Lectures

L E C T U R E 4
ARABIC INTO ENGLISH
‫رواية يوتوبيا‬
TEXT 1
..‫عندما تفتح المقابر وتخرج الشياطين‬
..‫عندما تتناثر جماجم االطفال في السهول‬
..‫ وتمارس سندريال البغاء‬،‫عندما تتلوث اجنحه المالئكة بالدم‬
..‫عندما يعلن بعلزبول ان الحين قد حان‬
...‫عندها فقط يمكنني ان اغمض عيني مستريحا‬
......‫و اموت‬
TRANSLATION
‫هنركز واحني بنترجم الجمل دي في استخدام زمن الفعل الصحيح‬
When the graves are opened and demons fly out..
When skulls of children lay scattered..
When angles wings are stained with gore, and when Cinderella becomes a whore..
When Beelzebub say the time has arrived..
Only then can I close my eyes and die..
TEXT 2
‫ تدفع بسرعة ثم تتوقف بفرملة مفاجئة تجلعها تدور‬..‫تتدفع السيارة التي تحمل ( راسم) و (شادي) و (ريري) بسرعة جنونية‬
..‫كالنحلة حول نفسها‬
‫ لكن ما هي تجذب فرملة اليد في‬...‫ لو اصطدمت بها لشرطتها نصفين‬..‫هنا تندفع نحوها السيارة الفيراري التي تخص ماهي‬
‫ يدير راسم محرك سيارته ويندفع فيوشك علي‬...!‫ يا بنت ماهي‬..‫آخر لحظة لتدور حول نفسها مع عويل تسمعه يوتوبيا كلها‬
...‫ لكن األحمق وثب علي الرصيف المرتفع‬، ‫دهم واحد من األغيار العاملين هنا‬
TRANSLATION
The car carrying Rasm, Shadi, and Riri rushed forward at a breakneck speed
before coming to a sudden stop, causing it to spin like a bee in a whirlwind.

Here, the Ferrari car belonging to Mahi rushed towards them. If they collided, it
would have split into two halves. However, Mahi pulled the handbrake at the last
moment, causing the car to spin with a howl that echoed throughout Utopia.
"Whoa, girl!" exclaimed Rasm, as he turned the engine of his car and nearly ran
over one of the laborers working there. But the fool remained perched on the
raised sidewalk.
Some words to focus on
Mad speed ‫سرعة جنونية‬
Comes to a sudden stop ‫تتوقف بفرمله‬
Spin around ‫تدور كنحله‬
Collide ‫تتصدم‬
Split in two ‫تنشتر‬
Squeal ‫عويل‬
Idiot ‫االحمق‬
Curb ‫رصيف مرتفع‬
‫هنشوف دلوقتي االسألة النظري الخاصة بالمنهج‬
 What is translation? Definition of translation.
 In translation, we convert a text from one language to another.
 What do we translate?

1 Mr. Hani 4th Year Translation W.A.V.E TEAM 01061932878 2023

Lectures
 We translate meaning.
.‫ يعني هوصل للغلط عشان اتعلم منه الصح واتفاداه‬Error Analysis ‫عشان نتعلم الصح بناخد حاجة اسمها‬
 If you see some problems with the Translation decide the type of problem and explain it, solve it out.
 Types of problems:
1) Grammatical problem
2) Lexical Problems
3) Stylistic Problems
4) Phonological Problems
GRAMMATICAL PROBLEM
 Among the important and frequent grammatical problems of translation, discussed in the first
chapter, are the following:
1. Translation of verbs ‘Be’, ‘Do’ and ‘Have’. ‫ يملك‬،‫ يفعل‬،‫"ترجمة األفعال "يكون‬
2. Translation of modal verbs. ‫ترجمة األفعال المساعدة‬
3. Translation of questions and negations. ‫ترجمة األسئلة والنفي‬.
4. Nominal vs. verbal sentences. ‫الجمل االسمية مقابل الجمل الفعلية‬.
5. Word order. ‫ترتيب الكلمات‬.
6. Translation of personal pronouns. ‫ترجمة الضمائر الشخصية‬.
7. Translation of present participle vs. gerund. ‫ترجمة المضارع المستمر مقابل المصدر‬.
8. Translation of the past participle. ‫ترجمة الماضي المنتهي‬.
9. Translation of adjectives. ‫ترجمة الصفات‬.
10. Translation of tenses. ‫ترجمة األزمنة‬.
11. Translation of conditional sentences. ‫ترجمة الجمل الشرطية‬.
12. The change of word class. ‫تغيير فئة الكلمة‬.
 English and Arabic belong to two different and distant language families: West Germanic, and
Semitic. Consequently, their grammars are sharply different.
 Several grammatical features of English create variable problems of translation into Arabic.
Experience shows that one of the primary mistakes committed by the students of translation is their
presupposition that English grammar and Arabic grammar can translate each other in a
straightforward way.
‫ بيبقى الخطأ األساسي اللي بيتعمل من طالب الترجمة إنهم بيفترضوا إن‬.‫وجود فروق لغوية بين اللغة اإلنجليزية والعربية بتسبب في مشاكل في الترجمة‬ 
.‫قواعد اللغة اإلنجليزية والعربية بتترجم بسهولة وبنفس الطريقة‬
 To confirm that, the problems of translating the most prominent points of English grammar into
Arabic are discussed below. All the problems are followed by one or more suggested solutions.
.‫ كل المشاكل هتتكلم عنها وهنقدم اقتراحات للحلول‬.‫ هنا هنتكلم عن مشاكل الترجمة ألهم نقاط القواعد اإلنجليزية للعربية‬،‫عشان نتأكد‬ 
Translation of Verb ‘BE’
Problem 1: Literal translation of ‘am, is, are’:
 When these verbs are the main and only verbs in the sentence, they are translated by many students
literally into (‫)يكون‬, which is a poor translation:
1. “I am a student”  ً ‫أنا أكون طالبا‬
2. “She is kind”  ‫هي تكون طيبة‬
3. “You are a father”  ً ‫أنت تكون ابا‬
 Solution: 'am, is, are’ can be omitted altogether here, thus changing the English verbal sentences
into Arabic nominal ones: i.e. into a topic and a comment (‫ )مبتدأ وخبر‬each:
 “I am a student”  ‫انا طالب‬
 “She is kind”  ‫هي طيبة‬
 “You are a father”  ‫أنت أب‬
2 Mr. Hani 4th Year Translation W.A.V.E TEAM 01061932878 2023
Lectures
 Therefore, verb ‘be’ in the present simple is used here to connect as much as equate between two
words. It is exactly like saying: ‘X=Z’. Thus:
‘I’=student': (‫‘ ;) أنا = طالب‬She = kind’: (‫ ;) هي=طيبة‬and ‘You=father’: (‫) أنت=أب‬.
 That is why it is called an ‘equative verb’.‫فعل معادل‬
.‫ في المضارع البسيط بيكون عامل زي عالمة يساوي بين الكلمة الي قبلها والي بعدها‬be ‫ استخدام الفعل‬، ‫بشكل مختصر‬ 
 The same applies to the translation of ‘am, is, are’ when used as auxiliary verbs‫ فعل مساعد‬to form the
present progressive tense and the present passive voice. A good number of students translate them
literally:
A) The Present Progressive:
1. “I am leaving now”  ‫مغادراً اآلن‬/‫أنا أكون أغادر‬
2. “He is eating an apple”  ‫آكالً تفاحة‬/‫هو يكون يأكل‬
3. “We are speaking English”  ‫متكلمين اإلنجليزية‬/‫نحن نكون نتكلم‬
 The good versions of these examples drop verb ‘be’, as follows:
 “I am leaving now”  ‫أنا مغادر اآلن‬/‫أنا أغادر اآلن‬
 “He is eating an apple”  (‫آكل(تفاحة))هو يأكل‬
 “We are speaking English”  (‫متكلمون(اإلنجليزية ))نحن نتكلم‬
 The progressive tense markers, Verb ‘be’ and the 'ing' ending for the main verbs have no equivalent
in Arabic grammar.
 Therefore, the use of (‫ )يكون‬in the first group does not refer to the progressive tense, or the time of
action. An adverb like ‘now’ (‫ )اآلن‬is the only way to refer to the time of action. Other good
versions drop the pronoun, as illustrated later in this chapter under the translation of personal
pronouns
B) The Present Passive Voice
1. “I am given another chance”  ‫أ نا أكون ُأعطى فرصة أخرى‬
2. “She is invited to the party”  ‫هي تكون تدعى إلى الحفلة‬
3. “They are put in the same situation”  ( ‫موضوعين(في الموقف نفسه))هم يكونون يوضعون‬
 The more acceptable versions of Arabic translation dispose of verb ‘be’:
 “I am given another chance”  ((‫معطى فرصة أخرى )أنا‬/‫) ٌأعطى‬
 “She is invited to the party”  (‫مدعوة(إلى الحفلة))هي تدعى‬
 “They are put in the same situation”  (‫موضوعون(في الموقف نفسه))هم يوضعون‬
 Thus, verb ‘be’ in the present simple, ‘am, is, are’ is usually dropped in Arabic, both as main as well
as auxiliary. It is mostly unacceptable and poor in Arabic grammar and word order.to translate it into
(‫)يكون‬
 Exception: 'Be, and it is’ (‫)كن فيكون‬
Problem 2: The same literal translation of was\were into (‫)كان‬
 Unlike ‘am, is, are’, the past simple of ‘be’ ‘was’ and ‘were', are translated literally into (‫ )كان‬both
as main as well as auxiliary verbs:
A) As Main Verbs
1. “The child was ill”  ً ‫كان الطفل مريضا‬
2. “Th bird was beautiful”  ‫كان الطائر جميلا‬
3. “The players were one team”  ً‫كان الالعبون فريقا ً واحدا‬
B) As Auxiliaries: The Past Progressive
1. “Her mother was preparing lunch”  ‫كانت والدتها تعد الغداء‬
2. “My brother was writing a letter”  ‫كان أخي يكتب رسالة‬
3. “Our guests were praying”  ‫كان ضيوفنا يصلون‬

3 Mr. Hani 4th Year Translation W.A.V.E TEAM 01061932878 2023

Lectures
 Yet literal translation is unfavourable when these verbs are used as auxiliaries to form the past
passive voice, as illustrated in the following examples:
C) The Past Passive Voice
1. “The food was eaten”  ‫ كان ُأكل الطعام‬/ ً‫كان الطعام مأكوال‬
2. “I was deceived”  ً ‫ مخدوعا‬/ ‫انا كنت ُخدعت‬
3. “The boys were dismissed”  ‫كان األوالد (قد) طردوا‬/ ‫كان األوالد مطرودين‬
 Solution: ‘was' and ‘were’ (‫ )كان‬can be neglected in Arabic, as follows:
 “The food was eaten”  ‫ُأكل الطعام‬
 “I was deceived”  (‫ُخدعت )انا‬
 “The boys were dismissed”  ‫طٌرد األوالد‬
 Therefore, ‘was’ and ‘were’ are retained in ‘a’ and ‘b’, but dropped in ‘c’ only.
Problem 3: the Negligence‫ إهمال‬, or Literal Translation of ‘been’
 The past participle of ‘be’ (i.e. been) is wrongly ignored, or translated literally into (‫ )كائن‬in Arabic:
1. “Where have you been?”  ‫أين كنت كائن اً؟‬
2. “She has been late”  ‫كانت كائنة متأخرة‬
3. “They had been released”  ‫كانوا كائنين ُأطلق سراحهم‬
 Solution: ‘Been’ (‫ )كائن‬is changed into the past simple (see 1&2 below) or disregarded (see3):
 “Where have you been?” = “where were you?”  ‫أين كنت؟‬
 “She has been late” = “she was late”  ‫تأخرت‬/‫كانت متأخرة‬
 “They had been released” = “they were released”  ‫ُأطلق سراحهم‬
 Thus, the dictionary meaning of ‘been’ as (‫ )كائن‬in Arabic is strictly not advisable to use.
 Contrastively, the full form of verb ‘be’ (i.e. be) is always literally translated and, thus, poses
no problem:
1. “He will be with us”  ‫سوف يكون معنا‬
2. “You can be a good citizen”  ً ‫تستطيع أن تكون مواطنا ً صالحا‬
3. “We must be in the hospital now”  ‫ينبغي أن نكون في المستشفى اآلن‬

‫المحاضرة الجاية هتكون امتحان‬

4 Mr. Hani 4th Year Translation W.A.V.E TEAM 01061932878 2023