the definite the and

Indefinite articles: a and an. Consider the pairs of data in (10a-b), (10a-b) and (10a-b)

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below:

(10) (a) ST: Other posts due to be endorsed on Saturday include the president and

parliamentary speaker and their deputies.

(b) TT: ااى دؼ١ح اط١ح اؼشال١ح ذضش ف ذشؽ١را

امشس ا ٠ثسث اثشا صث سئ١ظ ادس٠ح سئ١ظ اثشا

(c) Trs: al jam‟eeyah al wataneeyah al „raqeeya tandur fi tarsheeh al maliki

Wa min al muqarar an yabhath al barlaman mansebei raees al

jamhureeyah wa raees al barlaman.

The definite determiner phrases, the President and parliamentary speaker, of the ST has

been changed to a series of conjoined indefinite phrases in Arabic TT, سئ١ظ ادس٠ح

١ظ اثشاسئ (raees al jamhureeyah wa raees al barlaman) ‗president the government

and president the parliament‘ which is literally ‗president of government and president of

parliament‘. In Arabic, it would be ungrammatical if the translator were to keep it as a

definite the for the president. The same is observed for the indefinite determiner phrase in

(10a) below:

(10) (a) ST: Iraq poised to choose new premier


Members of Iraq‘s new parliament met on Saturday to vote a new prime

minister and other posts after months of wrangling over candidates.



اوثش ز ااصة اثاسج دذي صة سئ١ظ اسىح .

(c )Trs :al jam‟eeyah al wataneeyah al „raqeeya tandur fi tarsheeh al maliki

t‟qed al jam‟eeyah al wataneeyah al eraqeeyah ( al barlaman) ejtema‟an al youm

al sabt lil musadaqa „la „dad min al manaseb al seyaseeyah fi al daulah bima fiha

akthar hatheh al manaseb etharah lil jadal wa hua manseb raees al hukuma.

In (10a), the indefinite determiner phrase, a new prime minister, in the verb phrase ‗to

vote a new prime minister‟ of the structure [V- D‘ = ‗verb phrase –determinar phrase‘]

has been sustained as an indefinite noun phrase wa hua manseb) صة سئ١ظ اسىح

raees al hukuma) ‗and he post president the government‘ which literally is ‗the post of

the president in the government‘.

16

Stylistic Changes in Prepositions.

In this section, we will be looking at the changes of styles with respect to the following

three prepositional pharses in the English ST: on Iraq‟s path to democracy, in the hands

of the government and on operations in Baghdad and the translation into Arabic. The

relevant data are as in ( 11) below:

(11) (a) ST: Maliki endorsed as new Iraqi PM

BBC: Saturday 22 April 2006

He offered his congratulations to the Iraqi people and said the day was

a milestone on Iraq‘s path to democracy.

(b) TT: اا ى : اس٠ذ ذؾى١ زىح ذث اط١اف ادرغ اؼشال

لاي تػ ف خطاب اما تغاوشار تال٠ح وا١فس١ا ا االذفاق ٠ؼرثش " اداصا اا" ف اطش٠ك س اذ٠مشاط١ح ا

٠دغذ ارافك االخاع".

(c) Trs: Wa qala bush fi khetab alqah bisakramantu biwilayat kalefurnyah ena

al etefaq y‟tabur enjaz haman fi al tareeq nahu al demoqrateeya wa

enahu yujaseed al tawafuq wa al ejma‟.

Basically, the structures in both the ST and the TT are similar in that in both cases the

prepositions are retained within the general structure of [P-D‘]. There is a difference,

however, in the prepositions that are being used so as to suit the nature of the perception

of the Arabic speakers which is in congruence with Fishman‘s (1972) views that the

nature of language use especially in the repertoire range and network of interactions of

linguistic elements within a society is to a large extent the sociolinguistic reflections of its

speakers.

Stylistic Changes in Conjunctions and Connectives.

In this subsection, we will present a few cases on conjoined structures and structures

conjoined by connectives. First consider the sentences joined by the conjunction and in

(12a) and its translation in (12b):

(33) (a) ST: Syria decries Hariri probe „bias‟

BBC: Saturday, 21 January 2006

In a speech in Damascus, Bashar al Assad said the investigation had

17

reached their conclusions first, and looked for the evidence afterwards.

(b) TT: اال عذ ٠رمذ دح ارسم١ك ف اغر١ا ي اسش٠ش

خ اال عذ ارماداخ ؼ ادح لائال ا اسم١م١ ذصا ا اخالصاخ اال ث تذاا تاثسث ػ اذ١.

(c) Trs:Wa wajaha al asad enteqadat le „amal al lejna qaelan ena al

muhaqeqeen tawasalu ela al khulasat awalan thuma badau bi al bahth

ann al daleel.

The basic structure of the English ST is as in the linear structure in (a‘) while its

corresponding Arabic TT has the structure in (b‘) below:

(a‘) [ […the investigation had reached their conclusion first] IP‘ IP(1)

[and [looked for the evidence afterwords]]]. CONJ IP(2)

(b) .خ ارماداخ ؼ ادح لائال ا اسم١م١ ذصا ا اخالصاخ اال ث تذاا تاثسث ػ اذ١

[ [ …. ena al muhaqeqeen tawasalu ela.al khulasat awalan IP‘ IP(1) ‗summaries first‘

[ thuma [badau [ bi al bahth „n al daleel]]. CONJ ‗then‘ IP(2) ‗started‘ P

In the above case the conjunction and in the first ST has been translated as ث (thumma)

‗and‘ (then) in the TT. It would have been acceptable if the translator had translated the

conjunction and literally into TT. This would not have affected the TT.

In the above case, the sequence of the structure is basically similar: [COMP [IP- COMP-

IP]]. In Ghazala‘s (1995) sense, both cases keep the formal style. With respect to

conjoined structures, both English and Arabic keep the formal style. The only difference

has been the fact that different conjunctions are used.

Stylistic Changes Due to Modality.

In this subsection, we examine some English data containing the modals could, would and

will and their corresponding data in Arabic. First we observe the data containing the

modal could in (36a) below:

(13) (a) ST: Iraq PM impasse speaker new delay

BBC: Monday, 17 April 2006

Iraq‘s ambassador to Washington, Samir Sumaidie said a solution to the

deadlock could be found in the next few days.

18

(b) TT: ش اؼشال ف اؽط : اصح ادؼفش عرس لش٠ثااغف١

لاي اغف١ش اؼشال ذ اؽط , ع١ش اص١ذػ, ا االصح ارؼمح تغرمث سئ١ظ اصساء اؼشال اسا اتشا١

ادؼفش لذ ذس خالي اال٠ا ام١ح امثح.

(c ) al safeer al „raqi fi washinton: azmat al j‟fari satuhal qareeban

qala al safeer al „raqi ladah washinton, sameer al sumeid‟e ena al azmah al

muta‟leeqa bimustaqbal raees al wizara al „raqi al hali ebrahim al j‟fari

qad tuhal khelal al ayam al qaleela al muqbela

The structures of (13a) and (13b) are as in (a‘) and (b‘) respectively:

(a) ST: …a solution to the deadlock could be found in the next few days.

[… [ [a solution ] IP Spec D‘

[to the deadlock] P

[ [ could [ be found [in the next few days]]]]]]. I‘ I V P‘

(b) .اتشا١ ادؼفش لذ ذس خالي اال٠ا ام١ح امثح

… ebrahim al j‟fari qad tuhal khelal al ayam al qaleela al muqbela

[…[ebrahim al j‟fari ] [ [ qad [ tuhal Ibrahim al ja‘afari ‗might‘ ‗ solve‘

IP‘ Spec I‘ I V‘

[al ayam [al qaleela [al mauqbela]]]]]]]]. D‘ D‘ D‘

‗today‘ ‗ the little‘ ‗ the next‘

Basically, the structures in (a‘) and (b‘) are similar in the styles in that the modal comes

before the main verb in both English and Arabic. In the next two data, the same pattern is

also observed:

(14) (a) ST: If somehow this got resolved diplomatically that would definitely

take a few dollars off…

(b) TT: .ارا ذ ز االصح تؾى دتااع فا زا تال ؽه ع١ضي تغؼش افظ ػذج دالساخ

(c) Trs: wa etha tama hal al azmah bishakel diblumasi, fana hadha bila shak

sayunzel bi se‟r al naft „dat dularat

19

(15) (a) ST: The Shia bloc who took the most votes in Iraq‘s election says it will

form…

(b) TT: …ازضاب اؾ١ؼ١ح اؼشال١ح ذضغ ؽشطا الئرالف غ اغح

ف التشا اؼشال ادذ٠ذ ا ع١ؾى ائرال فا زى١ا ذؾاسن ف١ اال زضاب اغ١...

(c) Trs: ….ahzab al shee‟eya al „raqeeyah tada‟ shurutan lil etelaf m‟a al

sunnah ...enahum sayoushakelun etelafan hukumeyan

The structures of the English ST in (13a-15a) and their corresponding Arabic ST in

(37b-8b) are as in (a‘) and (b‘) respectively:

(a‘) [ [ that [ would [ definietely [ take …]]]]]

[ [ it [ will [ ………… [form …]]]]. IP Spec I‘ Adv V‘

(b‘) TT (i) : فا زا تال ؽه ع١ضي

… fana hatha bila shak sayunzel…

‗this definitely will+drop‘

[ [fana hatha] [ bila shak [ sa [yunzel …]]]] IP‘ Spec Adv I‘ V‘

TT(ii) : ا ع١ؾى ائرال فا زى١ا

...enahum sayoushakelun etelafan hukumeyan... ‗they‘ ‗will + form‘ ‗coalition government‘

[…[enahum [sa [ youshakelun [etelafan hukumeyan...]]]]] IP Spec I V‘

Relative to the position of the verb, the structures in (a‘) and (b‘) are basically similar in

that in both cases the order is modal- verb, [I‘ –V‘]] in both cases. The only difference is

in the verb morphology. Modals are attached as a prefix to the main verb in Arabic

whereas it is a separate word in English.

Conclusion.

The structures of the English texts and their corresponding Arab translations have been

compared using various techniques: phrase markers in tree configuration, in linear

structures (label-bracketing) and some narrative descriptions. To facilitate our

description, we have chosen transposition as a major procedure in English-Arabic

P

20

translation. In summary, in the process of translation, significantly there have been

many stylistic changes. Most of these changes are within the realm of syntax (sentences,

clauses and phrases). Some other stylistic changes are due to morphological functions

(tenses and verb morphology).

Reference

Culicover, P. W. (1997). Principles and Parameters: An Introduction to Syntactic

Theory. New York: Oxford: Oxford University Press. U.S.A.

Fishman, J.A. (1972), Sociocultural Organization: Language Constraints and

LanguageReflections, in Language in Sociocultural Change, Essays by Joshua A.

Fishman, pages: 269-286. California: Standford University Press, U.S.A

Ghazala, H. (1995). Translation as Problems and Solutions: A Coursebook for University

Students and Trainee Translators. Beirut: Dar wa Maktabat Al-Hilal. Lebanon.

Hatim, B. (1997). Communication across Cultures: Translation Theory and

Contrastive Text Linguistics. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, U.K.

Vinay, J.P. and Darbelnet, J. (1995). Comparative Stylistic of French and English :

A Methodology for Translation. Amsterdam :John Benjamins, The Netherlands.

21

Stylistic and Syntactic Analysis in English –Arabic Translation: with Reference to

BBC Political News

Abstract

Arabic has some special syntax features which might create complex and confusion

syntax structures. One has to return to the cultural and social backgrounds of the Arabic

language and try to discover how these may effect the process of translating into Arabic.

It is also essential to note that Arabic is a VSO, non-Indo- European language whose

speaker differs in cultural and social behavior from those of the Western Language.

Towards that end, the researcher ‗s objectives will look at (a) the effect of translation

from English into Arabic on the syntactical form (b) whether the changes on the

syntactical form effect on the style of message as well?. The researcher will be used the

Culicover (1997) ‗s ―X‖ bar theory, on the structure of the English-Arabic structure,

Ghazala (1995) ‗s conception on the style of English-Arabic sentence and Hatim (1997)

‘s conception on culture across boundaries. The findings have shown that translating

from English news into Arabic has involved many linguistic forms (conjunctions,

deteminer phrases, and clauses) and stylistic forms (long sentece, and formal style), that

have cultural imports.As suggested by Hatim (1997), these cultural words and linguistc

forms do play important roles in communication among nations and in the process of

translation.

Key Words: syntax, style, message, culture, morphology and translation.

Introduction

Ghazala (1995).






sentences be re-echoed in the Arabic translation (Ghazala, 1995:242).

Ghazala further notes that the style of long sentences is better to be imitated in Arabic

because it has important stylistic functions which are a part of the meaning of the text. He

adds that translating an English long sentence into Arabic long sentences might be less

problematic than breaking it into short sentences (Ghazala, 1995:245).

22

Ghazala also notes that there is a common mistake of changing the passive into the active

made by some Arabic translators who claim that Arabic is an active language, whilst

English is passive (Ghazala, 1995:246). In any case, he adds that this aspect of the

Arabic language is by no means settled as both passive and active styles are used in all

types of Arabic texts. As a consequence, both styles, active and passive, have to be

reflected in Arabic translations to reflect their important functions in the message

(Ghazala, 1995:246).

In terms of redundancy and repetition, Ghazala (1995:252) considers redundancy is a bad

style in translation, since it could dispose the meaning of the translation. He adds that

such style as a long, boring way of expressing meaning, using two, three or more words

instead of one word only, but at the same time it is the translator‘s job to be faithful to the

original text as much as to his job of translation. With respect to repetition, Ghazala

(1995: 252) says that ―this style would rather be rendered into Arabic, thus reflecting the

same effect of the original, and avoiding the problem of artificial variation which might

be hard to accept‖.

Hatim‟s Concepts on Communication Across Cultures.

Hatim (1997: xiii) notes that a careful consideration to a given text means ―…someone

attempts to mediate in communicating its ‗import‘ across both linguistic and cultural

boundries …‖ and such an attempt is ―… one way of making sure that we do not settle

for a partial view of what goes on inside that text.‖. Hence, he suggests that cultural

element plays an important role in communication among nations and in the process of

translation. Hatim has studied texts based on two main elements as follows: (a) the

culture of Western and Islamic- Arab and the second, and (b) the socio-linguistic element

in situation when they are in contact by using texts that people from different cultures can

reach and understand the culture of one another properly (Hatim, 1997:157).

Hatim‘s (1997:157) ideas are to view a text within and across a number of cultural

boundries so as to enable the language user from either of the two cultures in question to

23

operate felicitously within the rhetorical conventions not only of the target culture but

those of his or her own. Among other things, he makes the following observation:

In the regrettable but not common situation of cross-cultural

misunderstandings, which often result in or from a breakdown in

communication, what is at the root of the problem is invariably a set of

misconceptions held by one party about how the other rhetorically

visualize and linguistically realizes of a variety of communicative

objectives. Such notions would then be paraded as truisms about the nature

of the language of those on the other side, its textual norm and its

rhetorical tradition. Hatim (1997:157).

With regards to English and Arabic texts, Hatim (1997:173) identifies two kinds of

audiences that the procedures of the two texts assume: the counter-arguments which are

typically addressed to the skeptical and the through-arguments which assume a

supportive audience.

On the matter of the nature of the occurrence of audiences with respect to text, Hatim

(1997:173) notes the following:

Some texts are going to be more oral than others. While this can certainly

implicate text type, it does not necessarily make orality an exclusive property

of Arabic, English or any other language. Furthermore, some languages

would tend to display a particular preference for this or that strategy, but this

does not make tendency in question. These are merely preferences,

tendencies, trends. For example, Arabic prefers through-argumentation

whereas English orients its rhetorical strategy the other way, towards counter-

argumentation. Hatim (1997: 173).

Hatim‘s more recent views (personal communication) on circumventing the problems of

translating across cultures require the translator to differentiate between three set of facts

in language use: the articfacts, the socio-facts and the mantifacts. The first relates to the

more concrete differences in cultural elements, the second refers to the more abstract

cultural notions within the sphere of socio-cultural interactions while the third refers to

those aspects of content within the realm of world view and pragmatics.

To summarize, this study will take cognizance of Hatim‘s views on communication

across different nations/cultures especially in terms of the three facts mentioned above.

24

This is so because the very data to be dealt with later in Chapters 4 through 7 are

expressions and exponents of two cultures: that of English speakers and that of Arabic

speakers. But, we will invoke Hatim‘s view only compositely and holistically as this

study is not entirely a study relating to the problems of translation due to cultural

differences per se, but rather it is a study of style and message where cultural elements

may contribute to the different message.

The X‟ Theory.

According to Culicover (1997:134) X‘-Theory is a theory of phrase structure; that is a

theory which constitutes a possible phrase in natural language. He adds that within this

theory phrase structure concerns the hierarchical and left-to-right relationships between

syntactic categories. He further suggests that every phrase has a head; certain head take

complements; and such a relationship is characterized by the fact that they are sisters:

each c-commands the other, and they are dominated by the same node, Culicover

(1997:135) as in (1) below where V‘ (verb phrase), V (verb) is the head while NP (noun

phrase) is the complement. Within this theory, as in the diagram in (1) below the V‘, V

and NP are all nodes, and the V and NP nodes are sisters and that V‘ and NP c-

command the other which means between them there exist some grammatical

relationships.

(1) V‘

V NP

He also contends that, ‗An important principle of X‘ Theory ―…is that across syntactic

categories, complements, specifiers, and adjunct bear the same configurational relatioship

to the head.‖ Culicover (1997:136). Further, ―In English…the complement of the head

appears adjacent to it and to the right of it, while the specifier appears to the left.‖

Culicover (1997:136). In other languages the sequence may be the reverse; that is,

25

instead of V-NP as in (1) above like in the case of eat cake for English, it may be V-…-

NP for Arabic akal –Ali- cake ‗Ali ate cake‘. اوح ػ اىؼىح ‗ate Ali the cake‘. In the

theory that he proposes, all phrases have the following structure, called the X‘schema,

Culicover (1997: 137) as in (2) below:

(2) X max

X max Adjunct

X max Adjunct

…..

Specifier X‘

X ‗ Adjunct

… Adjunct

X‘

X(zero) Complement

(From Culicover: (1997:137)

It can be noted that a complement is sister to X (zero), while an adjunct is adjoined to X‘

and that all branching are binary, (i.e., dual branching), (Culicover, 1997:137). As for

sentences containing a clause (XP) or Inflectional phrase (IP), (Culicover ,1997:143).

26

Data

The data of this investigation comprises 6 political news articles from the BBC (British

Broadcasting News) and their corresponding Arabic translations. The BBC news have

been chosen because they are documents for public consumption in which the readers are

not specialized group of people; instead they are laymen and general news readers. From

the view of their content, these newspaper articles are not of general nature; instead they

are news on political events and happenings in the Arab world (especially the Middle

East). All these articles have been taken from the Internet, since the parallel versions in

Arabic can be accessed easily.

Data Analysis

(1). (a). ST: „ Bin Laden call falls on deaf ears‟

BBC Monday , 24 April 2006

US intelligence believes the audio tape aired by an Arab TV channel is

genuine, making it the fugitive al –Qaeda leader‘s first message since

January.US opposition politicians said it only showed up the Bush

administration ‗s failure to capture Bin Laden.

(b). TT: " ت ال د " زشب ص١ث١ غشت١ ضذ ال عال

لاي اعاح ت الد صػ١ ذض١ اما ػذج ف ذغد١ صذ غب ا١ ا ذسشن اغشب ؼضي

"دج زاط ٠ؼ ا "ف زشب ضذ ا ال عال داسىح افغط١١ح تم١ا

( c ). Trs: (ben laden: hareb salebleebyah ded al eslam…)

(Qala osama ben laden z‟eem tandeem al qa‟eda fi tasjeel sawti mansub

eleih

ena taharuk alghrb l „zel al hukuma al filisteenyh biqeyadat hamas y‟ni

enahu fi harb ded al eslm. )

The underlined constituents of the ST in (1a), the fugitive al –Qaeda leader‟s, is given a

syntactic structure in (a‘), its corresponding Arabic translation, ػذجاما صػ١ ذض١ (z‟eem

tandeem al qa‟eeda), is given the structure in (b‘) below:

27

(a‘) …the fugitive al Qaedah leader… (b‘) جصػ١ ذض١ اما ػذ

(…z‟eem tandeem „al qa‟eda…)

N‟ (English) N‟ (Arabic).

Spec. N Adjunct

z‟eem

‗leader‘

D‘ Adjunct

N‘

D N

the fugitive D‘

N Adjunct

tandeem

D‘ Adjunct ‗organizing‘ D‘

al –Qaeda al qa‟edah

N‘

leader

In the above phrase markers, the non-branching node like Adjunct is retained. In the

subsequent representation, following a representation in linguistic convention that non-

branching node deletes itself, only when it is necessary that the Adjunct node will be

represented.

In the above example, it is noticed that the Arabic term اما ػذج (al-Qaeda) has been

borrowed in the English political news in (1a). The translator has used the same

determiner phrase in the TT in (1b) as evidenced from its transliteration in (1c).

Syntactically, it is also noticed that the same determiner phrase is sandwhiched between

two constituents, the fugitive and leader. As اما ػذج (al-qa‟eda) is an Arabic determiner

phrase, the translator has retained it in the Arabic news as in (1b‘). As for the phrase al-

Qaeda leader‟s which has the structure [D‘-N‘] as in (a‘) above has changed to صػ١ ذض١

which stylistically is [N-N-D‘] sequence as in (b‘) (z‟eem tandeem al-qa‟eda) اما ػذج

above. The structural difference is that the political terms al-Qaeda‟ has been written

after two nouns, namely صػ١ (z‟eem) ‗leader‘ and ذض١ (tandem) ‗organizing‘. In

addition, it is noticed that the translator has used the definite article اي (al) ‗the‘ to make

the noun definite in both the ST and the TT texts. In addition, it has been noticed that the

lexical adjective word ‗the fugitive‘ in the ST is changed into ذض١ (tandem)

28

‗organizing‘. These changes in the description of Bin Laden‘s attributes are partly due to

the ideological perspectives the translator might have in his/her mind about Bin Laden.

In terms of Ghazala‘s (1995) ideas on styles, the above syntactic change can be termed as

a formal style as the complex and long sentences have been retained. In other words, in

terms of style in Ghazala‘s sense the sequential syntactic change from ―…the fugitive al-

Qaeda leader‘s…‖ (D‘-D‘-N‘) in English to Arabic ―…صػ١ ذض١ اما ػذج (z‟eem tandem

al-qa‟eda) …‖ (N-N-D‘) have been kept to a minimum as it only involves a change in

the syntactic position of the noun leader (Arabic صػ١ (z‟eem). In addition, the English

phrase the fugitive al-Qaeda leader‟s is expressed in the possessive (genitive) case while

the Arabic translation صػ١ ذض١ اما ػذج (z‟eem tandem al-qa‟eda) is an adjectival

constituents and in an adjective position.

Consider next the English news in (2a) below and its corresponding Arabic translation in

(2b) and its transliteration in (2c) below:

(2) (a) ST: Iraqi Shias state coalition terms.

BBC Saturday, 21 January 2006

The Shias bloc which took the most voter in Iraq‘s election

says it will form a coalition with Sunni groups but only if

they do more to combat the insurgency.

(b) TT: حازضاب اؾ١ؼ١ح اؼشال١ح ذضغ ؽشطا الئرالف غ اغ

اػ صػاء االئرالف اؼشال اؾ١ؼ ازذ از ٠ ٠رشاع اوثش ذىر ف التشا اؼشال ادذ٠ذ

ا ع١ؾى ائرال فا زى١ا ذؾاسن ف١ اال زضاب اغ١ , ى اؽرشطا رسم١ك راه ل١ا ز

وثش ف ااخ غ اغس١ .اال زضاب تثزي خذ ا

(c ) Trs: a‟lana zua‟ma al-etalaf al-eraqi al-shee‟ee al-muwahad al-

lathina ytarasuna akbar takatul fi al-barlaman al-„raqi al-jadid anahum

sayoushakiluna etelafan hukumeeyan tusharik fih al-ahzab al-suneeyah,

lakinahum eshtaratu li tahqiq thalika qiyam hathih al-ahzab bibathl juhd

akbar fi al-muajaha ma‟ al-musalaheen.

The following tree diagrams in (a‘) to (b‘) in (3) below demonstrate the syntactical

difference:

(3) (a) ST: The Shia bloc …says it will form a coalition with Sunni groups…

29

IP

The [Shias bloc] …says it will form N‘

N‘

Spec N‘

D‘ P‘

a coalition with [ [Sunni] groups…]].

A

(b‘) اغ١ ………….. .االئرالف اؼشال اؾ١ؼ ازذ.. ……..

(a-etalaf al-„iraqi al-shee‟eyah al-muwahad al-suneeiyah…)

[………… ]

IP

a-etalaf al-„raqi [al-shee‟eyah [al-muwahad]]…….. ]

A‘

…..[al-suneeiyah….]

N‘

In the English ST as in (2a), the terms sunni and shia are borrowed from Arabic.

The Arabic translation retains them. However, there is a change of grammatical

category. The word shia is a noun in the ST but is used as an adjective اؾ١ؼ (al-shee‟ee)

in the TT; besides, in the ST text The sunni bloc is a global determiner phrase refering to

the whole group while in the Arabic TT the determiner phrase اؾ١ؼ (al-shee‟ee) has a

more definitive reference. As for the determiner phrase اغ١ (as- Suni), it is an adjective

in the ST text but has been translated as a definite noun in the TT text. In addition, the

ST does not show any direct or indirect indication to the existence of the lexical words

‗the united iraqi‘ which refers to the compound ‗the Shia bloc‘. It seems that when the

transaltor paraphrases the ‗Shia bloc‘ into االئرالف اؼشال اؾ١ؼ ازذ(a-etalaf al-„iraqi

al-shee‟eyah al-muwahad: the coalition the iraqi the united), he is likely to want to

inform the readers who are not knowledgeable about the iraqi‘s political groups,

especially the ‗Shia group‘, that their ideology in their party should be united-Iraqis.

30

From Ghazala‘s (1995) views of styles, it is quite apparent that the long sentence style of

the ST has been transfered to the TT. In addition the formal style of the original has been

maintained. The determiner phrase the Shias bloc which in the ST is a subject of the

main clause has shifted its position in the subordinate clause in the Arabic TT. This is

similar to the movement of words (namely fronting) in Ghazala (1995) sense.

(4) (a) ST: „US warns Russia over aid to Iran‟

BBC Wednesday, 19 April 2006.

….said Mr. Burns, the US undersecretary of State…

(b) TT: طا ثح اش٠ى١ح عى تلف غاػذج ا٠شا ٠ا

لاي تشض , ائة ص٠شج اخاسخ١ح اال ش٠ى١ح .....

(c ) Trs: …washington tad‟u rusyah le elgha safqat al sawareegh ela eran

wa hatha nikulas bireez naeeb wazeerat al khareejeyah al amreekiyah

.....

Consider the text …the US undersecretary of state… which has a structure in (a‘) and the

structure of its corresponding Arabic translation in (b‘) below

(a‘) ST: …the US undersecretary of State… (b) ائة ص٠شج اخاسخ١ح اال ش٠ى١ح

naaeb wazeerat al khareejeyah al amreekiyah

N‘ N‘

D‘ N‘ Spec N‘

the US

N Adjunct A N

na‟eb wazeerat Adjunct‘ undersecretary P‘ ‗assisting‘ ‗minister‘

D‘

P Adjunct

D N

of N al- kareejeyah Adjunct

state ‗the‘ ‗minister of foreign affairs‘

D‘

al- amreekiyah.

‗the American‘

31

It is observed that the English phrase the undersecretary of state is a sequence of a

determiner phrase, a noun and a prepositional phrase: [D‘-N-P‘]. In the Arabic

translation, this has changed into ائة ص٠شج اخاسخ١ح اال ش٠ى١ح (naeb wazeerat al

khareejeyah al-amreekiyah), a sequence of words containing an adjective, a noun and

two determiner phrases: [A-N-D‘-D‘]. The translator does not literally translate each

element, but has used structural-stylistic changes to create a syntactical and structural

equivalence between the ST text and the TT. The definite article اي (al-) ‗the‘ in اخاسخ١ح (

al- kharejeeya) ‗the exterior, foreign‘ and اال ش٠ى١ح ‗al-amreekiyah‟ ‗the American‘ are

used in determiner phrases (D‘) to define the nouns and to express a shared knowledge

about certain entities. The same corresponding expressions in the ST text is undefined. In

terms of Ghazala‘s (1995) views on style, the structural change in the Arabic TT is in

keeping with a formal style of the ST.

(5) (a) ST: “ Bin Laden call falls on deaf ears‟

‗Our goal is not defending the khartum government but to defend Islam its

land and its people‘, he said. BBC Monday , 24 April 2006

(b) TT: ت ال د " زشب ص١ث١ غشت١ ضذ ال عال "

اضاف " ا ذفا ١ظ اذفاع ػ زىح اخشط اا اذفاع ػ ا ال عال اسض ؽؼث "

(c) Trs: (bin laden: hareb salebeebyah gharabiyah ded al e„slam)

(wa adafa ena hadafana leis al defa‟ „an hukumat al khartum wa enama al defa‟ „an al

eslam wa ardeh wa sh‟bih.)

We are concerned with the underlined constituents of the texts in (a-c) above. Sentence

(5a) above has the structure as the phrase marker (tree diagram) in (a‘) below while its

Arabic counterpart has the structure in the phrase marker (b‘):

(a‘) ‗Our goal is not defending the khartum government but to defend Islam its land

and its people‘,

32

IP

N‘ [ our goal is not V‘[ defending

the Khartum government]] CONJ‘

Conj IP

but [ …. to defend Islam CONJ‘

Conj IP‘

Ø […its land] CONJ‘

Conj IP‘

and [... its people].

(b‘) ا ذفا ١ظ اذفاع ػ زىح اخشط اا اذفاع ػ ا ال عال اسض ؽؼث

(‗ena hadafana leis al defa‟ „an hukumat al khrtum wa enama al defa‟ „an

al eslam wa ardeh wa sh‟bih.)

COMP‘ IP‘ COMP‘

Ena [ hadafa-na [laisa al-defa‟ [an hukuma al khartum ]]]] CONJ‘

N‘ V‘ D‘

‗that our goal not the defence for government the Khartum‘

Conj IP‘ enama

‗but‘

al-defa „an al-eslam CONJ‘

‗the defence for Islam‘

Conj IP‘

wa ‗and‘ [.ardeh CONJ‘]

Conj IP‘

wa [… sh‘bih]

It is noticed that the translator has respected most of the words when translating the ST into

Arabic text. It is noticed also that there is some structural stylistic correspondence between

33

the ST text and the TT text. That is, basically both are similar: one principal clause followed

by a series of conjoined clauses. Hence it is in keeping with a literal translation discussed

under this heading. The only difference is that the Arabic sentence is introduced by a

complementizer ا (ena) ‗that‘. In addition, there is an obvious introduction of the definite

article اي (al) ‗the‘ in some of the Arabic words such as اخشط (al-Khartum) ‗the Khartum‘,

The Islam‘ when these definite articles do‗ (al eslam) ا ال عال ,‘the defence„ (‟al-defa) اذفاع

not exist in the corresponding ST text. This is in keeping with Hatim‘s (1997) view that it is

culturally inherent in Arabic to begin a sentence with a clause introducer,‘ a

complementizer‘, and to use a definite article when the content discoursally calls for the use

of the definite article such as in the case of اخشط (al Khartum) ‗The Khartum‘, اذفاع (al

defa‟) ‗ the defence‘ to show the sharing of knowledge about entities. In addition, the

translator has translated the whole direct statement in the way it should be in Arabic text.

The full translation is to reflect Bin Laden‘s perspectives in terms of his ideological

thinking towards Islamic nations all over the world, and to make the international Islamic

communities support his ideological campaign againt the West.

In Ghazala‘s (1995) terms both languages keeps the formal style; for example the subject

of the repeated clauses are truncated in both English and Arabic. The idea behind the use

of conjunctions and the deletion of the repeated ‗common‘ subject noun phrases is to

achieve better cohesion among the clauses.

(6) (a): ST: Abbas moves to Gaza for pull out



Gaza until the completion of Israel‘s withdrawal from the territory.

(b) TT: ػجبؽ ٠م مغ ا غؼح زبثؼخ االـذبة االؿغائ

اػ اشئ١ظ افغط١ سد ػثاط ا ع١م ىرث ا غضج زر اراء ا الغساب االعشائ١ امطاع(c) Trs:„bas yanqul maqarahu ela ghaza li mutaba‟t al ensehab al esraeli

A‟lana al raees al filistini mahmud abas enahu sayanqul maktabahu ela ghaza hata

entiha al ensehab al esraeeli min al qata‟.

The following linear structures in (a‘) and (b‘) in racket racketing show a difference

between them:


34




)enahu sayanqul maktabahu)

[…[ enahu] [ sa [ yanqul [Maktabahu]…]]









Conclusion

In the process of translation, there have been many stylistic changes. These changes are

within the realm of syntax (sentences, clauses and phrases) . The syntactic comparison has

shown a lot of shifts in style. In particular, these shifts have been contributed mainly by the

fact that English is a SVO language while Arabic is basically a VSO language although

there are also few Arabic sentences that are equational, N-N, structure and SVO structure

especially in stressed (emphatic subject) situations. Consequently, in the process of

translation many English SVO sentences are generally changed into VSO sentences. In

some restricted circumstances (where the subject N is stressed), some SVO either remains

as SVO or simply N-N structure. In complex sentences, there are marked differences in

style. Firstly, Arabic seems to favor commencing the main clause with a VSO pattern that

is preceded by a conjunction (wa) ‗and ‗ or ى (wa lakin) ‗and/but). The main sentence

is usually followed by conjunction (wa), ى (walakin) in conjoined structures or by a

complementizer ا (aan) ‗that‘ in the case of complex structures with sentence

subordination. Then, they may be followed by a string of noun phrase, determiner phrases

and adjuncts. In contrast, in the English ST, the main clause is almost always of the SVO

structure which is connected to subordinate relative clauses and/complemntation. The

35

subordinate clauses may be followed by adjunct phrases such as the determiner phrase and

the prepositional phrase.

References







36

Tenor in Electronic Media Political Discourse in BBC News: A Functional Analysis of English-Arabic Translation

Abstract

The study examines tenor in electronic media discourse in BBC News texts. Tenor is one

of the register variables identified by Systemic linguistics. The study looks at how

translators use their social role to relate with their audience in such media discourses as

the Internet. The translator is usually the dominant writer so he determines how his

imaginary audience will respond to his message. Being the sole translator, this increases

his power to control the political discourse. He uses mainly direct and narrative texts to

elicit responses from his imaginary reader. Whichever electronic media used, the

personal tenor of the discourse is that of the translator as the knower/expert, while it has

the pragmatic force of persuasion, exhortation and challenge for the reader.

Introduction This study focuses on a form of political discourse, which is channeled through the

electronic media. It looks at one of the three variables of situational features (identified

by Halliday (1978: 32) that determine registers – tenor (the two others being field and

mode). The data for this study was drawn from BBC News by the Internet. All of the

English original messages (ST) were rendered in Arabic. The major focus in the analysis

is the role structure into which the participants in the discourse fit and how this

determined how they made and interpret meaning in the political discourse.

This study presents a study of the Arabic translation of English news from the view of the

functions of the news texts especially in terms of field, tenor and mode as conceptualized

in Halliday and Hasan (1985). This study also considers the texts in terms of their

communicative functions as viewed in Hatim (1997) and in terms of Fishman‘s (1972)

sociolinguistic view that language is to a large extent a reflection of the society which

uses it. It aims to answer the research question : ―What is the extent of the sustenance of

the messages in the Arabic translation in terms of field, tenor and mode as well as in

terms of the communicative and societal functions as compared to the same terms in the

original messages of the ST?

37

A comparative method will be adopted paying attention to the context of situations,

namely field, tenor and mode, its communicative functions and how it fits the society

which uses it. The differences and similarities of grammatical features, texture, structure

and generic features representing the textual meaning of the text will be examined.

Towards that end, we have chosen eleven examples of English BBC news and their

corresponding Arabic translation. This study will analyze 4 types of data and their Arabic

translations in terms of field, tenor and mode, since those article have taken from BBC

News texts by the Internet

Functional Analysis Model.

Halliday and Hasan‘s theory of functions (1985), relates to the stylistic, sociolinguistic

and rhetorical aspects of language. They are more general and at the same time more

restrictive in their theory of functions. They are more general in the sense that they

suggest three functional categories of language: the ideational (i.e., experiential), the

interpersonal and the textual. They are more restrictive in the sense that their explanation

of the systematic realization of the context of situation is confined to three, namely, field,

tenor and mode, through the three functional components of the semantic system

mentioned above respectively.

In the ideational function, Halliday and Hasan‘s theory relies on and departs from the text

to detect the real meaning. It must refer to our experience of the real world. For them, the

interpersonal meaning to the language functions as a way of acting, a progression from

the semantic meaning to the pragmatic one and to text as a communicative intercourse

vehicle. As for the textual meaning of the text, they recourse to grammatical features,

texture, structure and generic features of language.

In this study, we will focus our analysis of the messages of the Arabic translation of

English news only on the three realization of the context of situation, namely field, tenor

and mode. The term field refers to "…what is happening, to the nature of the social action

that is taking place, while tenor has to do with who are taking part in the transaction as

well as the nature of the participants, their status and roles, and mode concerns with

38

"…what it is that the participants [of a transaction] are expecting language to do for them

in that situation." Halliday and Hasan (1985:12).

Tenor in discourse

1.The Fugitive al-Qaeda Leader’s.

In this section, we shall examine the phrase, the fugitive al-Qaedah leader‟s, in terms of

field, tenor and mode.

Consider now Table 1.1 below:

Table 1.1 The Field of “the fugitive al Qaeda leader’s”.

ST Bin Laden call falls on deaf ears…

US intelligence believes the Audio tape aired by an Arab TV channel is genuine

making it the fugitive al-Qaeda leader‘s first message since January.

TT ....لاي اعاح ت الد صػ١ ذض١ اماػذج ف ذغد١ صذ غب ا١

Trs Qala osama bin laden za‟eem tandeem al-qa‟eda fi tasjeel sauti mansub eleih….

Glosses said Osama bin Laden leader organizing al qaeda in sound recorder.

Field in

ST

the fugitive al-qaeda leader‘s

Field in

TT

za‟eem tandem al-qa‟eda ‗leader organizing al qaedah‘ . The translator has

replaced the lexical word ‗the fugitive‘ into tandeem ‗organizing‘.

Quality of

message.

Perce Perceptually, the BBC sees Bin Laden as a fugitive leader of the al-Qaeda. In an

indirect sense this is meritorious position. In the eyes of some Arabs, far from

being a fugitive, he is generally considered as an able person who is highly

respected and capable of managing and spearheading his organization. Thus while

the focus is the same, i.e., in Bin Laden being a leader, the emphasis is different.

The West sees him as a fugitive, while some Arabs see him as one who is capable

of handling his organization well. Hence, it is a semi-literal translation.

In Table 6.1, we are concerned with the phrase the fugitive al-Qaeda leader‟s in the ST

and its corresponding Arabic translation (underlined), and the impact it has upon the

perception of the Arabic news readers. It is noticed that the field of the ST regards Bin

Laden as a fugitive which is evidenced from the noun phrase the fugitive al-Qaeda

leader‟s. It has been translated into Arabic as صػ١ ذض١ اماػذج (za‟eem tandeem al-

qa‟eda) ‗leader organizing al-qa‘eda‘, which is also a noun phrase describing Bin

Laden‘s merits. That is, the translator has replaced the lexical word the fugitive of the ST

with the word ذض١ (tandem) ‗organizing‘ to reflect the general perception of the Arab

39

readers upon Bin Laden‘s character as one who is highly esteemed, respectable and

acceptable in the Arab society. In the sense that the meritorious leadership quality of Bin

Laden in the ST is sustained in the corresponding Arabic TT, in that the focus of the

message remains the same while the emphasis has shifted from regarding him as a

fugitive to one who is capable in putting his organization well-placed. In these respects

the translation is not a fully literal translation but rather a semi-literal one.

The English ST is describing a field pertaining to a political matter. The phrase the

fugitive al Qaeda leader is used to describe Bin Laden as a leader of an organization

with the enemy is in hot pursuit. The repetitive and continuous use of the nouns to

describe him is evidently a way of emphasizing the seriousness of the West in perceiving

his characters in the world of the media. In this respect, the translator has attempted to

emulate that kind of portrayal by having a similar repetitive technique in the Arabic

version: صػ١ ذض١ اماػذج (za‟eem tandeem al-qa‟eda) ‗leader organizing al-qa‟eda‘.

However, although the focus is the same, namely Bin Laden being a leader, the emphasis

in the ST and the TT is somewhat different. In the ST, he is being conveyed as a fugitive

leader, while in the TT, he is seen as a well-organized leader. The fugitive (i.e., negative

connotation) part of the story has been suppressed. Such an approach where the translator

has empathized the readers‘ perception of Bin Laden can be seen as befitting the Arab

societal-cultural milieu only when we fall back on Hatim‘s (1997) view of translating

across different cultures or nations; we have to be seen as communicating in that new

cultural setting.

Also, in the new context of this TT and bearing in mind the field of the discourse, another

explanation why the translator acts the way he does must be considered; that is, from the

metaphorical use of the word al-Qaeda. The original message does not change the name

of al-Qaeda. In the Arab world, al-Qaeda is not just any organization, it is more than

that; for example, metaphorically al-Qaeda in the TT has represented Bin Laden ‗s

foundation or Bin Laden‘s ideology in which no negative quality should be attached to it.

Next, we shall reconsider the same data as in Table 1.1 above, but we do so now in terms

of the tenor of the text as represented in Table 1.2 below: Table 1.2 The Tenor of “the fugitive al Qaeda leader’s”.

40

ST Bin Laden call falls on deaf ears


making it the fugitive al-qaeda leader‘s first message since January.

TT ....لاي اعاح ت الد صػ١ ذض١ اماػذج ف ذغد١ صذ غب ا١

Trs Qala Osama bin Laden za‟eem tandem al-qa‟eda fi tasjeel sauti mansub eleih….

Glosses said Osama bin Laden leader organizing al qa‘eda in sound recorder.

Tenor of

ST

the fugitive al-Qaeda leader‘, the writer has characterized Bin Laden as a fugitive

Tenor in

TT

za‟eem tandem al-qa‟eda , the translator has characterized Bin Laden as an

individual capable or organizing things well. His role as a fugitive is eliminated.

Quality Semi-liteteral translation

In the above Table, we still focus on the underlined constituents. It is noticed that the

tenor of the ST is one in which Bin Laden is conveyed as the fugitive al-Qaeda leader.

This functional role of Bin Laden has been translated into صػ١ ذض١ اماػذج (za‟eem

tandem al-qa‟eda) ‗leader organizing al-qa‟eda‟ , which is also reflecting Bin Laden‘s

merits and ideology . Here, the translator has changed the character of Bin Laden from

being portrayed as a fugitive in the ST to an individual who is in the Arab world as a very

capable individual in leading and organizing something. In the eyes of the translator,

changing this role and character of Bin Ladin is a way of making the TT more acceptable

to the Arab society. That is, while the participant remains Bin Ladin, his role has

certainly been seen positively. Also, while the ST sees the negative quality of Bin Laden

as a fugitive, the translator stresses his positive quality and role of an organizer to the

Arabic news readers. Hence from the viewpoint of his role, the original message is only

partially retained. Therefore, it is a semi-literal translation.

Finally, we shall see the same text in terms of its mode; that is, the nature and purposes of

the linguistic expressions. We present it as in Table 1.3 below: Table 1.3 The Mode of „the fugitive al Qaeda leader’s”

ST Bin Laden call falls on deaf ears US intelligence believes the Audio tape aired by an Arab TV channel is genuine

making it the fugitive al-Qaeda leader‘s first message since January.

TT ...لاي اعاح ت الد صػ١ ذض١ اماػذج ف ذغد١ صذ غب ا١

.

Trs Qala Osama bin laden za‟eem tandem al-qa‟eda fi tasjeel sauti mansub eleih….

Glosses said Osama bin Laden leader organizing al qaeda in sound recorder.

41

Mode in

ST

the fugitive al-Qaeda leader‘s, is used in a declarative sentence, and the function of

the message is thematic.

Mode in

TT

leader organizing al qaeda‘; the word‗ (za‟eem tandem al-qa‟eda ) صػ١ ذض١ اماػذج

.organizing‘ suggests skillful character and elevate his position‗ (tandem) ذض١

Quality The message changes somewhat; hence, it is a semi-literal translation.

The phrase, the fugitive al Qaeda leader‟s, has been expressed in a declarative sentence.

This implies that the speech function of the original message is thematic with a purpose

such as announcing the negative character of Bin Laden. That is, Bin Laden being a

fugitive and leader of the Al –Qaeda organization. Towards that end, the writer of the ST

describes Bin Laden in a declarative statement in a series of cohesive nouns as fugitive, al

Qaeda, leader. Such a structural schematization conveys a proposition of intense in the

original message to the ST reader. As evidence from the opening phrase ت الد لاي اعاح

(Qala Osama bin laden) ‗Said Osama Bin Laden‘, the same technique of a declarative

sentence as well as word repetition have been employed by the Arabic translator; but

instead of choosing an Arabic equivalent of fugitive, he has chosen the word ذض١

(tandem) ‗organizing‘. By so doing while he has been able to maintain the intensity of the

original message, simulteneously he was creating a new purpose, namely to shift the

emphasis to the positive quality of Bin Laden which is the ability to organize things. In

this sense, the output is a semi-literal translation. In terms of the sociolinguistic views of

Fishman (1972), here the translator‘s choice of linguistic terms is merely portraying Bin

Laden as he is naturally seen by the Arabs in the Arab world.

To summarize up this section, from the perspective of field, tenor and mode, it is

observed that the Arabic translation of the English phrase the fugitive al Qaeda leader‟s

does not fit squarely into the term literal translation as within the similarities there is still

some degree of difference of information between the ST and the TT. Hence, we have

suggested a new term, semi-literal translation.

2. Parliamentary Speaker.

In this section, we shall examine the phrase, parliamentary speaker, in terms of field,

tenor and mode. We will consider Table 2.1 below:

42

Table 2.1 The Field of “parliamentary speaker”.

ST Maliki endorsed as new Iraq PM

Maliki also gave the post of Parliamentary speaker to Mahmood AL mashhadani, a

Sunni Arab.

TT ....اخر١ش سد اؾذا ع سئ١غا دؼ١ح اط١ح

.

Trs Ukhteera mahmood al-mashadani wa huwa sunni raeesan lil-jam‟eeyah al-

wataneeyah…

Glosses Chosen Mahmood Mashadani and he Sunni president for the association the

nationalism.

Field in

ST

Parliamentary speaker , the field is specified to two lexical words only, but still

indicating an important political event in the appointment of a principal political

office to a Sunni Arab.

Field in

TT

(wa huwa raeesan lil-jam‟eeyah al-wataneeyah) ع سئ١غا دؼ١ح اط١ح

‗president for the association the nationalism‘. The field has been extended to

include a broader scope of a ‗nation‘ and ‗president‘ as well as ‗association‘.

Quality An overtranslation

In the above data in Table 6.4, we are concerned with the underlined constituents only. It

is noticed that the field of the ST is the appointment of a parliamentary speaker. In the

perception of the Arabic translator befitting the socio-cultural milieu of the Arab readers,

this event has been extended as the appointment of سئ١غا (raesan) ‗president‘, دؼ١ح (lil

al jam‟eeyah) ‗the association‘ and اط١ح (al wataneeyah) ‗the nationalism‘, which is

also a noun phrase describing Mashhadani‘s political post. As a consequence, the

translator has widened the field of the ST the nominal parliamentary speaker to nouns. In

addition, surrounding the appointment of a Parliamentary Speaker, the original message

has been elaborated to include a detail information about the nominated candidate. To the

name of Mahmood Al- Mashhadani, the writer has also provided his religious sector,

Sunni, and his race, Arab suggesting the exhaustiveness of the announcement of

Mashhadani‘s appointment in the political media. Although the same range of

information is found in the TT, noticeably it has been given a greater emphasis on the

appointment by virtue of the fact that the political terms such as دؼ١ح اط١ح (lil-

jam‟eeyah al-wataneeyah) ‗the association the nationalism‘ encompass a greater scope of

an association and nation. Taken as a whole, the TT is an overtranslation of the ST.

43

Next, we will reconsider the same data in Table 2.2 above but will do so now in terms of

the tenor of the text as represented in Table 2.2 below:

Table 2.2 The Tenor on “parliamentary speaker”.

ST Maliki endorsed as new Iraq PM

Maliki also gave the post of Parliamentary speaker to Mahmood AL Mashhadani, a

Sunni Arab.


.


wataneeyah…

Glosses Chosen Mahmood Mashadani and he Sunni president for the association the

nationalism.

Tenor in

ST

Parliamentary speaker , the tenor has referred to the specific role of the participant

‗Mahmood Mashadani ‘ in the process of interaction policy.

Tenor in

TT

raeesan lil-jam‟eeyah al-wataneeyah (president for the association the

nationalism). The translator has described Mashhadan‘s post as president of the

national society to the readership of the TL text.


In the ST the participant is mentioned as Mahmood AL Mashhadani who is a Sunni Arab. The

same range of information has been well translated in the Arabic TT as عسد اؾذا

(mahmood al-mashhadani wa huwa sunni) ‗Mahmood Mashhadani and he (is a) Sunni‘. As we

move further to see his role, however, there is a difference in the way it is perceived in the ST to

that one that is perceived in the TT. In the TT, Mahmood AL Mashhadani has been seen not

merely as a person whose function is within the confine of parliament, but more than that,

his role encompasses more globally within a nation. It is a perception that is most natural

within the Arab socio-cultural context. As a consequence, the translator has painted a

broader concept to the new political role of Mahmood Al Mashhadani in the TT compared

to the information in the ST. Therefore, it is a case of overtranslation.

We move on to reconsider the data in table 2.3 above in term of its mode as seen

presented in table 2.3 below:

44

Table 2.3 The Mode on “parliamentary speaker”.

ST Maliki endorsed as new Iraq PM.

Maliki also gave the post of Parliamentary speaker to Mahmood AL mashhadani, a

Sunni Arab.


.


wataneeyah…

Glosses Chosen Mahmood Mashadani and he Sunni president for the

association the nationalism.

Mode in

ST

Parliamentary speaker , the original message is a declarative message

Mode in

TT

Expressed in a .(.president for the association the nationalism) ,سئ١غا دؼ١ح اط١ح

declarative sentence to inform the TL reader about the appointment of a political

post from among the Arab Sunni nationals.


Here, the declarative sentence has a purpose to inform the readers of an important

appointment to a political office. The office is parliamentary speaker. The personality is

Mahmood Mashadani. There is an additional information, namely that he is an Arab who

is a Sunni. The Arabic version also comprises a declarative sentence whose purpose is

also to inform. In so far as the personality and the appointment to a political office are

concerned, the Arab TT contains the same information. There is a difference, however, in

the nature of noun that is being declared. While the ST declares it as a simple post of a

parliamentary speaker, the TT text declares much more than that. It declares a position

that assumes three-in-one post (raeesan lil-jam‟eeyah al-wataneeyah) سئ١غا دؼ١ح اط١ح

‗president for the association the nationalism‘ which, in the sense of Fishman (1972), is a

reflection of the sociolinguistic and cultural perception of the Arab speakers in Iraq.

Hence, from the perspective of the mode of the TT, it is an overtranslation.

In summary, seen from the perspective of field, tenor and mode, the Arabic translation of

the English phrase parliamentary speaker is a case of overtranslation.

45

3 Traders.

In this section, we shall examine the translation of the English word, trades, to Arabic in

terms of field, tenor and mode. First, we consider the Table 3.1 below:

Table 3.1 The Field of “traders”. ST Iran fears drive oil to new high

But traders say that in the short term the price could rise as high as 75 per barrel.

TT ٠ش س ا اعرشاس ارذش ع١ذفغ ا ال عؼاس ف ا الذدا اض٠ذ تؾى ٠رداص ذمش٠ثا عؼش 57 دالس

ثش١ .

Trs Wa yara muhalilun ana estemrar al-tawatr sa yadf‟ al-as‟ar fi al-etijah al-mazeed

bishikel yatagawiz taqreeban s‟r 75 dular lil barmil

Glosses And analysts see that continuing the tension will push the prices in the high

direction which access 75 dollars per barrel.

Field in

ST

Selling and buying oil; its prices are buoyant; it creates fears among buyers and

sellers.

Field in

TT

a group of people analyzing the oil crisis‘ or (b) ‗ general‗ (a) (muhalilun) س

analysts‘

Quality An ambiguous translation

With respect to the English word traders in the above text, it concerns with the activities

of buying and selling oil, the prices are buoyant and there is a continuing fear of the

rising price. It has been translated as س (muhalilun) ‗analysts‘. In the first reading of

the TT, this information is also obtained. However, in the absence of the word افظ (al

naft) ‗the oil‘ in the context of situation, when the word س (muhalilun) ‗analysts‘ is

considered in a broader scope, the word س (muhalilun) may have a second

interpretation, namely that of the analysts in general. Due to these two possibilities, the

translator‘s choice of the word س (muhalilun), although not incorrect, is somewhat

inappropriate and it has made the TT potentially ambiguous. Hence, it is an ambiguous

translation.

From the perspective of the tenor of the text of the word traders, we will present the data

as in Table 3.2 below:

46

Table 3.2 The Tenor of “traders” ST Iran fears drive oil to new high


TT . ٠ش ا اعرشاس ارذش ع١ذفغ ا ال عؼاس ف ا الذدا اض٠ذ تؾى ٠رداص ذمش٠ثا عؼش 57 دالس ثش١




direction which access 75 per barrel.

Tenor in

ST

traders refer to people who deal in oil transactions such as oil producers, agents and

buyers.

Tenor in

TT

.two possibilities: (a) oil traders and (b) analysts in general : , س


In the above data, it is noticed that the tenor of the ST contains the lexical plural noun

traders which in a business society can possibly refers to business people who usually

deal in oil transactions such as oil producers, agents, buyers and sellers. The favorite

reading of the Arabic TT س (muhalilun) ‗analysts‘ also conveys these range of

participants. However, due to another possibility of a wider range of usages of the Arabic

word in a wider spectrum, various repertoires and networks of sociolinguistic

communication in Arab society in the sense of Fishman (1972), it may also have an

additional, though less favorite, reading of a ‗general analyst‘. Hence from the

perspective of the tenor of the Arabic text, there is a possibility of the Arabic translation

being ambiguous.

We move on to reconsider the same data from the perspective of the mode of the text as

presented in Table 3.3 below:

Table 3.3 The Mode of “traders”. ST Iran fears drive oil to new high


TT ٠ش س ا اعرشاس ارذش ع١ذفغ ا ال عؼاس ف ا الذدا اض٠ذ تؾى ٠رداص ذمش٠ثا عؼش 57 دالس

ثش١ .



47


direction which access 75 per barrel.

Mode in

ST

Traders, is the head of the text and precedes by a lexical word; text opposition but

expresses positives sense.

Mode in

TT

is the head of the text and preceded by a lexical word; the additive س

conjunction (wa) ‗and‘ confirms the availability of the original information; but its

occurrence with other words serves a possible duality of meaning (a) traders and

(b) analysts.


By virtue of the sentential conjunction but, the mode of the context of situation of the

language of the ST is expressed in a contrastive sense giving rise to a declarative-

contrastive meaning. In another words, due to the fear of Iran, the oil traders hold the

negative view of the price of oil to keep on increasing. In terms of mode, the usage of

the word traders in the context of ‗…drive oil to new high‘ can only positively refer to

people who deals in oil business and handlers of oil. In the case of the Arabic TT, the

usage of the conjunction (wa) ‗and‘ suggests the first reading holds true; however, its

usage together with the word س (muhalilun) ‗analysts‘ in the context of situation

where the word فظ ا (al naft) ‗the oil‘ is not also used, may give rise to another

interpretation, namely that of ‗the analysts on matters other than oil‘. That is, an idea that

is not conveying the original sense and meaning of the original message. In this sense, the

translation is an ambiguous translation.

4. Have reduced the number of weapons.

In this section, will examine the verb phrase …have reduced the number of weapons‟

within its context of situation in terms of field, tenor and mode. Consider the data in

Table 4.1 where it presents the verb phrase in terms of field.

Table 4.1 The Field of the verb phrase, „…have reduced the number of weapons’.

ST Iraq tribe ‗taking on Al Qaeda‘

They set up the salvation council for Anbar and claim to have reduced the number

of weapons and foreign fighter coming into this area.

TT اعغد ز اؼؾائش "دظ امار اال ثاس" صػد اا عاد ف خفض ػذد االعسح اماذ١ اال

خاة ف ز اطمح.

Trs Wa asasat hatheh al-‟shar majlis enqath al-anbar wa za‟amat anaha sahamat fi

48

khefd ‟dad al-asleha wa al-muqatileen al-ajaneb fi hathih al-mantaqa.

Glosses And these tribes established ‗AL anbar rescue committee‘ and claimed that she (AL

anbar rescue committee‘) participated in reduce number of the weapons and the

foreign fighters in this area.

Field in

ST

have reduced: infighting took place due to the supply of weapons and the presence

of foreign fighters; the weapons and foreign fighters have been reduced.

Field in

TT

reduced‘: it covers the same events as in the ST above, but at the‗ (khefd) ,خفض

same time, it sets them out in the past tense.

Quality In terms of a wrong time frame, it is an incorrect translation

In the above data, the field of the English ST is about the political events in Iraq at a

certain point. These events are set out in the present perfect tense. These are the setting

up of the salvation council for Anbar and the reduction of weapons and foreign fighters.

The same political situations in Anbar city, however, are set out in the past tense in the

Arabic ST, namely the usage of the verb خفض (khefd) ‗reduced‘. As a consequence, the

translator has perceived the message somewhat differently than that found in the TT. That

is, he sees them as completed events. Thus, in term of field there is a dislocation of time

frame from present perfect to a past tense and, therefore, grammatically the output is an

incorrect translation.

We will now reconsider the same data above in terms of its tenor of the situation as set

out in Table 4.2 below. Here, we will be interested as to the identity and nature of the

participants.

Table 4.2 The Tenor of the verb phrase‟ “…have reduced the number of weapons” ST Iraq tribe ‗taking on Al Qaeda‘






khefd ‟dad al-asleha wa al-muqatileen al-ajaneb fi hathih al-mantaqa.




49

Tenor in

ST

‗have reduced‘: the weapons and foreign fighters, the rescue committee, people of

Anbar city, weapons and the foreign fighters are participants; the reduction is

ongoing.

Tenor in

TT

, the same participants are found in the TT; there is a difference ,(reduce) خفض

however, in the number of those participating and the fact that the execution of

reduction was completed.

Quality While the ST talks about a process of reduction that is ongoing, the reduction of the

participants is regarded as complete in the TT; hence, it is an incorrect translation.

In the above data, the scope and nature of the participants are the same in the ST and the

TT. These are the tribes, the people of Anbar city, the committee, the weapons and the

fighters. What is different between the two texts is the timing and the manner of the

reduction of some of the participants. In the ST, the reduction is an ongoing process and

nearing completion; but the usage of the past tense in خفض (khefd) ‗reduced‘ suggests that

the translator is not interested in what has gone before, but rather he is more focused on

the fact that the reduction of weapons and fighters were completed. As a consequence in

terms of its mode of situation, the translator has given an incorrect translation.

Now we move on to reconsider the same text from the perfective of the mode of situation

as in Table 4.3 below:

Table 4.4 The Mode of the verb phrase‟ “…have reduced the number of weapons” ST Iraq tribe ‗taking on Al Qaeda‘






a‟dad al-asleha wa al-muqatileen al-ajaneb fi hathih al-mantaqa.




Mode in

ST

have reduced; the declarative conjoined structures express process of action to

reduce weapons by the participants that is almost completed.

Mode in

TT

reduced‘. The declarative expression of conjoined clauses captures‗ (khefd) خفض

the same theme which is to reduce weapons; but it perceives the action as fully

completed.

Quality An incorrect translation.

50

The ST in the above table is set in a conjoined declarative sentence putting together a

number of participants and events. Its declarative purpose is to express a thematic sense

that action has been taken to reduce the number of weapons and that the process is almost

completed. In the Arabic version, however, while the same declarative and conjoined

structures are used to put together all the participants, and thematically to report an action

of weapons reduction, the translator sees the action as only having been fully completed.

There is a shift in focus. May be this is the way the action is naturally seen from the

perspective of the Arabic language. If so, this is in congruent with Fishman‘s (1972)

view that linguistic expressions are reflections of the perceptions of its speakers about

their surroundings. Therefore, although the mode of the situation of the original ST

message, have reduced, has been changed to a past tense in the Arabic TT, the Arab

readers still find it of some standard and readable form. Nonetheless, the fact remains

that literally the output shows an incorrect translation.

Conclusion.

The study has looked at Halliday and Hasan (1985) views on field, mode and tenor and

their application on the messages in a text in particular as they relate to the translation of

the BBC political news into Arabic. The purpose has been to seek the answers to a

research question stated at the onset of this paper. Towards that end, we have considered

separately four different BBC English texts on political news in which each has been

examined from the perspective of field, tenor and mode of situation as conceptualized by

Halliday and Hasan (1985). We also have considered, wherever appropriate, the

relevance of the ideas of Hatim (1997) and Fishman (1972) in our analysis.

a) Hallidays elements (field, tenor and mode) have helped to facilitate us to view the

messages in both the ST and the TT in a different dimension. In this paper, we have been

able to see the texts through the dynamic functioning of the linguistic elements in three

separate perspectives: its field which focuses on the nature of the events, its tenor which

looks at the participants and their status and roles in the social actions, and its mode

which considers the expressive aspects of the language use. Seen from these different

angles, Halliday‘s elements have served as complementary instruments in our

51

examination of the nature and extent of the sustenance of messages in the translation of

the BBC political news into Arabic.

(b) Theoretically the field, tenor and mode have been useful in the examination of the

data from the perspective of events, participants and language; but it does not do as well

in the examination of the message in terms of the hidden cultural elements and ideology

that may exist in a text.

From the four texts that have been examined, it is also found that the translators seem to

have been keen to use a language, which can be understood by different types of social

classes. In other words, there have attempted to pitch the language of the TT to one

standard that would be readable by the masses for wider readability. Towards that end,

one case has been ambiguously translated while another receives an ―incorrect‖

representation (translation). In this regard, Hatim‘s (1997) views on communication

across different cultures and nations in translation studies, and Fishman‘s (1972)

sociolinguistic concepts that language to a large extent is a reflection of the society which

uses it, have served as useful tools in understanding more clearly the nature of the ST and

the TT as well as the translation problems. In particular, Hatim‘s ideas has helped us

understand the data (both the ST and the TT) better especially in terms of us being more

careful in our examination of the data as different lexical words/phrases/clauses can have

different connotations in different nations/cultures. Against such difficult backgrounds, in

general, we find the translators have done fairly well; this is so because, apart form the

few cases of overtranslation, over all their translation outputs are noticeably acceptable to

a wide circle of readers who come from different social classes, educational and cultural

backgrounds.

References Fishman, J.A. (1972), Sociocultural Organization: Language Constraints and





52

Halliday M.A. K and R. Hasan (1985). Language, Context and Text: Aspects of

Language in a Social-Semiotic Perspective. Waurn Ponds, Victoria: Deakin

University Press, Berlin.

Halliday, M.A. K. (1978). Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of

Language and Meaning.Bristol: Edward Arnold Ltd. London, U.K.

53

STYLISTIC ASPECTS IN ENGLISH AND ARABIC TRANSLATED POLITICAL TEXTS: A CONTRASTIVE STUDY

Abstract

The study aims at stylistically comparing selected excerpts of contemporary Arabic and

English news with their respective translations. A news text is randomly chosen,

compared with the translated text and analyzed in terms of lexical, syntactic and textual

structure. The purpose is to identify and explain a number of general rules describing

consistent patterns of stylistic change which occur during translation of political news

work from English to Arabic.

Introduction

The study of translation is based on implicit assumptions drawn from both the

universalist and the relativist theories of language. The very nature of translation

presupposes the existence of certain universal parameters which render all languages

translatable. It also acknowledges that because of certain idiosyncratic elements in each

language, a perfect translation is ultimately impossible.

According to Steiner (1975: 149):

The relativists' position carried to its logical conclusion holds that no complete acts of

translation between different semantic fields are possible. That all translations are

approximate and antologically reductive of meaning. The matrix of feeling and

assocative context which energizes usage in any given tongue can be transferred into

another idiom only partly and by virtue of periphrastic and metaphrastic manoeuvres

which inevitably downgrade the intensity, the evocative means, and the formal

autonomy of the original. Poets have often felt this.

A universal grammar will affirm the contrary, the intertranslatability of all languages.

The fact that no closed speech has been found, none that native informants and foreign

learners cannot comprehend and transfer, constitutes one of the strongest evidence in

support of universalists.

The issue of equivalence is the main key in the study of translation of English-Arabic

news in general and the translation of political work in particular. Catford (1965) places

http://www.erudit.org/revue/meta/1998/v43/n3/003753ar.html#cit013


54

special emphasis on the situational element in translation equivalence. He argues that

both SL and TL texts must be relatable to the functionally relevant features of the

situation to achieve translation equivalence. He also points to the concept of

untranslatability of literary works. Catford believes that certain parts of a text are left

untranslated because they are either untranslatable, or meant to give a local flavor to the

translation.

Nida (1964) talks about the reproduction of the SL message by the closest equivalent in

the TL, thus introducing Dynamic Equivalence or Functional Equivalence (Waard and

Nida 1982) in translating. Consequently, preservation of the message rather than

conversion of the form of the utterance is targeted in translating.Lefevere (1975) stresses

the role of communicative value in literary translation. By this term he means the ability

of the translator to measure the time-place-tradition elements found in both SL and TL.

The importance of the study of comparative translations stems from the fact that stylistic

differences in the choice of lexis and grammatical categories constitute the difference

between culture and thought. Political translation presupposes commitment on the part of

the translator to create the style of the author, thus consistent stylistic deviations from the

source text must result from their linguistic differences and the differences which the

translators have to account for.

Data Analysis

This study aims to look into two political texts randomly selected from two translated

English and Arabic news; The BBC News and Their Arabic versions. The study

compares the translation with the original text to highlight the differences in the stylistic

choices of vocabulary and of grammatical categories between Arabic and English.



55

(1) Fronting

Opposition to challenge Mubarak

Correspondents say Mr. Nour has little chance of success after decades of authoritarian

government and state influence in the media.

٠مي ذ ا ازلغ ا ٠ى ع اثغػفـ جبعن غ١غ ا ظغا ١خ اضخ ػ ؿبئ االػال فب

١ؾ اب ا فغصخ ف افػ.

ann yakun noor abraz munafesi Mubarak gheir anahu nadaran li heimanat al-dawla ala

wasael al-a‘lam, fa enna leisa amamahu aei fursa fi al-fawz

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text is consisted of the N in

correspondents, V in say and C in Ayman Nour, has applied to stand against President

Hosni Mubarak in elections due in September. This is unlike the Arabic version, where

the main syntactical changes have occurred. As a result, the V ٠مي „say‟ in the SL text

has been fronted at the beginning of the TL text. In addition to that fronting, the N

correspondents of the SL text has also fronted after the verb say in the Arabic version.

The phrase has little chance has been fronted at the end of the TL text. Thus, the lexical

word say, correspondents and has a little chance have been fronted into different

syntactic positions and according to the necessity of Arabic structure text. The

subordinate clause Mr. Nour has a little chance of success is fronted from its position as a

subordinate clause in the SL text due to cause sentence after decades of authoritarian

government and state influence in the media. It is noticed that the phrase has a little

chances of success is an effect, thus, the writer of the SL text is preceded it after the cause

phrase after decades of authoritarian government and state influence in the media. This

is unlike Arabic translation to the SL text, where the translator has fronted the cause

phrase ا ظغا ١خ اضخ ػ ؿبئ االػال nadaran‟due to‟ li heimanat‟controlling‟ al-

dawla‟the country‟ ala‟on‟ wasael‟means‟ al-a‟laam „the media‟, then the effect. This

relation is important and, therefore, the translator has been given special attention in

Arabic.

56

Opposition to challenge Mubarak

One of Egypt‘s leading opposition politicians, Ayman Nour, has applied to stand against

President Hosni Mubarak in elections due in September.

ع ٠زغكخ ظض جبعن ف ازشبثبد اغئبؿخ اصغ٠خ

لذ ا٠ ع ػػ١ دؼة اغض اصغ اؼبعض اعاق رغك١ذ ف ارشبثبد اغئبؿخ اصغ٠خ ظض اغئ١ؾ دـ

جبعن اظ ٠ـؼ فػ ثفزغح عئبؿخ سبـخ.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text is a declarative sentence. It starts

with S in one of Egypt‟s leading opposition politician, Ayman Nour, V in has applied and

C to stand against President Hosni Mubarak in elections due in September. The

translator has fronted the SL text when translated اصغ لض ا٠ ع ػػ١ دؼة اغض qadam

Ayman Nour zaeem(leader) hizb (party) al-ghad(the tomorrow) al-masri (the Egyptian).

It is noticed that the translator has fonted or shifted the verb applied of the SL text from

its position after the pronoun Ayman Nour leading opposition politician , into the

beginning of the TL text, and as a main verb of the sentence in line with Ghazala (1995).

In addition, it is also noticed that the translator has shifted or fronted the SL the pronoun

Ayman Nour in the SL text from its position after multi nouns leading opposition

politicians into a main pronoun, after the verb لض qadam ‗applied‘ in the TL text.

However, the fronting to the Ayman Nour and applied in the TL text are not made by

chance, but for good reasons. It is noticed that the fronted words have a more important

syntactical functions than the other parts of the sentence. This means that they play a vital

role in understand meaning. In line with Ghazala (1995), they must be taken into

consideration in Arabic text.

(3)

Riots after Sudan VP Garang dies

57

Large-scale riots have broken out in Sudan‘s capital Khartoum following the death of the

country‘s vice-president, former rebel leader John Garang.

كغت ثؼض مز بئت اغئ١ؾ اـصا, لغك

اضؼذ اػبي كغت اؿؼخ اطبق ف اؼبصخ اـصا١خ اشغغ ف اػمبة مز بئت عئ١ؾ اجالص اؼػ١

ازغص اـبثك ج لغك.

If we look at the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL consist of the multi nominal

compound large-scale riot and verb in broken out, and the complement in Sudan

Sudan‟s capital Khartoum following the death of the country‟s vice-president, former

rebel leader John Garang. During the process of translation, it is noticed that the

translator has translated the SL text into اضؼذ اػبي كغت اؿؼخ اطبق ‗endala‘t (occurred)

a‘aml (works) shughub (riots) wase‘ah (large) al-nitaq (widely). The multi nominal

compound اػبي كغت اؿؼخ اطبق . Thus, both of large-scale riots and broken out are

fronting in the TL text. Both of the English phrase large-scale riots and broken out have

been fronted syntactically and according into the necessary of Arabic structure.

(2) Formal and Informal Style

(1)

Baghdad market blast kills scores

An explosion has ripped though a busy Baghdad market, killing at least 60 people,

officials say. Nearly 80 others were injured in the car bomb attack in Sadar City, a Shia

area frequently targeted by insurgents.

افجبع ف ؿق ثجغضاص ٠مز اؼلغاد

لبي اـئ ا 00 كشصب غ االل لزا ف افجبع لغ ثـق ؼصد ثبؼبصخ اؼغال١خ ثغضاص. اص١ت

ظ لغ ف ض٠خ اصضع طاد االغج١خ ال١ؼ١خ ثبؼبصخ اؼغال١خ از رؼغظذ كشصب ف اج ا 00لغاثخ

لج الؿزضاف اـذ١.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text is used a formal and standard

language to report the news politically. It is also noticed that the main clause an explosion

has ripped though a busy Baghdad market has been translated formally into Arabic

standard language. The Arabic language is كشصب غ االل لزا ف افجبع 00لبي اـئ ا

58

qaal (say) al-masalun (the officials) ann (that) 60 لغ ثـق ؼصد ثبؼبصخ اؼغال١خ ثغضاص

shakhasan (persons) a‘la (on) aqal (least) qutulu (killed) fi (in) enfijar (an explosion).

It is noticed that the Arabic version has been successful in style/ tone and offered the

meaning at the SL text positively making the translation formal and standard in line with

Ghazala (1995). Consequently, and in line with Ghazala (1995) is advised to translate the

SL text formally, if it is written formally to imply serious, conserving, and

internationality. Thus, from the above analysis, it is noticed that the Arabic version is

formal, without then are colloquial feature being used, so that it has reflected the same

function of the original.

Air strike on Palestinian PM‘s HQ

Israeli aircraft have launched an attack on Gaza City, hitting the office of the Palestinian

Prime Minister Ismail Haniya.

غبعح اؿغائ١١خ ػ ىزت عئ١ؾ اػعاء افـط١

كذ اؿغائ١ غبعح ػـىغ٠خ ج٠خ اؿزضفذ ف ادض صغ٠شب ىزت عئ١ؾ اػاعاء افغط١ اؿبئ١ ١خ ف

لطبع غؼح.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text is written in formal and standard

language, and without any colloquial lexical word. Thus, it has been also translated into

Arabic using a formal style. In line with Ghazala (1995) it is necessary to translate the

English formal feature into the same Arabic equivalent. Moreover, some of these feature

for example; ‗an‘ and ‗of‘ used elsewhere, for example; ‗an‘ in the SL text is referred, to

singularity, being one an attack only.

Consequently, the lexical word ‗an attack‘ is translated into equivalent singularity. The

Arabic version of an attack غبعح; referring to one raid. In addition, the preposition ‗of‘ in

the SL text the office of the Palestinian is also not exist in the SL text. Thus, the

translator has been formally used the lexical singular word افـط١١

al-filistini , which is equivalent in the SL text the office of the Palestinian.

59

(3)

US and Japan make troops cost deal

Japan and the United States have resolved a dispute over the cost of relocating 8,000 US

marines from Okinawa to the Pacific island of Guam. Tokyo had objected to US calls for

it to pay 75% of the estimated $10bn cost.

رظغ اماد االغ٠ى١خ ٠بثب دي –ارفبق اغ٠ى

رصذ ا١بثب اال٠بد ازذضح االغ٠ى١خ ا د خالف دي و١ف١خ رمبؿ وفخ اػبصح رظغ االف اجص

او١با ا١بثب١خ ا جؼ٠غح غا ف اذ١ػ ابص ف١ب ث١ب. وبذ غو١ لض اػزغظذ ػ طبت اغ٠ى١خ

ثببئخ اىفخ اجبغخ دـت ازمض٠غاد ػلغح ١بعاد صالع.57ا رمض

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text is written formally and according to

the syntactical English structure. For example, the main subordinate clause is structured

as (N) Japan (Conj) and (A) the(N) United States(be) have(V) resolved (A) a (V)

dispute (P) over(A) the(V) cost (p) of (V) relocating (Q) 8,000 (N) US marines (P)

from (PN) Okinawa(P) to (A) the (N) Pacific island (P) of (PN) Guam. Consequently

and in line with Ghazala (1995), the translator has formally translated the above text into

رصذ ا١بثب اال٠بد ازذضح االغ٠ى١خ ا د شالف دي و١ف١خ رمبؿ وفخ اػبصح رظغ االف اجص

where PN in tawasalat (reached), (PN) , او١با ا١بثب١خ ا جؼ٠غح غا ف اذ١ػ ابص ف١ب ث١ب

in al-yaban (Japan), Conjunction in wa (and) PN in al-wilayat al mutahida al-

amreeykeyah (the United States American), P in ela (to), V in hal (resolve), N in li-khelaf

(dispute), P in hawl (about), Q in keifeyat (how to), N in kulfat (cost), V in ea‟dat

(repeat), N in tamaudea‘ (relocation), N in alaf (thousands), N in al junud (the soldiers),

P in min (from), PN in Okinawa (Okinawa), PN in al-yabaneeya (the Japan), P in elea

(to), N in jazeera (Island), PN in guam (Guam), P in fi (in), PN in al muheed al hindi

(The Pacific Island), P in fima beynahuma (among them).

As has been noticed that the two text written formally and according to the standard of

English and Arabic languages. In congruence with Ghazala (1995), it is necessary to

translate the English formal feature of the SL text into the same style of formality. The

above example has shown this style of translation. It noticed that thought Arabic

language does not have the identifier ‗a‘ in ‗a dispute‘, the translator has managed to

60

crate similar identifier, but it is a hidden article. If we look at the English single lexical

word ‗a dispute‘, it refers to a singular. Thus, the translator has given also a singular word

when he/she translated the lexical word ‗a dispute‘ into شالف li-khelaf (dispute).

(3) Short Sentences

(1)

Gaza settlers face tough decision

Israeli settlers throughout the Gaza Strip are readying themselves for the start of the

official evacuation of the territory, which begins on Monday.

ربت ا ف غؼح لج١ االـذبة االـغائ١

٠ـزؼض اـزغ االؿغائ١١ ف غؼح ؼ١خ اسالء امطبع از رجضا عؿ١ب االث١.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the translation of the SL text is consisted of N

Israeli, N in settlers, Adv in throughout, P in the NP in Gaza Strip, be in are, V in

readying, Prn in themselves, P in for, D in the, V in start, P in of, D in the, N in official,

N in evacuation, P in of, D in the, N in territory, R in which, V in begins, P in on, and

N in Monday. The translator has translated the above English text into V in yasta‟ed (get

ready), N in al-mustautinun (the settlers), al-esraeliyoun (the Jewish), P in fi (in), N in

Ghaza (Gaza), N in li amalyat (operation), N in ikhla‟a (evacuation), N al-qata‟a (the

sector), R in alati (which), V in tabda‟a (start), Adj. in rasmeeyan (officially), N in al-

ethnaein (Monday).

Looking at the Arabic version, it is noticed that the version is translated without any extra

cohesive markers like ((then) ف , (and) , ,اظبفخ ا طاه (in addition), (in addition to that)

In line with Ghazala (1995), this has reflected the follow up of events a . (ػالح ػ طاه

stage by stage. Consequently, it also noticed that it is not advisable to write the text in

one long sentence for it has a different function.

(2)

Zarqawi shows face in new video

Addressing US President George W Bush, he says: ―Why don‘t you tell people that your

soldiers are committing suicide, taking drugs and hallucination pills to help them sleep?‖

61

اؼعلب ٠زؼض ثؼ٠خ اغ٠ىب ف كغ٠ػ ف١ض٠

لبي جب وال غئ١ؾ االغ٠ى, جعج ثف: " بطا ال رمي لؼجه ا جصن ٠زذغ , ٠زؼبغ

اشضعاد دجة اؿخ زـبػض ػ ا؟"

.

(3)

Police hold four 21 July suspects

Roads were sealed off in west London as dozens of police, many armed and some in gas

mask, surrounded properties.

ثض 21/5اػزمبي ج١غ الزج ف١ ثزفج١غاد

وبذ الغغخ لض المذ غغق ف غغة اؼبصخ اجغ٠طب١خ ض ث١ب دبصغ ػضص وج١غ عجبي الغغخ

بػي الغغخ, اعرض ثؼع االلؼخ اال١خ اغبػ.اـذ١

(4) Long sentence

(1)

US warns Hamas over Israel blast

The Israeli army said the workshop was used by Palestinian militants to make rockets.

اؿغائ١ رغص ػ رفج١غ ر اث١ت, اكط رذظع دبؽ

لبي اج١ق االؿغائ١ ا اعكخ, از ؿجك ا اؿزضفؼب اج١ق االؿغائ١, اؿزشضب ـذ فـط١١ ف

صغ صاع٠ز ٠طمب ػ اؿغائ١.

From the above analysis, it well noticed that the SL text consist of D in the, N in Israeli,

N in army, V in said, D in the, N in workshop, be in was, V in used, P in by, N in

Palestinian, N in militants, P in to, V in make, and N in rockets. This is unlike the Arabic

version in terms of additional lexical words. It is noticed that the Arabic version consist

of Conj. In wa (and), V in لبي qala (say), N in اج١قal-jeish (the army), N in االؿغائ١ al-

esraeli (the Jewish), Conj. In anna (that), N in اعكخ al-warsha (the workshop), R in از

alati (which), Conj. In ا anna (that), Adv. In ؿجك sabaqa (precede), Conj in ا anna

(that), V in اؿزضفؼبestahdafaha (targeted), N اج١قal-jeish (the army), N االؿغائ١ al-

esraeli (the Jewish), V in اؿزشضبestaghdamaha (used), N in ـذ musalahun

(gunmen), Pro. فـط١١Filistiniyoun (Palestinian), P in فfi (in), V صغ suna‟ (make), N

in صاع٠زsawarikh (rockets), V in ٠طمب yatlaqunaha (fired), P in ػ a‟la (on), and

Pro. In اؿغائ١ esrael (Israeli).

62

From the above translation, it is noticed that Arabic contains many cohesive markers likeا

wa and ا anna . In addition, the Arabic version contains different extra lexical

phrases and words like از ؿجك ا , alati (which), Conj. In ا anna (that), Adv. In ؿجك

sabaqa (precede), Conj inا anna (that). In addition to اؿزضفؼب اؿزضفؼب اج١ق االؿغائ١

estahdafaha (targeted), N اج١قal-jeish (the army), N االؿغائ١ al-esraeli (the Jewish).

Then, ٠طمب ػ اؿغائ١ yatlaqunaha (fired), P in ػ a‟la (on), and Pro. In اؿغائ١ esrael

(Israeli).In conclusion, the style of long sentence is a normal style that used in Arabic

language and seldom the translator imitate similar style in English.

(2)

Bolton appointed US envoy to UN

Confirmation hearings hit headlines during the spring but became mired in debate as the

Senate readied itself to consider the nomination of John Reborts to the US Supreme

Court.

رؼ١١ ثز جؼثب اكط ض اال ازذضح

وبذ اجـبد اشبصخ ثزبو١ض ازغك١خ لض رصضعد ػب٠ االسجبع سالي اغث١غ, ى االغ غبم ف ؿبدخ

اجضي ف الذ اظ اسظ جبؽ ال١ر ٠زبت ظغ ف رغك١خ ج عثغرؾ ذىخ االغ٠ى١خ اؼ١ب.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text consists of N in Confirmation, N in

hearings, V in hit, N in headlines, P in during, D in the, N in spring, Conj in but, V in

became, V in mired, P in in, V in debate, Conj in as, D in the,N in Senate, V in

readied, Pro. In itself, P in to, V in consider, D in the, N in nomination, P in of, S in

John Reborts, P in to, D in the, NP in US Supreme Court. This has been translated into

Arabic and a longer lexical words. Where wa (and), وبذ kanat (was), اجـبد al-jalsat

(the sessions), اشبصخ al khasa (the especial), ثزبو١ض bitakeed (by certain), ازغك١خ al

tarsheeh (the nomination), لض qaad (may), رصضعد tasadarat (headed), ػب٠ a‟naween

(headlines), االسجبع al-akhbar (the news), سالي khelal (through), اغث١غ al-rabea‟ (the

spring), wa (and), ى االغ laken al amr (but the matter), غبم ghaz (dive), ف ؿبدخ fi

63

saha (in away), min (from), اجضي al-jadal (the dispute), ف الذ fi al-waqt (in the time),

majles al shiyoukh (committee the جبؽ ال١ر ,akhath (take) اسظ ,al-lathi (which) اظ

senate), ٠زبت ظغ yata‟hab lil nadir fi ( ready to look in), رغك١خ tarsheeh (nominate ), ج

al amrikeya االغ٠ى١خ ,lil mahkama (to the court) ذىخ ,jun Roberts (John Reborts) عثغرؾ

(the American), and اؼ١ب al-a‟ulya (the highest).

It is noticed that the Arabic version has given extra lexical phrase and cohesive markers.

In terms of cohesive markers are wa (and), ى االغ laken al amr (but the matter), لض

qaad (may). In terms of lexical phrases are ف الذ fi al-waqt (in the time), اظ al-lathi

(which), اسظ akhath (take). In conclusion, the style of long sentence is a normal style that

used in Arabic language and seldom the translator imitate similar style in English.

(3)

Gaza settlers face tough decision

Israeli has set up checkpoints to prevent more sympathizers joining those among the

9,000 settlers who say they will defy attempts to evict them.

ف غؼح لج١ االرـذبة االؿغائ١ربت ا

لض ظؼذ اؿغائ١ داجؼ ا١خ غ زظبغ٠ جضص االعب ا اي0000 ـزغ اظ٠ لبا ا

ؿ١زذض ذبخ اسالئ.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text is a complex compound sentence. It

is consists of the PN as in Israeli, V to be as in has, V as in set up, N as in checkpoints, P

as in to, V as in prevent, Adv as in more, N as in sympathizers, V as in joining, Pro. as in

those, P as in among, D as in the , ordinal N as in 9,000, N as in settlers , R as in who, V

as in say, Pro. as in they, model V as in will, V as in defy, N as in attempts, P as in to, V

as in evict and Pro. as in them. This is unlike Arabic where it consists of cohesive Conj.

Wa (and), cohesive model لض qaad (might), ظؼذ wada‟at (put), PN as in اؿغائ١esraeel

(Israel), N a in داجؼhawajiz (handicapped), N as in ا١خamniyah (securities), V as in غ

li-mana‟ (to stop), N as in زظبغ٠ mudahireen (demonstrators), Adj. as in جضص judud

(new), P as in min, N as in (from),N as in االعبal endimam (the joining), P as in ا

ela (to), cardinal N as in 9,000, N as in ـزغ mustautin (settler), R as in اظ٠alathina

64

(which), V as in لبا qalu (say), PN as in a ا nahum (they), V as in ؿ١زذض sa yatahidun

(will unite), N as in ذبخ muhalal (attempt), V as in اسالئ ikhla‟ahum (evacuate them).

In conclusion, the style of long sentence is a normal style that used in Arabic language

and seldom the translator imitate similar style in English.

(4)

US warns Hamas over Israel blast

The White House said it had noted reactions ― by several Palestinian terrorist groups,

including Hamas, that defend or even applaud the barbaric acts of terror committed in Tel

Aviv‖

اؿغائ١ رغص ػ رفج١غ ر اث١ت, اكط رذظع دبؽ

ع ابغك ثبؿ اجذ االث١ط ا امي: " مض الدظب عصص فؼ ثؼط افصبئ افـط١١خ "االعبث١خ" ثب ف١ب

دبؽ از صافؼذ ػ ػ١خ ر اث١ت االس١غح, ث ذ ب, وب الدظب االصاخ افع٠خ ؼ١خ جبت عئ١ؾ

اـطخ ذص ػجبؽ."

Looking at the SL text, it is noticed that it is a compound sentence; it consists of the PN

as in the White house, V as in said, Pro. as in it, verb to be as in had, V as in noted, noun

as in reactions, P as in by, Adj as several, PN as in Palestinian, N as in terrorist, N as in

groups, V as in including, PN as in Hamas, R as in that, V as in defend, Conj. as or,

Adj.as in even, V as in applaud, D as in the, Adj as in barbaric, N as in acts, P as in of,

N as in terror, V as in committed, P as in in , and PN as in Tel Aviv. Consequently, it has

noted that the translator has almost followed the similar length when translated the SL

text into Arabic. The Arabic translation consists of the cohesive Conj. as in wa (and), V

as in عmada (go on), N as in ابغكal-natiq (the spokesman), N as in ثبؿbi-ism (by

name), PN as in اجذ االث١ط al-beit al-abeid (the White House), P as in ا ela (to), V as in

al-qaul (the saying), ―Adv as in امي مض laqad (as), V as in الدظب lahadna (noted), N as in

fial (action), Adj. as inفؼ ridud (reactions), N as in عصص ثؼط ba‘d (some), N as in افصبئ

al-fasael (the groups), N as in افـط١١خal-filistiniyah (the Palestinian), Adj. as in االعبث١خ"

al-erhabeya (the terrorist), P as in ثبbima fiha (among them), PN as in دبؽ hamas

(Hamas), R as in ازalati (which), V as in صافؼذdafa‘at (defended ), P ػ a‘an (for), N as

in ١خػ a‘maleya (operation), PN as in ر اث١تtel abeb (Tel Aviv), Adv. As in االس١غح

akheera (last), Adv as in ث ,bal (in addition), the cohesive Conj. as in wa (and), V as in

الدظب kama (as), V as inوب laha (for it), Adv as in ب halalat (applauded), Pro. as in ذ

lahadna (noticed), N as in االصاخal-edana (condemnation), Adv as in افع٠خ al-fawreeya

65

(the quickly), N as in ؼ١خ lil-amaleeya (to the operation), P as in min (from), N as

in جبتjaneb (side), N as in عئ١ؾraees (president), N as in اـطخ al-sulta (the authority),

PN ذص ػجبؽ mahmood abas. (Mohmood Abas).‖

(5)

Iraq Shias state coalition terms

The Shia bloc which took the most votes in Iraq‘s election says it will form a coalition

with Sunni groups but only if they do more to combat the insurgency.

ادؼاة ال١ؼ١خ اؼغال١خ رعغ كغغب الئزالف غ اـخ

ف ظا االثبء, اػ ػػبء االئزالف اؼغال ال١ؼ ادض اظ٠ ٠زغاؿ اوجغ رىز ف اجغب اؼغال اجض٠ض

غغا زذم١ك طاه ل١ب ظ االدؼاة ثجظي جص ا ؿ١لى ائزالفب دى١ب رلبعن ف١ االدؼاة اـ١خ, ى اكز

اوجغ ف ااجخ غ اـذ١.

Looking at the SL text, it is noticed that it consists of D a in the, N as in Shia, N as in

bloc, R as in which, V as in took, D as in the, Adj as in most, N as in votes, P as in in, PN

as in Iraq, V as n says, Pro. as in it, M. as in will, V as in form, D as in a, N as in

coalition, P as in with, N as in Sunni, N as in group, Conj. as in but, Adv. as in only,

Conj. as in if, Pro. as in they, V as in do, Adj as in more, P as in to, V as in combat, D as

in the and N as in insurgency. Consequently , the Arabic version translated the above text

as Adv ف ظا االثبء fi hatha al-athn‟a (like this time), V as in اػ a‟lana (advertise), N as

in ػػبء zua‟ma (leaders), N as in االئزالف al-etelaf (the coalition), N as in اؼغالal-eraqi

(the Iraqi), N as in the ال١ؼ she‟ee( the Shia), N as in ادضal-muwahad (the united), R

as in اظ٠ al-lathina (that), V as in ٠زغاؿ yatar‟asuna (headed), Adj as in اوجغakbar

(most), N as in رىزtakatul (body), P as in فfi (in), N as in اجغبal-barlaman (the

Parliament), N as in اؼغالal-eraqi (the Iraqi), Adj as in al-jadeed (the new), Pro. as in

enahum (they), V as in ا ؿ١لى sayushakiluna (will form), N as in ائزالفبetilaan

(coalition), N as in دى١ب hukumiyan (governmental), V as in رلبعن ف١tusharik fih

(participate in ) N as in al-ahzab (the parties), N as in al-suniyah (the Sunnis), Conj as in

زذم١ك ishtaratu (conditioned they), V as inاكزغغا lakinahum (but they), V as in ى

litahqiq (to achieve) , R as in طاه thalek (that), V as in ل١ب qiyam (make), D as in ظ

hathih (this), N as in االدؼاةal-ahzab (the parties), V as in ثجظي bibathal(do), V as in جص

66

juhud (efforts), Adj as in اوجغ akbar (bigger), P as in ف fi (fi), N as in ااجخ al-muajaha

(the confrontation), P as in غ ma‟ (with), N as in اـذ١ musalaheen (insurgents).

Thus, and in line with Gjazala (1995), it is noticed that the translator should prefer similar

styleof length when translator the SL text into other languages such as Arabic.

(5) Active Sentence

(1)

Missile exports to Iran alarm US

―There are a lot of countries that allow the export of dual-use technologies, and the

position of the United States is that should be prohibited,‖

اكط رضػا عؿ١ب الغبء صفمخ ا ا٠غا

بن اىث١غ اضي از رـخ ثج١غ ؼضاد ؼصجخ االؿزشضا ا ا٠غا, لفب ا ٠زؼ١ لف طاه, وب

٠زؼ١ ػ اضي ا رزش ػ ث١غ االؿذخ ا ا٠غا

(2)

Iraq leaders set for tough talks

The Shias are expected to form a government but must find coalition partners.

لبعاد زلى١ دىخ ائزالف١خ ف اؼغاق

٠لى ال١ؼخ اال دىخ ائزالف١خ ٠زلغ ا

(3)

Bolton appointed US envoy to UN

US President George W Bush has formally appointed John Bolton as US ambassador to

the United Nations, without waiting for approval from the Senate


اال ازذضح, ص ػ١ اغئ١ؾ االغ٠ى جعج صث١ ثف عؿ١ب ج ثز ف صت اغئ١ؾ االغ٠ى ض

ازظبع افمخ جؾ ال١ر االغ٠ى ػ ازؼ١١.

(6) Passive Sentence

(1)

US warns Russia over aid to Iran

Enriched uranium can be used as fuel in a nuclear activity, or, when highly refined , in a

nuclear weapon.

67

طبجخ اغ٠ى١خ ؿى ثلف ـبػضح ا٠غا ٠ب

٠ى ا ٠ـزشض ا١عا١ اشصت ف فبػالد ر١ض اطبلخ , ا ف صغ االؿذخ ا٠خ ا وب ظا االس١غ

٠ذزبج ا صعجخ ػب١خ ازشص١ت.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text contains the passive form can be

used which is structured as model verb as in can, verb to be as in be, and verb as in used

Consequently, the Arabic version is translated as ٠ى ا ٠ـزشض , where wa (and), ٠ى

youmkin (can), ا ann (that), ٠ـزشض youstakhdam (use). As a whole, cab be used is a V in

the SL text. Thus is unlike Arabic, where wa (and), ٠ى youmkin (can), ا ann (that) is

S and ٠ـزشض youstakhdam (use) is V in the text. The style of passive is to concentrate on

the action and ignore the doer of the action. The translator has reflected similar function,

when concentrated only on the action of sentence during the translation.

Thus, The passive form of can be used is translated as a present simple along with a

cohesive marker ا anna (that). In line with Ghazala (1995), the passive of the above

translation is dominant and hence the stylistic effects are not the same as those of the

active. Reflecting similar passive form in the Arabic version can help the translator for

being sharp and critical in the translation.

(2)

US soldiers in Baghdad fighting

Taha al-Mutlaq, a businessman, was kidnapped several weeks ago, and found shot in the

head.

لزبي ػ١ف ف اغبص ثغضاص

وب غ اطك- عج اػبي- لض اسزطف لج ػضح اؿبث١غ ث ػثغ ػ جثز ثؼض اغالق اغصبم ػ

عئـ.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text contains the passive voice form was

kidnapped . It consists of verb to be was, and the main V kidnapped. It is noticed that the

agent is not known, since it might be not important to be declared. Similarly, it is noticed

that the Arabic version has reflected similar passive voice. The Arabic version contains

the cohesive marker in لض qaad (might) and V in اسزطف ekhtatafa (kidnapped). In line

with Ghazala (1995), the passive of the above translation is dominant and hence the

68

stylistic effects are not the same as those of the active. Reflecting similar passive form in

the Arabic version can help the translator for being sharp and critical in the translation.

(3)

Millennium bomber gets 22 years

Ressam was arrested as he crossed the US-Canadian border with explosives on the eve of

the new millennium.

ػبب 22اذى ثـج "فجغ االف١خ" ضح

وب عاؿ لض اػزم ث١ب وب ٠ذبي ػجع اذضص االغ٠ى١خ اىض٠خ ف دػر زفجغاد ف ١خ االف١خ اجض٠ضح.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text contains the passive voice form was

arrested , which consists of V to be as in was and the main V as in arrested. It is noticed

the agent is hidden in the above English text. Consequently, it is noticed the translator has

translated the passive form was arrested into لض اػزم , where لض qaad (might) is a cohesive

marker and اػزم ea‟taqal (arrested). Thus, اػزم ea‟taqal (arrested) is V of the sentence.

In congruence with Ghazala (1995) the passive voice is frequently used in English when

the agent is not known. Similarly, Arabic may utilize the agentless passive voice in

comparable situation as noted in the above Arabic version.

(7) Repetition and Variation

(1)

Missile exports to Iran alarm US

―There are a lot of countries that allow the export of dual-use technologies, and the

position of the United States is that should be prohibited,‖

―All countries should refrain from military sales and arm sales‖.

اكط رضػا عؿ١ب الغبء صفمخ ا ا٠غا

بن اىث١غ اضي از رـخ ثج١غ ؼضاد ؼصجخ االؿزشضا ا ا٠غا, لفب ا ٠زؼ١ لف طاه, وب

٠زؼ١ ػ اضي ا رزش ػ ث١غ االؿذخ ا ا٠غا.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text contains the following syntactical

words: PN as in countries, N as in the export, NP as in that should be prohibited, V as in

69

sales. These lexical words have been repeated in the SL text. If we look at the phrase that

should be prohibited, we noticed that the variation on the export is the phrase that should

be prohibited. Looking at the Arabic text, which is our main concern in this analysis, it is

noticed also that the translation of the above underlined SL lexical words are the N as in

٠زؼ١ لف طاه beia‘ (sale), the Phrase ثج١غ al-diwal (the countries), the V as in اضي

yata‟ein (should) لف waqif (stop) طاه thalik (that). Consequently, the Arabic version

has followed similar repetitions as in the SL lexical words when translated the SL text

into Arabic. The N اضي al-diwal (the countries) in بن hunaka (there), اىث١غ al-katheer

(the much) اضي min al-diwal (from the countries) is repeated in ػ اضي a‟la al-

diwal (on the countries).

Other repetition is the lexical word ثج١غ beia‘ (sale) in the verbal phrase رـخ tasmah

(allow) ثج١غ beia‘ (sale) is varied on the phrase yata‟ein (should) لف waqif (stop) طاه

thalik (that) referring to the V ثج١غ beia‟ (sale) in the Arabic version. In addition, the third

repetition for the V ثج١غ beia‟ (sale) is word ثج١غ beia‟ in ث١غ االؿذخ bei‟a al-asliha (sale the

weapons).In line with Ghazala (1995), some of these word sometimes are repeated

unnecessary in the TL text.

(2)

Iraq tribes ‗taking on al-Qaeda‘

A group of Sunni tribal chiefs in Iraq say they have caught more than 100 al-Qaeda

members in recent months. The tribal chiefs in the Iraqi province of Anbar joined forces

in September in an attempt to defeat al-Qaeda. They set the salvation Council for Anbar

and claim to have reduced the numbers of weapons and foreign fighters coming into the

area.

ػلبئغ ؿ١خ ػغال١خ "رزصض مبػضح"

لبذ جػخ ػػبء اؼلبئغ اـ١خ ف اؼغاق ا اما امجط ػ اوثغ 1000بػعبء امبػضح ف

االكغ االس١غح. وب ػػبء اؼلبئغ ف ذبفظخ االجبع لض ظا لار ف ؿجزجغ/ا٠ي ابظ ف ذبخ

معبء ػ رظ١ امبػضح.اؿـذ ظ اؼلبئغ جؾ امبط االجبع ػػذ اب ؿبذ ف سفط ػضص االؿذخ

امبر١١ االجبت ف ظ اطمخ .

70

(3)

Sharon arrives in Paris for talks

He is expected to discuss the forthcoming pullout from the Gaza Strip with President

Jacques Chirac. Mr. Chirac has described the withdrawal as courageous, and is expected

to urge more Israeli moves to keep momentum towards peace in the Middle East.

Mr.Sharon, for his part, is expected to use the visit to praise the French government for

its action against anti-Semitism in France.

كبع ف ثبع٠ؾ الجغاء ذبصثبد غ ك١غه

ازلغ ا رز بللخ االـذبة اغرمت لطبع غؼح. صف ك١غان االـذبة ثب سطح كجبػخ.

ازلغ ا ٠ذث ك١غان الؿغائ١١١ ػ ام١ب اؼ٠ض اشطاد ذبفظخ ػ اضفغ ثبرجب اـال ف الغق

االؿػ. ٠زلغ ا ٠ـزشض كبع اؼ٠بعح الزضاح اذىخ افغـ١خ شطاد از ارشظرب اىبفذخ ؼبصاح

اـب١خ.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text contains the V to be as in is, the V

as in expected, the V pullout, The V as in withdrawal, and the V as in moves. If we look

at the SL text, it is noticed that these lexical words are repeated twice or thrice times in

the text. This kind of repetition is reflected in the Arabic text. If we look at the Arabic

text, it contains ازلغ ا is consisted of the Cohesive wa (and), the P as in min

(from) , the V as in ازلغ al-mitawaq‘a (the expected) and the Re. ا ann (that). This has

been repeated two times, once in the ازلغ ا ٠ذث ك١غان wa (and), the P as in min

(from) , the V as in ازلغ al-mitawaq‟a (the expected) and the Re. ا ann (that)yabhath

(search) and shirak (Chirac). The second repetition is occurred in wa (and). ٠زلغ

yatawaqa‘ح (expect) ا ann (that) yastakhdim (use) sharoon (Sharon) al-ziyara (the visit).

Other word which is repeated is the N االـذبة al-ensihab (the withdrawal). It is

repeated once again in wa (and) صف wasaf (described) shirak (Chirac) االـذبة al

ensihab (the withdrawal) . Lastly, the last repeated word is سطح khetwa (step) is once in

the prepositional phrase min (from) اشطاد al-khitiwat (the steps). The second

repetition is in the complement شطاد lil-khuitwat (for steps), از allati (which) ..etc In

line with Ghazala (1995), some of these word sometimes are repeated unnecessary in

the TL text.

71

Conclusion

In the process of translation, there have been many stylistic changes. These changes are

within the realm of syntax (sentences, clauses and phrases) and changes that are within the

domain of morphology (tenses, verb morphology, modality and articles). Still other changes

are in the area of discourse strategies (direct/indirect speech, metaphors, connectives and

punctuation marks). Yet others are within the scope of lexical borrowing and claque. Then,

there are changes that come under transposition, modulation, adaptation, paraphrasing and

literal translation.

The syntactic comparison has shown a lot of shifts in style. In particular, these shifts have

been contributed mainly by the fact that English is a SVO language while Arabic is

basically a VSO language although there are also few Arabic sentences that are equational,

N-N, structure and SVO structure especially in stressed (emphatic subject) situations.

Consequently, in the process of translation many English SVO sentences are generally

changed into VSO sentences. In some restricted circumstances (where the subject N is

stressed), some SVO either remains as SVO or simply N-N structure. In complex

sentences, there are marked differences in style. Firstly, Arabic seems to favor commencing

the main clause with a VSO pattern that is preceded by a conjunction (wa) ‗and ‗ or ى

(wa lakin) ‗and/but). The main sentence is usually followed by conjunction (wa), ى

(walakin) in conjoined structures or by a complementizer ا (aan) ‗that‘ in the case of

complex structures with sentence subordination. Then, they may be followed by a string

of noun phrase, determiner phrases and adjuncts. In contrast, in the English ST, the main

clause is almost always of the SVO structure which is connected to subordinate relative

clauses and/complemntation. The subordinate clauses may be followed by adjunct phrases

such as the determiner phrase and the prepositional phrase. Compound sentences are

conjoined by the conjunction and/but. Secondly, in Arabic syntax a pronoun like (huwa)

‗he‘ is often positioned after a subject N as in:

ي سخ اػا - وا ط اطك [ wa [ [kana [ [taha al-mtlaq wa huwa rajul]]

‗and‘ ‗was‘ ‗Taha al-mutlaq - and he man…‘

72

In contrast, in the English ST, an N in subject position is never placed in apposition such as

(*Taha, he, is the man.).

In English compound sentences, although it is found that the translator has used different

styles in translating the conjunctions into Arabic, it would seem to have been acceptable if

the translator had translated the conjunction and literally into TT using similar connectives

like ث (thumma) ‗then‘ instead of (wa) ‗and‘. This would not have affected the TT in

some cases , where the conjunction and in the first ST has been translated as ث (thumma)

‗and‘ (then) in the TT. In other cases, the connective has been translated differently; that is

by changing the lexical word of the ST, where English but has been translated as wa ‗and‘

in ب رف١ صلك (wa huwa ma tunfeeh demeshq) ‗and that‟s what Damascus denies‟.

Here, structurally the TT text is similar to the structure of ST in that both are of the

structure [ IP-CONJ-IP].

English active sentences have been seen to have been transalted into Arabic by keeping the

active voice. However, ST passive sentences do not seem to always keep the passive

senses. Nonetheless, the fact that it is the action rather than the agent that is being focused,

Arabic sentences have been found to be able to retain the ST passive meanings but are

often expressed in TT in structures with sentence complements making them typically

Arabic; for example:

(a) „Enriched uranium can be used…‟ ٠ى ا ٠غرخذ (Wa yumkin

ann yustaikhdam: ‗and can that used‘).= [Conj. V‘-Comp-]; section 4.8,example (59).

With respect to long sentences, it is found that the translator often keeps a similar length in

Arabic with stylistic changes via the introduction of extra phrases and clause connectives.

This has been seen in :

ST: Confirmation hearings hit headlines during the spring but became mired in

debate as the Senate readied itself to consider the nomination of John Reports

to the US Supreme Court.

73

TT: واد ادغاخ اخاصح تراو١ذ ارشؽ١ر لذ ذصذسخ ػا٠ االخثاس خالي اشت١غ, ى االش

غاؿ ف عازح ادذي ف الد از اخز داط اؾ١ش ٠راة ظش ف ذشؽ١ر خ

.ستشذظ سىح االش٠ى١ح اؼ١ا

Trs:(Wa kanat al-jalasat al-khasa bi takeed al-tarshih qad tasadarat „anween

al-akhbar khilal al-rabee‟ , wa lakin al-amr ghasa fi saha min al-jadal fi al-

waqt alathi akhatha majlis al-shiyoukh yataahab lil nadir fi tarshih jun

Roberts lil mahkama al-„lya .) [Conj‘- V‘- N‘-P‘ –N‘]-[Conj‘-N‘-N‘-P‘. N]‘- [IP‘-P‘]]]]]].

Various English sentence constituents of the ST such as the prepositional phrases, the

determiner phrases, the adverb phrases, the adjectival phrases and the verb phrases have

been seen to change their forms or have shifted their syntactic locations or have rephrased

them in various contexts in the TT. These changes are brought to bear in the TT so as to

make the style appropriate with the perception of the Arab speakers and be congruent

with the grammar of MSA.

References

CATFORD, J.C. (1965): A Linguistic Theory of Translation, London, Oxford University

Press.

LEFEVERE, André (1975): Translating Poetry, The Netherlands, Assen, Vancorcum.

NIDA, Eugene A. (1964): Towards a Science of Translating, Leiden, E.J. Brill.

NIDA, Eugene A. and Charles TABER (1982): The Theory and Practice of Translation,

Leiden, E.J. Brill.

STEINER, George (1975): After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation, London,

Oxford University Press.

74

The Sociolinguistics and Cultural Considerations of English-Arabic Translation of

Political News.

Abstract

This paper examines the quality of the message in the Arabic translation of English

political news. Our data are 7 pairs of English political news ST and their corresponding

Arabic TT. It aims to find the answer to the research question in: What are the cultural

and sociolinguistics elements that control the English-Arabic political news translation?

Towards that end, a comparative methodology of the ST and TT will be adopted by

paying attention to examine the differences and similarities of the content of the message

in the ST and their corresponding message in the TT. In addition, Hatim (1997) and

Fishman (1972) ideas will be used.The findings have shown that cultural words do play

important roles in communication among nations and in the process of translation.

Hatim‘s ideas on artifacts, socio-facts and mantifacts have helped the analysis; that is,

creating a bettter understanding of the translating processes in the Arabic translation of

Engish news across different cultures and nations.

Key words: culture, sociolinguistics, translation, message, and political news

Introduction

Translation is considered a solid platform for communication between people of different

cultures. Gerding-Salas (2000: 1) has stated that ―the main aim for translation is to serve

as a cross-cultural bilingual communication vehicle among people‖. Thus any translator

plays an importance role as a bilingual or multi-lingual cross cultural transmitter of

different types of cultural aspect by translating the main concept and speech in a variety

of texts as accurate as possible, (Gerding-Salas (2000:2). Translators may use different

strategies and techniques to cope with cultural elements in translation, such as

transliterating and paraphrasing . The former relies on rendering the items in the source

text. The latter gives periphrastic explanation in a footnote, (Shunnaq 1998: 43) cited in

(Abdel Hafiz 2002).

75

Methodology


(Hatim 1997: xiii) notes that a careful consideration to a given text means ―…someone



for a partial view of what goes on inside that text.‖ Hence, he suggests that cultural



culture of Western and Islamic- Arab, and (b) the socio-linguistic element in situation

when they are in contact by using texts that people from different cultures can reach and

understand the culture of one another properly (Hatim,1997:157).

(Hatim‘s 1997:157) ideas are to view a text within and across a number of cultural






communication, what is at the root of the problem is invariably a set

of misconceptions held by one party about how the other rhetorically


objectives. Such notions would then be paraded as truisms about the

nature of the language of those on the other side, its textual norm

and its rhetorical tradition. (Hatim 1997:157).

With regards to English and Arabic texts, (Hatim 1997:173) identifies two kinds of



supportive audience. On the matter of the nature of the occurrence of audiences with

respect to text, (Hatim 1997:173) notes the following:

76


implicate text type, it does not necessarily make morality an exclusive

property of Arabic, English or any other language. Furthermore, some

languages would tend to display a particular preference for this or that

strategy, but this does not make tendency in question. These are merely

preferences, tendencies, trends. For example, Arabic prefers through-

argumentation whereas English orients its rhetorical strategy the other way,

towards counter-argumentation. (Hatim 1997: 173).

Fishman Sociolinguistic Concept on Language Reflections.

One of the major lines of social and behavioral science interest in language during the

past century (as in the case of linguistic relativity known as Whorfian Hypothesis, Whorf

(1940, 1941) as cited in (Fishman 1972:286) has been claimed that the radically differing

structures of the language of the world constrain the cognitive functioning of their

speakers in different ways, (Fishman 1972:286). Within the linguistic relativity view,

(Fishman 1972) notes the following claim:

….the background linguistic system (in other words, the grammar) of

each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas

but rather is itself the shaper of ideas, the program and guide for the

individual‘s mental activity, for his analysis of impressions, for his

synthesis of his mental stock in trade. Formulation of ideas is not an

independent process, strictly rational in the old sense, but it is part of a

particular grammar and differs, from slightly to greatly, between

grammars seem to be overstated and no one-to-one correspondence

between grammatical structure either cognitive or socio-cultural structure

measured independently of language has ever been obtained.

(Fishman 1972: 287).

To counter this view, (Fishman 1972) opines that it is less likely that the entire language

or entire societies are classified in such general way. Consequently, he offers an

alternative sociolinguistic explanation and stresses that (a) languages primarily reflect

rather than create socio-cultural regularities in values and orientations and (b) that

languages through out the world share a far larger number of structural universals than

has heretofore been recognized. He argues and supports his contention by noting that,

77

The very concept of linguistic repertoire, role repertoire, repertoire range

and repertoire compartmentalization argue against such neat classification

once functional realities are bought into consideration. Any reasonably

complex speech community contains various speech networks that vary in

respect to the nature and ranges of their speech repertoires. (Fishman 1972:

288 ).

Taken as a whole, Fishman‘s sociolinguistic views above holds that language is a

reflection of the socio-cultural and the values and orientations of its speakers rather than

it being regarded as a direct consequence or constraint of the cognition of its speakers.

On this point Fishman observes that there are ways in which lexicons and languages as a

whole are reflective of the speech communities that employ them and stresses further as

follows:

In a very real sense a language variety is an inventory of the concerns and

interests of those who employ it at any given time. If any portion of this

inventory reveals features not present in other portions this may be

indicative of particular stresses or influences in certain interaction

networks within the speech community as a whole or in certain role-

relationships within the community‘s total role-repertoire. (Fishman

1972: 296).

To support the above position, Fishman cites examples from Hebrew and Arabic terms

where they are retained not only for all traditional and sanctified objects but also with

certain Germanic elements in order to provide contrastive emphases; for example, bukh

‗book‘ versus. seyfer ‗religious book‘ , scholarly book‘; lerer ‗teacher‘ versus melamed

or rebi „teacher of religious subjects‘(Fishman 1972:297).

Relative to other theories on language such as generative grammar which is basically

cognitive and from the viewpoint of language behavior and social behavior, the language

reflection view of Fishman is related to language as parole (i.e., language as it is actually

used) as well as related to the cultural variation and social variation (Fishman 1972:299).

Hence, it is quite obvious that Fishman favours the idea that language is a reflection of

the social organization and he points out that lexicons in particular, and language as a

whole, are reflective of the speech communities that employs them. He, however,

acknowledges that there are areas in language where the linguistic relativity (i.e., the

78

Whorfian Hypothesis) view may be observed such as in the structuring of verbal

interaction and the structure of lexical components.

In summary, in weighing the sustenance or loss of the value of messages in the Arabic

translation of English news in later chapters as well as on style preferences, this study

will take cognizance of Fishman‘s sociolinguistic view and shall invoke it in the

appropriate places.

Data Analysis

Data 1 (1). (a). ST: „ Bin Laden call falls on deaf ears‟

BBC Monday , 24 April 2006

US intelligence believes the audio tape aired by an Arab TV channel is

genuine, making it the fugitive al –Qaeda leader‘s first message since

January.US opposition politicians said it only showed up the Bush

administration ‗s failure to capture Bin Laden.

(b). TT: " ت ال د " زشب ص١ث١ غشت١ ضذ ال عال

لاي اعاح ت الد صػ١ ذض١ اما ػذج ف ذغد١ صذ غب ا١ ا ذسشن اغشب ؼضي

"دج زاط ٠ؼ ا "ف زشب ضذ ا ال عال داسىح افغط١١ح تم١ا

( c ). Trs: (ben laden: hareb salebleebyah ded al eslam…)

(Qala osama ben laden z‟eem tandeem al qa‟eda fi tasjeel sawti mansub

eleih

ena taharuk alghrb l „zel al hukuma al filisteenyh biqeyadat hamas y‟ni

enahu fi harb ded al eslm. )

The underlined constituents of the ST in (1a), the fugitive al –Qaeda leader‟s, is given a

syntactic structure in (a‘), its corresponding Arabic translation, ػذجاما صػ١ ذض١ (z‟eem

tandeem al qa‟eeda), is given the structure in (b‘) below:

(a‘) …the fugitive al Qaedah leader… (b‘) جصػ١ ذض١ اما ػذ

(…z‟eem tandeem „al qa‟eda…)

In the above example, it is noticed that the Arabic term اما ػذج (al-Qaeda) has been

borrowed in the English political news in (1a). The translator has used the same

determiner phrase in the TT in (1b) as evidenced from its transliteration in (1c).

Syntactically, it is also noticed that the same determiner phrase is sandwhiched between

two constituents, the fugitive and leader. As اما ػذج (al-qa‟eda) is an Arabic determiner

phrase, the translator has retained it in the Arabic news as in (1b‘). As for the phrase al-

79

Qaeda leader‟s which has the structure [D‘-N‘] as in (a‘) above has changed to صػ١ ذض١

which stylistically is [N-N-D‘] sequence as in (b‘) (z‟eem tandeem al-qa‟eda) اما ػذج

above. The structural difference is that the political terms al-Qaeda‟ has been written

after two nouns, namely صػ١ (z‟eem) ‗leader‘ and ذض١ (tandem) ‗organizing‘. In

addition, it is noticed that the translator has used the definite article اي (al) ‗the‘ to make

the noun definite in both the ST and the TT texts. In addition, it has been noticed that the

lexical adjective word ‗the fugitive‘ in the ST is changed into ذض١ (tandem)

‗organizing‘. These changes in the description of Bin Laden‘s attributes are partly due to

the ideological perspectives the translator might have in his/her mind about Bin Laden.

Data 2

(2a‘) ‗Our goal is not defending the khartum government but to defend Islam its land

and its people‘,

(b) TT: ت ال د " زشب ص١ث١ غشت١ ضذ ال عال "

اضاف " ا ذفا ١ظ اذفاع ػ زىح اخشط اا اذفاع ػ ا ال عال اسض ؽؼث "

(c) Trs: (bin laden: hareb salebeebyah gharabiyah ded al e„slam)

(wa adafa ena hadafana leis al defa‟ „an hukumat al khartum wa enama al defa‟ „an al

eslam wa ardeh wa sh‟bih.)

It is noticed that the translator has respected most of the words when translating the ST into

Arabic text. It is noticed also that there is some structural stylistic correspondence between

the ST text and the TT text. That is, basically both are similar: one principal clause followed

by a series of conjoined clauses. Hence it is in keeping with a literal translation discussed

under this heading. The only difference is that the Arabic sentence is introduced by a

complementizer ا (ena) ‗that‘. In addition, there is an obvious introduction of the definite

article اي (al) ‗the‘ in some of the Arabic words such as اخشط (al-Khartum) ‗the Khartum‘,

The Islam‘ when these definite articles do‗ (al eslam) ا ال عال ,‘the defence„ (‟al-defa) اذفاع

not exist in the corresponding ST text. This is in keeping with Hatim‘s (1997) view that it is

culturally inherent in Arabic to begin a sentence with a clause introducer,‗a

80

complementizer‘, and to use a definite article when the content discoursally calls for the use

of the definite article such as in the case of اخشط (al Khartum) ‗The Khartum‘, اذفاع (al

defa‟) ‗ the defence‘ to show the sharing of knowledge about entities. In adition, the

translator has translated the whole direct statement in the way it should be in Arabic text.

The full translation is to reflect Bin Laden‘s perspectives in terms of his ideological

thinking towards Islamic nations all over the world, and to make the international Islamic

communities support his ideological campaign against the West.

Data 3





(b) TT: ػجبؽ ٠م مغ ا غؼح زبثؼخ االـذبة االؿغائ

اػ اشئ١ظ افغط١ سد ػثاط ا ع١م ىرث ا غضج زر اراء ا الغساب االعشائ١ امطاع (c) Trs:„bas yanqul maqarahu ela ghaza li mutaba‟t al ensehab al esraeli

A‟lana al raees al filistini mahmud abas enahu sayanqul maktabahu ela ghaza hata

entiha al ensehab al esraeeli min al qata‟.







Data 4

(4) ST (a): Iraq poised to choose new premier


A close ally of Mr. Jaafri, he recently headed a committee that purged

members of Saddam Hussein‘s Bath party from public life, raising fear his

nomination might be rejected by Sunni factions. However, Sunni

politicians indicated they would not oppose him.

(b) TT : ادؼ١ح اط١ح اؼشال١ح ذضش ف ذشؽ١ر ااى

٠زوش ا ااى ل١اد ف زضب اذػج از ٠شاع ادؼفش, لذ ذشاط ف االح االخ١شج دح زضشخ ػ اػضاء زضب

س١اج اغ١اع١ح.اثؼث اؼشال اؾاسوح ف ا

81

(c ) Trs: Yuthkar ana al maliki qeeyadi fi hezeb al da‟wa al lathi yrasah al j‟fari, wa

qad taras fi al aweena al akheera lejna hadarat „la a‟da hezb al b‟th al „raqi

al mushareeka fi al hayat al seyaseeyah

The second example is about an adverb that is proximated to a verb, [V adv [recently]

headed]. Here, the translator has translated the English adverb recently as Arabic ف االح

.(‘fi al awena al akheera = fi ‗in‘, al awena ‗minute/period‘, al akheera ‗last) االخ١شج

The structures are noticeably different in that the [Subj-(ADV)-V-Object] word-order of

the ST has changed to [Conj-I-V-P-ADV] structure in Arabic. The N‘ subject has been

dropped and the sentence begins with a conjunction. It is a variation that the translator

has used in the process of translating the English adverb into Arabic in congruence with

Hatim‘s (1997) view of translating across different cultures.

Data 5

(5) (a) ST: Iraq poised to choose new premier.


The main Sunni coalition, the Iraqi Accord Front, has shown initial agreement

with Mr Maliki's nomination, a spokesman said.

(b) TT: ادؼ١ح اط١ح اؼشال١ح ذضش ف ذشؽ١ر ااى.

وبذ ججخ ازافك اؼغال اثغػ اجبػبد اـ١خ لض ا ثضد ٠ اجؼخ افمزب اجضئ١خ ػ رغك١خ جاص ابى

صت عئ١ؾ اػعاء.

(c) Trs: Wa kanat jabhat al tawafeq al „raqeeyah wa heya abraz al jama‟at al suneeyah

fi al bilad qad abdat al youm al jum‟a muwafaqateha al mabdaeyah „la tarsheeh juad al

maleke lemansab reasat al wizara.

The noun phrase of the structure [D‘-N‘] in …the main Suni coalition…of the ST has

changed into a complex conjoined noun phrase [conj-N-A-D‘D‘] in the Arabic TT as in

and- she- main -the ‗ (wa heya abraz al jama‟at al Suneeyah) اثغػ اجبػبد اـ١خ

group- the Sunnis‘. Here, the translator has translated the above noun English phrase into

Arabic with a different structural form as perceived by him and incongruence with his

perception of the Arabic language. In particular, he begins his phrase with a conjunction

(wa) ‗and‘ and added the necessary determiners اي (al-) ‗the‘ for each of the nouns so that

82

it becomes grammatically acceptable and easily understood by an Arabic reader . In terms

of its content, the existence of the two Iraqi political parties, namely ‗Shia group‘ and

‗Sunni group‘ in the ST which have been translated or paraphrased into the TT, are

pointers to indicate that the Iraqi government has been politically and ideologically

divided into these parties.

Data 6

(6) (a) ST: Iraq poised to choose new premier‟


Members of Iraq's new parliament meet on Saturday to vote on a new

prime minister and other posts after months of wrangling over candidates.



ح .اوثش ز ااصة اثاسج دذي صة سئ١ظ اسى

(c ) Trs: T‟aqed al jam‟eyah al wataneeyah al „raqeeyah ( al barlaman) ejtema‟an al

youm al sabt lil musadaqa „ala adad min al manaseb al seyadiyah fi al dawlah bima

fiha akthar hatheh al manaseb ethara lil jadal wa huwa manseb raees al hukuma.

What used to be a verb phrase complement in the ST, ..on Saturday v[to vote on a new

Prime Minister ] has been translated into Arabic TT as a series of determiner phrases and

prepositional phrases. There is no verb. So, the structure is completely changed. The verb

to vote in the ST text has been translated into TT as a postposition determiner phrase

ػ صادلح (lil musadaqa „la) ‗the endorsement on‘ = [D-N-P]. Apparently, the

translator has translated it in accordance with his perception of the Arabic language and

hence making it appropriate to the Arabic readers which is congruent with Fishman‘s

(1972) ideas that language is a reflection of the socio-cultural and the values and

orientations of its speakers.

Data 7:

(8) (a) ST: US troops on Iraq abuse charges

BBC: Wednesday, 27 July

he said the abuses were allegedly carried out while the soldiers

were on operations in Baghdad.

(b) TT: اذا خد اش٠ى١١ تغء ؼاح عداء ػشال١١

83

اذ 11خذ٠ا اش٠ى١ا ف اؼشاق تغء ؼاح اسردض٠ خال ي اؼ١اخ اؼغىش٠ح ف تغذاد , زغثا لاي اد١ؼ

االش٠ى.

(c) Trs: Bi sua mua‟malat al muhtajazeen khelal al „maleyat al-

a‟skareeyah fi Baghdad…

Basically, the structures in both the ST and the TT are similar in that in both cases the

prepositions are retained within the general structure of [P-D‘]. There is a difference,

however, in the prepositions that are being used so as to suit the nature of the perception

of the Arabic speakers which is in congruence with Fishman‘s (1972) views that the

nature of language use especially in the repertoire range and network of interactions of

linguistic elements within a society is to a large extent the sociolinguistic reflections of its

speakers.

Conclusion

It has been found that translating from English news into Arabic has involved many

linguistic forms (words, phrases, clauses, sentences, metaphorical expressions) that have

cultural imports. As has been suggested by Hatim (1997), such cultural words do play

important roles in communication among nations and in the process of translation. Hatim‘s

ideas on artifacts, socio-facts and mantifacts have helped the analysis; that is, creating a

bettter understanding of the translating processes in the Arabic translation of English news

across different cultures and nations. In particular, we have been able to explain and to

attribute to cultural/ideological difference many translation phenomena and translation

problems that are related to metaphors and other culturally/ideologically loaded linguistic

forms.

The study also has noted that Fishman‘s (1972) sociolinguistic views and concepts have

been useful in our study. In particular, his views that language is a reflection of the socio-

cultural and the values and orientations of its speakers rather than it being regarded as a

direct consequence or constraint of the cognition of its speakers have helped us provide an

explanation for many translation phenomena that otherwise would have been difficult to

84

explain. In terms of Fishman‘s (1972) sociolinguistic view, the seemingly awkward Arabic

translation will become not awkward if the Arabic translation is seen from the socio-

cultural and ideological perspectives of the Arab speakers. That is, since it is a reflection of

the Arab society and its speakers, what seems awkward and incorrect (from the outside

world) has to be accepted as a correct translation in that language which is a reflection of

the speakers of that society.

References

Abdel-Hafiz, Ahmad- Sokarno. 2002. Pragmatic and Linguistic Problem in the

Translation of Naguib Mahfouz‟s The Thief and The Dogs: A Case Study. Uluum Al-

Lugha 17, pp. 3+28

Gerding-Salas, Constanza.2000. Teaching Translation: Problems and Solutions.

Translation Journal 4, No.3, Octobar 2000, pp.1+2.

Fishman, Joshua. (1972), Sociocultural Organization: Language Constraints and

Language Reflections, in Language in Sociocultural Change, Essays by Joshua A.

Fishman, pp: 269-286. California: Stanford University Press, U.S.A, pp.

287+288+296+297+299.

Hatim, Basil. (1997). Communication across Cultures: Translation Theory and

Contrastive Text Linguistics. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, U.K. pp.xiii+ 157 +173.

85

Differing Grammatical Elements as Agents of Change in

English-Arabic Translation of Political News.

Abstract

This paper focuses on the stylistic and grammatical changes that occur in English-Arabic

translation of political news. Hence, the researcher will show how the differences in the

grammars of the ST and TT contribute to the semantic changes. Thus, the main objective

of this paper is to answer the research paper as indicated here (a) what is/r the

grammatical change(s) that happen to the Arabic version? (b) How is/r the grammatical

change(s) effect the semantic of the Arabic version?. Towards that end, this paper will

deal with all the grammatical and semantically changes which might occur to the Arabic

version. The paper would make use of the stylistic analysis in English-Arabic translation

by Ghazala (1995) and Hatim‘s theory (1997) to observe how the translational process

changes the semantics meaning to the Arabic version. The data have shown that most of

the grammatical and stylistic changes are due to cultural and sociolinguistic background.

And other changes are due to translator‘s ignorance of the English-Arabic grammar,

since his/her main target is to translate the message of the English text to his/her readers.

Key words: grammar, semantics, changes, style and translation

Introduction

Methodology


(Hatim 1997: xiii) notes that a careful consideration to a given text means ―…someone


86


for a partial view of what goes on inside that text.‖ Hence, he suggests that cultural



culture of Western and Islamic- Arab and the second, and (b) the socio-linguistic element

in situation when they are in contact by using texts that people from different cultures can

reach and understand the culture of one another properly (Hatim 1997:157).

(Hatim1997:157) ideas are to view a text within and across a number of cultural






communication, what is at the root of the problem is invariably a set

of misconceptions held by one party about how the other rhetorically


objectives. Such notions would then be paraded as truisms about the

nature of the language of those on the other side, its textual norm

and its rhetorical tradition. (Hatim 1997:157).

With regards to English and Arabic texts, (Hatim 1997:173) identifies two kinds of



supportive audience.

On the matter of the nature of the occurrence of audiences with respect to text, Hatim

(1997:173) notes the following:


implicate text type, it does not necessarily make orality an exclusive property

of Arabic, English or any other language. Furthermore, some languages

would tend to display a particular preference for this or that strategy, but this

does not make tendency in question. These are merely preferences,

tendencies, trends. For example, Arabic prefers through-argumentation

87

whereas English orients its rhetorical strategy the other way, towards counter-

argumentation. (Hatim 1997: 173).

To summarize, this study will take cognizance of Hatim‘s views on communication

across different nations/cultures for the very data to be dealt with later in Chapters 4

through 7 are expressions and exponents of two cultures: that of English speakers and

that of Arabic speakers.

Ghazala (1995).

















(Ghazala, 1995:246).





88





Data Analysis




not specialized group of people; instead they are laymen. These newspaper articles are

not of general nature; instead they are news on political events and happenings. All these

articles have been taken from the Internet, since parallel versions in Arabic can be

accessed easily.

Stylistic Change to Past Continuous.

Consider the following data in (1a) and its Arabic translation in (1b): (1) (a) ST: ‗Maliki endorsed as new PM‘

Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has asked Shia politician Jawad al-Maliki to

form the country's next government.

BBC Saturday, 22 April 2006.

(b) TT: غ اؼشالاا ى : اس٠ذ ذؾى١ زىح ذث اط١اف ادر

لاي ااى ف اي وح ٠ما تؼذ ذى١ف طشف اشئ١ظ خال ي اطثا ترؾى١ اسىح امثح ا ٠ دح

ا١١ؾاخ اغسح ف اد١ؼ اؼشال ف١ا فغش ػ ا غؼ ضغ زذ ال ػاي اؼف اطائف١ح.

( c) Trs: (al maleki : ureed tashkeel hukuma tumathel atyaf al mujtam‟ al „raqi)

( wa qala al maliki fi awal kalimah yalqaha b‟da takleefih min taraf al raees jalal

al talabani bitashkil al hukuma al muqbila enahu yanwi damj al milishat al musalaha fi al jeish

al „raqi, fimah fasarah „la enahu mas‟a liwad‟ had li a‟mal al „unf al taefeyah.)

With respect to the data in (1a) above, we are concerned with the clause Iraq‟s President

Jalal Talabani has asked. Its linear structure is as in (a‘) below and the structure of its

corresponding Arabic translation in a phrase marker is in (b‘):

89

(a‘) ST: Iraq‘s President Jalal Talabani has asked… [ [ Iraq‘s President] [ [ Jalal Talabani] ] [ has asked]…]

IP N‘ IP V‘

(b‘) TT: […[takleefih min taraf al raees jalal al talabani. …]

It is noticed that the translator has made stylistic changes that lead to optional transposition.

From the above data, it is noticed that the English phrase has asked in the ST is a present

perfect, and to translate this into Arabic, the translator must used a past simple. This is because

Arabic has no corresponding tense for the English present perfect. It is noticed, however, that the

translator has used the past continuous tense translating has asked into ذى١ف (takleefahu) (orally

takleefih) ‗was asking‘. If the translator had translated has asked into the past simple, the

stylistic structure would have been acceptable. The translator has, however, made an optional

stylistic change by using the past continuous tense in the TT text.

The verb phrase has asked consists of the verb has and the main verb asked in a past form. On

the other hand, the same structure in the TT consists of two lexical words which are the main

verb ذى١ف (takleef) „asked‘ and the pronoun ا (ahu) ‗him‘ (colloquially as –ih) that refers to the

PM, al-Maliki.Looking at both (a‘) and (b‘) above in a broader syntactic term, the English ST is

of the structure [ N‘-Subordinate sentence—Predicate…] where the sentence begins with a

genetive noun phrase, the corresponding Arabic translation has a structure [V‘-P‘-D‘-[

Subordinate sentence]] where the sentence begins with a verb. This is a case of movements

which he terms as ‗fronting‘, making the sentence a formal style.

We will now consider another case of stylistic change due to a change of tense in (2a) through

(2c ) below:

(2) (a) ST: Sharon arrives in Paris for talks

BBC: Tuesday, 26 July 2006

only a year ago, Mr. Chirac was making it plain that Mr. Sharon was not

welcome in Paris…. ( b) ؽاس ف تاس٠ظ ال خشاء سادثاخ غ ؽ١شان

لث ػا ازذ فمظ, وا ذصشف ؽ١شان ٠ز تضذ تا ؽاس غ١ش شزة ت ف تاس٠ظ راه تؼذ ا دػا ا١د

ا اػرثش ذصاػذا ف اؼذاء غا١ح ف فشغا . افشغ١١ ا ادشج ا اعشائ١ تغثة

( c ) ( …qabla ‟am wahed faqat, kana tasaruf sheerak youhi bi widuh ….

90

The following linear structures in (a‘) and (b‘) below show the syntactic difference


(a‘) ST: Mr. Chirac was making it plain…

[ [ Mr. Chirac [ was [making [ it ] [ plain ….]]]] IP Spec I‘ V‘ N‘ A‘

(b‘) وا ذصشف ؽ١شان ٠ز تضذ

kana tasaruf sheerak youhi bi udeuh ….

[ …[kana [ tasaruf [ Shirac ] [ youhee [ bwiduh.... ]]]]]]

IP I‘ V‘ N‘ V‘ A ‗was behaving inspiring plain…

If we look at the ST text above, it has a [Spec-V-obj./N‘] word-order and its tense is in

the past continuous, was making. It has been translated into a [V‘-S-V‘-A] word-order

and is preceded by a past tense marker وا (kana) ‘past‘ in Arabic. Not only has there

been a structural change in constituent sequence, but the tense has been maintained in the

past continuous tense in the TT as both the Arabic verbs ذصشف (tasaruf) ‗behaving‘ and

.inspiring‘ are in the continuous forms‗ (youhee) ٠ز

Stylistic Changes to the Past Simple Tense.

We will now consider the English data in (3a) and its Arabic translation in (3b) below:

(3 ) (a) ST: „US warns Russia over aid to Iran‟

BBC Wednesday, 19 April 2006

US officials believe it has helped bolster Iranian nuclear know-how.

(b) TT: طا ثح اش٠ى١ح عى تلف غاػذج ا٠شا ٠ا

٠ؼرمذ اغؤ االش٠ى١١ ا اخثشاخ اف١ح ار ذمذا سع١ا ال٠شا عاػذخ االخ١شج ف ذؼض٠ض لذسذا

ا٠ح.

(c) Trs wa ya‟ataqed al-masulun al-amrikiyoun ana al-khibrat al-faniyah alati tuqadimaha

rusyia lie ran sa‟dat al-akhira fi ta‟ziz qudrataha al-nuwawiya

The following linear structure in labeled bracketing in (a‘) and (b‘) show a syntactic

difference between the ST and the TT:

91

(a‘) ST:…. it has helped bolster Iranian nuclear know-how.

[… [ it ] [has [helped [ bolster [Iranian nuclear know-how]]] IP Spec I‘ V‘ V‘

(b‘) TT: ٠ؼرمذ اغؤ االش٠ى١١ ا اخثشاخ اف١ح ار ذمذا سع١ا ال٠شا عاػذخ االخ١شج ف ذؼض٠ض لذسذ

ا ا٠ح.

sa‟dat al-akhira fi t‟aziz

[…..[ s‘adat [al-akhira [fi t‘‘aziz…]]]].

IP V Adv P

From the above examples, it is noticed that the present perfect tense has helped in the ST has

been translated into the past simple tense in the TT. The translator does not retain the original

tense as there is no similar tense in Arabic; instead, he has to resort changing it to the past tense.

It is an obligatory change when translating a present perfect tense like has helped.

We will move on to consider the English data in (4a), its corresponding Arabic translation in (4b)

and its transliteration in (4c) below:

(4) (a) ST: US troops on Iraq abuse charges

BBC: Wednesday, 27 July 2006

The military said the charges related to reports that the soldiers had assaulted a

suspected insurgent.

(b) TT: ١ش٠ى١١ تغء ؼاح عداء ػشال١خد ا اذا

غ١ش ا صس١فح ط اذد١ظ ذا٠ض اال ش٠ى١ح مد ضاػ تا ادد اعرخذا عالزا خاصا رؼش٠ض اؾرث ت ا

صذاخ وشتائ١ح.

(c) Trs: (itaham jinud amrikiyeen bi-sua mu‟amalat sujanaa „raqiyeen)

(Gheira ana sahifat lus anjilis timez al-amrikeeya naqalat maza‟am biana al-junud istakhdamu

silahan khasan lita‟rid al-mushtabah bihi ela sadamat kahrabaeya).

The following phrase markers in (a‘) and (b‘) below show a syntactic difference between

the structure of ST and the TT:

(a‘) the soldiers had assaulted a suspected insurgent.

If we look at the second BBC example, it is noticed that the expression had assaulted has been

translated into the past simple tense ( ااعرخذ ) ( istakhdamu) ‗assaulted‘ in the TT text.

92

Structurally two lexical words in had assaulted has been changed to a single simple past tense

in Arabic, ( ااعرخذ ) ‗used‘.

Stylistic Changes to Future Simple Tense.

We will now move on to consider an English data containing a continuous tense in (5a), its

corresponding Arabic translation in (5b) and the Arabic transliteration in (5c):





(b) TT: ػجبؽ ٠م مغ ا غؼح زبثؼخ االـذبة االؿغائ اػ اشئ١ظ افغط١ سد ػثاط ا ع١م ىرث ا غضج زر اراء ا الغساب االعشائ١ امطاع

(c) Trs:„bas yanqul maqarahu ela ghaza li mutaba‟t al ensehab al esraeli

A‟lana al raees al filistini mahmud abas enahu sayanqul maktabahu ela

ghaza hata entiha al ensehab al esraeeli min al qata‟.

The following linear structures in (a‘) and ((b‘) in leballed bracketing show a difference

between them:





)enahu sayanqul maktabahu) […[ enahu] [ sa [ yanqul [Maktabahu]…]]




tense of the ST to a future simple tense ط (sa) „will‘ and ٠م (yantaqel) ‗move‘. Besides,





93

Consider next the following data in (6a), the Arabic translation in (6b) and its

transliteration in (6c) below:

(6) (a) ST : Abbas moves to Gaza for pull out


He said he would be co-coordinating the Palestinian side of the withdrawal, and

mediating between different factions.

(b) TT: ػجبؽ ٠م مغ ا غؼح زبثؼخ االـذبة االؿغائ١

اضاف ا ع١غك لف اداة افغط١ ٠رعظ ت١ افصائ اخرفح

(c) Trs: ‗bas yanqul maqarahu ela ghaza li mutaba‟t al ensehab al esraeli

Wa adafa enahu sayunaseq mauqef al janeeb al feelistini athna al ensehab,

wa yatawasat bena al fasael al mukhtalefa.

The following linear structures in labelled bracketing in (a‘) and (b‘) below show a

difference in tense between the ST and the TT:

(a) ST: … he would be co-coordinating the Palestinian side…

[…[he] [ would be [co-ordinating [ the Plestenian side]]…]

IP Spec I‘ (+past,+future) V‘ N‘

(b) TT: ا ع١غك لف اداة افغط١

… enahu sayunaseq mauqef al janeeb al feelistini…

[…[enahu] [ sa [ yunaseq [al jeneeb] [al felistini]…]]] IP Spec I (+future) V‘ D‘ D‘

‗he coordinate the side the Palestinan‘

In (a‘-b‘) above, the future in the past in would be co-ordinating of the ST text has been

translated into a present future tense in Arabic, namely: ع١غك لف (sa yunasequ) ‗will

co-ordinate‘. In so far as the sequence of the constituents is concerned, they keep almost

a similar structure.

We move on to consider a case where the future tense of the ST is sustained in the TT

text as in (7a-c) below:

94

(7) (a) ST: Boltton appointed US envoy to UN

BBC: Monday, 1 August 2006

At times a stern of the UN, he will serve there until 2007…

(b) TT: ثؼثا اؽط ذ اال ارسذجذؼ١١ تر

عف ٠ؼ تر , از عثك خ ارماداخ الرػح ال ارسذج , ثال تال د ف اضح اذ١ح زر ٠ا٠ش / وا

2005اثا

(c) Trs wa saufa ya‟mal bultn…………

The following linear structures in label bracketings in (a‘-b‘) below show the syntactic difference


(a‘) ST: He will serve there until 2007.

[ [ he ] [ will [ serve there until 2007]]] IP Spec I‘ (+future) V‘

(b‘) TT: عف ٠ؼ تر

(wa saufa ya‟mal bultn…)

[ [ … ] [ sauf [ ya‟mal bultn …..]]

IP Spec I‘ (+future) V‘

‗will he- working‘

With respect to tense, the TT has maintained the future tense of the ST. In term of the

structure however, there is a difference in that the TT text has no overt subject noun

phrase as its (third person-male-singular) subject has been recorded in the verb

morphology by the prefix (ya-) in ٠ؼ (ya‟mal) ‗working‘.

Conclusion

From the English-Arabic analysis, it has been found that the translator does not seem to pay

much concern about the grammatical tenses of the ST messages when translating English

ST into Arabic. Instead, due to an absense of similar tenses in Arabic to match the tenses of

the ST especially the perfect (past/presnt) tense, the translator‗s main concern seems to be

to transfer the general content or to convey only the gist of the ST message to the Arabic

reading public taking cognizance more of their cultural, sociolinguistic and social

backgrounds. This is so because it has been noted that the changes of this nature mostly

pertains to changes in the translation of functional words like the adverbs and in the

95

translation of the tenses such as perfect tense (past and present). That is perfect tenses

past simple tense and English future tense Arabic present continuous tense

References

Hatim, B. (2000). English-Arabic/ Arabic-English Translation: A Practical Guide.

London: Al Saqi Publication.

Ghazala, H. (1995). Translation as Problems and Solutions: A Coursebook for University Students and

Trainee Translators. Beirut: Dar wa Maktabat Al-Hilal. Lebanon

96

Teaching English words formation in academic writing: Analysis

and Remedy

ABSTRACT

This paper is both a linguistic study and a search for learning using word formation, such

as English compound. Compound constructions are very common in everyday speech and

all types of written texts. They have been selected for study because ELL (English

language Learners) often ignores them from their academic writing. The reasons for

conducting such research are also linguistic and pedagogic in nature. ELL might find it

difficult to cope with the complex constructions which might absent in their languages.

Key words: compounds, strategies, problems, ELT and semantics

INTRODUCTION

Different approaches to English Language Teaching have dealt with word formation in

different ways. Not so long when Michael West‘s books were in vogue, there was a great

deal of emphasis on the teaching of word formation, based on the well- known word-

frequency counts. Those words formation which were found to be most frequently used

in written texts.

In the 1950s, and as sort of attention to the teaching of formal grammar and the emphasis

on vocabulary, the audio-lingual approach went to the other extreme, focusing on the

structures of language which had to be taught in a practical manner, and considerably de-

emphasizing the role of word formation Kharma & Hajjaj (1989:36).

Though the ELT scene is radically changing nowadays, no serious attention is being paid

to word formation as such. It is being taught without any reference to word counts, even

in spoken English, and without any predetermined plan. The emphasis at present is

neither on structure nor on word formation, but on the functions of language. It is too

early to tell now what will happen to the word formation of those under graduate students

being taught English in this way, or what the outcome of the whole approach is going to

be Kharma & Hajjaj (1989:36) .

97

I agree with Kharma & Hajjaj (1989:36) when they give their opinion on teaching the

word formation. They state that ― that whatever the approach to ELT or the method of

teaching EFL may be, word formation must have a prominent place in the overall plan of

TEFL.‖. Thus, they have reached their conclusion through observing during their long

years in teaching TEFL. The very important and simple fact that learners of English in a

non-English environment are opt to forget more words that those they can store and recall

either for speech or writing. There are several ways of forming words in English, but as

the most common ways are derivation, inflection and compounds. I will limit myself to

discuss the types of English compounds in general.

BACKGROUND

Compounds are groups of two or more elements treated as a unit. They consist of two or

more bases joined together without the use of derivational affixes. Compounds are either

primary or secondary Al-Jarf (2004). In a primary compound or base-compound, two

bases (derivationally bound forms) are joined together Al-Jarf (2004). In a secondary

compounds or stem-compound, both or all of the constituents of the compound are stems

(free forms) Al-Jarf (2004). Many derived forms are very complex, involving two or

more layers of derivation. The formation of larger compounds is generally based on those

of two-element compounds as light housekeeper is constructed from housekeeper and

light (house) Al-Jarf (2004).

Adjectives may be embedded in nominal constructions with no special marker (black

coffee). For analyzing embedded constructions, the term head is used to refer to the

centre of the construction, the term attribute for the modifier. An endocentric construction

is one in which the primary constituent or constituents are comparable to the complete

construction Al-Jarf (2004). An exocentric construction is one in which the primary

constituents do not function like the complete construction Al-Jarf (2004). The contrast

between endocentric and exocentric is present in compounds as well as in derivatives. If

the function of the compound is the same as that of one of its elements, it is to be classed

98

as endocentric. If the compound belongs to a form-class or subdivision of one different

from that of its elements, then it is exocentric Al-Jarf (2004).

Compounds constitute a considerable part of English vocabulary, and the process is very

productive in the sense that new compounds are being used daily in written texts. They

can also be virtually any part of speech. We do not only have compounds nouns such as

goldsmith, compound adjectives like seasick, and compound verbs like overcome, but

there are also compound pronouns such as yourself, adverbs like moreover, prepositions

such as in front of , conjunctions like whenever, numerals like twenty-five, and a

compound of indefinite such as another.(Kharma& Hajaj, 1989:48).The most disturbing

fact about English compounds is their irregularity and the high complexity of their

methods of composition, and of the syntactic and semantic relations that hold between the

elements composting each word.

The majority of English compound types are headed – especially, right –headed and the

heads of these compounds display the syntactic and semantic characteristics that are

expected of heads Maalej (1994). These compounds refer to classes of things and they

have used daily. Compounds play a role in the lexicon because they have the ability for

creating a class of noun phrase (NPs) intended for naming entities with no pre-existing

names. According to Downing (1977:823) cited in Maalej (1994) is characterized by

―packing a maximum amount of information into a minimal amount of linguistic

structure‖. Finin (1980:310) cited in Maalej (1994) claims that one of the characteristic

features of compounds in English is their semantic compactness, i.e. the covert nature of

the relations linking the head (the one which is modified and often occupies the right

most position in the nominal sequence) and the non-head (the modifier). Compounding

widen the range of combinational possibilities for the suffixes which create new meaning.

The following combinations of lexemes may exemplify such productivity: bathroom

towel rack, designer training program (Selkirk, 1982:5). It is found that major issues to be

studied in compounding are the generation, interpretation, and headedness of compound.

99

COMPOUNDS OF NOUNS

This kind of compound is considered the largest one because is divided into four main

categories with subdivisions.These categories are N.N, A.A, V.N and P.N. According to

Selkirk (1982:14) a compound noun could have a syntax like N.N (livingroom), A.N

(wellwisher), P.n (outbuilding and V.N (rattlesnake).N.N is divided into two word and

multi word. Two word is divided into non-deverbativity (nominal verbles compound),

deverbal with –er (nominal verbal compound), deverbal with (-ing,-ment.-ion), deverbal

with countable and the last one is deverbal with deriving preposition.The difference

between non-deverbal (nominal verbles compound) and deverbal with –er(nominal

verbale compound) is that the verbale element of non-devebativity (nominal verbless

compound is) is missing Dillon (1977:51), which means the headnoun of non

deverbativity does not take suffix like –er,-ing,-ment and –tion, but this kind of

compound consists of two sequences noun.noun and the interpretation of the noun

compounds depends on the relation that is understood between them.Another kind of

compounds of noun is the nominal verbal compound with suffixes to the headnoun

(deverbal). The headnoun of nominal verbal compounds is formed by adding the suffixes

–er, -tion, -ment, -ing to base verb to make deverbal noun. Dillon (1977) described this

kind of compound:―The sense of the compound can be at least roughly paraphrased as a

sentence in which the verb is the one underlying the second (deverbal noun ) and the first

plays some role in relation to it‖.

100

The figure below shows compound of nouns and its kinds:

Non-deverbativity

deverbal with -er

Tow-word deverbal with -ment, -tion

deverbativity

deverbal with countable

N.N Deverbal with Deriving preposition

Active compound

V.N

NC

P.N multi word

Passive compound

Figure 2. Categories of compound of nouns

COMPOUND OF ADJECTIVES

Compound adjectives are formed according to a large number of different patterns. They

consist of three categories noun, adjective, and preposition. According to Selkirk

(1982:14), ‗a compound adjective may consist of a noun, an adjective, or a preposition

followed by an adjective‘. As in the following example which are quoted from Selkirk. ―

NA (headstrong), AA (icy cold), PA (overwide)‖.Selkirk (1982:15).The figure below

shows compound of adjective according to Selkirk‘s theory

N

A A A

P

Figure 3. Kinds of compound of adjectives

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COMPOUNDS OF VERBS

In relation to this kind of English compounds; Bauer (1983:207) cited Adems as saying:

―The majority of compound verbs in English are not formed by putting two lexemes

together to form a new verb, but by back-formation or conversion from compound noun‖.

According to Selkirk (1982:14), ― a compound of verb may consist of a preposition

followed by a verb‖ as in the following example which is quoted from Selkirk (1982:15),

‗outlive‘. So, this kind of English compound is different from compounds of noun and

compounds of adjective because it consists of two words namely a preposition and a verb

to produce one construction of compound which is compound of verb. The following

figure shows the kinds of compounds of verbs:

V P V

Figure 4. Kinds of compounds of verbs

SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC RELATIONS

As suggested by (Karma & Hajaj,1989: 49) that the syntactic relations that hold between

the elements of a compound noun, while semantic relations are unlimited in number. The

following sections give examples to illustrate the both cases:

(a) Syntactic relations

(i) syntactic word-group relations, e.g part of speech, son -in- law, good-for-

nothing and out-of-work

(ii) co-ordinations,e.g. bread and butter , gin and tonic

(iii) qualifier and noun, e.g. blackbird, bluebell

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(iv) Adverb and verb, e.g, downpour, outlay, afterblast

(v) Adverb and noun,e.g, outpost

(vi) The first element may denote the subject, e.g, day-break

(vii) The first element may denote the object, e.g. bloodshed

(b) Semantic relations

(i) the first element denote place or time, e.g. headache, nightclub

(ii) the first element denote purpose, e.g. wineglass

(iii) the first element denote means or instrument, e.g. handwriting, sword-cut

(iv) the first element denote resemblance,e.g. goldfish

(v) the first element denote sex, e.g. manservant

THE STUDENTS' ROLES

1. A grouping method is useful to be used and adopted in learning English

compounds structures. Especially, those made of similar syntactic and

semantic relations. Grouping system can be expanded to cover all types of

compounds. As the students‘ stock of such compounds increases, the

grouping system can be refined to cater for finer differences in syntactic

and semantic relations between elements (Karma & Hajjaj, 1989:55).

2. Reading a daily newspaper can enlighten and enrich the students‘

capability to master many types of English compounds. Newspaper articles

represent materials, which are meant for public consumption. In other

words, the readers are not a specialized group of people; they are laymen.

As such these newspaper articles are expected to be of a more general

nature.

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3. A student should read different types of newspaper articles, since they are

expected to be enough to yield all types of English compounds and, they

could provide them with different results for their investigation.

CONCLUSION

It has found that students often faced difficulty in their academic writing when they use

word formation. English words formations have many types and different semantic and

syntactic relations. The main reason teachers of English should pay much attention and

consideration to how to teach compounds in academic writing. And find best method

discuss the English words formation in the classroom. Personally, I have found that my

underground students have their weakness in constructing suitable compounds, especially

when these compounds link with adjective, nouns, adverb and prepositions.

REFERENCE

Al-Jarf, R. (2004). English Arabic Compounds for Translation Students, unpublished

paper.

Bauer, L. (1983). English word-formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dillon, L.G. (1977). Introduction to contemporary linguistic semantic. New Jersey. USA.

Downing, P. (1977). ―On the creation and use of English compound nouns‖, Language,

53: 4, pp.810-842.

Kadhim, A. K. (2004). Translating English Nominal Compounds into Arabic. M.A thesis.

University of Science Malaysia.

Kharm, N. & Hajjaj, A. (1989). Errors in English among Arabic grammar of the written

language. Harlow: Longman (13) group Ltd. UK.

Maalej, Z. (1994). ―English-Arabic machine translation of nominal compounds”. In

P.Bouillon & D. Estival (eds.), proceedings of the workshop on compound noun:

Multilingual Aspect of nominal composition. Geneva :ISSO, pp.135-146.

Selkirk, E.O. (1982). The syntax of words. Cambridge/Mass: The MTT Press

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The Translation of BBC Political News into Arabic: Semantic Analysis

Abstract

This paper examines the quality of the messages in the Arabic translation of English

political news. Our data is pairs of English political news ST and their corresponding

Arabic TT. It aims to find the answers to the research question : Do the stylistic changes

affect the quality of the messages in the Arabic messages? .Towards that end, a

componential methodology of the ST and TT will be adopted by paying attention to

examine the differences and similarities of the content of the messages in the ST and their

corresponding messages in the TT. In the evaluation of the messages of the texts (both ST

and TT), Newmark‘s approaches in translation shall be used, in particular the employment

of his terminologies, overtranslation, undertranslation, and ambiguous translation and

other similar terminologies such as incorrect translation and replacement translation. In

addition, our observation of any difference in the messages of the ST and the TT (both the

linguistic meaning and the extra linguistic meaning) shall be stated using the semantic

notation of the componential analysis of Katz and Fodor (1963) and as extended in

Jackson (1988) where necessary. In some places in addition to the notation, a simple

supplemental narration shall be employed especially in dealing with cultural messages and

other nuances in the realm of pragmatics. It is found that the messages have merely been

diffused, or or being put in a time frame (tenses) to suit the culture, political make up, the

Arabic grammar and sociolinguistic idiosyncracies of the Arab target readers.

Key Words: translation, comparison, culture, style and componential analysis

Methodology

Newmark‟s Ideas in Newmark (1981, 1988).

As Newmark (1981: 7-8) rightly points out, the translator is a victim of a constant tension

between the acts of overtranslation and undertranslation. He contends that a lot of

semantic gaps in translated texts arise because of this tension. To him, overtranslation is

105

a translation that gives more detail and a more specific word than its corresponding

during the translation procedures. (Newmark, 1988:284). And undertranslation gives less

detail and is more general than the original. (Newmark, 1988: 285). In addition to

semantic and communicative translations approaches, ambiguous translation to Newmark

(1981:122) ―…carry a deal of lexical and grammatical ambiguity, which may be

linguistic or referential; hopefully all this ambiguity will be cleared up by the micro-and

macrocontext. Where the ambiguity remains in spite of the macrocontext, the translator

has to determine whether it is referential or linguistic, or between the two extremes,‖

(Newmark: 1981:122).

Regarding other approaches of translation, such as semantic and communicative

translation, Newmark (1981: 22) claims that in semantic translation the translator

attempts within to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the author, while

communicative translation the translator attempts to produce the same effect on the TL

readers as was produced by the original on the SL readers. Also, to him word-for-word

translation transfers SL grammars and lexical words as well as the meaning of all the SL

words effectively into the translation. (Newmark, 1988:69). In addition, he defines free

translation as an approach that reproduces the matter without the manner during the

translation. It reproduces the content without the form of the original. He further defines

literal translation as a procedure in which the SL grammatical construction is converted

to his nearest TL equivalents but the lexical words are translated simply. (Newmark,

1988: 46).

Componential Analysis.

Denotive words and their meaning can be differentiated using the methods of

componential analysis as first propounded by Katz and Fodor (1963). Componential

analysis refers to a semantic analysis in which meanings of lexemes are analysed into

components, and which can be compared across lexemes or groups of lexemes. (Jackson,

1988:79). Components have distinguishing functions that are used to distinguish features

of lexemes within a specified semantic domain. (Jackson, 1988:81).

106

There are two general types of semantic component, namely common component and

diagnostic component. (Jackson, 1988: 83). A common component serves to identify a

semantic domain, where the distinguished component is shared by all the lexemes in the

domain. The second type is diagnostic. Katz and Fodor exemplified this contention with

the word bachelor which is (a) human, (b) male, and (c) unmarried. Such information

with respect to the word bachelor can be expressed by providing a list of three binary

components: [+ human], [ + male], and [- married] where the plus symbol [+ ] denotes

the presence of an information while the minus symbol [-] indicates the absence of such

information. In the case of hydra which is biologically both male and female, it carries

the information [+ male and –male] in which its unique characteristic can be stated as [ +

male ].

Jackson notes that componential analysis has a considerable history in the area of

phonology where it works reasonably and insightfully because phonology deals with a

small, limited system of sounds whose significance depends largely on contrasts with

other elements in the system. Thus, he continues to note that in English the phoneme /p/

,[-voiced], is distinguished from /b/, [+voiced], by the role of the vocal cords, and from

/f/ and /v/ , both [-stop], by the fact that the air stream in /p/ and /b/ is at one point

completely stopped. Therefore, it can be said that /p/ is [- voiced, + stop] while /f/ is [-

vioce, -stop]; and /b/ is [+voiced, +stop] while v is [+voiced, -stop]. Jacksons further

suggest that in keeping with its formalistic and reductionist program, generative grammar

has adopted the use of componential analysis in its study of meaning. By analogy with

the procedure of decomposing phonemes into distinctive binary phonological features,

we may decompose meanings of words and phrases (and perhaps clauses) into distinctive

binary meaning components such as [+male] or [- married] as in the case of bachelor

above. Words and their meaning can be differentiated when categorized into the general

semantic categories of synonym, antonym and hyponym. (Jackson, 1988: 91). Hence, he

contends that the area in which componential analysis is most beneficial as it can show

nuances of meaning of words in terms of synonymy, antonymy and hyponymy. For

example, he suggests that drawing pin (British English) and thumb tack (American

English) are considered a pair of true synonyms for they share the same set of semantic

107

component, for example both are [+ fastener, + pointed, + broad head, + for paper].

Antonyms, in general refer to words with opposite meanings; so while man and woman

may share many components such as [ + concrete, + animate, +human], the addition of

the component male shows that man [+ male] and woman [-male] are antonyms.(

Jackson,1988: 91). Hyponymy refers to the relation of the inclusion of meaning, such as

the relationship between father and mother, both of which are hyponyms of parent. With

regards to hyponymy, the pair share semantic components of the general meanings, but

one will have the specific meaning of the included item. (Jackson, 1988: 92) as cited in

Rokiah Awang (2000). For instance, man, woman, boy and girl share the component

human but do not share the components adult and male. So, he notes that man and

woman share the component adult while boy and girl share the component child. Thus, he

adds that man and woman are hyponyms of adult while boy and girl are hyponyms of

child and both adult and child are hyponyms of human beings.(Rokiah Awang, 2000).

In this paper, the foregoing manner of decomposing phonemes and words/phrases/clauses

of a language into their meaning components in terms of semantic features denoted by [+]

(present ) and [–] (absence) of a feature shall be used in this study wherever applicable as

notational techniques of changes of messages between those of the ST in English and

their corresponding messages in the TT Arabic translation.

Fishman Sociolinguistic Concept on Language Reflections.

One of the major lines of social and behavioral science interest in language during the

past century (as in the case of linguistic relativity known as Whorfian Hypothesis, Whorf

(1940, 1941) as cited in Fishman (1972:286) has been claimed that the radically differing

structures of the language of the world constrain the cognitive functioning of their

speakers in different ways, (Fishman,1972:286). Within the linguistic relativity view,

Fishman (1972) notes the following claim:

….the background linguistic system (in other words, the grammar) of

each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas

but rather is itself the shaper of ideas, the program and guide for the

individual‘s mental activity, for his analysis of impressions, for his

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synthesis of his mental stock in trade. Formulation of ideas is not an

independent process, strictly rational in the old sense, but it is part of a

particular grammar and differs, from slightly to greatly, between

grammars seem to be overstated and no one-to-one correspondence

between grammatical structure either cognitive or socio-cultural structure

measured independently of language has ever been obtained. Fishman

(1972: 287).

To counter this view, Fishman (1972) opines that it is less likely that the entire language

or entire societies are classified in such general way. Consequently, he offers an

alternative sociolinguistic explanation and stresses that (a) languages primarily reflect

rather than create socio-cultural regularities in values and orientations and (b) that

languages through out the world share a far larger number of structural universals than

has heretofore been recognized. He argues and supports his contention by noting that,

The very concept of linguistic repertoire, role repertoire, repertoire range

and repertoire compartmentalization argue against such neat classification

once functional realities are bought into consideration. Any reasonably

complex speech community contains various speech networks that vary in

respect to the nature and ranges of their speech repertoires. Fishman (1972:

288 ).

Taken as a whole, Fishman‘s sociolinguistic views above holds that language is a

reflection of the socio-cultural and the values and orientations of its speakers rather than

it being regarded as a direct consequence or constraint of the cognition of its speakers.

On this point Fishman observes that there are ways in which lexicons and languages as a

whole are reflective of the speech communities that employ them and stresses further as

follows:

In a very real sense a language variety is an inventory of the concerns and

interests of those who employ it at any given time. If any portion of this

inventory reveals features not present in other portions this may be

indicative of particular stresses or influences in certain interaction

networks within the speech community as a whole or in certain role-

relationships within the community‘s total role-repertoire. Fishman

(1972: 296).

To support the above position, Fishman cites examples from Hebrew and Aramic terms

where they are retained not only for all traditional and sanctified objects but also with

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certain Germanic elements in order to provide contarastive emphases; for example, bukh

‗book‘ versus. seyfer ‗religious book‘ , scholarly book‘; lerer ‗teacher‘ versus melamed

or rebi „teacher of religious subjects‘.(Fishman ,1972:297).

Relative to other theories on language such as generative grammar which is basically

cognitive such as in Culicover (1997), and from the viewpoint of language behavior and

social behavior, the language reflection view of Fishman is related to language as parole

(i.e., language as it is actually used) as well as related to the cultural variation and social

variation. (Fishman, 1972:299). Hence, it is quite obvious that Fishman favours the idea

that language is a reflection of the social organization and he points out that lexicons in

particular, and language as a whole, are reflective of the speech communities that

employs them. He, however, acknowledges that there are areas in language where the

linguistic relativity (i.e., the Whorfian Hypothesis) view may be observed such as in the

structuring of verbal interaction and the structure of lexical components.

Note:

For the purposes of expressing the grammatical categories, we shall be using the symbols

N (noun), V (verb), A (adjective), P (prepositions), Pro (pronoun), F (functional words).

For phrases and clauses, we shall use D‘ (determiner phrase), COMP (complementation),

Comp (complementizer), Conj (Conjunction) and IP (Inflectional phrase =sentence).

Data Analysis

Replacement Translation.

In this section, we will present seven cases of changes of the messages in the TT due to

stylistic changes that are within the preview of replacement translation. They are

presented in Tables 1.

Table 1 English-Arabic: Replacement Translation. ST Bin Laden call falls on deaf ears


making it the fugitive al qa‘eda leader‘s first message since January. Politician

said it only…Ben Laden.

TT اال عالت الد : زشب ص١ث١ح غشت١ح ضذ

لذ تثد لاج ادض٠شج افضائ١ح ارغد١ ٠ االزذ , االي ضػ١ ذض١ اماػذج ز ٠ا٠ش/

وا اثا ,..

Trs wa qad bathat qanat al jazeera al fadaeya al tasjeel youm al ahad, wa hua al

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awal li za‟eem tandeem al qa‟eda munthu yanayeer / kanoon al thani

BT and al Jazeera channel aired the recording tape on Sunday , and this is the first

to leader organizing of al qa‘eda since January.

Style of ST the fugitive al Qa‘eda leader‘s : [D‘-D‘-D‘].

Style of TT ضػ١ ذض١ اماػذج ( literary: to leader organizing al qa‘eda): [P‘-[D‘-D‘]].

Differences

between the

semantic

features of ST

and the

semantic

features of TL

ST :

the fugitive [+human, +fugitive, +hunted, villain];

al qa‘eda [+N, -human, +al qaedah, +principle, +technique, +foundation];

leader [+N, +human, +leader, +guide, +direct ].

TT :

,leader‘ [+N, -animate, +human, +leader, +chief, +head‗ (za‘eem) صػ١

+strongman];

,organizing‘ [+N, -A, -human, +organization, +regulation‗ (tandeem) ذض١

+arrange].

,N, -human, +al qaedah, +principle, +technique+] (al qa‟eda) اماػذج

+foundation];

Effect on

message

There is difference in style and in semantic features.

Due to those differences between the Arabic version جضػ١ ذض١ اماػذ (li za‟eem

tandeem al qa‟eda) ( literally: ‗to leader organizing al qa‟eda‟) and those in the

SL text ‗the fugitive al qa‘eda leader‘s‘, relatively the TT has replaced the

original message ‗fugitive‘ into ‗leader‘. Hence, it is a replacement translation.

We are concerned with the data the fugitive al qa‟eda leader‟s of the ST. It is a complex

nominal compound with a series of determiner phrases of the form of [D‘-D‘-D‘]. This

English ST has been translated and paraphrased into Arabic ضػ١ ذض١ اماػذج (li za‟eem

tandeem al qa‟eda) (literally: ‗to leader organizing al qa‘eda‘), which is also a complex

nominal compound with a combination of prepositional phrases and determiner phrases

of the form of [P‘-[D‘- D‘]]. Here, the preposition li ‗to‘ provide an emphatic sense as

well as binds the nouns cohesively. In the ST the semantic content of a fugitive [+N,

+human, +hunted, + al qaedah, +villain] has been changed into Arabic صػ١ (za‟eem)

‗leader‘ [ +human, +leader, +chief, +head, +organization, +strongman] in the TT. As

such the new content in the TT has been replaced in the original sense. The original sense

which is confined to a mere ‗…fugitive who is at the same time a leader of al qa‟eda

foundation‘ has been diffused and attached to a person who is the leader of al qa‟eda

organization. As a consequence the translator has given the word organizing a new

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lexical word befitting Bin Laden‟s Foundation when translated. The word organizing is a

suitable lexical label as it would also be in accordance with the political understanding of

the Arabic readers as it commensurates with the personality of Bin Laden. Thus, in line

with Hatim‘s (1997) view of translating across different cultures/nations, both texts have

described the leader of al qa‟eda, Osama bin Laden, in different ways and according to

the respective cultural and political backgrounds of ST writer and TT translator.

Both of these words of the ST give different perceptions to the readers of the text since

both fugitive and leader have different scales of meaning in the sociolinguistic contextsof

the ST and the TT. In the word fugitive, Bin Laden is depicted as a man of chaos, crimes

and does not respect world international law. In the word leader, on the other hand, Bin

Laden is a potrayed as leader of the militia, the group or the party. The writer has given

two contrastive meaning: a fugitive but at the same time a leader. It is difficult for the

Arab readers to believe that a leader can be a fugitive unless he is an illegal leader or

killer. If so, then it is possible to describe him as a fugitive. In contrast, in the Arabic

version, the translator has changed the term the fugitive al Qaeda Leader into a new and

empathic term ذض١ (tandeem) ‗organizing‘. In addition, the political term جاماػذ (al

qa‟eda) in the TT has been preceded with the noun ذض١ (tandeem) „organizing‘. It is

noticed that the nominal compound denoting political sense in the ST text is preceded by

an adjective, fugitive, which has a different meaning compared to the one that is used to

describe the اماػذج (al-qa‟eda) leader, Bin Laden, in the TT. This kind of replacement,

made by the translator, has affected the meaning of the message, from the negative

meaning that has been evoked by the word fugitive who is working in the al qa‟eda

militia into the positive meaning in the nominal compound construction in organizing al

qa‟eda جذض١ اماػذ (tandeem al qaeda). This kind of change is quite in tandem with the

Arabic sociolinguistic contexts in the sense of Fishman (1972) where language is seen as

reflections of the society which speaks it.

The Arabic version shows that translator has omitted the translation of the word fugitive

and has replaced it with the word ذض١ (tandeem) ‗organizing‘ as either the item is

untranslatable for a lack of equivalence in the target language, or the item might

112

ideologically or morally be unacceptable to the target reader due to a disagreement with

the meaning of the word fugitive in the ST, which conveys a bad impression about the

source culture. Thus, it is noticed that the main context that has been used to describe the

figure Bin Laden, has changed between both texts. The original author of the ST has

described Bin Laden as a fugitive while the TT translator has described him as

munadeem „organizer‘. Additionally, the translator has not provided the message with

any additional information concerning the word fugitive when he describe Bin Laden as

the جاماػذ (al qa‟eda) leader. Instead, he has given a different word ذض١ (tandeem)

‗organizing‘ to reflect a different meaning to that in the ST.

This stylistic change in the lexicality has made the readers of the TT feel that there is no

relevance between the ST description al qa‟eda fugitive leader and organizing al Qaeda

since the translator has not directly quoted the original message. Thus, stylistic change

has affected the whole message by the translator‘s giving another lexical word to reflect a

different meaning in the description of Bin Laden. This stylistic change of the English

compound structure can confuse the TT readers, since two texts have described Ben

Laden with different messages.

Incorrect Translation.

In this section, we will present seven cases of incorrect translation. They are presented

in Table 2:

First consider the text in Table 2below

Table 2 English-Arabic: Incorrect Translation. ST Bolton appointed US envoy to UN

US president George W Bush has formally appointed John Bolton as US

ambassador to the United Nations, without waiting for approval from the

Senate.

TT ذؼ١١ تر ثؼثا اؽط ذ اال ارسذج

ػ١ اشئ١ظ االش٠ى خسج دت١ تػ سع١ا خ تر ف صة اذب االش٠ى ذ اال

ارسذج د ارظاس افمح دظ اؾ١ش االش٠ى ػ ارؼ١١.

Trs ‟ayan al-raees al-amrikee gorg dabalyu bush rasmeeyan jon bulton fi manseb

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al-mandub al-amrikee lada al-umam al-mutahida duna entedar muwafaqat

majles al-sheyoukh al-amrikee ‟la al-t‟yeen.

BT Appointed the American president george dabalyu bush formally jun bulton in

the post of the delegate American in the united states without waiting agreement

senate American on the nomination

Style of ST has formally appointed ; it has the structure [I‘ -adv- V‘].

Style of TT

[.…‘V ] : (‘literally: ‗appointed) ػ١

Differences

between the

semantic

features of ST

and the

semantic

features of TT

ST:

has appointed [+V, -past, +perfect, -N, -simple, +assign];

TT:

.a‟yana ‗appointed‘ [+V,-auxilliary, +past, +simple, +assign] ػ١

Effect on

message

There is a shift from a present perfect tense to a simple past tense.

The SL text ‗has formally appointed‘, which is in the present perfect tense has

been changed into a simple past tense in the Arabic text: ػ١ (literally:

appointed), Hence, it is an incorrect translation.

In the above data, we are concerned only with the translation of the English verb phrase

has formally appointed to the Arabic word ػ١ (‟yana) ‗appointed‘. Here, the present

perfect tense has been translated as ػ١ (‟yan) ‗appointed‘, which is past simple. In

particular, the translator has omitted the English adverb formally from its position as in

the ST in the Arabic translation yielding the verb ػ١ (‟yan) only. Probably this has been

done deliberately by the translator as he attempts to move from a standard formal

Standard English text that is readable by the high class educated readers to an Arabic

translation that can be consumed by all class of readers. Here, it seems that the translator

does not respect the present perfect tense of the ST message when translating it. This

attitude may be accounted by the fact that in Arabic time is not dissected in the same

way. Instead, in Arabic the same sense may be achieved by using the simple past along

with appropriate adverbial markers to convey the meaning of the present perfect. This

kind of incorrect translation style is normally used when the translator wants to convey

only the gist of the ST message to the Arabic reading public in the TT taking cognizance

of the Arabic sociolinguistic situations, their cultural outlook and the social background

which are congruent with Hatim‘s (1997) views when translating across different cultures

and nations. On the whole, the Arabic version does not reflect the same formal language

114

of the original text resulting in its focusing on different aspects of the same message. One

possible alternative translation of the English ST is ..مذ ػ١ اشئ١ظ( laqad „eiana al-

raees.. ) ‗ therefore appointed the pridendent‘.

Ambiguous Translation.

In this section, we will present four cases of ambiguous translation. They are presented

in Table 3 . In this study, a translation is considered ambiguous when the Arabic TT has

more than one interpretation and such duality or multiple interpretations do not occur in

its corresponding English ST.

We will consider the data in Table 3 below:

Table 3 English-Arabic: Ambiguous Translation. ST Iran fears drive oil to new high

But traders say that in the short term the price could rise as high as 75 per

barrel.

TT اصح اف ا اال٠شا ذشفغ اعؼاس افظ ازة

٠ش س ا اعرشاس ارذش ع١ذفغ االعؼاس ف اذدا اض٠ذ االسذفاع تؾى ذرداص ؼ لش٠ثا

دالس ثش١.57عؼش

Trs Wa yara muhalilun ana estemrar al-tawatr sa yadf‟ al-as‟ar fi etijah al-mazeed

min al-ertifa‟ bishakel tatjawaz m‟hu taqreeban s‟r 75 dular lil barmeel.

BT Analysts seeing that continuing the tension will push the prices in the high

direction and overtake the 75 dollar for each barrel.

Style of ST Traders : plural noun.

Style of TT س (literally: ‗analysts‘ - a plural noun).

Differences

between the

semantic

features of ST

and the

semantic

features of TT

ST:

traders (+N, +human, +dealer, +businessmen);

TT:

;analysts‘ (a) (+N, +human, +analysts, +oil, -media)‗ (muhalilun) س

(b) (+N, +human, +analyst, -oil, +media).

Effect on

message

There is a dual interpretations of the TT:

The first is (a) ‗analyst of petrol‘ and the second (b) is ‗analyst of political

news‘. Hence, it is a case of an ambiguous translation.

In the above data, we are concerned with the translation of the English word traders. This

English word in its plural form has been translated as س (muhalilun) ‗analysts‘

which is also in the plural form. The original sense of the ST as found in But traders say

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that …only means ‗traders of petrol‘. In the TT in the form of س (muhalilun)

‗analysts‘, however, the original single meaning germinates into a minimally dual

interpretations in the TT, namely (a) analysts such as analysts of media or general

political news in a country with features like [+analysts, -oil, +media] and (b) analyst of

the prices of petrol with features like [+analyst, +oil, -media]. The first refers to analyst

of general business, while the second refers to a different group of traders who are

concerned with selling or buying oil in the international oil markets. The choice of the

word س (muhalilun) ‗analysts‘ in the TT has yielded a translation which potentially

contains ambiguous information and could create an ambiguous message for the readers

of the TT for as long as such information commensurate with the readers‘ political

culture, understanding and sociolinguistic background .

Conclusion

It has been found that the changes in the messages have been labelled ( replacement

translation, incorrect translation and ambiguous translation), the overall impact of the

ST messages have not been totally lost. Instead, it is found that the messages have

merely been diffused, extended or somewhat narrowed down or being put in a time frame

(tenses) to suit the culture, political make up, the Arabic grammar and sociolinguistic

idiosyncracies of the Arab target readers. That is, the diffusion, the extension, the

narrowing of information and changing the tenses that have been put in place by the

translator, the TT has become more readable to the Arabic readers. Of course, this is not

saying that some degrees of messages have not been ―lost‖ in the translating processes

due to different focus and perceptions of the same events by the translator compared to

the focus and perceptions of the ST writer.

References

Culicover, Peter. W. (1997). Principles and Parameters: An Introduction to Syntactic


116

Fishman, Jushua.. (1972), Sociocultural Organization: Language Constraints and



Newmark, Peter. (1981). Approach to Translation. Oxford: Pergamon Press,U.K

Newmark, Peter. (1988). A Text Book of Translation.New York: Prentice Hall. U.K.

Katz, Jerolled. and Fodor, Jerry. (1963), The Structure of a Semantic Theory, Languag,

39(2), pages: 170-210.

Jackson, Howard. (1988). Words and their Meaning. London: Longman. U.K.

Rokiah Awang. (2000).The Translation of English News into Malay in the Malay

Newspaper of Malaysia. Ph.D thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.

117

Shift in the Translating of Qur‘anic Text: Stylistic Variations

Abstract

This study examines the English translation of Quranic verses. It compares the Arabic ST

and the TT from two angles: the style and the message. The objectives are to find out the

nature of the stylistic changes that occur in the English translation, to evaluate if the

stylistic changes have affected the quality of the messages, to find out the translating and

the stylistic strategies that are likely to have been used by the translators. The study uses

a comparative method and employs eclectically some ideas from the translation theory,

structural (syntactic) theory, semantic theory, and stylistics. The study shows that the

changes in style are within the realm of syntax (sentences, clauses and phrases). Some

other stylistic changes are due to morphological functions (tenses and verb morphology).

Generally the changes in the message are attributable to a combination of causes, namely

the syntactic changes, the grammatical changes (especially tenses), the new lexical items

and phrases that are appropriate to the culture and sociolinguistic perceptions of the

English speaking. The translators are found to have employed a variety of translating

strategies, namely the semantic, literal, word for word translating strategies. The literal

translating strategy seems to be relatively predominant. That is, the translators seem to

have used all of the three translating strategies, but have done so eclectically.

Background

Vinay and Darbelnet (1995).








four procedures: (a) transposition (shift), (b) modulation, (c) equivalence, (d) adaptation

118

which are used whenever grammatical, lexical, structural or conceptional divergences are

required due to certain stylistic effects in the source text.

Transposition (Shift).

For Vinay and Darbelnet (1995:36) this involves replacing one word class with another

without changing the meaning of the message. They add that besides being a special

translation procedure, transposition can also be applied within a language. They note that

in translation there are two type of transposition: (a) obligatory transposition and (b)

optional transposition,

They also indicate that this method requires the translator to change the grammar of the

SL text; and the translator needs to shift the grammatical make-up of the SL to fit that of

the TL to achieve an equivalent effect or to produce the same effect on the readership of

the translation as was obtained on the readership of the original.

From a stylistic point of view, the base and the transposed expression do not necessarily

have the same value. Translators carry out a transposition if the translation obtained fits

better into the text or allows a particular nuance of style to be retained. The transposed

forms are generally more literary in character than the original (Vinay and Darbelnet,

1995:36).

Ghazala (1995).









119









(Ghazala, 1995:246).









Data Analysis

The data analysis is contained eight verses from Quran and their English versions by

Yousif Ali and Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthell

Ayah 1:

ؼ١غ ـ ػظاة ٱ إ ض٠ ٠ ۥ ۥ ٠ع فأ ال ر ۥ أ (al Haj surat } ﴿٤﴾ وزت ػ١

.

Ali Translation:

(4) About the (Evil One) it is decreed that whoever turns to him for friendship, him will

he lead astray, and he will guide him to the Penalty of the Fire.

Pickthall Translation:

120

For him it is decreed that whoso taketh him for friend, he verily will

mislead him and will guide him to the punishment of the Flame.

It is noticed that both translations have been served the exact meaning in the Quran, but

in terms of translation, it found that both have used different lexical words. Ali‘s

translation used literal translation to the underlined Arabic words ض٠ ٠ , since a direct

translation might not serve the intended meaning. It is noticed that the same translation

Picktall has used. Syntactically, both translations have respected the syntactic structure of

the Arabic text; therefore, if we look at the above ayah, it noticed that the word ض٠ ٠ has

preceded by the conjunction ‗ ‗ (and) . Thus, both translators have used the same

conjunction in their translations. With regards to Ali‘s translation, it is noticed that the

English version is used the pronoun ‗he‘ with the irony ض٠ ٠ ( and guide); to refer to any

one who follows the Satan, would seduce him and lead him to the hell. This is not the

case in Pickthell‘s translation, where he (Pickthell) has not used the pronoun ‗he‘ with the

irony ض٠ ٠ ( and guide). Instead, he used the pronoun ‗he‘ at the start of the sentence ( he

verily will mislead him and will guide him..). It is a matter of repetitive that Ali‘s

translation has used to indicate directly and indirectly how bad if someone takes the Satan

as a companion. Semantically, both translations have translated the meaning of the irony

ض٠ ٠ ( and guide) literally to create an acceptable translation.

Ayah 2:

ج١ ـ ٱ رمطؼ جبي ٱغ زأر أئى رأر ﴿٢٩﴾ { al-ankabut}

ضل١ ٱص إ وذ أ لبا ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل ۦ إال اة ل ج ب وب ىغ ف ٱ ف بص٠ى

Ali Translation:

(29) Do you indeed approach men, and cut off the highway?- and practice wickedness

(even) in your councils? But his people gave no answer but this: they said: ― Bring us the

Wrath of Allah if you tell the truth‖


121

For come ye not in unto males, and cut ye not the road (for travellers), and commit ye not

abomination in your meetings? But the answer of his folk was only that they said: Bring

Allah's doom upon us if thou art a truth teller!

The irony in both versions has translated uses literal and one to one translations. If we

look at Ali‘s translation to the ironical lexical words we noticed that he has , ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل

used one to one translation to come up with exact meaning. This is unlike in Picktehell

translation where he has translated into English uses literal translation , since ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل

according to him, translated the above ironical structure might come up with better

equivalence . Syntactically, both translations led into different syntactic style of word

order. If we look at Ali‘s translation to the underlined ironical structure, it is found that

the structure has started with the lexical verb ‗bring‘ as a subject of the ironical structure

then followed by the objective pronoun ‗us‘ referring to the unbelievers , ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل

when they (unbelievers) make fun of the prophet Loot; moreover, the noun ثؼظاة (the

punishment) is used with definite article referring to Allah‘s punishment in the hereafter.

This is almost similar in Picktehell‗s translation, where he also started his translation with

the verbal sentence ‗bring‘ as a subject of the ironical structure But the . ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل

difference is that in the location of the pronoun ‗us‘, where he located it at the end of the

ironical structure; consequently, it is noticed that the name of Allah comes after the verb

‗bring ‗then the lexical noun ‗doom‘ is indefinite in Picktehell ‗s translation.

Ayah 3:

غ ا فجل لغ أط١ فؼب وأ ـ ٠ ا وأ زىجغ ـ

زب ءا٠ ػ١ إطا رز ﴾٧﴿ {lukman}

ثؼظاة أ١

.

Ali Translation:

(7) When Our Signs are rehearsed to such a one, he turns in both his ears: announce to

him a grievous Penalty.


122

And when Our revelations are recited unto him he turneth away in pride

as if he heard them not, as if there were a deafness in his ears. So

give him tidings of a painful doom.

The irony in both versions has translated literally. If we look at Ali‘s translation to the

ironical lexical word غ we noticed that he has used ,(then give good news him) فجل

literal translation strategy to come up with exact or better meaning. The same strategy

Picktehell has used when translated the ironical lexical word غ then give good) فجل

news him) into English uses literal translation , since this translation might come up

with better equivalence . Syntactically, both translations led into different syntactic. If we

look at Ali‘s translation to the underlined ironical structure, it is found that the structure

has started with the lexical verb ‗then give good news him‘ as a complement verbal

phrase. Then followed by the objective pronoun ‗him‘ referring to the unbelievers when

they (unbelievers) ignored Allah‘s warnings. This unlike Picktehell‗s translation, where

he also started his translation with the conjunction ‗ so‘ an indication for the consequence

of the events. Furthermore, the verbal sentence ‗give‘ as a reference of the ironical

structure غ ‘followed by the objective pronoun ‗him (then give good news him) فجل

referring to the unbelievers when they (unbelievers) ignored Allah‘s warnings. In both

translations, the difference is in the style of writing the beginning of the ironical

structural phrase. The first starts directly with the verb, while the second starts with the

conjunction ‗so‘ ;consequently, followed by the verb.

Ayah 4:

أ ب غ١غ اظ وب ؼ صبذ ب أسغجب ؼ ف١ب عث ٠صطغس اظ٠غ جبءو غ رظو غ ف١ ب ٠زظو غو ؼ

ص١غ ١ ب ظب فظلا ف

{ Fatir}

Ali Translation:

(37) Therein will they cry aloud (for assistance): ―Our Lord! Bring us out: we shall work

righteousness, not the (deeds) we used to do!‖- ―Did We give you long enough life so

that he would should receive admonition? And ( moreover) the warner came to you. So

taste you ( the fruits of your deeds): for the wrong-doers there is no helper.


123

And they cry for help there, (saying): Our Lord! Release us; we will do

right, not (the wrong) that we used to do. Did not We grant you a life

long enough for him who reflected to reflect therein ? And the warner

came unto you. Now taste (the flavour of your deeds), for evil-doers

have no helper.


ironical lexical words فظلا (then taste you), we noticed that he has used literal

translation strategy to come up with exact or better meaning. The same strategy

Picktehell has used when translated the ironical lexical words فظلا (then taste you),

into English uses literal translation , since according to him, translated the above

ironical structure might come up with better equivalence . In addition, both paraphrases

between two brackets to the Arabic ironical word فظلا (then taste you) in both

versions is different. If we look at Ali‘s paraphrases, we noticed that he paraphrases the

ironical word فظلا (then taste you) into the fruits of your deeds. While in Pickthell‘s

translation, he paraphrases it as the flavour of your deeds. Syntactically, both translations

led into different syntactic. If we look at Ali‘s translation to the underlined ironical

structure, it is found that the structure has started with the conjunction ‗ so ‗ , which is an

indication for the consequences of events. Then followed by the verb فظل ا reflecting

similar lexical irony as in the Arabic text. In addition, the verb فظل ا is an order action set

already by Allah to the unbelievers in the doomsday. This is unlike Picktehell‗s

translation, where he also start his translation with the adverb of time ‗now‘ an indication

for the consequence of the events. Then the verbal sentence ‗taste‘ as a verb order of the

ironical structure ف ظلا (then taste you) to the unbelievers when they (unbelievers)

ignored Allah‘s warnings.

Ayah 5:

جذ١ غ ٱ صغ إ فٲض ٱلل ص ﴾٢٩﴿ {al- Safat}

Ali Translation:

(23) Besides Allah, and lead them to the Way to the (fierce) Fire!


124

Instead of Allah, and lead them to the path to hell;


ironical lexical words ض we noticed that he has used literal ,(then guide them) فٲ


Picktehell has used when translated the ironical lexical words ض (then guide them) فٲ


ironical structure might come up with better equivalence . Syntactically, both translations


structure, it is found that the structure has started with the conjunction ‗ and ‗ , which is

an indication for the consequences of events. Then followed by the verb lead‘ reflecting

similar meaning as in the Arabic text. In addition, the verb ض is ا(then guide them) فٲ

an order action set already by Allah to the unbelievers in the doomsday. This is similar to

Picktehell‗s translation, where he also start his translation with the conjunction ‗and‘ an

indication for the consequence of the events. Then the verbal sentence ‗lead‘ as a verb

order of the ironical structure ض to the unbelievers when they (then guide them) فٲ

(unbelievers) ignored Allah‘s warnings.

Ayah 6:

ظ رذز ٱبع ظ ل ف ؼجبص فٲرم ثۦ ػجبصۥ ٠ ف ٱلل ه ٠ش {al-Zumur } ﴿١٦﴾ ط

Ali Translation:

(16) They shall have Layers of Fire above them, and Layers (of Fire) below them: with

this does Allah warn off His Servants: ― O My Servants! Then fear you Me ! ―


They have an awning of fire above them and beneath them a dais (of

fire). With this doth Allah appal His bondmen. O My bondmen, therefore

fear Me!

125


ironic we noticed that he has used literal translation strategy to make the ,(shadows) ظ

meaning clearer and acceptable. The same strategy has adopted by Picktehell when he

translated the ironical lexical word into English uses literal translation, since according

to him, translated the above ironical structure might come up with better equivalence.

Both translation have used different lexical words which are different for the original

meaning. For Ali‘s translation, he has used the word ‗layers‘ to reflect similar meaning to

While Picktehell‘s translation has used ‗an wing‘ to reflect similar .(shadows) ظ

meaning to In addition, Ali‘s translation has used the word ‗layers‘ twice.(shadows) ظ

for the ironical word This is unlike Pickthell‘s translation where he used.(shadows) ظ

the lexical word ‗an wing‘ and ‗beneath‘ to translate the ironical word .(shadows) ظ

Syntactically, both translations led into different syntactic. If we look at Ali‘s translation

to the underlined ironical structure, it is found that the structure has started with the

plurals lexical word ‗layers‘. This is unlike Pickthell‘s translation where he used a

singular word ‗an wing‘ and a formal preposition ‗ beneath‘ .

Ayah 7:

ىغ٠ ؼؼ٠ؼ ٱ {al-dukhan} ﴿٢٤﴾ طق إه أذ ٱ

Ali Translation:

(49) Taste you (this)! Truly were you mighty, full of honor!


(Saying): Taste! Lo! thou wast forsooth the mighty, the noble!

It is noticed that both translations have managed to transfer the intended meaning of the

ironical structure from Arabic text into English. But in terms of the process of translation,

it found that both have used similar main verb such as ‗taste‘ to translate the lexical word

but with clear differences to the surface structure of both translations. Ali‘s ,(taste) ,طق

126

translation used literal translation and overtranslation to the underlined Arabic طق, (taste),

since a direct translation might not serve the intended meaning. It is noticed that Pickthall

has used overtranslation to the ironical structure طق, (taste). The translation in Pickthall

has implied by using two external lexical words such as ‗saying‘ and ‗ Lo‘ in order to

respect the intended meaning of the Arabic ironical structure . Syntactically, both

translations have respected the syntactic structure of the Arabic text. If we look at the

above ayah, it noticed that the word ط ق, (taste), is an order and obligatory verb used to

punish the unbelievers in the doomsday. Both Ali and Pickthall‘s translations have

adopted different word order when translated the irony in the above ayat into English.

In Ali‘s translation, it is noticed that the English version is started with the irony the main

verb ‗taste‘ then followed by the pronoun ‗you‘ . This is not the case in Pickthell‘s

translation, where he (Pickthell) has not used the pronoun ‗you‘ with the irony طق,

(taste). Instead, he has started with two continuous verbs. The first verb is ‗saying‘ which

is present continuous tense, while he second, is the simple present verb such as ‗taste‘

then followed two exclamation marks ‗ ! ‗ to the lexical word ‗taste‘ and ‗ Lo ‗ .

Ayah 8:

ث كؼت ط ث ظ ا إ {al- murselat } ﴿۰٢﴾ ٱطم

Ali Translation:

(30) Depart you to a Shadow ( of smoke ascending ) in three columns


Depart unto the shadow falling threefold,


ironic we noticed that he has used literal translation strategy to make the ,(shadow) ظ




127

Both translations have used different lexical words which are similar the original

meaning. For Ali‘s translation, he has used the word ‗a shadow‘ with overtranslation such

as a Shadow ( of smoke ascending ) between two brackets to clarify the meaning in the

original text. . While Picktehell‘s translation has used ‗the shadow‘ to reflect similar

meaning to Syntactically, both translations led into different syntactic .(shadow) ظ

structure. If we look at Ali‘s translation to the underlined ironical structure ,(shadow) ظ

it is noticed that the structure has started with the indefinite article ‗a‘, to make the place

of shadow unidentified , since it could be too many shadows in the hell; to punish the

unbelievers. That the unbelievers might run to any shadow, thought can help them from

the punishment . This is unlike Pickthall‘s translation where he used the definite article

‗the‘ to the ironical structure . (the shadow) ظ

Conclusion

Generally the changes in the message of the ironical sentences are attributable to a

combination of causes, namely the syntactic changes, the grammatical changes

(especially tenses), the new lexical items and phrases that are appropriate to the culture

and sociolinguistic perceptions of the English speaking. The translators are found to have

employed a variety of translating strategies, namely the semantic, literal, word for word

translating strategies. The literal translating strategy seems to be relatively predominant.

That is, the translators seem to have used all of the three translating strategies, but have

done so eclectically.

References





128

Semantic and Syntactic Analysis when translating Irony in the Quranic Texts: A

Contrastive Study of Yousif Ali and Pickthell English Translations

Abstract

The main idea of this paper is that the translation of irony from Arabic into English in

Quranic texts might create different translational strategies. The way Arabic and their

English translations reflect the linguistic and cultural distance between both languages.

To tackle this problem, the study ventures into a contrastive analysis with reference to a

number of linguistic and non-linguistic devices and concepts. It concentrates on the

interpretation and the linguistic realization of irony in both languages. The study takes the

view that ironic devices are the foundation of the structural development of the texts in

question. To demonstrate this, the speech act and conversational theories shall be used.

The interaction between the ironic devices and the text development constitute a

framework for the overall rhetorical meaning of the text. Thus, contrastive analysis and

comparative stylistics analysis will be implemented. A through contrastive analysis is

made of when translating irony from Arabic into English using two versions of

translations; the first translation by Yousif Ali and the second by Mohammed

Marmaduke Pickthall. Similarities and differences between both texts are found In

addition, both Yousif Ali and Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall translations have used

different translational strategies in translating the ironical structures. Finally,

discrepancies were observed in the lexical form and function. Towards that end, this

linguistic or verbal communication between God and Allah create mutual understanding

through the use of human language common to both parties. Additionally, the will of

Allah is to open up a direct communication between Him and mankind manifests itself,

according to the Qur‘an, in the form of His sending down the ayat (verses).

Key words: semantic, syntax, translational strategies, figure of speech

Introduction

The first problem that arises when studying irony is that of its definition. Nowadays, most

critics agree that the old concept of irony as ― saying one thing and meaning another‖ is

129

no longer a comprehensive or accurate description of multifarious and complex

techniques that writers use to create irony Mateo (1995). On the other hand, irony and in

particular verbal irony, is not something that can be recognized by a fixed set of linguistic

or stylistic features Mateo (1995). There is no recognizable ironic tone or style. Irony

depends on context. Just as there are no words or expressions which are humorous per se

but by reason of their semantic or syntactic use in a context and which , as Walter Nash

puts it, will have to be defined ―extrinsically‖ by their contextual linkages and semantic

relationships Mateo (1995). So irony depends on context since it springs from the

relationship of a word expression or action with the whole text or situation. Mateo (1995)

Irony is a model that has been constantly used in literature. However, the study of irony

has not matched its prevalence in literature (Chackhachiro, 1997:8). This stems, at least

in the western world, from the fact that irony is taken for granted or , as Muecke (1969:

ix) put it ―…to be able to be ironical is perhaps part of the definition of our [ Western]

civilization…‖. Another factor may well be that irony is such a highly rhetorical and

elusive tool that it is difficult to defense in terms of its interpretation let alone style and

language, (Chackhachiro, 1997:8). In his attempts to describe the variable features that

affect the quality of irony, Muecke (1982: 52-55) as cited in (Chackhachiro, 1997:8)

recognizes for ironists ― …to break with advantage the rules of art‖ in order to enhance

irony. Muecke suggests four principles for a successful irony based on his observation

that ― A rhetorical effective, an aesthetically pleasing, or simply a striking irony owes its

success, it would seem, largely to one or more of a small number of principles and

factors‖, (Chackhachiro, 1997:8).

These principles are 1) the principle of economy, which implies the use of a few signals;

it is used in parody, advice and encouragement, the rhetorical question and other ironical

tactics; 2) the principles of high contrast (Chackhachiro, 1997:8). This takes place when

―…there is a disparity between what might be expected and what actually happened.‖

Muecke (1982:53), or when there is antithesis, semotactic anomalies or internal

contradiction; 3) the position of the audience, particularly in the theater where ― the

quality of the irony depends very much on whether the audience already knows the

outcome or true state of affairs or learns of these only when the victim learns.‖ Muecke

130

(1982:54) the topic- this factor or principle relates to the importance of emotions in

generating and enhancing both the observer‘s feeling toward the victim or the topic of

the irony and the reader‘s awareness and appreciation of the irony on an equal footing

among ―….the areas in which most emotional capital is invested: religion, love, morality

politics and history‖ Muecke (1982:55) .

Studies devoted to irony in English have all tackled the concept from a literary

perspective e.g Booth (1974), Handwerk (1985), Finaly (1990), Muecke (1969), Muir

(1990) as cited in (Chackhachiro, 1997:9). . The Arabic literary theorists, on other hand

have not given the same comprehension account to irony as their English counterparts,

especially in modern times. Instead there are many Arab writers who wrote on literary

criticism theory of ancient such as al-Jahiz, Ibn al-Muqaffa and Ibn Khaldun, as well as

reprints of those literary writers‘ and linguists‘ actual writings (Chackhachiro, 1997:9).

This lack of modern studies on the topic of irony does not take anything away from the

richness an importance of ancient Arab writers, especially Al-Jahiz, (Chackhachiro,

1997:9).

Data Analysis

The data analysis is contained eight verses from Quran and their English versions by

Yousif Ali and Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthell

Ayah 1:

ؼ١غ ـ ػظاة ٱ إ ض٠ ٠ ۥ ۥ ٠ع فأ ال ر ۥ أ (al Haj surat } ﴿٤﴾ وزت ػ١

.

Ali Translation:

(4) About the (Evil One) it is decreed that whoever turns to him for friendship, him will

he lead astray, and he will guide him to the Penalty of the Fire.


For him it is decreed that whoso taketh him for friend, he verily will

mislead him and will guide him to the punishment of the Flame.

131

It is noticed that both translations have been served the exact meaning in the Quran, but

in terms of translation, it found that both have used different lexical words. Ali‘s

translation used literal translation to the underlined Arabic words ض٠ ٠ , since a direct

translation might not serve the intended meaning. It is noticed that the same translation

Picktall has used. Syntactically, both translations have respected the syntactic structure of

the Arabic text; therefore, if we look at the above ayah, it noticed that the word ض٠ ٠ has

preceded by the conjunction ‗ ‗ (and) . Thus, both translators have used the same

conjunction in their translations. With regards to Ali‘s translation, it is noticed that the

English version is used the pronoun ‗he‘ with the irony ض٠ ٠ ( and guide); to refer to any

one who follows the Satan, would seduce him and lead him to the hell. This is not the

case in Pickthell‘s translation, where he (Pickthell) has not used the pronoun ‗he‘ with the

irony ض٠ ٠ ( and guide). Instead, he used the pronoun ‗he‘ at the start of the sentence ( he

verily will mislead him and will guide him..). It is a matter of repetitive that Ali‘s

translation has used to indicate directly and indirectly how bad if someone takes the Satan

as a companion. Semantically, both translations have translated the meaning of the irony

ض٠ ٠ ( and guide) literally to create an acceptable translation.

Ayah 2:

ج١ ـ ٱ رمطؼ جبي ٱغ زأر أئى رأر ﴿٢٩﴾ { al-ankabut}

ضل١ ٱص إ وذ أ لبا ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل ۦ إال اة ل ج ب وب ىغ ف ٱ ف بص٠ى

Ali Translation:

(29) Do you indeed approach men, and cut off the highway?- and practice wickedness

(even) in your councils? But his people gave no answer but this: they said: ― Bring us the

Wrath of Allah if you tell the truth‖


For come ye not in unto males, and cut ye not the road (for travellers), and commit ye not

abomination in your meetings? But the answer of his folk was only that they said: Bring

Allah's doom upon us if thou art a truth teller!

132

The irony in both versions has translated uses literal and one to one translations. If we

look at Ali‘s translation to the ironical lexical words we noticed that he has , ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل

used one to one translation to come up with exact meaning. This is unlike in Picktehell

translation where he has translated into English uses literal translation , since ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل

according to him, translated the above ironical structure might come up with better

equivalence . Syntactically, both translations led into different syntactic style of word

order. If we look at Ali‘s translation to the underlined ironical structure, it is found that

the structure has started with the lexical verb ‗bring‘ as a subject of the ironical structure

then followed by the objective pronoun ‗us‘ referring to the unbelievers , ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل

when they (unbelievers) make fun of the prophet Loot; moreover, the noun ثؼظاة (the

punishment) is used with definite article referring to Allah‘s punishment in the hereafter.

This is almost similar in Picktehell‗s translation, where he also started his translation with

the verbal sentence ‗bring‘ as a subject of the ironical structure But the . ٱئزب ثؼظاة ٱلل

difference is that in the location of the pronoun ‗us‘, where he located it at the end of the

ironical structure; consequently, it is noticed that the name of Allah comes after the verb

‗bring ‗then the lexical noun ‗doom‘ is indefinite in Picktehell ‗s translation.

Ayah 3:

غ ا فجل لغ أط١ فؼب وأ ـ ٠ ا وأ زىجغ ـ

زب ءا٠ ػ١ إطا رز ﴾٧﴿ {lukman}

ثؼظاة أ١

.

Ali Translation:

(7) When Our Signs are rehearsed to such a one, he turns in both his ears: announce to

him a grievous Penalty.


And when Our revelations are recited unto him he turneth away in pride

as if he heard them not, as if there were a deafness in his ears. So

give him tidings of a painful doom.


ironical lexical word غ we noticed that he has used ,(then give good news him) فجل

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literal translation strategy to come up with exact or better meaning. The same strategy

Picktehell has used when translated the ironical lexical word غ then give good) فجل

news him) into English uses literal translation , since this translation might come up

with better equivalence . Syntactically, both translations led into different syntactic. If we

look at Ali‘s translation to the underlined ironical structure, it is found that the structure

has started with the lexical verb ‗then give good news him‘ as a complement verbal

phrase. Then followed by the objective pronoun ‗him‘ referring to the unbelievers when

they (unbelievers) ignored Allah‘s warnings. This unlike Picktehell‗s translation, where

he also started his translation with the conjunction ‗ so‘ an indication for the consequence

of the events. Furthermore, the verbal sentence ‗give‘ as a reference of the ironical

structure غ ‘followed by the objective pronoun ‗him (then give good news him) فجل

referring to the unbelievers when they (unbelievers) ignored Allah‘s warnings. In both

translations, the difference is in the style of writing the beginning of the ironical

structural phrase. The first starts directly with the verb, while the second starts with the

conjunction ‗so‘ ;consequently, followed by the verb.

Ayah 4:

أ ب غ١غ اظ وب ؼ صبذ ب أسغجب ؼ ف١ب عث ٠صطغس اظ٠غ جبءو غ رظو غ ف١ ب ٠زظو غو ؼ

ص١غ ١ ب ظب فظلا ف

{ Fatir}

Ali Translation:

(37) Therein will they cry aloud (for assistance): ―Our Lord! Bring us out: we shall work

righteousness, not the (deeds) we used to do!‖- ―Did We give you long enough life so

that he would should receive admonition? And ( moreover) the warner came to you. So

taste you ( the fruits of your deeds): for the wrong-doers there is no helper.


And they cry for help there, (saying): Our Lord! Release us; we will do

right, not (the wrong) that we used to do. Did not We grant you a life

long enough for him who reflected to reflect therein ? And the warner

came unto you. Now taste (the flavour of your deeds), for evil-doers

have no helper.

134


ironical lexical words فظلا (then taste you), we noticed that he has used literal


Picktehell has used when translated the ironical lexical words فظلا (then taste you),


ironical structure might come up with better equivalence . In addition, both paraphrases

between two brackets to the Arabic ironical word فظلا (then taste you) in both

versions is different. If we look at Ali‘s paraphrases, we noticed that he paraphrases the

ironical word فظلا (then taste you) into the fruits of your deeds. While in Pickthell‘s

translation, he paraphrases it as the flavour of your deeds. Syntactically, both translations


structure, it is found that the structure has started with the conjunction ‗ so ‗ , which is an

indication for the consequences of events. Then followed by the verb فظل ا reflecting

similar lexical irony as in the Arabic text. In addition, the verb فظل ا is an order action set

already by Allah to the unbelievers in the doomsday. This is unlike Picktehell‗s

translation, where he also start his translation with the adverb of time ‗now‘ an indication

for the consequence of the events. Then the verbal sentence ‗taste‘ as a verb order of the

ironical structure ف ظلا (then taste you) to the unbelievers when they (unbelievers)

ignored Allah‘s warnings.

Ayah 5:

جذ١ غ ٱ صغ إ فٲض ٱلل ص ﴾٢٩﴿ {al- Safat}

Ali Translation:

(23) Besides Allah, and lead them to the Way to the (fierce) Fire!


Instead of Allah, and lead them to the path to hell;


ironical lexical words ض we noticed that he has used literal ,(then guide them) فٲ


135

Picktehell has used when translated the ironical lexical words ض (then guide them) فٲ


ironical structure might come up with better equivalence . Syntactically, both translations


structure, it is found that the structure has started with the conjunction ‗ and ‗ , which is

an indication for the consequences of events. Then followed by the verb lead‘ reflecting

similar meaning as in the Arabic text. In addition, the verb ض is ا(then guide them) فٲ

an order action set already by Allah to the unbelievers in the doomsday. This is similar to

Picktehell‗s translation, where he also start his translation with the conjunction ‗and‘ an

indication for the consequence of the events. Then the verbal sentence ‗lead‘ as a verb

order of the ironical structure ض to the unbelievers when they (then guide them) فٲ

(unbelievers) ignored Allah‘s warnings.

Ayah 6:

ظ رذز ٱبع ظ ل ف ؼجبص فٲرم ثۦ ػجبصۥ ٠ ف ٱلل ه ٠ش {al-Zumur } ﴿١٦﴾ ط

Ali Translation:

(16) They shall have Layers of Fire above them, and Layers (of Fire) below them: with

this does Allah warn off His Servants: ― O My Servants! Then fear you Me ! ―


They have an awning of fire above them and beneath them a dais (of

fire). With this doth Allah appal His bondmen. O My bondmen, therefore

fear Me!


ironic we noticed that he has used literal translation strategy to make the ,(shadows) ظ



136


Both translation have used different lexical words which are different for the original

meaning. For Ali‘s translation, he has used the word ‗layers‘ to reflect similar meaning to

While Picktehell‘s translation has used ‗an wing‘ to reflect similar .(shadows) ظ

meaning to In addition, Ali‘s translation has used the word ‗layers‘ twice.(shadows) ظ

for the ironical word This is unlike Pickthell‘s translation where he used.(shadows) ظ

the lexical word ‗an wing‘ and ‗beneath‘ to translate the ironical word .(shadows) ظ

Syntactically, both translations led into different syntactic. If we look at Ali‘s translation

to the underlined ironical structure, it is found that the structure has started with the

plurals lexical word ‗layers‘. This is unlike Pickthell‘s translation where he used a

singular word ‗an wing‘ and a formal preposition ‗ beneath‘ .

Ayah 7:

ىغ٠ ؼؼ٠ؼ ٱ {al-dukhan} ﴿٢٤﴾ طق إه أذ ٱ

Ali Translation:

(49) Taste you (this)! Truly were you mighty, full of honor!


(Saying): Taste! Lo! thou wast forsooth the mighty, the noble!

It is noticed that both translations have managed to transfer the intended meaning of the

ironical structure from Arabic text into English. But in terms of the process of translation,

it found that both have used similar main verb such as ‗taste‘ to translate the lexical word

but with clear differences to the surface structure of both translations. Ali‘s ,(taste) ,طق

translation used literal translation and overtranslation to the underlined Arabic طق, (taste),

since a direct translation might not serve the intended meaning. It is noticed that Pickthall

has used overtranslation to the ironical structure طق, (taste). The translation in Pickthall

has implied by using two external lexical words such as ‗saying‘ and ‗ Lo‘ in order to

respect the intended meaning of the Arabic ironical structure . Syntactically, both

translations have respected the syntactic structure of the Arabic text. If we look at the

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above ayah, it noticed that the word ط ق, (taste), is an order and obligatory verb used to

punish the unbelievers in the doomsday. Both Ali and Pickthall‘s translations have

adopted different word order when translated the irony in the above ayat into English.

In Ali‘s translation, it is noticed that the English version is started with the irony the main

verb ‗taste‘ then followed by the pronoun ‗you‘ . This is not the case in Pickthell‘s

translation, where he (Pickthell) has not used the pronoun ‗you‘ with the irony طق,

(taste). Instead, he has started with two continuous verbs. The first verb is ‗saying‘ which

is present continuous tense, while he second, is the simple present verb such as ‗taste‘

then followed two exclamation marks ‗ ! ‗ to the lexical word ‗taste‘ and ‗ Lo ‗ .

Ayah 8:

ث كؼت ط ث ظ ا إ {al- murselat } ﴿۰٢﴾ ٱطم

Ali Translation:

(30) Depart you to a Shadow ( of smoke ascending ) in three columns


Depart unto the shadow falling threefold,


ironic we noticed that he has used literal translation strategy to make the ,(shadow) ظ




Both translations have used different lexical words which are similar the original

meaning. For Ali‘s translation, he has used the word ‗a shadow‘ with overtranslation such

as a Shadow ( of smoke ascending ) between two brackets to clarify the meaning in the

original text. . While Picktehell‘s translation has used ‗the shadow‘ to reflect similar

meaning to Syntactically, both translations led into different syntactic .(shadow) ظ

structure. If we look at Ali‘s translation to the underlined ironical structure ,(shadow) ظ

138

it is noticed that the structure has started with the indefinite article ‗a‘, to make the place

of shadow unidentified , since it could be too many shadows in the hell; to punish the

unbelievers. That the unbelievers might run to any shadow, thought can help them from

the punishment . This is unlike Pickthall‘s translation where he used the definite article

‗the‘ to the ironical structure . (the shadow) ظ

Conclusion

This study aimed at finding the main translational strategies when translating irony n

Qur‘anic texts into English. The attempt has proved that the translation of irony is as

elusive as the concept itself; it has also emphasized, once more, the impossible task of

suggesting a perspective approach to translation based on the features of any number of

texts. The analysis of eight Qur‘anic verses was then followed by a contrastive analysis.

This was meant to point out the similarities and differences with a focus on the latter

which I believe, is the crux of any translation study. The analysis has also proved the

necessity of the linguistic approach to translating irony from Arabic into English. Arabic

and English texts have shown some similar rhetorical, grammatical and lexical use of

devices, text strategies and rhetorical meaning. However, the difference was most clear at

the level of textual realization. This was reflected in the discrepancy in the functions and

number of devices in both languages. These restrictions are imposed by each language‘

repertoire and culture. Thus, the cases at hand have shown that that the meaning of the

irony in both translations has translated either by literal translation or paraphrases

strategies. Thus, the task of finding strategies for translation equivalence becomes a

matter of finding equivalent surface realizations that reflect equivalent function. In other

words, each language has a preference of usage but both prove to have common features.

Reference

Chackhachiro, R. (1997). The Translation of Irony in Australian Commentary Political

Texts from English into Arabic.Ph.D thesis, University of Western Sydney Macarthur.

Mateo, M. (1995), The Translation of Irony, Meta, XL. 1,

Muecke, D.C. (1969). The compass of Irony. London: Methuen.

139

Muecke, D. C. (1982). Irony and the Ironic. London: Methuen.

140

Stylistic changes and Corresponding Semantic Shifts in Arabic Translation of

Political news.

Abstract

This paper examines the changes in the style when translating BBC news into Arabic .

Our data are pairs of English political news ST and their corresponding Arabic TT. It aims

to find the answer to the research question in: What are the stylistic changes that occur

when translating English BBC news into Arabic?. Towards that end, a comparative

methodology by Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) and Ghazala (1995) will be adopted by

paying attention to examine the stylistic changes in the TT. The changes of the style in the

Arabic translation could be attributable to many reasons. In this paper, we are focusing

our attention to the message changes in the process of translation that are attributable to

the following only: a) stylistic changes, The data analyses have shown that stylistic

changes are within the realm of syntactical and grammatical aspects.

Key words: style, translation, shift, message and political news

Introduction

1. Methodology

2.Vinay and Darbelnet (1995).








four procedures: (a) transposition, (b) modulation, (c) equivalence, (d) adaptation which

are used whenever grammatical, lexical, structural or conceptional divergences are

required due to certain stylistic effects in the source text. Our main concern in this paper

is how shift or transposition effect the process of translation.

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2.1. Transposition (Shift).

For Vinay and Darbelnet (1995:36) this involves replacing one word class with

another without changing the meaning of the message. They add that besides being a

special translational procedure, transposition can also be applied within a language. They

note that in translation there are two type of transposition: (a) obligatory transposition

and (b) optional transposition,

They also indicate that this method requires the translator to change the grammar

of the SL text; and the translator needs to shift the grammatical make-up of the SL to fit

that of the TL to achieve an equivalent effect or to produce the same effect on the

readership of the translation as was obtained on the readership of the original.

From a stylistic point of view, the base and the transposed expression do not

necessarily have the same value. Translators carry out a transposition if the translation

obtained fits better into the text or allows a particular nuance of style to be retained. The

transposed forms are generally more literary in character than the original. (Vinay and

Darbelnet, 1995:36).

3.Ghazala (1995).

Ghazala (1995:242) notes that style of short sentences has an important function

as it heightens the tempo of action in a text which is written in the form of a story apart

from the fact that such a style accelerates events and arouses suspense. He adds that it is

the only type of style which reflects a function of acceleration, that can be sensed by

reading the text aloud and quickly. Hence, in order to keep this function, it is suggested

that short sentences be re-echoed in the Arabic translation (Ghazala, 1995:242).

Ghazala further notes that the style of long sentences is better to be imitated in

Arabic because it has important stylistic functions which are a part of the meaning of the

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text. He adds that translating an English long sentence into Arabic long sentences might

be less problematic than breaking it into short sentences (Ghazala, 1995:245).

Ghazala also notes that there is a common mistake of changing the passive into

the active made by some Arabic translators who claim that Arabic is an active language,

whilst English is passive (Ghazala, 1995:246). In any case, he adds that this aspect of the




(Ghazala, 1995:246).

In terms of redundancy and repetition, Ghazala (1995:252) considers redundancy

is a bad style in translation, since it could dispose the meaning of the translation. He adds

that such style as a long, boring way of expressing meaning, using two, three or more

words instead of one word only, but at the same time it is the translator‘s job to be

faithful to the original text as much as to his job of translation. With respect to repetition,

Ghazala (1995: 252) says that ―this style would rather be rendered into Arabic, thus

reflecting the same effect of the original, and avoiding the problem of artificial variation

which might be hard to accept‖.

4. Data Analysis

The data of this investigation comprises 9 political news articles from the BBC

(British Broadcasting News) and their corresponding Arabic translations. The BBC news

have been chosen because they are documents for public consumption in which the

readers are not specialized group of people; instead they are laymen. These newspaper

articles are not of general nature; instead they are news on political events and

happenings. All these articles have been taken from the Internet, since parallel versions

in Arabic can be accessed easily.

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1. Passive Sentences.

In this section we will consider two cases of the English ST that need to be

rephrased to their suitable equivalence in the TT. We consider (1) through (3) below:

(1) (a) ST: US warns Russia over aid to Iran

Enriched uranium can be used as fuel in a nuclear activity, or, when highly refined, in a

nuclear weapon.

(b) TT: طبجخ اغ٠ى١خ ؿى ثلف ـبػضح ا٠غا ٠ب



( c) Trs: mutalaba amrikiya li mosko biwaqf musa‟adat eran nuwawiyan

Wa yumkin ann yustaikhdam al-yuranium al-mukhasab fi mafa‟lat tawlid al-taqa, aw fi

sun‟a al-asliha al-nuwawiya wa en kana hatha al-akhir yahtaj ela daraja „aliya min al-

takhsib.

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the ST contains the passive form can be

used whose structure is [ I‘-[Mod-Aux]- [V‘]]. Consequently, the Arabic version is

translated as [-Conj‘ [I‘ [Modal [Comp-[V‘]]]]]. The style of the passive sentence is to

concentrate on the action/patient while suppressing or ignoring the agent of the action.

The translator has reflected similar function, when he concentrates only on the action of

sentence during the translation. Thus, The passive form of can be used is translated as a

present simple along with a complementizer ا (anna) ‗that‘. In line with Ghazala (1995),

the passive of the above translation is dominant and hence the stylistic effects are not the

same as those of the active.

In the next example, we consider English ST, was kidnapped several weeks ago in (2a)

and its Arabic translation in (2b) below:

(2) (a) ST: US soldiers in Baghdad fighting


head.

(b) TT: لزبي ػ١ف ف اغبص ثغضاص

وب غ اطك- عج اػبي- لض اسزطف لج ػضح اؿبث١غ ث ػثغ ػ جثز ثؼض اغالق اغصبم ػ عئـ.

(c ) Trs: qital ‗nif fi al-rumadi wa Baghdad

Wa kana taha al-mtlaq- wa huwa rajul a‟mal –qad aukhtutifa qabla „dat asabee‟ thum „uthira „la

guthatihi b‟ada itlaq al-risas „ala rasih.

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From the above analysis, it is noticed that the ST is a complex sentence. It has an

appositive relative clause as its subject. The main clause is in the the passive form with

the verb was kidnapped followed by an adjunct, (several weeks ago). The overall structure

is [ Subject (Relative clause) –Predicate (Passive-adjunct)]. Consequently, the Arabic

version is translated as [Conj‘-[IP‘ (+past)-N‘ (IP‘)] –Conj [V‘-adjunct]]. The style of

passive is to concentrate on the action and supress the agent of the action. The translator

has reflected similar functions in Arabic in his translation. From the above analysis, it is

noticed that the SL text a simple sentence, the main clause contains the active form gave

… the structured [V‘]. Consequently, the Arabic version is translated as [Conj‘-passive

V‘]. The style of active is changed into passive form وب اسز١غ (Kama ukhteera) , literally:

as chosen‘ in the Arabic version. The translator has reflected similar idea of election, but

in different grammatical style, since the translator has ignored the agent of the action in

the Arabic version.

3. Long Sentences.

For long sentences we will show only the structure of the complex sentences in

terms how they are connected to each other without detailing the internal structures. We

consider (3):

(3) (a) ST: Bolton appointed US envoy to UN

Confirmation hearings hit headlines during the spring but became mired in debate

as the Senate readied itself to consider the nomination of John Reborts to the US

Supreme Court.

(b) TT:


وبذ اجـبد اشبصخ ثزبو١ض ازغك١خ لض رصضعد ػب٠ االسجبع سالي اغث١غ, ى االغ غبم ف

ؿبدخ اجضي ف الذ اظ اسظ جبؽ ال١ر ٠زبت ظغ ف رغك١خ ج عثغرؾ ذىخ

١خ اؼ١ب.االغ٠ى

(c ) Trs: tayjeen bultin mab‟uthan li-washintun lada al-umam al-

mutahida Wa kanat al-jalasat al-khasa bi takeed al-tarshih qad tasadarat

„anween al-akhbar khilal al-rabee‟ , wa lakin al-amr ghasa fi saha min al-

jadal fi al-waqt alathi akhatha majlis al-shiukh yataahab lil nadir fi tarshih

jun Roberts lil mahkama al-„lya .

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From (3a‘-b‘) above, it is noticed that the ST is a conjoined sentence in which the

subordinate clause is a series of three verb phrase complements. The corresponding

Arabic translation is also a conjoined sentence, but the subordinate sentence is a relative

clasue. The ST and the TT are different in terms of the way the sentences are connected.

In Arabic the conjunction comes in a clasue initial posisition: (wa) ‗and‘, ى االغ (wa

laken al amr) ‗but the matter‘. In the ST, the conjunction but joins two clauses

somewhere in the middle of the long sentence. In Ghazala (1995) view, the long

sentence is a normal style that is often used in Arabic language.

4. Repetitions and Variation.

In this section we will consider two cases of repetitions. We consider the first

case in (4) :



Jacques Chirac. Mr. Chirac has described the withdrawal as courageous, and is expected to

urge more Israeli moves to keep momentum towards peace in the Middle East. Mr.Sharon,

for his part, is expected to use the visit to praise the French government for its action

against anti-Semitism in France

(b) TT: كبع ف ثبع٠ؾ الجغاء ذبصثبد غ ك١غه



االؿػ. ٠زلغ ا ٠ـزشض كبع اؼ٠بعح الزضاح اذىخ افغـ١خ شطاد از ارشظرب اىبفذخ ؼبصاح اـب١خ.

(c )Trs: sharun fi barees li-ejra muhadathat m‘ shirak

Wa min al-mutawaq‟a ann tatim munaqashat al-insihab min qata‟ ghaza wa wasafa shirak

al-insihab bi anahu khutua shuja‟a wa min al-mutawaq‟a ann yahuth shirak al-esreliyeen

„la al-qiyam al-mazidmin al-khutuwat lil-muhafada „la al-daf‟ bi etejah al-salam fi al-

sharq al-awsat wa yatawaq‟ ann yastakhdim sharun al-ziyara li-emtidah al-hukuma al-

faransiya lil khutwat alati etakhathatha li mukafahat mu‟anat al-samiya.

In the English ST, the verb expected is repeated three times while the sense of

‗retreat‘ is expressed three times using three different lexical items: pullout, withdrawal

and move. Apparently, the repetition is a discourse strategy adopted by the writer of the

ST. A similar kind of repetition is found in the Arbic text as follows; for xample in the

determiner phrases and prepositional phrases: ازلغ (al-mitawaq‟a) ‗the expected‘,

146

-lil) شطاد the steps‘ and‗ (al-khitiwat) اشطاد ,‘the withdrawal‗ (al-ensihab) االـذبة

khuitwat) ‗for steps‘.

In the English ST, the noun phrase the nominal compounds tribal chielfs are

repeated twice; so is the pronominal they. A similar repetetive strategy is observed in the

Arabic TT: ػػبء اؼلبئغ اـ١خ (zu‟amaa al-„ashaer al-suneeya) ‗Sunni tribal chiefs‘ and

'' ػػبء اؼلبئغ (zu‟amaa al-„ashaer) ‗tribal chiefs‘. In Ghazala‘s (1995) view, some of

these phrases which are used as discourse strategies are sometimes unnecessarily

repeated in the TT.

5. Punctuation Marks.

Ghazala (1995) notes that punctuation marks have important stylistic functions

and caution Arabic translators to pay attention to them as they may have some semantic

implications. In this section we will consider the punctuation marks written in two cases

of the English ST and the TT using data in (5):

(5) (a) ST Maliki endorsed as new Iraqi PM.

They also gave the post of Parliament speaker to Mahmood al Mashhadani , a sunni Arab

.…

(b) وا اخر١ش سد اؾذا ع سئ١ظ دؼ١ح اط١ح

(c ) Trs:Kama ukhteera mahmood al mashadani wa hua suni raees lil jam‟eyah al

wataneeyah.

(8) (69) (a) ST: Gaza settlers face tough decision

Leader Ismail Haniya saud: ― Hamas confirms it is committed to armed resistence,

it is our strategic choice until the end of the occupation of our land.‖

(b)ذاة ا ف غضج لث١ االغساب االعشائ١

لا ي ام١اد ف زاط اعاػ١ ١ح: " زاط ذؤوذ ارضاا تامراي اغر,زا خ١اسا االعررشاذ١د زر ا٠ح

ازرالي اساض١ا".

(c ) taahub amni fi gaza qubeil al-insihab al-israeli

Wa qala al-qeeyadi fi hamas esma‘eel haneeya: ― hamas tuakid eltizamaha bi

al-qital al-musalah, hatha khyarana al-estitratigi hata nihayat ehtilal aradeeina‖

147

In (5a) a comma has been used in the ST to mark a following clause without using

a syntactic connective. Without the comma in place, a relative pronoun who is necessary.

Its corresponding Arab text in (5b) ignores the comma. The ST contains a colon and two

inverted commas. Hence, it is observed that punctuation marks are used inconsistently in

the TT.

Conclusion

This paper has examined quite number of English BBC news texts. The structures of the

English texts and their corresponding Arab translations have been compared using a

comparative analysis techniques and some narrative descriptions. To facilitate

researcher‘s description, the researcher has chosen to work within the main Stylistic ‗s

heading such as fronting, punctuations, passive, repetition, variation ,short and long

sentences. In summary, in the process of translation, significantly there have been many

stylistic changes. Most of these changes are within the realm of syntax (sentences, clauses

and phrases). Some other stylistic changes are due to morphological functions (tenses and

verb morphology).

References

Ghazala, Hasan. (1995). Translation as Problems and Solutions: A Coursebook for

University Students and Trainee Translators. Beirut: Dar wa Maktabat Al-Hilal. Lebanon

Vinay, Jean-.Paul. and Darbelnet, Jean. (1995). Comparative Stylistic of French and

English :A Methodology for Translation. Amsterdam :John Benjamins, The Netherlands.

148

Translating English BBC News Texts into Arabic : A Stylistic Variation

Abstract

This paper focuses on the stylistic changes that occur when translating English political

news into Arabic. It attempts to find the answers to the research question (a) , “ What is

the nature of the stylistic changes that occur in the Arabic translation? Towards this end,

it will look at the provided data from the perspectives of the ideas of styles in Ghazala

(1995) such as fronting, complex-simple, long-short sentences, formal-informal, passive-

active, repetition-redundancy, and punctuation marks. It has been found that these

stylistic changes are within the realm of syntax (sentences, clauses and phrases) and

changes that are within the domain of morphology (tenses, verb morphology, modality

and articles). Still other changes are in the area of discourse strategies (direct/indirect

speech, metaphors, connectives and punctuation marks).

Key Words: syntax, style, message, and morphology

Introduction

The process of translation into Arabic reached a high level in the second century of the

Hijra (Islamic calendar), i.e., the ninth century A.D., under the rule of a caliph called Al-

Mamun (813-833H). (Al –Shabab,1996:67). He was considered the founder of Dar Al-

Hikma (The House of Wisdom). This translation school attracted scholars from all parts of

the Islamic world at that time. (Al –Shabab, 1996:67). Translation from foreign

languages into Arabic, however, had started earlier in the Arabic civilization, and on this

point, Al- Shabab (1996:67) mentions that:

…an important work known as ‗Kalila and Dumuna‘, which tells stories

narrated by animal characters, stories of Indian wisdom, was translated in

the first century of the Hijra Calendar (eighth century A.D), by Ibn- AL-

149

Muqafa, who was a prominent administrator of Persian origin in the

Umayyad dynasty.

Al- Shabab (1996:70) also pointed out that during the Middle Ages, contacts between the

Arab world and Western world were low, but at the turn of the eighteenth century,

contacts between the East and West increased with the Napoleonic expedition to Egypt

(1798-1801). Thus, Al- Shabab (1996:70) further mentions that:

…these contacts and other circumstances helped bring about general,

political and cultural awareness which came to be known as the Modern

Arab Renaissance. The return of Arab Egyptian scholars, who studied in

European missionaries in Lebanon and Palestine, created the background

for learning and teaching works of literature, philosophy and science.

Also according to Al-Shahab (1996:70) transnlation activities from the French and

English had not stopped since the early decades of the nineteenth century. He further

mentioned that the missionary movement in Lebanon and schools in Egypt introduced

French, English and the Humanities into Syria, Palestine and Egypt. He asserted that the

introduction of foreign languages resulted in the soul of translation into Arabic, which

remained active even today. (Al- Shaba, 1996:70).

Arabic, a Semitic language, has a structure which is dominantly Verb-Subject-Object

(VSO). Mouakket (1986). The form of the language as well as the culture and social

organization of its speakers, deviates strongly from the form and culture of Indo-

European languages. (Mouakket,1986). According to Al- Shabab (1996:72) these

central points of form and culture probably explain why most works in English-Arabic-

English translation approach the problem by consideration of important lexical features

and structural patterns, particularly those which pose translational ambiguity; as for

example, in the works of Arabic scholars such as Nijjar (1980), Al- Shabab (1996) and

Mouakket (1986). Nida‘s (1964) idea of ―dynamic equivalence‖ as the theoretical basis

for analysis was adopted.

Ghazala (1995).

150






sentences be re-echoed in the Arabic translation. (Ghazala, 1995:242). Ghazala further

notes that the style of long sentences is better to be imitated in Arabic because it has

important stylistic functions which are a part of the meaning of the text. He adds that

translating an English long sentence into Arabic long sentences might be less problematic

than breaking it into short sentences. (Ghazala, 1995:245).



English is passive. (Ghazala, 1995:246). In any case, he adds that this aspect of the



reflected in Arabic translations to reflect their important functions in the message.

(Ghazala, 1995:246).





original text as much as to his job of translation. With respect to repetition (Ghazala,

1995: 252) says that this style would rather be rendered into Arabic, thus reflecting the


be hard to accept.

Data Analysis

151




not specialized group of people; instead they are laymen. These newspaper articles are

not of general nature; instead they are news on political events and happenings. All these

articles have been taken from the Internet, since parallel versions in Arabic can be

accessed easily.

Passive Sentences.

In this section we will consider two cases of the English ST that need to be rephrased to

their suitable equivalence in the TT. We consider (1) through (3) below:

(1) (a) ST: US warns Russia over aid to Iran

Enriched uranium can be used as fuel in a nuclear activity, or, when highly refined, in a

nuclear weapon.

(b) TT: طبجخ اغ٠ى١خ ؿى ثلف ـبػضح ا٠غا ٠ب



( c) Trs: mutalaba amrikiya li mosko biwaqf musa‟adat eran nuwawiyan

Wa yumkin ann yustaikhdam al-yuranium al-mukhasab fi mafa‟lat tawlid al-taqa, aw fi

sun‟a al-asliha al-nuwawiya wa en kana hatha al-akhir yahtaj ela daraja „aliya min al-

takhsib.

The English ST in (1a) and its Arabic translation in (1b) have the structures in ( a‘) and

(b‘) respectively below:

(a‘) ST: Enriched uranium can be used as fuel in a nuclear activity…

[ [enriched uranium] [ [can [be ]]] [ used [as …..]]]] IP‘ Spec I‘ Modal Aux V‘ Conj

(b‘) TT: ٠ى ا ٠ـزشض ا١عا١ اشصت ف

Wa yumkin ann yustaikhdam al-yuranium al-mukhasab…

[ [wa [ [yumkin [ ann [ustakhdam [ al-yuranium ….]]]]] Conj I‘ Modal Comp A‘ D‘

‗and + might + that + used + Uranium‘

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From the above analysis, it is noticed that the ST contains the passive form can be used

whose structure is [ I‘-[Mod-Aux]- [V‘]]. Consequently, the Arabic version is translated

as [-Conj‘ [I‘ [Modal [Comp-[V‘]]]]]. The style of the passive sentence is to concentrate

on the action/patient while suppressing or ignoring the agent of the action. The translator

has reflected similar function, when he concentrates only on the action of sentence during

the translation. Thus, The passive form of can be used is translated as a present simple

along with a complementizer ا (anna) ‗that‘. In line with Ghazala (1995), the passive of

the above translation is dominant and hence the stylistic effects are not the same as those

of the active.

In the next example, we consider English ST, was kidnapped several weeks ago in (2a)

and its Arabic translation in (2b) below:

(2) (a) ST: US soldiers in Baghdad fighting


head.

(b) TT: لزبي ػ١ف ف اغبص ثغضاص

وب غ اطك- عج اػبي- لض اسزطف لج ػضح اؿبث١غ ث ػثغ ػ جثز ثؼض اغالق اغصبم ػ عئـ.

(c ) Trs: qital ‗nif fi al-rumadi wa Baghdad

Wa kana taha al-mtlaq- wa huwa rajul a‟mal –qad aukhtutifa qabla „dat asabee‟ thum „uthira „la

guthatihi b‟ada itlaq al-risas „ala rasih.

The English ST in (60a) and its Arabic translation in (60b) have the structures in ( a‘) and

(b‘) respectively below:

(a‘) ST: Taha al-Mutlaq, a businessman, was kidnapped several weeks ago….

[ [ [Taha al-Mutlaq [ [a businessman]]]] [ was [ kidnapped [ several weeks ago …]]]] IP‘ Spec IP‘ IP D‘ I‘ V‘ Adjunct

(b‘) وب غ اطك- عج اػبي- لض اسزطف لج ػضح اؿبث١غ

[ wa[ [kana [ [taha al-mtlaq wa huwa rajul]] [a‟mal [ qad [aukhtutifa „dat asabee‘ .]]]]]] Conj IP‘ +past N‘ IP‘ Conj V Adjunct

‗and‘ ‗was‘ ‗Taha al-mutlaq - and he man might arrested several weeks…‘

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the ST is a complex sentence. It has an

appositive relative clause as its subject. The main clause is in the the passive form with

153

the verb was kidnapped followed by an adjunct, (several weeks ago). The overall structure

is [ Subject (Relative clause) –Predicate (Passive-adjunct)]. Consequently, the Arabic

version is translated as [Conj‘-[IP‘ (+past)-N‘ (IP‘)] –Conj [V‘-adjunct]]. The style of

passive is to concentrate on the action and supress the agent of the action. The translator

has reflected similar functions in Arabic in his translation.

Now, we will consider an example of active voice of the English ST in (61a) and its

Arabic version (3b) with transliteration in (3c ) below:

(3) (a) ST: Maliki endorsed as new Iraqi PM.

They also gave the post of Parliament speaker to Mahmood al Mashhadani , a sunni

Arab … (b) TT:وا اخر١ش سد اؾذا ع سئ١ظ دؼ١ح اط١ح

(c) Trs. Kama ukhteera mahmood al mashadani wa hua suni raees lil jam‟eyah

alwataneeyah.

The English ST in (3a) and its Arabic translation in (3b) have the structures in ( a‘) and (b‘)

respectively below:

(a) They also gave the post of…..

[ … [ also [gave]the post of….]

IP Adv V D N P

(b) وب اسز١غ ذص الضا ؿ عئ١ؾ جؼ١خ اغ١خ

[Kama[ ukhteera [ mahmood al mashadani….]

COnJ V N

As chosen Mahmood al-mashadani….

(passive)

From the above analysis, it is noticed that the SL text a simple sentence, the main clause

contains the active form gave … the structured [V‘]. Consequently, the Arabic version is

translated as [Conj‘-passive V‘]. The style of active is changed into passive form وب اسز١غ

(Kama ukhteera) , literally: as chosen‘ in the Arabic version. The translator has reflected

similar idea of election, but in different grammatical style, since the translator has

ignored the agent of the action in the Arabic version.

Long Sentences.

154

For long senences we will show only the structure of the complex sentences in terms

how they are connected to each other without detailing the internal structures. We

consider (4):

(4) (a) ST: Bolton appointed US envoy to UN

Confirmation hearings hit headlines during the spring but became mired in debate

as the Senate readied itself to consider the nomination of John Reborts to the US

Supreme Court.

(b) TT:


وبذ اجـبد اشبصخ ثزبو١ض ازغك١خ لض رصضعد ػب٠ االسجبع سالي اغث١غ, ى االغ غبم ف

ؿبدخ اجضي ف الذ اظ اسظ جبؽ ال١ر ٠زبت ظغ ف رغك١خ ج عثغرؾ ذىخ

االغ٠ى١خ اؼ١ب.

(c ) Trs: tayjeen bultin mab‟uthan li-washintun lada al-umam al-

mutahida Wa kanat al-jalasat al-khasa bi takeed al-tarshih qad tasadarat

„anween al-akhbar khilal al-rabee‟ , wa lakin al-amr ghasa fi saha min al-

jadal fi al-waqt alathi akhatha majlis al-shiukh yataahab lil nadir fi tarshih

jun Roberts lil mahkama al-„lya .

Now, we will consider an example of a long sentence of the English ST in (a‘) and its

Arabic version in (b‘) below:

(a‘) [ [Confirmation hearings hit headlines during the spring]] IP‘ IP

[but [ [became mired in debate [as [the Senate readied itself Conj IP‘ Comp IP‘

[ [to consider the nomination of John Reborts to the US Supreme Court.]]]]]]. Comp‘ IP‘

155

(b‘) COMP‘

Comp IP‘

Conj.

wa

kanat al-jalasat al-kha a

bi takeed al-tarshih qad tasadarat

„anween al-akhbar khilal al-rabee‟ , CONJ‘

IP‘

Conj

wa lakin al-amr ghasa fi saha min al-jadal fi al-waqt D‘

IP‘

alathi akhatha majlis al-shiukh yataahab

lil nadir fi tarshih jun Roberts lil mahkama al-„lya

From (4a‘-b‘) above, it is noticed that the ST is a conjoined sentence in which the

subordinate clause is a series of three verb phrase complements. The corresponding

Arabic translation is also a conjoined sentence, but the subordinate sentence is a relative

clasue. The ST and the TT are different in terms of the way the sentences are connected.

In Arabic the conjunction comes in a clasue initial posisition: (wa) ‗and‘, ى االغ (wa

laken al amr) ‗but the matter‘. In the ST, the conjunction but joins two clauses

somewhere in the middle of the long sentence. In Ghazala (1995) view, the long

sentence is a normal style that is often used in Arabic language.

Repetitions and Variation.

In this section we will consider two cases of repetitions. We consider the first case in (5)

through (6):

156



Jacques Chirac. Mr. Chirac has described the withdrawal as courageous, and is expected to

urge more Israeli moves to keep momentum towards peace in the Middle East. Mr.Sharon,

for his part, is expected to use the visit to praise the French government for its action

against anti-Semitism in France

(b) TT: كبع ف ثبع٠ؾ الجغاء ذبصثبد غ ك١غه



االؿػ. ٠زلغ ا ٠ـزشض كبع اؼ٠بعح الزضاح اذىخ افغـ١خ شطاد از ارشظرب اىبفذخ ؼبصاح اـب١خ.

(c )Trs: sharun fi barees li-ejra muhadathat m‘ shirak

Wa min al-mutawaq‟a ann tatim munaqashat al-insihab min qata‟ ghaza wa wasafa shirak

al-insihab bi anahu khutua shuja‟a wa min al-mutawaq‟a ann yahuth shirak al-esreliyeen

„la al-qiyam al-mazidmin al-khutuwat lil-muhafada „la al-daf‟ bi etejah al-salam fi al-

sharq al-awsat wa yatawaq‟ ann yastakhdim sharun al-ziyara li-emtidah al-hukuma al-

faransiya lil khutwat alati etakhathatha li mukafahat mu‟anat al-samiya.

In the English ST, the verb expected is repeated three times while the sense of ‗retreat‘ is

expressed three times using three different lexical items: pullout, withdrawal and move.

Apparently, the repetition is a discourse strategy adopted by the writer of the ST. A

similar kind of repetition is found in the Arbic text as follows; for xample in the

determiner phrases and prepositional phrases: ازلغ (al-mitawaq‟a) ‗the expected‘,

-lil) شطاد the steps‘ and‗ (al-khitiwat) اشطاد ,‘the withdrawal‗ (al-ensihab) االـذبة

khuitwat) ‗for steps‘.

Now we will consider the next example (6) and its Arabic version with transliteration

below:

(6) (a) ST: Iraq tribes ‗taking on al-Qaeda‘

A group of Sunni tribal chiefs in Iraq say they have caught more than 100 al-Qaeda

members in recent months. The tribal chiefs in the Iraqi province of Anbar joined forces in

September in an attempt to defeat al-Qaeda. They set the salvation Council for Anbar and

claim to have reduced the numbers of weapons and foreign fighters coming into the area..

(b) "ػلبئغ ؿ١خ ػغال١خ "رزصض مبػضح

لبذ جػخ ػػبء اؼلبئغ اـ١خ ف اؼغاق ا اما امجط ػ اوثغ 1000 ػعبء امبػضح ف االكغ

االس١غح. وب ػػبء اؼلبئغ ف ذبفظخ االجبع لض ظا لار ف ؿجزجغ/ا٠ي ابظ ف ذبخ معبء ػ

رظ١ امبػضح.اؿـذ ظ اؼلبئغ جؾ امبط االجبع ػػذ اب ؿبذ ف سفط ػضص االؿذخ امبر١١

االجبت ف ظ اطمخ .

(c ) Trs: ‗ashaer suneeya eraqiya “tatasada lil-qa‟ada”

157

Qalat majmu‟a min zu‟amaa al-„ashaer al-suneeya fi al-eraq anahum alqaw al-qabd‟la

akthar min 1000 min a‟daa al-qa‟eda fi al-ashhur al-akhira. wa kana zu‟ama al-„ashaer fi

muhafadat al-anbar qad damu quwatahum fi septambar / aylul al-mdi fi muhawalat lil-

qada „la tandem al-qa‟eda wa asasat hathihi al-„ashaer majlis enqath al-anbar wa za‟amat

enaha sahamat fi khefd „adad al-aslha wa al-muqatileen al-ajaneb fi hathih al- mantaqa.

In the English ST, the noun phrase the nominal compounds tribal chielfs are repeated

twice; so is the pronominal they. A similar repetetive strategy is observed in the Arabic

TT: ػػبء اؼلبئغ اـ١خ (zu‟amaa al-„ashaer al-suneeya) ‗Sunni tribal chiefs‘ and ػػبء

'' اؼلبئغ (zu‟amaa al-„ashaer) ‗tribal chiefs‘. In Ghazala‘s (1995) view, some of these

phrases which are used as discourse strategies are sometimes unnecessarily repeated in

the TT.

Punctuation Marks.

Ghazala (1995) notes that punctuation marks have important stylistic functions and

caution Arabic translators to pay attention to them as they may have some semantic

implications. In this section we will consider the punctuation marks written in two cases

of the English ST and the TT using data in (7) and (8):

(7) (a) ST Maliki endorsed as new Iraqi PM.

They also gave the post of Parliament speaker to Mahmood al Mashhadani , a sunni Arab

.…

(b) وا اخر١ش سد اؾذا ع سئ١ظ دؼ١ح اط١ح

(c ) Trs:Kama ukhteera mahmood al mashadani wa hua suni raees lil jam‟eyah al

wataneeyah.

(68) (69) (a) ST: Gaza settlers face tough decision

Leader Ismail Haniya saud: ― Hamas confirms it is committed to armed resistence,

it is our strategic choice until the end of the occupation of our land.‖

(b)ذاة ا ف غضج لث١ االغساب االعشائ١

لا ي ام١اد ف زاط اعاػ١ ١ح: " زاط ذؤوذ ارضاا تامراي اغر,زا خ١اسا االعررشاذ١د زر ا٠ح

ازرالي اساض١ا".

(c ) taahub amni fi gaza qubeil al-insihab al-israeli

Wa qala al-qeeyadi fi hamas esma‘eel haneeya: ― hamas tuakid eltizamaha bi

al-qital al-musalah, hatha khyarana al-estitratigi hata nihayat ehtilal aradeeina‖

158

In (7a) a comma has been used in the ST to mark a following clause without using a

syntactic connective. Without the comma in place, a relative pronoun who is necessary.

Its corresponding Arab text in (7b) ignores the comma. As for (8a), the ST contains a

colon and two inverted commas. As found in the data in (8b), the translator has respected

the ST punctuation marks in his translation into Arabic. Hence, it is observed that

punctuation marks are used inconsistently in the TT.

Conclusion

This paper has examined quite number of English BBC news texts. The structures of the

English texts and their corresponding Arab translations have been compared using various

techniques: phrase markers in tree configuration, in linear structures (label-braketting)

and some narrative descriptions. To facilitate researcher‘s description, the researcher has

chosen to work within the main Stylistic ‗s heading such as fronting, punctuations,

passive, repetition, variation ,short and long sentences. In summary, in the process of

translation, significantly there have been many stylistic changes. Most of these changes

are within the realm of syntax (sentences, clauses and phrases). Some other stylistic

changes are due to morphological functions (tenses and verb morphology).

References

Al-Shahab, O.S. (1996). Interpretation and the Language of Translation: Creativity and

Conventions in Translation. London: Janes Publishing Company, U.K.

Mouakket, A. (1986). Linguistic and Translation: Some Semantic Problems in Arabic-

English Translation. Ph.D thesis, Georgetown University, U.S.A.

Najjar, M. F. (1984). Translation as a Corrective of Meaning: Cultural and Linguistics

Transfer between Arabic and English. Michigan: Ann Arbor University Press.

Nida, E.A. (1964). Toward a Science of Translating. Leiden: Brill, E.J., Netherlands.



159

The Strategies of Translating English Compounds into Arabic

Abstract

This paper is both a linguistic study of and a search for a methodology for the translation

of English nominal compounds into Arabic. The reasons for selecting such phenomena

for investigation are linguistic and pedagogic. Arabic having no such complexly-

packaged constructions, it will be argued, Arabic-speaking learners find it difficult to

cope with these in English owing to their semantic compactness, which might occasion

all sorts of mistranslation (sometimes funny but sad). This semantic opaqueness is

strongly believed to influence students' processing and translating negatively. The main

contribution of this paper consists in (i) suggesting a two-step strategy for students to

produce intelligible translations of these nominal sequences, namely, intralingual

disambiguation (using valence theory), and an interlingual search for translation

equivalence arrived at after all the pieces of the syntactic puzzle are put in the right place;

(ii) offering a set of generalizations or guidelines towards the building of a methodology

for compounds translation based on observations in translation practice and comparative

stylistics tutorials.

Introduction

This research focuses on the problems of English-Arabic translation and the importance

of understanding some methods for translating English nominal compounds into Arabic

language, morphological, syntactical, semantical peculiarities and diferences between

language in the process of translating. The underlying assumption for this research is that

the translator must understand the grammatical structure of English and Arabic to

translate English nominal compounds into Arabic language effectively since translation

is generally viewed as the process of establishing equivalence between the source

language and target language and equivalence depends mainly on the closeness or

160

remoteness of the source language to the target language .In translating, it is important to

ensure the surface meaning of the two languages in translation are approximately similar

and, at the same time, to ensure that the structure of the source language is preserved as

well as possible but not so closely that the target language structure will be seriously

distorted.

A survey of the related literature

2.1 Definition of English compounds

Compound constructions are so widely used and common in everyday speech. In addition

to this, they are common in all types of written text. According to Selkirk:

― compounds in English are a type of word structure made of two

constituents, each belonging to one of the categories noun,

adjective, verb, or preposition.‖

Selkirk (1982:13)

2.1.1 Compounding in English

The linguistic literature about compounding with English morphology is too wide to be

mentioned in detail in such limited space. Therefore, only features that are thought to be

relevant to the topic at hand are highlighted. As for Arabic compounding (al-murakabaat

il-;ismiyya ), a brief survey of compounding in Arabic will be given. Quirk et al cited in

Maalej (1994) ―adopt a lexcio- semantic approach which links compounds to sentential or

clausal paraphrases‖. This claim is supported by the evidence that compounds share

syntactic structures relation with sentences ( Selkirk 1982) in using the same lexical

categories of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Further, the head and modifier of

compounds are involved in complex grammatical functions ( thematic and non-thematic)

of subject, verb, object, complement, and adverbial like in clauses and sentences.

2.1.2 Background to English compounds

161

The majority of English compound types are headed – especially, right –headed and the

heads of these compounds display the syntactic and semantic characteristics that are

expected of heads. These compounds refer to classes of things and they that have used

daily.

Compounds play a role in the lexicon because they have the ability for creating a class of

noun phrase (NPs) intended for naming entities with no pre-existing names, and

according to Downing (1977:823) are characterized by ―packing a maximum amount of

information into a minimal amount of linguistic structure‖. Finin (1980:310) cited in

Maalej (1994) claims that one of the characteristic features of compounds in English is

their semantic compactness, i.e. the covert nature of the relations linking the head (the

one which is modified and often occupies the right most position in the nominal

sequence) and the non-head (the modifier).

Compounding widen the range of combinational possibilities for the suffixes which

create new meaning. The following combinations of lexemes may exemplify such

productivity: bathroom towel rack, designer training program (Selkirk, 1982:5). It is

found that major issues to be studied in compounding are the generation, interpretation,

and headedness of compound. In addition to this, a division between the transformational

and the nontransformational views will be made. Maalej (1994) suggests about the

difference between them is that:

―The former holds that compounds arise from a deep

structure similar to that of a relative clause .In surface

structure, unnecessary material is deleted to make a

compound construction possible‖

Maalej (1994)

This model has been contested as: -

(i) The semantic relation between the head and non-head

can vary considerably. (ii) In compounds, some of semantic relation which makes it

impossible for the meaning of the compounds to be captured

through modification in the strict sense by relative clause

162

paraphrase. This semantic relation may include part whole,

whole-part, comparison, time, place, etc.

Selkirk (1982:30)

In the example by Downing (1977:828) about ― suicide attempt‘‘ Downing says that ―it

is not an attempt which is suicide‖ .This means that compounds present a deep strucutre.

While according to Selkirk (1982:15 –19), ―the grammar of compounding in English

consists simply of a set of context-free rewriting rules‖ Selkirk says ―transformation has

no role in English compounding‘‘.The idea of headedness is considered among the major

issues in compounding because from our understanding of the headedness, we can

differentiate the relation between the head and the modifier whether English compounds

or Arabic compounds because both of them have a head and a non head. Also, because

the semantic interpretation of the overall compound structure depends on the manner,

Selkirk points out:

―the non head constituent of the compound in some way

further defines the head‖. She suggests that ―the semantic

relation between cake and baker is the same as the relation

between cakes and baker in the phrasal collocation a baker of

cakes: cakes is the theme of baker‘‘.

Selkirk (1982:23)

At the surface structure, there is a lexico-semantic approach which links compounds to

sentential or clausal paraphrases. This means that compounds share syntactic structure

relation with sentences in using the same lexical categories of nouns, verbs, adjectives,

and adverbs .The head and modifier of compounds are involved in complex grammatical

function of subject, verb, object, complement, and adverbial like in clauses and

sentences.

2.1.3 The categories of English compounds

Selkirk (1982:14) and Maalej (1994) divided English compounds into three kinds

namely, compound of nouns, compound of adjectives, and compound of verbs.

163

Compound of nouns can be divided into two word compounds and multi-word

compounds. Both two-word compounds and multi word compounds have their own sub

divisions. Two-word compound is sub-divided according to adjectivability, non-

deverbativity and deverbativity. Deverbativity itself is divided into deverbal –er, deverbal

noun in (–ing, -ment,-tion), deverbal noun countable and deverbal noun deriving from

prepositional verb. Multi word compound, on the other hand is sub-divided into active

compound and passive compound. The figure below shows this division:

Word-formation

English compounds

Compounds of noun. Compounds. Of adjectives Compounds. Of verbs

Two- word compound multi-word compound

Comound of. (non)devebativity Compound of. deverbativity Active Compound Passive

Compound.

Deverbal –er deverbal noun in –ing,-ment,-ion deverbal noun countable

Deverbal noun deriving from prepositional verb

Figure 2.1 Categories of English compounds and the stem of English nominal

compounds. (Extracted from Selkirk 1982:14 & Maalej 1994)

164

2.1.3.1 Compounds of nouns

This kind of compound is considered the largest one because is divided into four main

categories with subdivisions.These categories are N.N, A.A, V.N and P.N. According to

Selkirk (1982:14) a compound noun could have a suntax like N.N (livingroom), A.N

(wellwisher), P.n (outbuilding and V.N (rattlesnake).

N.N is divided into two word and multi word. Two word is divided into non-

deverbativity (nominal verbles compound), deverbal with –er (nominal verbal

compound), deverbal with (-ing,-ment.-ion), deverbal with countable and the last one is

deverbal with deriving preposition.The difference between non-deverbal (nominal

verbles compound) and deverbal with –er(nominal verbale compound) is that the verbale

element of non-devebativity (nominal verbless compound is) is missing Dillon (1977:51),

which means the headnoun of non deverbativity does not take suffix like –er,-ing,-ment

and –tion, but this kind of compound consists of two sequences noun.noun and the

interpretation of the noun compounds depends on the relation that is understood between

them.Maalej (1994) states about non-deverbativity (nominal verbless compound) is that

nominal verbless compounds do not include verbs but consist of an NN sequence, and are

described more semantically, because of the relation between the HN with the modifier.

For example:

― in steam engine, N1 operates/ powers N2, whereas in telephone

receiver N1 has N2. Semantic typologies, however, capitalize on

the modification of one concept by another. Talking about GM

cars, which should be read as cars made by GM,‖

Maalej (1994)

Another kind of compounds of noun is the nominal verbal compound with suffixes to the

headnoun (deverbal). The headnoun of nominal verbal compounds is formed by adding

the suffixes –er, -tion, -ment, -ing to base verb to make deverbal noun. Dillon (1977)

described this kind of compound:

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―The sense of the compound can be at least roughly

paraphrased as a sentence in which the verb is the one

underlying the second (deverbal noun ) and the first plays

some role in relation to it. As a construction type- noun +

deverbal noun –it is indeterminate with respect to the exact

role played by the first noun, but the learner is not at at an

utter loss in guessing the range of alternatives‖

Dillon (1977:51)

The figure below shows compound of nouns and its kinds:

Non-deverbativity

deverbal with -er

Tow-word deverbal with-

-ment, -tion,-ing

deverbativity

deverbal with

countable

N.N Deverbal deriving

A.N from preposition

Active compound

V.N

NC

P.N multi word

Passive compound

Figure 2.2 Categories of compound of nouns

2.1.3.2 Compounds of adjective

Compound adjectives are formed according to a large number of different patterns. They

consist of three categories noun, adjective, and preposition. According to Selkirk

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(1982:14), ‗a compound adjective may consist of a noun, an adjective, or a preposition

followed by an adjective‘. As in the following example which are quoted from Selkirk:

― NA (headstrong), AA (icy cold), PA (overwide)‖

Selkirk (1982:15)

The figure below shows the kind of compound of adjective according to Selkirk‘s theory

N

A A A

P

Figure 2.3 Kinds of compound of adjectives

2.1.3.3 Compounds of verbs

In relation to this kind of English compounds; Bauer (1983:207) cited Adams as saying:

― The majority of compound verbs in English are not

formed by putting two lexemes together to form a new

verb, but by back-formation or conversion from

compound noun‖

According to Selkirk (1982:14), ― a compound of verb may consist of a preposition followed

by a verb‖ as in the following example which is quoted from Selkirk (1982:15), ‗outlive‘.

So, this kind of English compound is different from compounds of noun and compounds of

adjective because it consists of two word namely a preposition and a verb to produce one

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construction of compound which is compound of verb. The following figure shows the kinds

of compounds of verbs:

V P V

Figure 2.4 Kinds of compounds of verbs

2.2 Arabic compounds

According to Kharm and Hajjaj (1989:47), ―Arabic compounds are made up of two

constituents‖, but Arabic compounds take different syntactic shapes when translated. In

other words, the meaning may remain the same when translated into English; but the

syntax is different. This happens because some Arabic compounds when translated will

include three factors namely annexation al-iDafa, which means that the first noun al-

mudaf ilahi (head) has neither article nor nunation and the second noun al-mudaf

(modifier) puts in the genetive case Versteech (1997:78), e.g baytu l-maliki(the owner ‗

house ), and baytu l-raguli (the man house ) preposition, and declension(accusative,

nominative, genetive).

In Arabic language there is just one form of noun compound which is noun+ noun while

in English language there are three forms that can take one form when they are translated

into Arabic. Two of them deal with the possessive case such as noun+‘s+noun,

noun+of+noun and the last one is compound of noun+noun.

2.2.1 Categories of Arabic nominal compounds

Owing to the differences between Arabic compounding (AC) and English compounding

(EC), Kharma and Hajjaj (1989:47) claim that ―the mistakes that students commit, are

168

expected to be of the type where the semantic relation between the elements is made

syntactically explicit in Arabic‘‘. Arabic compounds are simple and less productive than

English compounds (?al-murakkabaat l-?ismiyya) because English compounds are so

wide and consist of a lot of forms depending on each type such as Compounds of nouns,

Compounds of verbs and Compounds of adjectives. Arabic compounds include three

types:

(i)Numeral compounds (?al-murakkabaat l-?adadiyya ) which are lexicals as in

xamsata ashara (literally means: five ten for fifteen)

(ii) Blended compounds (?al-murakkabaat l-mazjiyya) which are lexico-semantics as

in SabaaHa masaa (literally means: morning evening for day and night).However,

both blended compounds and Numeral compounds contain an implicit additive

article wa (and) from the surface to avoid ambiguity.

(iii) Other types of Arabic compound patterns that are equivalent to most English

compound patterns are nominal annexation (al-iDafa), which includes annexation,

pluralization and adjective (described and describer).

So, English compounds may be problematic in translation since, Arabic uses very little

linguistic resource to cope with English compounds, namely: nominal annexation (or al-

iDaf), which refers to a form of genetive where the second noun (modifier) is annexed to

the first, making it definite. Translating compounds into Arabic is essentially

investigating the valence of compounds constituents, which involves:-

(i) the relation between head and modifier.

(ii) Morpho-syntactic information in order for compound construction to be linked

within Arabic discourse.

The typology offered here is simple in order to cope with Arabic compounds because the

range of English compounds is so wide compared to the range of Arabic compounds. For

practical purposes, compounds will be classified into one standard form, which is an

annexation compound to be in parallel to English nominal compounds and suit their

translation into Arabic. Nevertheless, sometimes there is a type of Arabic nominal

compound in which its modifier does not take a genetive case or annexation but it is still

considered a nominal compound such as ةءارق رلا ةلاس (reading a letter). We found that

169

the modifier of the Arabic compound رلا ةلاس does not take the genetive case but the

compound is considered as a nominal compound.

Qabash (1974:282), defines Arabic nouns as consisting of simple nouns and compound

nouns. Simple nouns consist of one word noun while compound nouns are nouns, which

consist of two words built together. The compound itself consists of three types; namely

Blended compound and numeral compound and annexation compound. The figure below

shows the division of Arabic compounds

Arabic noun

simple compound

Annexation compound Blended compound numerical compound

Figure 2.5 Types of Arabic nominal compounds

Examples:

Simple: دمحأ ‗Ahmad‘

Annexation compound: ةيعون أللأ ةحلس ‗weapons quality‘

Blended compound: تومارضح ‗HaDramaut‘ Ahmad (1974:282)

Numerical compound: رشعدحأ ‗Ahada ashar‘ (literally means: one ten for eleven)

Qabash (1974:283)

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2.2.2 The Structure of Arabic nominal compounds

Arabic compounds are different from English Compounds syntactically, English

compounds can be said to take one form in written text, while Arabic Compounds can

take more than one form when the English Compounds are translated.The idea of

building on Arabic Compound is mainly dependent on the explanation of the Case

ending of words in the sentence, called (‗irab) a term that originally meant the correct

use of Arabic, according to the language of the Bedouin which means (‗irab )

―declension‖ .

Westren grammarians usually call the three ending Nominative (raf ‗), genetive (jar ),

accusative (nasb) .The case endings refer to syntactic functions. A word may be followed

by an ending to indicate that the word is a definite nunation (tanuin ) . The main

function of the genetive case is to mark the effect of particles on nouns to indicate the

second in possessive construction. Particles which govern the nouns are called in Westren

tradition ‗preposition ‗ e.g. ila l-madinati (to the city ) .

In the possessive construction where Arabic compounds include Case endings, it is

annexation (al –iDafa) which means, the first noun (al-mudaf ) has neither article nor

nunation, and the second noun (al- muDaf ileihi) puts in the genetive case. Versteech

(1997), comments on the relation between the first noun and the second noun as below:

―The governance relationship between the two nouns in the (iDafa )

annexation construction is a controversial issue .Because in

principle nouns do not govern, later grammarians objected to

Sibawayhi ‗s view that the first noun govern the second. Instead

they attributed ending to a particle li (for ) belong to which was

inserted on an underlying level i.e baytu li-l-maliki (house for –

the-king ) genetive.‖

Versteech(1997:78)

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3.1 Methodology and Analysis

3.1.1 Selection methods

In this paper, I‘m going to use one theory in translating English nominal compound into

Arabic language. The theory is Selkirk‗s model (1982). The idea of this theory is that,

English compounds made up of two constituents that belonging to one of the following

categories: noun (and its branches), verb, adjective, and preposition.

Non-deverbativity

.

deverbal with –er.

N.N deverbal with –ing,-ment, -ion.

A.N

NC V.N deverbal with countable

P.N

Deverbal with deriving preposition

Figure 3.1 Categories of Selkirk‘s Model

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Article analysis

Selkirk‘s Model (1)

English text(SL) Arabic text(TL)

English nominal compounds

non-deverbativity.

deverbal with –er.

N.N deverbal with –ing,-ment, -ion.

A.N looking for them

V.N deverbal with countable

P.N in the Arabic article

deverbal with deriving preposition

Figure 3.2 Shows the analysis of English nominal

compounds according to Selkirk‟s theory in the English-

Arabic article

3. 1.2 Two-word compounds

Quite obviously, this class of compounds consists of modifier and head noun, which, for the sake of

brevity, will be referred to as N1 and N2, respectively. The criteria to be applied to this class is

adjectivilizability, (non)deverbativity, and countability.

173

3. 1. 2.1. Adjectivilizability

As the study is adopted by Maalej (1994), it is advisable to ask students to check whether the translation

equivalent of N1 in Arabic (henceforth, TL) is adjectivilizable. If it is so, the sequence could be

translated as N+Adj (na3t wa man3ut or describer and described) in TL. For instance, in:

(1) investment opportunities,

investment (?istiqmaar) has a corresponding adjective in TL (?istiqmaariyyun), which makes it

possible to translate the whole as imkaaniyyat ?istiqmaariyya .

There are cases, however, where, even though N1 is adjectivilizable, the compound may also

be translated as N+N, where N1 is annexed to N2 as in the following:

(2) forest products

(2') ?almantujaat l-Rabiyya

(2'') mantujaat l-Raba

But translating (2) as (2'') may create ambiguity as in:

(3) I prefer forest products, which have not been treated chemically.

(?ufaDDilu mantujaati l-Rabati l-latii lam taxDa3 li-3ilaajin kiimyamiyyin.)

The question is: which does the relative clause modify, l-Rabati or mantujaati l-Rabati? There is no

indication in the translation that one or the other is chosen as the antecedent for the relative clause.

However, translating the sequence as:

(4) (?ufaDDilu l-mantujaati l-Rabiyyati l-latii lam taxDa3 li-3ilaajin kiimya?iyyin),

174

definitely collapses l-mantujaati l-Rabiyyati in one indivisible semantic unit, thus doing away with

ambiguity.

Maalej (1994), noted that the adjectivilizability criterion should not be taken as an infallible one with.

Even though it accounts for a respectable rate of success, some counterexamples do exist. For instance,

gold digger, whose N1 is adjectivilizable (dahabiyyun for gold), does not yield an acceptable translation

with an adjective in TL:

(5) gold digger

(5') * al-munaqqib ?idahabiy (the digger the golden: the golden digger)

(5'') al-munaqqib 3an ?i-dahab (the digger for the gold: the gold digger)

Some other exceptions include: key word, liquid air, keynote address, etc. Instructors should guard

against overgeneralizations by presenting these as guidelines and not rigid rules, by talking their

students into measuring the results of applying these guidelines to overall Arabic acceptability.

3. 1. 2.2. Non-deverbativity

Deverbativity deals with nouns deriving from verbs through suffixes such as -ing, -ion, -er, and -ment.

Non-deverbativity, therefore, is used here to mean nouns that are not derived from verbs through

suffixes, but that may have the same linguistic form as verbs like funtion, catch, experience, etc., whose

class memebership is extended to nouns and verbs in English. If N1 of a given compound is not

adjectivilizable, and if N2 is not a deverbal noun, the sequence is translated as N+N, where N2 is always

indefinite and N1 is always definite and annexed to N2 as in the following:

(6) picture quality

(naw3iyyatu ?i-SSura: quality the picture)

This way of translating accounts for a big number of English compounds, where

3. 1. 3. Deverbativity

175

The deverbal component is crucial for the following reasons:

(i) the deverbal noun facilitates recognition within the structure of the compound;

(ii) being a deverbal noun, N2 follows most of the steps implemented in the translation of two-word

compounds, with a few modifications; and

(iii) Since the deverbal noun originates in a verb, the student would have to track its verbal counterpart

to see whether it is a self-transitive verb, a transitive verb passing through a preposition or simply an

intransitive one. Notice that within this class four major types can be isolated depending on the

deverbal noun.

3. 1. 3. 1. Deverbal noun in -er

If N1 is not adjectivilizable and abstract, and if N2 is a deverbal N in -er, the sequence is best translated

as N+N, where N2 is an agentive noun and N1 is annexed to it in the singular as in:

(7) lightning arrester

(daafi3 ?iS-Saa3iqa)

3. 1. 3. 2. Deverbal noun in -ing, -ion, -ment

If N1 is an abstract non-adjectivilizable noun, and if either N1 or N2 is a deverbal N in -ing, -ion, -

ment, the sequence is best translated as N+N, where the deverbal noun is rendered as a definite verbal

noun (or maSdar) annexed to the other N, Maalej (1994) . The following examples illustrate the

different suffixes in different positions, and verbal nouns will be underlined:

(8) recording function (waDiifat ?i-tasjiil)

(9) flight simulation (muHaakaat ?i-Tayaraan)

(9') absorption peak (dirwatu l-?imtiSaaS)

(10) management sciences (3ulum t-taSarruf)

176

(10')

Note that the -ing is restricted here because very often when they occupy N2 position, they

systematically take count/concrete N1, which we will go to later.

There are cases, however, where either the modifier or the HN can consist of a conjoined structure as in

the following examples:

(11a) transportation and cleaning (modifier) technologies

(11b) color reproduction and sharpness (HN)

In the case of (11a), students should be instructed to translate it as technologies of transportation and

cleaning, with transportation first following the HN technologies, as in:

(11a') taqniyaat n-naql wa t-tanDiif

As for (11b), color reproduction is translated as a self-sufficient compound followed by the translation

of sharpness, cliticizing a pronoun coreferential with the person and gender of the HN reproduction as

in:

(11b') muHaakat l-?alwaan wa Hiddatiha

3. 1. 3. 3. Deverbal noun countable

If N1 is a concrete countable non-adjectivilizable noun, and if N2 is a deverbal N in -er, -ing, -ion, -

ment, the sequence is best translated as N+N, where N2 is rendered as a verbal noun (or maSdar) and

N1 is systematically pluralized and annexed to N2. Note that if the sequence is indefinite in the SL, it

will be translated as N+N, where both are indefinite as in:

(12) a travel agency (wikaalat ?asfaar)

However, if the sequence is definite in the SL, it is rendered in the TL as NN, where only N1 is definite

as in:

177

(13) the car park (marfa? ?issayyaraat)

Exceptions to this rule may be found: e.g. road holding (mulaazamati t-Tariiq). One obvious reason in

Arabic for not pluralizing road, although it is a concrete countable non-adjectivilizable noun, may be

found in raising ambiguity. Translating road holding as mulaazamati t-Turuq, could be ambiguous

between two readings: t-Turuq, being methods in Arabic, the sequence in the plural can mean sticking to

methods instead of sticking to the road.

Concluding points for translating English nominal compounds into Arabic

This section sums up the major problems that are faced by the translator in translating English

nominal compounds into Arabic language to get nominal compounds. Firstly, Arabic language

does not have compounds of adj plus N and compounds of P plus N while V.N, found in Arabic

as a phrase not as a nominal compound because in Arabic language there is only one form of

nominal compound, which consists of noun plus noun while English language has all these kinds

of compounds. Secondly, the translator mostly the translator does not translate all of English

nominal compounds in the SL text, and at the same time he does not give any words or

expressions for the omitted English nominal compounds in the TL, in this way the translator uses

type of translation which translation by omission which causes a loss in the meaning of Arabic

text. Thirdly, it is not difficult to apply the transposition in Arabic nominal compound when

translating from the SL text, because sometimes the translator has to use it, because he/she finds

that literary translation not the suitable way to give equivalence between the SL and the TL.

Concerning the literary translation method or word for word translation method, the translator of

English nominal compounds into Arabic always uses literary translation because by using this

method, the translator thought it is sometimes suitable to convey the whole meaning of the

English nominal compounds into Arabic and at the same time can make the reader of the Arabic

text understand the idea clearly. If we come to the equivalence, in all article analyzed, the

translator his/her first aim is to find acceptable meaning between the SL and the TL.This means

that the translator succeeds in using the equivalence when translated English nominal

compounds into Arabic. Concerning borrowing, modulation, calque, the translator does not use

them or find them when translated English nominal compounds into Arabic Fourthly, sometimes

178

it is difficult to give alternative translations to the English nominal compounds when translating

into the TL text. So, it is problematic. Fifth, sometimes the modifier of Arabic nominal

compounds does not always take the annexation اي (the) to make it definite but it takes the

preposition )) (for) and this preposition called ―appended preposition‖ does not give new

meaning to the Arabic structure but just strengthen the meaning or purpose in the sentence of the

Arabic text. Sixth, the translators sometimes are forced to use prepositions to be appended to the

Arabic structure to convey the same or similar meaning in the SL, because if the translator does

not use the preposition with some of the Arabic nominal compounds that need a preposition the

meaning is affected and becomes funny. Seventh, all English structures of two words may be

considered as compounds in the SL text, but not all of these English nominal compounds when

translated into Arabic language will give nominal compounds because of the special preposition

such as ‗for‘ and ‗from‘ which link the head noun with the modifier in order to give strong

meaning in the Arabic text. Eight, syntactically, Arabic nominal compounds should take the

declension signs. The modifier always takes the genetive case (kasra) while the head noun

should take the accusative or nominative depending on its position in the TL text and also the

modifier should be definite while English nominal compound does not have such a declensional

system. Night, morphologically, sometimes the modifier of the English nominal compounds in

the SL text take an - S and it does not give a plural meaning to the English modifier in the SL

text as ‗the sanctions issues‘ . When this compound is translated into Arabic language, the

translator cannot keep its plural marker in the Arabic version because in Arabic language we do

not have the plural for this word‘ sanctions‘ because its singular gives two meanings; singular

and plural.

179

REFERENCES

Bauer, L. (1983). English word-formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bauer, L. (1988). Introducing linguistic morphology. Bristol. UK

Dillon, L.G. (1977). Introduction to contemporary linguistic semantic. New Jersey. USA.

Downing, A. & Locke, P. (1992). A university course in English grammar. Prentice Hall.

UK.

Downing, P. (1977). ―On the creation and use of English compound nouns‖, Language,

53: 4, pp.810-842.

Finaly, I.F. (1971). Translating. Edinburgh.UK

.

Kharm, N. & Hajjaj, A. (1989). Errors in English among Arabic grammar of the written

language. Harlow: Longman (13) group Ltd. UK.

Kharma, N. (1983). A contrastive analysis of the use of verb forms in English and

Arabic:studies in descriptive linguistics; vol. 10. Heidelberg, Germany.

.

Maalej, Z. (1994). ―English-Arabic machine translation of nominal compounds”. In

P.Bouillon & D. Estival (eds.), proceedings of the workshop on compound noun:

Multilingual Aspect of nominal composition. Geneva :ISSO, pp.135-146.

Qabash, A. (1974). Al kamal fi al nahw wal Sarf lillughati al arabia. Dar Al-Jeel

Company . Beirut. Lebanon.

Selkirk, E. O. (1982). The syntax of words. Cambridge/ Mass : The MTT Press.

Versteech, O. (1997). The Arabic language. Edinburgh.UK

Vinay, J.P. & Darbelnet, J. (1995). Comparative stylistic of French and English : a

methodology for translation. Amsterdam, the Netherlands & Philadelphia. USA.

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