The Difficulty in Translating Modern Arabic Literature for the Western World: Reconsidering the Work of Translation from a Semiotic Perspective

221 Pages·2010·4.43 MB·English

by  Hanada Al-Masri

T DIFFICULTY IN T SLATING
MODERN(cid:9) BIC LITERATURE
FOR THE V7i61STE(cid:9) 0 D
Reconsidering the Work of Translation
from a Semiotic Perspective
Hanada Al-Masri
With a Foreword by
Muhammad S. Eissa
The Edwin Mellen Press
Lewiston•Queenston•Lampeter
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Al-Masri, Hanada.
The difficulty in translating modern Arabic literature for the Western world :
reconsidering the work of translation from a semiotic perspective / Hanada Al-Masri ;
with a foreword by Muhammad S. Eissa.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-1432-7
ISBN-10: 0-7734-1432-0
I. Translating and interpreting. 2. Semiotics. I. Title.
P306.A443 2011
492.7'802--dc22
2010045152
hors serie.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copyright © 2010 Hanada Al-Masri
All rights reserved. For information contact
(cid:9)
The Edwin Melle(cid:9)n Press The Edwin Mellen Press
Box 450 (cid:9) Box 67
Lewiston, New Yor(cid:9)k Queenston, Ontario
USA 14092-0450 CANADA LOS ILO
The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd.
Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales
UNITED KINGDOM SA48 8LT
Printed in the United States of America
To my beloved husband
for his continuous support,
constant encouragement and everlasting love
and
to our children, the fruit of our lives
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES
FOREWORD BY MUHAMMAD S. EISSA, PHD(cid:9) iii
PREFACE(cid:9) vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS(cid:9) xi
INTRODUCTION(cid:9) 1
I. Historical Background
IL Corpus(cid:9) 15
III. Methodology(cid:9) 19
CHAPTER ONE: TRANSLATION STUDIES(cid:9) 25
I. Translation from a Linguistic Perspective(cid:9) 25
II. Translation from a Cultural Perspective(cid:9) 29
III Translation from a Semiotic Perspective(cid:9) 37
A. The Semiotic Theory of Signs(cid:9) 37
B. Translation and Semiotics(cid:9) 44
IV. Translation from a Pragmatic Perspective(cid:9) 51
V. The Theory of Markedness(cid:9) 57
CHAPTER TWO: LINGUISTIC LOSSES(cid:9) 63
I. Results(cid:9) 64
II. Classification and Analysis of Linguistic Losses(cid:9) 66
A. Tolerable Losses(cid:9) 66
A.1. Tolerable Losses Affecting Style(cid:9) 66
A.2. Tolerable Losses Affecting Semantic Relations(cid:9) 70
B. Serious Losses(cid:9) 73
B.1. Loss of Pragmatic Connotations(cid:9) 74
B.2. Mistranslation of Meanings(cid:9) 76
B.3. Loss of Deixis(cid:9) 77
B.4. Loss of the Speaker's Attitude(cid:9) 80
C. Complete Losses(cid:9) 80
III. Discussion of Losses within the Semiotic Framework (cid:9) 82
IV. Linguistic Losses and the Markedness Continuum(cid:9) 85
CHAPTER THREE: CULTURAL LOSSES(cid:9) 91
I. Results(cid:9) 97
II. Classification and Discussion of Cultural Losses(cid:9) 98
A. Explicit Losses(cid:9) 98
B. Implicit Losses(cid:9) 100
C. Modified Losses(cid:9) 106
D. Complete Losses(cid:9) 109
III. Discussion of Losses within the Etic-Emic Approach(cid:9) 111
IV. Cultural Losses and the Markedness Continuum(cid:9) 114
CHAPTER FOUR: IN THE EYES OF THE OTHER: TRANSLATIONAL
COMPARISONS(cid:9) 117
I. Classification and Analysis of Losses(cid:9) 118
A. Pragmatic Losses(cid:9) 118
B. Cultural Losses(cid:9) 126
C. Semantic Losses(cid:9) 133
D. Literary Losses(cid:9) 140
II. Discussion of Different Translations(cid:9) 145
APPENDICES(cid:9) 151
Appendix A: Examples of Linguistic Losses(cid:9) 151
Appendix B: Examples of Cultural Losses(cid:9) 155
Appendix C: Examples of Translational Comparisons(cid:9) 157
BIBLIOGRAPHY(cid:9) 191
INDEX(cid:9) 199
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Chapter Two
Table 1: A Summary of the General Losses in Relation
to the Markedness Continuum(cid:9) 88
Table 2: A Summary of the Detailed Losses in Relation
to the Markedness Continuum(cid:9) 89
Chapter Three
Table 1: A Summary of the Cultural Losses in Relation
to the Markedness Continuum(cid:9) 114

FOREWORD
Almost two decades ago, I sat in on an anthropology course on culture
translation. I was attempting to understand the concepts of literary and culture
translations and their impact on readers of a target language and culture. In my
case, target readers were the English-speaking college students in a course on
"Arabic Literature in Translation" where the students were asked to read modern
Arabic literary works in the form of novels, short stories, poetry and drama.
I was motivated to sit in on the anthropology class by my observations and
frustrations at how many linguistic and cultural concepts were lost in translation.
The irony is that neither the target language reader nor the source language
translator is aware of any losses in the works they handle. Each is doing their best
to achieve their respective goals. For the translator, it is to produce what she/he
thinks is the best literary equivalent, and for the reader, it is to gain maximum
understanding. The true victim is the literary work itself and its total denoted
linguistic, cultural and semiotic functionality.
I cannot claim to have gained full understanding of the theory of
translation just by sitting in on a ten-week college course. However, it was the
beginning of an understanding of the magnitude, complexity and challenges of
translation theory and literary translation in particular.
Scholars with an interest in literary translation may need to pause and
reflect before beginning their research. "Where to begin?" is a daunting question
in a subject with so many dimensions and facets, and some researchers may turn
away in fear. However, those with direction and determination, manage to
encapsulate a great deal of information and make the subject attainable to even •
the non-specialists.
It is obvious that this book is the outcome of serious research and
examination of modern translation theories in western epistemological views. The
researcher has surveyed major sources in the field and has cleverly summarized
111
the history of translation and its various developmental perspectives. This work
manages to lead the reader on a journey through several schools of thought on
translation. Specialized terminologies are contextualized and rooted in their
appropriate fields of study in the humanities and social sciences, so they may be
properly understood.
This book provides answers to multiple academic inquiries regarding the
latest research on theory and practice of literary translation and the challenges of
application. It takes the issue of translation deep into disciplines of the humanities
where the seeds of translation theory have sprouted. The complex arguments over
the role of language, culture, content, context, reader and translator are carefully
crafted by the author and presented in many different ways throughout the
chapters. The theories come to life through examples of problematic literary
translations followed by multi-layered analyses.
This book furnishes information about the basic principles of translation
theory with a focus on semiotic perspective as applied to translation. From the
beginning, the author prepares the reader for the applications taking place in
subsequent chapters. The selection of examples covers all hierarchies of losses in
translation due to different factors whether they are linguistic, metaphorical,
cultural, aesthetic or sheer negligence.
The book raises several issues, not only regarding the translated works,
but also addressing the translators themselves, suggesting that a translation
produced by a native of the source language and culture may not necessarily be
superior to that of a native of the target language.
This discussion of translation theories is facilitated by summary and
detailed narratives in a logical and organized manner. The analyses of examples
are framed in semiotic/pragmatic parameters that provide a comprehensive
understanding of weaknesses and strengths in a given translation. In the process
of comparing translations, the author shows deep understanding of Arabic culture
and its idiomatic denotations.
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