The Routledge Course in

Translation Annotation
Arabic-English-Arabic

Ali Almanna (2016)

 Annotation

• In this chapter,
• - we will learn how to annotate our translations and comment on
other’s.
• - Further, we will be familiar with a number of classifications of
local strategies and shifts proposed by different scholars,
namely:
• J. P. Vinay & J. Darbelnet )1958/1995(
• J. C. Catford (1965)
• M. Baker )1992/2011(
•

•
•How to annotate or comment ?
• In fact, annotating your own translation or commenting on
others’ translation is “a subjective exercise, depending on the
person and his/her competences. However, translation
students who have no experience can follow this, but they do
not have to” (Almanna 2016: 55)
• 1) State their local strategy, as in:

Annotation Comment
•
I (have) opted for … The translator (has) opted for …
I (have) resorted to … The translator (has) resorted to …
I (have) translated … into … The translator (has) translated … into …
I (have) used … The translator (has) used …
I (have) added … The translator (has) added …
I (have) deleted … The translator (has) deleted …
• 2) State the reason, as in:

Annotation (certainty)
This is because . . .
The main reason behind this is . . .

Comment (likelihood)
Having paid extra attention to …, the translator …
Having given full consideration to …, the translator …
The translator might be motivated by …
It is possible that the translator ….
It is likely that the translator …
The main reason behind this could be ….
• 3) State the type of the local strategy or shift, as in:
• This is an example of ‘translation by addition’, ‘translation by
omission’, ‘translation by paraphrase’, modulation, borrowing etc.

• This is an example of ‘class shift’, ‘unit shift’, ‘intra-system shift’,

‘level shift’, etc.
•
• 4) Elaborate if they can ….
•
• 5) Referring to another researcher’s opinion in order to make
their own annotation externally coherent, as in:
• In this regard, Dickins et al (2002: 59) state that ….
• In this respect, Baker (1992/2011) holds that …
• In this connection, Nida (1964) comments that …
• 6. suggest their own translation when commenting
on aspects of weakness of other translators’
translations …

Comment
Had the translator given full consideration to …., he/she could have
suggested something like this:

Had the translator paid extra attention to …, he/she could have

come up with a translation like this:

Had the translator taken into account …, he/she could have

produced a translation, such as:
• By way of explanation, let us consider the following example
(Ghazala 2012: 10):
•
• ST:
• No one is sure whether, from Israel’s current perceived position of
strength, he genuinely wants a lasting peace that would give the
Palestinians a proper state. He leaves room for maneuver. He is flexible
to a point of opportunism.
•
• TT:
‫ فال أح د يع رف‬،‫• وفي ظ ل س طوة الموق ف اإلس رائيلي في ال وقت ال راهن‬
‫بشكل قاطع ما إذا كان حق ًًا يريد سالًم ًا دائًم ًا يمنح بموجبه الفلسطينين‬
‫ إذ إنه عادة ما يترك باب المناورة مفتوًح ا فهو مرن إلى‬.‫دول ًة حقيقي ًة أم ال‬
.‫حّد االنتهازية‬
• Annotation:
• Local strategy I have opted for the addition of the phrase ‫عادة ما‬
'usually’. Why This is to make the text read smoothly on the one
hand, and lay emphasis on the regularity and frequency of the
action as a matter of routine on the other. Elaboration It is worth
noting that unlike English that has to express the regularity and
frequency of an action grammatically, Arabic can express them
lexically when they are relevant (cf. Baker 1992/2011). Languages
differ widely in the way they map various aspects of world
experiences. In this regard, Baker (1992: 84) rightly comments:
External
coherence Languages which have morphological resources for
expressing a certain category such as number, tense, or
gender, have to express these categories regularly; those
which do not have morphological resources for expressing
the same categories do not have to express them except
when they are felt to be relevant.
• Following is another example extracted from Haroun
(2013: 12–13):

• ST:
‫• هناك كتابات كثيرة عالجت هذا الموضوع لكنها لم تشبعه‬
... ،‫بحثًا‬
• TT:
• There has been a great deal of research addressing this
topic but it has not done it justice ….
• Comment
• As can be observed, Local strategy the translator has
translated ‫‘ كتابات‬lit. writings’ into ‘research’, which is a
non-countable noun in English. Elaboration Semantically
speaking, the denotative meaning of the word ‘writing’ is
wider and less specific than that of ‘research’ as the latter
is part of the former, which covers, in addition to research,
essays, books, monographs and so on. From the context
and co-text, it is clear that the original writer means a
particular type of writing based on research as sharply
indicated by ‫لم يشبعه بحثا‬. Suggested translation Had the
translator given full consideration to the issue of
countability, he could have suggested a rendering like:
‘pieces of research’.
Local strategies
•Local strategies are problem-motivated
strategies adopted by translators to solve
the problem they face in dealing with
segments of the text.
Different classifications
• - J. P. Vinay & J. Darbelnet )1958/1995(
• - J. C. Catford (1965)
• - M. Baker )1992/2011(

• In this course, we will focus on only two classifications,

namely J. P. Vinay & J. Darbelnet )1958/1995( and J. C.
Catford (1965).
J. P. Vinay & J. Darbelnet )1958/1995
Strategies, or procedures as Vinay and Darbelnet
(1958/1995: pp. 84-91) label them, are divided into
seven types, namely: ‘borrowing’, ‘calque’, ‘literal
translation’, ‘transposition’, ‘modulation’,
‘equivalence’ and ‘adaptation’.

• The first three types of strategies are labelled as

‘direct translation’, whilst the other four strategies
named ‘oblique translation’
1- Borrowing means transferring the SL lexical item into the TL
directly due to, for instance, a gap in the TL lexicon or to
introduce “an element of local colour” (p. 85).
2- Calque refers to that type of borrowing in which the SL
expression is first transferred into the TL, then its components
are translated literally, resulting in either “lexical claque” or
“structural claque” (p. 85). They hold that like borrowing, many
claques with time become “an integral part of the language” and
with some “semantic change” could turn into false friends (p.85).
Claque is classified by them into two types:

a. ‘lexical calque’, which “respects the syntactic structure of

the TL while introducing a new mode of expression”.
businessman= ‫ رجل اعمال‬Money laundry= ‫غسيل اموال‬
b. ‘structural calque’, which “introduces a new construction”,
such as using the forced passive voice ‘by-structure’, i.e. ‫ من قب!ل‬in
Arabic.
3) Literal translation refers to the capability of transferring the
ST expression, phrase, sentence and so on into the TT literally
without any change apart from those required by the TL
grammar.
I left my spectacles on the table downstairs.
‫لقد تركت نظارتي علي الطاولة في الطابق السفلي‬.

They further comment that direct translation should be

avoided if
• - it changes the meaning;
• - it is meaningless;
• - it is structurally impossible;
• - it does not correspond to anything in the target-language
metalinguistic experience;
• - it does have a correspondence in the TL, but within a
different register (p. 87).
• 4) Transposition refers to a change of one part of
speech for another without changing the meaning.
Vinay and Darbelnet comment that from a stylistic
perspective the transposed materials might have
different impact; thus they advise translators to opt
for a transposition only if “the translation […]
obtained fits better into the utterance, or allows a
particular nuance of style to be retained” (p. 89).

It is similar to Catford’s (1965) ‘class shift’.

5. Modulation refers to “a variation of the form of the
message, obtained by changing point of view” (p. 89).
For stylistic reasons, to avoid repetition, or for other
reasons, translators, at times, opt to use an antonym
plus a negation element, change the passive form into
active form or vice versa, change a concrete noun to
an abstract one, or reorder the cause-effect sequence,
etc. Like transposition, modulation, according to Vinay
and Darbelnet, could be ‘optional’ or ‘obligatory’. By
way of illustration, let us consider the following
example quoted from them that can be translated into
Arabic in two different ways:
It is not difficult to show … (p. 89)
... ‫ليس من الصعب أن تبّين‬
... ‫من السهل أن تبّين‬
6. Equivalence, in the sense Vinay and
Darbelnet use the term, refers to the possibility
of rendering an idiom, proverb, cliché, nominal
or adjectival phrase, etc. by “using completely
different stylistic and structural methods” as
long as it is used in the same situation in the
interfacing languages, as in the Arabic
idiomatic expression ‫ على أحّر من الجمر‬which may
well be translated into English as ‘to be on pins
and needles’.
• 7. Adaptation is special kind of equivalence, i.e. “a
situational equivalence”; it is used when the TL
culture does not have a similar situation in its
experience that could accommodate the situation of
the original culture. They suggest “the translators
have to create a new situation that can be considered
as being equivalent” (p. 91). A good example of
adaptation in the sense that Vinay and Darbelnet use
the term is when the translator, for instance, change
the proper name used as a vehicle in a simile like ‘he
is as rich as Croesus’ into another proper name such
as ‘Qaroun’ in Arabic, as in ‫‘ يملك مال قارون‬lit. he has
has Qaroun’s wealth’ (for more details, see Almanna
2010: 118-120).
• By way of explanation, let us consider the following example
(quoted along with its published translation from AEX: DEOORANT
BODYSPRAY):
• ST:
• Shake well before use. Hold can upright and spray away from face and
body. Note that the spray is released upwards from the top of the
cap.
•
• TT:
‫ امسك العبوة بشكل عم ودي وقم برش‬.‫• رّج العب وة جيدًا قبل االستعمال‬
‫ يجب مالحظ ة أن البخ اخ ينطل ق نح و‬.‫البخ اخ بعي دًا عن الوج ه والجس م‬
.‫األعلى من قمة الغطاء‬
Comment:
As can be seen, while translating the above extract, the translator
has opted for a number of local strategies, including ‘obligatory
transposition’ and ‘optional transposition’ in the sense that Vinay
and Darbelnet (1958/1995: 89) use the terms. The translator, in
addition to obligatorily changing the adverb ‘upright’ to a
prepositional phrase, i.e. ‫‘ بشكل عمودي‬lit. in a vertical form’, has
optionally resorted to changing the verb ‘spray’ to a weak verb ‫قم‬
‘lit. stand’ plus a prepositional phrase ‫‘ برش‬lit. by spraying’
although s/he could use the verb ‫‘ رش‬lit. spray’.
Another example
TT:
• A girl gestured with her hand at the window
overlooking the garden, like a dumb person, unable
to speak. She was followed by another girl, then by
the others …. (Starkey 2008: 1)

ST:
‫ بيدها للنافذة المطلة على الحديقة ال تستطيع‬،‫ كالخرساء‬،‫• أشارت فتاة‬
.... ‫ ثم الباقيات‬،‫ تبعتها األخرى‬.‫النطق‬
• (Samīra al-Māni‘ 1997: 7)
• Comment:
Here, a structure shift, which involves a grammatical
change between the structure of the ST and that of the
TT, occurs. The translator has replaced the active voice
expressed by ‫ ثم الباقيات‬،‫ تبعتها اآلخرى‬with a passive
voice in the TT expressed by ‘she was followed by another,
then the others’. In this regard, Catford (1965: 73) argues
that there are two main types of translation shifts,
namely: 1) ‘level shifts’ where the SL item at one linguistic
level (e.g. grammar) has a TL equivalent at a different
level (e.g. lexis) and 2) ‘category shifts’ which are divided
into four types: ‘structure-shifts’, ‘class shifts’, ‘unit shifts’
and ‘intra-system shifts’ (for more details, see Catford
1965: 73-80; Munday 2008: 60-61; Almanna 2014: 34-35).
• By way of illustration, let us consider the following example (quoted from
Alqunayir 2014: 21-22):
•
• ST:
• Contrary to what many think, this does not prove that the West has become a
godless civilization. Rather, it confirms, as Cox argues, the changing nature of
being religious in a post traditional world.
•
• TT:
‫ ال تثبت هذه الحقيقة أن الحضارة في الغرب قد‬،‫• وعلى عكس ما يظنه الكثيرون‬
‫ على الطبيعة المتغيرة للتدين في عالم‬،‫ بل ُت ؤكد كما يقول كوكس‬.‫أصبحت ملحدة‬
.‫تجاوز التقليدية‬
•
• Comment:
• As can be observed, the translator has opted for changing the point of view
when she has translated ‘the West has become a godless civilization’ in which
‘the West’ is the doer of the action into ‫أن الحض ارة في الغ رب ق د أصبحت ملحدة‬
where the doer of the action becomes ‫ الحضارة‬and ‘the West’ becomes part of
the adverb of place ‫‘ في الغرب‬in the West’. This is an example of modulation to
use Vinay and Darbelnet’s (1958/1995: 89) terminology.
• J. C. Catford (1965)
• Following Firthian and Hallidayan linguistic model, Catford (1965) in
his oft-cited book ‘A Linguistic Theory of Translation’ introduces two
types of translation, namely: ‘formal correspondent’ and ‘textual
equivalent’.
• Formal correspondent is “any TL category (unit, class, element of
structure, etc.) which can be said to occupy, as nearly as possible,
the ‘same’ place in the ‘economy’ of the TL as the given SL category
occupies in the SL” (Catford 1965: 27).
• Textual equivalent, however, is defined by Catford as “any TL text
or portion of text which is observed on a particular occasion [...] to
be the equivalent of a given SL text or portion of text” (p. 27).
• In a direct link to local strategies resorted to by translators while
dealing with the text at hand, one can touch on shifts that may well
occur as a result of adopting a particular local strategy, or a
combination of many. Catford defines shifts as “departures from
formal correspondence in the process of going from the SL to the
TL” (p. 73). He argues that there are two main types of translation
shifts, namely:
• a) Level shifts
• b) Category shifts

• According to Catford (Ibid), category shifts are divided into four

types:
1) Structure-shifts
2) Class-shifts
3) Unit-shifts or rank-shifts
4) Intra-system shifts
• Level shifts
• They occur when the SL item at one linguistic level (e.g. lexis) has a TL
equivalent at a different level (e.g. grammar).
• For instance, in English to emphasize the frequency of the action as a matter
of routine, one can express it grammatically by opting for a simple present
tense, such as: 'She goes to school with her dad'. However, 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.

• Structure shifts
• They involve a grammatical change between the structure of the ST and that
of the TT.

• Class shifts
• They occur when a SL item is translated into a TL item which belongs to a
different grammatical class. For examples, there are a great number of
adverbs in English that are best substituted with a prepositional phrase plus
an adjective in Arabic.
• Unit shifts involve changes in rank, such as translating a
sentence in one language into a phrase, expression, etc. in
another.

• Intra-system shifts occur when SL and TL possess systems

which approximately correspond formally as to their
constitution, but when translators opt for selecting a non-
corresponding term in the TL system.
• By way of explanation, let us consider the following example (quoted along with its
published translation from Air Wick: Oud ‫ العود‬product label):
• ST:
• Do not spray or place on painted or polished surfaces. Keep out of reach of children.
Pressurised containers: Protect from sunlight; do not expose to temperatures
exceeding 50 C.
•
• TT:
.‫ يحفظ بعيدا عن متناول األطفال‬.‫• ال يرش أو يوضع على األسطح المطلية أو الملمعة‬
‫تحفظ العبوة المضغوطة بعيدا عن أشعة الشمس وال يجب أن تتعرض لدرجات حراة تزيد‬
.‫) درجة مئوية‬50( ‫عن‬
• Comment:
• Here, the translator has changed the grammatical structures of the ST from active,
expressed by ‘do not spray’, ‘place’, ‘keep out’ and ‘protect’ into passive, expressed
by ‫ يحفظ‬, ‫يوضع‬,‫ ال يرش‬and ‫تحفظ‬. These are examples of structure shifts. Structure
shifts, according to Catford (1965: 77), occur when translators resort to arranging
lower-rank units (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) that form a larger unit
(clause or sentence) differently. Structure shifts are the most frequent among the
category shifts between Arabic and English. In discussing the translation of an
English clause into a Gaelic clause, Catford (p. 77) shows how those lower-rank
units (subject, predicate, and complement) are arranged differently in the TT, thus
resulting in a structure shift.
• Annotation derives from the verb ‘annotate, which
means to add explanatory notes, supply a work with
critical commentary or explanatory notes or provide
interlinear explanations for word or phrases. Its
synonyms include ‘ comment’. However, comment is
used when commenting on others’ translation,
annotation is used to refer to the critical notes
offered by the translators on their own translations.
• Analysis is a part Annotation.
• Annotation is different from revision, reviewing,
proofreading, editing, assessment or evaluation in
the sense that annotation is conducted by the
translator him/herself while facing a particular
problems. The purpose of annotation is to defend the
choice made by the translator.
• In the main body of the translation, the ST and TT can
appear on facing pages, with notes at the bottom of
the page (footnote) or at the end (endnote).
• To sum up, Annotation for translation purposes is
used to explain the decisions taken by the translator.