An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

The translation of modern English poetry into Arabic: treating the idiosyncrasies of content and form

Article info

2018-07-17
2018-09-17
559 - 596

Keywords

  • translation
  • Content
  • Linguistic Deviation
  • Modern Poetry
  • Form

Abstract

The new rhetoric of modern poetry which is characterized by conciseness and ambiguity has set it different from other poetic movements in English which in turn has made it the central focus of many researchers and scholars leading many of them to write about the ‘distinction’ of this type of literature. This study tackles the translation issue of modern poetry in view of the idiosyncrasies of content and form. The study investigates the issue of foregrounding following Geoffrey Leech’s (1969) linguistic deviation theory with special focus on lexical, grammatical and semantic deviations with the assumption that the idiosyncrasies in the language of modern poetry are a result of the distrust modern writers demonstrate of the ability of language to convey meanings and the lack of communication that mars the modern reality of man. Through examining various excerpts of modern poetic texts, one could infer that some translators who were sensitive to the importance of these deviations opted for retaining them often by utilizing compensatory methods. This is mainly related to the fact that it is difficult to replicate the exact same idiosyncrasies, especially in a language that belongs to a different family and does not have much in common with English. Other translators, however, were heedless of the implications of these deviations and decided to change them, or to translate them in harmony with their readings and Arabic language structure and norms. Nonetheless, the researcher claims that there is no ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ translation; there is always a better translation or a translation that is closer to the source text. Each translation offers a different ‘reading’ of a translated text that is influenced by the translator’s metaphysics of presence and by his/her spatiotemporal realities. The study concludes that these deviations are essential in augmenting the meaning potential of texts and in obviating the fallacious notion of a ‘transcendental signified’ in addition to being a fundamental aspect in the formulation of a comprehensive reading of any modern poetic text. This results in making faithfulness in translating modern works imperative since any deviation from its modes of expression will blur the map of this forceful trend in the history of poetic evolution.

Recommended Citation

Alawi, N., & Jarrad, S. (2020). The translation of modern English poetry into Arabic: treating the idiosyncrasies of content and form. An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), 34(3), 559–596. https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-034-003-007
[1]N. Alawi and S. Jarrad, “The translation of modern English poetry into Arabic: treating the idiosyncrasies of content and form,” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 559–596, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.35552/0247-034-003-007.
Alawi, Nabil, and Samah Jarrad. “The Translation of Modern English Poetry into Arabic: Treating the Idiosyncrasies of Content and Form.” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), vol. 34, no. 3, Mar. 2020, pp. 559–96. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-034-003-007.
1.Alawi N, Jarrad S. The translation of modern English poetry into Arabic: treating the idiosyncrasies of content and form. An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities) [Internet]. 2020 Mar;34(3):559–96. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.35552/0247-034-003-007
Alawi, Nabil, and Samah Jarrad. “The Translation of Modern English Poetry into Arabic: Treating the Idiosyncrasies of Content and Form.” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities) 34, no. 3 (March 2020): 559–96. https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-034-003-007.

ترجمة الشعر الحديث من الانجليزية الى العربية: التعامل مع خصوصية المضمون والشكل

معلومات المقال

2018-07-17
2018-09-17
559 - 596

الكلمات الإفتتاحية

  • translation
  • Content
  • Linguistic Deviation
  • Modern Poetry
  • Form

الملخص

تتناول هذه الدراسة مسألة ترجمة الشعر الحديث من اللغة الانجليزية الى العربية في ظل التحديات الناتجة عن التجديد في مضمون وشكل الشعر الحديث مقارنة بالحركات الشعرية الأخرى، وتهدف الدراسة بشكل اساسي للبحث في مسألة التقديم اللغوي بالاعتماد على نظرية ليتش (Leech, 1969) للانحراف اللغوي مع التركيز بشكل خاص على الانحراف في المعاني النحوية والدلالية مع افتراض أن الخصوصيات في لغة الشعر الحديث هي نتيجة لعدم الثقة في قدرة اللغة على نقل المعاني وانعدام التواصل الذي يشكل السمة الاساسية للمجتمع الحديث. ومن خلال دراسة الأمثلة المختلفة، استنتجت الباحثة أن بعض المترجمين كانوا على درجة عالية من الوعي فيما يتعلق بأهمية هذه الانحرافات، فاختاروا الحفاظ عليها في كثير من الأحيان عن طريق استخدام الطرق التعويضية بسبب صعوبة تكرار نفس الخصوصيات، وخاصة في حالة اللغة العربية التي تنتمي إلى عائلة لغوية مختلفة عن اللغة الإنجليزية، في حين أن البعض الآخر آثر تعديل هذه الانحرافات في ظل قراءته للنص او من خلال ترجمتها في وئام مع اللغة العربية وقواعدها ومع ذلك، لا يمكن الحكم على أي من القرارات على أنها "صحيحة" أو "خاطئة"، بل يمكن وصف بعض القرارات بأنها اكثر وعيا من غيرها. وخلصت الدراسة إلى أن هذه الانحرافات ضرورية للحفاظ على إمكانيات النصوص التفسيرية، وتجنب الاعتقاد الخاطئ حول "ثبات المدلولالات"، بالإضافة إلى كونها جانبا أساسيا في صياغة قراءة شاملة لأي نص شعري حديث، مما يحتم على على المترجمين تطوير وعي كامل بالمعاني التي تثيرها هذه الخصوصيات لتمكينهم من اختيار طريقة الترجمة المناسبة التي تحقق العدالة للنص المستهدف وقرّاءه.

Recommended Citation

Alawi, N., & Jarrad, S. (2020). The translation of modern English poetry into Arabic: treating the idiosyncrasies of content and form. An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), 34(3), 559–596. https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-034-003-007
[1]N. Alawi and S. Jarrad, “The translation of modern English poetry into Arabic: treating the idiosyncrasies of content and form,” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 559–596, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.35552/0247-034-003-007.
Alawi, Nabil, and Samah Jarrad. “The Translation of Modern English Poetry into Arabic: Treating the Idiosyncrasies of Content and Form.” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), vol. 34, no. 3, Mar. 2020, pp. 559–96. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-034-003-007.
1.Alawi N, Jarrad S. The translation of modern English poetry into Arabic: treating the idiosyncrasies of content and form. An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities) [Internet]. 2020 Mar;34(3):559–96. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.35552/0247-034-003-007
Alawi, Nabil, and Samah Jarrad. “The Translation of Modern English Poetry into Arabic: Treating the Idiosyncrasies of Content and Form.” An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities) 34, no. 3 (March 2020): 559–96. https://doi.org/10.35552/0247-034-003-007.

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