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Semantics For Translation Students - Arabic-English-Arabic
Semantics For Translation Students - Arabic-English-Arabic
Semantics For Translation Students - Arabic-English-Arabic
IN DESCRIPTIVE LINGUISTICS
Vol. 40
Edited by
PROFESSOR GRAEME DAVIS & KARL A. BERNHARDT
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Ali Almanna
SEMANTICS FOR
TRANSLATION STUDENTS
ARABIC–ENGLISH–ARABIC
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISSN 1660-9301
ISBN 978-1-90616558-1 (print) • ISBN 978-3-0353-0840-2 (ePDF)
ISBN 978-1-78707-122-3 (ePub) • ISBN 978-1-78707-123-0 (mobi)
This book is an introduction to semantics for students and researchers who are
new to the field, especially those interested in Arabic–English translation and
Arabic–English contrastive studies. The book first presents key concepts in
semantics, pragmatics, semiotics, syntax and morphology and gradually
introduces readers to the central questions of semantics. These issues are then
analysed and discussed in conjunction with the act of translating between Arabic
and English. Seeking a balance between theoretical developments and empirical
investigation, the book thus provides both a systematic overview of semantics
and an application in the field of English and Arabic contrastive semantics,
hence offering a resource for students and teachers of Arabic–English
translation.
‘This is an extremely useful, well organised, clearly written, pedagogically
oriented work aimed at students of Arabic/English translation. The chapters are
coherently organised and cover a wide range of central topics in semantics. This
book fills a real gap and will be of use to students of translation at
undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels.’
– James Dickins,
University of Leeds, UK
‘Written in a highly pedagogical language and filled with useful examples and
exercises, it aims to give future translators the unquestionably necessary training
in the field of linguistics/semantics and its application to translation.’
– Juan José Martínez Sierra, Universitat de València, Spain ‘It is a useful book
with clear definitions, lush examples and insightful summary questions. It will
be most welcome for those willing to ground their intuitions on translation on
more solid linguistic (and especially semantic) foundations.’
– Nicolas Froeliger,
Université Paris Diderot (Paris 7), France
This eBook can be cited
This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start
and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is
placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This
means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration
List of Abbreviations
CHAPTER 1
Definitions
CHAPTER2
Approaches to Word Meaning
CHAPTER3
Morphology
CHAPTER 4
Affixation
CHAPTER 5
Tense and Aspect
CHAPTER 6
Modality
CHAPTER 7
Lexical Semantics
CHAPTER 8
Semantic Roles
CHAPTER 9
Semantic Principles
CHAPTER 10
Levels of Meaning
CHAPTER 11
Pragmatics
CHAPTER 12
Annotating Semantic Issues
Bibliography
Index
| vii →
Preface
However, none of these books have approached the topic from a translation or
contrastive point of view. Further, none of them have taken the language pair
Arabic-English as its focus.
Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration
Arabic Transliteration
ء ’
ب b
ت t
ث th
ج j
ح h
خ kh
د d
ذ dh
ر r
ز z
س s
ش sh
ص s
ض d
ط t
ظ z
ع ‘
غ gh
ف f
ق q ← xiii | xiv →
ك k
ل l
م m
ن n
ة/ﻫـــ h
و w
ي y
ى/ا a
Vowels
fathah a
kasrah i
dammah u
alif ā
yaa’ ī
waaw ū
| xv →
Abbreviations
Lit. Literal
SL Source language
ST Source text
SLC Source language culture
TL Target language
TT Target text
TLC Target language culture
|1→
CHAPTER 1
Definitions
Key terms
• Applied linguistics
• Discourse analysis
• Ethnography of communication
• Formal linguistics
• Language variation
• Linguist
• Linguistics
• Morphology
• Phonetics
• Phonology
• Pragmatics
• Psycholinguistics
• Semantics
• Sociolinguistics
• Syntax
• Verbal processing
This chapter provides the reader with a general overview on the discipline. It
identifies “semantics” and the relationship that it has with other branches. It
provides an introduction to linguistics along with its main branches and
approaches. ← 1 | 2 →
1.1 Linguistics and linguists
1.1.1 Linguistics
1.1.2 Linguist
A linguist, then, is not an individual who speaks more than one language
(“bilingual” or “multilingual”); rather, a linguist is someone who studies
language as a human phenomenon. Linguists study the grammar of language, the
social and psychological aspects of language use, and the relationships among
languages, both historical and present-day. The field of linguistics, like any
complex field, includes several major divisions. In the rest of this chapter, an
attempt will be made to introduce these major divisions.
Formal linguistics includes five main areas of study. Actually, these areas are
considered the core areas of linguistics. All can be studied “formally” or
“functionally”.
1.2.1 Phonetics
Phonetics is the study of the sounds of language and their physical properties.
Phonetics describes how speech sounds are produced by the vocal apparatus (the
lungs, vocal cords, tongue, teeth, etc.) and provides a framework for their
classification. This is known as “articulatory phonetics”. However, there are
other branches in phonetics, namely “auditory phonetics”, which is concerned
with the perception of sounds, and the way in which these sounds are heard and
interpreted, and “acoustic phonetics”, which focuses on the sounds of speech in
terms of their frequency, duration, intensity, and so on.
1.2.2 Phonology
1.2.3 Morphology
1.2.4 Syntax
1.2.5 Semantics
1.3 Sociolinguistics
PRAGMATICS
Pragmatics looks at how context affects meaning. As such, pragmatics is the
study of what is not explicitly said and the role of context in interpreting the
speaker/writer’s intended meaning. For example, It is hot in here can have a
variety of meanings. It could be a request to open the window, it could be an
invitation to go out, or it could mean that the speaker is not happy and wants to
leave the place.
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Discourse analysis covers a wide range of different approaches. It examines how
smaller linguistic forms relate in larger linguistic units, such as conversational
exchanges or written texts. To put this differently, discourse analysis examines
issues related to the textual relations appearing on the surface of the text (i.e.,
cohesion); the relation between text and its context (i.e., coherence); the relation
between linguistic features and those features of situation, such as field of
discourse, tenor of discourse, and mode of discourse (i.e., register); the relation
between the text producer and text receiver and their roles (i.e., speech event);
and the relation between text interpretation and text participants’ background
knowledge (i.e., schema).
ETHNOGRAPHY OF COMMUNICATION
Closely related to discourse analysis is ethnography of communication (also
known as “ethnography of speaking”). It utilizes the tools of anthropology to
examine verbal interaction in its social setting, giving full consideration to social
and cultural practices in a given society on the one hand, and ← 7 | 8 →
assumptions and beliefs of the members of the society on the other. A good
individual example of ethnographic research is the study of doctor-patient
communication. In such a study, microanalysis is involved, focusing on not only
what is said, but also on verbal and nonverbal aspects, such as pauses between
turns, interruptions, signs of hesitation, response patterns, intonation, eye
contact, and the like.
1.4 Psycholinguistics
Verbal processing refers to the way in which people use certain linguistic forms
to communicate their own ideas and express their own feelings, and how the
brain creates and understands these linguistic forms. Most recent theories in this
area hold that this process is mainly carried out by the brain. The process of
hearing, understanding, and saying any linguistic form, say a word, normally
follows a certain pattern.
Further reading
Questions
CHAPTER 2
Key terms
• Cognitive approaches
• Componential analysis
• Diagnostic features
• Frame semantics
• General approaches
• Hyponymy
• Incompatibility
• Lexicon
• Lexeme
• Meaning postulates
• Primitives
• Prototype
• Script
• Semantic features
• Semantic field
• Supplementary features
The previous chapter looked into the main branches of linguistics, such as
formal linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and applied linguistics. It
provided the reader with a general overview of the whole discipline, and
identified the place of semantics in the whole discipline. This chapter addresses
the main approaches to describing the relationships between words and concepts.
It introduces three main approaches, namely:
1. general approaches, such as semantic fields (also known as “word fields”).
← 11 | 12 →
2. formal approaches, such as componential analysis and the use of meaning
postulates.
3. cognitive approaches, such as frame semantics.
If all the universe were blue, there would be no blueness, since there would
be nothing to contrast with blue. The same is true for the meanings of words.
They have meaning only in terms of systematic contrasts with other words
which share certain features with them but contrast with them in respect to
other features (p. 32).
To make this point clear, five lexical items, namely child, boy, girl, man, and
woman may be considered. These lexical items belong to the semantic field of
“human race”. In the semantic domain of child, boy, girl, man, and woman
[HUMAN] is a supplementary component, that is, an additional feature that the
lexical items child, boy, girl, man, and woman share. Therefore, to distinguish
them from one another, their diagnostic components could be resorted to, such as
[MALE] and [ADULT], as shown below:
Lexeme HUMAN MALE ADULT
child + +/– –
boy + + –
girl + – – ← 15 | 16 →
man + + +
woman + – +
As can be observed, to distinguish them from one another, their supplementary
components cannot be relied on, that is, [HUMAN] as all of them share the
semantic feature [+HUMAN]. Alternatively, it is possible to fall back on their
diagnostic components, that is, [MALE] and [ADULT]. So,
child would be [+HUMAN], [–ADULT], but neither [MALE] nor [FEMALE].
boy would be [+HUMAN], [–ADULT], and [+MALE].
girl would be [+HUMAN], [–ADULT], and [–MALE].
man would be [+HUMAN], [+ADULT], and [+MALE].
woman would be [+HUMAN], [+ADULT], and [–MALE].
Primitives like [MALE], [HUMAN], [ADULT] or [MARRIED] are believed to be both
binary and universal. They are universal as they exist across cultures and should
be reflected by all languages. The number of these contrasting features depends
on the number of the concepts we try to describe. If we add another concept, say,
bachelor, then we need another primitive, that is, [MARRIED].
TT 1:
Neither my colleagues nor my relatives visited me yesterday at home.
TT 2:
Neither my classmates nor my relatives visited me yesterday at my house.
TT 3:
I was not visited yesterday by my colleagues and relatives.
TT 4:
My classmates and relatives did not visit me yesterday at home.
To make this point clear, the following authentic example from Husni and
Newman (2008: 44–45; bilingual edn) can be considered:
وﻟﻦ ﻳﺘﺰوج، » ﺳﻴﻌﻮد إﻟﻴﻚ زوﺟﻚ:ﻗﺎل اﻟﺸﻴﺦ ﺳﻌﻴﺪ وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﻣﻲ ﻓﻲ وﻋﺎء اﻟﺠﻤﺮ ﻧﺘﻔﺎ ً ﻣﻦ اﻟﺒﺨﻮر
، » ارﺗﻴﺎح ﻃﻮﻳﻠﺔ. ﻓﻨ ّﺪت ﻋﻨﻬﺎ آﻫﺔ، وﻛﺎن ﺻﻮﺗﻪ وﻗﻮرا ً ﻫﺎدﺋﺎ ً ﻣﻨﺢ ﻋﺰﻳﺰة اﻟﻄﻤﺄﻧﻴﻨﺔ.« ﻣﺮة ﺛﺎﻧﻴﺔ
ً ﻦ ﻋﻤﻠﻲ ﻳﺘﻄﻠﺐ ﻣﺎﻻ ً ﻛﺜﻴﺮاّ »ﻟﻜ و:اﺑﺘﻬﺞ ﻟﻬﺎ وﺟﻪ اﻟﺸﻴﺦ وﻗﺎل
He threw bits of incense into the dish filled with live coal, and said: “Your
husband will return to you, and he will not take another wife”. His voice was
sedate and soft, and soothed Aziza, who heaved a deep sigh of satisfaction.
The Sheikh’s face lit up. “However, my work doesn’t come cheap”, he said.
Here, the lexical item ﺻﻮتrefers to, at least, four referents, namely ﺻﻮت اﻹﻧﺴﺎن
(voice), (ﺻ ﻮ ت ﻏ ﻴ ﺮ ا ﻹ ﻧ ﺴ ﺎ نsound), ( ﺻﻮت اﻟﺘﻠﻔﺎزvolume), and (ﺻﻮت ا ِﻧﺘﺨﺎﺑﻲvote). The
diagnostic feature that distinguishes voice from other semantically related words,
such as sound, volume and vote is that [OF HUMAN BEING]. Being fully aware of
the supplementary and diagnostic features of the lexical items at hand, the
translators have rendered the lexical item ﺻﻮتinto voice. Again, here the
denotative meaning of the lexical item ﺻﻮتis wider and less specific than the
lexical item voice in English, thus resulting in translating by a hyponym.
Translating by a hyponym (also referred to as “particularizing translation”)
“implies that the [target text] TT expression has a narrower and more specific
denotative meaning than the [source text] ST expression” (Dickins et al. 2002:
56).
To elaborate, the following example quoted from Haifā’ Zangana’s story
(2009: 57) (ﻣﺜﻮىDwelling) may be paid extra attention: ← 18 | 19 →
ﻳﺨﺘﺮق آذان اﻟﻤﺎرة، أﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﻦ ﺻﻮت اﻟﻤﺎرة واﻟﺴﻴﺎرات،ً ﻣﻦ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺮﺷﻔﺎت اﻟﺒﻄﻴﺌﺔ ﻳﻨﻄﻠﻖ ﺻﻮﺗﻬﺎ ﺣﺎدا
. ﺿﺮوري ﻓﻘﻂ. ﺗﻠﻔﻆ ﻣﺎ ﻫﻮ. ﺗﻠﺤﻨﻪ ﺑﻄﺮﻳﻘﺘﻬﺎ اﻟﺨﺎﺻﺔ. ﻳﺴﺮي ﻓﻲ أﺟﺴﺎدﻫﻢ،وأدﻣﻐﺘﻬﻢ
ﻓﻠﻮس ﻟﻠﻤﺤﺘﺎﺟﻴﻦ
Here, the lexical item ﺻﻮتrefers to two referents, viz. ( ﺻﻮت اﻟﻤﺎرةthe voice of the
passers-by) and (ﺻﻮت اﻟﺴﻴﺎراتthe sound of the cars). Again, the diagnostic feature
that distinguishes these two lexical items is that the former is [+OF HUMAN BEING]
and the latter is [-OF HUMAN BEING]. Due to the differences between the
interfacing languages, two lexical items may well be used, namely voice and
sound to live up to the expectations of the target-language reader, as in:
Between slow sips, she releases a sharp squeal, louder than the voices of the
passers-by and sounds of the passing cars, piercing the ears and minds of the
passers-by and travelling through their bodies. She emits it in her own
peculiar way and says only what is necessary: “Money for the needy”.
He threw bits of incense into the dish filled with live coal, and said: “Your
husband will return to you, and he will not take another wife”. His voice was
sedate and soft, and soothed Aziza, who heaved a deep sigh of satisfaction.
The Sheikh’s face lit up. “However, my work doesn’t come cheap”, he said.
Here, by adopting the meaning postulates approach, we can conclude that ﻋﺰﻳﺰة
(Aziza) is not single, but has a husband. So, logically speaking, this means that
she is both an adult and human being. Further, she has problems of some sort
with her husband. She does not want to lose him. This means she still loves him.
Her husband is a Muslim as he has the right to marry another woman. On the
other hand, ( اﻟﺸﻴﺦthe Sheikh) has nothing to do with Islamic worshipping
practices and providing religious guidance, and the place is not a mosque as we
do not expect that somebody throws bits of incense into the dish filled with live
coal in a mosque. Further, he is not doing this for free, but will charge her some
money, that is, he is not pious as the denotative meaning of the word ( ﺷﻴﺦthe
Sheikh) may suggest.
2.3.1 Frames
Further, these legs and the tail are instances of more general legs and tails in the
real world. As such, if somebody who is speaking the truth tells us about a dog,
we will know for sure that the entity in question is a mammal, that it is an animal
and that it is a living creature. Also, we will know that the entity has one head,
two eyes, four legs and one tail, and can eat, breathe and move around, but
cannot speak, fly, etc. We know this thanks to our knowledge accumulated from
our socio-cultural experiences. In this regard, Saeed rightly comments that
“words are in a network of semantic links with other words and it is reasonable
to assume that conceptual structures are similarly linked” (2009: 38). ← 24 | 25
→
The attribute can also have a default value, such as a particular colour (white,
black, etc.), size (small, big, etc.) or action (barking, growling, whining, wagging
its tail, etc.). It is worth noting that “our system of cognitive classification is
structured in terms of prototypes, in that some instances of a concept are more
typical (closer to the prototype) than others” (Akmajian et al. 2010: 231;
emphasis in the original). These default values are taken for granted unless
proved otherwise. So, each lexeme is assumed to invoke in the mind of the
reader or hearer a particular frame which has a network of many related frames.
These frames associated with the lexical item in question are relevant for
translation since the lexical item along with its frames may vary from one
language and culture to another. For instance, the lexical item زﻣﻴﻞin Arabic
refers to both a person who you work with in a job and a person who is in the
same class as you in school, college, university, etc. Therefore, to translate a
sentence like this:
Tonight, one of my colleagues is coming to visit me.
the translators need to reflect the different frames associated with the lexical
item colleague; therefore, they may well opt for a term or expression that
activates the work-frame, as opposed to class-frame, as in:
. ﺳﻴﺰورﻧﻲ أﺣﺪ زﻣﻼﺋﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ،اﻟﻠﻴﻠﺔ
However, in a sentence like this:
the work-frame will be activated by virtue of the lexical item promotion that
excludes class-frame, as in:
.ﻫﻨﺄﻧﺎ زﻣﻴﻠﻨﺎ ﻳﻮم أﻣﺲ ﺑﻤﻨﺎﺳﺒﺔ ﺗﺮﻗﻴﺘﻪ
To reinforce the point, the lexical item ﻓﺮاﺷﺔin the following text quoted from
Mahmūd Al-Braikān’s poem ( ا ﺣ ﺘ ﻔ ﺎ ء ﺑ ﺎ ﻷ ﺷ ﻴ ﺎ ء ا ﻟ ﺰ ا ﺋ ﻠ ﺔHomage to the ephemeral
things) translated by Shihāb Ahmad Al-Nāsir (2006: 18–19; bilingual edn) may
be considered: ← 25 | 26 →
ST:
ٍ أرﺑﻊ أﯾﺪ
ً ﺗﻤﺘﺪ إﻟﻰ دفء اﻟﻨﺎر ﻣﻌﺎ
وﻋﯿﻮن أرﺑﻊ
ﺗﺘﺄﻣﻞ ﻃﻔﻼ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻬﺪه
ﻣﺎﺋﺪة
ﻣﻦ زاد اﻟﻔﻘﺮاء
وﺣﺪﯾﺚ ﮬﺎدئ
ﻓﯿﻠﻢ اﻟﺴﻬﺮة،اﻟﻠﯿﻞ
أﻧﺴﺎم اﻟﻔﺠﺮ ﺗﺮف رﻓﯿﻒ ﺟﻨﺎح ﻓﺮاﺷﺔ
TT:
Four hands
Stretch out together to the warmth of fire,
And four eyes
Pore over a child in his cradle.
A meal
From the poor’s provisions,
And a quiet talk,
The night, and the late night film;
The dawn’s breezes flutter
A flutter of a moth’s wing.
As can be seen, the translator has translated the lexical item ﻓﺮاﺷﺔinto the
lexical item moth in place of butterfly. The main difference between moths and
butterflies is that moths are primarily nocturnal, i.e., flying at night while
butterflies are diurnal, i.e., flying in the daytime. Having taken into account the
different frames associated with the lexical item ﻓﺮاﺷﺔin such a context … ،اﻟﻠﻴﻞ
( ﻓﻴﻠﻢ اﻟﺴﻬﺮةthe night, and the late night film), the translator has opted for the
lexical item moth instead of butterfly, thus activating the night-frame, as opposed
to day-frame.
This means that the translator “must be aware of framing differences and
understand how linguistic and textual processes attach to frame-based
knowledge” (Neubert and Shreve 1992: 65). Thus, the translators’ role is to use
the linguistic elements that activate the relevant frames for the interpretation of
the target text, thereby enabling the target readers to draw the reasonable
contextual inferences from their frame-based knowledge. ← 26 | 27 →
2.3.2 Scripts
Questions, such as
Can I help you?
How can I help you?
A dentist who says, for instance, Hi man, what’s up? would certainly annoy the
patient.
Further, each script consists of a number of scenes, such as entering the clinic
(entering scene), talking with the receptionist (talking scene) and waiting your
turn (waiting scene which involves many different scenes). After your name is
called in the waiting room, you will go into an exam room and sit down in a
dental chair (examining scene). Having had your teeth cleaned, flossed and
checked for cavities, you will leave the room (leaving scene). As stated above, in
some countries you may be required to pay (paying scene). At times, there will
be additional scenes, such as arranging an appointment, visiting a pharmacy, re-
entering the clinic, and so forth. As can be seen, there is an action in each scene,
such as to enter, to talk, to wait, to examine, to pay, hence the specificity of each
scene. It is worth noticing that the event frames vary from one scenario to
another, from one society to another, and so on. As such, when translating from
language or culture A into language or culture B, the translators, in an attempt to
form a mental image and, then, reflect it in the target language and culture, need
to give full consideration to all these scripts (situational frames) along with their
perspective value, scenes and actions along with their conditions and
preconditions. Further, they should be fully aware of framing differences
between the interfacing languages and cultures, thus opting for the use of certain
terms and expressions that activate the relevant frames for the interpretation of
the target text in order to enable the target readers to draw the reasonable
contextual inferences based on their frame-based knowledge. ← 28 | 29 →
2.3.3 Prototype
The chief lawyer for deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein says he has
been denied access to his client for the first time in more than a year. (BBC, 5
February 2006).
Witnesses said there had been a wave of air strikes and that former President
Saddam Hussein’s palace had been hit. (BBC, 30 June 2014).
Here, semantically speaking, the adjective ousted, i.e., ﻣﻌﺰولis different from
deposed, i.e., ﻣﺨﻠﻮع, toppled, i.e., ﻣﻄﺎح ﺑﻪor former, i.e., ﺳﺎﺑﻖas each ← 29 | 30
→ has its own background frame. Further, the adjective former, i.e., ﺳﺎﺑﻖused
more recently by BBC is different from deposed, toppled, and ousted in the
sense that former has a wider and less specific denotative meaning than those
offered by the other adjectives, such as deposed, toppled, and ousted. This,
according to frame semantics, explains the observed asymmetries in many
lexical relations (for more details, see Fillmore 1977, 1982; Keith 2001). The
basic idea is that language users cannot understand the meaning of a single word
without access to all the essential knowledge that relates to that word. For
example, they would not be able to understand the differences among words
like: former, toppled, deposed, and ousted without knowing anything about the
situation of taking over power, which also involves, among other things, the
political system, the way of taking over and the ex-president himself, and so on.
Further reading
Questions
Exercises
1. a car
2. a teacher
3. a book
4. a banana
5. an armchair
6. a piglet
Exercise 5: How would you capture the difference in meaning between the
following lexical items?
Exercise 6: The following example quoted from Samīra Al-Māni‘ (1997: 7) and
translated by Paul Starkey (2008: 5). Critically discuss the translation of the
semantic repetition 33 | 32 ← .→ ﺻﻴﺎح وﺿﻮﺿﺎء
،ﺳﻤﻊ
ُ . أﺛﻨﺎء ﻣﺎ ﺗﻜﻮن اﻟﺴﻤﺎء ﻣﻠﺘﺼﻘﺔ ﺑﺎﻷرض ﻣﻦ ﺷﺪ ّة اﻟﻌﺘﻤﺔ،ﻓﻲ ﻟﻴﻠﺔ ﻣﻦ ﻟﻴﺎﻟﻲ ﺷﺘﺎء ﺑﻐﺪاد
ﺟﺎ ﻣﻦ إﺣﺪى ﻏﺮف داﺧﻠﻲ ﻃﺎﻟﺒﺎت ﻛﻠﻴﺔ اﻵداب
ً ﺻﻴﺎح وﺿﻮﺿﺎء ﺧﺎر
One Baghdad winter’s night – a night so dark that the sky seemed to merge
into the earth – a great commotion could be heard coming from a room in the
Faculty of Languages girls’ boarding house.
| 35 →
CHAPTER 3
Morphology
Key terms
Syntacticians describe how words combine into phrases and clauses, and how
these combine to form sentences. For example, I bought a book two days ago is
embedded as a relative clause in the sentence The book that I bought two days
ago is quite valuable and interesting. Choices in language can be expressed
grammatically or lexically. In this respect, Almanna (2016: 82) comments:
“Choices made from closed systems (singular/dual/plural; past/present/future;
active voice/passive voice, etc.) are grammatical; those made from open-ended
sets are lexical”. Grammatical categories are not identical in all languages.
Languages differ widely in the way they map various aspects of world
experiences (for more details, see Baker 1992: 84). In this chapter, special
attention will be paid to morphology, causativity, and transitivity in a direct link
with translation.
He has made every effort in order to marry her, but divorced her after two
months.
When I asked him to help me, he had a positive reaction with my request. ←
38 | 39 →
… ﺗﻤﺎرض،ﻣﺮض •
.ﻣﺮض اﻟﺒﺎرﺣﺔ ﻓﻨﻘﻠﻨﺎه إﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺸﻔﻰ
… ﺗﺒﺎﻛﻰ،ﺑﻜﻰ •
.ﻣﺎ إن ذﻫﺒﺖ أﻣﻪ إﻟﻰ ﻋﻤﻠﻬﺎ ﺣﺘﻰ أﺧﺬ اﻟﻄﻔﻞ ﻳﺒﻜﻲ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ
No sooner had his mother left for her job than the child started crying over
her.
The child started to feign crying in order to gain his parents’ sympathy.
As can be observed, the verbs ﻗﺎﺗﻞ, ﻗﺘﻞ, and ا;ِﺳﺘﻘﺘﻞthe verbs ﺗﺠﺎوب, ﺎوب, ﺟand ا ِ;ﺳﺘﺠﻮّب
the verbs ﻣﺮض, and ; ﺗﻤﺎرضand the verbs ﺑﻜﻰ, and ﺗﺒﺎﻛﻰlend themselves to
different renditions in English.
To further illuminate the importance of giving full consideration to
morphological asymmetries between the interfacing languages, the following
translation produced by a translation student can be examined: ST:
Standing in what is left of his burnt-out home this week, Jehad showed me a
photo on his mobile phone. It was of a cheeky, chunky, round-faced little boy
in denim dungarees, chuckling in a pushchair, dark-eyed with a fringe of fine
brown hair pushed across his brow.
TT:
Apparently, the student translator has confused the two semantically related
English words cheek and cheeky when rendering the word cheeky in the source
text. Checking up the meaning of the adjective cheeky in a number of
monolingual dictionaries, it may be concluded that it has nothing to do with
cheek. Rather, it simply means slightly rude or showing no respect, but often in a
funny way. ← 39 | 40 →
3.3.1
3.3 Causativity and transitivity Causativity Causativity
(from the verb to cause) indicates that the doer of the
action or activity causes somebody or something else
to do or to become something else. In general, there
are three main types of causatives, viz. analytic
causatives, lexical causatives, and morphological
causatives. To begin with analytic causatives, they
are syntactic constructions with certain verbs.
Examples of analytic causatives in English include
verbs, such as to make, to have, and to get, as in:
It is worth noticing that in Arabic we can reflect the same causativity, thus
producing the same mental image without using the verb (ﺟﻌﻞto make), as in:
.ﻚ اﻷﺣﻤﻖ
َ ُﺲ ﻫﻮ ﺗﺼّﺮﻓ
ٍ م أﻣ
َ إن ﻣﺎ أﻏﻀﺒﻨﻲ ﻳﻮ
Lexical causatives, on the other hand, are lexical items that have implicit
causativity. Examples of lexical causatives in English include verbs, such as to
kill, that is, to cause to die, to send, that is, to make somebody go, and to feed,
that is, to make somebody eat (for more details, see Goddard 1998/2011: 304).
With respect to morphological causatives, they are created by the process of
affixation. Morphological causatives in English are created by adding suffixes,
such as –en, –ify, and the like. Consider the following examples: ← 40 | 41 →
Morphological causatives in Arabic are created easily. For instance, some verbs,
َ ﺿﺤ, ﺟﻠ َﺲ, م
such as,َ ﻚ َ َ ﻋﻄ
َ ﻧﺎ, ﺑﻜﻰ, ﺲ ,ﻞَ َ ﻋﻄ
, ﺳﺎﻓَﺮ, ﻞ َ َر, ﻟﺒ ِﺲ, etc. can be changed into
َ ﺣ
transitive verbs, and then, causatives as they have implicit transitivity
incorporated into the verb stem.
As can be observed, there are some English verbs that can be used both
transitively and intransitively, e.g., to break in Tom broke the window and The
window broke. With such verbs, the object of the transitive verb is identical with
the subject of the intransitive one. In the actual act of translating, translators
need to consider these linguistic asymmetries. To elaborate, the following
example may be considered:
ﺤﻜﺔِ ﻤﻀ ُ اﻟ. ﺼﺔ ﺷﻌﺮِ زﻣﻴﻠﺘ ِﻬﺎ
ّ ﻣﺎ أﺿﺤﻜﻬﺎ ﻗ.ﺼﻒ ّ ﺖ ﻛﺜﻴﺮا ً ﻣﻊ زﻣﻴﻼﺗ ِﻬﺎ أﻣﺲ ﻓﻲ داﺧﻞ اﻟ ْ ﺿﺤﻜ
Here, the verb ﻚ َ ﺿﺤ َ is an intransitive verb, that is, it does not have a direct object,
thus lending itself to the verb to laugh in the past. However, in the second
sentence the verb ﻚ َ أﺿis transitive, that is, it needs an object. To reflect the
َ ﺤ
transitivity, the translator may well opt for the verb to make followed by the first
form of the verb to laugh, as in:
She laughed a lot with her classmates in class yesterday. What made her
laugh was her classmate’s funny haircut.
Following is another example:
ﻞ؟ ﻫﻞ ﺗﺄذى؟ َ اﻟﺬي أﺑﻜﻰ اﻟﻄﻔ-ﻣﺎ
،،ﻟﻰ ﻋﻤﻠ ِﻬﺎ.-ﻪ إُ ﻣُ ﺖأ ْ ﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ ذﻫﺒ،ﻜﻦ.ﻪِﻟ
ﻣوِ ﻒأ
َ ﺐ ﻋﻄ ُ ﻟﻜﻨﻪ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺒﺪاﻳﺔ أﺧﺬ َ ﻳﺘﺒﺎﻛﻰ ﻛﻲ ﻳﻜ،َ ﻟﻢ ﻳﺘﺄذ،ﻻ
َ ﺴ
ً ﻣّﺮا ُ أﺧﺬ َ اﻟﻄﻔ
ُ ًﻞ ﻳﺒﻜﻰ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ ﺑ ُﻜﺎء
Here, the verb ﺗﺄذىis different from أ ﺻ ﺎ ب ﺷ ﺨ ﺼ ﺎ ً ﺑ ﺄ ذ ى:ذ ّى. أWhile the former is
intransitive, thus lending itself to the adjective hurt preceded by was to reflect
the tense, the latter is transitive, thus lending itself to the verb to hurt.
Translating the intransitive verb ﺗﺄذ ّىto an adjective preceded by verb to be ← 42
| 43 → in the past leads to “class shift” to use Catford’s (1965) terminology, that
is, changing the part of speech through the nexus of translation. Further, in the
above example, three verbs ﺑﻜﻰ, ﺗﺒﺎﻛﻰ أ, and ﺑﻜﻰ, which are semantically related,
that is, they are derived from the same root () ﺑ ـ ك ى, are used. Therefore, extra
attention needs to be paid to their meanings, voices, etc. To begin with, the verb
(أﺑﻜﻰalso ) ﺑﻜ ّﻰis a transitive verb, thus lending itself to to make somebody cry in
the past. As for the verbs ﻰ َ ( ﺑﻜto cry) and ﻰَ ( ﺗﺒﺎﻛto feign crying), they are
intransitive verbs. Taking into account the meanings of these verbs, the
translator may well suggest a rendering like this:
What made the child cry? Was he hurt?
No, he wasn’t. But, in the beginning he started to feign crying to gain his
mom’s sympathy. However, as soon as she went out to her job, he started to
cry over her bitterly.
Following is an example extracted from Fū’ād Al-Takarlī’s (2009: 181) story
(اﻟﺘﺒﺎسConfusion):
ﻣﻦ ﻗﺒﻞ أو، دواء ﻟﻢ ﻳﺠﺮﺑﻪ،أﺗﺬﻛ ّﺮ ﺟﻴﺪا أﻧﻲ أﺧﺒﺮﺗﻚ أﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺮة ﺑﺄن زوﺟﻲ ﻟﻢ ﻳﺄﺧﺬ ذﻟﻚ اﻟﻤﺴﺎء
أﻧﻪ ﻧﺴﻲ أن، ﺑﺎﻟﻀﺒﻂ ﺑﻌﻴﺪ اﻟﻌﺸﺎء، ﻧﻌﻢ، ﺑﻌﻴﺪ اﻟﻌﺸﺎء،ﻟﻘﺪ ﺗﺬﻛ ّﺮ .ﺷﻴﺌﺎ ً ﻏﻴﺮ ﻣﻌﺮوف ﻟﺪﻳﻨﺎ
أﻧﻚ ﺗﻌﺮﻓﻪ،ﻻﺷﻚ . ﻳﺘﻨﺎول ﺣﺒﺔ اﻟﺼﺒﺎح ﻣﻦ دواء اﻟﻀﻐﻂ … ذﻟﻚ »اﻟﺘﻴﻨﻮرﻣﻴﻦ «اﻟﻤﻌﺘﺎد اﻟﺬي
In this example, seven verbs are used, viz. two intransitive verbs ( ﺗﺬﻛ ّﺮto
remember) used twice and ( ﻧﺴﻰto forget), and five transitive verbs, namely أﺧﺒﺮ
(to tell), ( أﺧﺬto take), (ﺟّﺮبto try out), ( ﺗﻨﺎولto take), and (ﻋﺮفto know). Paying
special attention to these verbs along with their tenses, aspects, and voices, a
professional translator may suggest a rendering like this:
I do remember very well telling you more than once that my husband that
evening did not take any medicine that he had not taken before or anything
else unknown to us. He remembered just after dinner, yes, exactly shortly
after dinner, that he had forgotten to take his morning tablet for hypertension,
the usual Tenormin which you no doubt know.
(ﻣﻦ أﺣﺪﻫﺎ. ﻳﺨﺮج ﻫﻮ. وﻋﻠﻰ ﺟﺎﻧﺒﻲ اﻟﻤﻤﺮ أﺑﻮاب ﻣﺮﻗﻤﺔ، داﺧﻞ أﺣﺪ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺸﻔﻴﺎت،ﻣﻤﻓﺮﻲ(ﺿﻴﻖ
ﻳﺜﻘﻞ ﺣﺮﻛﺘﻪ اﻷﻟﻢ واﻟﺤﺰن اﻟﺤﺎد،ﻣﺎﺳﺤﺎ ً ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪ
Here, the original writer decides to encode and present his ideas by employing a
material process, as in:
• actor: ( ﻫﻮhe) the process of doing ( ﻳﺨﺮجto go out) goal: no goal
• circumstances: an adverb of place: ( ﻣﻦ أﺣﺪﻫﺎfrom one of them). Here, أﺣﺪﻫﺎ
(one of them) refers back to one of the numbered doors on both sides of the
narrow corridor in one of the hospitals.
• an adverb of manner ( ﻣﺎﺳﺤﺎ ً ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪrubbing his eyes).
• a clause of manner ( ﻳ ﺜ ﻘ ﻞ ﺣ ﺮ ﻛ ﺘ ﻪ ا ﻷ ﻟ ﻢ و ا ﻟ ﺤ ﺰ ن ا ﻟ ﺤ ﺎ دhis movement weighed
down by deep pain and grief ).
To reflect the same mental image, the translator needs to pay undivided attention
to the processes of transitivity used in the original text along with their main
components. With this in mind, a professional translator may well suggest a
rendering like this: ← 44 | 45 →
أﻏﻠﻘﺖ اﻟﻤﺮأة ﺿﻠﻔﺔ اﻟﺸﺒﺎك اﻟﻴﺴﺮى ﺛﻢ ﺗﺤّﺮﻛﺖ داﺧﻞ اﻟﻐﺮﻓﺔ وﺟﻠﺴﺖ ﺧﻠﻒ ﻣﻨﻀﺪة ﺻﻐﻴﺮة ﻣﻜﺴﻮّة
رأس ﻓﺘﺎة زﻧﺠﻴﺔ. ﺑﺸﺮﺷﻒ أﺻﻔﺮ وﺿﻊ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ ﺻﻨﺪوق ﺧﺸﺒﻲ ﺻﻐﻴﺮ ﻣﺤﻔﻮر ﻋﻠﻰ ﻏﻄﺎﺋﻪ
TT:
The woman shut the left side of the window, and then moved inside the room
and sat down at a small table covered by a yellow sheet. On it there was a
small wooden box, its cover carved with the head of a Negro woman.
Here, the original writer, in an attempt to express the mental image that he has of
the world around him, decides to opt for certain processes and participants, and
determined in advance which participant will act and which one will be acted on.
As can be noticed, six processes are used, as in:
• a material process (ﻠﻘﺖ اﻟﻤﺮأة ﺿﻠﻔﺔ اﻟﺸﺒﺎك اﻟﻴﺴﺮىthe
أﻏ woman shut the left side of
the window): ( اﻟﻤﺮأةthe woman) is the actor of the process, (أﻏﻠﻖto shut) is the
process of doing, and (ﺿﻠﻔﺔ اﻟﺸﺒﺎك اﻟﻴﺴﺮىthe left side of the window) is the goal
of the process.
• a material process without a goal ( ﺗ ﺤ ّﺮ ﻛ ﺖ د ا ﺧ ﻞ ا ﻟ ﻐ ﺮ ﻓ ﺔshe moved inside the
room): the implicit pronoun ( ﻫﻲshe) is the actor of the process, ( ﺗﺤّﺮكto
move) is the process of doing, and (داﺧﻞ اﻟﻐﺮﻓﺔinside the room) is an adverb of
place.
• a material process without a goal (ﻠﺴﺖ ﺧﻠﻒ ﻣﻨﻀﺪةshe ﺟ sat down at a table): the
implicit pronoun (ﻫﻲshe) is the actor of the process, ( ﺟﻠﺲto sit down) is the
process of doing, and (ﺧﻠﻒ ﻣﻨﻀﺪةat a table) is an adverb of place.
• an implicit material process ( ﻣ ﻨ ﻀ ﺪ ة ﺻ ﻐ ﻴ ﺮ ة ﻣ ﻜ ﺴ ﻮّة ﺑ ﺸ ﺮ ﺷ ﻒ أ ﺻ ﻔ ﺮa small table
covered by a yellow table-cloth): the actor is unknown, ( ﻛﺴﻰto cover) is the
process of doing, and ( ﻣﻨﻀﺪة ﺻﻐﻴﺮةa small table) is the goal of the process.
• a material process ( وﺿﻊ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ ﺻﻨﺪوق ﺧﺸﺒﻲ ﺻﻐﻴﺮa small wooden box was put on
it): the actor is unknown, ( وﺿﻊto put) is the process of doing, and ( ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎon it –
it refers back to the table) is an adverb of place. This material process
functions as an existential process: an existent ( ﺻ ﻨ ﺪ و ق ﺧ ﺸ ﺒ ﻲ ﺻ ﻐ ﻴ ﺮa small
wooden box), an implicit process of existing ( ﻳﻮﺟﺪthere was), and an adverb
of place ( ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎon it). ← 46 | 47 →
• an implicit material process ( ﻣﺤﻔﻮر ﻋﻠﻰ ﻏﻄﺎﺋﻬﺎ رأس ﻓﺘﺎة زﻧﺠﻴﺔits cover was carved
with the head of a Negro woman): the actor is unknown, ( ﺣﻔﺮto carve) is the
process of doing, and ( رأس ﻓﺘﺎة زﻧﺠﻴﺔthe head of a Negro woman) is the goal
of the process.
Being fully aware of the types of processes along with their participants and
circumstances, the translators have succeeded in offering an equivalent text that
effectively reflects the types of processes along with their participants and
circumstances, thus producing an accurate mental image.
2. Morphemes are classified by morphologists into many types. What are they?
← 47 | 48 →
3. How would you define “morphology” and “syntax”?
4. What are the main types of causatives? Discuss with illustrative examples.
5. What is transitivity according to the traditional grammarians?
CHAPTER 4
Affixation
Key terms
• Affixation
• Chameleon prefixes
• Homonymous affixes
• Inflectional morphemes
• Polysemous affixes
• Prefixation
• Suffixation
4.1 Affixation
Affixation refers to the addition of prefixes, suffixes or infixes (an infix means a
letter or a group of letters added within the word stem in some languages, such
as Arabic). To begin with English affixation, a prefix is a letter or a group of
letters attached to the beginning of a word and changes its original meaning. A
suffix, however, is a letter or a group of letters attached to the end of a word and
changes the way a word fits into a sentence grammatically. For its turn, Arabic
has prefixes, infixes and suffixes; however, they are derivational and
inflectional, that is, they are limited in number. For ← 49 | 50 → example, the
prefix ﻣـis attached in Arabic to a number of verbs to indicate the place where
an action or event is done, such as:
However, the prefix ﻣـis also added to word stems, such as ( رشto spry or
sprinkle), َ ( ﺑ ََﺮدto file), and ﻚ
ّ ( ﻓto unscrew) to change them into nouns of
instruments, as in ( ﻣﺮشsprayer or sprinkler), ( ﻣﺒﺮدfile), and ( ﻣﻔﻚscrew driver)
respectively. The same prefix ﻣـcan be added along with the infix ـــﺎto word
stems, such as ( ﻓﺘﺢto open), and ث َ (ﺣﺮto cultivate) to change them to nouns of
instruments, as in ( ﻣﻔﺘﺎحkey), and (ﻣﺤﺮاثplough) respectively.
The suffix ﻲ, ـhowever, is added to a number of nouns to indicate nationalities,
as in:
Noun Nationality
• (ﻋﺮاقIraq) — (ﻋﺮاﻗﻲIraqi)
• ( ﻣﺼﺮEgypt) — (ﻣﺼﺮيEgyptian)
• (ﻋ ُﻤﺎنOman) — (ﻋ ُﻤﺎﻧﻲOmani)
• ( ﺗﻮﻧﺲTunisia) — ( ﺗﻮﻧﺴﻲTunisian)
• (ﻛﻮﻳﺖKuwait) — ( ﻛﻮﻳﺘﻲKuwaiti)
• ( ﻗﻄﺮQatar) — ( ﻗﻄﺮيQatari) ← 50 | 51 →
The same suffix ــﻲcan be added to nouns, such as ( رﻣﻞsand), ( ﺛﻠﺞsnow), ﺷﻤﺲ
(sun), ( ﻗﻤﺮmoon), ( أرضearth), ( ﻫﻮاءair), ( ﺻﺤﺮاءdesert), ( ﺗﻌﻠﻴﻢeducation), and
the like to change them into adjectives, as in ( رﻣﻠﻲsandy), ( ﺛﻠﺠﻲsnowy), ﺷﻤﺴﻲ
(solar), ( ﻗﻤﺮيlunar), (أرﺿﻲland or soil), (ﻫﻮاﺋﻲairy), ( ﺻﺤﺮاويdesert-like), and ﻲ
ّ ﺗﻌﻠﻴﻤ
(educational) respectively.
Translating suffixes and prefixes from Arabic into English does not cause a
serious problem to translators as they are limited in number. However,
translating suffixes and prefixes from English into Arabic requires extra effort.
This is because a wide-range of English prefixes and suffixes are borrowed from
Latin and Greek, thus it is not an easy task to figure out their exact meanings.
Further, some of them have several related and/or unrelated meanings (see
below). As such, in the following sections full consideration will be given to
English affixations and their translations into Arabic.
While the addition of the prefix dis- to the verb like to form dislike is an example
of prefixation, the addition of the suffix –er to the verb teach to form the noun
teacher is an example of suffixation. With affixation (in particular suffixation),
there must be a change at all or most of these levels:
To make this point clear, the adjective large may be considered. The addition of
the prefix en-, for instance, to it will change it
However, the addition of the suffix –ise (also –ize) to the noun critic will change
it at the four levels, including the phonological level.
Prefix Meaning
ante- before, as in antenatal, anteroom, antedate, and the like.
anti- against or opposing, as in antibiotics, antidepressant, antidote,
antisocial, and the like.
co- with, as in co-author, co-translator, co-worker, co-pilot, co-
operation, and the like.
de- off, down or away from, as in defame, defrost, destabilize, devalue,
and the like.
dis- not or opposite of, as in disagree, disappear, disapprove, disembark,
dislike, and the like.
ex- former, out of or away from, as in ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend, ex-
husband, ex-mayor, ex-president, ex-wife, export, exhale, exclusive,
and the like.
extra- beyond or more than, as in extracurricular, extraordinary, and the
like.
fore- before, as in forehead, foresee, foreword, foremost, and the like. ←
52 | 53 →
hyper- over or above, as in hyperactive, hypertension, hypermarket, and the
like.
micro- small, as in microscope, microbiology, microfilm, microwave, and the
like.
mid- middle, as in midfielder, midway, and the like.
mis- wrong or bad, as in misinterpret, misread, misspell, misunderstand,
and the like.
mono- one or singular, as in monotone, monolithic, and the like.
re- again, as in, rediscover, redo, replay, reread, rewrite, and the like.
semi- half, as in semicircle, semi-final, and the like.
sub- under, as in sub-category, sub-divide, submarine, subtitle, and the
like.
super- above or over, as in superimpose, superman, supermarket,
supernatural, superstar, and the like.
trans- across or beyond, as in transport, transnational, transatlantic, and
the like.
tri- three, as in triangle, tricycle, and the like.
un- not, as in undone, unfair, unfriendly, unhappy, unknown, and the like.
uni- one, as in unicorn, unicycle, uniform, unilateral, universal, and the
like.
Suffixes can be classified into four main groups, namely noun suffixes, verb
suffixes, adjective suffixes and adverb suffixes:
Noun suffixes
Suffix Meaning
-acy state or quality, as in accuracy, determinacy, democracy, and the like.
-al the action or process of, as in criminal, denial, trial, and the like. ←
53 | 54 →
-ance/-ence state or quality of, as in absence, acceptance, annoyance,
dependence, equivalence, maintenance, negligence, tolerance, and
the like.
-dom condition of, state of being or realm, as in boredom, freedom,
kingdom, stardom, wisdom, and the like.
-er/-or doer of an action, as in creator, collaborator, doctor, editor,
interpreter, inventor, investor, reader, reviser, teacher, translator,
and the like.
-ism state, quality, doctrine or belief, as in capitalism, heroism, idealism,
socialism, terrorism, tourism, and the like.
-ist person or doer of an action, as in artist, communist, geologist,
linguist, scientist, theorist, and the like.
-ment action, result or condition, as in argument, enchantment, government,
movement, shipment, and the like.
-ness state of being or quality, as in coldness, happiness, heaviness,
highness, kindness, illness, sadness, shyness, sickness, tiredness,
weakness, and the like.
-ship state or condition of, skill of or position held, as in authorship,
citizenship, friendship, hardship, internship, scholarship, and the
like.
-sion/-tion state of being or quality, action or process, as in attention,
celebration, caution, completion, navigation, position, promotion,
decision, and the like.
Verb suffixes
Suffix Meaning
-ate to make or become, as in activate, collaborate, evaporate, facilitate,
mediate, medicate, and the like.
-en to make, as in awaken, fasten, loosen, sharpen, soften, strengthen,
weaken, worsen, and the like.
-ify/-fy to make or cause, as in amplify, beautify, falsify, justify, magnify,
satisfy, simplify, terrify, and the like.
-ise/-ize to cause, treat or become, as in authorize, criticize, conceptualize,
contextualize, culturalize, publicize, and the like. ← 54 | 55 →
Adjective suffixes
Suffix Meaning
-able/ible capable of being, as in audible, drinkable, doable, edible, excitable,
incredible, notable, preventable, portable, readable, and the like.
-al relating to, having the form or character of, as in bacterial, colonial,
herbal, international, national, natural, theatrical, and the like.
-ful full of, as in forceful, helpful, skilful, thankful, and the like.
-ic/-ical relating to, characterized by or having the form, as in analytic,
analytical, comic, comical, economic, economical, historical,
organic, psychological, nonsensical, musical, and the like.
-ious/-ous having the qualities of, full of or characterized by, as in ambitious,
cautious, dangerous, gracious, jealous, religious, ridiculous, and the
like.
-ish relating to or having the quality of, as in childish, sheepish,
squeamish, and the like.
-ive having the nature of, inclined to or have the quality of, as in
attractive, attentive, expensive, informative, inquisitive, repulsive,
and the like.
-less without, as in fearless, homeless, hopeless, meaningless, wireless,
and the like.
-y made up of, characterized by or having, as in airy, angry, brainy,
fruity, hungry, icy, jumpy, sandy, teary, and the like.
Adverb suffixes
Suffix Meaning
-ly in the manner of, as in angrily, crazily, happily, quickly, slowly,
softly, and the like.
-ward/wards specifying direction, as in backwards, eastward, homeward, inward,
towards, and the like.
-wise in relation to, in the manner of or direction of, as in clockwise,
lengthwise, likewise, otherwise, timewise, and the like. ← 55 | 56 →
Polysemy (see Chapter 7 for more details) refers to the words that have at least
two different but related meanings. Just as there are polysemous words, there are
polysemous prefixes or suffixes, that is, there are prefixes and suffixes that have
at least two different but related meanings. Consider the following polysemous
prefixes and suffixes adapted from Thakur (1999: 52–53):
Affix Meaning
bi- a. twice in one period, as in biannual, bimonthly, and so forth.
b. having two, as in bicycle, bilingual, bilateral, bidirectional, and
so forth.
-ful a. having much of or being full of, as in beautiful, cheerful,
forceful, harmful, meaningful, painful, peaceful, successful,
useful, sorrowful, and so forth.
b. amount that fills, as in fistful, spoonful, handful, mouthful, and so
forth.
-ery a. art of, as in cookery, pottery, and so forth.
b. place of an action, as in bakery, fishery, and so forth.
-ette a. diminutive, as in cigarette, diskette, kitchenette, and so forth.
b. imitation, as in leatherette, and so forth.
-ish a. of or like, as in boyish, childish, girlish, mannish, and so forth.
b. almost, as in greenish, reddish, yellowish, twentyish, thirtyish,
and so forth.
-less a. having not or without, as in, childless, friendless, homeless,
humorless, wireless, and so forth.
b. not causing or giving, as in harmless, painless, and so forth.
un- a. not, as in uncertain, unsure, uncomfortable, unhappy, unable,
unfair, and so forth.
b. do the reverse of, as in undress, uncover, undo, unzip, unscrew,
unbutton, and so forth. ← 56 | 57 →
4.5 Homonymous prefixes and suffixes
Just as there are homonymous words, that is, words that have at least two
different unrelated meanings, there are homonymous prefixes and suffixes.
Consider the following examples adapted from Thakur (1999: 53):
Affix Meaning
a- a. not or without, as in agnostic, amoral, apolitical, asexual,
asymmetrical, atheist, atypical, and so on.
b. in the state of, as in ablaze, afloat, asleep, and so on.
dis- a. not, as in disbelieve, dislike, distrust, displeasure, and so on.
b. to know something or to make it known, as in disclose, discover,
and so on.
c. to change, as in discolour, and so on.
-er a. the doer of an action, as in builder, designer, player, reviser,
singer, teacher, and so on.
b. the comparative degree, as in bigger, nicer, older, shorter,
smaller, richer, and so on.
-ly a. every, as in hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, annually, yearly, and
so on.
b. having the quality of, as in, manly, neighbourly, friendly,
scholarly, and so on.
As can be observed, there are several methods to translate English prefixes and
suffixes along with their word stems into Arabic:
• it can be translated into one word, as in renew ﻳ ُﺠﺪ ّد, supermarket ﺑﻘﺎﻟﺔ,
builder ﺑﻨ ّﺎء, singer ﻣﻐﻨ ّﻲ, reviser ﻣﺮاﺟﻊ, translator ﻣﺘﺮﺟﻢ, unbutton اﻷزرار ﻳﻔﺘﺢ,
disappear ﻳﺨﺘﻔﻲ, homeless ﻣﺸّﺮد, discover ﻳﻜﺘﺸﻒ, cigarette ﺳﻴﻜﺎرة, successful
ﻧﺎﺟﺢ, useful ﻣﻔﻴﺪ, beautiful ﺟﻤﻴﻞ, disbeliever ﻛﺎﻓِﺮ, bakery ﻣﺨﺒﺰ, etc.
• it can be translated into a genitive construction, as in: defamation ﺗﺸﻮﻳُﻪ
ِ اﻟﺴﻤﻌﺔ, bilingual ِﻲ اﻟﻠﻐﺔ ُ ﺛﻨﺎﺋ, deforestation ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ ﺗﻘﻠﻴ ﻞ اﻟ ﻐﺎ ﺑﺎت, depopulation ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ
ﺴﻜﺎن ُ ﻓﺮ, etc.
ّ ﺗﻘﻠﻴﻞ اﻟ, overproduction ط اﻻ ِﻧﺘﺎِج
• it can be translated into a prepositional phrase, as in: underground ﺗﺤﺖ اﻷر ض,
and the like.
• it can be translated into a compound word, as in decentralization اﻟﻼﻣﺮﻛﺰﻳﺔ,
apolitical ﻲ ّ ﻻ ﺳﻴﺎﺳ, and the like. ← 58 | 59 →
• it be translated into a noun phrase, as in infrastructure ﺑ ُﻨ ﻴ ﺔ ﺗ ﺤ ﺘ ﻴ ّﺔ,
superstructure ﺑ ُﻨﻴﺔ ﻓﻮﻗﻴ ّﺔ, bicycle دراﺟﺔ ﻫﻮاﺋﻴ ّﺔ, antibiotics ّﻣﻀﺎد ٌ ﺣﻴﻮي, kitchenette
ﺦ ﺻﻐﻴﺮٌ ﻣﻄﺒ, etc.
Here, the addition of the suffix –ize to the adjective stable changes it into a verb,
that is, causing something stable or becoming stable. However, the addition of
the prefix de- to the verb stabilize changes its meaning into the opposite despite
the fact that it does not change its word class. Being aware of the meanings and
functions of the prefix de- and suffix –ize, the translator may well opt for a
genitive construction زﻋﺰﻋُﺔ اﻟﻨﻈﺎم, as in:
. وﺑﺨﺎﺻﺔ ﺗﺮﻛﻴﺎ ﺑﺰﻋﺰﻋﺔ اﻟﻨﻈﺎم،ﺖ اﻟﺤﻜﻮﻣُﺔ اﻟﻌﺮاﻗﻴُﺔ دوَل اﻟﺠﻮار ﻳﻮم أﻣﺲ
ْ ا ِﺗ ّﻬﻤ
Following are two examples translated by Safīa Al-Sa‘dī in her final translation
project entitled Life in Japan (2015: 2):
ST:
One of the first things you notice in Japan – trash cans are impossible to find
at public places!
TT:
اﻟﻌﺎﻣﺔ. ﻓﺄوّل اﻷﺷﻴﺎء اﻟﺘﻲ ﺳﺘﻼﺣﻈﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻴﺎﺑﺎن ﻫﻮ اﺳﺘﺤﺎﻟﺔ أن ﺗﺠﺪ ﺻﻨﺎدﻳﻖ اﻟﻘﻤﺎﻣﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻷﻣﺎﻛﻦ
In the above example, the lexical item impossible has been translated into one
word, that is, اﺳﺘﺤﺎﻟﺔ. Being fully aware of the meaning and function of the prefix
im- added to the adjective possible, the translator has opted for the noun اﺳﺘﺤﺎﻟﺔ
(impossibility). Here, there is an example of “class shift” to use Catford’s (1965)
term. Class shift occurs when a source language item, such as the adjective
impossible is translated into a target language item ← 59 | 60 → which belongs
to a different grammatical class, such as the noun ( اﺳﺘﺤﺎﻟﺔfor more details on
shift see Almanna 2016: 61–64).
ST:
When living in Japan, you will learn a lot about handling trash. As the
islands are tiny and densely populated, it was crucial for the Japanese to
focus on recycling and minimizing their impact on the nature around.
TT:
وﻷن. ﻓﺈن اﻟﺘﻌﺎﻣﻞ ﻣﻊ اﻟﻨﻔﺎﻳﺎت ﻫﻮ أﺣﺪ اﻷﻣﻮر اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺘﻌﻠ ّﻤﻬﺎ،ﻓﻲ اﻟﺤﻘﻴﻘﺔ ﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ ﺗﻌﻴﺶ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻴﺎﺑﺎن
اﻟﺘﺪوﻳﺮ وﺗﻘﻠﻴﻞ ﺗﺄﺛﻴﺮ. ﻓﻘﺪ ﻛﺎن ﺣﺮﻳ ّﺎ ً ﺑﺎﻟﻴﺎﺑﺎﻧﻴﻴﻦ أن ﻳﺮﻛ ّﺰوا ﻋﻠﻰ إﻋﺎدة،ﺴﻜﺎن
ّ اﻟﺠﺰر ﺻﻐﻴﺮة وآﻫﻠﺔ ﺑﺎﻟ
اﻟﻨﻔﺎﻳﺎت ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﻌﺔ اﻟﻤﺤﻴﻄﺔ ﺑﻬﻢ
Here, the suffix –ese added to Japan and prefix re- added to the verb cycle will
be given full consideration. To begin with the suffix -ese, it is added to the
names of the countries to refer to the people of that country. The prefix re- added
to the verb cycle, however, does not change its word class, but adds a specific
meaning to the verb cycle, that is, again. Paying undivided attention to their
meanings and functions, the translator has opted for اﻟﻴﺎﺑﺎﻧﻴﻴﻦin a genitive case to
refer to the people of Japan and a genitive construction إﻋﺎدة اﻟﺘﺪوﻳﺮto stand for the
verb recycle. As can be observed, there is a combination of both class shift, that
is, changing parts of speech, and unit shift, that is, translating a word into a
phrase. It is worth noting that such a shift cannot be avoided due to the
differences between the interfacing languages.
Further reading
Exercise 1: Read the following pairs of words, paying extra attention to the
affixes attached to them and decide whether they are examples of polysemy,
homonymy or neither:
1. sleepless – childless
2. spoonful – successful
3. unhappy – uncover
4. ablaze – asymmetric
5. yellowish – girlish
6. bilingual – bimonthly
7. friendly – quickly
8. discover – disembark ← 61 | 62 →
9. misunderstand – misbehave
10. irregular – irrelevant
Exercise 2: Read the following pairs of words, paying extra attention to the
prefixes attached to them and decide whether they are examples of chameleon
prefixes or not:
1. paradox
2. exist
3. asocial
4. apathy
5. company
6. substitute
7. atypical
8. coordinator
9. defame
10. bicycle
Exercise 3: Read the following pairs of words, paying extra attention to the
affixes attached to them and decide whether they are examples of class-
maintaining affixes or class-changing affixes:
1. amoral
2. unhappy
3. mishear
4. foreman
5. co-author
6. mileage
7. usherette
8. telegram
9. pre-war
10. supermarket
11. quickly
12. undo
13. criticize
14. hyperactive
15. friendship
16. spoonful
17. boredom
18. booklet
19. waitress
20. childish
Exercise 4: Identify the meanings and functions of the following prefixes and
suffixes in the following words:
The Islamic economy had hardly any comparable stimuli from religion.
Changes of mentality were at best superficial. Immobility, intellectual
laziness and economic incompetence were widespread.
TT:
.وﺑﺎﻟﻜﺎد ﻟﻌﺐ اﻟﺪﻳﻦ دورا ً ﻣﻤﺎﺛﻼ ً ﻓﻲ اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎد اﻹﺳﻼﻣ ﻓﻲ
ﻜﺎﻧﺖ اﻟﺘﻐﻴﺮات اﻟﻔﻜﺮﻳﺔ ﻓﻲ أﻓﻀﻞ ﺣﺎﻟﺘﻬﺎ
ﻣﻨﺘﺸﺮا. ﻞ ﺛﺎﺑﺖ ﻛﺎن اﻟﺘﺨﻠ ّﻒ اﻟﻔﻜﺮي واﻟﻌﺠﺰ اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدي اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻲ.ﺸﺔﻜ اﻟﻈﺎوﻫﺑﺮﻳ
| 65 →
CHAPTER 5
• Aspect
• Atelicity
• Perfect aspect
• Perfect progressive aspect
• Progressive aspect
• Simple aspect
• Telicity
• Tense
The previous chapter looked into infixes, prefixes, and suffixes in Arabic and
English. This chapter gives full consideration to tense and aspect in a direct link
with the actual work of the translators.
Both “tense” and “aspect” refer to time. So, what is the difference between
them? Although both of them “convey temporal information about a described
event or state of affairs”, tense refers to when an event or situation happens, thus
locating the described event or state of affairs on the timeline: past, present, or
future (Kearns 2000/2011: 176). However, aspect refers to how a described
event or situation happens. In English, for instance, there are four types of
aspect, viz. “simple aspect”, “perfect aspect”, “progressive aspect”, and “perfect
progressive aspect” (cf. Celce-Murcia and ← 65 | 66 → Larsen-Freeman 1999;
Griffiths 2006; Kearns 2000/2011; Kreidler 1998). To illustrate, the following
sentences may be discussed:
As can be observed, all these examples are in the present tense as they describe
different situations in the present, yet each conveys different information, or
points of view, as to how the action pertains to the present. As such, they differ
in aspect. In what follows, these types of aspect will be examined in detail.
In simple aspect (also known as “zero aspect”), the emphasis is placed on the
regularity and frequency of the described action or situation as a matter of
routine, unchanging situations, or general truth. Semantically speaking, in a
sentence like this:
In other words, the emphasis (aspect) in the above example is placed on the
completion of the act of reaching the city (nondurative) not on the act of being in
the city (durative). To reflect both the tense and aspect, the translator may well
suggest a rendering like this:
However, this does not exclude habitual interpretations. When one of the
adverbs of frequency and/or habituality is explicitly used, this will force habitual
interpretations, thus excluding other available interpretations, such as a single-
event interpretation (Griffiths 2006: 102). To reinforce this point, following is
another example:
Here, as can be seen, the tense is a simple present tense. The verb used is static.
Further, it is not characterized by the property of having a natural ← 67 | 68 →
finishing point (i.e., it is atelic). Such characteristics do not trigger habitual
interpretations, but rather, give rise to stative interpretations. Try to insert one of
the adverbs of frequency or habituality to see the result. Being taller than
somebody else does not have a forward movement or a finishing point. As such,
the emphasis (i.e., aspect) is placed on unchanging situations – he is taller than
me yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Following is another example:
She visits her family twice a year.
In the above example, the tense is present. The emphasis (aspect) is on the
regularity and frequency of the action as a matter of routine indicated by the
phrase twice a year. To reflect both the tense and aspect, the translator may use a
verb in the present, as in:
.ﺴﻨﺔ
ّ ﺗﺰور ﻋﺎﺋﻠﺘﻬﺎ ﻣﺮﺗﻴﻦ ﻓﻲ اﻟ
Here, the tense is present. The emphasis (aspect) is on the regularity and
frequency of the action. To reflect both the tense and aspect, the phrase ﻋﺎدة ﻣﺎ
(usually) can be added, as in:
. ﺗﻬﻄﻞ اﻷﻣﻄﺎر ﺑﻐﺰارة ﻓﻲ ﺑﻌﺾ اﻟﻤﺪن ﻓﻲ ﻓﺼﻞ اﻟﺸﺘﺎء،ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ اﻟﻤﺘ ّﺤﺪة
Or
. ﻋﺎدة ﻣﺎ ﺗﻬﻄﻞ اﻷﻣﻄﺎر ﺑﻐﺰارة ﻓﻲ ﺑﻌﺾ اﻟﻤﺪن ﻓﻲ ﻓﺼﻞ اﻟﺸﺘﺎء،ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ اﻟﻤﺘ ّﺤﺪة
When the phrase ( ﻋﺎدة ﻣﺎusually) is added, there will be a “level shift” to use
Catford’s (1965) terminology. Level shifts occur, for instance, when an item in
the source text is at one linguistic level (e.g., grammar) and translated into an
item at a different level (e.g., lexis). In this regard, Almanna (2016: 61) states
that “to emphasize the frequency of the action in Arabic, the only solution is to
resort to lexical items/expressions, such as ﻋﺎدة ﻣﺎusually, ﻏﺎﻟﺒﺎ ﻣﺎoften, and so on
or leave it to the context to see to it”.
In the following example, the emphasis is on general truths:
So, the aspect is simple. To reflect both the tense and aspect in Arabic, a nominal
sentence may be resorted to, as in:
This indicates that the speaker used to play football very well in the past, but
now s/he does not.
I am writing a novel.
Here, the tense is present continuous marked by verb to be followed by the base
form of the verb plus the suffix –ing. However, this is not enough for translation
purposes. We need to know where the emphasis is placed and whether the
described event or situation is a state, activity, accomplishment, or achievement.
To begin with, the emphasis is put on the continuity of the action. Further, such
an act of writing is durative (occupying time), dynamic (not static), and atelic
(having no natural finishing point but the writer has to decide to stop writing for
a particular reason). Further, writing a novel in the above example does not
entail that the writer has completed all stages of writing a novel – the emphasis
is on the middle phase of writing. As such, it may be concluded that there is an
implicit time marker, such as right now, currently, and the like. To reflect both
the tense and aspect, the translator may use lexical items and expressions, such
as ← 69 | 70 → ( ﻻ أزالstill), ( ﻓﻲ ﻫﺬه اﻷﺛﻨﺎءat this moment), ً ( ﺣﺎﻟﻴﺎcurrently), and so
on. Or, s/he may opt for the use of the present active participle ً ُﻣﻨﻬِﻤﻜﺎ, ً ُﻣﻨﻐِﻤﺴﺎ, as
in:
Here, the emphasis is on the continuity of the act of singing in a specific period
of time in the past. This entails that she sang on the one hand, and the event
described by a telic predicate happened at a particular interval of time, that is,
from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
In Arabic, to emphasize the continuity of the described action, event or
situation in a specific period in the past, language users normally use the verb ﻛﺎن
followed by a verb in the present, as in:
.ﺖ أ ُراِﺟﻊُ دروﺳﻲ أﻣﺲ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺜﻞ ﻫﺬا اﻟﻮﻗﺖ
ُ ﻛ ُﻨ
Here, the act of revising أراﺟﻊis in the past, indicated by the verb ﺖ ُ ﻛ ُﻨ. The
emphasis is placed on the continuity of the described action in a specific period
in the past, thus lending itself to a past continuous tense:
• the event is expressed by a dynamic verb (such as walk, talk, eat, drink, play,
and the like) not a static one (such as realize, know, believe, and so on). ← 70
| 71 →
• it usually has sub-interval properties, and the focus is on inside the duration
of the described event, that is, on one or more sub-intervals not on the whole
event run time.
• the emphasis is shifted from the beginning and end of the described action or
event towards the middle phase, thus presenting the action or event as an
ongoing activity.
• it can be telic (leading up to, but not including, a finishing point) or atelic
(does not lead up to a finishing point), depending on the verb and its
predicate.
In perfect aspect, the emphasis is shifted towards the duration of the described
event or situation that began in the past and is seen relevant to the present time.
In a sentence like this:
the emphasis is on the duration of the event that began in the past and is seen
relevant to the present time, thus entailing that Tom has spent a period of time to
accomplish his job. Further, the present perfect form has written portrays the
state of Tom in the aftermath of writing his short stories. As such, the perfect
aspect in the above example triggers a “recently” interpretation, that is, the time
of writing the short stories is a frame just before the time of speech. To translate
it into Arabic, the translator may use an optional particle ﻟﻘﺪfollowed by a verb
in the past, or may bring out the implicit adverb of time, i.e., recently, as in:
Again, adding the adverb of time ( ﻣﺆﺧﺮاrecently) or the particle ﻟﻘﺪwill result in
a level shift. According to Catford (1965) a level shift occurs when the source
language item at one linguistic level (e.g., lexis) has a target language equivalent
at a different level (e.g., grammar) or the other way round.
To reinforce this, these two sentences may be compared: ← 71 | 72 →
In the first example, the emphasis is placed on the duration of the event (i.e., one
hour). It entails that the speaker has waited for an hour and has just left. To put
this differently, the time of waiting is a frame just before both the time of leaving
the place and time of speaking. To reflect both the tense and aspect in Arabic, a
verb in the past along with the time marker ( ﻟﻤﺪةfor the period of) may be used,
as in:
In the second example, the emphasis, however, is shifted from the beginning and
end of the described event towards a sub-interval that occupies a longer period
than that occupied by progressive aspect, thus it is called perfect progressive
aspect, that is, a combination of two aspects: progressive aspect and perfect
aspect. To reflect both the tense and aspect in Arabic, the translator may well opt
for an optional expression ( ﻻ أزالstill) followed by a verb in the present along
with the time marker ( ﻣﻨﺬfor/since), as in:
Or, s/he may start his/her sentence with ٍ( ﻣﻨﺬ ﺳﺎﻋﺔfor an hour) followed by a
nominal sentence ك
َ أﻧﺎ أﻧﺘﻈﺮpreceded by an additive connector ( وand), as in:
.ك
َ ﻣﻨﺬ ُ ﺳﺎﻋﺔٍ وأﻧﺎ أﻧﺘﻈﺮ
5.2 Translating tenses and aspects
One of the challenging problems in translating from English into Arabic and vice
versa is translating tenses and aspects. This is because of the differences
between the two languages. Unlike Arabic, English has certain morphological
resources to express aspect, such as simple, progressive, perfect, ← 72 | 73 → or
perfect progressive. Therefore, to express simple aspect, for example, in English,
the language user has to express it grammatically as in:
However, to translate the same aspect into Arabic, which has no grammatical
category for aspects, translators can express it lexically by using lexical items
when they are relevant (cf. Baker 1992). Languages differ widely in the way
they map various aspects of world experiences. In this connection, Baker (1992:
84) rightly comments:
.ﻞ ﻳﻮم
ّ ﻳﺬﻫﺐ ﺻﺪﻳﻘﻲ ﻣﻊ أﺑﻴﻪ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﺪرﺳﺔ ﻛ
Languages differ widely in the way they record various aspects of world
experiences. To illustrate this, the following example, in particular the first
sentence in the text, along with two translations produced by two translation
trainees may be given full consideration:
ST:
They will face trial in October 2013, reports say. The three men were
extradited from the UK last week along with another pair, Babar Ahmad and
Talha Ahsan, following a long legal battle. ← 73 | 74 →
TT 1:
ﺗﺮﺣﻴﻞ. وﺗﺰاﻣﻦ ﺗﺮﺣﻴﻞ اﻟﺜﻼﺛﺔ ﻣﻊ.ﺣﺴﺒﻤﺎ ذﻛﺮت اﻟﺘﻘﺎرﻳﺮ2003 ﺳﻴﻤﺜﻼن ﻟﻠﻤﺤﺎﻛﻤﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻛﺘﻮﺑﺮ
اﺛﻨﻴﻦ آﺧﺮﻳﻦ وﻫﻤﺎ ﺑﺎﺑﺎر أﺣﻤﺪ وﻃﻪ إﺣﺴﺎن ﺑﻌﺪ ﻣﻌﺮﻛﺔ ﻗﺎﻧﻮﻧﻴﺔ ﻃﻮﻳﻠﺔ
TT 2:
ﻗﺪ ا ُﺳﺘﻠﻢ اﻟﻤﺘﻬﻤﻮن اﻟﺜﻼﺛﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺣﻜﻮﻣﺔ.اﻛﺘﻮﺑﺮو/أﺷﺎرت اﻟﺘﻘﺎرﻳﺮ أن ﻣﺤﻜﻤﺘﻬﻤﺎ ﺳﺘﻌﻘﺪ ﻓﻲ ﺗﺸﺮﻳﻦ اﻷول
ﺣﺴﺎن ﻻﺳﺘﻜﻤﺎل.اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة ﻓﻲ اﻷﺳﺒﻮع اﻟﻤﺎﺿﻲ ﺑﺮﻓﻘﺔ اﺛﻨﻴﻦ آﺧﺮﻳﻦ ﻫﻤﺎ ﺑﺎﺑﺎر أﺣﻤﺪ وﻃﻪ إ
ﻣﺤﺎﻛﻤﺘﻬﻤﺎ اﻟﻄﻮﻳﻠﺔ
Here, in the first sentence in the original text, the writer uses a simple present
tense expressed by say. Although a simple present tense is used, the emphasis is
on the completion of the action, rather than on its continuity or frequency.
Having given full consideration to verb aspect, the translation trainees have
intrinsically managed the text when translating the simple present tense
expressed by say into a past tense, viz. ذﻛﺮتand ﺷﺎرت. أThis is an example of
“intra-system shift”, to use Catford’s (1965) term. Intra-system shifts occur
when translators opt for a noncorresponding term in the target language system
although there is a formal corresponding one.
To further illuminate how (not) taking into account verb aspect may well
affect the translation, thus creating a different mental image, the following
example extracted from Lubna Mahmūd Yāsīn’s story (n.d.) ( ﺑ ﺼ ﻤ ﺔ ﻣ ﻮ ا ﻃ ﻦA
Citizen’s Fingerprint) translated for the purposes of this study can be discussed:
ST:
وﻃﺎﺑﻘﻪ ﻣﻊ ﻧﻔﺲ » … … …ﺳﺤﺐ رﺳﻢ ﺑﺼﻤﺘﻪ اﻟﺬي ﻛﺎن ﻗﺪ ﺟﻒ ﺛﻢ اﻟﺘﻔﺖ إﻟﻰ ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ و
» اﻧﻪ ﻫﻮ … اﻟﻤﺘﻤﺮد … ﺧﺬوه:ﻤﻜﺒ ّﺮة … وﻋﺎد ﻳﻘﻮل
ُ اﻟﺒﺼﻤﺔ اﻟ
TT:
Then, the officer turned to our friend and pulled up the depiction of his
fingerprint which was dry in order to compare it to the magnified fingerprint.
Once again, he stated, “It’s him, it’s the insubordinate, take him”.
وﻟﻦ ﻳﺘﺰوج، » ﺳﻴﻌﻮد إﻟﻴﻚ زوﺟﻚ:ﻗﺎل اﻟﺸﻴﺦ ﺳﻌﻴﺪ وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﻣﻲ ﻓﻲ وﻋﺎء اﻟﺠﻤﺮ ﻧﺘﻔﺎ ً ﻣﻦ اﻟﺒﺨﻮر
،» ارﺗﻴﺎح ﻃﻮﻳﻠﺔ. ﻓﻨ ّﺪت ﻋﻨﻬﺎ آﻫﺔ، وﻛﺎن ﺻﻮﺗﻪ وﻗﻮرا ً ﻫﺎدﺋﺎ ً ﻣﻨﺢ ﻋﺰﻳﺰة اﻟﻄﻤﺄﻧﻴﻨﺔ.« ﻣﺮة ﺛﺎﻧﻴﺔ
ً ﻦ ﻋﻤﻠﻲ ﻳﺘﻄﻠﺐ ﻣﺎﻻ ً ﻛﺜﻴﺮا
ّ »ﻟﻜ
و:اﺑﺘﻬﺞ ﻟﻬﺎ وﺟﻪ اﻟﺸﻴﺦ وﻗﺎل
TT:
He threw bits of incense into the dish filled with live coal, and said: “Your
husband will return to you, and he will not take another wife”. His voice was
sedate and soft, and soothed Aziza, who heaved a deep sigh of satisfaction.
The Sheikh’s face lit up. “However, my work doesn’t come cheap”, he said.
As can be noticed, in the original text there is no time gap between the process
of saying ( ﻗﺎلhe said) and the process of doing ( ﻳﺮﻣﻲhe is throwing). In the
original text, while the emphasis in ( ﻗﺎلhe said) is placed on the completion of
the act of saying, the emphasis in ( وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﻣﻲand he is throwing) is put on the
continuity of the act of throwing in a specific period in the past as there is an
implicit ( ﻛﺎنwas). However, the translators, ← 75 | 76 → for no obvious reason,
have resorted to using the connector and, thus changing the emphasis in the
process of doing وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﻣﻲon the one hand, and creating a time gap on the other.
Had they given full consideration to the sequences of the described acts, that is,
the act of saying and the act of throwing, they could have suggested something
like this: While throwing bits of incense into the dish filled with live coal, he said
….
To make this point clear, the following example extracted from a short story
titled ( اﻟﺨﻴﻮلThe Horses) by ‘Abdul-Rahmān Al-Rubai‘ī (cited in Dickins et al.
2002: 86–87) may be considered:
ST:
:ﺳﺄﻟﺘ ْﻪ
َ –ﺣﺠﺰ
ت؟ أ
:ﺳُﻪ وﻗﺎلَ وﻫّﺰ رأ
.–ﻋﻠﻰ وﺷﻚ
ﻤﺎم؟ّ ﺖ ﻏﺮﻓﺔ ﺑﺤَ – أﻃﻠﺒ
.– ﻧﻌﻢ
.ﻓﻐﺮﻓﺘﻲ ﺑﻼ ﺣّﻤﺎم .ﺧﺒﺮﻧﻲ ﻋﻦ رﻗِﻤﻬِﺎ.– ﺣﺴﻨ ًﺎأ
:ﺖ ْ وأﺿﺎﻓ
.– اﻟﻮﺳﺦ ﻳﻀﺎﻳﻘﻨﻲ
TT:
In some parts of the source text, the emphasis is placed on the completion of the
acts, viz. ( ﺳﺄﻟﺘﻪshe asked him), ( ﻫّﺰ رأﺳﻪhe shook his head), ( ﻗﺎلhe said), and
(أﺿﺎﻓﺖshe added). However, in the interrogative sentences أﺣﺠﺰتand أ ﻃ ﻠ ﺒ ﺖ ﻏ ﺮ ﻓ ﺔ
ّ ﺑﺤ, the emphasis is put on the duration of the described actions that began in
ﻤﺎم
the past and are seen relevant to the moment of speaking. In the target text,
however, the tense in one of the interrogative sentences, ← 76 | 77 → namely
ﻤﺎمّ أ ﻃ ﻠ ﺒ ﺖ ﻏ ﺮ ﻓ ﺔ ﺑ ﺤhas been changed into a simple past tense, thus changing the
emphasis. Had the translator given full consideration to the emphasis (aspect) in
such a sentence, s/he could have suggested a rendering like this: Have you asked
for a room with a bathroom?
Finally, the following example quoted from Karīm ‘Abid’s story (ﻏﺮام اﻟﺴﻴﺪة )ع
(The Passion of Lady A), translated by Erick Winkel (2010: 63–64) may be
considered:
ST:
.ﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ ﻋﺎدت اﻟﻔﺘﺎﺗﺎن إﻟﻰ اﻟﺒﻴﺖ ﻟﻢ ﺗﻜﻦ اﻵﻧﺴﺔ )ع(ﺗﻌﺮف ﻣﺎذا ﺣﺪث ﻟﻠﺮﺟﻞ
ﻛﺎﻧﺖ وﻫﻲ ﺗﻐﻴ ّﺮ ﺛﻴﺎﺑﻬﺎ
ﻋﻜﺲ ﻣﺎ. ﻓﻬﻲ ﻟﻢ ﺗﺠﺪ ﻓﻴﻬﻢ ﻣﻦ ﻳﺜﻴﺮ إﻫﺘﻤﺎﻣﻬﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ.وﺣﻴﺪة ً ﺗﻔﻜ ّﺮ ﺑﻄﻠﺒﺔ ﻗﺴﻢ اﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻟﻔﺮﻧﺴﻴﺔ
ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﺗﺘﻮﻗّﻊ ﻗﺒﻴﻞ دﺧﻮل اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻌﺔ
TT:
The two ladies returned to the house. Miss A did not know what happened
with the man. She changed her clothes and concentrated on thinking about
the male students in the French Department. She hadn’t found any of them
who could rouse her interest, which was the opposite of how she felt before
she went to the university.
The change in aspect from a past continuous tense, expressed by ﻛﺎﻧﺖ وﻫﻲ ﺗﻐﻴ ّﺮin
the source text, to a simple past tense in the target text, does produce a change in
time reference, affecting the pragmatic communicative effect, in that the
emphasis in the source text is on the continuity of the action in a specific period
of time, whereas in the target text the emphasis is put on the completion of the
act of changing her clothes. Further, opting for the connector and to connect the
two events, as in she changed her clothes and concentrated on … does slow
down their pace, thus generating a time gap between the two events. Further, the
translator has opted to disconnect the processes by using two separate sentences.
As a result, the pace of events is slowed down. The original subordinate sentence
… ﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ ﻋﺎدت … ﻟﻢ ﺗﻜﻦis re-presented as two independent sentences in the target
text, thereby generating a feeling that there is probably a time gap between the
two events. ← 77 | 78 →
Further reading
Exercise 1: Before translating the following sentences, try to identify where the
emphasis is put:
Exercise 2: Before translating the following sentences, try to identify where the
emphasis is put:
Exercise 5: Translate the following text extracted from Mary Ali’s text titled
Women’s Liberation through Islam, published on 24 June 2013
(<http://www.islamreligion.com>), to a professional level. Then, annotate your
own translation, paying special attention to grammatical issues, in particular
those related to tenses and aspects.
A Muslim woman must cooperate and coordinate with her husband. There
cannot, however, be cooperation with a man who is disobedient to God. She
should not fulfill his requests if he wants her to do something unlawful. A
husband also should not take advantage of his wife, but be considerate of her
needs and happiness.
| 81 →
CHAPTER 6
Modality
Key terms
6.1 Modality
While communicating with each other, language users are in need of expressing
their own attitudes, opinions, or moods towards what happens, towards what
exists in the outside world, towards the truth of an utterance, or towards the
event described by that utterance. To do so, they need to fall back on modality.
Modality is a concept used widely in a direct link with such notions as:
• Obligation:
We must not lose the match tomorrow, or we will be out of the tournament.
• Necessity:
I haven’t visited my friend for ten years, so I will have to visit her this summer.
• Lack of necessity:
In order to apply for this job, you must speak two languages, but you don’t have
to have a degree in international relations.
• Prohibition:
You mustn’t use your mobile during takeoff.
• Expectation:
There are plenty of petrol stations in the town; it should not be too difficult to
find somewhere to get petrol.
• Advisability:
She should/ought to consult her doctor immediately.
• Possibility:
She may be in the office. Have you called her?
• Ability:
She can speak three languages in addition to her mother tongue.
• Request:
Would you switch on the light, please?
• Permission:
May I open the window, sir? ← 82 | 83 →
• Preference:
I would rather stay at home tonight than go out.
• Lost opportunities:
You should have asked me earlier. Now, it’s too late.
• Habitual past:
My father used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day.
In what follows, the types of modality and main functions achieved by modality
in Arabic and English will be explained.
In general, modality can be classified into two main types, viz. “deontic
modality” and “epistemic modality” (Almanna 2016; Halliday 1970; Hoye 1997;
Jarjour 2006; Lyons 1977; Perkins 1983, among others).
I haven’t visited my family for ten years, so I will have to visit them this
summer.
(obligation and/or necessity)
The term “epistemic” means “to understand” or “to have knowledge”. Therefore,
to express the degree of their commitment to the truth of the proposition, the
language users can use modal verbs epistemically (cf. Almanna 2016; Downing
and Locke 1992; Farghal and Shunnaq 1999; Jarjour 2006).
1. visual recognition: try your hand at identifying the modal verb used in the
source text: it is had to.
2. the function of the modal verb: obligation and/or necessity + in the past.
3. mechanism of lexical search: had to can be translated in Arabic into
To make this point clear, these two examples extracted from Hans Küng’s book
Islam: Past, Present and Future (cited in and translated by Al-Shuraīqī 2016: 23)
may be given full consideration: ← 85 | 86 →
ST:
The Islamic economic system could not become the equal of the European. It
was also vitally important that until well into the twentieth century, almost all
Islamic countries were economically dependent on the European colonial
powers.
TT:
وﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻬﻢ.وﻟﻢ ﻳﺴﺘﻄﻊ اﻟﻨﻈﺎم اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدي اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻲ أن ﻳﻜﻮن ﻧﺪا ً ﻟﻠﻨﻈﺎم اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدي ﻟﻠﺪول اﻷوروﺑﻴﺔ
ﺗﻌﺘﻤﺪ اﻗﺘﺼﺎدﻳﺎ ً ﻋﻠﻰ. ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﻏﺎﻟﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺪول اﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ،ذﻛﺮه أﻧﻪ وﺣﺘﻰ ﻓﺘﺮة ﻣﺘﻘﺪﻣﺔ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻘﺮن اﻟﻌﺸﺮﻳﻦ
ﻗﻮى اﻻﺳﺘﻌﻤﺎر اﻷوروﺑﻲ
In the original text, the writer uses the modal verb could in the negative form to
express the inability of the Islamic economic system to become the equal of the
European in a specific period of time in the past. So, here three elements need to
be given full consideration through the nexus of translation, that is, ability,
negation, and past. Being fully aware of these three elements, the student
translator has resorted to ﻟﻢ ﻳﺴﺘﻄﻊ, thus reflecting the inability of the Islamic
economic system to become the equal of the European in a specific period of
time in the past.
Following is a second example (p. 24):
ST:
TT:
ﻤﺎﻟﻲ. وﻫﻮ اﻷﻣﺮ اﻟﺬي ﻣﻦ اﻟﺼﻌﺐ ﺗﻮاﻓﻘﻪ ﻣﻊ اﻟﻨﻈﺎم اﻟ،وﻗﺪ ﻳﻔﻜﺮ اﻟﺒﻌﺾ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﻢ اﻟﻤﻄﻠﻖ ﻟﻠﺮﺑﺎ
اﻟﺪوﻟﻲ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ
In the source text, the modal verb might is used epistemically to express the
writer’s commitment to the truth of the proposition. Therefore, the function of
the modal verb might here is to indicate a possibility. Being aware of the
function of the modal verb used, the translator has opted for the modalized
particle ﻗﺪ, thus accurately reflecting the degree of certainty. ← 86 | 87 →
To express obligation or necessity in English, must, have to, and had to can be
used, as in the following examples:
I haven’t visited my friend for three years, so I will have to visit her this
summer.
Due to the traffic system, you cannot turn right here, you must turn left.
He left before the end of the meeting; he had to go home early.
To express lack of necessity or prohibition in English, must not and do not have
to can be used, as in the following examples: ← 87 | 88 →
She does not have to wear glasses when driving, but she usually does.
You mustn’t use your mobile during takeoff.
In order to apply for this job, you must speak two languages, but you don’t
have to have a degree in international relations.
. وﻟﻜﻨﻬﺎ ﻋﺎدة ﻣﺎ ﺗﻔﻌﻞ ذﻟﻚ،ﻻ ﻳﺘﻮّﺟﺐ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ أن ﺗﻠﺒﺲ ﻧﻈﺎراﺗﻬﺎ ) ﻋﻮﻳﻨﺎﺗﻬﺎ( أﺛﻨﺎء اﻟﻘﻴﺎدة
.ﻳﺠﺐ ﻋﻠﻴﻚ أﻻ ﺗﺴﺘﻌﻤﻞ ﻧﻘﺎﻟﻚ )ﻣﻮﺑﺎﻳﻠﻚ( أﺛﻨﺎء إﻗﻼع اﻟﻄﺎﺋﺮة
ً وﻟﻜﻦ ﻟﻴﺲ ﻟﺰا،ﻛﻲ ﺗﻘﺪ ّم ﻋﻠﻰ ﻫﺬه اﻟﻮﻇﻴﻔﺔ ﻳﺘﻮّﺟﺐ ﻋﻠﻴﻚ أن ﺗﺘﻜﻠ ّﻢ ﻟﻐﺘﻴﻦ
ﻟﺪﻳﻚ. ﻣﺎ ﻋﻠﻴﻚ أن ﺗﻜﻮن
) ﺗﺤﻤﻞ( ﺷﻬﺎدة ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻼﻗﺎت اﻟﺪوﻟﻴﺔ
Note that must not indicates that we still have a necessity and/or obligation not to
do something (prohibition) and that is why it is important to reflect such a
necessity in your translation, as in:
However, do not have to indicates that the necessity and obligation have been
removed; hence our suggestion:
We lost the match but we should have won because we were better than them.
I feel sick; I should not have eaten so much rice.
You should have consulted your doctor a long time ago.
. ﻟﻜﻦ ﻛﺎن ﻳ ُﻔﺘﺮضﻛﺎ)ن ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻔﺮوض( أن ﻧﻔﻮز ﻷﻧﻨﺎ ﻛ ُﻨﺎ أﻓﻀﻞ ﻣﻨﻬﻢ،ﻟﻘﺪ ﺧﺴﺮﻧﺎ اﻟﻤﺒﺎراة
.ﻲ أﻻ آﻛﻞ اﻟﻜﺜﻴﺮ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺮز
ّ أﺷﻌﺮ ﺑﺎﻹﻋﻴﺎء؛ إذ ﻛﺎن ﻳﺘﻌﻴ ّﻦ ﻋﻠ
.| 89 ← ﻛﺎن ﻳﺘﻌﻴ ّﻦ ﻋﻠﻴﻚ(أن ﺗﺴﺘﺸﻴﺮ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺐ ﻗﺒﻞ ﻣﺪة/ ﻛﺎن ﻳ ُﻔﺘﺮض/ﻛﺎن ﻳﻨﺒﻐﻲﻛﺎ)ن ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻔﺮوض
90 →
6.4.5 Possibility/likelihood
• “may” or “might”
• “maybe” or “perhaps”
• It is “probable”/“possible”/“likely”/“unlikely” that
• “possibly” or “probably”
Note that in legislative texts, may means “be allowed to”, thus it is translated
into ﻟـ, ﻳﺠﻮز, ﻳﺤﻖ.
The landlord may rescind the rental contract without the consent of the
tenant in case of emergency.
The tenant may not assign the rental contract to a third party without the
written consent of the landlord.
.ﻻ ﻳﺤﻖ ﻟﻠﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮ أن ﻳﺘﻨﺎزل ﻋﻦ ﻋﻘﺪ اﻹﻳﺠﺎر ﻟﻠﻐﻴﺮ ﺑﺪون ﻣﻮاﻓﻘﺔ ﺧﻄﻴ ّﺔ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺎﻟﻚ
Or
Note that in religious texts, may is used for supplication in this formula:
Note that in interrogative sentences, may is used for asking permission; thus it is
translated into
ﻫﻞ ﺑﺈﻣﻜﺎﻧﻲ أن،ﻲ
ّ أﺗﺴﻤﺢ ﻟ،ﻲ
ّ • ﻫﻞ ﻟ
To express ability, lack of ability, and/or (not) giving permission in English, can,
could, or be able to can be used, as in the following examples:
6.4.7 Futurity
ﺞ ا ِﻣﺘﺤﺎﻧﺎﺗﻚ؟
َ ﻣﺘﻰ ﺳﺘﻌﺮف ﻧﺘﺎﺋ
.أﻧﻮي اﻟﺴﻔﺮ )ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨﻴ ّﺔ أن أﺳﺎﻓﺮ أو ﺳﺄﺳﺎﻓﺮإﻟ(ﻰ ﻟﻨﺪن ﻓﻲ اﻷﺳﺒﻮع اﻟُﻤﻘﺒﻞ
.ﻟﻦ ﺗﺘﻤﻜﻦ ﻣﻦ ﺣﻀﻮر اﻻ ِﺟﺘﻤﺎع
Note that in legislative texts, shall means “must”, thus it is translated into ﻣﻦ اﻟﻮاﺟﺐ
ﻳﺠﺐ, ﺟﺐ
ّ ﻳﺘﻮ, or just a simple present tense.
The tenant hereby shall make no structural alterations without the landlord’s
written consent.
.ﻳﻠﺘﺰم اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮ ﺑﻤﻮﺟﺐ ﻫﺬا اﻟﻌﻘﺪ ﺑﺄﻻ ﻳﺠﺮي أيّ ﺗﺮﻣﻴﻤﺎت ﻣﻦ دون ﻣﻮاﻓﻘﺔ اﻟﻤﺎﻟﻚ اﻟﺨﻄﻴ ّﺔ
The first Party hereto shall conform to the conditions prescribed herein and
pay the rent in full not later than the tenth day of each month.
وﻳﺪﻓﻊ اﻹﻳﺠﺎر. ﻳﺠﺐ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻄﺮف اﻷول ﻓﻲ ﻫﺬا اﻟﻌﻘﺪ أن ﻳﺘﻘﻴ ّﺪ ﺑﺎﻟﺸﺮوط اﻟﻤﻨﺼﻮص ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻘﺪ
93 | 92 ← ﻞ ﺷﻬﺮ ّ ﻛﺎﻣﻼ ً ﻓﻲ ﻣﺪة ﻻ ﺗﺘﺠﺎوز اﻟﻴﻮم اﻟﻌﺎﺷﺮ ﻣﻦ ﻛ →
Or
6.4.9 Preference
ﻤﺴﺘﺤﺴﻦ
ُ ﻣﻦ اﻟ،ﻀﻞ
ّ ﻤﻔ
ُ ﻣﻦ اﻟ، ﻳ ُﺴﺘﺤﺴﻦ، ﻳ ُﺤﺒﺬ،ﻳ ُﻔﻀﻞ •
أ ُﺣﺒﺬ أن/أﻓﻀﻞ أن •
Note that I’d better is different from you’d better as the former is used to express
“preference” while the latter is used to express “advisability”. Consider the
following two examples:
Exercise 2: Identify the functions of the modal verbs (highlighted for you) and
then translate them into Arabic:
1. In order to apply for this job, you must speak English, but you don’t have
to have a degree in languages.
2. She has failed her exam; she has to retake it.
3. You mustn’t use your mobile in class.
4. Look! He is going to fall down the hole.
5. I sent the letter two weeks ago, so it ought to have arrived by now.
6. She has been studying hard for the exam, so she should pass it.
7. This is the best book that I’ve read. You must read it.
8. We ought to have called and invited her if we had known that.
9. He would rather join the army than study at the university.
10. The weather is very cold outside. If you go out now, you will catch cold.
.1ﻋﻠﻴﻚ أن ﺗﺴﺘﺄذن ﻣﻦ واﻟﺪك ﻗﺒﻞ اﻟﺬﻫﺎب إﻟﻰ اﻟﺤﻔﻠﺔ ﻷﻧﻚ ﻻ ﺗﺰال ﺻﻐﻴًﺮا.
ﻣ.2ﻦ اﻟُﻤﺤﺘﻤﻞ أن أﺑﻴﻊ ﺳﻴﺎرﺗﻲ وأﺷﺘﺮي واﺣﺪة ﺟﺪﻳﺪة ﺗﻨﺎﺳﺐ وﺿﻌﻲ اﻟﺠﺪﻳﺪ.
→ .3 ← 96 | 97ﺑﺈﻣﻜﺎﻧﻚ أن ﺗﺮﻛﻦ ﺳﻴﺎرﺗﻚ ﻫﻨﺎ ،وﻟﻜﻦ ﻳﺠﺐ أﻻ ﺗﺘﺠﺎوز اﻟﻤﺪة اﻟﻤﺤﺪدة ،وإﻻ ﺳﺘﺘﻌّﺮض
إ.ﻟﻰ ﻣﺨﺎﻟﻔﺔ ﻣﺮورﻳﺔ
ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺒﺎﺋﻊ ﺗﺴﻠﻴﻢ اﻟﺸﻘﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺪة ﻻ ﺗﺘﺠﺎوز 15ﻳﻮًﻣﺎ. .4
ﻢ إ.ﺑﻼغ ﺻﺎﺣﺐﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮ أن ﻳ ُﺮﻣﻢ اﻟﺸﻘﺔ وﻳﺴﺘﻘﻄﻊ ﻧﻔﻘﺎت اﻟﺘﺮﻣﻴﻢ ﻣﻦ أﺟﺮة اﻟﺒﻴﺖ ﺷﺮﻳﻄﺔ أن ﻳﺘ ّ .5ﻟﻠ ُ
اﻟﻌﻘﺎر ﻗﺒﻞ اﻟﺒﺪء ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺮﻣﻴﻤﺎت
ّ
ﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮ ﺑﺈﺧﻼء اﻟﻌﻴﻦ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮة إن ﺗﺨﻠﻒ
ﻳﺤﻖ ﻟﺼﺎﺣﺐ اﻟﻌﻘﺎر رﻓﻊ دﻋﻮى ﻗﻀﺎﺋﻴﺔ ﻳﻄﺎﻟﺐ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ اﻟ ُ .6
ﻤﺒﺮم ﺑﻴﻨﻬﻤﺎ .ﻟﻤﺪة ﺷﻬﺮﻳﻦ ﻔﻖ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻘﺪ اﻟ ُ
ﻤﺘ ّ
ﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮ ﻋﻦ دﻓﻊ اﻷﺟﺮة اﻟ ُ اﻟ ُ
.7أﻧﻮي اﻟﺴﻔﺮ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻬﻨﺪ ﻹﺟﺮاء ﻓﺤﻮﺻﺎت ﻃﺒﻴﺔ.
ﺲ ﻛﺎﻓﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗﺎﻋﺔا .
ﻻ ِﻣﺘﺤﺎن ،وﻟﻜﻦ ﺳﺎ ﻷﻧﻬﻢ ﺳﻴﻮﻓّﺮون ﻗﻮاﻣﻴ َ
ﻻ ﺣﺎﺟﺔ إﻟﻰ أن ﺗﺠﻠﺐ ﻣﻌﻚ ﻗﺎﻣﻮ ً .8
ﻳ ُﻤﻜﻨﻚ أن ﺗﺠﻠﺐ واﺣﺪ ًا إن ﺷﻌﺮت أﻧﻪ أﻛﺜﺮ ﻓﺎﺋﺪة ﻣﻦ ﻗﻮاﻣﻴﺴﻬﻢ
.9ﻛﻨﺖ أﻋﺮف أﻧﻚ ﻗﺪ ﻋ ُﺪت ﻣﻦ ﺳﻔﺮﺗﻚ ﻟﻜﻨﺖ أوّل اﻟﺤﺎﺿﺮﻳﻦ .وﻟﻜﻦ ،ﺻﺪ ّﻗﻨﻲ ،ﻟ ﻳﻢﻜ.ﻦ ﻋﻨﺪي أي ﺧﺒﺮ ،ﻛﺎن
ﻟﻮ
ﻲ وﺗﺨﺒﺮﻧﻲ
اﻟﻤﻔﺮوض أن ﺗﺘﺼﻞ ﺑ ّ
ت ﻟﺘ ُﻬﻨ ّﺌﻪ.
ﺣﻪِ وﻟﻢ ﺗﺄ ِ
ﻤﺴﺘﺒﻌﺪ أﻧﻬﺎ ﺳﻤﻌﺖ ﺑﺨﺒﺮِ ﻧﺠﺎ ِ
ﻣﻦ اﻟ ُ .10
1. You don’t have to be a good tennis player to enjoy the game.
2. You mustn’t eat in class.
| 99 →
CHAPTER 7
Lexical Semantics
Key terms
• Antonymy
• Homonymy
• Homophony
• Hyperonymy
• Hyponymy
• Lexical semantics
• Polysemy
• Reference
• Referent
• Referring expression
• Sense
• Synonymy
In semantics, “sense” refers to the relationship that a lexical item has with other
lexical items inside the linguistic system. For instance, if an Arabic learner with
a basic level asks you about the meaning of the lexical item ( ﺳﻌﺎدةhappiness) in
a sentence like أﺷﻌُﺮ ﺑﺎﻟﺴﻌﺎدة, you may resort to using lexical items that have
strong relationships with the word in question, such as
• the adjective ( ﺳﻌﻴﺪderived from the noun ) ﺳﻌﺎدةalong with its synonyms,
such as ﻓَﺮِح, ُﻣﺒﺘﻬِﺞ, ﻣﺴﺮور, etc., or its antonyms, such as ﺣﺰﻳﻦ, ﺗﻌﻴﺲ, etc.
• the opposite of ﺳﻌﺎدة, i.e., ﺣﺰنalong with its synonyms, such as ﺗﻌﺎﺳﺔ, and so
on.
In another example, we may go for other relations that the word in question has
with other words, such as one-to-many relations (also known as “whole-part
relations”), as in ( ﺟﺴﻢbody) and its hyponyms, such as ( ﻳﺪhand), ( ﺳﺎقleg), وﺟﻪ
(face), and so on. By contrast, words like (ﻋﻴﻦeye), ( أﻧﻒnose), ( ﻓﻢmouth), ﺧﺪ
(cheek), and the like, have many-to-one relations (also known as “part-whole
relations”) with the word ( وﺟﻪface). Cast in more technical terms,
In what follows, these lexical relations that a lexical item may have with other
lexical items will be examined in detail.
7.2 Synonymy
When words can be used by a language user to mean the same thing in a given
context, then they are synonymous. Examples of synonymy in English include
verbs like to start and to begin; adjectives like big, large, and huge; nouns like
father and dad; and adverbs like fast, quickly, and rapidly, and so on. Examples
of synonymy in Arabic include, for instance, verbs like َ ﺳﻌِﺪ َ ,ح
َ ﻓَﺮ, and ﺞ
َ َ;ا ِﺑﺘﻬ
adjectives like وﺳﻴﻢand ;ﺟﻤﻴﻞnouns like ﺳﻨﺔand ;ﻋﺎمand so on. However, it is
worth noting that although synonyms are instances of both mutual entailment
and co-hyponyms, they are rarely fully identical in all contexts (cf. Kreidler
1998: 97; Palmer 1976: 60). In this respect, Palmer (ibid.) rightly comments that
“no two words have the exactly the same meaning. Indeed it would seem
unlikely that two words with exactly the same meaning would both survive in a
language”. He holds that there are at least five ways in which they differ (pp.
60–64):
Formal Informal
• commence start
• gentleman man or chap
• terminate end
• purchase buy
3. some sets of synonyms are said to be different in their emotive or
evaluative meanings, as in:
• stateman politician
• hide conceal
5. some words are close in meaning or their meanings overlap, as in, for
example, the verb to govern and its synonyms, such as to direct, to
control, to determine, to require, etc. Their meanings overlap since we
can have a set of synonyms for each lexical item.
At times, the same lexical item may have a different antonym, depending on the
context in which it occurs, as in the following sentence:
It is a deep river.
1. merging, that is, merging the two synonymous words used in the
source text into one word in the target text.
2. grammatical transposition, that is, changing the part of speech of one of
the synonymous words used in the source text, such ← 103 | 104 → as
changing a noun into an adjective, a verb into an adverb, and so on.
3. semantic distancing, that is, translating the two synonymous words
used in the source text into two words, but their meanings are slightly
different in the target language.
4. maintenance, that is, maintaining the same form of semantic repetition
along with the synonyms used.
وﺗﻮّج اﻣﺮأة أﺧﺮى ﻋﻠﻰ ﻋﺮش،ﺛﻢ وّزع اﻟﻤﻠﻚ ﻧﺼﻒ أﻣﻮاﻟﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻔﻘﺮاء واﻟﻤﻌﺪﻣﻴﻦ واﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﻘﻴﻦ واﻟﺜﺮﺛﺎرﻳﻦ
… وﻋﺎش اﻟﻨﺎس ﻓﻲ ﻓﺮح واﺑﺘﻬﺎج،اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ
The synonyms or near-synonyms in the source text, viz. اﻟﻔﻘﺮاء واﻟﻤﻌﺪﻣﻴﻦand ﻓﺮح
واﺑﺘﻬﺎجcan be merged into one word, as in:
• the king distributed half of his wealth to the poor, the hypocrites and the
gossips.
• the people lived in happiness.
• the king distributed half of his wealth to the poor, the needy, the
hypocrites and the gossips.
• the people lived in delight and happiness.
Then, the king distributed half of his wealth to the poor, the needy, the
hypocrites, and the gossips. He also crowned another queen to sit on the
throne of the kingdom. The people lived in great happiness. ← 104 | 105 →
7.3 Antonymy
When words have opposite meanings in a given context, they are antonyms.
Examples of antonymy in English and Arabic include adjectives like
This is because in these examples “we have two fully ‘gradable’ adjectives, that
is, adjectives with a ‘comparative’ and a ‘superlative’ forms” (Cowie 2009: 38).
However, other English adjectives, such as open and shut, single and married,
awake and asleep, alive and dead, right and wrong, or their equivalents in
Arabic like ﻣﻔﺘﻮحand ﻣﻐﻠﻖ, أﻋﺰبand ﻣﺘﺰوّج, ﺻﺎٍح/ ُﻣﺴﺘﻴﻘﻆand ﻧﺎﺋﻢ, ﻲ
ّ ﺣand ﻴﺖ, ﻣand ﺻﻮاب
and ﺧﻄﺄ, respectively, are opposite ends of a scale that do not have various
intermediate terms – somebody is either alive or dead; s/he cannot be alive and
dead at the same time. These nongradable antonyms are also known as “binary
antonyms” or “complementary pairs”.
The third type of antonymy is called relational antonymy (also known as
“converses” or “converseness”). It refers to pairs of words, such as give/receive
or father/son that share the same/some semantic features, but the focus or
direction is reversed. For instance, when we say Dr Tom is Peter’s advisor, this
implies that Peter is one of the Dr Tom’s advisees, and when we say ﻟﻴﻠﻰ زوﺟﺔ أﺣﻤﺪ
(Layla is Ahmed’s wife), this implies that ( أ ﺣ ﻤ ﺪ ز و ج ﻟ ﻴ ﻠ ﻰAhmed is Layla’s
husband). These two examples clearly illustrate the relationship between the
words advisor/advisee and wife/husband from an opposite point of view.
Examples of relational antonyms in Arabic and English include words like
In this regard, Thakur (1999: 22) holds that “the addition of the comparative
suffix –er and, similarly, the use of the periphrastic more changes gradable
adjectives into converse terms”. So, adjectives, such as tall and short, rich and
poor are examples of gradable antonyms, but taller than and shorter than, richer
than and poorer than are examples of converse terms. This is ← 106 | 107 →
because when we say Tom is taller than Peter implies that Peter is shorter than
Tom, and so on.
In the actual act of translating any text, the translators, for various reasons,
may opt for what is called “modulation” by Vinay and Darbelnet (1958/1995:
89). Modulation refers to “a variation of the form of the message, obtained by
changing point of view”. To illustrate, the following translation provided by one
of my MA students can be discussed:
ST:
The Sultanate’s finance management has realized the effects of the decline in
oil prices on sources of budget finance, therefore it identified alternatives that
do not prejudice the citizens’ interests and social services.
TT:
وﻷن إدارة اﻟﻤﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺴﻠﻄﻨﺔ أدرﻛﺖ اﻵﺛﺎر اﻟﻤﺘﺮﺗﺒﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻫﺒﻮط أﺳﻌﺎر اﻟﻨﻔﻂ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺼﺎدر ﺗﻤﻮﻳﻞ
اﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻴﺔ. ﻓﺈﻧﻬﺎ ﺣﺪدت اﻟﺒﺪاﺋﻞ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻨﻔﻊ ﻣﺼﺎﻟﺢ اﻟﻤﻮاﻃﻨﻴﻦ واﻟﺨﺪﻣﺎت،اﻟﻤﻴﺰاﻧﻴﺔ
As can been seen, the student translator, when translating do not prejudice, has
opted for the verb ( ﺗﻨﻔﻊto benefit) in place of the direct translation, i.e., ﻻ ﺗﻀّﺮ
(lit. not harm). This is an example of modulation as the translator has changed
the form of the message from negative into affirmative without changing the
meaning. It is worth noting that such modulation is optional in the sense that
Vinay and Darbelnet (ibid.) use the term as there is no harm in Arabic to say اﻟﺘﻲ
( ﻣﻦ ﺷﺄﻧﻬﺎ ﻋﺪم اﻹﺿﺮار ﺑـthat would not harm/prejudice …).
7.4 Polysemy
Polysemy (from a Greek word polysemia, which means many meanings) refers
to a lexeme that has two or more related meanings. The difference between
polysemy and homonymy (see below) is subtle, and there is no ← 107 | 108 →
clear-cut distinction. In an attempt to make a distinction between polysemy and
homonymy, lexicographers suggest that there will be a single entry with a
numbered list of the distinguishable meanings of the word if a word has several
related meanings, that is, polysemy. However, there will be two separate entries
when the two words are treated as having two unrelated meanings, that is,
homonymy (cf. Fromkin et al. 2003: 180; Kreidler 1998: 52; Yule 1985/1996:
121). The noun eye, for example, has multiple related meanings, such as an eye
of a person, an eye of a needle, and so on, so it is an example of a polysemous
lexeme. The same holds true for words like head, shoulder, foot, hand, mouse,
and bright, as in:
Like English, Arabic has a lot of examples of polysemous words. These are
some:
(71 'ﻳﺎ( أﻫﻞ اﻟﻜﺘﺎب ﻟ َِﻢ ﺗﻠﺒﺴﻮن اﻟﺤﻖ ﺑﺎﻟﺒﺎﻃﻞ وﺗﻜﺘﻤﻮن اﻟﺤﻖ وأﻧﺘﻢ ﺗﻌﻠﻤﻮن،آل ﻋﻤﺮان
TT:
People of the Book! Why do you confound the truth with vanity, and conceal
the truth and that wittingly?
(Arberry 1955/1996)
Here, the polysemous word is ﺗﻠﺒﺴﻮنfrom the verb ﺲ َ َ ﻟ َﺒ, which literally
َ َ ﻟﺒ/ﺲأ
means to dress somebody or cover somebody with clothes. However, in this
verse, it is used by Allah while addressing the people of the Torah and Bible to
mean to mix or to mingle the truth with falseness.
ST:
(15 ( واﻟﻼﺗﻲ ﻳﺄﺗﻴﻦ اﻟﻔﺎﺣﺸﺔ ﻣﻦ ﻧﺴﺎﺋﻜﻢ ﻓﺎﺳﺘﺸﻬﺪوا ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻦ أرﺑﻌﺔ ﻣﻨﻜﻢ ﻓﺈن ﺷﻬﺪوا،اﻟﻨﺴﺎء
ﻦﻲ) اﻟﺒﻴﻮت ﺣﺘﻰ ﻳﺘﻮﻓﺎﻫﻦ اﻟﻤﻮت أو ﻳﺠﻌﻞ اﻟﻠﻪ ﻟﻬﻦ ﺳﺒﻴﻼ
ﻓﺄﻣﺴﻜﻮﻫ ﻓ
TT:
As for those of your women who are guilty of lewdness, call to witness four of
you against them. And if they testify (to the truth of the allegation) then
confine them to the houses until death take them or (until) Allah appoint for
them a way (through new legislation).
(Pickthall 1930/2006)
Here, the polysemous word is ﺗﺄﺗﻮن, derived from the verb ﺗﻰ, أwhich literally
means to come. However, in this verse, it is used to refer to the commitment of
adultery or iniquity. ← 109 | 110 →
7.5 Homonymy
Like polysemy, homonymy also refers to a word with two or more different
meanings. However, in the case of homonymy, the word has multiple, unrelated
meanings. Examples of homonymy in English include words like:
7.6 Homophones
Homophones refer to lexical items that have different meanings and different
spellings, but the same pronunciation. Examples of homophones in English
include words like:
This section will illuminate the importance of appreciating and, then, reflecting
the source text semantic relations in the target text. To get the discussion started,
the following two examples quoted from Muhsin Al-Ramlī’s story (2009: 31)
ّ (ﺚ ﻋﻦ ﻗﻠﺐ ﺣSearch
ﻲ اﻟﺒﺤ for a Live Heart) may be given careful consideration:
ST:
TT:
TT:
The verb ( ﻓﺘﺢto open) in Arabic is used widely to denote a quite good number
of actions, for example:
However, in English, native speakers of English use different verbs for each
activity, thus creating a variety of unmarked collocations, as in:
to open a door
to conquer a city ← 113 | 114 →
to undo a button
to unscrew a bottle
to bare one’s chest
TT:
When the king came in, he saw that his wife was completely naked. The
moment he approached her, he realized that she was not alone. His “faithful”
bodyguard was sleeping peacefully next to her.
The guard ran out of the king’s bedroom, his belly bearing more than a wide,
deep gash. He died by the door.
The denotative meaning of the verb ﺧﺮجis to go out. However, giving full
consideration to the context in which it is used and focusing on transferring the
image conjured up in the mind of the original reader, rather than adhering to the
denotative meanings of the individual lexical items, the phrasal verb to run out
could be chosen. This is because stabbing somebody with a dagger or a knife
causes him/her to run out of the place rather than leaving the place quietly.
Further, the word ُﺟﺮحcan be translated into wound, gash, etc. However, taking
into account the context in which it is used and the semantic features of each
lexical item, one would go for the noun ← 114 | 115 → gash rather than wound.
This is because the lexical item gash is a hyponym, that is, a type of the lexical
item wound – a gash is a long, deep wound. As such, translating the lexical item
ﺟﺮحُ whose denotative meaning is wider and less specific than the lexical item
gash is an example of particularizing translation or translation by a hyponym.
Following is another example extracted from Yāsmīn bin Zarāfa’s story داﻧﺎ
(واﻟﻔﺌﺮانDana and the Mice) translated into English by Fred Pragnell (2013: 1–2;
bilingual edn):
ST:
TT:
Dana was a careless child. She hates cleanness and likes dirtiness. Her room
was always messy; her stuff was scattered on the floor. Her cupboard was
open and the clothes peeped out. She was sleeping beside her stinky shoes.
As can be seen, the original writer introduces two pairs of antonyms, viz. ﺗﻜﺮه
(to hate) versus ﺐ ّ ( ﺗﺤto love or to like), and ( ﻧﻈﺎﻓﺔcleanness) versus اﻷوﺳﺎخ
(dirtiness) in a very short extract. Further, there are two synonymous words,
namely ( ﻏﻴﺮ ﻣﻨﻈﻤﺔnot organized) and ( ﻣﺒﻌﺜﺮةscattered), used in the original text.
These synonymous words lend themselves to messy and scattered respectively.
Being fully aware that these antonyms and synonyms fall in parallel structures,
thus acquiring stylistic features that need to be reflected in the target text, the
translator has intrinsically managed the text and reflected these stylistic features.
Here is another example from Enid Blyton’s story Mr Twiddle in Trouble
Again (1947), translated by one of the BA students at the University of Nizwa
(Al-Hinai 2015: 22–23):
ST:
“Oh, foolish man! Oh, stupid, ridiculous man! Oh, silly, silly man! I told you
those boots were to be soled – s-o-l-e-d, Twiddle, and you went and sold them
– s-o-l-d. I wanted you to get new soles put under them – and you go and sell
them! Twiddle, will you ever, ever, do anything really sensible? No, you never
will”. ← 115 | 116 →
TT:
Here, there is an example of homophony (i.e., two words have the same
pronunciation but with different meanings) in which two lexical items, viz. sold
(the past participle of the verb to sell) and soled (the past participle of the rarely
used verb to sole) are used in juxtaposition, thus creating a confusing situation to
one of the in-text participants. Having given full consideration to such a lexical
relation between these two words and their roles in developing the text, the
translation trainee has intrinsically managed the text by adding ( وﻫﻲ ﺗﺘﻬّﺠﻰwhile
she is spelling), thus reflecting the in-text participant’s tone of indignation.
Further reading
1. How would you define the following terms: “antonymy”, “polysemy”, and
“homonymy”?
2. What is the difference between “sense” and “reference”?
3. Are there absolute synonyms? Discuss with illustrative examples.
4. Do these words fear, love, car, teacher, and company refer to objects in the
real world?
5. What are the main aspects of weakness of “naming theory”?
Exercises
Exercise 1: Among the following pairs of antonyms, which are gradable and
which are nongradable?
1. ﺣﺎﺿﺮ –ﻏﺎﺋﺐ
2. ﻲ –ﻣﻴﺖّ ﺣ
3. ﺣﺰﻳﻦ – ﺳﻌﻴﺪ
4. راﺳﺐ – ﻧﺎﺟﺢ
5. ﻏﻴﺮ ﺷﺮﻋﻲ – ﺷﺮﻋﻲ
6. ﺧﻄﺄ – ﺻﺢ
7. ﻛﺒﻴﺮ – ﺻﻐﻴﺮ
8. ﻏﺒﻲ –ذﻛﻲ
9. ﺿﻌﻴﻒ – ﻗﻮي
10. 118 | 117 ← →ﻏﻴﺮ ﻣﺆدب –ﻣﺆدب
Exercise 2: What is the basic lexical relation between the following pairs of
lexical items?
1. vehicle – pickup
2. bus – train
3. fruit – apple
4. burger – chicken burger
5. cold – hot
6. chair – furniture
7. teacher – student
8. strong-minded – stubborn
9. hammer – screwdriver
10. lawyer – solicitor
Exercise 3: Decide whether the two lexical items in each of the following pairs
are homophones or not:
1. son – sun
2. court – caught
3. ate – eight
4. by – bye
5. tail – tale
6. no – know
7. new – knew
8. sea – see
9. meet – meat
10. great – greet
Exercise 4: Decide whether the two lexical items in each of the following pairs
are homophones or not:
CHAPTER 8
Semantic Roles
Key terms
• Actor
• Affected participant (patient)
• Affecting participant (stimulus) Agent
• Argument
• Associate (predicate)
• Benefactor (benefactive)
• Causer
• Experiencer
• Goal
• Instrument
• Location
• Positioner
• Recipient
• Resultant (effect)
• Semantic case
• Semantic role
• Source
• Theme
• Theta role
a. She left the window open [on purpose]; therefore, she fills the role of agent.
b. She [carelessly] left the window open; therefore, she fills the role of actor.
In another situation when a noun phrase designates an entity as an entity that has
a feeling, a perception, or a state, it will fill the role of experiencer. Consider the
following example:
She heard the explosion in the street.
experiencer = hearer verb theme = heard location
To reinforce the point, in a situation like this:
my little daughter is the one who experienced the fear through her perception. As
such, my little daughter fills the role of experiencer (i.e., the entity that
perceives a particular mental or emotional process or state). With psychological
verbs or verbs of perception (such as see, hear, smell, taste, understand, frighten,
and the like), there is no physical action; therefore, the entity perceiving a
particular mental or emotional process or state is labelled experiencer (for more
details, see Kearns 2000/2011: 212–213; Yule 1985/1996: 116–117).
Depending on the verb per se, there are a number of noun phrases that have
relations with the verb and fill different semantic roles in the clause or sentence.
Some verbs, such as sleep may have only one argument, as in I slept while
others may have two, three, or more, as in I gave him a book for his brother in
which there are four arguments, viz. I, him, a book, and his brother. ← 123 | 124
→
These noun phrases or arguments fill different roles in a clause or sentence.
Further, the same argument in a given clause may fill more than one role, as in I
gave her a gift in which there are three arguments, namely I filling the role of
agent and source, her filling the role of goal and recipient (or may fill the role
of benefactor), and a gift filling the role of theme.
Agent, actor, theme, and experiencer are the main semantic roles that have
been discussed by many scholars in different coursebooks. However, there are
other types of semantic roles, such as affecting (stimulus), affected (patient),
associate (predicate), location, instrument, source, goal, recipient, causer,
resultant (effect), benefactor (benefactive), and so on that we need to be
familiar with (see below).
It will now be shown how verbs, such as to kill, to see, to paint, to destroy, to
walk, to give, to make, and to like in these situations may have different semantic
roles:
The man killed the thief.
Here, there are two arguments, viz. the man (the one who killed, i.e., killer)
filling the role of agent, and the thief (the one who was killed, i.e., killee) filling
the role of patient, that is, the affected participant.
Here, there are three arguments, viz. the man filling the role of agent, the thief
filling the role of patient or affected participant, and a knife filling the role of
instrument, that is, the entity with which the agent did the action.
Here, there are three arguments, viz. I filling the role of experiencer, an insect
filling the role of theme, and on the wall filling the role of location.
Here, there are three arguments, viz. I filling the role of agent, the chair filling
the role of affected participant (patient), and the new brush filling the role of
instrument. ← 124 | 125 →
Here, there are two arguments, viz. I filling the role of agent, and a new painting
filling the role of resultant (effect).
Here, there are two arguments, viz. the flood filling the role of causer, and the
crop filling the role of affected participant (patient).
Here, there are four arguments, viz. I filling the role of agent or actor, home
filling the role of goal (i.e., endpoint), the park filling the role of path (i.e., the
pathway of a motion), and the office filling the role of source (i.e., starting
point).
Here, there are three arguments, viz. she filling the role of agent or actor and
source, me filling the role of recipient and goal for sure (and may fill the role of
benefactor), and a book filling the role of theme.
Here, we have three arguments, viz. I filling the role of goal (i.e., the endpoint of
the book), and recipient (i.e., the receiver of the book), a book filling the role of
theme, and the implicit initiator of the action somebody filling the role of agent
and source.
Here, there are three arguments, viz. she filling the role of agent and source, him
filling the role of goal, recipient and benefactor, and a cake filling the role of
resultant.
Here, while she fills the role of affecting participant (stimulus) and him fills
the role of experiencer as he was experiencing anger, the adjective angry is an
associate (predicate). However, it can be argued that him angry is a third
argument assigned a theme semantic role by the verb made.
Here, there are two arguments, viz. my brother filling the role of experiencer,
and music filling the role of affecting participant (stimulus).
These semantic roles can be summarized as follows:
TT 1:
TT 2:
TT 3:
In the source text, there is a transitive verb, that is, to give (in the past tense and
active voice) and four arguments, viz. she filling the role of agent and source, me
filling the role of recipient and goal, a book filling the role of theme, and my
brother filling the role of benefactor.
In translation 1, the trainee has not changed the verb when opting for ﻋﻄﻰ, أbut
she has changed the semantic roles filled by the four arguments. To begin with,
the argument (أﺧﻲmy brother) fills the role of first recipient and goal of the verb
ﻋﻄﻰin(ﻄﺖ أﺧﻲ أshe
أﻋ gave my brother) and agent 2 of the verb ﻋﻄﻰin (ﻋﻄﺎﻧﻲ أhe
أ gave
me). Further, the role of benefactor is filled by the speaker expressed by the
objective pronoun ( ﻧﻲme).
In translation 2, the trainee has not changed the verb, but resorted to deleting
one of the arguments (i.e., for my brother which fills the role of benefactor), thus
hiding the explicit benefactor my brother and giving rise to the possibility of
considering the speaker him/herself as filling the role of benefactor.
In translation 3, the trainee has successfully rendered the verb along with its
four arguments and their semantic roles when opting for the expression ﻷوﺻﻠﻪ
(to give it to or to hand it to).
To demonstrate how not giving full consideration to the semantic roles may
seriously affect the accuracy of the translation, the following translation
produced by a translation trainee can be analysed and evaluated:
ST:
TT:
.أﺑﻮ ﺣﻤﺰة اﻟﻤﺼﺮي ﻳﻨﻔﻲ ﺗﻬﻤﺔ اﻻرﻫﺎب اﻟﻤﻮﺟﻪ إﻟﻴﻪ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻮﻻﻳﺎت اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة
In the source text, Abu Hamza fills the role of actor, US terror charges fills the
role of theme, and there is no location. However, in the target text, the
translation trainee, getting confused, has changed the adjective US modifying the
theme into the expression (ﻓﻲ اﻟﻮﻻﻳﺎت اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪةi.e., in the US, which fills the role of
location), thereby creating a completely different mental image. Had the
translator given full consideration to the verb and its semantic roles, she could
have suggested something like:
.ﻧﻔﻰ )ﻳﻨﻔﻲ( أﺑﻮ ﺣﻤﺰة ﺗﻬﻢ اﻹرﻫﺎب اﻷﻣﺮﻳﻜﻴﺔ
To further illustrate the importance of giving full consideration to the main verb
in a clause along with the semantic roles filled by the arguments that have
relations with the verb, these two examples extracted from Lubna Mahmūd
Yāsīn’s story (n.d.) ( ﺑ ﺼ ﻤ ﺔ ﻣ ﻮ ا ﻃ ﻦA Citizen’s Fingerprint) translated for the
purposes of this study may be considered: ST:
.ﻓﺘﺢ ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪ ﻟﻴﺠﺪ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ ﻓﺎﺧﺮ … ﻗﺎم أﺣﺪﻫﻢ ﺑﻨﺰع اﻟﻘﻴﻮد اﻟﺘﻲ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﻮاﺳﻪ
TT:
One of them removed the shackles which were placed on his senses. He
opened his eyes to find himself in a luxurious office.
In analysing the semantic roles in this example, the above extract can be divided
into two main segments:
• ﻗﺎم أﺣﺪﻫﻢ ﺑﻨﺰع اﻟﻘﻴﻮد اﻟﺘﻲ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﻮاﺳﻪ
ﻓﺘﺢ ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪ ﻟﻴﺠﺪ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ ﻓﺎﺧﺮ •
In the first segment, there are two clauses, viz. ﻗﺎم أﺣﺪﻫﻢ ﺑﻨﺰع اﻟﻘﻴﻮدand اﻟﺘﻲ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ
ﺣﻮاﺳﻪ. In the first clause, the verb ﻗﺎم ﺑﻨﺰع, derived from the verb ﻧﺰع, has two
arguments, viz. ( أﺣﺪﻫﻢone of them) filling the role of agent ← 130 | 131 → and
( اﻟﻘﻴﻮدrestraints) filling the role of theme. As for the relative clause ا ﻟ ﺘ ﻲ ﻛ ﺎ ﻧ ﺖ ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ
( ﺣﻮاﺳﻪwhich had covered his senses), the relative pronoun (اﻟﺘﻲwhich), which
refers back to ( اﻟﻘﻴﻮدrestraints), fills the role of positioner, and the whole clause
fills the role of location.
In the second segment, however, there are two clauses, viz. ﻓﺘﺢ ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪand وﺟﺪ
ﻧ ﻔ ﺴ ﻪ ﻓ ﻲ ﻣ ﻜ ﺘ ﺐ ﻓ ﺎ ﺧ ﺮconnected by ( ﻟـto). In the first clause, there are two
arguments that have a relation with the verb ( ﻓﺘﺢto open). They are the implicit
pronoun ( ﻫﻮhe) filling the role of actor, and ( ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪhis two eyes) filling the role of
theme. Similarly, in the second sentence, there are three arguments that have a
relation with the verb ( وﺟﺪto find), viz. an implicit pronoun filling the role of
actor, ( ﻧﻔﺴﻪhimself) filling the role of theme, and ( ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ ﻓﺎﺧﺮin a luxurious
office) filling the role of location.
Being aware of the importance of reflecting the exact message sent out by the
author, the translator has successfully rendered the verbs ﻗﺎم ﺑﻨﺰع, ﻛﺎﻧﺖ, ﻓﺘﺢ, and
ﻳﺠﺪalong with their arguments, thus maintaining the semantic roles intact.
However, the change in aspect from a past perfect tense in the original text,
expressed by (ﻲ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﻮاﺳﻪi.e., اﻟﺘ first the restraints had covered his senses, and
then one of them removed the restraints) to a simple past tense in the target text,
expressed by were placed, does produce a change in time reference, affecting the
pragmatic communicative effect, in that the emphasis in the original text is on
the sequence of events, whereas in the target text the emphasis is put on the
completion of the described actions (for more details on tenses and aspects, see
Chapter 5 in this book).
Here is a second example:
ST:
… ﻧﻌﻢ … وﻣﺎذا ﻓﻲ ذﻟﻚ:أﺟﺎب اﻟﻀﺎﺑﻂ وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﺗﺪي اﺑﺘﺴﺎﻣﺔ ﺗﺠﻤﻊ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺘﻌﺎﻟﻲ واﻟﺴﺨﺮﻳﺔ
TT:
In the original text, there are four arguments, namely ( اﻟﻀﺎﺑﻂthe officer) filling
the role of actor, the clause ( وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﺗﺪي اﺑﺘﺴﺎﻣﺔ ﺗﺠﻤﻊ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺘﻌﺎﻟﻲ واﻟﺴﺨﺮﻳﺔwhile he was
wearing a smile simultaneously imbued with arrogance and sarcasm) filling ←
131 | 132 → the role of manner, and two themes ( ﻧﻌﻢyes) and ( وﻣﺎذا ﻓﻲ ذﻟﻚand
what about that). Further, the clause of manner وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﺗﺪي اﺑﺘﺴﺎﻣﺔ ﺗﺠﻤﻊ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺘﻌﺎﻟﻲ
( واﻟﺴﺨﺮﻳﺔwhile he was wearing a smile simultaneously imbued with arrogance
and sarcasm) can be further broken down into two main arguments (i.e., ( ﻫﻮhe)
filling the role of actor and ( اﺑﺘﺴﺎﻣﺔa smile) filling the role of theme) that have an
underlying relation with the verb ( ﻳﺮﺗﺪيto wear). Being fully aware of the
importance of reflecting the meaning meant by the author, the translator has
successfully rendered the verbs along with their arguments, thus reflecting the
semantic roles in the target text.
Further reading
TT:
ﻣﻤﺎ أﻓﺴﺪ ﻛﻞ ﺷﻲء ﻓﻲ،ﺛﻢ ﺟﺎء ﺻﻴﻒ ﺷﺪﻳﺪ اﻟﺮﻃﻮﺑﺔ .ﺳﺎرت اﻷﻣﻮر ﻋﻠﻰ ﻫﺬا اﻟﻨﺤﻮ ﻟﻔﺘﺮة ﻃﻮﻳﻠﺔ
ودﻣﺮت ﺣﺒﺎت اﻟﺒﺮد،ﻬﻢ اﻟﺤﺼﻮل ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﺶ ﺣﺘﻰ ﺟﺮﻓﺖ اﻟﺴﻴﻮل أﻛﻮام اﻟﺘﺒﻦ اﻟﻰ اﻟﺒﺤﺮ.ﻦﻼ ﻟد َ ﺴﻟﺒ
ﻟﻢ ﻳﺘ ا
ُ
ﻣﻨﺎﻃﻖ اﻟﺒﻼد. وأﺗﻠ ِﻒ ﻣﺤﺼﻮل اﻟﺬرة ﺑﺎﻟﻜﺎﻣﻞ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻌﻈﻢ،أﺷﺠﺎر اﻟﻌﻨﺐ
Exercise 4: Translate the following text extracted from Mary Ali’s text titled
Women’s Liberation through Islam, published on 24 June 2013
(<http://www.islamreligion.com>), by paying special attention to the main verb
in each clause and its arguments along with their semantic roles: ST:
A Muslim woman has the privilege to earn money, the right to own property,
to enter into legal contracts and to manage all of her assets in any way she
pleases. She can run her own business and no one has any claim on her
earnings, including her husband.
| 135 →
CHAPTER 9
Semantic Principles
Key terms
• Collocation
• Compositionality
• Idiom principle
• Idioms
• Lexical features
• Open choice principle
• Phrasal verbs
• Phraseological features
• Phraseological tendency
• Slot-and-filler principle
• Terminological tendency
To begin with the open choice principle, a language user can sometimes elicit
the meaning of the whole sentence or clause from its words and their
arrangements – the syntax of any language can specify the slots into which
memorized items can be inserted. This principle tells us the basic restrictions on
the possible choices of lexical items that can be utilized by a language ← 136 |
137 → user to syntactically fill in every slot identified in any given text (Sinclair
1991: 109). For example, the meaning of the sentence:
is compositionally driven by the meanings of its lexical items along with the
grammatical markers used in the sentence:
The scene of the accident has been haunting my dreams for two years.
I have been working in this company for ten years. (The year of uttering the
sentence is 2016).
• I: the actor referring to the speaker; the pronoun I does not indicate the
speaker’s gender, age, etc., but we can guess that his/her age is over twenty-
eight.
• have been working: work means to do a job that needs a physical or mental
effort in order to earn money. From its position in the sentence, it is a verb in
the continuous perfect tense, so the aspect is perfect ← 138 | 139 →
progressive, emphasizing that the speaker started working in the company in
2006 and is still working at the moment of uttering his/her sentence.
• in this company: company means a business organization selling goods or
services. The demonstrative pronoun this along with the preposition in means
that the speaker works in the company that has been mentioned earlier by
him/her or by the addressee, or it might be the place of uttering his/her
sentence.
• for ten years: covering the whole period from 2006 up to 2016.
Giving full consideration to the meanings of the parts of the above sentence and
the way they are ordered to form such a sentence on the one hand, and paying
extra attention to the linguistic and stylistic norms of the target language on the
other, a well-trained translator may suggest a translation like this:
The idiom principle, however, posits that a language user “has available to him
or her a large number of semi-preconstructed phrases that constitute single
choices, even though they might appear to be analysable into segments” (Sinclair
1991: 110). For example the word cheese has a relationship ← 139 | 140 → with
words like butter, milk, yogurt, and so on as they all parts of dairy products (see
semantic fields and semantic relations in this book). Therefore, in a sentence like
this:
a native speaker expects expressions like some cheese, some butter, some milk,
some eggs, some milk, a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, and the like to syntactically
fill in the slot identified in the above sentence. Such a principle is known as
“slot-and-filler”, as it tells the reader/listener the basic restrictions on the
possible choices of lexical items that can be utilized by a language user to
syntactically fill in every slot identified in any given text (Sinclair 1991: 109).
However, the same word cheese in a sentence like this:
It seems that his brother is a big cheese in one of the major companies in the
country.
most English speakers will recognize that s/he does not mean literally to have
butterflies in his/her stomach, but rather, it means s/he is very nervous or
worried. The phrase to have butterflies in one’s stomach, then, is not
compositional since its overall meaning, that is, to be nervous or worried, does
not derive from the meanings of its components.
When he saw the scene, he lost his nerve and got the wind up suddenly.
When he was surrounded by the enemy, he showed the white feather and
surrendered.
When he heard the explosion, he had his heart in his mouth.
As stated above, these idiomatic expressions, viz. to get the wind up, to show the
white feather, and to have your heart in your mouth cannot be understood
without treating them as units. They are fear-related idioms meaning to be
frightened, to exhibit cowardice, and to be extremely afraid respectively.
Therefore, they lend themselves into something like this in Arabic:
Collocation, on the other hand, means the tendency of two or more lexical items
to co-occur together in certain contexts. Adjectives like fast and quick, for
instance, are synonyms as they share the sense of “doing something at speed”.
However, the adjective fast collocates well with nouns like food and train, but
not meal or shower, while the adjective quick collocates well with nouns like
meal and shower, but not food or train. Collocations are language-specific, that
is, what is considered as collocation cannot be taken for granted in another.
Further, they are not governed by fixed rules. ← 142 | 143 → Rather they
arbitrarily co-occur. In touching on the basic characteristic properties of
collocations, Baker (1992: 48) states that
are labelled unmarked as they are natural combination for native speakers of
Arabic. Similarly, combinations like bright face, bright child, bright idea, bright
future, bright voice, and so on are unmarked collocations as they sound natural
for native speakers of English. Marked collocations, however, are unnatural
combinations that are deliberately used by the speaker/writer to create new
images (Baker 1992: 51). As an illustration, the following example quoted from
Lubna Mahmūd Yāsīn’s story (n.d.) ( ﺑ ﺼ ﻤ ﺔ ﻣ ﻮ ا ﻃ ﻦA Citizen’s Fingerprint)
translated for the purposes of this study may be considered:
ST:
ﻳﺒﺘﻠﻌﻪ اﻟﻤﺴﺎء …ﻓﻴﻮﻏﻞ ﻓﻲ أﺣﺸﺎء اﻟﺼﻤﺖ …وﻣﻦ ذا اﻟﺬي ﻳﺴﺘﻄﻴﻊ ﻓﺮاًرا إذا ﻋﺴﻌﺲ اﻷﻟﻢ
…ﻮﻏﻠﺖ اﻷﺣﺰان ﻓﻲ ﺣﻨﺎﻳﺎ اﻟﻔﺆاد … ﻳﺘﺂﻛﻞ ﻗﻠﺒﻪ … ﺗﺘﺴﺎﻗﻂ أﺷﻼؤه … ﻳﺘﻤّﺰقداﺧﻞ اﻟﻨﻔﺲ وﺗ
ﻣﺠﻴﺐ …ﺻﻮﺗﻪﻋﻠ
ُ ﻰ ﺣﺪود اﻟﺰﻣﺎن وﻻ ﻣﻦ
TT:
The night swallows him so he delves ever deeper into the heart of silence.
Who can, then, escape if the pain is densely settled inside the self and sadness
penetrates the depths of the heart? … His heart erodes; his limbs fall off; his
voice gets torn away at the boundaries of time, yet no response comes. ← 143
| 144 →
( ﻣﻦ أﺣﺪﻫﺎ ﻣﺎﺳًﺤﺎ. وﻋﻠﻰ ﺟﺎﻧﺒﻲ اﻟﻤﻤﺮ أﺑﻮاب ﻣﺮﻗﻤﺔ، داﺧﻞ أﺣﺪ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺸﻔﻴﺎت،ﻫﻮ( ﻓﻳﻲﺨﺮﻣجﻤﺮ ﺿﻴﻖ
ﻳﺜﻘﻞ ﺣﺮﻛﺘﻪ اﻷﻟﻢ واﻟﺤﺰن اﻟﺤﺎد ﻓﻴﺴﺘﻨﺪ أﺣﻴﺎﻧ ًﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺟﺎﻧﺒﻲ … اﻟﻤﻤﺮ،ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪ
Although the adjective ( ﺣﺎدsharp) in the source text describes both nouns أﻟﻢ
(pain) and (ﺣﺰنsorrow), it collocates well with the noun pain in English. To find
an adjective that typically collocates with sorrow, a professional translator may
opt for deep. When opting for using two adjectives that collocate well with the
two nouns, viz. pain and sorrow, it will make the target text run more naturally
than the source text, i.e., euphemizing it. To avoid such euphemism on the one
hand, and to maintain the same degree of effect on the other, the translator may
resort to using only one adjective deep, which is typically in collocation with
grief, and, to less degree, with pain, as in:
TT:
ﻟﻢ،ﻟﻢ ﻳﻘﻞ ذﻟﻚ ﻷﻧﻪ ﺑﻼ ﻟﺤﻢ وﻻ ﺷﺤﻢ … ﺧﺬﻧﻲ ﻛﻠﻲ ﺑﻠﺤﻤﻲ وﺷﺤﻤﻲ ) ﻳﻀﺤﻚ( ﻻ … ﻻ
ً ﻳﻜﻦ إﻻ ﻛﻴ. :()ﻳﻘﻠﺪه
وﻓﻴﻪ ﺑﻀﻌﺔ ﻋﻈﺎم،ﺴﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺠﻠﺪ اﻟﻤﺒﻠﻞ ﺑﺎﻟﻌﺮق
TT:
“Take all of me, my flesh and my fat,” he cries, impersonating the drunkard.
He laughs and says, “No, no, he didn’t say that, for he had neither flesh nor
fat. He was just a bag of skin and bones, drenched in sweat”.
The phrase (ﻟﺤﻤﻲ وﺷﺤﻤﻲlit. my flesh and my fat) is used in Arabic for emphasis to
mean “all” or “personally”, thus it may be translated into an expression like body
and soul, which is an expression used in English to mean “completely”.
However, repeating the components of the phrase in the text many times, such as
ﺑﻼ ﻟﺤﻢ وﻻ ﺷﺤﻢ and the like, leaves us with no alternative but the literal
translation. Baker (1992: 72) rightly comments that translators should take into
account “the significance of the specific items which constitute the idiom, i.e.,
whether they are manipulated elsewhere in the source text” or not.
Following is another example quoted from Mahfouz’s (1966: 183) novel
( ﺛﺮﺛﺮة ﻓﻮق اﻟﻨﻴﻞAdrift on the Nile) and translated by Frances E. Liardet (1993: 17):
ST:
TT:
Ali’s face shone with a sudden optimism. “I bet that Ragab will have
children!”
And then Anis laughed. He laughed in spite of his tense nerves. “You’ve made
a mountain out of a molehill”, he said. ← 145 | 146 →
English phrasal verbs are very important part of everyday English. Every student
or translator of English needs a basic understanding of the most common phrasal
verbs. Such phrasal verbs undoubtedly constitute one of the major difficulties
English learners as well as translators and interpreters have to contend with
when approaching this type of idiomatic expressions (cf. Almanna 2010; Cowie
and Mackin 1993; McArthur and Atkins 1974; Turton and Manser 1985, among
others).
According to the Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English
(Biber et al. 2002), phrasal verbs consist of a verb, such as to put, to go, to give,
to look, and so on, followed by an adverbial particle, such as off, out, up, at etc.
Commonly, the adverbials used with phrasal verbs have a less than literal
meaning, making the phrasal verb as a whole idiomatic in meaning. It is this
idiomatic meaning that allows the phrasal verb to be replaced with a single word
verb. For instance, the phrasal verb to put off can be replaced with the single
word verb, to postpone (Biber et al. 2002). Phrasal verbs are an essential part of
spoken and written English at all levels, and nobody planning to master the
language can afford to overlook them. ← 146 | 147 →
The most widely used classification is proposed by Celce-Murcia and Larsen-
Freeman (1999) According to Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (1999: 432–
433), phrasal verbs are divided into three categories: literal (e.g., sit down, stand
up, pass through, etc.), aspectual (e.g., read though, set out, write over, etc.), and
idiomatic (e.g., chew out, run up, tune out, etc.). In distinguishing literal phrasal
verbs from the other types, Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (ibid.) rely on the
criterion of compositionality, as opposed to noncompositionality. They hold that
literal phrasal verbs are compositional while others are noncompositional.
Actually, their classification is problematic as sometimes we have phrasal verbs
which are noncompositional. Consider, for instance, the phrasal verb to look up.
According to their classification, the meaning of the phrasal verb to look up may
be restricted to gaze upwards. However, this phrasal verb has many other
meanings, such as to seek somebody or something out, to seek information about
somebody or something in a book, to visit somebody, and so forth. Therefore,
phrasal verbs in this study are divided into four categories: literal, aspectual,
idiomatic, and polysemous.
Literal phrasal verbs are very easy to understand. For example, it is not difficult
to pinpoint the meaning of sit down, stand up, or come in because their meanings
are obvious. Most commonly, literal phrasal verbs are verbs + directional
particles (ibid.). For instance, sit down, stand up, pick up, bend down, put down,
pass through, fall down, climb up, and so on are all verbs followed by directional
particles.
Aspectual phrasal verbs are phrasal verbs whose meanings are not as transparent
as literal phrasal verbs; however, their meanings are not idiomatic either (for
further details, see Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman 1999). Examples of this
type of phrasal verbs include set up, take off, start out, and so forth. These
phrasal verbs can be classified into a number of ← 147 | 148 → semantic
classes, depending on the semantic contribution of the particle used, as in:
• inceptive: signaling a beginning state, as in take off, set out, start up, etc.
• continuative: emphasizing the continuity of the action, as in run on and on,
hurry along, read through, skim through, think through, work away, play
around, mess around, travel around, etc.
• iterative: emphasizing the repetition of the action, as in do over and over,
turn over and over, write over, think over, type over, etc.
• completive: emphasizing the completion of the action, as in drink up, eat up,
close up, clean up, catch up, wind up, mix up, find out, fade out, wear out,
blow out, check over, win over, cut off, turn off, burn down, etc.
Idiomatic phrasal verbs, however, are phrasal verbs whose meanings are not
easy to predict. To put this differently, the meaning of the whole phrasal verb is
not related to the meanings of its constituents. For example, keep up, brush off,
zero in on, close in on, run up, tune out, zone out, and chew out are all idiomatic
phrasal verbs.
TT 1:
ﻣﻨﻔﺰﻋﺎ ووﺟﻬﻪ. ﻛﺾ ﺑﺄﻗﺼﻰ ﺳﺮﻋﺔ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻄﺎﺑﻖ اﻟﺴﻔﻠﻲ وﻛﺎن.ﺧﺮج ﺟﻬﺎد ﻣﻦ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ ﺻﺎروﺧﺎر
ﺣﺎﻣﻼ ﻋﻼﻣﺎت اﻷﻟﻢ
TT 2:
اﻟﻄﺎﺑﻖ اﻟﺴﻔﻠﻲ.اﻧﺪﻓﻊ ﺟﻬﺎد ﻣﻦ ﻗﺴﻢ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ ﻣﻨﻔﺠﺮا ﺑﺎﻟﺼﺮاخ واﻟﻌﻮﻳﻞ وراﻛﻀﺎ ﺑﺄﻗﺼﻰ ﺳﺮﻋﺘإﻟﻪﻰ
وﻳﺪه ﻋﻠﻰ رأﺳﻪ
TT 3:
ﺟﻪ ﻋﻼﻣﺎت.ﺧﺮج ﺟﻬﺎد ﻣﻦ ﻗﺴﻢ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ ﺑﺄﻗﺼﻰ ﺳﺮﻋﺘﻪ وﻫﻮ ﻳﺼﺮخ وﻳﺪه ﻋﻠﻰ رأﺳﻪ وﺑﺪت ﻋﻠﻰو
اﻟﺤﺰن
Here, two phrasal verbs are used in the original text, viz. burst out and sprint
down. To begin with the first phrasal verb to burst out, it has been translated into
( ﺧﺮجto go out) by one trainee and ( اﻧﺪﻓﻊto burst out) by two trainees. In Arabic,
the verb ( ﺧﺮجto go out) is different from ( اﻧﺪﻓﻊto burst out) as the former does
not indicate that the actor of the action Jehad has gone with all haste, while the
latter does. Therefore, one of the trainees has opted for ( ﺧﺮجto go out) followed
by ( ﺑﺄﻗﺼﻰ ﺳﺮﻋﺘﻪwith his top speed), to create a similar mental image. As for the
second phrasal verb to sprint out, it has been translated into ( رﻛﺾto run)
followed by ( ﺑﺄﻗﺼﻰ ﺳﺮﻋﺘﻪwith his top speed) by two trainees, while it has been
merged with the verb ( ﺧﺮجto go out) into one verb by one trainee.
Further reading
Exercise 1: Identify the type of the phrasal verb in each sentence (highlighted for
you). Then, translate the sentences into Arabic, paying particular attention to the
phrasal verbs: ← 150 | 151 →
1. Why did you ask him such an embarrassing question? You are always
putting your foot in it.
2. When I voted for him, I was convinced he would win, but I backed the
wrong horse.
3. She had to swallow her words when I got the job as she said I’d never ever
get the job.
4. The prime minister, faced with the journalists’ embarrassing questions, let
the cat out of the bag.
5. We don’t want any problem with them, so please keep mum about what
you saw last night.
Exercise 3: In the following sentences, which of the highlighted expressions can
be considered compositional, and which are idioms?
1. The students got into deep water with their teacher for the noise they made.
← 151 | 152 →
2. The text you asked me last week to translate was a hard nut to crack.
3. The police are barking up the wrong tree if they think Tom stole the car.
4. When I saw my little daughter standing in front of the open window, I had
my heart in my mouth.
5. When the lights suddenly went out, my heart missed a beat.
Exercise 4: Translate the following text extracted from Muhsin Al-Ramlī’s story
(2009) ﻲ ّ (ﺤ ﺚ ﻋ ﻦ ﻗ ﻠ ﺐ ﺣSearch
اﻟﺒ for a Live Heart). Then, annotate your own
translation in terms of (1) translating collocation, and (2) translating idiomatic
expressions:
… … ﻳﻨﻈﺮ إﻟﻰ ﺳﺎﻋﺘ اﻪﻟ(ﻮﻗﺖ ﻣﺮة أﺧﺮى …ﻳﻀﻴﻖ داﺋًﻤﺎ وﻳﺤﺎﺻﺮﻧﻲ ﻛﻬﺬا اﻟﻤﻤﺮ اﻟﺨﺎﻧﻖ( أواه
ﻤﺮت ﻋﻨﺪ اﻟﻨﺎﻓﺬة ﻟﻴﻞ ﻧﻬﺎر … ﺗﺮﺿﻊ اﻟﺴﺠﺎﺋﺮ وﻋﻴﻨﺎﻫﺎ اﻟﺪاﻣﻌﺘﺎنّ …ﻣﻲ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺴ ﻛﻴﻒ ﻗﻠﺐ أﻣﻲ إذا ً؟ أ
ﺟﻞ ﻋﻦ ﻛﻞ اﻟﺴﻴﺎرات اﻟﻤﺎرﻗﺔ … ﻳﻨﺰل … ﻗﺪ ﻳﻨﺰل ﻓﻲ أﻳﺔ ﻟﺤﻈﺔ ّ ﺗﺮﻗﺒﺎن اﻟﻄﺮﻳﻖ …ﺗﺮاه ﻳﺘﺮ
وﺣﺘﻰ اﻟﺠﻴﺮان ﻳﻮدون ﻟﻮ ﻳﻨﻘﻠﻮا ﻟﻨﺎ ﺧﺒﺮ ﻋﻮدﺗﻪ ﺑﺴﺮﻋﺔ،ﻤﺎ ﺳﻴﻨﺰل ﻷﻧﻪ ﻻﺑﺪ ّ أن ﻳﻌﻮد ً ﺑﻞ ﺣﺘ …
… ﻓﻬﻢ ﻳﺪرﻛﻮن ﺑﺄن ﻟﺤﻈﺔ ﺣﺰن إﺿﺎﻓﻴﺔ ﻗﺪ ﺗﻘﻀﻲ ﻋﻠﻴﻨﺎ … رﺑ ّﻤﺎ ﻫﺬه اﻟﻠﺤﻈﺔ،ﻟﻴﻮﻗﻔﻮا ﺣﺰﻧﻨﺎ
أو اﻟﻘﺎدﻣﺔ …ﻓﻤﺘﻰ ﺳﻴﺸﻔﻰ؟ ﻣﺘﻰ ﻳﻌﻮد؟ ﻣﺘﻰ؟ ﻣﺘﻰ؟
| 153 →
CHAPTER 10
Levels of Meaning
Key terms
• Affective meaning
• Allusive meaning
• Associative meaning
• Attitudinal meaning
• Collocative meaning
• Connotation
• Denotation
• Interpretive semiotics
• Paradigmatic axis
• Reflected meaning
• Semiotics
• Sign
• Signified
• Signifier
• Structural semiotics
• Stylistic meaning
• Syntagmatic axis
The previous chapter considered the two main semantic principles: the open
choice principle and the idiom principle. This chapter gives full consideration to
the levels of meaning, such as denotative meaning, connotative meaning,
affective meaning, allusive meaning, associative meaning, attitudinal meaning,
collocative meaning, reflected meaning, and stylistic meaning. Furthermore, it
highlights the importance of paying extra attention ← 153 | 154 → to
paradigmatic and syntagmatic axes in testing the sign’s significance and, thus,
translation accuracy.
A hen night (also known as a “hen party” or “bachelorette party”) is a party held
for girls who are about to get married, shortly before their wedding. It can be
translated into اﻟﺤﻨ ّﺔ/ ﻟﻴﻠﺔ اﻟﺤﻨ ّﺎء. Here, the denotative meaning of اﻟﺤﻨ ّﺔ/ ﻟﻴﻠﺔ اﻟﺤﻨ ّﺎءis
wider and less specific as it refers to both the hen night and stag night (a stag
night, also known as a “stag party” or “bachelor party”, which is a party held for
men who are about to get married, shortly before their wedding). Translating it
into اﻟﺤﻨ ّﺔ/ ﻟ ﻴ ﻠ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﺤ ﻨ ّﺎ ء/ ﺣﻔﻠﺔwithout specifying it, there would be generalizing
translation, as in:
He bent over his work quite angry. Mrs Twiddle blushed, for she hated
anyone to be angry with her. She went out of the shop, furious with Twiddle,
because she thought he had gone with his boots to the other cobbler’s and
hadn’t told her.
TT:
. وﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﺗﻜﺮه أن ﻳﻐﻀﺐ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ أﺣﺪ،ً اﺣﻤّﺮ وﺟﻪ اﻟﺴﻴﺪة ﺗﻮﻳﺪل ﺧﺠﻼ.ﺛﻢ اﻧﺤﻨﻰ إﻟﻰ ﻋﻤﻠﻪ وﻫﻮﻏﻀﺒﺎن
ﺳﻜﺎﻓﻲ اﻵﺧﺮ دون أن . وﺧﺮﺟﺖ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺤﻤﻞ ﺗﺸﺘﺎط ﻏﻀﺒﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﻮﻳﺪل؛ ﻷﻧﻬﺎ اﻋﺘﻘﺪت ﺑﺄﻧﻪ ذﻫﺐ إﻟ اﻰﻻ
ﻳﺨﺒﺮﻫﺎ
Here, the verb to blush meaning to become red in face, especially due to shame,
embarrassment, etc. lends itself in Arabic to (ً ا ِﺣﻤّﺮ وﺟﻬﻪ ) ﺧﺠﻼ ً أو ا ِرﺗﺒﺎﻛﺎ. Being fully
aware of the denotative meaning of the verb to blush, the translation student has
resorted to specifying its denotative meaning by adding the word ( ﺧﺠﻼshyly).
Similarly, the denotative meaning of the lexical item boots is narrower and more
specific than its expected counterpart in Arabic, that ← 156 | 157 → is, ﺣﺬاء
(shoes). Relying on the context, the translator has opted for deleting it
completely. Translating it into ( ﺣﺬاءshoes), there would be generalizing
translation.
It refers to the attitude that the language user has according to his/her socio-
cultural experiences. For example, all these Arabic verbs in the following
expressions:
refer to the same activity, that is, drinking alcohol. However, they are different
in connotation. While the first one ﻳﺘﻨﺎول/ ﻳﺸﺮبis neutral and used in both spoken
and written language and the second one ﻳﺤﺘﺴﻲis also neutral but used in written
language only, the third one ﻳﺘﺴّﻤﻢ/ ﻳﺒﻠﺒﻊhas a pejorative overtone, reflecting the
language user’s attitude towards both the act of drinking alcohol and the doer of
the action. ← 157 | 158 →
Associative meaning is that part of meaning that has to do with the stereotypical
images that have been conjured up in the mind of the language user towards the
lexical items used. When Arab interpreters/translators hear/read the English
word secretary, they automatically associate it with the idea of female gender,
thus rendering it into ( ﺳﻜﺮﺗﻴﺮةi.e., female secretary).
Although all of them share the same core denotative meaning of go out of the
office, the boss’ attitude to you may produce a different affective impact in each
case: very rude in the first, rude in the second and polite in the third.
Here, the writer opts for building an intertextual relation with a Quranic verse,
namely verse 12 from (ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺤﺠﺮاتSūrāt Al-Hujrāt):
.ﻳﺎ أﻳﻬﺎ اﻟﺬﻳﻦ آﻣﻨﻮا اﺟﺘﻨﺒﻮا ﻛﺜﻴﺮا ﻣﻦ اﻟﻈﻦ إن ﺑﻌﺾ اﻟﻈﻦ إﺛﻢ
The sentence ن ﺑﻌﺾ اﻟﻈﻦ إﺛﻢ, إalong with its lexical items in addition to its basic,
straightforward meaning, contains an allusive meaning.
ﻟﻴﻞ ﻧﻬﺎر •
أﺑﺮ ودﺑﺎﺑﻴﺲ •
ذﻫﺎﺑ ًﺎ وإﻳﺎﺑ ًﺎ •
أﺧﺬ وﻋﻄﺎء •
أﺑﻴﺾ وأﺳﻮد •
ﺑـﺎﻟﺸﻮﻛﺔ واﻟﺴﻜﻴﻦ •
آﺟﻼ ً أم ﻋﺎﺟًﻼ •
However, English native speakers tend to use them the other way round:
To make this point clear, the following example extracted from Muhsin Al-
Ramlī’s story (2009: 37) ﻲ (Search
ّ ﺤﺚ ﻋﻦ ﻗﻠﺐ ﺣ اﻟﺒ for a Live Heart) can be given
serious consideration:
… ﻟﻄﺮﻳﻖ.أﻣﻲ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺴﻤّﺮت ﻋﻨﺪ اﻟﻨﺎﻓﺬة ﻟﻴﻞ ﻧﻬﺎر … ﺗﺮﺿﻊ اﻟﺴﺠﺎﺋﺮ وﻋﻴﻨﺎﻫﺎ اﻟﺪاﻣﻌﺘﺎن ﺗﺮﻗﺒﺎن ا
ﺴﻴﺎرات اﻟﻤﺎرﻗﺔّ ﺟﻞ ﻋﻦ ﻛﻞ اﻟ.ﺗﺮاﻳهﺘﺮ
My mother who remained pinned to the window day and night, puffing on
cigarettes, her tearful eyes checking the road to see if he’s getting out of a
passing car …
As can be seen, the lexical item ( ﺳﻴﺎراتcars) lends itself to a car, thus resulting
in an intra-system shift to use Catford’s (1965) terminology. Intra-system shifts
occur when the translators, for any reason, ignore the formal equivalent, that is, a
term, expression or structure that formally corresponds to that of the original
text, and, alternatively, opt for a noncorresponding term, expression or structure
in the target language (p. 80).
In addition to these six types of connotative meaning that translators need to give
full consideration while translating from one language into another, we can add
another type. We will call it “stylistic meaning”.
Although all of them share the same core denotative meaning of to fail, they
differ in their stylistic meaning (connotation), thus producing a different impact
in each case:
• ﺳﻘﻂ: dialectal (in Iraq and some gulf countries), informal, and having no
literary status.
• ﺳﺐ: رstandard, formal, and neutral.
• ﺧﻔﻖ: أstandard, formal, neutral, and having literary status.
• ﻟ ﻢ ﻳ ﺤ ﺎ ﻟ ﻔ ﻪ ا ﻟ ﺤ ﻆ: standard, formal, and having both literary status and
euphemism. ← 161 | 162 →
10.3 Semiotics
• semantic branch, focusing on the meaning of signs and their relationship with
what they stand for.
• syntactic branch, dealing with the structural relations between signs.
• pragmatic branch, studying the ways in which signs are used and interpreted.
On the other hand, the subject of semiotics is divided by Fiske (1990: 40) into
three main areas:
• the “sign” itself, that is, the study of signs and their different varieties in
different contexts.
• the “codes” into which signs are constructed and organized.
• the “culture” within which these codes and signs operate.
According to de Saussure, there are two ways in which signs are organized into
codes: syntagmatic and paradigmatic (for more details, see Al-Shehari 2001:
159–161; Fiske 1990: 56). The two ways of organizing signs into codes are
described as two axes: the vertical axis is paradigmatic and the horizontal one is
syntagmatic. While the main concern of paradigms is the selection of some signs
and the exclusion of others, syntagms focus on the combination of the selected
signs. Further, these two ways can be used as an approach to testing the sign’s
significance on the one hand, and the translation accuracy/mental image on the
other. To elaborate, the following example extracted from Mary Ali’s text titled
Women’s Liberation through Islam, published on 24 June 2013
(<http://www.islamreligion.com>) along with the translation produced by one of
the BA translation students at the University of Nizwa may be given careful
consideration:
ST:
TT:
To begin with, examining the original text shows how syntagmatic and
paradigmatic axes constitute the micro signs that form a mental image in the
mind of the hearer/reader. As stated above, a paradigm is a set of signs from
which the one used is chosen. To elaborate, in the original text, the sign wear in
simple aspect is chosen from a set of possible signs, such as can wear, must
wear, should wear, need to wear, and so on. The same holds true for other signs
used, such as
A syntagm, on the other hand, is the linear arrangement into which the signs,
which are chosen from paradigms, are combined. So the paradigmatic signs:
she would have produced a completely different mental image and an inaccurate
translation, as in:
.ﺑﺈﻣﻜﺎن اﻟﻔﺘﺎة ا ِرﺗﺪاء اﻟﻠ ِﻔﺎع ﻣﺮﺿﺎة ﻷواﻣﺮ اﻟﻠﻪ واﻟﺮﺳﻮل ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺄد ّب
It might seem reasonable to argue that not taking into account the sign’s
functions would affect both the translation accuracy and image resolution. ←
164 | 165 → To reinforce this point, the following example quoted from
Mahfuz’s (1961/1973: 40) novel (ا ﻟ ﻠ ﺺ و ا ﻟ ﻜ ﻼ بThe Thief and the Dogs) and
translated by Adel Ata Elyas (1987: 118) can be discussed:
.وﺛﻤﺔ راﺋﺤﺔ ﺳﺤﺮﻳﺔ ﻻ ﺗﺼﺪر إﻻ ﻣﻦ دم أزرق رﻏﻢ أﻧﻔﻪ اﻟﻤﺎﺋﻞ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻔﻄﺲ
He felt a magic scent in the air, something he couldn’t identify in spite of his
long sharp nose. It was the smell of aristocracy.
Here, the sign that functions iconically is ( دم أزرقlit. blue blood). In Arabic, this
expression recalls another signifier, a person of aristocratic or wealthy ancestry,
which refers to the same signified. In other words, the expression دم أزرقin this
context refers to a physical referent in the real world (blue blood) as well as
invoking in the mind of the hearer/reader the image of a person of aristocratic or
wealthy ancestry, thus creating a relationship (interpretant) between blue blood
and a person of aristocratic or wealthy ancestry. It so happens that English
people map and conceptualize such a world experience in a similar way, that is,
blue blood. However, for no obvious reason the translator has given the iconic
function of such a sign a back seat, thus preserving partially the sign’s functions.
Had he opted for the expression blue blood, he would have reflected the original
sign’s functions, thus achieving an optimal equivalent. Optimal equivalent refers
to the possibility of conceptualizing the world experience linguistically in a
similar way in both languages, thus giving rise to full equivalence where both
formal and functional equivalents coincide (for more details, see Baker 1992: 72;
Farghal 2012: 47), as in:
ST:
TT:
ُ ﻣﻮا ِﻷ َﻧ َ
ﻤﺎ
َ ِﻪ ﺑ
َ ﻋﻨﺪ َ ﻟﻠﻪِ إ ِن ﻟﻠ
ِ ُ ﺠﺪ ُوه
ِ َ ﺧﻴ ْﺮٍ ﺗ ْ ﺴﻜ ُﻢ ﻣ
َ ﻦ ِ ﻔ ُ ﻘﺪ َ َﻤﻮا ﻟﺼﻠ َﻮٰة َ وََءاﺗ ُﻮا اﻟﺰﻛ َﺎة َ و
َ ُ ﻣﺎ ﺗ ُ وَأﻗِﻴ
ﺼﻴٌﺮ َ ﻤﻠ ُﻮ
ِ َن ﺑ َ ْﺗ َﻌ
TT:
And be steadfast in prayer and regular in charity: And wherever good ye send
forth for your souls before you, ye shall find it with Allah. For Allah sees well
at that ye do. (110)
Here, the lexical term that needs special treatment is ( زﻛﺎةzakāt); it is a religious
term referring generally to “a certain amount of money gathered from the well-
to-do and paid to the poor; it is also obligatory and constitutes the third of the
five pillars of Islam” (Farghal and Bloushi 2012: 3). The translator has opted for
the lexical item charity whose denotative meaning is wider and less specific than
the Arabic word زﻛﺎةas the former is voluntary while the latter is obligatory. So,
the missing information in terms of intentionality and status as a sign is that the
term زﻛﺎةis associated with obligatory giving. Giving full consideration to the
differences between the source language and target language signifying systems,
Pickthall, another translator of the Holy Quran, has opted for the lexical item
due, that is, a regular payment that you make to be a member of an organization,
thus specifying the denotative meaning of the concept to include the missing
information, that is, being obligatory:
Establish worship, and pay the poor-due; and whatever of good you send
before (you) for your souls, you will find it with Allah. Lo! Allah is Seer of
what you do. (110) (Pickthall, 1930/2006: 18).
Finally, the following example quoted from Mahfuz’s (1959/2006: 219) novel
( أوﻻد ﺣﺎرﺗﻨﺎChildren of the Alley) and translated by Theroux (1996: 180) may be
considered:
“Fine, Gawad”, said Abda. I hope you are well”. ← 166 | 167 →
Here, the sign that functions iconically is (ﺳﺄﻟﺖ ﻋﻠﻴﻚ اﻟﻌﺎﻓﻴﺔlit. health asked about
you). In this context, it recalls another signifier, that is, the act of wishing ﻛﻦ ﺑﺨﻴﺮ
(be fine) or ( ا ﺗ ﻤ ﻨ ﻰ أ ن ﺗ ﻜ ﻮ ن ﺑ ﺨ ﻴ ﺮI hope you are fine), which refers to the same
signified. To put this differently, the expression ﺳﺄﻟﺖ ﻋﻠﻴﻚ اﻟﻌﺎﻓﻴﺔin this context
refers to a metaphorical material process to borrow terms from Halliday (1976):
[actor اﻟﻌﺎﻓﻴﺔ+ process of doing (ﺳ ﺄ ﻟ ﺖ ﻋ ﻠ ﻰpast tense with an emphasis on the
frequency of the action as a matter of routine, i.e., )ﺗﺴﺄل ﻋﻠﻴﻚ+ goal ]كas well as
invoking in the mind of the hearer/reader the act of wishing. So, the relationship
between the metaphorical material process and the act of wishing: be fine or I
hope you are fine conjured up in the mind of the hearer/reader is what Peirce
calls “interpretant”, which works as a sign. As it is difficult to find a sign in the
target language with the same iconic function, the indexical and symbolic
functions of this micro sign have been given a front seat. His translation: I hope
you are well reflects closely the original expression’s function, thus preserving
partially the sign’s functions, i.e., indexical and symbolic only.
Further reading
ﺑﺼﻴﺮ vs أﻋﻤﻰ
ﻋﺎﻣﻞ ﻧﻈﺎﻓﺔ vs زﺑ ّﺎل
ﺷﺮﻳﻜﺔ ﺣﻴﺎﺗﻲ vs زوﺟﺘﻲ
ﻳﺘﺴﻜ ّﻊ vs ﻳﺘﺠﻮّل
ﻤﻢ
ّ ﻳﺘﺴ vs ﻳﺄﻛﻞ
Exercise 3: The following text is extracted from John Ruskin’s fairy tale The
King of the Golden River. Comment on the following translation produced by
one of the translation students, paying particular attention to the denotative and
connotative meanings (cited in Al-Khanjarī 2014: 18):
ST:
In a secluded and mountainous part of Stiria there was in old time a valley of
the most surprising and luxuriant fertility. It was surrounded on all sides by
steep and rocky mountains rising into peaks which were always covered with
snow and from which a number of torrents descended in constant cataracts.
TT:
Exercise 4: Translate the following text extracted from Mary Ali’s text titled
Women’s Liberation through Islam, published on 24 June 2013
(<http://www.islamreligion.com>), paying particular attention to levels of
meaning:
ST:
Today people think that women are liberated in the West and that the
women’s liberation movement began in the 20th century. Actually, the
women’s liberation movement was not begun by women, but was revealed by
God to a man in the seventh century by the name of Muhammad, may the
mercy and blessings of God be upon him, the last Prophet of God. The Quran
and the Sunnah of the Prophet are the sources from which every Muslim
woman derives her rights and duties.
| 171 →
CHAPTER 11
Pragmatics
Key terms
• Assertive verbs
• Commissive verbs
• Conditional speech-act verbs
• Cooperative principle
• Declarative verbs
• Direct speech acts
• Directive verbs
• Expressive verbs
• Implicature
• Indirect speech acts
• Maxim of manner
• Maxim of quality
• Maxim of quantity
• Maxim of relevance
• Speech acts
• Unconditional speech-act verbs
The previous chapter considered the different types of meaning and the
importance of giving full consideration to paradigmatic and syntagmatic axes in
testing the sign’s significance and translation accuracy. This chapter examines
some pragmatic issues, such as speech acts, the cooperative principle and its
supportive maxims, and implicature in a direct link with the actual act of
translating a text. ← 171 | 172 →
11.1 Pragmatics: Definition
So far in this book, we have looked into the meaning of lexical items and their
semantic relations, roles, and principles. However, at times, the meaning of a
certain lexical item depends on the context in which it is used. As such, the study
of what is not explicitly said and the role of context in interpreting the
speaker/writer’s intended meaning is called pragmatics. According to Crystal
(1997: 301; emphasis in the original), pragmatics is
the study of LANGUAGE from the point of view of users, especially of the
choices they make, the CONSTRAINTS they encounter in using language in
social interaction, and the effects their use of language has on the other
participants in an act of communication.
Pragmatics is also the study of language use. According to Rowe and Levine
(2006/2009: 174), pragmatics
includes the study of how people use language to establish their identities
through social meaning, to express their emotions through affective meaning,
to perform speech acts with performative sentences, and to carry on
conversations with others.
In what follows, pragmatic issues, such as speech acts, the cooperative principle
and its supportive maxims, and conversational implicature will be introduced
and discussed in a direct link with translation.
Generally speaking, people use language for a certain purpose, such as for
informing or persuading others, expressing their own feelings, and so on. At
times, what is explicitly said or written is different from what is meant by the
speaker/writer. In such cases, there might be two functions of language: one at
the surface level, which is of use to state something, for example It is cold in
here, and the other hidden, yet signifying doing something, for ← 172 | 173 →
instance Could you please close the window?. In many cases, however, the
underlying function (i.e., Could you please close the window?) overrides the
superficial function (i.e., It is cold in here), thus relaying “added effects, such as
those associated with, say, a request or admonition” (Hatim and Mason 1990:
179). Further, when people try their hands at stating something, they normally
have in their minds a function of doing something – they do not create an
utterance “without intending it to have an effect” (ibid.). To conclude, in a
natural practice of communication, there is an utterance that has three
dimensions: literal (explicit) meaning, pragmatic (implicit) meaning, and the
effect of the utterance on the addressee. In his investigation of the force of
linguistic expressions, Austin (1962) distinguishes three types of act that each
utterance has. They are:
TT:
Khadija yelled sarcastically, “You want to get a job before you’re fourteen!
What will you do if you wet your pants at work?”
Assertive verbs are speech acts that commit a speaker to the truth of the
expressed proposition, e.g., statements of events, facts, descriptions, and so on.
They are “either true or false, and generally they can be verified or falsified – not
necessarily at the time of utterance or by those who hear them, but in a general
sense they are subject to empirical investigation” (Kreidler 1998: 184).
Assertive verbs can be also used in reported speech. While some reported
speech-act verbs focus on information, such as express, declare, announce,
report, mention, etc., or truth-value of utterance, such as affirm, allege, assert,
guarantee, claim, etc., others focus on speaker’s commitment or involvement,
such as deny, profess, protest, etc. or manner of communicating, such as
emphasize, stress, etc. (for more details, see Kreidler 1998: 183–185).
DIRECTIVE VERBS
Directive verbs are speech acts by which the speaker tries to get the addressee to
take a particular action, for example, requesting, commanding, demanding,
advising, suggesting, warning, and the like. To illustrate, the following examples
may be discussed:
Here, the speaker is in a high position, thus having some degree of control over
the actions of the addressees. Further, the action will happen in the future.
Therefore, it is an act of commanding.
I advise you to sleep early when you have an exam. ← 174 | 175 →
Here, the speaker expresses his/her opinion about the addressee’s performance;
therefore, it is an act of advising. When the speaker does not have an authority,
the addressee has a choice of performance. However, when the speaker has some
sort of authority, then it becomes a combination of both commanding and
advising.
Here, the speaker expresses his/her opinion about the addressee’s performance.
As the speaker has some sort of authority, the act of warning is accompanied by
an implicit act of commanding.
COMMISSIVE VERBS
Commissive verbs are speech acts that commit a speaker to some future actions,
for example, promising, threatening, pledging, vowing, and so on. Consider the
following example:
Here, the commissive verb promise commits the speaker to a course of action in
the future. It is assumed that the speaker, in normal circumstances, is able to
bring the addressee’s book tomorrow, and the addressee has some faith in the
speaker’s ability and intention to bring the book tomorrow.
DECLARATIVE VERBS
Declarative verbs (also known as “performative verbs”) are speech acts that
change the reality to be in line with the proposition of the declaration (e.g.,
baptisms, pronouncing someone guilty, or pronouncing someone husband and
wife). They are effective when they are “spoken by someone whose right to
make them is accepted and in circumstances which are accepted as appropriate”
(Kreidler 1998: 185). Consider the following examples:
I sentence you to two years in prison.
I hereby declare that Mr Peter Smith graduated from our university in 2000.
I announce you husband and wife. ← 175 | 176 →
Here, in order for the performative acts, expressed by the verbs sentence,
declare, and announce respectively, to be valid, the speaker should have the
right to sentence somebody to prison, declare that somebody graduated from that
institution, or announce somebody husband and wife.
EXPRESSIVE VERBS
Expressive verbs are speech acts that express the speaker’s attitudes and
emotions towards the proposition (e.g., congratulating, apologizing, excusing,
thanking, expressing states of joy, sorrow, and so on). Consider the following
examples:
Here, the speaker tries to express three different attitudes or emotions, viz.
apologizing, thanking and admitting a mistake, towards his/her coming without
an appointment, the addressee’s help to his/her son and the mistake made
respectively.
To discuss these speech acts in a direct link with translation, the following
legal text quoted from Omani Labour Law (article 9) along with its official
translation may be given full consideration:
ST:
TT:
Tenant shall dispose from the dwelling unit all ashes, rubbish, garbage and
other waste in a clean and safe manner.
TT:
اﻟﺴﻜﻨﻴﺔ. ﻳﺘﻌﻬّﺪ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮ ﺑﺈزاﻟﺔ ﻛﻞ اﻷﺗﺮﺑﺔ واﻟﻤﺨﻠﻔﺎت واﻟﻘﻤﺎﻣﺔ وﻏﻴﺮﻫﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻔﻀﻼت ﻣﻦ اﻟﻮﺣﺪة
ﺑﻄﺮﻳﻘﺔ ﻧﻈﻴﻔﺔ وﻣﺄﻣﻮﻧﺔ
اﻟﺴﻜﻨﻴﺔ. ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮ أن ﻳﺰﻳﻞ ﻛﻞ اﻷﺗﺮﺑﺔ واﻟﻤﺨﻠﻔﺎت واﻟﻘﻤﺎﻣﺔ وﻏﻴﺮﻫﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻔﻀﻼت ﻣﻦ اﻟﻮﺣﺪة
ﺑﻄﺮﻳﻘﺔ ﻧﻈﻴﻔﺔ وﻣﺄﻣﻮﻧﺔ
Or
اﻟﺴﻜﻨﻴﺔ. ﻳﻠﺘﺰم اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺄﺟﺮ ﺑﺈزاﻟﺔ ﻛﻞ اﻷﺗﺮﺑﺔ واﻟﻤﺨﻠﻔﺎت واﻟﻘﻤﺎﻣﺔ وﻏﻴﺮﻫﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻔﻀﻼت ﻣﻦ اﻟﻮﺣﺪة
178 | 177 ← ﺑﻄﺮﻳﻘﺔ ﻧﻈﻴﻔﺔ وﻣﺄﻣﻮﻧﺔ →
To elaborate, these two Reuters news items on the same topic (one in English
and the other in Arabic; 7 April 2015) may be given careful consideration:
ST:
TT:
ﻗﺎل أﻧﺘﻮﻧﻲ ﺑﻠﻴﻨﻜﻴﻦ ﻧﺎﺋﺐ وزﻳﺮ اﻟﺨﺎرﺟﻴﺔ اﻷﻣﺮﻳﻜﻲ ﻳﻮم اﻟﺜﻼﺛﺎء إن اﻟﻮﻻﻳﺎت اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة ﺗﻌﺠﻞ ﺑﺈﻣﺪادات
ﻤﻌﺎرﺿﻴﻦ ﻟﻠﺮﺋﻴﺲ اﻟﻴﻤﻨﻲ ﻋﺒﺪ رﺑﻪ.اﻷﺳﻠﺤﺔ ﻟﻠﺘﺤﺎﻟﻒ اﻟﺬي ﺗﻘﻮده اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ ﺿﺪ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﺗﻠﻴﻦ اﻟﺤﻮﺛﻴﻴﻦاﻟ
ﻣﻨﺼﻮر ﻫﺎدي
Here, in the original text, a direct speech act of assertion in the past is used (i.e.,
said). This speech act of assertion is informative (i.e., announcing or reporting
an event). Giving full consideration to the type of speech act and its function, the
translator or trans-editor, when resorting to ( ﻗﺎلsaid), has accurately rendered it
into a speech act of assertion in the past to announce or report an event (i.e.,
informative). According to Leech (1983: 224), assertive verbs can be classified
into two types: (1) “informative” (i.e., to announce or report an event), and (2)
“argumentative” (i.e., to express the relationship “between the current truth
claim and other truth claims” made by the speaker and/or the addressee).
To show how not paying extra attention to the type and function of the speech
act may change the overall meaning of the message, the following example
along with its translation (Farghal 2008: 3–4) can be used as an illustration:
ST:
TT:
ادﻋﻰ وزﻳﺮ اﻟﺤﺮب اﻟﺼﻬﻴﻮﻧﻲ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻠﺔ ﻣﻊ ﻣﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻨﻴﻮزوﻳﻚ أﻣﺲ أن اﻟﻌﻤﻠﻴﺎت اﻻﺳﺘﺸﻬﺎدﻳﺔ اﻟﻔﻠﺴﻄﻴﻨﻴﺔ
اﻟﻔﻠﺴﻄﻴﻨﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻀﻔﺔ اﻟﻐﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﺤﺘﻠﺔ. ﻫﻲ اﻟﺴﺒﺐ اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺲ ﻓﻲ اﺟﺘﻴﺎح ﻗﻮات اﻻﺣﺘﻼل اﻹﺳﺮاﺋﻴﻠﻲ ﻟﻠﻤﺪن
Here, in the original text, the news reporter opts for a direct speech act of
assertion in the past said to announce or report an event, i.e., informative.
However, the translator has resorted to a direct speech act of assertion (ادﻋﻰto
claim) in the past to express the relationship between the current truth claim and
other truth claims made by the speaker or the addressee (i.e., argumentative).
In touching on speech acts, Leech (1983) distinguishes between two types:
Much of what follows in this chapter is designed to illustrate implicature and the
cooperative principle in a direct link with translation.
Unlike speech acts that focus on conventional forms used to express different
illocutionary forces in a given language, conversational implicature refers to
language users’ ability to figure out what is not explicitly said. To do so,
language users rely on a number of “shared assumptions and expectations” (Yule
1985/1996: 127). Conversational implicature is defined by Griffiths (2006: 134)
as ← 179 | 180 →
inferences that depend on the existence of norms for the use of language, such
as the whispered agreement that communicators should aim to tell the truth
[…]. Speakers, writers and addressees assume that everyone engaged in
communication knows and accepts the communicational norms. This general
acceptance is an important starting point for inferences, even if individuals
are sometimes unable to meet the standards or occasionally cheat (for
instance, by telling lies).
1. Maxim of Quality:
• do not say anything which you believe to be false.
• do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.
2. Maxim of Quantity:
• make your contribution only as informative as is required for the current
purposes of the exchange.
• do not make your contribution more informative than is required.
3. Maxim of Relevance:
• be relevant.
4. Maxim of Manner:
• avoid obscurity and ambiguity.
• be brief.
• be orderly.
Giving full consideration to the contextual situation and the level of interactional
collaboration presented in a particular conversational exchange, translators need
to make fundamental decisions with respect to the transfer of perceived
illocutionary force and perlocutionary effect of the original utterances. To this
end, they need to intrinsically manage the original utterances to have them
reflect effectively the cooperative principle and its maxims.
At times, language users opt to communicate with each other directly, thus
observing the cooperative principle along with its supportive maxims, ← 180 |
181 → viz. maxim of quality (speaking the truth), maxim of quantity (employing
the right amount of language), maxim of manner (expressing things clearly and
unambiguously), and maxim of relevance (being relevant). However, at other
times, they resort to communicating indirectly by flouting these maxims. In this
regard, Farghal and Almanna (2015: 111–112) comment:
For instance, if you were at home, and your daughter told you:
Here, the lexical item wonderful in such a situation cannot be interpreted out of
its context by relying, for instance, on its denotative meaning only. One of the
interlocutors (father) flouts Grice’s cooperative principle and its supportive
maxims. However, “the process of communication continues uninterrupted,
thanks to human rationality and reasoning, which is based on the cooperative
principle between producer and receiver in communication” (Farghal and
Almanna 2015: 112).
To elaborate, the following example extracted from Mahfouz’s novel (2006:
473) أوﻻد ﺣﺎرﺗﻨﺎ, translated by Philip Stewart into Children of Gebelaawi (1995:
301) and by Peter Theroux (1996: 368) into Children of the Alley may be used as
an illustration:
ST:
وﺑﻌﺪﻫﺎ ﻓﺈﻣﺎ ﺗﺮﺿﻰ ﻋﻦ ﻣﺤﺴﻮﺑﻚ،ﺑﺴﺎﻋﺘﻴﻦ «ﻗﻤﺤﺔ ﻣﻨﻪ ﻗﺒﻞ ﻓﻨﺠﺎن ﺷﺎي ﻗﺒﻞ » ﻻ ﻣﻮاﺧﺬة
أو ﺗﻄﺮده ﻣﻦ اﻟﺤﺎرة ﻣﺸﻔﻮﻋﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﻠﻌﻨﺎت، ﻋﺮﻓﻪ.
TT 1:
A grain of that in a cup of tea two hours before making love, and afterwards
either you’ll be pleased with Arafa or you can chase him away with your
curse.
TT 2:
A grain of that in a cup of tea two hours before, well, you know, no offence,
and after that, either you will be happy with your servant Arafa or you can
kick him out of the alley with every curse you know.
Peter Theroux (1996: 368)
Here, in an attempt to inject his text with vividness, the author, in the mouth of
one of the in-text characters, tries his hand at expressing his message implicitly,
thus leaving the addressee along with the text readers to try to complete the
missing part of the message. In the original text, in place of referring to the act of
having sexual intercourse explicitly, the author opts for the phrase ﻻ ﻣ ﻮ ا ﺧ ﺬ ة
(pardon me), thereby flouting Grice’s maxim of quality by referring to sexual
intercourse implicitly. As can be noticed, the translators (Stewart and Theroux)
have resorted to different local strategies. While the first translator has opted for
changing an implicit message, expressed by ﻻ ﻣ ﻮ ا ﺧ ﺬ ةto an explicit one,
expressed by making love, the second translator has resorted to maintaining the
conversational implicature by using well, you know, no offence, thus leaving his
readers to reflect on it and complete the missing part of the message by relying
on their encyclopaedic knowledge and socio-cultural experiences.
Perhaps an appropriate way of concluding this chapter is to consider the
following example extracted from Edward Said’s book (1987/2003: 59)
Orientalism, translated by Mohammed Enani (2006: 124):
ST:
After Mohammed’s death in 632, the military and later the cultural and
religious hegemony of Islam grew enormously. First Persia, Syria and Egypt,
then Turkey, then North Africa fell to the Muslim armies; in the eighth and
ninth centuries Spain, Sicily and parts of France were conquered.
TT:
Further reading
Questions
Exercises
1. requesting
2. promising
3. apologizing
4. threatening
5. congratulating
6. advising
7. thanking
Exercise 2: Try to identify the kind of speech acts in the following sentences,
and then translate them into Arabic:
ST:
For at the crucial instant when an Orientalist had to decide whether his
loyalties and sympathies lay with the Orient or with the conquering West, he
always chose the latter.
TT:
ﻣﻊ اﻟﺸﺮق. ﻓﻔﻲ اﻟﻠﺤﻈﺔ اﻟﺤﺎﺳﻤﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﻛﺎن ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺸﺮق أن ﻳﻘﺮر إن ﻛﺎن ﻳﻀﻤﺮ اﻟﻮﻻء واﻟﺘﻌﺎﻃﻒ
ﻛﺎن ﻳﺨﺘﺎر اﻟﺠﺎﻧﺐ اﻷﺧﻴﺮ،أم ﻣﻊ اﻟﻐﺮب اﻟﻐﺎزي
TT 1:
TT 2:
Exercise 5: Translate the following text extracted from ‘Abdul-Sattār Nāsir’s ﺛﻼث
( ﻗ ﺼ ﺺ ﻟ ﻴ ﺴ ﺖ ﻟ ﻠ ﻨ ﺸ ﺮThree Short Stories not for Publishing), paying particular
attention to speech acts used in the text: ← 185 | 186 →
ST:
، ﺣﺘﻰ ﺗﺄﻛﺪ ﻟﻪ أﻧﻬﺎ ﻟﻴﺴﺖ ﺑﻤﻔﺮدﻫﺎ، وﻣﺎ أن اﻗﺘﺮب ﻣﻨﻬﺎ،ً ﻓﺮآﻫﺎ ﻋﺎرﻳﺔ ﺗﻤﺎﻣﺎ،دﺧﻞ اﻟﻤﻠﻚ ﻋﻠﻰ زوﺟﺘﻪ
… وأن ﺣﺎرﺳﻪ ا»ﻷﻣﻴﻦ« ﻳﻨﺎم ﻫﺎﻧﺌﺎ ً ﻣﻌﻬﺎ
«ﻚ
ﻛﺎن اﻟﺤﺎرس ﻗﺪ، وﻋﻨﺪ اﻟﺒﺎب،ﻲ ﺑﻄﻨﻪ أﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ﺟﺮح ﻋﺮﻳﺾ ﻋﻤﻴﻖ »ﻟﻤﻠوﻓ
ﺧﺮج اﻟﺤﺎرس ﻣﻦ ﻏﺮﻓﺔ ا
. … ﻣﺎت
: ﻗﺎل اﻟﻤﻠﻚ ﻟﻮزﻳﺮ اﻟﻤﺎل،ﻓﻲ آﺧﺮ اﻟﻠﻴﻞ
اذﻫ–ﺐ إﻟﻰ زوﺟﺘﻲ ،واﻗﺘﻠﻬﺎ … وﺧﺬ ﻟﻚ ﻧﺼﻒ اﻟﺨﺰﻳﻨﺔ …
أﺟﺎب اﻟﻮزﻳﺮ:
– أﻣﺮك ﻳﺎ ﻣﻮﻻي …
| 187 →
CHAPTER 12
The previous chapters examined different semantic aspects. This chapter links
these semantic issues discussed throughout the book to the actual act of
translating by consolidating theoretical claims with authentic translational data,
thus helping translation students annotate their own translations from a semantic
perspective. To this end, a text (386 words) is translated and annotated from a
semantic perspective. Before the text is translated, the following introduction
presents this source text along with its author.
century is burying alive his feelings and ﻔﺮﺟﻴﻦ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻃﻘﻮس ﺻﻠﺐ ﺑﻘﺎﻳﺎ.… ﺑﻴﻨﻤﺎ ﻳﺘﺠﻤﺪ اﻟﻘﻮمﻣﺘ
إﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺘﻪ أﺑﻌﺪ ﻫﺬا اﻟﻤﻮت ﻣﻮت آﺧﺮ؟
dignity while people stand frozen,
observing the rituals that crucify the
remains of his humanity. Is there
another death after this?
Where is the refuge? He wants to أﻳﻦ اﻟﻤﻼذ؟؟ ﻳﺮﻳﺪ أن ﻳﻔﺘﺢ ﺟﻨﺎﺣﻴﻪ وﻳﻬﺮب ﻣﻦ ﻇﻤﺌﻪ …وﻣﻦ
spread his wings and escape from his …ﻦ ﻋﺮي أوﺟﺎﻋﻪ … ﻳﺮﻳﺪ أن ﻳﺤﻠﻖ ﺣﻴﺚ ﻻ
ﺣﺪود ﻣﺸﺎﻋﺮه ﻣ
thirst, from the boundaries of his ﻻ أﺣﺪ أﺑﺪا … أﺣﺪ.
feelings, from the rawness of his pains.
He wants to soar where nobody is,
nobody at all.
In the midst of the disorder that had ﻟﻢ ﻳﺸﻌﺮ ﺑﻨﻔﺴﻪ … ووﺳﻂ ﻛﻞ ﺗﻠﻚ اﻟﺒﻌﺜﺮة اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻨﺘﺎﺑﻪ
come over him, he had not felt himself ﻓﺈذا ﺑﻪ … إﻻ وﻗﻀﻴﺐ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻨﺎر اﻟﻤﻠﺘﻬﺒﺔ ﻳﻨﺪﻓﻊ ﻣﻦ ﺟﻮﻓﻪ
until a red-hot fire burst forth out of his » ﻳﻔﺘﺢ ﻓﺎه ﺣﺪ اﻟﺘﻤﺰق وﻳﺼﺮخ ﻣﻞء ﺻﻮﺗﻪ ﻣﺘﻘﻴ ّﺎ ً ﺑﻜﻠﻤﺔ
belly. All of a sudden, he opened his » ﻻ:… واﺣﺪة
mouth so wide that it got torn, shouting
at the top of his mouth, vomiting out
the single word: “NO”.
No sooner had he closed his mouth and وﻣﺎ ﻛﺎد ﻳﻐﻠﻖ ﻓﻤﻪ وﻳﺒﺘﻠﻊ اﻟﻔﻀﺎء ﺻﻮﺗﻪ …ﺣﺘﻰ وﺟﺪ
the void swallowed his voice than he ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻣﺤﺎﻃﺎ ً ﺑﺂﻻف اﻟﻤﺴﻠﺤﻴﻦ … ﺑﺒﺪﻻﺗﻬﻢ اﻟﻌﺴﻜﺮﻳﺔ
found himself surrounded by thousands ﺗﺮاﻓﻘﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ ﻫﺬا … وﻣﻼﻣﺤﻬﻢ اﻟﺠﺎﻓﺔ ﺟﻔﺎف اﻟﺼﺤﺎرى
of armed personnel in military uniforms ﺗﻤﻬﻴﺪا ﻻﻗﺘﻴﺎده إﻟﻰ … اﻟﻀﺨﻤﺔ. اﻟﺤﺼﺎر اﻟﻜﻼب اﻟﺒﻮﻟﻴﺴﻴﺔ
whose features were as arid as those of ))ﻫﻨﺎك
the desert. In this siege, they were
accompanied by menacing police dogs
leading the way to take him “there”.
They covered his eyes with a … وﺿﻌﻮا ﻋﻠﻰ ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪ ﻣﻨﺪﻳﻼ ً اﺣﻜﻤﻮه ﺟﻴﺪا ﻟﻜﻲ ﻻ ﻳﺮى
وﻗُﻴ ّﺪ
handkerchief –they tied it so tight that ﺼﻖ ﺷﺮﻳﻂ ﻋﺮﻳﺾ ﻓﻮق ﻓﻤﻪ … وﻣﻀﻮا ِ ﻣﻌﺼﻤﺎه … وا ُﻟ
he couldn’t see anything. His wrists ﻟﻰ )ﻫﻨﺎك.) ﺑﻪ إ
were shackled, and his mouth was
covered with a wide piece of tape – and
then they took him “there”.
And “there” one of them removed the … و)ﻫﻨﺎك(ﻗﺎم أﺣﺪﻫﻢ ﺑﻨﺰع اﻟﻘﻴﻮد اﻟﺘﻲ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﻮاﺳﻪ
restraints which had covered his senses. … ﻓﺘﺢ ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪ ﻟﻴﺠﺪ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ ﻓﺎﺧﺮ ﻳﺸﻐﻠﻪ ﺿﺎﺑﻂ
He opened his eyes to find himself in a … ﺗﺘﺸﺎﺟﺮ اﻟﺸﺮاﺋﻂ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻛﺘﻔﻪ ﻟﺘﺠﺪ ﻣﻜﺎﻧﺎ ﻛﺎﻓﻴﺎ ﻟﻬﺎ
luxurious office occupied by an officer وﻫﻨﺎﻟﻚ ﻣﻦ ﻫﻮ ﻣﺜﻠﻪ اﻧﺘﺰﻋﺖ ﻗﻴﻮده ﻗﺒﻞ … ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ ﺑﺪﻗﺎﺋﻖ
whose stripes were fighting to find a 190 | 189 ← → ﻓﻘﻂ
place for themselves on his shoulder.
And “there” was someone else like him
whose restraints had been removed just
minutes before our friend’s.
One of them dipped our friend’s thumb ﻗﺎم أﺣﺪﻫﻢ ﺑﻄﻠﻲ إﺑﻬﺎﻣﻪ ﺑﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﻗﺎﺗﻢ ﻟﺰج ﺛﻢ ﻧﺰع ﻳﺪه
ً وأﻟﺼﻘﻬﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ ورﻗﺔ ﺑﻴﻀﺎء وأﺧﺬ ﻳﻀﻐﻂ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ وﻳﺤﺮﻛﻬﺎ ﻳﻤﻴﻨﺎ
in a dark sticky liquid, then took out his
ﺣﺼﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮرة ﻛﺎﻣﻠﺔ ﻟﺒﺼﻤﺘﻪ … وﻳﺴﺎرا ً ﺣﺘﻰ
hand and stuck it on a blank piece of
paper. He started pressing on it moving
it to the right and left until he got a
complete image of his fingerprint.
Meanwhile, the officer with a multitude ﻳﻄﺎﺑﻖ … ﻓﻲ ﻫﺬه اﻷﺛﻨﺎء ﻛﺎن اﻟﻀﺎﺑﻂ ذو اﻟﺸﺮاﺋﻂ اﻟﻜﺜﻴﺮة
of stripes was comparing the fingerprint ﺑﺼﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﻮاﻃﻦ اﻟﺬي ﺳﺒﻖ ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ إﻟﻰ )ﻫﻨﺎك( ﻣﻊ ﺑﺼﻤﺔ
of the citizen, who had preceded our … ﻛﺒﻴﺮة ﺗﺤﺘ ّﻞ وﺣﺪﻫﺎ
ﺻﻔﺤﺔ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻮرق اﻟﻤﻘﻮّى وﻗﺪ ﻛ ُﺒ ّﺮت
friend “there”, to a huge fingerprint ﺻﺎح اﻟﻀﺎﺑﻂ … ﺣﺘﻰ أﺿﺤﺖ واﺿﺤﺔ ﺗﻤﺎﻣﺎ ﺑﻜﻞ ﺗﻀﺎرﻳﺴﻬﺎ
that, by itself, took up an entire piece of » اﻧﻪ ﻫﻮ اﻟﻤﺘﻤﺮد. …ﻌﺴﺎﻛﺮ ﻣﺸﻴﺮا إﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﻮاﻃﻦ
… ﺑﺄﺣﺪ اﻟ
cardboard. It had been magnified until » … ﺧﺬوه
all of its features had been rendered
completely clear. The officer shouted at
one of the enlisted men, pointing to the
citizen “It’s him, it’s the insubordinate,
take him away”.
Then, the officer turned to our friend ﺛﻢ اﻟﺘﻔﺖ إﻟﻰ ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ …وﺳﺤﺐ رﺳﻢ ﺑﺼﻤﺘﻪ اﻟﺬي ﻛﺎن ﻗﺪ
and pulled up the depiction of his » ﻧﻔﺲ اﻟﺒﺼﻤﺔ اﻟُﻤﻜﺒ ّﺮة … وﻋﺎد ﻳﻘﻮل: ﺟﻒ … وﻃﺎﺑﻘﻪ ﻣﻊ
fingerprint which had dried and » … إﻧﻪ ﻫﻮ … اﻟﻤﺘﻤﺮد … ﺧﺬوه
compared it to the magnified
fingerprint. Once again, he stated: “It’s
him, it’s the insubordinate, take him
away”.
Suddenly, the soldier rushed headlong ﻛﻤﺎ ﻟﻮ أن ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ… ً ﻀﺎ
ّ وإذا ﺑﺎﻟﻌﺴﻜﺮي ﻳﻨﺪﻓﻊ إﻟﻴﻪ ﻣﻨﻘ
upon him as if our friend had just …ﻟﺪﻫﺸﺔ واﻟﺤﻴﺮة ﻓﻲ آن واﺣﺪﺳﺒﻖ وﺻﻔﻌﻪ … اﻧﺘﺎﺑﺘﻪ ا
slapped him. Our friend’s feelings were ﻣﻌﺎ
Exercise 1
ST:
ﻳﺒﺘﻠﻌﻪ اﻟﻤﺴﺎء …ﻓﻴﻮﻏﻞ ﻓﻲ أﺣﺸﺎء اﻟﺼﻤﺖ …وﻣﻦ ذا اﻟﺬي ﻳﺴﺘﻄﻴﻊ ﻓﺮارا ً إذا ﻋﺴﻌﺲ اﻷﻟﻢ
ﻳﺘﻤﺰق … …ﻮﻏﻠﺖ اﻷﺣﺰان ﻓﻲ ﺣﻨﺎﻳﺎ اﻟﻔﺆاد … ﻳﺘﺂﻛﻞ ﻗﻠﺒﻪ … ﺗﺘﺴﺎﻗﻂ أﺷﻼؤه
داﺧﻞ اﻟﻨﻔﺲ وﺗ
…ﻮﺗﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﺪود اﻟﺰﻣﺎن وﻻ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺠﻴﺐﺻ
TT:
The night swallows him so he delves ever deeper into the heart of silence.
Who can, then, escape if the pain is densely settled inside the self and sadness
penetrates the depths of the heart? … His heart erodes; his limbs fall off; his
voice gets torn away at the boundaries of time, yet no response comes.
Annotation:
i. Here, attention is paid to verb tenses and aspects. In the source text, a series
of verbs in the simple present form is used, expressed by ﺗﻮﻏّﻞ, ﻳﺘﺂﻛﻞ, ﺗﺘﺴﺎﻗﻂ
ﻳﺒﺘﻠﻊ, ﻳﻮﻏﻞ, and ﻳﺘﻤّﺰق. Although they are in the present form, the emphasis is
on the completion of the described actions in a specific period of time in the
past. However, in such a literary genre “where the world is created
autonomously through imaginative texts sharing certain characteristics, such
as containing features of expression, ← 191 | 192 → and having to a certain
degree a weak relationship with the real world”, the simple present tense is
frequently used (Almanna 2016: 43).
ii. An attempt is made here to resist the temptation of opting for an unmarked
collocation, viz. wall of silence or a vow of silence, and so on in the
translation of the marked collocation in (ﺣﺸﺎء اﻟﺼﻤﺖthe أ intestines of silence).
Actually, translating between two different languages and cultures requires
the translator to give full consideration to “invariance in the markedness of
collocates, rather than replacing abnormal usage in an original with normal
usage in translation” (Trotter 2000: 351).
iii. Here, there is an example of parallelism in
… ﻳﺘﺂﻛﻞ ﻗﻠﺒﻪ
… ﺗﺘﺴﺎﻗﻂ أﺷﻼؤه
… ﻳﺘﻤّﺰق ﺻﻮﺗﻪ
iv. Further, undivided attention is paid to the formal structure in ﻣﻦ ذا اﻟﺬيwhich
و
is supported by an archaic lexical item ﻋﺴﻌﺲthat has a religious connotation.
Here, the writer resorts to building an intertextual relation with a Quranic
verse, namely verse 17 from ( ﺳﻮرة اﻟﺘﻜﻮﻳﺮSūrāt Al-Takwīr):
Exercise 2
ST:
ﻣﺘﻔﺮﺟﻴﻦ. ﺑﻴﻨﻤﺎ ﻳﺘﺠﻤﺪ اﻟﻘﻮم … ﺗﻘﻮم ﺟﺎﻫﻠﻴﺔ اﻟﻘﺮن اﻟﺤﺎدي واﻟﻌﺸﺮﻳﻦ ﺑﻮأد ﻣﺸﺎﻋﺮه وﻛﺮاﻣﺘﻪ
ﻋﻠﻰ ﻃﻘﻮس ﺻﻠﺐ ﺑﻘﺎﻳﺎ إﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺘﻪ
أﺑﻌﺪ ﻫﺬا اﻟﻤﻮت ﻣﻮت آﺧﺮ؟
TT:
The ignorance of the twenty-first century is burying alive his feelings and
dignity while people stand frozen, observing the rituals that crucify the
remains of his humanity.
Is there another death after this?
Annotation:
Exercise 3
ST:
… ﻋﺮي أوﺟﺎﻋﻪ. أﻳﻦ اﻟﻤﻼذ؟؟ ﻳﺮﻳﺪ أن ﻳﻔﺘﺢ ﺟﻨﺎﺣﻴﻪ وﻳﻬﺮب ﻣﻦ ﻇﻤﺌﻪ …وﻣﻦ ﺣﺪود ﻣﺸﺎﻋﺮه …ﻣﻦ
ﻳﺮﻳﺪ أن ﻳﺤﻠﻖ ﺣﻴﺚ ﻻ أﺣﺪ … ﻻ أﺣﺪ أﺑﺪا
TT:
Where is the refuge? He wants to spread his wings and escape from his thirst,
from the boundaries of his feelings, from the rawness of his pains. He wants
to soar where nobody is, nobody at all.
Annotation:
i. Special attention is paid to the parallel structures in ﻣﻦ ﻇﻤﺌﻪ, ﻣﻦ ﺣﺪود ﻣﺸﺎﻋﺮه
and ﻦ ﻋ ﺮ ي أ و ﺟ ﺎ ﻋ ﻪ. ﻣSuch parallelism lends itself to from his thirst, from the
boundaries of his feelings, from the rawness of his pains. ← 194 | 195 →
ii. In the original text, the lexical item ( أرادto want) is repeated in spite of the
variety of verbs available, hence the importance of reflecting such a
characteristic in the target text.
iii. In the original text, a circumstantial element of location in space in the form
of an adverbial clause ﺣﻴﺚ ﻻ أﺣﺪis used. It refers to an assumed location that
invokes different memories and/or imaginations in the mind of the reader.
To reflect such an invitation achieved by the adverbial clause, something
like where nobody is may be used.
Exercise 4
ST:
… ووﺳﻂ ﻛﻞ ﺗﻠﻚ اﻟﺒﻌﺜﺮة اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻨﺘﺎﺑﻪ … ﻟﻢ ﻳﺸﻌﺮ ﺑﻨﻔﺴﻪ إﻻ وﻗﻀﻴﺐ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻨﺎر اﻟﻤﻠﺘﻬﺒﺔ ﻳﻨﺪﻓﻊ
ﻻ:ﻓﺈذا ﺑﻪ ﻳﻔﺘﺢ ﻓﺎه ﺣﺪ اﻟﺘﻤﺰق وﻳﺼﺮخ ﻣﻞء ﺻﻮﺗﻪ ﻣﺘﻘﻴ ّﺎ ً ﺑﻜﻠﻤﺔ واﺣﺪة … ﻣﻦ ﺟﻮﻓﻪ
TT:
In the midst of the disorder that had come over him, he had not felt himself
until a red-hot fire burst forth out of his belly. All of a sudden, he opened his
mouth so wide that it got torn, shouting at the top of his mouth, vomiting one
word: “NO”.
Annotation:
i. Full consideration is given here to verb aspects. In the original text, perfect
aspects, expressed by ﺗﻨﺘﺎﺑﻪand ﻟ ﻢ ﻳ ﺸ ﻌ ﺮ, are used. To begin with ﺗﻨﺘﺎب,
although it is used in the present, the emphasis is placed on (1) the
continuity of the described state of affairs in a specific period of time in the
past as there is an implicit ( ﻛﺎنwas/were), and (2) the duration of the
described state of affairs. To reflect this, the past perfect continuous tense,
that is, had been + verb + ing may be used. Or alternatively, the phrasal verb
to come over, which is iterative in this context, can be employed here to
emphasize the repetition of the described action or state of affairs. The
emphasis in ﻟﻢ ﻳﺸﻌﺮis put on the duration of the described state of affairs
that began in the past and ← 195 | 196 → is seen relevant to another act,
that is, a red-hot fire burst forth out of his belly. As such, it lends itself to
being rendered by a past perfect tense, that is, he hadn’t felt …, in place of a
simple past tense, that is, he did not feel ….
Exercise 5
ST:
… وﻣﺎ ﻛﺎد ﻳﻐﻠﻖ ﻓﻤﻪ وﻳﺒﺘﻠﻊ اﻟﻔﻀﺎء ﺻﻮﺗﻪ …ﺣﺘﻰ وﺟﺪ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻣﺤﺎﻃﺎ ً ﺑﺂﻻف اﻟﻤﺴﻠﺤﻴﻦ
ﺑﺒﺪﻻﺗﻬﻢ اﻟﻌﺴﻜﺮﻳﺔ وﻣﻼﻣﺤﻬﻢ اﻟﺠﺎﻓﺔ ﺟﻔﺎف اﻟﺼﺤﺎرى … ﺗﺮاﻓﻘﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ ﻫﺬا اﻟﺤﺼﺎر اﻟﻜﻼب
اﻟﺒﻮﻟﻴﺴﻴﺔ اﻟﻀﺨﻤﺔ … ﺗﻤﻬﻴﺪا ﻻﻗﺘﻴﺎده إﻟﻰ )ﻫﻨﺎك.)
TT:
No sooner had he closed his mouth and the void swallowed his voice than he
found himself surrounded by thousands of armed personnel in military
uniforms whose features were as arid as those of the desert. In this siege, they
were accompanied by menacing police dogs leading the way to take him
“there”.
Annotation:
i. In the original text, the author uses a correlative conjunction, i.e., … ﻣﺎ ﻛﺎد
…ﺣﺘﻰto lay emphasis on finding himself surrounded by thousands of armed
personnel in military uniforms. This suggests that there is no time span
between the two acts or events. Such a correlative conjunction can be
translated into no sooner … than …, hardly … when …, scarcely … when
…, rarely … when …, and so forth. Further, extra attention needs to be paid
to tenses and aspects used. The act of closing his mouth occurred shortly
before the act of being surrounded by thousands of armed personnel in
military uniforms, thus lending themselves to a past perfect tense had closed
and a simple past tense found respectively.
ii. Here, it is worth noting that the simile in the above example is an
emphasizing simile tashbīh mū’akkad which is presented without a
comparison marker (i.e., the article used to draw a comparison between the
topic and vehicle). In English, however, apart from the “compressed simile”
(i.e., a simile in which the information is condensed into a two-word ← 196
| 197 → lexeme, such as U-shaped movement), the simile should have a
comparison marker, such as like, as, etc. Taking into account the target
language’s stylistic preferences when dealing with the simile in the original
text (ﻼﻣﺤﻬﻢ اﻟﺠﺎﻓﺔ ﺟﻔﺎف اﻟﺼﺤﺎرىlit.
ﻣ their dry features [are like] the dryness of
the desert), a professional translator can opt for a translation like this: whose
features were as arid as those of the desert or any idiomatic expression that
would reflect the same mental image on the one hand, and would be
stylistically accepted by the target language readers on the other.
iii. Further, the word ( ـﺔ(ﺟﺎفlends itself to arid as it collocates well with the
word features on the one hand, and it is a stronger, more expressive word,
literally and figuratively, than the word dry on the other.
Exercise 6
ST:
TT:
They covered his eyes with a handkerchief – they tied it so tight that he
couldn’t see anything. His wrists were shackled, and his mouth was covered
with a wide piece of tape – they took him “there”.
Annotation:
Exercise 7
ST:
ﻓﺘﺢ ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪ ﻟﻴﺠﺪ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ … و)ﻫﻨﺎك(ﻗﺎم أﺣﺪﻫﻢ ﺑﻨﺰع اﻟﻘﻴﻮد اﻟﺘﻲ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﻮاﺳﻪ
ﻣﻦ ﻫﻮ. ﺗﺘﺸﺎﺟﺮ اﻟﺸﺮاﺋﻂ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻛﺘﻔﻪ ﻟﺘﺠﺪ ﻣﻜﺎﻧﺎ ﻛﺎﻓﻴﺎ ﻟﻬﺎ …وﻫﻨﺎﻟﻚ … ﻓﺎﺧﺮ ﻳﺸﻐﻠﻪ ﺿﺎﺑﻂ
ﻣﺜﻠﻪ اﻧﺘﺰﻋﺖ ﻗﻴﻮده ﻗﺒﻞ ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ ﺑﺪﻗﺎﺋﻖ ﻓﻘﻂ
TT:
And “there” one of them removed the restraints which had covered his
senses. He opened his eyes to find himself in a luxurious office occupied by an
officer whose stripes were fighting to find a place for themselves on his
shoulder. And “there” was someone else like him whose restraints had been
removed just minutes before our friend’s.
Annotation:
i. Here, the original writer, in an attempt to express the mental image that she
has of the world around her, decides to opt for certain processes and
participants, and has determined in advance which participant will act and
which one will be acted on. As can be noticed, a number of processes are
• used, as in: a material process ( و)ﻫﻨﺎك( ﻗﺎم أﺣﺪﻫﻢ ﺑﻨﺰع اﻟﻘﻴﻮدand “there” one of
them removed the restraints): the actor is unknown, ﻗﺎم ﺑﻨﺰع, which simply
means ( ﻧﺰعlit. to take off), is the process of doing, اﻟﻘﻴﻮدis the goal of the
process, and (وﻫﻨﺎكand “there”) is an adverb of place.
• a material process ( ﻓﺘﺢ ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪhe opened his eyes): the implicit pronoun ﻫﻮ
(he) is the actor of the process, ( ﻓﺘﺢto open) is the process of doing, and
( ﻋﻴﻨﻴﻪhis eyes) is the goal of the process. ← 198 | 199 →
• a material process ( وﺟﺪ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ ﻓﺎﺧﺮhe found himself in a luxurious
office): the implicit pronoun ( ﻫﻮhe) is the actor of the process, ( وﺟﺪto
find) is the process of doing, and ( ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ ﻓﺎﺧﺮin a a luxurious office) is
an adverb of place. However, this material process functions as an
existential process to indicate that in no time he was in a luxurious
office.
• a material process ( ﺗﺘﺸﺎﺟﺮ اﻟﺸﺮاﺋﻂ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻛﺘﻔﻪlit. the stripes are fighting on
his shoulder): ( اﻟﺸﺮاﺋﻂthe stripes) is the actor of the process, ( ﺗﺘﺸﺎﺟﺮto
fight) is the process of doing, and the implicit expression ﺑﻌﻀﻬﺎ اﻟﺒﻌﺾ
(each other) is the goal of the process. It is used metaphorically to mean
there are a lot of stripes on his shoulders. So, it functions as an
existential process: an existent ( اﻟﺸﺮاﺋﻂthe stripes), a process of existing
( ﺗﻮﺟﺪthere are), and an adverb of place ( ﻋﻠﻰ ﻛﺘﻔﻪon his shoulder).
• a material process … ( وﻫﻨﺎﻟﻚ ﻣﻦ ﻫﻮ ﻣﺜﻠﻪ اﻧﺘﺰﻋﺖ ﻗﻴﻮده ﻗﺒﻞ ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ ﺑﺪﻗﺎﺋﻖ ﻓﻘﻂand
there was someone else like him whose restraints had been removed just
minutes before our friend’s): the actor is unknown referring to anybody,
thus evoking different memories and imaginations in the mind of the
reader, اﻧﺘﺰعderived from the verb ( ﻧﺰعlit. to take off) is the process of
doing, ( اﻟﻘﻴﻮدthe restraints) is the goal of the process, (وﻫﻨﺎكand there) is
an adverb of place, and ( ﻗﺒﻞ … ﺑﺪﻗﺎﺋﻖ ﻓﻘﻂjust minutes before …) is an
adverb of time.
ii. Further, through the nexus of translation, extra attention is paid to verb
tenses. The relative clause … ﻲ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﻮاﺳﻪindicates
اﻟﺘ that first the restraints
had covered his senses, and then one of them removed the restraints.
Similarly, … اﻧﺘﺰﻋﺖ ﻗﻴﻮدهindicates that first the restraints of someone else had
been removed, and then the restraints of the main character were removed.
iii. Here ﻟﻴﺠﺪ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﻓﻲ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ ﻓﺎﺧﺮ ﻳﺸﻐﻠﻪ ﺿﺎﺑﻂ, which is in the active form, lends
itself to passive to find himself in a luxurious office occupied by an officer.
The main reason behind this is to make the text read smoothly and cogently.
This is an example of a structure shift, to borrow Catford’s (1965) term.
Structure shift occurs when there is a grammatical change between the
structure of the source text and that of the target text. ← 199 | 200 →
Exercise 8
ST:
… ﻗﺎم أﺣﺪﻫﻢ ﺑﻄﻠﻲ إﺑﻬﺎﻣﻪ ﺑﺴﺎﺋﻞ ﻗﺎﺗﻢ ﻟﺰج ﺛﻢ ﻧﺰع ﻳﺪه وأﻟﺼﻘﻬﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ ورﻗﺔ ﺑﻴﻀﺎء وأﺧﺬ
ﻳﻀﻐﻂ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ وﻳﺤﺮﻛﻬﺎ ﻳﻤﻴﻨﺎ ً وﻳﺴﺎرا ً ﺣﺘﻰ ﺣﺼﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮرة ﻛﺎﻣﻠﺔ ﻟﺒﺼﻤﺘﻪ
TT:
One of them dipped our friend’s thumb in a dark sticky liquid, then took out
his hand and stuck it on a blank piece of paper. He started pressing on it
moving it to the right and left until he got a complete image of his fingerprint.
Annotation:
Exercise 9
ST:
ﻓﻲ ﻫﺬه اﻷﺛﻨﺎء ﻛﺎن اﻟﻀﺎﺑﻂ ذو اﻟﺸﺮاﺋﻂ اﻟﻜﺜﻴﺮة … ﻳﻄﺎﺑﻖ ﺑﺼﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﻮاﻃﻦ اﻟﺬي ﺳﺒﻖ ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ إﻟﻰ
…ﺔ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻮرق اﻟﻤﻘﻮّى وﻗﺪ ﻛ ُﺒ ّﺮت ﺣﺘﻰ أﺿﺤﺖ واﺿﺤﺔ
ﻣﻊ ﺑﺼﻤﺔ ﻛﺒﻴﺮة ﺗﺤﺘ ّﻞ وﺣﺪﻫﺎﺻﻔﺤ ()ﻫﻨﺎك
… » اﻧﻪ ﻫﻮ. ﺗﻤﺎﻣﺎ ﺑﻜﻞ ﺗﻀﺎرﻳﺴﻬﺎ …ﺻﺎح اﻟﻀﺎﺑﻂ ﺑﺄﺣﺪ اﻟﻌﺴﺎﻛﺮ ﻣﺸﻴﺮا إﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﻮاﻃﻦ
201 | 200 ← … « → اﻟﻤﺘﻤﺮد … ﺧﺬوه
TT:
Annotation:
Exercise 10
ST:
» … …ﺳﺤﺐ رﺳﻢ ﺑﺼﻤﺘﻪ اﻟﺬي ﻛﺎن ﻗﺪ ﺟﻒ … وﻃﺎﺑﻘﻪ ﻣﻊ ﻧﻔﺲ ﺛﻢ اﻟﺘﻔﺖ إﻟﻰ ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ و
202 | 201 ← » إﻧﻪ ﻫﻮ … اﻟﻤﺘﻤﺮد … ﺧﺬوه:→ اﻟﺒﺼﻤﺔ اﻟُﻤﻜﺒ ّﺮة … وﻋﺎد ﻳﻘﻮل
TT:
Then, the officer turned to our friend and pulled up the depiction of his
fingerprint which had dried and compared it to the magnified fingerprint.
Once again, he stated: “It’s him, it’s the insubordinate, take him away”.
Annotation:
i. In the original text, there are four processes, namely process of doing ا ِﻟﺘﻔﺖ إﻟﻰ
ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻨﺎ, process of doing ﻒ ّ ﺳﺤﺐ رﺳﻢ ﺑﺼﻤﺘﻪ اﻟﺬي ﻛﺎن ﻗﺪ ﺟ , process of doing ﻃﺎﺑﻘﻪ
ﻣﻊ ﻧﻔﺲ اﻟﺼﻮرة اﻟﻤﻜﺒ ّﺮةand process of saying وﻋﺎد ﻳﻘﻮل. It is worth noting that the
second and third processes are conjoined by the additive connector ( وand),
thus indicating that there is no time span between the two processes ﺳﺤﺐ رﺳﻢ
( ﺑﺼﻤﺘﻪ … وﻃﺎﺑﻘﻪhe pulled up the depiction of his fingerprint … and
compared it). As such, an attempt is made here to avoid translating it into
something like to or in order to. Resorting to connectors, such as to or in
order to, for instance, will safeguard acceptability, readability and
naturalness. However, it will create a time gap that slows down the the
psychological speed of events.
ii. Further, the emphasis in the original relative clause ﻒ ّ ﻟﺬي ﻛﺎن ﻗﺪ ﺟis
اplaced on
the duration of the action that began in the past and is seen as relevant to the
act of pulling up the depiction of his fingerprint. It therefore lends itself to a
past perfect tense had dried. The change in aspect from perfect aspect to
simple aspect will definitely produce a change in time reference, thereby
affecting the pragmatic communicative effect.
Exercise 11
ST:
TT:
Suddenly, the soldier rushed headlong into him as if our friend had just
slapped him. Our friend’s feelings were a mixture of amazement and
confusion all at once. ← 202 | 203 →
Annotation:
i. Here, although the verb ( ﻳﻨﺪﻓﻊto rush) is used in the present, the emphasis
is on the completion of the described act, thus lending itself to a simple past
tense rushed. This is an example of “intra-system shift” to use Catford’s
(1965) terminology. Intra-system shifts occur when a noncorresponding
term, expression or structure in the target language is opted for. To round it
off, intra-system shifts occur when the formal equivalent, that is, a term,
expression or structure that formally corresponds to that of the original text
is ignored (p. 80).
ii. Further, the author, in an attempt to create a clear mental image in the mind
of her readers regarding the soldier’s way of rushing to him, opts to use the
adverb of manner ً ﻀﺎ
ّ ﻣﻨﻘ. To reflect the same mental image conjured up in the
mind of the source-language reader, a professional translator may well use
headlong upon/at/down/into as they collocate well with the verb to rush.
Alternatively, the following could be used: He suddenly bore down on him
… as to bear down on someone means to move towards them quickly and
threateningly.
iii. In the source text, two semantically related words, viz. دﻫﺸﺔand ﺣﻴﺮة, are
used. To render such semantically related words, the translators may opt for
merging the two words used in the source text into one word in the target
text. Or, they may resort to changing the part of speech of one of the words
used in the source text. Alternatively, they may well maintain them, in
particular when there is a slight difference between their meanings. As there
is a semantic difference between the two words ( دﻫﺸﺔreferring to the state
of being surprised) and ( ﺣﻴﺮةreferring to the state of not being able to think
clearly or to know what to do), an attempt has been made to maintain the
distinction between them in the target text.
Exercise 12
ST:
TT:
He said to the officer with forced politeness: “Pardon me sir. Isn’t that the
same fingerprint that matched the citizen who went in front of me?”
Annotation:
i. The emphasis in the process of saying ﻗﺎل ﻟﻠﻀﺎﺑﻂ ﺑﺘﺄدب ﻣﻔﺘﻌﻞis placed on the
completion of the act of saying, thus lending itself to a simple past tense,
that is, he said….
ii. Here, the original writer, in an attempt to indicate the main character’s way
of speaking with the officer in her written mode of discourse, resorts to the
use of an adverb of manner, that is, ﺑﺘﺄدب ﻣﻔﺘﻌﻞ. To reflect this mode of
discourse that indicates the main character’s way of speaking with the
officer on the one hand, and produce an accurate mental image in the mind
of the target reader on the other, the translators may well resort to
expressions, such as with forced politeness.
Exercise 13
ST:
ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺄﻛﻴﺪ . ﻧﻌﻢ … وﻣﺎذا ﻓﻲ ذﻟﻚ:أﺟﺎب اﻟﻀﺎﺑﻂ وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﺗﺪي اﺑﺘﺴﺎﻣﺔ ﺗﺠﻤﻊ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺘﻌﺎﻟﻲ واﻟﺴﺨﺮﻳﺔ
… ﺗﻄﺎﺑﻘﺖ ﻣﻊ ﺑﺼﻤﺘﻪ … ﻓﻬﻮ اﻵﺧﺮ ﻣﺘﻤﺮد
TT:
The officer answered, wearing a smile with a trace of both arrogance and
sarcasm: “Yes, what about it? It exactly matched his fingerprint, as he too is
insubordinate”.
Annotation:
i. The emphasis in the source text is placed on the completion of the actions,
namely (أﺟﺎبto answer or to reply) and ( ﺗﻄﺎﺑﻘﺖto match). To reflect the
emphasis, a simple past tense may be used. ← 204 | 205 →
ii. In discussing the semantic roles of the arguments in the above example, the
source text can be divided into three main parts:
… ﻧﻌﻢ … وﻣﺎذا ﻓﻲ ذﻟﻚ:• أﺟﺎب اﻟﻀﺎﺑﻂ وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﺗﺪي اﺑﺘﺴﺎﻣﺔ ﺗﺠﻤﻊ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺘﻌﺎﻟﻲ واﻟﺴﺨﺮﻳﺔ
…ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺄﻛﻴﺪ ﺗﻄﺎﺑﻘﺖ ﻣﻊ ﺑﺼﻤﺘﻪ •
.ﻓﻬﻮ اﻵﺧﺮ ﻣﺘﻤﺮد •
To begin with the first part, there are four arguments, namely ( اﻟﻀﺎﺑﻂthe officer)
filling the role of actor, the clause ( وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﺗﺪي اﺑﺘﺴﺎﻣﺔ ﺗﺠﻤﻊ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺘﻌﺎﻟﻲ واﻟﺴﺨﺮﻳﺔwhile he
was wearing a smile with a trace of both arrogance and sarcasm) filling the role
of manner, and two themes ( ﻧﻌﻢyes) and ( و ﻣ ﺎ ذ ا ﻓ ﻲ ذ ﻟ ﻚand what about that).
Further, the clause of manner ( وﻫﻮ ﻳﺮﺗﺪي اﺑﺘﺴﺎﻣﺔ ﺗﺠﻤﻊ ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﺘﻌﺎﻟﻲ واﻟﺴﺨﺮﻳﺔwhile he was
wearing a smile with a trace of both arrogance and sarcasm) can be further
broken down into two main arguments (i.e., ( ﻫﻮhe) filling the role of actor and
( اﺑﺘﺴﺎﻣﺔa smile) filling the role of theme) that have an underlying relation with
the verb ( ﻳﺮﺗﺪيto wear).
As for the second part ﺑ ﺎ ﻟ ﺘ ﺄ ﻛ ﻴ ﺪ ﺗ ﻄ ﺎ ﺑ ﻘ ﺖ ﻣ ﻊ ﺑ ﺼ ﻤ ﺘ ﻪ (Surely, it matched his
fingerprint), there are two referents, viz. ( ﺑﺼﻤﺘﻚyour fingerprint) expressed by
the letter تattached to the verb ( ﺗﻄﺎﺑﻖto match) filling the role of actor and
( ﺑﺼﻤﺘﻪhis fingerprint) filling the role of theme.
In the third part ( ﻫﻮ اﻵﺧﺮ ﻣﺘﻤﺮدhe too is insubordinate), there are three referring
expressions, viz. ( ﻫﻮhe), ( اﻵﺧﺮthe other), and ( ﻣﺘﻤﺮدinsubordinate), which refer to
the same referent. It is a nominal sentence that lacks the copula verb be. As such,
the argument ( ﻫﻮhe) fills the role of theme and ( ﻣﺘﻤﺮدinsubordinate) fills the role
of associate or predicate as it tells the status of the first argument.
Full consideration has been given here to the verbs used along with their
arguments to produce an accurate mental image.
iii. The denotative meaning of the verb ( ﻳﺮﺗﺪيto wear) is narrower and more
specific than its counterpart in the target text as the verb to wear in English
collocates well with a number of nouns, as in to wear shoes, to wear one’s
hair up, to wear one’s beard, to wear perfume, to wear a smile, etc. As
such, translating the verb ﻳﺮﺗﺪيinto to wear is an example of generalizing
translation. ← 205 | 206 →
iv. Attention is paid to the particle ﻓــin Arabic as a wide range of functions
can be performed by it. It can be used (1) to show immediate succession, (2)
to connect two clauses having a cause-effect relationship, (3) to demarcate
the sentence borders, (4) in a conditional clause in certain cases, and (5)
with some articles, such as ... ﻓ ـ، ... … أﻣﺎ, ﻓ ـ، ... ﻰ ا ﻟ ﺮ ﻏ ﻢ ﻣ ﻦ,ﻋ ﻠand so forth.
Here, it is used to connect two clauses having a cause-effect relationship,
thus lending itself to connectors, such as so, as, and the like.
v. Translating the word ﻣﺘﻤّﺮدinto insubordinate is an example of modulation,
to use Vinay and Darbelnet’s (1958/1995: 89) term. According to them,
modulation refers to “a variation of the form of the message, obtained by
changing point of view”. Here, the addition of the prefix in- (meaning not)
changes the meaning of the word subordinate (referring to a person who is
of lower rank or position, that is, ُﻣﻨﺼﺎع/ ﺗﺎﺑﻊ/ )ﻣﺮؤوسto refer to a person who
does not want to be considered of lower rank or position, that is, ﻣﺘﻤّﺮد.
| 207 →
Bibliography
Index
Abelson, R. P. 27
ability 8, 21, 81, 82, 86, 91–92, 175, 179
accent 6
acoustic phonetics 4
actor 44, 46, 47, 113, 122–126, 130, 131, 132, 138, 149, 167, 198, 199, 201, 205
advisability 82, 88–89, 94
affected participant 124, 125, 126, 132
affecting participant 126, 127
affective meaning 153, 157, 158, 172
affix(ation) 40, 49–63
agent 122–128, 129, 130, 3132, 133, 134
alliteration 193
allusive meaning 153, 157, 158–159, 193
analytic causative(s) 40
anthropology 7
antonym(s) 19, 20, 99, 101, 103, 105–107, 115, 117
antonymy 19, 20, 99, 105, 106, 117
applied linguistics vii, viii, 9, 11
approach
cognitive 12, 85
general 11
generative 3
synchronic 6
traditional 3
transformational 3
argument(s) 54, 113, 122–132, 133, 134, 205
articulatory phonetics 4
aspect 43, 65–80, 131, 136, 138, 147, 163, 191, 193, 195, 196, 202
perfect 65, 66, 71–72, 195, 202
perfect progressive 65, 71, 72
progressive 65, 66, 69, 70, 72
simple 65, 66–69, 73, 163, 202
zero see simple aspect
aspectual phrasal verbs 136, 147–148
assertive verbs 174, 178
associate 124, 126, 128, 205
associative meaning 153, 157, 158
assonance 192
asyndeton 192
atelic 67, 68, 69, 71, 78, 201
atelicity see atelic
attitudinal meaning 153, 157
attribute 24, 25, 32
auditory phonetics 4
Austin, J. L. 173, 174
benefactive see benefactor
benefactor 124, 125, 126, 128, 129
bilingual 2, 10
bound morpheme(s) 37
Catford, J. C. 43, 59, 68, 71, 74, 160, 199, 203
causativity 35, 36, 40–43, 48, 49, 81
causer 124, 125, 128, 133, 134
chameleon prefix(es) 57–58, 61, 62
Chomsky, N. 3, 4
cognitive approach 12, 85
cognitive school 8
coherence 7
cohesion 7
collocation(al) 103, 113, 141, 142–144, 150, 152, 159, 160, 192, 197, 203, 205
collocative meaning 153, 157, 159–160 ← 215 | 216 →
commissive verb(s) 175
componential analysis vii, 12, 14–19, 31
compositionality 138, 147, 150
conditional speech-act verb(s) 179, 183
connotation vii, 154–162, 168, 169, 193
context(ual) 7, 17, 26, 27, 28, 68, 84, 101, 102, 103, 105, 114, 142, 154, 157,
160, 162, 165, 167, 172, 180, 181, 188, 195, 200
contrastive linguistics 9
conversation analysis 9
converse 19, 106
converseness 106
cooperative principle, the vii, 171, 172, 179–183, 184, 185
correlative conjunction 196
Crystal, D. 3, 172
Darbelnet, J. 107, 206
declarative verb(s) 175–176
decomposition(al) 14, 19
deep structure 3
deictic 137, 188, 197
denotation vii, 154–157, 165, 168
deontic modality 84
derivational morpheme(s) 37
diagnostic component 15, 16, 17, 18
diagnostic features see diagnostic component
dialect 4, 5, 6, 102, 112, 133, 154, 155, 161
direct speech act(s) 174, 178, 179
directive verb(s) 174–175
discourse analysis 6, 7, 9
distinctive component see diagnostic component
effect (as a semantic role) 124, 125, 128
epistemic modality 84, 86
ethnography of communication 6
expectation(s) 82, 84, 88–89
experiencer 113, 123–124, 126, 127
expressive verb(s) 176
feature analysis see componential analysis
field of discourse 7
Fillmore, C. 22, 23, 29, 30
Fiske, J. 162, 163
forensic linguistics 9
formal linguistics 2–6, 10
frame vii, 14, 22, 23, 24–26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
frame semantics 12, 22–24, 29, 30, 31, 32
free morpheme(s) 37
futurity 92–93, 95, 177
general approach 11
generative approach 3
goal (as a semantic role) 44, 45, 46, 47, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 133, 167, 198,
199
gradable antonym(s) 105–106, 117
grammar 2, 3, 4, 8, 22, 37–38, 43, 68, 71, 146
grammatical morpheme(s) 38
Grice, H. P. 180, 181, 182, 183
Halliday, M. A. K. 43, 44, 47, 84, 167
homonym(y) 61, 99, 197, 108, 110–111, 117
homonymous affixes 57
homophone(s) 111–112, 118
homophony 99, 106
hyperonymy 12, 99, 101
hyponym(y) 12, 16, 18, 19, 20, 31, 99, 101, 102, 103, 114, 115
idiolect 6
idiom(atic) 136, 140, 141, 145, 146, 147, 148, 150, 151, 152, 197
idiom principle, the vii, 135, 136, 139–141, 142, 150
idiomatic phrasal verb(s) 136, 148
illocutionary act(s) 173, 174
imitation hypothesis 8
impersonalization 193
implicature vii, 171, 172, 179, 181, 182 ← 216 | 217 →
incompatibility 16
indirect speech act(s) 174
infix(es) 49, 50, 61
inflectional morpheme(s) 37
innateness hypothesis 8
instrument(s) 50, 122, 124, 127, 133
interpretant 154, 165, 167
interpretive semiotics 162
intertextuality 158, 193, 194
intransitive (verb(s)) 42, 43, 61
intra-system shift 74, 160, 203
lack of ability see ability
lack of necessity see necessity
language variation 6
Leech, G. 178, 179
level shift 68, 71
lexeme 15, 25, 101, 107, 108, 197
lexical causative(s) 40
lexical decomposition see componential analysis
lexical morpheme(s) 37
lexical semantics 99–119
lexicography 9
lexicon 3
likelihood 90
linguist 2
linguistics 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 14
literal phrasal verb(s) 136, 147
location (as a semantic role) 123, 124, 127, 130, 131, 133
locutionary act 173
lost opportunities 83, 89, 95
maxim(s)
of manner 180, 181
of quality 180, 181, 182, 183
of quantity 180, 181
of relevance 180, 181
meaning
affective 153, 157, 158, 172
allusive 153, 157, 158–159, 193
associative 153, 157, 158
attitudinal 153, 157
collocative 153, 157, 159–160
reflected 153, 157, 160
stylistic 153, 161
meaning postulates see postulates
modal verb(s) 83, 84, 95, 96
modality 81–97
mode of discourse 7
morpheme(s) 5, 36, 37, 47, 48, 51, 138
bound 37
derivational 37
free 37
grammatical 38
inflectional 37
lexical 37
morphological causatives 40, 41
morphology vii, 3, 5, 10, 35, 36–39, 47, 48, 51, 138
Morris, C. 162
multilingual 2, 10, 63
naming theory 100, 117
necessity 82, 84, 85, 88, 87, 88
Newmark, P. 14, 15, 188
Nida, E. A. 15, 31
nongradable antonym(s) 20, 105, 106, 117
obligation 82, 84, 85, 87, 88
open choice principle, the vii, 135, 136–139, 142, 150
paradigmatic axis vii, 13, 154, 162, 163–167, 168
paradigmatic relation(s) see paradigmatic axis
parallel structure(s) see parallelism
parallelism 115, 188, 192, 194, 197
particularizing translation 18, 114, 115, 156
patient (as a semantic role) 121, 124, 125, 126, 133
Peirce, C. S. 154, 162, 167 ← 217 | 218 →
perfect aspect 65, 66, 71–72, 195, 202
perfect progressive aspect 65, 71, 72
perlocutionary act 173
permission 82, 84, 91
personalization 194
phone(s) 4
phonetics 4, 5, 10
phonology 3, 4, 5, 10, 52
phrasal verb(s) 3, 136, 146–149, 150
phraseological feature(s) 135, 136
phraseological tendency 135, 136
polite request 28, 93
polysemous affix(es) 56
polysemous phrasal verb(s) 148
polysemy 56, 61, 99, 107–109, 110, 117
positioner 131
possibility see likelihood
postulates, meaning vii, 12, 19–22, 31
pragmatics vii, 6, 7, 9, 10, 171–186
predicate 70, 71, 124, 126, 128, 205
preference 83, 93, 94, 95
prefix(ation) 37, 49, 50, 51, 52–53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 206
primitive 16
principle
cooperative, the vii, 171, 172, 179–183, 184, 185
idiom, the vii, 135, 136, 139–141, 142, 150
open choice, the vii, 135, 136–139, 142, 150
slot-and-filler, the 140
progressive aspect 65, 66, 69, 70, 72
prohibition 82, 87, 88
prototype 25, 29–30
psycholinguistics 8, 10
recipient 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 133
reference vii, 14, 75, 77, 100–102, 117, 131, 193, 194, 202
referent 17, 18, 19, 100, 122, 154, 160, 161, 165, 205
referring expression 100, 158, 159, 160, 161, 205
reflected meaning 153, 157, 160
register 7, 74, 103
relational antonym(s) 20, 105, 106
resultant 124, 125, 126, 128, 133
Saussure, F. de 3, 162, 163
Schank, R. C. 27
schema 7
script vii, 27–28
Searle, J. 174, 184
semantic case see semantic role
semantic domain see semantic field
semantic features 106, 114
semantic field vii, 11, 12–14, 15, 140
semantic role vii, 113, 121–134, 205
semiotics vii, 162–167, 168
sense vii, 14, 16, 21, 100–102, 107, 117, 142, 155, 174
shift 4, 43, 59, 60, 68, 71, 74, 133, 160, 199, 203
sign 5, 154, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168
signified 5, 165, 167
signifier 5, 154, 165, 167
simile 188, 196, 197
simple aspect 65, 66–69, 73, 163, 202
slot-and-filler principle, the 140
social interaction 6, 7, 174
sociolinguistics 6, 9, 10
source (as a semantic role) 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 133
speech acts 171, 172, 174, 175, 176, 179, 184, 185
stimulus 124, 126, 127, 133
structural linguistics 3
structural semiotics 162
structuralism 3
stylistic meaning 153, 161 ← 218 | 219 →
suffix(ation) 3, 38, 39, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53–55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 69,
106
supplementary component 15, 16, 18
supplementary feature see supplementary component
surface structure 3
synchronic approach 6
synonym(s) 12, 19, 20, 99, 101, 102–104, 115, 117, 142, 143
synonymy 12, 19, 20, 99, 102–104
syntactic structure 3, 36, 188
syntagmatic axis vii, 13, 154, 162, 163, 164, 168
syntagmatic relation(s) see syntagmatic axis
syntax vii, 3, 5, 10, 35, 36, 48, 52, 136, 138
telic 67, 70, 71, 78
telicity see telic
tenor of discourse 7
tense(s) 37, 42, 44, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 92,
129, 131, 137, 138, 167, 177, 191, 192, 193, 195, 196, 199, 200, 201, 202,
203, 204
terminological tendency 135, 136
thematic role see semantic role
theme 113, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 129, 130, 131, 132, 132, 205
theta role see semantic role
traditional approach 3
transformational approach 3
transitive (verb(s)) 41, 42, 43, 61, 129
transitivity 35, 36, 40, 41, 42, 43–47, 48
translating by a hyponym see particularizing translation
Trier, J. 12
unconditional speech-act verb(s) 179, 183
universal grammar 4
verb(s)
assertive 174, 178
commissive 175
conditional speech-act 179, 183
declarative 175–176
directive 174–175
expressive 176
intransitive 42, 43, 61
modal 83, 84, 95, 96
phrasal 3, 136, 146–149, 150
aspectual 136, 147–148
idiomatic 136, 148
literal 136, 147
polysemous 148
transitive 41, 42, 43, 61, 129
verbal processing 8, 9
Vinay, J. P. 107, 206
word field see semantic field
Yule, G. 5, 6, 180, 123, 174, 179
zero aspect see simple aspect
CONTEMPORARY STUDIES IN
DESCRIPTIVE LINGUISTICS
Edited by
This series provides an outlet for academic monographs which offer a recent and
original contribution to linguistics and which are within the descriptive tradition.
The topics of the monographs are scholarly and represent the cutting edge for
their particular fields, but are also accessible to researchers outside the specific
disciplines.
Vol. 12 Emmanuelle Labeau and Flo rence Myles (eds): The Adv anced
Learner V ariety: The Case of French.
298 pages, 2009.
ISBN 978-3-03911-072-8
Vol. 21 Kathy Pitt: Sourcing the Self: Debating the Relations between L
anguage and Consciousness.
220 pages, 2008.
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273 pages, 2009.
ISBN 978-3-03911-407-8
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Arabic:
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379 pages, 2011.
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Vol. 39 F orthcoming.