Rendition of Allegory in Contemporary Political Discourse

179 Pages·2015·10.93 MB·English

University of Petra

Faculty of Arts and Sciences
English Department
Rendition of Allegory in Contemporary Political Discourse: A Study
in Translated Corpora

:رصاعملا يسايسلا باطخلا يف يسمرلا زاجملا لقن
ةمجرتملا تانوذملا يف ةسارد

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Master's Degree of Arts in English Language and Translation

By:
Fadi Abd Al Kareem Al Saifi

Supervised By:
Professor A.B. As-Safi

Amman, Jordan
May, 2014

University of Petra
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
English Department

Rendition of Allegory in Contemporary Political Discourse: A Study
in Translated Corpora

:رصاعملا يسايسلا باطخلا يف يسمرلا زاجملا لقن
ةمجرتملا تانوذملا يف ةسارد

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Master's Degree of Arts in English Language and Translation

By:
Fadi Abd Al Kareem Al Saifi

Supervised By:
Professor A.B. As-Safi

Amman, Jordan
May, 2014
Dedication

To
My Late Sister Jihad,
My Dearest Parents
And Brother.

i
Acknowledgements

My greatest gratitude and deepest appreciation are due to professor
Abdel-Baki As-Safi who whole-heartedly initiated, conscientiously supported
and diligently supervised this research with indispensible guidance and
perseverance. He has been a constant source of insights, ideas and inspiration
throughout the whole research.
My deepest unconditional love goes to my parents and brother
Mohammad ‘Mutaz’ for all their moral support and thoughtfulness throughout
the preparation of this thesis.
I would like to thank the committee members for the useful feedback they
provided and their patience in reading thoroughly through the thesis.
Finally, I would like to thank the University of Petra and in particular Dr.
Nehal Omeira who has been abundantly helpful starting from the day I joined
the university up to the end of the course of this thesis.

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Table of Contents

Dedication …………………………...…………..…………...…………..….….i
Acknowledgements………….…………………………...…….……….…...…ii
Table of Contents………………………………………………………………iii
Abstract in English……………………………………………...……………..vii
Abstract in Arabic…………………………………………...……………..….viii
Chapter One: Introduction……………………………...…….…..…………..1
1.0 Preliminaries……………………………..…..…….…………..….1
1.1. Statement of the Problem…………………...………………...…...1
1.2. Hypothesis……………………………………..….…………….....3
1.3. Objectives of the Study………………………………..…..….…...3
1.4. Research Methodology……………………………….….…….…..4
1.5. Significance of the Study…………………….……………..……..5
1.6. Review of Related Literature……………………………….……..5
1.7. Limitations of the Study………………………………………….6
Chapter Two: Allegory: An Overview…………...…..…….…………………7
2.1. Allegory: Conceptual/Historical Survey …….……...……….……..7
2.2. Types of Allegory…………………………………….…………….12
2.2.1. Rhetorical Allegory……………………………………………….14
2.2.2. Interpretive Allegory: Allegoresis………………………………..16
2.2.2.1. Personificational Allegory……………………………………..16
2.2.2.2. Figural Allegory………………………………………………..16
2.2.3. Cognitive Allegory…………………………………….................18
2.2.3.1. Conceptual Integration and Allegory in Old and New Media….21
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2.2.3.1.1. Postmodern Allegory…………………………………………22
2.2.3.2. Allegory, Blending and Possible Situations……………………24
2.2.4. Allegory: Counter-Discoursal and Post-Colonial………………..26
2.3. The Context for Allegorical Criticism……………………………..27
2.4. Related Terms and Concepts……………………………………….29
2.4.1. Fable………………………………………………………………29
2.4.2. Parable……………………………………………………………30
2.4.2.1. Parable versus Fable: from Symbolism to Allegory?..................31
2.4.3. Exemplum………………………………………………………..31
2.4.4. Proverb……………………………………………………………32
2.4.5. Metaphor………………………………………………………….32
2.4.5.1. Extended Metaphor……………………………………………..35
2.4.5.2. Allegory: A Stylistic Device Based on Metaphor……………...35
2.4.6. Metonymy………………………………………………………..36
2.4.7. Irony………………………………………………………………36
2.4.8. Symbolism………………………………………………………..36
2.4.9. Iconism……………………………………………………………39
Chapter Three: Allegory in Political Discourse……………………………….42
3.1. Componential Analysis: Generalities……...……………………..42
3.1.1. Semantic Components: Preliminaries…………………………….45
3.1.2. Semantic Components of Allegory…………………………….....48
3.2. Componential Analysis of Allegory………………………………..48
3.3. Political Discourse………………………………………………….50
3.3.1. Allegory as a Rhetorical Device of Political Discourse………….50
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3.3.2. Function of Allegory in Political Discourse……………………..51
3.4. The Politics of Allegory…………………………………………….51
3.4.1. The Poetics of Censorship: Allegory as Form and Ideology……..52
3.4.2. Fourth Estate as Allegory………………………………………..52
3.4.2.1. Symbolizing Press………………………………………………53
3.4.2.2. Symbolizing Networked Fourth Estate…………………………54
3.4.2.3. Alternative Meanings…………………………………………..54
3.4.3. Fifth Column as Allegory………………………………………..55
3.4.3.1. Narrative Background of Fifth Column………………………..56
3.4.3.2. Contemporaneous Narrativity…………………………………..57
3.4.3.3. Later Narrativity………………………………………………..58
3.4.4. Fifth Estate as an Allegory………………………………………..59
3.4.4.1. Narrative Background of the Fifth Estate………………………59
3.4.4.2. Social Media as a Fifth Estate…………………………………..60
3.5. National Allegory in Political Discourse…………………………..61
3.6. Arab Spring Allegory: A Narrative Background…………………..63
3.6.1. The Allegorical Iconicity of Mohammed Bouazizi………………64
3.6.2. The Allegory of the Syrian Shabeeha…………………………….65
3.6.2.1. A Narrative Background………………………………………..65
3.6.3. The Allegory of Baltagiya………………………………………..67
3.6.3.1. The Narrative Background……………………………………..67
3.6.3.2. Baltagiya in the Egyptian 25 January Revolution……………..68
3.6.3.3. Identifying Baltagiya by Region……………………………….68
Chapter Four: Translation of Allegory………………………..……………70
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4.1. Preliminaries: Translation Strategies Conceptual Overview…….....70
4.1.1. Textual Strategies vs. Procedural Strategies……….….…..71
4.1.2. Global Strategies vs. Local Strategies………………..…....71
4.1.3. Direct vs. Oblique Translation Strategies…………………72
4.1.4. Syntactic, Semantic and Pragmatic Strategies……………..72
4.1.5. Domestication vs. Foreignization Strategies………………73
4.2. Rendering Allegory………………………………………...………74
4.3. Allegory and Translation…………………………………………...76
4.4. Transference Strategies of Allegory……………………...….78
4.4.1. Strategy of Full Transference……………………………...82
4.4.2. Strategy of Partial Transference …………………...……...91
4.4.2.1. Acculturation: Cultural Transference ………………..….91
4.4.3. Strategy of Zero Transference……………………………105
Chapter Five: Conclusions and Recommendations…………….…………114
5.1. Conclusions…………………………………………………….…114
5.1. Recommendations………………………………………………..118
References………………………………………………………………..…..120
Appendix: Diana Moukalled’s STs and TTs in full length arranged in reverse
chronological order from April 2014 down to June 2011.

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Abstract
The current study tackles the transference of the allegorical sense from
the ST into the TT in contemporary political discourse. The examples of
allegory are extracted from bilingual articles written by the professional
author-translator Diana Moukalled, namely her opinion articles which are
published in the Arabic London-based online newspaper "طسٔلأا قششنا". The
study comprises five chapters. Chapter one serves as an introduction.
Chapter two explores the historical perspective of the concept of allegory.
Furthermore, this chapter discusses the types of allegory and examines the
concepts which are essentially related to it. Chapter three presents allegory’s
role in political discourse and deals with the translator’s structural
integration of componential analysis in the process of transferring the
allegorical sense of political ideas. Chapter four involves discussing and
analyzing selected examples that bear an allegorical sense based on
componential analysis of their allegorical components which reflects the
magnitude of transference of these components whether full, partial or none.
Also, this chapter reveals that the transference strategies, namely the strategy
of full transference, the strategy of partial transference and the strategy of
zero transference, are mainly governed by the major political substratum
which surrounds the bilingual articles manifested by means of the processes
of monitoring, managing and censoring. Chapter five presents the
conclusions, findings and recommendations. The findings show that to some
extent partial transference is the most attainable due to linguistic and cultural
discrepancies between the ST and the TT. Also, the study reveals that
allegory reflects native speakers’ value judgments and conceptual frames of
reference; therefore, rendering allegorical sense opens up dialogue between
different cultures and potentially spares them political, ideological and
cultural misconception resulting from mis-transferring allegory.
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