Lectures On Translation

FACULTY OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
UNIVERSITY OF TRIPOLI
FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
DISTANCE LEARNING SECTION
TRANSLATION-ONE
2012
LECTURE-1 TO 7
PREPARED BY:
AMNA M. BENZAYED
Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 1

1 ‫ ترجمــــة‬:‫المادة‬
:‫المحاضرة األولى‬
BY: AMNA BENZAID
DEFINITIONS OF TRANSLATION
Foster, L. (1958):
……the transference of the content of a text from one language into

another bearing in mind that we cannot dissociate the content from the
form
Robin, C. (1958):
A process by which a spoken or written utterance takes place in one
language which is intended and presumed to convey the same meaning as
a previously existing utterance in another language
Catford, I. (1965):
A process of substituting a text in one language for a text in another the
replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent material in
another
Nida, E & Taber, C. (1969):

Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest
natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of
meaning and second in terms of style
Bristin (1976):
…. The transfer of thoughts and ideas from a source language into a
target language

Vermeer (1986):
I have defined translation as information offered in a language (z) of
culture (Z) which imitates information in language (a) and culture (A) so
as to fulfil the desired function. That means that a translation is not the
transcoding of words or sentences from one language into another, but a
complex action in which someone provides information about a text
under new functional, cultural and linguistic conditions and in a new
situation, whereby formal characteristics are imitated as far as possible
Newmark (1988):
…. A craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or a
statement in one language by the same message in another language
Bassenett (1991):
What is generally understood as translation involves the rendering of a

source (SL) text into the target language (TL) so as to ensure that (1) the
surface meaning of the two will be approximately similar and (2) the
structures of the SL will be preserved as closely as possible but not that
the TL structure will be seriously distorted.

:‫المحاضرة الثانيـــة‬
BY: AMNA BENZAID
EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION
CULTURAL EQUIVALENCE AND LINGUISTIC EQUIVALENCE
INTRODUCTION:
Translation peers always encounter with different changes in equivalence within

different language levels range from physical forms into meanings. Catford (1988)
defined translation as the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by
equivalent textual material in other language (TL). Generally, almost all translation
scholars emphasize the role of equivalence in the process or product of translation
directly or indirectly. Therefore, it is in the center of the translation studies. It must
be said that some scholars do not seem to refer to role of equivalence directly,
however, if some one looks at their studies s/he will easily find out that equivalence
would shed light on his/her studies. As a consequence, the nature of equivalence and
its contribution and taxonomy will be defined in the following lines.
Equivalence, inevitably, is involved in any theory of translation which can be

understood by the comparison of various texts cross linguistically. Catford (1988)
considers different shifts within languages and contends that there are various shifts
when any of translation is carried out by translators. He, heavily, focused on the
different linguistic elements as crucial variables in equivalence definition and
equivalence finding. Accordingly, he divided the shifts across languages into level
and category shifts. Level shifts include studies like morphology , graphology……
etc. and category shifts consist of structural, class, unit and intra-system shifts.

There are other notions and assumptions described, explained and interpreted by
translators and translation scholars. The work of Nida and Taber, Vinay and
Darbenet, House and Baker are specifically dedicated to the equivalence, Baker
(1992) regarded some different equivalents in his effort toward the notion and
practice of translatics. She distinguished between grammatical, textual, pragmatic
equivalents, and several others. Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) regarded translation as
equivalence-oriented study. They said that equivalence is the ideal method in many
practical problems of translatics.
Nida and Taber (1964) focused on formal and dynamic equivalence; their flexible
binary oppositions were revised several times. House (1977) contended that
equivalence is either overt or covert; hence, she derived here theory of translation
based on this taxonomy.
Translation like many disciplines of science was scientifically developed in the

second half of the century, because of the fact that all theories of translation refer to
equivalence as the most crucial factor centrally or peripherally. Dealing with the
process of finding equivalence is the most significant issue existing among
translaticists. Although finding equivalence is subjective, this subjectivity must be
based on the taxonomies defined by translation scholars.
Studying of factors effecting in the process of selecting equivalence started under the
classifications of translation theoretician. Generally, all translators cope with finding
equivalence in order to convey the translation units better. During this study and
finding, any translation scholars contemplate about the possible factors which appear
to affect it. Some scholars define a borderline between the equivalence which is
related to form and the equivalence that is relevant to meaning, however, all of them
have something in common that is the approval of some problems which impede
finding equivalence. One of the most important theories of equivalence is the
Catford's theory. Catford (1988) defined his theory based on different levels of

equivalence. Afterwards, he explained the conditions in which all translators deal

with the equivalence finding. He divided factors affecting equivalence finding into
two different branches. The first one was the linguistic factors and the second one
was the cultural factors. These two variables impress the equivalence finding
process in various kind of translation.
To sum up, translation is defined by Catford (1988) as the replacement of textual

material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language
(TL). Accordingly, Catford like many translation scholars defined an equivalence
oriented theory. Later on, he went on details and described all kinds of possible
equivalents in his theory. He also said that during the process of selecting, finding
and creating equivalence, any translator should consider at least two factors, namely,
linguistic and cultural factors. He said linguistic factors are those factors which exist
at the levels of concrete form and abstract meaning of any chunk of language. In
addition, cultural factors are those factors that can not be seen at the level of form or
meaning of language, however, they exist among the background of mind of
speakers and writers of source language, Catford (1988) said that any translator have
to consider both cultural and linguistic elements and translate based on these two
factors. It seems he meant to covey both cultural and linguistic elements of source
language.
As it was mentioned before, there are many definitions on the notion of translation.
Almost all translation scholars in their theories somehow refer to the equivalence as
the most significant part or at least one of the most crucial parts of translation.
Accordingly, various equivalents were described by translators from different points
of view. Scholars found out that the process of finding, selecting creating
equivalence is not always as easy as it seems. In fact, there are many factors that
affect the process of finding and replacing equivalence. Catford (1988) not only
defined the translation and translation equivalence but also described the factors that

put influence on the process of finding equivalence. He contended that there are at
least two different variables that effect finding equivalence in translation. They are
linguistic and cultural variables.
In terms of details, it must be said that Catford (1988) defined translation as the
replacement of textual material of target language by equivalent textual material of
source language. Moreover, he described linguistic factors affecting equivalence as
those elements which exist at the level of concrete form or abstract meaning of any
chunk of language and defined cultural factors as those elements that exist among
the background of mind of speakers and writers and can not be seen at linguistic
levels.
THEORIES OF EQUIVALENCE:
Translation defined by many scholars from different notions of view. Some of

translation scholars defined their theories a source-oriented theory, others regarded
the target-oriented theories. There are also theorists who chose a place in between;
however, all translation theories are related to the notion of equivalence in one way
or another. Hence, equivalence plays a crucial role in translation. In fact, both source
and target languages include ranges of equivalents from the least meaningful level of
a language, namely, morpheme to the big levels like sentence. In the process of
translation these levels of language appear to be equivalence levels between source
language and target language. For example, if there is a word in the S.L, it must be
translated into T.L at the word level usually. Accordingly, translation is the matter of
establishing equivalence between S.L and T.L.
Translation developed mainly in the second half of the 20th century. Therefore,
theory of equivalence has been studied scientifically from the beginning of the
second half of the 20th century up to now.

JAKOBSON AND EQUIVALENCE IN DIFFERENCE:
Jakobson (1959) made a contribution to the theoretical analysis of translation. He

introduced the concept of equivalence in difference. He suggested three kinds of
equivalence known as:
 Intralingual (within one language, i.e. rewording or paraphrase)
 Interlingual (between two languages)
 Intersemiotic (between sign systems)
NIDA: FORMAL EQUIVALENCE VS. DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE:
Nida (1964) argued that there are two different types of equivalence, namely formal
equivalence-which in the second edition by Nida is referred to as formal
correspondence and dynamic equivalence. Formal correspondence focuses attention
on the message itself, in both form and content, unlike dynamic equivalence which
is based upon the principle of equivalent effect.
Formal correspondence consists of a TL item which represents the closest equivalent

of a SL word or phrase. Nida makes it clear that there are not always formal
equivalents between language pairs he therefore suggest that these formal
equivalents should be used wherever possible if the translation aims at achieving
formal rather than dynamic equivalence. The use of formal equivalents might at
times have serious implications in the TT since the translation will not be easily
understood by the target audience.
Dynamic equivalence is defined as a translation principle according to which a

translator seeks to translate the meaning of the original in such a way that the TL
wording will trigger the same impact on the original wording did upon the ST
audience.

HOUSE AND OVERT AND COVERT TRANSLATION AND EQUIVALENCE:
House (1977) discussed the concept of overt and covert translations. In an overt
translation the TT audience is not directly addressed and there is therefore no need at
all to attempt to recreate a second original since an overt translation must overtly be
a translation. By covert translation, on the other hand, is meant the production of a
text which is functionally equivalent to the ST. House also argues that in this type
of translation the ST is not specifically addressed to a TC audience.
BAKER'S APPROACH TOWARDS EQUIVALENCE:

Baker (1992) defined four kinds of equivalents as follows:
Equivalence that can appear at word level and above word level, when translating
from one language into another.
 Grammatical equivalence, when referring to the diversity of grammatical

categories across languages.
 Textual equivalence when referring to the equivalence between a SL text

and a TL text in terms of information and cohesion.
 Pragmatic equivalence, when referring to imprimaturs and strategies of

avoidance during the translation process.
VINAY AND DARBELNET AND THEIR EQUIVALENCE DEFINITION:
Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) view equivalence-oriented translation as a procedure

which replicates the same situation as in the original, whilst using completely
different wording. They also suggest that, if this procedure is applied during the
translation process, it can maintain the stylistic impact of the SL text in the TL text.
CATFORD AND TRANSLATION SHIFT AND EQUIVALENCE:
Catford (1996) in the revision of his book introduced a very perfect taxonomy
towards translation.

Cartford's approach to translation equivalence clearly differs from that adopted by

Nida since Catford had a preference for a more linguistic-based approach to
translation and this approach is based on the linguistic work of Firth and Halliday.
His main contribution in the field of translation theory is the introduction of the
concepts of types and shifts translation. Catfrod proposed very broad types
translation in terms of three criteria:
1. The extent of translation (full translation vs. partial translation).
2. The grammatical rank at which the translation equivalence is

established (rank bound translation vs. unbounded translation).
3. The levels of language involved in translation (total translation vs.

restricted translation).
He also defined the shifts which exist within different languages. His category is as
follows:
Shifts will be divided into two parts level shifts: (morphology, graphology,….) and
category shift which include structural shift (order of words in a sentence) and class
shifts (part of speech) and unit shifts (sentence, clause, phrase, word) and intra-
system shifts (structure of parts of speech).Catford (1996) described his latest
category of equivalence (his notable contribution in the field of translation). It is the
binary taxonomy which sheds light on the translation studies. In fact, Catford (1996)
studied the equivalence and found out that there are two factors which affected the
equivalence. They are linguistic and cultural factors. These two factors brought two
equivalents. They are linguistic and cultural equivalents. This finding of Catford is
very significant because it consists of both important approaches toward
equivalence, namely, linguistic and cultural approaches. In fact, what other
translation scholars defined separately and one by one, Catford described and
explained in one binary opposition (cultural and linguistic factors or equivalents).

:‫المحاضرة الثالثــــة‬
BY: AMNA BENZAID
A) METHODS OF TRANSLATION:
Newmark (1988) mentions the difference between translation methods
and translation procedures. He writes that, "While translation methods
relate to whole texts, translation procedures are used for sentences and the
smaller units of language". He goes on to refer to the following methods
of translation:
 Word-for-word translation: in which the SL word order is

preserved and the words translated singly by their most common
meanings, out of context.
 Literal translation: in which the SL grammatical constructions are

converted to their nearest TL equivalents, but the lexical words are
again translated singly, out of context.
 Faithful translation: it attempts to produce the precise contextual

meaning of the original within the constraints of the TL
grammatical structures.
 Semantic translation: which differs from 'faithful translation' only

in as far as it must take more account of the aesthetic value of the
SL text.
 Adaptation: which is the freest form of translation, and is used

mainly for plays (comedies) and poetry; the themes, characters,
plots are usually preserved, the SL culture is converted to the TL
culture and the text is rewritten.

 Free translation: it produces the TL text without the style, form, or

content of the original.
 Idiomatic translation: it reproduces the 'message' of the original

but tends to distort nuances of meaning by preferring
colloquialisms and idioms where these do not exist in the original.
 Communicative translation: it attempts to render the exact

contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content
and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the
readership.
B) TYPES OF TRANSLATION:
Due to the continuing evolvement of the translation industry there are
now certain terms used to define specialist translations that do not fall
under a general category. This brief guide offers an explanation of some
of the more common translation terms used.
ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSLATION:
The translation of administrative texts, although administrative has a very

broad meaning, in terms of translation it refers to common texts used
within businesses and organisations that are used in day to day
management. It can also be stretched to cover texts with similar functions
in government.
COMMERCIAL TRANSLATION:
Commercial translation or business translation covers any sort of

document used in the business world such as correspondence, company
accounts, tender documents, reports, etc. Commercial translations require
specialist translators with knowledge of terminology used in the business
world.

COMPUTER TRANSLATION:
Not to be confused with CAT, computer assisted translations, which refer

to translations carried out by software. Computer translation is the
translation of anything to do with computers such as software, manuals,
help files, etc.
ECONOMIC TRANSLATION:
Similar to commercial or business translation, economic translation is

simply a more specific term used for the translation of documents relating
to the field of economics. Such texts are usually a lot more academic in
nature.
FINANCIAL TRANSLATION:
Financial translation is the translation of texts of a financial nature.

Anything from banking to asset management to stocks and bonds could
be covered.
GENERAL TRANSLATION:
A general translation is the simplest of translations. A general text means

that the language used is not high level and to a certain extent could be in
layman's terms. There is no specific or technical terminology used. Most
translations carried out fall under this category.
LEGAL TRANSLATION:
Legal translations are one of the trickiest translations known. At its

simplest level it means the translation of legal documents such as statutes,
contracts and treaties.

A legal translation will always need specialist attention. This is because

law is culture-dependent and requires a translator with an excellent
understanding of both the source and target cultures.
Most translation agencies would only ever use professional legal to

undertake such work. This is because there is no real margin for error; the
mistranslation of a passage in a contract could, for example, have
disastrous consequences.
When translating a text within the field of law, the translator should keep
the following in mind. The legal system of the source text is structured in
a way that suits that culture and this is reflected in the legal language;
similarly, the target text is to be read by someone who is familiar with
another legal system and its language.
LITERARY TRANSLATION:
A literary translation is the translation of literature such as novels, poems,

plays and poems.
The translation of literary works is considered by many one of the highest

forms of translation as it involves so much more than simply translating
text. A literary translator must be capable of also translating feelings,
cultural nuances, humour and other subtle elements of a piece of work.
Some go as far as to say that literary translations are not really possible.
In 1959 the Russian-born linguist Roman Jakobson went as far as to
declare that "poetry by definition [was] untranslatable". In 1974 the
American poet James Merrill wrote a poem, "Lost in Translation," which
in part explores this subject.

MEDICAL TRANSLATION:
A medical translation will cover anything from the medical field from the
packaging of medicine to manuals for medical equipments to medical
books.
Like legal translation, medical translation is specialisation where a

mistranslation can have grave consequences.
TECHNICAL TRANSLATION:
A technical translation has a broad meaning. It usually refers to certain

fields such as IT or manufacturing and deals with texts such as manuals
and instructions. Technical translations are usually more expensive than
general translations as they contain a high amount of terminology that
only a specialist translator could deal with.

:‫المحاضرة الرابعــــة‬
BY: AMNA BENZAID
TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES:
Translation Techniques are used when structural and conceptual elements
of the source language can be transposed into the target language. Direct
translation techniques include:
1) BORROWING:
Borrowing is the taking of words directly from one language into another
without translation. Many English words are "borrowed" into other
languages; for example software in the field of technology. English also
borrows numerous words from other languages; café, passé and résumé
from French; hamburger from German; bandana, examples of borrowing
in Arabic such as taxi, Freezer, bus, radio. Borrowed words are often
printed in italics when they are considered to be "foreign".
2) CALQUE:
A calque or loan translation is a phrase borrowed from another language

and translated literally word-for-word. You often see them in specialized
or internationalized fields such as quality assurance (examples that have
been absorbed into English). Some calques can become widely accepted
in the target language, other calques can be rather obscure for most
people, especially when they relate to specific vocations or subjects such
as science and law.

3) LITERAL TRANSLATION:
A word-for-word translation can be used in some languages and not

others dependent on the sentence structure: ‫ٌعًم فزٌق انعًم عهى اَهاء انتقزٌز‬
would translate into English as the team is working to finish the report.
4) TRANSPOSITION:
This is the process where parts of speech change their sequence when
they are translated (blue ball becomes ‫)انكزة انشرقاء‬. It is in a sense a shift
of word class. Grammatical structures are often different in different
languages. He likes swimming translates as‫ هى ٌحب انسباحت‬in Arabic.
Transposition is often used between English and Arabic because of the
preferred position of the verb in the sentence: English often has the verb
near the beginning of a sentence; Arabic can have it at the beginning.
This requires that the translator knows that it is possible to replace a word
category in the target language without altering the meaning of the source
text.
Examples in Arabic; a) productivity can be increased ‫ًٌكٍ سٌادة األَتاج‬
b) Increased productivity is possible.
5) MODULATION:
Modulation consists of using a phrase that is different in the source and
target languages to convey the same idea: Through modulation, the
translator generates a change in the point of view of the message without
altering meaning and without generating a sense of awkwardness in the
reader of the target text. It is often used within the same language.
Example: No vacancies ‫ال ٌىجد شىاغز‬

6) REFORMULATION OR EQUIVALENCE:
Here you have to express something in a completely different way, for
example when translating idioms or advertising slogans. The process is
creative, but not always easy.\
Example: One people‟s misfortunes are another people‟s profits.
‫يصائب قىو عُد قىو فىائد‬
7) ADAPTATION:
Adaptation occurs when something specific to one language culture is
expressed in a totally different way that is familiar or appropriate to
another language culture. It is a shift in cultural environment.
8) COMPENSATION:
In general terms compensation can be used when something cannot be
translated, and the meaning that is lost is expressed somewhere else in the
translated text.

:‫المحاضرة الخامســــة‬
BY: AMNA BENZAID
ARABIC TRANSLATION “PAST AND PRESENT''

INTRODUCTION:
Translation is a very old human craft. It is an achievement shared by no

other creature than man most animals possess the capacity of
communication, but none are capable of translation. The existence of
different linguistic communities in the world and the need among people
to communicate their experience and knowledge led to the discovery of
translation as a solution for overcoming barriers of language and a means
of conveying ideas, knowledge and experience from one culture to
another. The Arabic translation movement started in the seventh century
(A.D.), during the Omayyad period and flourished in the Abbasid
Caliphate in the Arab Islamic World. The Caliph al-Mansur (754-775)
was a great supporter of those who worked in the field of translation. The
golden period of al-Mamun (786-833), in which the translation movement
flourished in Baghdad, which became the centre of Arabic translation. Al-
Mamun sent a delegation to the Armenian Leo (775-820) Emperor of
Byzantine to obtain scientific books for translation into Arabic.
DEFINITION OF THE TERM ARABIC LANGUAGE:

Arabic is considered as a Semitic language. It rooted in the Arabian
Peninsula but spread with the rise of Islam in the seventh century. Quran
was revealed in a special Arabic language, which has a special
organisation and style and does not use punctuation, but uses the aya
(verse) system instead.

The Omayyad Caliph Abd Al-Malik ibn Marawan (reigned 685-705)

declared Arabic the sole administrative language of the state. Since then it
has been the official language of all Arab countries (Baker, 1996).
In the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was becoming too weak to
defend its borders. Therefore, by the early twentieth century the Arab
World was under the occupation of the by the British in Egypt, Palestine,
Iraq and Sudan; the Italians in Libya and the French in North Africa and
Syria, Consequently the English, French and Italian languages were used
extensively in these Arab countries administration, also as the medium of
instruction in universities. But as soon as the Arab countries become
independent from foreign rule, Arabic recognized its statue as the
national language of the Arab countries. After the formation of Arab
league in 1945, Arabic was declared the national and official language for
the Arab nation. These days Arabic is heavily used in books, newspapers,
journals and magazines, and orally on radio and television and by
educated people all over the Arab World (Baker, 1998).
EARLY TRANSLATION:
The history of Arabic translation started in the seventh century (A.D.),
during the Omayyad period. In this period, the Arabic language was
adopted as the official language of administration, thus replacing other
languages. But Arabic translation reached its peak during the Abbasid era
in the eight century (A.D.).
The Abbasid caliphs supported translation and set up the House of
Wisdom in Baghdad which was headed by Hunayn Ibn-Ishaq who took
charge of all scientific translations.

Arabs translated from many languages, such as Persian, Greek, Latin and
Hindi. These translations were later important in developing European
thought.
Baker (1998) pointed out that the most important periods and caliphates
are as follows:
i) The orthodox period of the early Caliphate, starting with the death
of Mohammad in 632 and ending with the death of Ali, the fourth
Guided Caliph, in 661. The seat of the Caliphate during this period
moved from Medina, in present-day Saudi Arabia, to al-Kufa and
al-Basra in present-day Iraq.
ii) The Omayyad Caliphate (660-750), with its seat in Damascus.
iii) The Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258), with its capital in Baghdad.
iv) The Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171), a Shi'ite offshoot of the main
caliphate, with its capital in Cairo.
v) An offshoot of the Umayyad Caliphate which was established in
Cordoba (929-1031).
vi) The Ottoman Caliphate (c. 1517-1924), with its seat in
Constantinople. This last great caliphate of Islam was Turkish.
From the point of view of the history of translation into Arabic, The most
important periods in the history of translation into Arabic are the
Omayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, which were followed by a long period
of intellectual stagnation in the Islamic World.
Faiq (1996) states that early Arabic translation was distinguished by three
main features:
i) Diversity of sources: Arabs translated from different languages.

ii) Extensiveness: Early Arabic translation covered almost all the

areas of knowledge: medicine, engineering, chemistry,
philosophy and logic.
iii) Organisation: It became well organised during the Abbasid era.
The translation movement under the Abbasid was sponsored and
supported by the government.
Translation from French into Arabic dates back to the year 1798 with the
French invasion of Egypt and the establishment of the first Arabic press
in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the type of translated work was mainly
of a literary nature.
In 1805, under the rule of Muhammad Ali, translation took a different

direction as the means used by Mohamed Ali's incipient state in its
attempt at closing the intellectual and technical gap between Arabs and
Europe. Understanding the urgency of mastering European languages for
political purposes, Mohamed Ali sent a mission of Arab students to
France, under the supervision of a young Sheikh, Rifaha Al-Tahtawi
(1801-1873). Several French books on astronomy and natural science
were also translated into Arabic.
The limited influence of Western literary forms on Arabic narrative at

that time [Rifaha Al-Tahtawi (1801-1873], seems clear not only in the
French works chosen for translation, but also in the dominant technique
of translation, for this consisted most frequently in a very free
transposition of the French narrative and actually was not called
'translation', 'tarjama', but adaptation'(iqtibas) or 'arabisation' (tar'ib). The
French text was not treated as a whole which ought to be respected and
fully rendered; rather, it was completely transformed into something

familiar to the Arab relationship in its style, form and content. This very
free relationship with Western culture also appears in the titles of the
translated works: the French titles were often 'arabised' to catch the
Arabic reader's attention, either in the Arabic tradition of rhymed titles or
in a more modern fashion. Furthermore, these adaptations were done by
Mustafa Al-Manfaluti (1876-1924) so successfully that their author grew
much more famous than the French authors. For example, those of
Mustafa Al-Manfaluti have been constantly reprinted in Egypt and other
Arab countries, while nobody, with the exception of a few scholars,
remember the names of their original authors.
More accurate translation started to appear, mainly produced, by non-

specialists of transposition such as Al-Manfaluti, but by intellectuals who
were first of all creative writers, such as Taha Husayn (1889-1973).
Around the middle of the 20th century, translated literature was growing
more popular among Egyptian readers, if judged by the success of the
first cheap, popular collections, such as Riwayat Al-Jayb (pocket Novels)
or Riwayat Al-Hilal, which introduced a great number of bridged
translation of French literature.
In a way, the remarkable increase of translations in the years from 1952

to 1967, and the best example of these translation is the Thousand Books
project (Mashru Al-alf Kitab), launched in 1955 with the explicit purpose
of allowing the Egyptian people to read the most essential books of
modern world culture.

THE FAMOUS TRANSLATORS IN THE EARLY PERIOD:
The earliest translators in the Arab World dated back to the reign of the
Omayyad‟s and the Abbasids.
Documents showed that translation was carried by brilliant translators

who were concerned primarily with the translation of knowledge of
Greek and Latin into Arabic, the language of the new Muslim State.
Hunayn Ibn-Ishaq (809-875) was bilingual and studied medicine. He

translated Greek texts into Arabic, and used to revise the Arabic of the
other translators with the emphasis on linguistics. He headed Bayt Al-
Hikma and took charge of all scientific translation work. He enriched
Arabic with new scientific words. Also, Ibn al-Muqaffa translated many
works in logic and medicine.
Thabit Ibn Qurra (826-901), was an Arab astronomer and mathematician,

who was known as Thabit in Latin. Rifaha Al-Tahtawi (1801-1873),
graduated from the famous Islamic language, and his life and translations
have been discussed by many Egyptian scholars. When Al-Tahtawi went
back to Egypt, he founded the first Egyptian school of translation,
Madrasat Al-Alsun or the school of Languages.
The other eminent scholar and translator was the Lebanese Butrus Al-
Bustani (1819-1883), who established the first school of higher education
there. In 1835, he translated Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe into Arabic.
In the field of translating English poetry into Arabic, Sulayman Al-
Bustani (1848-1884) was one of the translators who published a
translation of some sections of Homer's lliad, accompanied by an
introduction about Greek and Arabic poetry. Later on, several writers
followed in their footsteps by translating many European poems, chiefly
romantic French poetry by Lamartine (1790-1869) and Hugo (1802-85).

As a result of several translations done by many Lebanese scholars who

had contacts with American missionaries, Western methods of thought,
new forms and themes were introduced to Arabic literature.
The output of the early translation activities was considerably large.

Besides translation not only helped to set up a new system of thought
[that way the founder of Arabic-Islamic culture] but also helped to create
the European culture.
METHODS USED IN EARLY ARABIC TRANSLATION:
Arab medieval translators adopted three main translating methods in their

translation (Faiq, 1996):
 Word-for-word method: This method was adopted in the very early

stages of Arabic translation in order to translate very quickly. At first
translators considered every word in the source language and its
meaning then found the Arabic word that was approximately of the
same meaning, but because it is impossible to find a corresponding
word in Arabic for every foreign word, Arabic translators appealed
to sentence for sentence translation. For example: Yuhanna adopted
a method which consisted of translating each Greek work with and
where none existed, he was borrowing from the Greek text into
Arabic.
 Semantic translation method: This method was first adopted by

what is called the golden era translators (translators of the Abbasid
era). In this method, translators were involved in reading the original
text, processing it and trying to find the corresponding semantic
equivalent with the same meaning in the source language. This
method was associated with Ibn-Ishaq and Al-Jawhari consisted of

translating sense- for sense creating fluent target texts which

conveyed the meaning of the original without distorting the target
language.
 Gist translation method: The need for more translations of Greek

and other works motivated early Arab translators to follow this
translation method which includes summarising and extracting the
meaning rather than full translation. The emergence of the gist
translation method gave the translation process a considerable boost
and resulted in a new breed of translators who were very competent
in the languages they read [in the Greek and Latin texts and wrote
summaries in Arabic].
CURRENT SITUATION OF THE ARAB TRANSLATION:

In this century, there have been efforts to develop a coherent pan-Arab
programme of translation. One such attempt took place in Tunis in 1979.
Translation training programmes exist in various parts of the Arab World,

either in the form of independent institutions (as in the case of the King
Fahd School of Translation) or university departments or centres within
departments (for example in Yarmuk' University, Jordan, and Alexandria
University). Iraq had a thriving school of translation (Al-Mustansiriyya).
The King Fahd School of Translation publishes a biannual scholarly
journal of translation under the title of Turjuman (Translator); this
contains articles in Arabic, English, French and Spanish (Baker, 1998).
Hassan (1989) reported that the history of translation in the Arab World is
reasonably well documented. Evidence of the continued use of Arabic
both as a source and a target language is not difficult to obtain. The place
Arabic holds in the educational system and in science and technology is
being debated by practically all organisations concerned with the Arab

world. This is the case even though countries such as Syria have decided
to arabise their educational system long before many Arab countries.
Practically all work carried out in the field of technology transfer by way
of translation was, and still is, being carried out on an academic basis.
This is so in spite of the presence of language specialists in several Arab
capitals, such as Baghdad, Damascus, Amman, Cairo and Tunis as well
as major institutes and centres contributing to translations, such as The
Arab Development Institute in Tripoli, Libya; The Kuwait Research
Institute in Kuwait; King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,
and King Faisal University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Among other things, these academies, institutes and centres devote a

great deal of their time attempting to unify and regulate translation and
Arabicisation. However, as yet no consistent agreement or systematic
communication seems to exist between them. The famed schools of
translation in the history of Arab countries have disappeared from the
scene and have been replaced in many cases by individuals doing their
best.
In addition to the efforts of language academies, almost all universities in

the Arab world have translation departments or at least offer taught
courses leading to undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications. Also
there are one or two specialized tertiary level institutions of languages
where candidates are trained in specific languages for translation and
interpreting purposes. One such institution is based in Cairo and offers
courses in European and non-European languages. The King Fahd
School is concerned with the training of translators between Arabic and a
number of European languages. In Algiers the university offers high level
courses in translation.

It might be useful not to forget that the Arab League Educational

Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ALESCO) plays the role of
documentation, guidance, observation of the position of translating and
translator in the Arab countries and the publication of directories. In
1981, ALESCO has conducted a series of studies on the subject of
translating and the ways of promoting it. These studies have addressed
the following issues:
1) Formulation of the National Plan of Translation.
2) Training of translators and the foundation of the Arab Collage for
translation.
3) The establishment of the Arab Centre for Arabisation, Translating,
and Publishing.
Also (ALESCO) conducted a survey for what translation activity in the

Arab World has achieved. It showed that, the number of translations
made in the Arab Countries (1970-1980) is (number of the translated
books=2840), distributed disproportionately as shown in the table below
(Shaheen, 1990):
Country No. Books Country No. Books Country No. Books
Jordan 22 Sudan 9 Qatar 3
UAE 2 Syria 442 Kuwait 95
Tunisia 40 Iraq 238 Lebanon 152
Algeria 16 Oman 5 Libya 44
KSA 9 Palestine 5 Egypt 1758
Morocco 2
Total 2840

From the table cited above, we conclude the following:

1) There are big difference and numbers of translations made from
one country to another.
2) The number of translations is very small in comparison with either
the population or their intellectual needs.
CONCLUSIONS:
To conclude, translation is one of the fundamental links between the
Arabs and Muslims of the east in particular such as, Syrians and Persians,
and other people of the east and west, such as Indians and Greeks. Arabs
and Muslims used translation as a communication medium to deal and
interact culturally with the people from other civilizations exist at those
times. Translation made by Arab scholars is also the medium which was
exploited by the Western World to advance their civilization.
REFERENCES:
Baker, M., (1998). Rutledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies,
London & New York.
Baker, M. (1992). In other words: A course book on translation,

Rutledge, London & New York.
HASSAN, M. (1989). The Arab World. In: Picken, C. (ed.) The

Translator's Handbook, Aslib, the Association for information
Management, London.
Faiq S. (1996) 'Aspects of Early Arabic Translation Tradition' in the

Linguist, V. 35, No. 2.
Shaheen, M. (1990) Theories of Translation and their Application to the

Teaching of English/Arabic., Dar Al-Thaqafa Library for
Publication & Distributing, Jordan, pp280.

REVISION:
A) CHOOSE THE RIGHT ANSWER:
1) Pass law means:
a. ٌ‫ٌسٍ قاَى‬ b. ٌ‫ًٌزر قاَى‬ c. ٌ‫ٌُجح فً االيتحا‬
2) Free translation:
a. Reproduces the matter.
b. The same as faithful translation.
c. The SL grammatical constructions are converted to their
nearest TL equivalents.
3) A unit of translation is:
a. Any method.
b. Any technique.
c. Any word or a group of words.
4) Tall order means:
a. ‫يهًت شاقت‬
b. ‫نقًت سائغت‬
c. ‫فزٌست سههت‬
5) The word ‫ ٌتكهى‬has:
a. An equivalent.
b. Non-equivalent.
c. Foreign words written in Arabic.
6) Translate the following into English:
a. ‫عهىو تطبٍقٍت‬ …………………………………………………
b. ‫………………………………………………… هى تهًٍذ يجتهد‬
c. ‫ٌدٌز شزكت‬ …………………………………………………
7) Translate the following into Arabic:
a. The boy broke the window. …………………………………….……..
b. The man found out serious. ……………………………………………

B) CHOOSE THE RIGHT ANSWER:

8) A unit of translation is:
a. Any method.
b. Any technique.
c. Any word or a group of words
9) Free translation:
a. Reproduces the matter.
b. The same as faithful translation.
c. The SL grammatical constructions are converted to their
nearest TL equivalents.
10) Democracy:
a. Foreign words change to suit Arabic pronunciation.
b. Foreign word written in Arabic letter.
c. A word already has an equivalent in Arabic.
11) In literal translation:
a. Lexical words are translated singly.
b. Out of context.
c. Within the context.
12) Adaptation is:
a. The freest form of translation.
b. The same as semantic translation.
13) The word ‫ ٌتكهى‬has:

a. An equivalent.
b. Non-equivalent.
c. Foreign words written in Arabic
a. ‫ٌجب عهى األغٍُاء يساعدة انفقزاء‬. ………………………………….….……..
b. ‫تُاول فطىرها عهى تًاو انسابعت‬. …………………………………….…..……
c. ‫…………………………………………… غادر انعًال باكزا انٍىو‬.……….

C)
Q1) Mona Baker defined equivalence as follows:

d. …………………………………………………………………..
e. …………………………………………………………………..
f. …………………………………………………………………..
Q2) Explain how Catford's approach to translation equivalence differs
from that adopted by Nida
…………………………………..………………………………………………..
…………………………………..………………………………………………..
…………………………………..………………………………………………..
…………………………………..………………………………………………..
…………………………………..………………………………………………..
Q3) Talk about the following:
a) Free translation.
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
b) Word-for-word translation.
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
c) Faithful translation.
d) ………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………

D) CHOOSE THE RIGHT ANSWER:

15) My neighbours are good:
a. ٍٍ‫جٍزاًَ ٌكىَىٌ طٍب‬ b. ٍٍ‫جٍزاًَ طٍب‬ c. ٌ‫جٍزاًَ طٍبى‬
16) I have blind confidence in you:
a. ‫أَا أيهك ثقت عًٍاء بك‬.
b. ‫أثق بك ثقت عًٍاء‬.
c. ‫ندي بك ثقت عًٍاء‬.
17) Democracy:
a. Foreign words change to suit Arabic pronunciation.
b. Foreign word written in Arabic letter.
c. A word already has an equivalent in Arabic.
18) In literal translation:
a. Lexical words are translated singly.
b. Out of context.
c. Within the context.
19) Adaptation is:
a. The freest form of translation.
b. The same as semantic translation.
20) Translate the following into Arabic:
a. The horses were jumping……………………………………
b. He is dying ……………………………………….…………
c. The handicapped can do many thing ………………….……
a. ‫ٌجب عهى األغٍُاء يساعدة انفقزاء‬. ………………………………….….……..
b. ‫تُاول فطىرها عهى تًاو انسابعت‬. …………………………………….…..……
c. ‫…………………………………………… غادر انعًال باكزا انٍىو‬.……….

:‫المحاضرة السادســــة‬
BY: AMNA BENZAID
WHAT IS TRANSLATION
As a subject, translation is generally used to refer to all the processes and

methods used to convey the meaning of the source language into the taget
language. That is, the use of:
1) Words which already have an equivalent in Arabic language.
2) New words for which no equivalent was available in Arabic before.
3) Foreign words written in Arabic letters; and.
4) Foreign words changed to suit Arabic pronunciation, spelling and
grammar. Here are examples for all of these words:
a. “speak”…………………(‫) ٌتكهى‬
b. “satellite”………………….(ً‫)قًز إصطُاع‬
c. “aspirin”………………….. (ٌٍ‫)إسبٍز‬
d. “democracy”…………….. (‫)دًٌىقزاطٍت‬
(More examples and illustrations are given throughout the forthcoming

chapters).
Mostly, translation is a reference to the process of using the words which

are usually available in Arabic to transmit meaning from English.
Now, when we translate, what do we translate? Grammar, words, style

or/and sounds, or something else? The following point will discuss this.

WHAT DO WE TRANSLATE?
We translate neither grammar, words, style nor sounds. What do we
translate, then? We always translate one thing only: MEANING. But
what is meaning? It is a big question which might be difficult to answer
easily, exhaustively and decisively. However, a general, satisfactory,
simple answer can be given here. Meaning is a complicated network of
language components which are of course. Grammar, Vocabulary (or
words). Style and Phonology (or sounds).
UNIT OF TRANSLATION:
A unit of translation is any word, or a group of words which can give a
small, or large part of meaning when translated together. This means that
it can be one word (like: “thus”, “therefore”, “yet”, “actually”, “clearly‟,
and other adverbs at the beginning of sentences); a phrase (e.g.
collocations like: “pass a law” (‫)ٌسٍ قاَىَا‬, “brain drain” (‫)هجزة انديغت‬, etc.
and idioms such as “tall order” (‫)يهًت شاقت‬, “sitting duck” ( ‫ فزٌست‬/ ‫نقًت صائغت‬
‫)سههت‬: a clause (e.g. “she did not come to work yesterday because she was
sick” (‫ ألَها كاَت يزٌضت‬،‫)نى تأتً إنى انعًم أيس‬: two clauses = two units); or a
sentence by sentence (e.g. “the man who paid me a visit last week when I
was away, was an old friend of mine” ( ‫كاٌ انزجم اندي قاو بشٌارتً حٍٍ كُت‬
ً‫ صدٌقا ً قدًٌا ً ن‬،ً‫)يسافزا‬. The last example is regarded as one unit because the
main clause (i.e. “the man was an old friend of mine”) is divided into two
parts: one at the beginning of the sentence (i.e. “the man”) and another at
the end of it (i.e. “was an old friend of mine”). Thus, the main verb of the
sentence (i.e. “was”) is delayed until near the end, away from its subject
(i.e. “man”). In Arabic, we start the translation with this verb (i.e. ٌ‫)كا‬,
which means that we have to read the whole of the English sentence
before starting translation.

:‫المحاضرة السابعــــة‬
BY: AMNA BENZAID
REGISTER IN LINGUISTICS
In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular

purpose and/or in a particular social setting.
M. A. K Halliday and R. Hassan (in „Cohesion in English‟) explain that

register as „the linguistic features which are typically associated with a
configuration of situational features-with particular values of the field,
mode and tenor…….
Register can also be defined as the set of features which distinguish one
stretch of language from another in terms of variation in the following
three values which determine factor for the linguistic features of the text:
1) Field (Subject matter): is to do language use; i.e., with the total

event in which the text is functioning including the subject-matter
as one of the elements. E.g. sport, conference speech, love letter,
poetry, etc.
2) Tenor: the type of the role interaction, the set of relevant social
relations, permanent and temporary, among the participants
involved. E.g. formal vs. informal.
3) Mode: the function of the text in the event, including both the
channel taken by language. E.G. spoken or written, extempore or
prepared.

RELEVANCE OF REGISTER ANALYSIS TO TRANSLATION:

Regrettably, however, the register approach has not found much
application in translation studies until the 1990‟s. And this comes only
when translation theorists realized the nature of translation as “a textural
thing” (House, 1981:65), a cross-cultural) communication which is both
“socially and culturally necessary and useful” (Gregory, 2001:19). Since
then there has been an increasing acknowledgement of the relevance of
the notion of register, and of the model of register analysis to a
translation-oriented analysis and assessment of texts (Marco, 2001:1).
TEXT TYPE:
„Text type‟ refers to the way texts (structure and texture) are made to
respond to their context and display a particular text type focus.
Many attempts have been made to set up a typology of texts. But all
attempts are beset by the same problems: they are so broad. For example,
one approach based on an over-general notion of text „function‟ leads to
text types such as „literary‟, „poetc‟, „didatic‟, scientific‟, is broad.

There are, among many, Werlich‟s (1981) text typology, which is a useful
classification based on the writer‟s intention and aim. This typology
might be described as „functionalist‟.
a) Argumentative Text Type:

Argumentative texts deals with controversial subjects and
expresses a clear opinion. Comments, interviews, leading articles
and letters to the editor are common argumentative text forms.
b) Expository Text Type:

In the expository text type the writer or speaker analyses and
explains some relatively complex subjects, mostly in an objective
and precise way. Dictionary definitions, entries in reference
books, keyword outlines and summaries are common text forms
belonging to the expository text type.
c) Instructional Text Type:

The instructional text type aims at influencing the reader‟s or
listener‟s behaviour by advising or instructing him or her.
Characteristic of instruction is the use of commands or
recommendations and the present tense group of verbs. Articles of
Agreements or contracts, cooking recipes, Rules and regulations
are common text forms belonging to the type instruction.
d) Descriptive Text Type:

The descriptive text type presents the physical characteristics of
people, objects and/or processes. The presentation can be either
based on exact observation and objective information (=technical
description), or it can give a suggestive mental picture based on the
writer‟s subjective impressions (=impressionistic description).

e) Narrative Text Type:

The narrative text type presents actions or events in some kind of
temporal order. Novels, short stories and reports are common text
forms belonging to the text type.
Some theorists, such as Basil Hatim, consider descriptive and

narrative text type as expository text type.
This particular text typology is extremely useful for translation

purposes.
WERLICH’s TYPOLOGY:

Other classifications of text type have been put forward. Reiss (1969,
1971, 1976, and 1981) has devised a tripartite classification of texts. Her
classification is „function-centered‟ as opposed to „content-centered‟.
Reiss (1976, 1981) underlines the importance of the identification of text
type and text variety when translating. Influenced by Buhler‟s three
functions of the linguistic sign, Reiss distinguishes three text types:
1) Informative:
A text involved in the communication of content (e.g. scientific
report, news reports. The expressing of opinions without aiming at
provoking argument or evaluation, etc.);
2) Expressive:
A text the aim of which is the communication of artistically
organized content (e.g. literary works);
3) Operative:
A text the aim of which is the communication of content with a
persuasive character (e.g. advertisement, political speeches,
editorials)
Hatim (1984) has also drawn on Werlich‟s text type classification,

presenting a text typology along similar lines. With description and
narration subsumed under the major heading „exposition‟, text types
accordingly are reduced to three major types:
1) Expository texts:
a. Descriptive: is used to describe objects and relations in
space,
b. Narrative: is used to narrate events,

c. Conceptual: is used to analyse and synthesize concepts;

2) Argumentative texts:
Are used to evaluate events, entities or concepts with the aim of
making a case or putting forward a point of view and,
consequently, to influence future behaviour. Argumentative texts
can be subclassified into:
a) Overt argumentation: an example of this could be the
counter argumentative „letter to the editor‟.
b) Covert argumentation: an example of this can be the
implicit argument in an editorial or what is called „the
thesis cited to be opposed‟ or the case-making
propaganda tract;
3) Instructional texts:
Aim at planning and directing future behaviour of the addresses. It
is subdivided into:
a) Instruction with option: as in advertising,
b) Instruction without option: as in treaties, contracts, and
legal documents.

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FACULTY OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

DISTANCE LEARNING SECTION

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 1

……the transference of the content of a text from one language into

Nida, E & Taber, C. (1969):

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 2

What is generally understood as translation involves the rendering of a

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 3

Translation peers always encounter with different changes in equivalence within

Equivalence, inevitably, is involved in any theory of translation which can be

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 4

Translation like many disciplines of science was scientifically developed in the

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 5

equivalence. Afterwards, he explained the conditions in which all translators deal

To sum up, translation is defined by Catford (1988) as the replacement of textual

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 6

Translation defined by many scholars from different notions of view. Some of

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 7

JAKOBSON AND EQUIVALENCE IN DIFFERENCE:

Jakobson (1959) made a contribution to the theoretical analysis of translation. He

 Intralingual (within one language, i.e. rewording or paraphrase)

 Interlingual (between two languages)

 Intersemiotic (between sign systems)

NIDA: FORMAL EQUIVALENCE VS. DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE:

Formal correspondence consists of a TL item which represents the closest equivalent

Dynamic equivalence is defined as a translation principle according to which a

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 8

HOUSE AND OVERT AND COVERT TRANSLATION AND EQUIVALENCE:

BAKER'S APPROACH TOWARDS EQUIVALENCE:

 Grammatical equivalence, when referring to the diversity of grammatical

 Textual equivalence when referring to the equivalence between a SL text

 Pragmatic equivalence, when referring to imprimaturs and strategies of

VINAY AND DARBELNET AND THEIR EQUIVALENCE DEFINITION:

Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) view equivalence-oriented translation as a procedure

CATFORD AND TRANSLATION SHIFT AND EQUIVALENCE:

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 9

Cartford's approach to translation equivalence clearly differs from that adopted by

1. The extent of translation (full translation vs. partial translation).

2. The grammatical rank at which the translation equivalence is

3. The levels of language involved in translation (total translation vs.

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 11

 Word-for-word translation: in which the SL word order is

 Literal translation: in which the SL grammatical constructions are

 Faithful translation: it attempts to produce the precise contextual

 Semantic translation: which differs from 'faithful translation' only

 Adaptation: which is the freest form of translation, and is used

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 11

 Free translation: it produces the TL text without the style, form, or

 Idiomatic translation: it reproduces the 'message' of the original

 Communicative translation: it attempts to render the exact

The translation of administrative texts, although administrative has a very

Commercial translation or business translation covers any sort of

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 12

Not to be confused with CAT, computer assisted translations, which refer

Similar to commercial or business translation, economic translation is

Financial translation is the translation of texts of a financial nature.

A general translation is the simplest of translations. A general text means

Legal translations are one of the trickiest translations known. At its

Prepared by: Amna Benzayed 13

A legal translation will always need specialist attention. This is because

Most translation agencies would only ever use professional legal to

A literary translation is the translation of literature such as novels, poems,