8th Lecture

Translation
Media Texts:
• Media texts deal with the main means for receiving information and entertainment, the language
usually found in articles and advertisements published in newspapers or broadcast on radio, TV,
websites, etc.
• These depend on the addressee and their main function is to express the message in an effective
way, so they emphasize the layout and mode of presentation.
• In newspapers, for example, the message is aided with much focus on the display of
headlines/banners (font size, organization, prominence and other typographical features) in the
way most appealing to readers .
• Being a sub-category of non-fiction, media texts do not always apply the literary use of language.
• First, media texts tend to adopt a different structure. Careful structuring is important for all types
of text, ‘whether you’re writing a novel, a letter to a friend, or a recipe, clear structuring is the key
of effective communication’ .
• Indeed, structuring of texts is vital not only for strengthening one’s argument, but for the
coherent flow of information. However, unlike conventional writing, media texts often have a
different opening and emphasis.
• While literary texts, for example, habitually offer a clear introduction, media texts open with what
is often referred to as a ‘lead’ which is used to ‘create suspense or surprise, or shock or arouse
emotions in the reader’.
Media Texts
• Moreover, the language of media texts is characterized by being more free than standard language.
• The media style, unlike the literary, is often directed towards the production of news and information in a very
limited timeframe. The nature of news production necessitates a simple style, with very short sentences and
subtle cohesive devices that are almost absent.
• On the sentence and paragraph level, therefore, sentences and paragraphs are short and economical, and on
the grammatical level, the use of active rather than passive verbs is preferred and the presence of adjectives
is limited.
• Especially when the language is attention-grabbing (e.g. a headline), it tends to be free from grammatical
constraints.
• For example, a newspaper headline would read, ‘State population to double by 2040; babies to blame.’ instead
of a more grammatical sentence such as ‘The state population is expected to double by 2040 and babies are
the ones to blame.’
• It is clear how short the headline is, omitting functional words and focusing only on the meaningful lexis.
• According to Reah (2002: 13), ‘the headline has a range of functions that specifically dictate its shape, content
and structure, and operates within a range of restrictions that limit the freedom of the writer’.
Media Texts
• Internally also, media language is less elaborate than other types. In Arabic, for instance, media sentences are
less complex, with the main function of conveying information away from the creative stylistic aspects of the
text.
• Sentences and paragraphs are often connected by the conjunctive device wa (and). However, because it aims
to grab attention, media language tends to make more use of emotive language, although this depends on the
type and category of media texts.
• Media texts can be divided into four categories: hard news, feature articles, special-topic news and headlines.
• These categories have different features, depending on the theme and structure of the text. Some of the texts
are written very quickly, with the sole aim of publishing and disseminating news and information, often on the
same day.
• They may take many forms, for example, ‘an interview with a person in the news or an eyewitness to a press
release from a public relations agency, a government media briefing, a copy from an international news
agency. Such varieties will normally differ in form and language.
• Different kinds of media also have their own characteristics depending on their purpose. Magazine covers, for
example, have less text and no advertising, compared to newspapers. In a newspaper, for instance, there are
usually different sections for sports, entertainment, a TV guide, medical and scientific news, etc. each with its
own genre specific language.
• Each of these sub-categories of media language has different features, all of which serve the purpose of
creating expressive and informative texts.
Media texts:
• With regard to the translation profession, media texts require more interpreting than written translation.
• Interpreting is usually more complicated and difficult to tackle than written translation because of difficulties
regarding the setting, time, voice, participants, etc.
• As for written translation, media texts can be more easily translated than other complex genres such as literary
texts. In translating lexis for example, the translation strategies used are restricted to using a borrowed term,
being either transliterated or translated literally.
•
This characteristic makes media texts a successful candidate for machine translation programs. Such
programs can be more and more refined and much appreciated since the language of the media can be
anticipated, similar to other ‘technical’ language uses.
Conflicts/Civil Wars
• Translating texts about conflicts and wars remains one of the most complex tasks faced by translators. This is
due to the fact that the type of register used may be interpreted differently by different parties involved in the
conflict.
• For example, what could be considered as a ‘holy war’ by some could be regarded as a ‘guerrilla war’ by
others.
•
These ideological differences in the way terms are approached and actions are labelled make it difficult for
translators to provide a representative translation for certain terms and actions.
• In this case, the translator needs to take into account different aspects (i.e. cultural, social and political) of the
TT and ST, meaning that the translator should be very aware of these cultural differences in order to provide a
balanced translation.
• In translating what could be deemed as controversial terminologies, the translator could
resort to footnotes to explain or contextualize these key terms in the SL, so that the TL audience is aware of
the main aspects underlining these terminologies in the source text.
Conflicts and civil wars
• ‫ إال أ ن محنة الفلسطينيين ما زالت‬،‫ورغم أ ن أحداث الهولوكوست وقعت في الماضي‬
‫ أن يصعب جدا نطلب من الضحايا الذين يعانون من احتالل‬،‫ ومن ثم‬.‫مستمرة في الحاضر‬
‫لوطنهم ومصادرة مستمرة ألراضيهم وممتلكاتهم ومعاناة ً احبائهم في المعتقالت وحرمانهم‬
‫من حقوقهم اإلنسانية أن يتعرفوا على معاناة اآلخر‬

• While the events of the Holocaust happened in the past, the Palestinian suffering
still continues, and therefore it is very difficult to ask these victims – who suffer
the occupation of their homeland, the continuous usurpation of their land and
property, the suffering of their loved ones in prisons, and a denial of their
humanitarian rights – to study about the suffering of others.
Conflicts and civil wars
• While the Arabic text uses the word ’‫ معتقالت‬detention centers/camps’ to refer to
the places where the Palestinian prisoners are kept by Israel, the translated text
uses the word ‘prisons.
• The word ‘prison’ is used to describe the place where someone is imprisoned and
is put there as a result of committing a crime that breaks a federal or criminal law.
• However, ‘‘ ‫ معتقالت‬refers to the place where the person is arrested, detained and
his/her rights are trespassed without referring to any law or legislation.
• The word itself holds a further political meaning especially for Palestinians. The
word ‘prison’ is used to refer to a criminal act or behavior.
• However, ‫معتقالت‬has always been used by Palestinians and opposition political
parties in some Middle East Arab countries to refer to the kind of imprisonment
which includes administrative detention by the Israeli forces or the regimes of
their countries without reference to any charges.
• A fair and faithful translation of the word ‘‘ ‫ معتقالت‬is probably concentration
camps or detention centers.
Headlines Techniques
A. English news headlines are not complete sentences.
Sometimes, the structure of a news headline includes only nouns. Consider
the following example: Mustang Referral Customer Complaint ‫شكوى زبون‬
‫فورد موستنج من برنامج اإلحالة‬
Annotation: The above headline features the use of nouns only and is
therefore an incomplete English sentence.
The headline, however, presents information ‘there is a complaint relating to
Mustang customer referral program.’
The translation of the above headline into Arabic involves additions to
render a suitable Arabic headline. First, Ford was added to the Arabic
headline to inform Arab readers that Mustang is produced by Ford. Second,
program was added to the Arabic headline to indicate that referral refers to a
referral program.
When translating news headlines between English and Arabic, additions can
be made to clarify information with which target readers may not be familiar.
Headlines Techniques
B. Simple tenses rather than continuous or perfect tenses are generally
used in news headlines.
US launches air raids in Iraq (Aljazeera) ‫الواليات المتحدة تشن غارات جوية في‬
‫العراق‬
Erdoğan discusses cooperation with EU delegation ‫أردوغان يناقش التعاون‬
‫مع وفد اإلتحاد األوروبي‬
Annotation: The two headlines above use simple present tense which
naturally correspond to present perfect tense in ordinary English in this
context.
Headlines Techniques
C. ‘to’ infinitive is used to indicate future events.
Saudi Arabia to extend visa validity for expats (Arab News) ‫السعودية ستمدد‬
‫فترة صالحية تأشيرات الوافدين‬
Libya to send 30 doctors to help Italy fight Coronavirus (Libya Herald)
‫ طبيبا لمساعدة إيطاليا في محاربة فيروس كورونا‬30 ‫ليبيا سترسل‬
US to Change Migration Rules in Bid to Send Asylum-Seekers Elsewhere ‫واشنطن‬
‫ستغير قوانين الهجرة في محاولة إلرسال طالبي اللجوء السياسي إلى أماكن‬
‫أخرى‬
Annotation: To indicate future events, English news headlines use to + infinitive.
This structure corresponds to )‫ س‬+ will) + simple present which indicates a future
tense in Arabic.
Therefore, to extend, to send and to change correspond to ‫ستمدد‬will extend, ‫سترسل‬
will send and ‫ستغير‬will change in Arabic.
Note that US can be translated into Arabic news headlines as ( ‫ واشنطن‬Washington)
or literally as ‫المتحدة الواليات‬
Headlines Techniques
d. Headlines normally do not contain articles and any form of the verb
be.
Man killed, woman wounded in shooting
‫مقتل رجل وإصابة امرأة خالل إطالق نار‬
Suspect arrested for kidnapping woman ‫اعتقال مشتبه به باختطاف امرأة‬
Annotation: In the headlines above, the articles and verb be were
deleted.
In ordinary English, the headlines read a man was killed and a woman
was sounded in a shooting and a suspect was arrested for kidnapping a
woman.
Headlines Techniques
e. Passive structures do not include verb be.
Stolen vehicle recovered, suspect arrested
‫استعادة سيارة مسروقة واعتقال مشتبه به‬
Croatian soldier killed in Taliban attack in Kabul
‫مقتل جندي كرواتي في ھجوم لطالبان في كابول‬
Sudan's ex-leader sent to 'social reform facility’
‫إرسال الرئيس السوداني السابق إلى دار لإلصالح االجتماعي‬
Annotation: As can be noticed, the passive structures above are formed
without be and are translated into Arabic as verbal nouns ‫مصادر‬
Headlines Techniques
f. Be verbs are deleted when using the present progressive to describe
changes.
Military sending doctors into New York hospitals (CNN) ‫الجيش األمريكي‬
‫يرسل أطباء إلى مستشفيات نيويورك‬
million doses of anti-malaria drug heading to Florida (ABC Action) ‫مليون‬
‫جرعة مضاد مالريا تتجه إلى فلوريدا‬
Global oil markets 'heading towards balance' (CNBC) ‫أسواق النفط العالمة‬
’‫‘تتجه نحو االستقرار‬
Annotation: The present progressive tense is used without verb be in
news headlines. This structure is rendered into Arabic present simple
tense.
Headlines Techniques
• g. Comma is used to replace and in news headlines:
Hadi Government, UAE Trade Accusations (Euronews) ‫حكومة ھادي‬
‫واإلمارات تتبادالن االتهامات‬
UAE, Saudi non-oil sector key to reignite ME growth (MENAFN.COM)
‫القطاع غير النفطي اإلماراتي والسعودي مفتاح نمو الشرق األوسط‬
Annotation: In the above examples, and is replaced by a comma which
corresponds to )‫و‬and) in Arabic news headlines.
News headlines do not end in a period.
Headlines Techniques
News headlines normally include short words which are not common in
everyday language.
Blast (explosion)
Egypt forces kill 40 suspected militants following bus blast (Euronews) ً
‫ مسلحا مشتبها به بعد حادث تفجير حافله الركاب‬40 ‫الجيش المصري يقتل‬
UK turns to private sector to boost virus testing capacity (Aljazeera)
‫بريطانيا تطلب دعم القطاع الخاص لتعزيز القدرة على فحص فيروس كورونا‬
Headlines Techniques
• Headlines use dramatic words to attract attention:
Blaze is used to refer to fire.
Firefighters tackle blaze at block of flats in Bedworth (Coventry Live)
‫رجال اإلطفاء يخمدون حريقا في مجمع شقق في بدوورث في إنجلتر‬
Toll (number of people killed)
Death toll in fire accident goes up to 9 (The Hindu)
9 ‫ارتفاع عدد ضحايا الحريق إلى‬
Some words used in news headlines with their ordinary English
meanings:
• Headline word Meaning Headline word Meaning
• Blaze fire blast explosion
• aid support (noun) back (verb) support
• ban forbid bar prevent
• call for demand charges accusations
• edge move gradually clash quarrel
Examples
• The following are words commonly used in headlines and their
translation:
- Aid (support)
U.N., Red Cross urge Saudi-led coalition to re-open aid lifeline to Yemen
‫األمم المتحدة والصليب األحمر تطالبان التحالف بقيادة السعودية إعادة فتح خط‬
‫المساعدات إلى اليمن‬
Back (support - verb)
Iran: US biggest state sponsor of terror because it backs Israel (Times of
Israel)
‫ الواليات المتحدة أكبر دولة راعية لإلرھاب ألنها تدعم إسرائيل‬:‫إيران‬
Examplesː
Ban (forbid)
US Bans Samsung Note 7 Phones From Flights (ABC News) ‫الواليات المتحدة‬
– ‫ على الرحالت الجوية‬7 ‫تحظر حمل ھواتف سامسونج جاالكسي نوت‬
Call for (demand)
UN calls for confronting food shortage, climate change (Kuwait News
Agency) ‫األمم المتحدة تطالب بمواجهة نقص الغذاء والتغير المناخي‬
Charge (accusation)
Man held in wife's death wants charges dropped (The Daily Mail) ‫متهم‬
‫بقتل زوجته يطالب المحكمة بإسقاط التهمة‬
Exercise 1: Translate the following news headlines into Arabic.
1. President Sisi: July 23 radically changed Egypt's history (Egypt Independent)
2. Palestinian leader Abbas says agreements with Israelis to stop (Deutsche Welle)
3. Israel's US envoy flies to Alaska to 'upgrade' cooperation against Iran (The Times
of Israel)
4. Jordan's King appoints new head of armed forces (Anadolu Agency)
5. Turkey, Qatar and the Return of ISIS to Libya (Asharq Al-awsat English)
6. Senior UN officials call for return to sea rescues, after ‘the worst Mediterranean
tragedy of this year (UN News)
7. Policeman murdered in center of Rome (Wanted in Rome)
8. Kurds mobilize forces in Syria, militants flee amid fear of Turkey invasion (Middle
East Monito)
9. UAE not leaving war-torn Yemen despite withdrawal (Aljazeera)
10. Why South Sudan won the war but lost the peace (Washington Post)
‫‪Exercise 2: Translate the following Arabic headlines into English.‬‬
‫‪. 1‬محمد بن سلمان يبحث مع رئيس حكومة اليمن مستجدات األوضاع (العربية)‬
‫‪. 2‬األمم المتحدة‪ :‬التحالف السعودي اإلماراتي قتل مئات األطفال في اليمن (العربي الجديد)‬
‫‪. 3‬ألمانيا ترفض إستراتيجية واشنطن تجاه إيران وروسيا تحذر من صدامات (الجزيرة)‬
‫‪. 4‬تركيا تتحرك نحو األردن بعد أيام من عودة العالقات كاملة مع قطر‬
‫‪. 5‬تركيا فقدت ثقتها بالحلفاء الغربيين بسبب سوريا و"إس‪“ )400-‬‬
‫‪. 7‬رئيس مجلس النواب يعود إلى القاھرة بعد جولة إفريقية ناجحة (بوابة األھرام)‬
Uprisings and Revolutions

• The 2011 uprisings and revolutions, which have engulfed the Middle East, have led to the coining of new
terminologies and phrases that have become part of the Arabic glossary and culture, and which some
translators might not be familiar with.
• Some of this new register is specific to individual countries and groups, and could pose a challenge to the
translator.
• Translators, therefore, ought to be aware of the new register as well as the internal/local context associated
with it, in order to be able to provide a representative and accurate translation of the meaning of the text.
• Another challenge when translating such texts is the culture-specific nature of some of this register. The
historical context could prove essential, as some terms are directly linked to national and regional issues,
which could be very specific to the context of the SL.