Translating Culture
The call for professional translators and translations has been constant for so long a time, in a way that seems to be an echo of a call rather than a dire need. The problem is raised by the nature of the job itself, specially, if it tackles literary creations and works of fiction. Translation theories have presented various guidelines to the process, yet neither is sufficient nor compulsory. The paper at hand attempts to intensify the need for more than just bilingualism and a passive tagging along with translation's guidelines. The study will briefly introduce a base ground to the essence of translation as a communicative process between two living entities that represent two cultures, where the living entities are languages in this case, rather than a transformation from a syntactic/semantic target to the other. It will, also move through translation's guidelines focusing on English/Arabic, and Arabic/English translations that will be supported with clarifying extracts from a number of selected works. Finally, the study aims at reaching an agreement that there is a need for a compulsory set of changes to govern the field of translation and to recharge the role of a translator with a positive attitude.
The aim of translation is to achieve a correlation of equality between source texts and target texts (i.e. to make certain that both texts deliver the same message), while taking into consideration a number of boundaries. Among the boundaries are context, the grammatical rules of the source language, idioms and such, T. David Gordon says:
All translators agree that the translation should reflect faithfully the message of the original, but all are not agreed on whether the translation should adhere closely to the grammatical forms of the original language.”
Thus, grammatical forms of the source language are mentioned in a way that states dissimilarities rather than structural agreements. Grammatical forms of the target language are one of the must-face problematic areas. Following the grammatical forms closely during the translation process has been further stated as follows:
Translation is a process based on the theory that it is possible to abstract the meaning of a text from its forms and reproduce that meaning with the very different forms of a second language. Translation, then, consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation, and cultural context of the source language text, analyzing it in order to determine its meaning, and then reconstructing this same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure which are appropriate in the receptor language and its cultural context. (Larson l998, p. 3)
The cultural context mentioned plays a major role in the reconstruction of the source text using the target language. According to Wikipedia, translation is “the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language (the "source text") and the production, in another language, of an equivalent text (the "target text," or "translation") that communicates the same message.”
Furthermore, Dr. Aboudi J. Hassan in his comment on Lance Hewson and Jacky Martin’s Redefining Translation: The Variational Approach, states that translation theories are starting to become insufficient:
The theory of translation is now recognised as a key area for all those investigating language and culture, but the study of translation has reached a crisis point. It needs to consolidate the rapid advances that have been made in the field and critically evaluate the variety of conflicting approaches
On the other hand, literary references are usually part of a common cultural knowledge taken for granted by an author who writes for an audience of his same cultural background. Examples for that are the Muslim culture & Quran references for the Arab audience, and the Biblical Christian commentaries based on the Holy Bible for the Western audience. In the first chapter of his book Language and Culture, Claire Kramsch defines language as a means of communication and a way to conduct social life. His view is that:
…, the words people utter refer to common experience. They express facts, ideas or events that are communicable because they refer to a stock of knowledge about the world that other people share. Words also reflect their authors' attitudes and beliefs, their point of view, that are also those of others. In both cases, language expresses a cultural reality. (p. 7)
The previous is the reality a translator faces. The majority of contemporary translators hold the only merit of being bilingual. While, bicultural, through knowledge and research rather than blood, is not regarded as a necessity in the field. The fact that language is a cultural reality increases the difficulty upon translators' shoulders, who; on their turn, should produce a communicative result from the source language to the targeted one.
T. David. Gordon in his Translation theory states:
Translation theory shares a number of concerns with what is commonly called communication theory. Perhaps the most important observation which the communication theorists have produced for translators is the recognition that every act of communication has three dimensions: Speaker (or author), Message, and Audience. The more we can know about the original author, the actual message produced by that author, and the original audience, the better acquainted we will be with that particular act of communication
Thus cultural awareness is no more a luxury or an option that may be disregarded or neutrally handled in the process of translation. Gordon adds
Recognizing that in addition to the message itself, there are the two other components of author and audience, the interpreter attempts to uncover as much information as possible about the author and audience
Boundaries of an almost exact contextual meaning, a medium of generally acknowledged forms of the target language, and an acceptable communicative message to the receptor, are the necessary triplet to govern translators' tasks. Larson, in A guide to cross-language equivalence, clearly states that:
Translation, then, consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation, and cultural context of the source language text, analyzing it in order to determine its meaning, and then reconstructing this same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure which are appropriate in the receptor language and its cultural context
His words clarified that a translator SHOULD study four important components in the translation formula, in which "communication situation" and "cultural context" represent fifty percent of the field's study. In fact, the element of "lexicon" study sways the balance towards the communicative role of translated and suitably formed texts rather than the structural transformation of meaning as it is. Dr. Ahmad Moqat, in his book The Science of Language and Translation, (علم اللغة والترجمة), reinforces this fact:
...، وبما أن اللغة ظاهرة اجتماعية تتأثر بالتغيرات التي تحدث في المجتمع، فإن اللغة العربية ليست استثناءً من هذه القاعدة،.... وقد تغيرت بيئة اللغة العربية بشكل جذري بعد ظهور الإسلام، ونتج عن ذلك حدوث تغييرات لغوية مختلفة كان أوسعها انتشاراً في حقلي المفردات والمعاني، وأقلها تأثيراً في مجال القواعد النحوية والتراكيب
(p. 18)
The previous quote states clearly that the variation of changes in language does not affect grammatical rules and linguistic structures as much as it does affect meanings and words.
The agreement on the changing nature of language and its usage obliges a translator to build, develop and sustain his awareness of his bilingualism. Dr. Mohammed Enani's The Translator's Guide supports the capability of translators to overcome contextual obstacles:
أما صعوبة الترجمة التي تستطيع الخبرة أن تقهرها فهي الصعوبة التي ترجع إلى اختلاف نظرة كل لغة إلى العالم، كما يقولون، أي إن صاحب كل لغة (( يقسم العالم)) أقساماً خاصة به، على نحو ما يقول به علماء اللغة المحدثون، خصوصاً أساتذة علم الدلالة، أي أنه يرى الأشياء من زاوية خاصة ويضعها في أقسام خاصة، ويجرد منها مفاهيم خاصة، مما يستلزم من المترجم إجراء المقابلات المتواصلة سعياً للمضاهاة الصحيحة
(p. 10)
He states clearly that there are some translation hardships that could be overcome with experience. These hardships are the result of different views of the world where each view belongs to a certain language. The translator is obliged to make all probable comparisons till he matches the real meaning.
Yet, incapability of grasping the meaning from the source language and converting it to a communicative piece of information, may result in awkward and out of context expressions. In his article The Translator's Dilemma—
Implicatures and the role of the translator, Antar Solhy Abdellah says:
Understanding utterances is not simply a matter of knowing the meanings of the words uttered and the way in which they are combined. It also involves drawing inferences on the basis of non-linguistic information and the assumption that the speaker has aimed to meet certain general standards of communication.
That is to say, a translator should be familiar with, if not fully aware of, the cultural backgrounds of the source language as well as the social environment in which idioms, proverbs, and cultural oriented expressions are originated. Culture itself, as a term, is of multiple definitions that reflect different theoretical criteria for understanding and evaluating human activity. According to Wikipedia, culture “denotes the whole product of an individual, group or society of intelligent beings”, this explanation points out the importance of individuality of culture. Moreover, Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines culture as “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time”. Again, the definition stresses the uniqueness of culture. In her article Translation and Culture, Alejandra Patricia Karamanian says:
As translators we are faced with an alien culture that requires that its message be conveyed in anything but an alien way. That culture expresses its idiosyncrasies in a way that is 'culture-bound': cultural words, proverbs and of course idiomatic expressions, whose origin and use are intrinsically and uniquely bound to the culture concerned. So we are called upon to do a cross-cultural translation whose success will depend on our understanding of the culture we are working with.
She argues that the translator’s unfamiliarity with the source language culture results in texts that cannot be interpreted in the target language and cannot be encoded again to convey the original meaning of the source language. What she calls a “cross-cultural” translation would be the ideal solution to avoid the “alien way” of translation.
The following example is from Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code and its published Arabic translation:
"Fache was in utter incomprehension of this woman's gall" (p.65)
"كان فاش غير مدرك على الإطلاق هدف هذه المرأة وراء ما تفعل، .."(p. 74)
The translator misinterpreted "woman's gall" that was meant to show her feelings of hatred and hostility, and instead presented it as a mere "goal/aim". Actually, a grammatical mistake and mistakes relating to form and structure are quite easier to find, but, it does not affect the meaning as much as the incomprehension of the source text's aim. In the mentioned example, the Arabic reader gets a text with a decreased meaning that may affect his awareness of the characters' intentions and motives.
More examples from the same work will show the translator's partial attempt to transfer the essence of the situation yet:
"So you shared interests with him?" Fache asked.
"Yes. In fact, I've spent much of the last year writing the draft for a book that deals with Mr. Sauniere's primary area of expertise. I was looking forward to picking his brain."
Fache glanced up. "Pardon?"
The idiom apparently didn’t translate. "I was looking forward to learning his thoughts on the topic." (p. 24)
"إذن كانت لديك اهتمامات مشتركة معه" سأل فاش.
" في الواقع، نعم فقد أمضيت معظم السنة الماضية أكتب مسودة كتاب يتعلق بشكل مباشر باختصاص السيد سونيير الأساسي. لقد كنت أتوق إلى التقاط دماغه".
ونظر إليه فاش قائلاً: "عفواً؟".
من الواضح أن العبارة الإصطلاحية هذه لا تترجم، لقد كنت أتوق إلى أن أنهل من أفكاره حول هذا الموضوع". (p. 33)
In the original text, the author, through his prime character, uses the idiom "picking his brain", which is commonly sensed by an English reader, and the French character facing him failed to grasp its meaning; that is why the hero proceeded to explain its meaning in plain comprehendible language, "learning his thoughts on the topic". Consequently, the reader of the Arabic copy should be familiar with an equivalent Arabic idiom and then be able to rephrase it in plain Arabic words. The following attempt to the same extract will help bringing the idea to the foreground of understanding:
"وهل كانت لديكم اهتمامات مشتركة؟" سأل فاش.
"حقيقةً نعم، فقد أمضيت كثيراً من العام الماضي في كتابة مسودة كتاب يتعامل مع اختصاص السيد سونيير الأساسي، وكنت أتوق لدخول رأسه."
التفت فاش متسائلاً: "عفواً؟"
يبدو أنه لم يفهم العبارة. "كنت أرغب في معرفة المزيد من أفكاره حول الموضوع."
The presented translation tried to reduce the effort on the part of the receptor. Although lexically different, the Arabic reader is familiar with the notion of "entering someone's head" more than with "picking up someone's brain". In conversation and dialogue, the least the reader wants is something that may stop the flow of words and sentences, and this is typical of what happens with mistakes that are cultural in nature.
The following set of examples will show the original text, its published translation and the suggested translation. Comments will be added for further clarification.
| Original Text | Published Translation | Suggested Translation |
| One mile away, the hulking albino names Silas limped through the front gate of the luxurious brownstone residence on Rue La Bruyere. p. 12 | على بعد ميل واحد أخذ الأبرص الضخم المسمى سيلاس يمشي بتثاقل عبر البوابة الأمامية للمسكن الفاخر في شارع لا برويير p. 22 | على مسافة ميل وفي شارع لا برويير، سار العملاق الأمهق سيلاس مضطرباً، - (أو "يعرج") – عبر البوابة الأمامية للمسكن الفخم |
| Comment | As clear from the example, the word ‘albino’ was mistranslated as ‘leprous’. Excluding the idea that the translator does not know the difference, as resorting to a dictionary would accurately pin point it, remains the deliberate attempt to familiarize the Arabic reader with the increased whiteness or paleness in the character’s complexion, yet this attempt added a dimension of deformity or disease that is certainly irrelevant to the context. Further, the phrase ‘limped through’ was translated as ‘walked heavily (lazily)’; while the context only allows one of either ‘walked in confusion or limped’ due to a constant problem caused by a thorny circle around his thighs |
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| Original Text | Published Translation | Suggested Translation |
| A Christian ideogram for Christ and his twelve apostles. P. 26 | وهو رمز مسيحي يدل على المسيح ورسله الإثنى عشر p. 35 | وهي أيقونة مسيحية ترمز للسيد المسيح وحوارييه الإثنى عشر |
| Comment | The word ‘ideogram’ does not have a relevant and agreed upon Arabic equivalence, thus translating it as a ‘symbol’ is fairly correct. However, an ideogram involves a picture of a sort, thus the word ‘icon’ or ‘iconic symbol’ could bridge the gap of meaning between Islamic oriented understanding of the Arab world and Christians’ awareness of the meaning of an ‘ideogram’. |
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| Original Text | Published Translation | Suggested Translation |
| Containment Security p. 29 | الأمن بواسطة الاحتجاز p. 37 | الأمن الاحتوائي |
| Comment | The writer definitely did not mean detention or confinement in the context as the Arabic translation suggests. |
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| Original Text | Published Translation | Suggested Translation |
| The media was now referring to Opus Dei as “God’s Mafia” and the “Cult of Christ”. p. 33 | فصار الإعلام اليوم يشير إلى "أوبوس داي" على أنها "مافيا الرب" أو "طريقة المسيح" p. 41 | واليوم أصبحت وسائل الإعلام تشير إلى "أوبس داي" على أنها "مافيا الرب" أو "عصبة المسيح" |
| Comment | The novel refers to ‘Opus Die’ as an evil organization that has a lot of Christian malpractices and an undercurrent of violence and illegal activities. Thus, the extract here uses the word ‘mafia’ and ‘cult’ as ‘mob’ or ‘gangsters’. The published translation replaced the word ‘cult’ with ‘way – method’ triggering other connotations and sequences in the Arabic readers’ minds and reducing the intended meaning of showing the group as a commonly rejected organization. |
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| Original Text | Published Translation | Suggested Translation |
| The nearby convent was her formal residence if anyone asked, but she preferred the quiet of the church and had made herself quite comfortable upstairs with a bed, phone, and hot plate | لكن إذا سألها أحد فإن الدير القريب هو منزلها الرسمي، لكنها كانت تفضل هدوء الكنيسة وقد جهزت لنفسها مكاناً مريحاً في الأعلى فقد زودت الغرفة بسرير وهاتف وطبق ساخن p. 52 | كان الدير القريب هو مسكنها الرسمي في حال سُئلت عن ذلك، إلا أنها كانت تفضل هدوء الكنيسة وقد أراحت نفسها في الدور العلوي بسرير وهاتف وسخان دائري صغير لتسخين الطعام |
p. 44
| Comment | Regardless of the structure, the ‘hot plate’ in the original text is not really referring to a physically HOT plate in Arabic as the translation does. It meant a plate sized heater as clarified in the suggested translation |
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| Original Text | Published Translation | Suggested Translation |
| Like taking the words of a famous poem and shuffling them at random to see if anyone recognizes what all the words have in common. p. 67 | كأن تأخذ كلمات قصيدة ما وتخلط كلماتها لا على التعيين لترى إذا كان هناك أحد يستطيع أن يعرف ما هو القاسم المشترك الذي يجمع بين تلك الكلمات.p. 75 | كأن تأخذ كلمات قصيدة مشهورة وتخلطها بعشوائية لمعرفة من الذي يستطيع اكتشاف ما يجمع هذه الكلمات |
| Comment | When an uncommon game is mentioned in a certain text, the translation is obliged to clarify. In the published translation, the reader gets the impression that the player should search for similarity between words as in saying ‘all words contain an (e) letter’, while the suggested translation shows that the player should say something like ‘yes…. All the words belong to (x) poem’. |
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| Original Text | Published Translation | Suggested Translation |
| We used to play Tarot cards. p. 96 | لقد اعتدنا أن نلعب بأوراق الشدة! p. 107 | اعتدنا اللعب بأوراق التاروت |
| Comment | ‘Tarot’ cards are commonly known by the exact name in Arabic while the Arabic word used by the translator suggests ordinary playing cards. Consequently, the Arabic reader will completely be misguided, more than ignorant, to the meaning |
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| Original Text | Published Translation | Suggested Translation |
| “Not to be confused with PI,” Stettner added grinning. “As we mathematicians like to say: PHI is one H of a lot cooler than PI!” p. 100 | لم تترجم في النص المنشور! | ثم أضاف ستيتنر بابتسامة عريضة "لا تخلط بينها وبين الرمز (باي)، فمتخصصي الرياضيات مثلنا يقولون أن (فاي) تفوق اختها حسناً |
| Comment | The joke belongs to mathematicians and triggers the question of (Why?) is PHI (the mathematical symbol {Ø}) a better (cooler) sign than PI (another mathematical symbol {π}). This question, related to the joke, will lead the hero to explain one of the main theories that constitutes the book’s plot. The phrase ‘one H of a’ uses the letter (H) as a substitution to the word ‘hell’ as an exaggerated joke implied in a decent language that plays on the existence of the letter (H) in PHI and HELL. In other words, the translator has to attempt the translation in the most possible way or utilize foot notes. The suggested translation attempted the joke in a way that invokes the same need for explanation and plays on the letter/sound (F) in PHI and (Ta’fouq) = (over-topped) |
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| Original Text | Published Translation | Suggested Translation |
| Often her grandfather would use anagram games to hone her English spelling. p. 106 | كان جدها يستخدم تلك الألعاب كي يحثها على تهجئة الكلمات بالإنجليزية p. 115 | في بعض الأحيان كان جدها يصقل تهجيتها في الإنجليزية بألعاب لإعادة ترتيب الأحرف وتكوين كلمات مختلفة |
| Comment | The Arabic reader should be aware of the type of game played here, as it contributes to the heroine’s ability of deciphering symbols and cryptographic puzzles through out the story line. The published translation referred to the ‘anagram games’ as ‘such games’ depriving the reader of an important piece of information. |
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The problem is also clear in translation into English. Sometimes the translator is preoccupied with ideas that belong to his culture and environment to the extent that he might resort to his stock of beliefs in translating a totally different idea. The following example sited by Kadhim Al – Ali in his research, Misreading and Mistranslation shows that the translator's presupposition clearly affected his interpretation of Hemingway:
He thought of how some men feared being out of land in a small boat
و فكر في أولئك الذين يخشون أن يركبوا الزوارق و ينطلقوا من الشاطئ أبعد من مدى النظر
The Arabic sentence generalizes what was meant to be specific in favour of the translator's cultural reality. Same appears with another spotted example from an English oriented translation attempting a culturally rooted phrase in Ziqaaq El'Meduq:
" أصوم و أفطر على بصلة "
I am willing to go on a diet and have just an onion for breakfast.”
However, the problem is not to be minimized to presupposition as it evidently covers unawareness as well. A translator who is unaware of the cultural references will definitely produce an inaccurate and less communicative translation.
Dr. Mohammed Albakry's study Linguistic and Cultural Issues in Literary Translation revolves around the translation of the short story The Nest, by the Moroccan writer Muhammad Zefzaf. The study shows the importance of a positive role in translation in order to overcome cultural differences and varied types of shared knowledge. The translation of The Nest sets an example for the attitude needed:
"His wife was pretty, and he used to buy her glasses, pottery, sweets and rabbits slaughtered and live. And sometimes he even preferred her to his two young children. But she used to hit him, beat her cheeks and thighs [as some women do when they mourn their dead]."
This extract is what the English reader gets and the study objectively justifies the necessity of adding the brief explanation:
The cultural reference to a husband buying pottery and rabbits slaughtered and live as gifts to his wife are indicators of the local culture. Keeping this reference adds a foreignizing fidelity and gives the original flavor of a different culture.…..The second reference is to the custom of some women in the Middle East who beat their cheeks and thighs as an ultimate sign of sadness when they are mourning their dead. The bracketed note was inserted in the text to ensure that the significance of this humiliating act on the part of the wife is not lost to the western reader.
Not all cultural differences and references could be explained with a small bracketed note and that is where a foot note is needed. The necessity of clarification and orienting the target reader with the original culture of the text should be fulfilled by re-activating the role of a translator who "…reads in order to produce, decodes in order to re–encode", as stated in Discourse and the Translator, by Basil Hatem and Ian Maison.
The re-encoding process requires the positive explanatory interference of the translator, who must enjoy the merits of being experienced and bi-cultured or, at least, supervised by a senior who is so.
Cultural differences are not always as clear as a proverb or a theological reference; they cover all social activities and delve into the depth of a factor that seriously affects the translation bridge created between two cultures; humor. Understanding puns and jokes advocates closeness of thought and the discovery of new tasteful levels of interpretation. Misreading, misinterpreting and excluding western humor seem to be a common feature when translating to Arabic. The fact is evident in reading the Arabic translation of a series of educational books by IDG, always named after the subject it handles followed by the intentionally fun expression of "Dummies" as PCs for Dummies, Gardening for Dummies, Internet for Dummies, and so forth. The Arabic translation has deliberately exchanged the word "Dummies" with "Beginners", thus extracting the humor of the title. This is not the main defect in the translation. As a matter of fact, the English series is written in a way that aims at giving the reader each piece of educational information engulfed in a wave of laughter and, basically, culturally oriented jokes. On the other hand, the Arabic translation almost ignores all the humor, stripping the series off its nature and presenting the Arabic reader with what is more like a manual than an interesting learning process. Puns, jokes, and idiomatic humor are rarely presented and an Arabic equivalent never exists.
The problem is far more exaggerated when closely following subtitling. In fact, the translation of films, movies, soap operas and talk shows strike the literate receptors' eyes, especially in the Arab world. The majority of translators in this field are either disoriented or tied with their inability to equalize the content without stepping over censoring red lines. In both cases, proper education, biculturalism, expertise and supervision are a sure recipe to increase the efficiency of subtitling. Mr. Imad Ali Almaghary states in his study titled Translation Problems Amongst Arab Translators that:
Having a complete idea about the entire topic, having consideration of facial gestures and body movement, having knowledge of the culture of certain society and having scientific understanding of both SL and TL could help introduce a very acceptable kind of language to audience so that they appreciate the film they are likely to enjoy so the burden is upon the shoulders of translators to produce a very reliable form of translation to those who want to appreciate other cultures and other people's lives, habits, customs and last but not least traditions
The translator is to replace the author's for-granted knowledge about his receptors, with a type of knowledge that suits if not adheres to the for-granted knowledge of the translated copy readers. Yet, if it proved completely out of the targeted language context, the translator owes his audience a brief explanation or a foot note.
In Honig's study Positions, power and practice: Functionalist approaches and translation quality assessment, he provides an analogy showing the difference between a functionalist translation and a non-functionalist one. The functionalist is to be loyal to the receptor, target text oriented, communicatively acceptable, and building a bridge where the translator is always visible. On the other hand, a non-functionalist translation is faithful to the author, source text oriented, linguistically equivalent, and crossing a river, where, in this case, the translator is invisible.
While the functionalist approach does not emphasize the necessity of rules, deciding to handle the responsibility to individual translators, the approach renders the current problem of cultural difficulties and necessitates the visibility of the translator and his active role in enlightening his audience. An ideal translation should reproduce the meaning of the source text using the natural forms of the audience's language in a way that suits the text being translated and expresses all aspects of the meaning in a comprehendible way to the targeted audience.
Nevertheless, the emphasis on the translator's role and his positive contribution to the targeted work may never be facilitated if the proper education and supervision were not part of translators' careers. The fact that translation students are given western plays and novels does not make them culturally aware of the western culture; it is on their teachers to clarify the bits and pieces scattered in given works of fiction. Subjects like Culture and Civilization do not provide the student with a clear view of how contemporary people think and interact. Moreover, teaching translation by dividing it into journalistic, scientific, and political translation pays more attention to forms and literal meanings than the attention needed to enhance the communicability of translated texts.
The problems resulting from the current state of translation threatens more than Arab and western readers. The report in the Newsweek's issue Oct 27th 2003, sheds light on one of the threats:
The clash of civilizations rages in some surprising places, and one of them is the large room in the FBI’s Washington, D.C., Field Office that houses a unit known as CI-19. … They have the same vital job: to translate super secret wiretaps of suspected terrorists and spies. But the 150 or so members of CI-19 (for Counterintelligence) segregate themselves by ethnicity and religion. Some of the U.S.-born translators have accused their Middle Eastern-born counterparts of making disparaging or unpatriotic remarks, or of making “mistranslations”—failing to translate comments that might reflect poorly on their fellow Muslims, such as references to sexual deviancy. The tensions erupt in arguments and angry finger-pointing from time to time.
Both groups, as divided into US born and Middle Eastern born, although educated, failed to reach an agreement due to cultural differences and means of thought; something that led to aggression and failure of communication.
An accurate and responsible revision of translation teaching methods seems to be a current dire need. Translation students are to be taught a variation of subjects that intensify their understanding of the western culture. Words like "Etymology" are not suitable as mere definitions instead of in-depth subjects. Specialised sociological and psychological studies on patterns of behaviour and verbal interaction should be utilized in translation courses. Furthermore, the study of western methodology and interpretation theories along side with an updated focus on language changes and vocabulary usage will be a necessary asset in future translators' knowledge. Not to mention that constant supervision and seeking the help of professional natives, whenever needed, is a must do in the process of establishing a generation of bicultural translators.
References
- Baker, Mona. (2000). Linguistic perspectives on translation. In The Oxford guide to literature in English translation. (Ed) Peter France. Oxford University Press. Oxford, New York.
- Baker. Mona. (1996) In other words. A course book on translation. London: Routledge.
- Bullock, Allan& Oliver Stallybrass (eds.) (1977). The Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought. London, Fontana/Collins.
- Enani, Mohammed (2000). The Translator's Guide. Cairo. The Egyptian International Publishing Company. Longman
- Ghazala, Hassan (2002). Translation as Problems and Solutions: A coursebook for university students and trainee translators. Alepo – Syria. Dar Al Kalam Al-Arabi.
- Hatim, Basil & Ian Mason (1990). Discourse and the Translator. London: Longman.
- Hönig, H. G. (1998). Positions, power and practice: Functionalist approaches and translation quality assessment. In C. Schäffner (Ed.) Translation and quality. Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters
- “Journal in English Language and Literature” Department of English, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, December 2004.
- Kramsch, Claire. (1999). Language and Culture. London. Oxford University Press. Oxford, New York.
- Larson, Mildred L. 1998. Meaning-based translation: A guide to cross-language equivalence. Lanham, MD: University Press of America and Summer Institute of Linguistics.
- Moqat, Ahmed (1997). The Science of Language and Translation. Alepo, Syria. Dar Al-Qalam Al-Arabi
- Nida, E. 1964. Toward a Science of Translating. The Netherlands: E.J. Brill.
- Sapir, E. 1951. Language. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.
- Sapir, E. 1956. Culture, Language and Personality. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press.
- accurapid.com/journal
- The Translator's Dilemma—Implicatures and the role of the translator By Antar Solhy Abdellah Ph.D. on a translation programme for pre-service language teachers Qena faculty of Education, South Valley University, Egypt
- An episode that discusses the Scientific problems Facing Translation
- Translation Theory By T. David Gordon, 1985
- www.literarytranslation.com/art/
- Translator and the challenges of Translation – Site's Contribution
- msnbc.msn.com/id/3225675//site/newsweek?rf=technorati
- Newsweek article by By Daniel Klaidman and Michael Isikoff
- www.sil.org/translation/TrTheory.htm
- Translation and Literary Theory – Site's Contribution
- www.translationdirectory.com/article123.htm
- Linguistic and Cultural Issues in Literary Translation By Mohammed Albakry PhD in applied linguistics Northern Arizona University USA
- www.translationdirectory.com/article233.htm
- Ideology and Translation with a concluding point on translation teaching By Behrouz Karoubi University Lecturer at Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
- www.translationdirectory.com/article362.htm
- Translation Problems Amongst Arab Translators By Mr. Imad Ali Almaghary
- www.translationdirectory.com/article535.htm
- Misreading and Mistranslation By Kadhim Al – Ali Department of Translation, College of Arts, University of Basra, Iraq
- www.translationdirectory.com/article566.htm
- The Process of Translation & Translator Training Courses By Alireza Yazdunpanuh, Allameh Tabataba-ee University, Iran
- www.translationdirectory.com/article619.htm
- Patterns of Thinking Across Languages By Dr. Said Shiyab, Translation Studies Department, Head United Arab Emirates University, UAE
Works Examined for Exemplification
International Data Group (IDG) (1996-1998), Windows For Dummies, PCs for Dummies, Internet for Dummies, Boston, MA. USA + Translations of the mentioned books by Jarir Book Store. Riyadh. KSA
Brown, Dan (2003). The Da Vinci Code, USA. Double Day a division of Random House. + Arabic Translation. Lebanon, Arab Scientific Publishers.
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