Table Of ContentThinking Arabic Translation
Thinking Arabic Translation is an indispensable book for linguists who want to
develop their Arabic-to-English translation skills. Clear explanations, discussions,
examples and exercises enable students to acquire the skills necessary for tackling
a broad range of translation problems.
The book has a practical orientation, addressing key issues for translators, such
as cultural differences, genre, and revision and editing. It is a book on translation
method, drawing on a range of notions from linguistics and translation theory to
encourage thoughtful consideration of possible solutions to practical problems.
This new edition includes:
• new material in almost all chapters
• a new chapter on parallelism
• two new chapters on technical translation: botanical and Islamic fi nance texts
• new and up-to-date examples from all types of translation, covering broad
issues that have emerged in the Arab world in recent years
• texts drawn from a wide variety of writing types, including newspapers,
prose fi ction, poetry, tourist material, scientifi c texts, fi nancial texts, recipes,
academic writing, constitutions and political speeches
• at least three full-length practical translation exercises in each chapter to
complement the discussions and consolidate learning.
In addition to the updated Tutor’s Handbook, a Supplement, containing textual
material and practical exercises aimed at further developing the translation issues
discussed in the main text, and a Tutor’s Handbook to the Supplement, are available
at www.routledge.com/cw/dickins.
Thinking Arabic Translation is key reading for advanced students wishing to
perfect their language skills or considering a career in translation.
James Dickins is Professor of Arabic at the University of Leeds, UK.
Ian Higgins, who, with the late Sándor Hervey, originated the Thinking Translation
series, is Honorary Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages at the University of
St Andrews.
Titles of related interest
For a full list of titles in the Thinking Translation series, please visit www.routledge.com
Thinking Italian Translation
A Course in Translation Method: Italian to English
Sàndor Hervey, Ian Higgins, Stella Cragie and Patrizia Gambarotta
Russian Translation
Theory and Practice
Edna Andrews and Elena Maksimova
Routledge Course in Japanese Translation
Yoko Hasegawa
Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies
Second Edition
Mona Baker and Gabriela Saldanha
Arabic-English-Arabic Legal Translation
Hanem El-Farahaty
In Other Words
A Coursebook on Translation
Mona Baker
Becoming a Translator
An Accelerated Course
Douglas Robinson
The Scandals of Translation
Lawrence Venuti
Translation Studies
Susan Bassnett
Thinking Arabic Translation
A course in translation method:
Arabic to English
Second edition
James Dickins, Sándor Hervey
and Ian Higgins
Second edition published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 James Dickins, Sándor Hervey and Ian Higgins
The right of James Dickins, Sándor Hervey and Ian Higgins to be identifi ed as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2002
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dickins, J. (James), author. | Hervey, Sândor G. J., author. |
Higgins, Ian, author.
Title: Thinking Arabic translation : a course in translation method :
Arabic to English / James Dickins, Sândor Hervey and Ian Higgins.
Description: Second edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York :
Routledge, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references, glossary, and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2016013513 | ISBN 9780415705622 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780415705639 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315471570 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Arabic language—Translating into English.
Classifi cation: LCC PJ6403 .D53 2016 | DDC 428/.02927—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016013513
ISBN: 978-0-415-70562-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-70563-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-47157-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction xiv
1 Translation as a process 1
1.1 Basic defi nitions 1
1.2 Intersemiotic translation 2
1.3 Intralingual translation 3
1.4 Interlingual translation 5
1.5 The tools of the trade 7
Practical 1 9
Practical 1.1 Gist translation: ﮫﺗﺎﻌﻠﻄﺗ ﻦﻋ ﺮﺒﻋ ﺎﻤﯿﻓ 9
Practical 1.2 Gist translation: ﺔﻈﺣﻼﻤﻟاو ﺮﻛﺬﻟﺎﺑ ﺮﯾﺪﺟ ﻮھ ﺎﻤﻣو 11
Practical 1.3 Gist translation: ءﻲﻄﺒﻟا تﻮﻤﻟا .. تارﺎﯿﺴﻟا مداﻮﻋ :ﻒﻗﻮﺗ 11
2 Translation as a product 13
2.1 Degrees of freedom in translation 13
2.1.1 Interlinear translation 13
2.1.2 Literal translation 14
2.1.3 Free translation 14
2.1.4 Communicative translation 14
2.1.5 From interlinear to free translation 15
2.2 Equivalence and translation loss 16
2.2.1 Equivalence 16
2.2.2 Translation loss 18
2.2.2.1 Translation by omission 20
2.2.2.2 Translation by addition 21
2.2.2.3 Controlling translation loss 22
Practical 2 22
Practical 2.1 Literal versus balanced translation:
ﻦﯿﻈﻓﺎﺤﻤﻟا ﻢﻜﺣ ﺰﯿﻤﺗو 22
Practical 2.2 Degrees of freedom in translation: ﻚﻣأ لﻮﻘﺘﺳ اذﺎﻣ 23
Practical 2.3 Literal versus free translation: ﺔﻠﯿﻤﺠﻟا ﺎﻨﺘﻐﻟ 25
vi Contents
3 Revising and editing TTs 26
3.1 Introduction 26
3.2 Revision 26
3.3 Editing 30
Practical 3 32
Practical 3.1 Revising and editing: ةدﺎﻌﺴﻟا ةﺮﯾﺰﺟ ىﺮﻄﻘﺳ 32
Practical 3.2 Revising and editing: ﺪﮭﻌﻟا ﻰﻠﻋ .. ندرﻷا 33
4 Cultural transposition 36
4.1 Basic principles 36
4.2 Exoticism 36
4.3 Calque 37
4.4 Cultural transplantation 38
4.5 Cultural borrowing 39
4.6 Communicative translation 41
4.7 Transliterating names 42
Practical 4 43
Practical 4.1 Cultural transposition: ﮫﺗاﻮﻄﺧ ﮫﺗدﺎﻗو 43
Practical 4.2 Cultural transposition: ﻲﺠﯿﻠﺨﻟا رﻮﻀﺤﻟا ﻢﺠﺣ زﺮﺒﯾو 43
Practical 4.3 Cultural transposition: ﮫﺳﺎﻔﻧأ دﺮﺘﺴﯾ نﺎﻛ ﻦﯿﺣو 45
Practical 4.4 Cultural transposition: ﻲﺋﺎﺼﺧإ كﺎﻨھ ﺲﯿﻟو 46
5 Compensation 48
5.1 Basic principles 48
5.2 Categories of compensation 51
Practical 5 56
Practical 5.1 Compensation: يﺮﺠﯾ اﺪﺣاو ىﺮﺗ نأ 56
Practical 5.2 Compensation: ﻞﯾﻮط ﺖﻗو ﺮﻤﯾ ﺪﻗ 57
Practical 5.3 Compensation: ﺔﻤﯿﻤﺻ ﺔﯾﺮﺼﻣ ةﺮﺳأ ﻲﻓ تﺄﺸﻧ 58
6 Genre 60
6.1 Introduction 60
6.2 Treatment of subject matter 62
6.3 Oral and written texts 65
Practical 6 67
Practical 6.1 Genre: ﺔﻟﻼﺻ ﻒﯾﺮﺧ 67
Practical 6.2 Genre: بﺮﻌﻟا ﻚﻠﻔﻟا ءﺎﻤﻠﻋ سﺎﻗ 68
Practical 6.3 Genre: مدآ ﻦﺑا ﺎﯾ 69
Practical 6.4 Genre: ﺔﺷﻮﻜﻟا ﻲﻓ ﺔﻧوﺮﻘﻣ 69
Practical 6.5 Genre: ﺔﺨﯿﺷ ﺦﯿﺸﻟا 71
7 Denotative meaning and translation issues 73
7.1 Denotative meaning 73
7.1.1 Synonymy 74
7.1.2 Hyperonymy-hyponymy 75
Contents vii
7.1.3 Particularizing translation and generalizing translation 77
7.1.4 Semantic overlap and overlapping translation 79
7.1.5 Near-synonymy and translation 81
7.2 Semantic repetition in Arabic 82
7.2.1 Synonym and near-synonym repetition 83
7.2.2 Hyperonym-hyponym repetition 85
7.2.3 Associative repetition 88
7.3 List restructuring 90
Practical 7 92
Practical 7.1 Denotative meaning: مﻮﯿﻟا ﺔﯾﺮﺸﺒﻟا ﻒﻘﺗ 92
Practical 7.2 Denotative meaning: ءﺮﻤﻟا ﻊﻤﺘﺴﯾ ﺎﻣﺪﻨﻋ 93
Practical 7.3 List restructuring and associative repetition:
ﻲﻣﻼﺳلٳا ﻦﯾﺪﻟا تﺎﺒﻠﻄﺘﻣ ﺖﻧﺎﻛ 93
8 Connotative meaning and translation issues 95
8.1 Basic principles 95
8.2 Attitudinal meaning 95
8.3 Associative meaning 97
8.4 Affective meaning 99
8.5 Allusive meaning 101
8.6 Collocation and collocative meaning 101
8.7 Refl ected meaning 103
8.8 Other types of connotative meaning 104
Practical 8 105
Practical 8.1 Collocation: (a) ﻢﻈﻨﻟا هﺬھ ﻞﻤﺸﺗو, (b) ﺪﯾﺪﻌﻟا مﻮﻘﺗ 105
Practical 8.2 Collocation: (a) ﺎﻤﺋاد بﺮﺤﻟا نأ, (b) ﺔﺳﺎﺋﺮﻟا تﺮﺴﺧ 105
Practical 8.3 Connotative meaning: ﺔﻠﺣﺮﻟا 106
Practical 8.4 Connotative meaning: ﺔﯿﻧﻮﯿﮭﺼﻟا ﺔﻨﺻﺮﻘﻟا 107
Introduction to the formal properties of texts 108
9 Phonic/graphic and prosodic issues 111
9.1 The phonic/graphic level 111
9.1.1 Alliteration, assonance and rhyme 111
9.1.2 Onomatopoeia 115
9.2 The prosodic level 117
9.2.1 Rudiments of English and Arabic versification 119
9.2.1.1 English 119
9.2.1.2 Arabic 120
9.2.2 Translating Arabic verse 122
Practical 9 123
Practical 9.1 The phonic/graphic and prosodic levels:
ءﺎﺸﺗ ﺎﻣ ﻞﻌﻔﺗ مﺎﯾﻻا عد 123
Practical 9.2 The phonic/graphic and prosodic levelsː َﻦﯿﺤﯿﺒﻗ ﺎﱠﻨﻛُ ﻢﻛ .. هِآ 124
Practical 9.3 The phonic/graphic level: ماﻮﻋﻻا ﺖﻌﺑﺎﺘﺗ 125
viii Contents
10 Grammatical issues 127
10.1 Introduction 127
10.2 The grammatical level 127
10.2.1 Words 127
10.2.2 Grammatical arrangement 128
10.2.3 Morphological repetition 132
10.2.3.1 Pattern repetition 132
10.2.3.2 Root repetition 135
10.2.3.3 Suffix repetition 139
10.2.4 Lexical repetition 140
10.2.4.1 Lexical item repetition 140
10.2.4.2 Phrase repetition 142
Practical 10 143
Practical 10.1 Lexical item and root repetition: ﻲﻘﺒﻄﻟا ﺰﯿﯿﻤﺘﻟا نإ 143
Practical 10.2 Lexical item and root repetition:
ﻞﺷﺮﺸﺗ ﺔﯾﺮﻘﺒﻋ ﻦﻣ ﻢﻏﺮﻟا ﻰﻠﻋو 143
Practical 10.3 Lexical item repetition and other forms of
repetition: تﺎﻓﺎﻘﺜﻟاراﻮﺣ 144
11 Parallelism 146
11.1 Introduction 146
11.2 Defi nition of parallelism 146
11.3 Simple cases of parallelism 147
11.4 Complex cases of parallelism 148
11.5 Translating Arabic parallelism 152
Practical 11 154
Practical 11.1 Parallelism: ﺔﻈﺣﻼﻤﻟاو ﺮﻛﺬﻟﺎﺑ ﺮﯾﺪﺟ ﻮھ ﺎﻤﻣو 154
Practical 11.2 (Near-)synonym repetition and parallelism:
زرﺎﺒﻟا بﻮﻠﺳﻻا اﺬﮭﺑو 155
Practical 11.3 Parallelism: ﻰﻀﻣ ﺪﮭﻋ ﻰﻠﻋ ﻲﻜﺑا ﻻأ ماﻮﻋﻷا ﻲﻨﺘﻤﻠﻋ 156
Practical 11.4 Parallelism and list restructuring:
ﻢﯾﺮﻜﻟا لﻮﺳﺮﻟا نإ 157
12 Sentential issues 159
12.1 The sentential level 159
12.2 Textual variables on the sentential level 160
12.2.1 Prosodic features 160
12.2.2 Theme and rheme 163
12.2.2.1 Sentence stress 164
12.2.2.2 Emphatic preposing 165
12.2.2.3 Basic theme–rheme translation issues 165
12.2.3 Foregrounding and backgrounding 166
Contents ix
12.2.4 Interaction of theme–rheme and main–subordinate
elements 167
12.2.5 Translation of Arabic coordinated clauses 170
Practical 12 171
Practical 12.1 Theme and rheme and mainness and
subordination: ﺔﯾدﻮﻌﺴﻟا ﺖﻌﻓد ﺪﻘﻟ 171
Practical 12.2 Theme and rheme, mainness and subordination,
coordination: رﺪﻘﻟا نﺄﻛو 172
Practical 12.3 Theme and rheme, mainness and subordination,
coordination: ﺎﻣﺪﻗ ﻲﻀﻤﻟا ﻦﻣ ﺎﯿﻛﺮﺗ ترﺬﺣ 172
13 Discourse and intertextual issues 174
13.1 Introduction 174
13.2 The discourse level 174
13.2.1 Cohesion and coherence 175
13.2.1.1 Sentence splitting 183
13.2.1.2 Textual restructuring 183
13.2.1.3 Paragraphing 184
13.3 The intertextual level 185
13.3.1 Genre membership 185
13.3.2 Quotation and allusion 188
Practical 13 190
Practical 13.1 The discourse level: cohesive-device revision
of ﺔﯿﺳﺎﯿﺴﻟا رﺎﻤﺜﻟا هﺬھ ﻦﻜﻟو TT 190
Practical 13.2 The discourse level: ﻦﯿﺘﺴﻟا عرﺎﺷ ﻦﻣ 192
Practical 13.3 The discourse level: ﻲﻧاﺮﯾﻹا يوﻮﻨﻟا ﻒﻠﻤﻟا ﻲﻈﺣ 193
14 Metaphor 194
14.1 Introduction 194
14.2 General defi nition of metaphor 194
14.2.1 Lexicalized metaphor and non-lexicalized metaphor 195
14.2.1.1 Categories of lexicalized metaphor 196
14.2.1.2 Categories of non-lexicalized metaphor 197
14.2.2 The purposes of metaphor 198
14.2.3 Metaphorical force 198
14.3 Basic translation techniques for metaphor 199
14.3.1 Dead metaphors 199
14.3.2 Stock metaphors 199
14.3.3 Recent metaphors 200
14.3.4 Non-lexicalized (conventionalized and original)
metaphors 201
14.4 Extended and mixed metaphors 204
