THE UNIVERSITY

OF BIRMINGHAM

Department of English
Centre for English Language Studies

Open Distance Learning MA TEFL/TESL/Applied Linguistics/ Translation Studies

Name Noor Balfaqeeh

Country where registered Worldwide
Dissertation title Strategies for Translating Idioms and Culturally-bound
Expressions within The Human Development Genre
Submission date September 17, 2009

Submission First submission / Resubmission

Name of supervisor Theron Muller

DECLARATION
I declare:
a) that this submission is my own work;
b) that this is written in my own words; and
c) that all quotations from published or unpublished work are acknowledged with
quotation marks and references to the work in question.
d) that this dissertation consists of approximately 13,000 words, excluding footnotes,
references, figures, tables appendices & long quotations.

Name: Noor Balfaqeeh

Date: September 17, 2009

STRATEGIES FOR TRANSLATING IDIOMS AND CULTURALLY-BOUND
EXPRESSIONS WITHIN THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT GENRE

by

NOOR BALFAQEEH

A dissertation submitted to the

School of Humanities
of the University of Birmingham
in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of

Master of Arts
in
Translation Studies

This dissertation consists of approximately 13,000 words

Supervisor: Theron Muller

Centre for English Language Studies

Department of English
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT
United Kingdom

September 2009
 ABSTRACT

As a result of their openness to other cultures, Arab readers have become more interested
in reading translated books within the sub-genre of personal and professional
development. This type of genre is full of idioms and culturally-bound expressions that
need to be carefully translated into Arabic. This research aims to investigate which
translation strategies are more acceptable to the readers: domesticated or foreignized
strategies.

Following Basil Hatim‘s (2001) schematic representation of action research, this

dissertation includes qualitative methods implemented in pair-in-depth interviews and a
quantitative survey. The survey‘s questionnaire was developed based on an observation
of data collected from different books. The results show that domesticated translation
strategies are more acceptable to Arab readers. Moreover, Arab readers care more about
the core message and appreciate translated idioms and cultural expressions using Arabic
equivalents, though literal translation and deletion gained minor preferences.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Following the holy command of Allah in the verse, ―And remember, when your Lord
proclaimed, ‗If you will be grateful, then I shall give you more, and if you are thankless,
then My torment is severe.‘‖ (Ibrahim Chapter: verse 7) and the sacred guidance of
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) represented in his saying, ―Whoever does not
thank people (for their favours) has not thanked Allah (properly), Mighty and Glorious is
He!‖ (Musnad Ahmad, Sunan At-Tirmidhî), I would like to express my sincere gratitude
to a group of people who contributed to the accomplishment of this dissertation.

My sincere thanks go to my supervisor Theron Muller, whose guidance and advice were
the assets upon which the dissertation was developed to reach its current status. I also
would like to thank my friend, Dr Jannat Al-Abbasi, who has been a great contributor to
my development, both academically and intellectually. Her keen advice and close
supervision yielded a firm determination on my side to do my best.

On this occasion, I would never forget to thank my friend, Dr Siddiga Al-Ghalib, the
research methods specialist who was my reliable reference when facing problems with
research reliability. She was a generous advisor who spent long hours teaching me how to
implement several quantitative techniques to achieve the objectives of my research.

Above all, my soul mate, my husband Abdullah Al-Bar, is the one who deserves the most
gratitude and appreciation for his support and encouragement along with my parents, who
never stop praying for my best.
 CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................................

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................

CONTENTS ..........................................................................................................................

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................

LIST OF FIGURES ..............................................................................................................

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1

1.1. Arabic and English: Linguistic Overview................................................................ 2

1.2. Arabic and English: Cultural Overview ................................................................... 2

1.3. Translation Status in Saudi Arabia, the Target Culture ........................................... 3

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 5

2.1. Translation as Problems and Solutions .................................................................... 5

2.2. Translation Strategies............................................................................................... 8

2.3. Translation Strategies: Further Classification ........................................................ 10

2.4. Professional and Personal Development Sub-Genre ............................................. 11

2.5. Methodologies to Investigate Translation Problems.............................................. 12

CHAPTER 3 HYPOTHESES AND OUTLINE ............................................................. 14

3.1. Research Hypotheses ............................................................................................. 14

3.2. Dissertation Outline ............................................................................................... 15

CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 16

4.1. Identifying and Investigating the Problem ............................................................. 16

4.2. Evaluate, Organize and Consolidate the Data........................................................ 17

4.3. How to Eliminate the Problem ............................................................................... 19

4.4. Implement Action .................................................................................................. 20

4.5. Questionnaire and Reliability ................................................................................ 26

CHAPTER 5 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................ 28

5.1. Qualitative: Meeting Respondents in Person ......................................................... 28

5.2. Quantitative: Wider Reach ..................................................................................... 32

5.3. Deletion as a Final Resort ...................................................................................... 39

CHAPTER 6 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION ........................................................... 41

6.1. The Message Matters: Paraphrasing or Arabic Equivalent.................................... 41

6.2. Other Strategies: Literal Translation and Deletion ................................................ 43

6.3. Recommendations and Implications ...................................................................... 44

6.4. Restrictions and Further Research ......................................................................... 45

APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. 47

Appendix 1 First Draft of the Questionnaire (Arabic) .................................................... 47

Appendix 2 Second Draft of the Questionnaire (Arabic) ............................................... 49

Appendix 3 Final Draft of the Questionnaire (Arabic) .................................................... 52

Appendix 4 Final Draft of the Questionnaire (English)................................................... 55

Appendix 6 Statistical Analysis of the Test and Re-Test Check .................................... 62

Appendix 7 Collected Data ............................................................................................. 62

Appendix 8 Interviews Questions ................................................................................... 69

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 71

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Dissertation Outline .........................................................................................................................15
Table 2: Subject Classification and Distribution ..........................................................................................22
Table 3: Sample of the First Questionnaire's Questions on Idioms ...............................................................23
Table 4: Sample of the First Questionnaire‘s Questions on Culturally-bound Expressions ..........................24
Table 5: Sample of Second Questionnaire's Questions on Idioms ................................................................24
Table 6: Sample of the Second Questionnaire's Questions on Culturally-bound Expressions ......................25
Table 7: Sample of the Final Questionnaire's Questions on Idioms ..............................................................25
Table 8: Sample of the Final Questionnaire‘s Questions on Culturally-bound Expressions .........................25
Table 9: Question 2 .......................................................................................................................................33
Table 10: Question 9 .....................................................................................................................................33
Table 11: Question 7 .....................................................................................................................................33
Table 12: Question 8 .....................................................................................................................................34
Table 13: A Breakdown of the Questions‘ Results According to Idiom Type ..............................................36
Table 14: Question 19 ...................................................................................................................................38
Table 15: Question 21 ...................................................................................................................................38
Table 16: the Breakdown of the questions‘ results according to Culturally-bound Expressions ...................39
Table 17: A Sample of Deletion Questions ...................................................................................................40

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Total Score for Idioms ...................................................................................................................42
Figure 2: Total Score for Culturally-Bound Expressions ..............................................................................43
Figure 3: Total Score for Deletion .................................................................................................................44
 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Applying different translation strategies is one of the tools translators use to overcome
translation problems. Idioms and culturally-bound expressions are among prominent
translation problems, especially when translation occurs between two distinct languages like
English and Arabic which diverge both linguistically and culturally. This research aims to
investigate which translation strategies are most acceptable from the point of view of Arab
readers, when translating idioms and culturally-bound expressions within the sub-genre of
professional and personal development literature. The paper starts with a brief examination
of the linguistic and cultural features of English and Arabic, in addition to a concise
background of the status of translation in Saudi Arabia, the target culture. The literature
review explores what makes idioms and cultural expressions problems in translation and
what kinds of strategies are used to conquer these problems. It also presents different
classifications of translation strategies that will be used in the discussion, along with a
succinct summary of the research genre. Before commencing the methodology of the
research, a short presentation about methodologies that are commonly used to investigate
translation problems is provided, followed by a chapter introducing the hypotheses and an
outline of the research.

For the methodology, Basil Hatim‘s (2001) schematic representation for action research is
followed to include several steps starting with the problem definition and data collection
from two books within the research genre. Then the subjects of the research are
characterized to preface the practical method that is followed. Qualitative and quantitative
methods are designated so that the research can accomplish its objectives, among which is to
develop the measuring tool of the research, the questionnaire. The outcomes of both stages
are discussed intensively in Chapter 5, covering all translation strategies that were tested.

Finally, the results are presented in Chapter 6 along with the research restrictions and
recommendations. Throughout the paper, there are some abbreviations used. These

1
abbreviations are ST, TT, SL and TL which stand for source text, target text, source
language and target language respectively.

1.1. Arabic and English: Linguistic Overview

Arabic and English languages are different from each other, both linguistically and
culturally. Linguistically, Arabic is a Semitic language that depends on verbs made up of
three consonants, ―the-tri-consonantal-root‖, as the basic root from which all other
vocabulary can be derived (DeYoug, 1999). Arabic is also a highly inflected language that
depends on inflections to determine case, gender, and number. Another salient feature of
Arabic is diglossia. ―Diglossia is a situation where two very different variation of a language
co-occur throughout a community of speakers, each having a distinct range of social
functions‖ (Dickins, 2002:167). To elaborate, Arab children acquire different local
colloquial, and non-standard Arabic such as Syrian, Egyptian and Hijazi. By the time they
go to school, they begin to learn the standard Arabic (Mohammed, 2000, 129). Standard
Arabic, which does not allow colloquial expression, is most preferable in writing.

On the other hand, English language is an Indo-European language that is partially

inflectional and highly word-order dependent. It is non-diglossic but differentiates between
spoken and written language. English written language may contain some spoken-like
chunks, but this depends on the register and genre type. Also English has a limited
inflectional system compared to Arabic.

1.2. Arabic and English: Cultural Overview

English and Arabic are spoken by nations that are geographically, religiously, and socially
distant. Language and culture, which is ―whatever a person must know in order to function
in a particular society‖ (Goodenough in Wardhaugh 1986:219), are in a mutually
influential relationship, so the cultural dimension is very significant when two languages
are involved in any type of interaction. For Ronald Wardhaugh (1986:220) this inter-
influential relationship follows three patterns: 1) the strong claim of linguistic determinism
or the weaker claim of linguistic relativity (Sapir-Whorf), when language determines
culture (the way the language‘s speakers view the world); 2) when the way the language‘s

2
speakers view the world determines language use; and 3) when the relationship between
language and culture is neutral.

Holmes (2001:78) defines lingua franca as ―a language serving as a regular means of

communication between different linguistic groups in a multilingual speech community‖.
Standard Arabic is the lingua franca of most Muslim and Middle East countries, among
which is Saudi Arabia, the target culture in this research. Therefore, Arabic is very much
affected by the Islamic social system. For example, in Arabic, there are two different terms
which stand for the English ‗uncle‘: ‗khal‘ is the mother‘s brother, and ‗aam‘ is the father‘s
brother. This distinction has implications regarding the position and status of ‗khal‘ and
‗aam‘ within Arabic culture.

In addition, the geographical nature of Middle East countries is very much reflected in
Arabic vocabulary because ―the physical and cultural environment in which it develops
influences the vocabulary and the grammar of a language‖ (Holmes 2001:337). To describe
hot weather, for example, there are tens of adjectives that do not have direct English
equivalents. Conversely, English vocabulary describing wet and rainy weather is rich and
hard to be fully translated into Arabic.

English, meanwhile, is the lingua franca of international academic, political and economic
summits and conferences. It is the official language of many countries around the world and
it is spoken as the second/foreign language in many countries, including Saudi Arabia. In
Saudi Arabia, English is obligatory throughout the education system – elementary,
intermediate, and secondary and university – yet it is taught with varying intensities (Al-
Khatib in Harbi 2007:108).

1.3. Translation Status in Saudi Arabia, the Target Culture

Saudi Arabia is currently going through information, economic and commercial revolutions.
These revolutions emerged through globalization and openness to other countries and
cultures, specifically European and American culture. This openness has resulted in
importing new texts about sciences and arts to meet the demands of a population seeking to

3
access that knowledge. However most of these texts are written in languages other than
Arabic, so translation into Arabic has flourished, particularly from English. English to
Arabic translation is popular for two reasons. First, as mentioned earlier, as the second
language in Saudi Arabia, English is more accessible to many professionals, such as
bankers, airline employees, and medical professionals (Al-Khatib cited in Harbi 2007:103).
Second, knowledgeable leaders within emergent fields are writing in English, raising interest
in reading translations of those texts.

Nevertheless, the performance of the translation industry in Saudi Arabia can be evaluated
as modest for several reasons. Economic factors play a major role in reducing the quality of
translation. Al-Khatib (in Harbi 2007:108) notes that ―the high costs of printing and
publishing in Saudi Arabia compared to the competitive costs in the other Arab countries
accentuates also the inflow of the imported Arabic translated books.‖ The cost of translation
has led the Saudi private sector to turn to other Arab countries, such as Egypt and Syria, for
their translation needs. Nonetheless, the number of books translated into Arabic and
introduced into the local market has increased between 1994 and 2004; the social sciences
and humanities have had the highest share of the translations in response to the demands of
the market (ibid). Private publishers like Jarir and Obaikan are among the top private
translation centres in Saudi Arabia in terms of cultural, political and literature translations
that target non-specialized readers. All the above factors, along with the translation
industry‘s negligible contribution to the Saudi economy, somehow results in modest national
interest to regulate translations for their quality (ibid).

4
 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Translation as Problems and Solutions

Idioms and cultural expressions will be introduced and discussed as translation problems in
order to understand how they cause difficulties during translation; subsequently, a review of
the strategies used in translating them will be presented.

2.1.1. Idiom as a Translation Problem

Idioms are treated as figures of speech, which are defined in the Collins English Dictionary
(2006) as: ―an expression such as a simile, in which words do not have their literal
meaning,‖ but are categorized as multi-word expressions that act in the text as units.
Longman Idioms Dictionary (1998) defines an idiom as: ―a sequence of words which has a
different meaning as a group from the meaning it would have if you understand each word
separately.‖ Accordingly, idioms should not be broken up into their elements because they
are sometimes referred to as a ‗fixed expression‘ (Cowie and Mackin, 1975: viii cited in
Abu-Ssaydeh 2004).

Baker (1992:63), on the other hand, considers idioms and fixed expression as two different
categories under the multi-word units; she refers to them as ―frozen patterns of language
which allow little or no variation in form, and in the case of idioms, often carry meanings
which cannot be deduced from their individual components.‖ Also she adds some
constraints on idiom usage, which include the inability to change word order or structure and
the inability to delete, substitute or add words. On the other hand, Carter (1998:66) classifies
idioms as a type of fixed expression that include proverbs, stock phrases, catchphrases,
allusions, idiomatic similes and discoursal expressions. However, this classification does not
have defined boundaries and a structural overlap is very much expected (ibid). He also
identifies different sets of fixed expression characteristics: 1) non-substitutable, 2) more than
a single word and 3) semantically frozen.

5
The semantic and syntactic variation in frozenness results in different types of fixed
expressions. In this research, some of the fixed expressions other than idioms are included
for their idiomatic function because ‗idiomacity‘ (Cowie and Mackin (1975) and Cowie
(1983) cited in Abu-Ssaydeh 2004) is the common feature shared by all types of fixed
expressions.

Idioms are difficult to translate. It is sometimes hard to find the right equivalent for a single
word without finding equivalence for a sequence of words that convey one specific meaning.
Idiom translation difficulties fall into different types. First, there is a lack of sense
equivalence in the TL; idioms are culturally specific, which means that they may express a
sense that doesn‘t occur in the TL. Baker stresses this point when she says:

Idioms and fixed expressions which contain culture-specific items are not necessarily untranslatable.
It is not the specific items an expression contains but rather the meaning it conveys and its
association with culture-specific context which can make it untranslatable or difficult to translate.
(1992:68).

Thus translating the idiom mostly depends on the context in which it has occurred. Second,
there may be equivalence for the idiom in the TL, but the situation in which it has been used
differs from the SL to the TL. In other words, an idiom may have the same sense in the TL
but a different connotation. For example, ‗to sing a different tune‘ means in English to say or
do something that contradicts what has been said or done before. The Arabic equivalence for
that idiom is ‗yuGanni 'la laylah‘ (literal: ‗sing to his own Layla‘) and is used to refer to
situations in which a person only cares about his/her own benefit. Both idioms share the
surface meaning but are used differently. Third, the frequency and the formality of idioms
differ from one language to another. Baker (1992) demonstrates this point by giving Arabic
and Chinese as examples of languages that allow limited use of idioms in formal written
texts.

2.1.2. Cultural Expressions as Translation Problems

Bell (1991:20) defines the phenomenon of translation as ―the replacement of a
representation of a text in one language by a representation of an equivalent text in a second
language.‖ But in the era of globalization, translation has acquired a prominent position

6
because ―multiculturalism, which is a present-day phenomenon, plays a role here, because it
has had an impact on almost all peoples worldwide, as well as on the international relations
emerging from the current new world order‖ (Karamanian, 2002). Therefore, due to
globalization, some cultural aspects and notions are widespread across cultures, regardless
of linguistic, ethnic, and religious background. In this paper, culturally-bound expressions
may relate to some of these universal cultural phenomena, but the focus is on cultural-
specific notions.

Carter (1998:34) differentiates between core vocabulary – which is the basic domain of lexis
that a language user needs to communicate in a simple context with foreigners or children –
and non-core vocabulary by several criteria, including being culture-free. He pointed out that
―the more core the word is, the less likely it is to be restricted to culture-specific uses‖
(1998:41). Based on that theory, there is core vocabulary that is independent from culture
and can be interpreted similarly in all contexts and cultures, and non-core, or culturally-
bound, vocabulary that must be interpreted differently from one culture to another. On the
other hand, within Sapir-Whorf‘s linguistic relativity, which is that ―language influences
perceptions, thought, and, at least potentially, behaviour‖ (Holmes 2001:324), Homeidi
points out that culture determines language: ―Words only have meaning in terms of the
culture in which they are used‖ (2004:14). Therefore, there are two schools of thought
regarding the level of culture involvement in vocabulary interpretation.

Based on the first school, words or expressions can be classified into two categories:
cultural-free, like eat, walk, chair, etc., and cultural-bound, like Independence Day,
godfather, Christmas, family reunion, etc. Although the second school states that no word
can be understood without its cultural context, there are some words that have universal
semantic elements that can be found in all languages. In this paper, culturally-bound
expressions are the ones that are specific to a given culture and do not necessarily have
equivalents in other cultures.

Teilanyo (2007) also considers culturally-bound expressions as a source of difficulty in

translation when she says, ―The difficulty arises from the problem of finding adequate target

7
language equivalents for terms conveying culture-sensitive notions in the source language as
a result of the fact that the two languages have different meaning subsystems and cultures‖
(2007:16). Some core vocabulary is not perceived as core by all language users (Carter
1998:46), so finding equivalents for these words would be problematic. If this is true for
core vocabulary, which are basic and simple words, finding equivalents for non-core
vocabulary would be even more challenging. It is harder because every language has
different semantic features, classifications, and prototypes. Furthermore, the level of
translatability of culturally-bound expressions depends on the feasibility of the TL
equivalents at both the denotative and connotative meaning levels (Teilanyo 2007:16). For
example, the denotative meaning of ‗hand‘ is the physiological part of the human, but at the
connotative level, there are many meanings of the word that may either relate to the
denotative meaning, like the metaphorical use of ‗give a hand,‘ or may not relate to it, like
the collocation of ‗second-hand.‘ It is also important to consider that ―[t]he process of
transfer, i.e., re-coding across cultures, should consequently allocate corresponding
attributes vis-a-vis the target culture to ensure credibility in the eyes of the target reader‖
(Karamanian 2002).

2.2. Translation Strategies

Idioms
Figures of speech and multi-word expressions are some of the most challenging translation
difficulties, according to Newmark (1988:104). Translating idioms is difficult, since idioms
are frozen chunks of words whose overall meaning differ from the meanings of the words
involved. To deal with the above difficulties, the translator may: 1) translate an idiom with a
counter identical TL equivalence1 (e.g. a thousand mile journey begins with the first step;
Arabic idiom: ‫و حبذأ بخط٘ة‬ٍٞ ‫ ;)سحيت األىف‬2) translate the idiom with a non-identical TL idiom
that conveys the same sense (e.g. beating around the bush; Arabic idiom: ٜ‫ضشة أخَبعًب ف‬ٝ
‫أعذاط‬, lit: multiplying fives by sixes); 3) paraphrase the idiom, which could risk losing the
stylistic impact of the idiom; 4) provide a literal translation, which may risk losing the
semantic impact, or 5) delete the idiom which risks losing both the stylistic and the semantic

1 All examples mentioned are taken from the data collected for this research.

2
It is important to mention that 70% of the C2 class were located in Jeddah, which justifies the similar

8
impact (Abu-Ssaydeh, 2006:117-120). Abu-Ssaydeh takes the view that the choice of a
particular strategy will depend on the ―closeness between the two languages, the translator‘s
experience, the adequacy of dictionaries, and the nature of the idiom in question‖ (2006:
117).

Culturally-Bound Expressions
Cultural expressions, on the other hand, are a salient translation problem, especially when
translating between two distinct languages that are spoken by two distant nations. To
translate the culturally-bound expressions, translators may use six different strategies
depending on the type of the culturally-bound expression itself. When translating culturally-
bound expressions, the translator may first provide the literal equivalents only without
adding any more information, as with ‗ ‫ إرا‬-ٙ‫ اىَْضه ٍش ة أخش‬ٚ‫َنْل اىشج٘ع إى‬ٞ‫ ف‬. ‫فقذ حٍ٘بط ٗىف ٍخطئ‬
‫ْت ٗ صحبت غبىبت‬َٞ‫‘ مبُ ٍْضىل ػببسة ػِ ػالقت ر‬as a TT for ‗Thomas Wolf was wrong. You can go
home again – if your home is a treasured relationship, a precious companionship.‘ This
strategy can be used when the ―translator knows that the TT reader will be familiar with the
cultural background reflected in the ST‖ (Sanchez 2007:129). Secondly, the translator may
literally translate and provide some addition information like ‗‫ دػبء‬Alcoholics Anonymous
ُ‫غؼُ٘ ىيخخيص ٍِ ٕزا اإلدٍب‬ٝ ِٝ‫ اىنح٘ه اىز‬ٍْٜ‫ت ٍذ‬ٞ‫ ‘ٕ٘ دػبء اشخٖش ػِ جَؼ‬as a TT for ‗Alcoholics
Anonymous prayer.‘ In this strategy, the translator intervenes depending on his/her
knowledge, and ―if he does not intervene, the purpose of translation as an act of cross-
cultural communication is not respected, and we can be sure that the reader in the target
language will not get the message expressed in the source text‖ (Homeidi 2004:24).

Thirdly, paraphrasing the expression is another strategy, with ‗ ‫ ٗ اىَقبػذ‬ٜ‫ٌ اىنشاع‬ٞ‫االٓ حَبً بخْظ‬
‫ اىغشق‬ٚ‫ْت أٗشنج ػي‬ٞ‫ ظٖش عف‬ٚ‫ ‘ػي‬as a TT for ‗like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic.‘
Fourthly, translating using the TL equivalent if available is another strategy, like ‗ ‫فت‬ٞ‫ٗص‬
‫ ‘اىؼشٗط‬for ‗bridesmaid.‘ Fifth, the translator may borrow the expression from the TL
culture, like '‫ دػبء‬Alcoholics Anonymous.‘ To support this strategy, Teilanyo says:

While philosophical concepts may not be translatable using the basic code of the TL, and some
lexical items may have to be translocated to the TT as loans or borrowings, others may be subjected
to some form of translation by resorting to ―loan translations,‖ ―calques,‖ ―neologisms,‖

9
 ―circumlocutions,‖ and some other forms of literalism (Jakobson 1992: 147; Mokwenye 1997: 11;
Okeogu 1997: 4). (2007:6)

Finally, the translator may delete the expression; which is what most translators choose
when faced with concepts that are considered taboo for the target culture. Sexual concepts
and purely Christian notions, for example, are among those concepts for Saudi culture.

In some cases a combination of more than one strategy is needed to convey the meaning
because, ―in many cases the social environment which underlies the SL will require an
adaptation, an explanation or a paraphrasing rather than, strictly speaking, a translation‖
(Sanchez 2007:129).

2.3. Translation Strategies: Further Classification

Translation strategies in general can be looked at differently. They can be pro-TL or SL
based on the communicative function of the translation itself (Karamanian 2002). When
using translation strategies that are pro-source language and culture, foreignized text would
be the outcome of the translation process. Literal translation and borrowing are among the
pro-SL translation strategies that introduce new or unfamiliar notions into the target culture.

The dilemma between producing foreignized texts and completely avoiding any foreign
features in the TT can be resolved by looking at Toury‘s notion of acceptability vs. adequacy
(1995:56-7). For Toury, on the one hand, producing adequate translation implicates some
departure from the target norms and abiding by the target norms to reach acceptability which
undertakes ―shifts from the source text‖ (1995:56). On the other hand, obligatory shifts in
the translation field universally occur, as the process of translation involves two languages
and two cultures (ibid). Manipulating non-obligatory shifts can help the translator produce
an acceptable TT that mainly communicates the intended message of the ST while
respecting the TL norms.

However, the pro TL translation is the free translation of Hasan Ghazala, who considers it
appropriate for specific genres like literary, political, journalistic, and cultural texts; these do
not require translation of details, but rather are concerned with conveying the general

10
message (2008:16). This leads to the notion of domesticating translation, which aims to
―allow the translation to work as a literary text in its own right, excreting its force within
native traditions‖ (Venuti 2000:16). For Ghazala, the translator of this kind of translation is
not committed to translate every single word of the ST, nor does he/she feel tied to the
constraints of individual words and phrases (2008:12). Using translation strategies that are
pro-TL, such as paraphrasing, deletion and translation using TL equivalents, can result in
domesticated TT. Domesticated texts match the TL norms linguistically and functionally,
whereas the translator manipulates the non-obligatory shifts abiding by the TL norms to
produce an acceptable TT.

Therefore, the translator is the centre around whom the whole process of translation
revolves. His/her knowledge, experience and ideology play a major role in selecting the kind
of strategy that will be used. Sanchez stressed this point when he stated,

It is not unusual, unfortunately, to come across lack of sufficient knowledge on the part of the
translator, and not just in relation to the SL, but also in relation to his or her own language. This has
a negative effect on the translation, sometimes to an extent that can be defined as foreignization
(2007:125).

However the visibility of translators‘ knowledge and ideology varies according to the level
of translator mediation, which is ―the extents to which translators intervene in the transfer
process, feeding their own knowledge and beliefs into their processing of a text‖ (Hatim and
Mayson 1997:147). Accordingly his/her choice of translation strategies will vary.

2.4. Professional and Personal Development Sub-Genre

Among the popular fields in which English translations are in high demand is the field of
professional and personal development literature. Professional and personal development
books are of interest to the target audience, which includes local, non-specialized readers in
Saudi Arabia. The information revolution that is emerging in Saudi society has motivated
the trend of seeking self-development, which includes an interest in attending seminars and
workshops and reading books on professional and personal development translated from
English. ―The social sciences occupied the first rank between the other sciences in the
number of books translated to Arabic language. About 39% of all translated books were in

11
this field this equals to 491 books.‖ (Al-Khatib in Harbi 2007:113). It has also been noticed
that the target audience tends to believe that what is written originally in the target language
within this genre is built on Western literature and knowledge. As a result, the translation
industry has flourished; this has caused the domination of commercial translation by the
private sector.

To wrap up, translation strategies can be pro-SL or TL depending on many factors, among
which are the genre of the text, the translator‘s ideology, the communicative purpose of the
translation itself and the distance between the two cultures involved.

2.5. Methodologies to Investigate Translation Problems

2.5.1. Toury’s Model of DTS
Gideon Toury‘s model of Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) (1995) suggested four
phases for translation research. Phase 1 of DTS includes all research that compares the
source text with the target text in terms of acceptability and adequacy continuum in four
ways. The first way compares the ST with different synchronic TTs. The second way
compares the ST with different diachronic TTs. The third way compares the same ST with
different TTs produced by the same translator throughout time. The fourth one compares the
same ST with different TTs in different languages. Phase 2 suggests that the ST is compared
to its TT in parallel. Phase 3 assumes that the TL equivalents always exist, yet what is
significant in such research is what affects the translator‘s choice. Within phase 3, unlike
phases 1 and 2, the process of translation gains more priority than the translation product.
Phase 4 similarly throws lights on the socio-cultural dimension of translation. It gives the
socio-cultural aspect of translation a prominent role through elaborating norms that
determine translators‘ choices.

Therefore, this research matches the first way of Toury‘s phase 1 because it studies the ST
and its synchronic TT. It also works within the second phase, since it compares the idioms
and culturally-bound expressions of the ST and the TT in parallel. In addition, phase 4 is
reflected in this research because socio-cultural dimensions are extensively elaborated to
analyze the implication behind the translation strategies used.

12
 2.5.2. Experimental vs. Action
In terms of descriptive research framework, this research can be categorized as action
research, since it mainly focuses on proposing the best translation strategies by examining
the translation process and observing the translator‘s tendencies when translating idioms and
culturally-bound expressions. However, proposing the most effective strategies to translate
idioms and culturally-bound expressions is measured through investigating the feedback of
Arabic readers, which is where the quantitative components of the research emerge. In
addition, since it is quite difficult to have access to the translators themselves (since the
translation is anonymous in both books of the study), an analysis of the process of
translation is achieved through comparing the ST and the TT in parallel. In other words, the
results are achieved through analyzing the translation product, which can be seen as an
experimental model. On the other hand, looking at the linguistic items that are culturally
bound and investigating them within the sub-genre of self- and professional development,
which is highly loaded with socio-cultural features, there is a need to adopt some techniques
of the ethnographic model of research. Ethnographic parts of this research include the field
study via the observation of the readers‘ feedback and the qualitative interpretative analysis
of the interviews.

To summarise, in order to explore the most effective strategies in translating idioms and
culturally-bound expressions, several steps were followed that functioned within the
schematic representation of action research proposed by Basil Hatim (2001), which is laid
out in Chapter 4.

13
 CHAPTER 3 HYPOTHESES AND OUTLINE

3.1. Research Hypotheses

When dealing with translation problems, such as idioms and culturally-bound expressions,
translators tend to resort to different strategies to conquer these difficulties. According to
Hatim (2001), analyzing and working on translated texts should involve studying the context
of the translation, the history of the ST and TT and the position of the text within the literary
system of both languages. Thus, strategy selection is determined by several factors among
which are, the knowledge and the experience of the translator, the translation tools available
to him/her and, most importantly, the text genre and the type of target audience. The
professional and personal development sub-genre is the focus domain of this research and
the Muslim Arabs who live in Saudi Arabia are the target audience. Therefore, based on the
literature review of translation strategies introduced earlier in Chapter 2, the main
hypothesis of the research is that the most acceptable translation strategies to translate
idioms and culturally-bound expressions from English into Arabic within the professional
and personal development sub-genre are the pro-TL strategies, which are paraphrasing,
deletion and using Arabic equivalents. Two sub-hypotheses are derived from the main one:

1. Paraphrasing and translating using TL equivalents are acceptable strategies in

translating idioms because the two languages involved are spoken by distant cultures
and translation within this particular subgenre is communicative, so the message of
the ST can be conveyed by using such strategies.
2. Deletion and paraphrasing are acceptable strategies in translating culturally-bound
expressions due to the cultural distance between the two languages involved.

To collect the data for this research two books were scanned for idioms and culturally-bound
expressions: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey and Love Smart
by Phil McGraw. Both books were translated by Jarir Bookstore, one of the leading
translation centres in the target country, as mentioned above.

14
 3.2. Dissertation Outline
This research will consider the issues discussed so far by analyzing translation strategies
employed by English to Arabic translators of popular mass-market self- and professional
development books. Table 1 demonstrates how the translation strategies of idiomatic and
cultural expressions are classified, tested and analyzed. More information about the
methodology of this research is included in Chapter 4.
Stage Function

Data Collection Scanning the two books for idioms and culturally-bound expressions
Prior to Implementation

Data Classification Sorting the different types of idioms and

culturally-bound expressions
Strategies Classification Listing the most common strategies for translating
idioms and
culturally-bound expressions

Qualitative Method Focus group Pair-in-depth

Implementation

The outcome is used to design the questionnaire and to enhance the

analysis
Questionnaire Finalized to be used in next stage
Quantitative Method Distribution Coding and tabulation

Analysis & Discussion The outcome of the previous stages will be interpreted within the cultural
Implementation

norms and the sub-genre features

Post

Table 1: Dissertation Outline

For easy reference to the translation strategies that are the focus of this study, some
abbreviations are used. PM, AE and LT stand for paraphrased meaning, Arabic equivalent
and literal translation, respectively. SC and TC are abbreviations for source culture and
target culture.

15
 CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY

As mentioned in the conclusion of section 2.2.2, Basil Hatim‘s (2001) schematic

representation of action and practitioner research is the methodology adopted in this study.

For Hatim, action and practitioner research within translation studies are implemented to
achieve different purposes, one of which is the aim to ―upgrade the general quality of
performance among teachers and learners, novices and professionals‖ (2001:189). From
identifying and investigating the problem, through evaluating and consolidating the data and
listing the possible course of actions, to predicting the outcomes, and finally, to
implementing and evaluating the action, Hatim suggested a schematic representation of
action and practitioner research. The steps of Hatim‘s schematic representation are
implemented in this research as follows.

4.1. Identifying and Investigating the Problem

Due to the information revolution that is emerging in the Saudi society, the target audience
has a tendency towards reading translated books in self- and professional development
rather than reading original Arabic books. Likewise, because of the need for translating
books in response to increased local demand, studying and analyzing the type of
translations available in the market is crucial in order to come up with reliable
recommendations for the translation strategies that should be followed. On the other hand,
English books in the sub-genre of self- and professional development are loaded with
idioms and culturally-bound expressions that are extensively used to present the content in
an easily readable and applicable layout for readers. Therefore, translating such books into
Arabic, and consequently addressing a conservative Saudi audience that is unfamiliar with
the source language and culture, is quite challenging. Hence, the problem can be stated as
thus: What would the best translation strategies be for dealing with idioms and culturally-
bound expressions when translating personal and professional development books from
English into Arabic?

16
In addition, there is another issue that needs to be tackled. When translating this sub-genre
of self- and professional development literature, would it be more effective to foreignize or
domesticate the TT? In other words, the choice of translation strategy depends on the type
of translation that is implemented, either domesticated or foreignized. Knowing what Arab
readers prefer when reading this kind of book would help the translator to decide which
translation strategy to use.

4.2. Evaluate, Organize and Consolidate the Data

To investigate what translators tend to do when faced with idioms and culturally-bound
expressions, two books are chosen as data sources. This stage was executed in two phases.

Phase I
The first book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, was chosen for several reasons.
This book represents both sub-genres, personal development and professional development,
because it presents a range of communication skills that can be applicable and effective in
the context of one‘s personal, social, and professional life. It is also considered to be one of
the leading books in the Saudi market within the field of human development. In addition,
this book is rich in terms of idioms and culturally-bound expressions. Thus, the book was
scanned to locate the idioms and culturally-bound expressions, and then the Arabic version
was scanned to locate the parallel expressions. All data were organized in a table (refer to
Appendix 7) according to the type of expression found and the translation strategy that was
used. Idioms and culturally-bound expressions are classified as follows:

Idioms
The idiom categorization of Carter (1998), which includes idioms that are originally
metaphors, idioms that are semantically opaque, and idioms whose sense has been lost, is
followed, in addition to proverbs (i.e., ‗a thousand mile journey begins with the first step‘),
discoursal expressions (i.e., ‗sooner or later‘), and allusions and quotations (i.e., ‗do unto
others as you want others to do unto you‘). Fixed collocations (i.e., ‗dead drunk‘), similes
(i.e., ‗as old as the hills‘) and phrasal verbs (i.e., ‗hang out‘) are excluded from the scope of
this paper. However, there is an overlap between the idiom categories, and one idiom can be

17
classified under more than one category. For example, ‗to trample on the sacred ground of
another's heart‘ can be classified as an idiom or as allusion, because it is derived from the
words of Thornton Wilder: ―trampling on the feelings of those about you‖ (The Free
Dictionary). As a result, the idioms were re-categorized based on the translation strategies
used.

Based on the data collected, there are six translation strategies: 1) literal translation of
idioms that have a TL equivalent, 2) literal translation of idioms that have no TL equivalent,
3) literal translation of idioms that have the potential to be TL idioms eventually, 4)
paraphrasing, 5) translation using the TL equivalent, 6) incorrect translation and 7) deletion.

Culturally-Bound Expressions
Following Armellino‘s (2008) classification, culturally-bound expressions are divided into
three categories: 1) historical, 2) social and 3) religious. Historical expressions consist of
several sub-categories including literary expressions like (Aesop‘s fable of the goose and the
golden egg), historical incidents (like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic) and allusions
(e.g. ‗In the words of Abraham Maslow, ―He that is good with a hammer tends to think
everything is a nail‖‘). It is true that allusions are included in the idioms above, but allusion
exists in the grey area between idioms and culturally-bound expressions. In other words,
some allusions, like the Golden Rule‘s ―do unto to others as you want others to do unto
you,‖ are quoted idiomatically; over time, they become part of the language‘s idioms. Social
expressions include environmental expressions like ‗a place that served liquor would violate
his parole‘. Religious expressions include expressions related to any religion other than
Islam like ‗servant of Potiphar‘ and ‗Jeez Louise‘.

These culturally-bound expressions are classified according to the translation strategy that
was used: 1) literal translation without any attempt of domestication, 2) literal translation
with some features of domestication, 3) borrowing, 4) foreignized paraphrasing without any
attempt of domestication, 5) domesticated paraphrasing, 6) translation using the TL
equivalent, and 7) deletion.

18
Phase II
After sorting out the data collected from the first book and classifying the translation
strategies used while translating into Arabic, it was decided to include another book as
another data source for the following reasons. When all types of idioms and culturally-bound
expressions were sorted, a pattern of translation strategy in handling some types of idioms
and culturally-bound expressions was observed. For example, the translator of The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People tends to delete religious quotes and literally translate
allusions and idioms. Thus, in order to raise the external validity of the research, analyzing
what another translator may do was necessary. Another justification is that the first book
does not include many social expressions that are considered taboo in the target culture, such
as sex and dating. For this reason, the second book was selected because it is a social book
and talks about daily social practices of Western culture at a personal level using informal,
speech-like language. The second book included is Love Smart, by Phil McGraw.

4.3. How to Eliminate the Problem

To decide which translation strategies are acceptable to the target audience of Saudi Arabia,
certain factors need to be taken into consideration. The purpose of this study is to discover
the best strategies to translate idiom and culturally-bound expressions, but the question is,
how does one define the term ―best strategies?‖ Are they the best because they convey the
intended meaning, or because they abide with the SL, or because they abide with the TL?
Ultimately, it was decided to define the best translation strategies as those that convey the
original intended meaning of the ST linguistically and pragmatically, while simultaneously
abiding by the TL norms.

The effective strategy presumably could be the strategy that results in an acceptable TT.
Therefore, the acceptability of the TT can be considered as a measuring criterion for the
effectiveness of the translation strategy that has been used. At this point, the need for field
work to collect the feedback of local readers and investigate their satisfaction with available
translated books was brought to the surface. Two investigation techniques were
implemented to survey the acceptability of translated idioms and culturally-bound

19
expressions by local Arab readers. All were carried out after summarizing the translation
strategies that are commonly used by the translators of the two books mentioned above.

Another way to reach the best strategies in translating idioms and culturally-bound
expressions is to investigate how translators make their decisions about strategies that
should be used. This approach concerns the process of translation itself rather than the
product and requires access to local translators.

It would be better if both approaches were combined to come up with the best translation
strategies within the genre of human development because that would likely result in an
integrated outcome that is convenient for translators and acceptable to the target audience.
However, due to the limited size and time-frame of this research, only the first approach was
applied: to present the most acceptable strategies from the point of view of the readers,
regardless of what translators may experience while translating.

4.4. Implement Action

To put this plan into action, two research methods were conducted to explore how the local
Arab readers evaluate the translated books within the genre of human development and what
they consider as acceptable in terms of translated idioms and culturally-bound expressions.
The first method involved qualitative personal interviews, and the second was composed of
a quantitative survey. Before introducing the elements of the qualitative and quantitative
stages, the subjects‘ features will first be discussed because the same criteria are applied in
both stages.

4.4.1. Subjects
Generally speaking, the subjects of this research are Arab readers, males and females, who
tend to read books translated into Arabic because they either lack the English language skills
that would enable them to read English books, or they are bilingual but feel more
comfortable reading books in their mother tongue. Subjects are also interested in reading
translated books in the human development genre, specifically those involving personal and
professional development.

20
The subjects‘ demographic description includes the following qualities: aged between 22-55,
Saudi or Arab expatriate, and holders of at least a Bachelor‘s degree. As an exception to the
last demographic criterion, some senior undergraduate student respondents were accepted.

For the age criterion, Arab readers below age 22 were excluded for two reasons. First, the
under-22 age group barely find time to read about personal and professional development
because their time is extremely occupied with studying and reading within the area of their
studies. Secondly, people who are truly interested in cultivating their personal and
professional skills tend to be those who work and are married, or about to marry, both of
which are qualities usually found in the over-22 age group.

Arab expats are included in this study to see if their feedback is different than that of the
Saudis. Generally speaking, it is quite common to think that Saudis are more conservative
and close-minded than other Arabs, so we might expect they would be biased toward
strategies that are pro-TL. Another reason was that the aim of this research is to recommend
the most effective strategies while translating into Arabic English idioms and culture-bound
expressions to all Arab readers regardless of their nationality. In addition Arab expats
represent a considerable percentage of the Saudi Arabia population, so including them will
add to the diversity of research coverage.

In addition to the rationale behind age criterion, a Bachelor‘s degree was the minimum
educational level of the respondents for the following reasons. Bachelor‘s degree holders
appear to have fair language capabilities and reading skills that will enable them to judge
texts for acceptability. They also tend to have an interest in reading books on personal and
professional development to enhance their skills.

Table 2 below illustrates the number and distribution of the respondents throughout the
methodology stages of the research.

21
 Qualitative Subjects

Group Type No/Group Gender Number

Focus Group 1 Mixed (5 females and 1 male) 6

Paired-in-depth 6 2 females 12
Paired-in-depth 6 2 males 12
Subtotal of Qualitative Respondents 30
Quantitative Subjects
Location No/Group Gender Number
Jeddah 60 30 males and 30 females 60

Riyadh 60 30 males and 30 females 60

Subtotal of Quantitative Respondents 120
Grand Total of Subjects 150

Table 2: Subject Classification and Distribution

4.4.2. Qualitative Method

Interviews
The interviews were conducted in two phases to fulfil different objectives. The first phase
consisted of one focus group. The group consisted of five females and one male; all matched
the criteria for the research subjects. The objective of this group was to test the first
questionnaire. The first draft of the questionnaire was given to this group. Participants were
asked to complete it and comment on the structure and layout. The feedback from this focus
group was incorporated in the development of the second draft of the questionnaire.

The second phase consisted of six pair-in-depth interviews with three males and three
females. The initial plan was to conduct three mini focus groups consisting of four
respondents, two females and two males. However, it was not convenient to accommodate
females and males in one location because of the culturally-sanctioned segregation system
followed in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, some respondents would not agree to participate in
the research, if they knew that the interviews would be mixed-gender.

22
Questionnaire
The body of the questionnaire was built upon the completion of the data consolidating stage.
After studying the data collected from the two books selected for this research, the vision of
the questionnaire body became clear. Having envisioned a profound background about type
of idioms and culturally-bound expressions along with the most frequently used strategies in
translating into Arabic, the structure of questions was developed gradually to reach its final
version, which is attached in Appendices 3 and 4. For easy reference, the questions of the
questionnaire will be referred to as Q plus the number of the questions, as in Q1, Q2, etc.

Draft 1
The first draft was tested with the focus group mentioned above to validate its structure and
content. It consisted of two sections: one for idioms and the other for cultural expressions. In
the idiom section, the respondents were asked to choose the most correct meaning for the
underlined expression, and they were also given the choice to rank the three choices based
on most correct and least correct. The first section consisted of 13 questions, each of which
included text cited from one of the two books. The idiom in every question was underlined
as it was translated, and the respondent had to choose one of the three meanings provided.
The three choices represented a TL equivalent, paraphrasing, and an incorrect translation,
respectively (refer to Table 3 below). Q13 was a repetition of Q2 to validate the seriousness
of the respondents while filling in the questionnaire.
‫التقٌٌم‬ ‫المعنى‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً القال و القٌل‬ ‫ؼٌر أنً ال أشعر بؤي والء من ناحٌتهم وأظن أننً لو تؽٌبت ٌوما واحدا‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً ما ال ٌنفع‬ ‫ فسوؾ ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً الثرثرة حول نافورة المٌاه‬،ً‫لمرض ب‬
‫ٌضٌعون وقتهم فً التنزه و الحدٌث حول‬ ‫لماذا ال أستطٌع تدرٌبهم على أن ٌكونوا نتحملٌن للمسإولٌة؟‬
‫نافورة المٌاه‬
Table 3: Sample of the First Questionnaire's Questions on Idioms

Section 2 regarding cultural expressions was similarly organized, but the request was to
choose the most acceptable choice rather than the most correct meaning to fill in the gap.
There were 12 questions and four choices: the TL equivalents, one paraphrased expression,
and two literal translations of the ST expression, one of which had additional information. In

23
some of the questions where the cultural expression was deleted in the TT, the expressions
were retrieved in the text of the question (refer to Table 4 below).
‫التقٌٌم‬ ‫التعبٌر البدٌل‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫دعاء المدم نٌن على الكحول المجهولٌن‬ ‫و بهذه الطرٌقة فإننا ال نعطً هذه المشاكل‬
" ‫دعاء‬Alcoholics Anonymous ‫القوة لتسٌطر علٌنا و نتشرب بالروح التً " (و هو دعاء اشتهر عن جمعٌة‬
)‫مدمنً الكحول الذٌن ٌسعون للتخلص من هذا اإلدمان‬ ً‫" إلهً هبن‬.................." ‫تنبعث من دعاء‬
‫دعاء الخمر المجهول‬ ‫الشجاعة ألاؼٌر من األشٌاء التً ٌجب أن‬
‫تتؽٌرو السكٌنة ألقبل األشٌاء التً ال ٌمكن‬
"Alcoholics Anonymous "
.‫تؽٌٌرها‬
Table 4: Sample of the First Questionnaire’s Questions on Culturally-Bound
Expressions

Draft 2
After discussing the first draft with the respondents in the focus group, some major
modifications took place. In the idiom section, the respondents were requested to fill in gaps
instead of choosing the meaning of the idiom; the three choices stood for TL equivalent,
paraphrased meaning, and literal translation. The wrong choice was deleted for being a
leading option that would definitely not be chosen (refer to Table 5). The repeated question
was deleted because there was no need for it; the questionnaire demanded focus and
concentration from the respondents, who easily figured out the repetition in the first draft.
‫التقٌٌم‬ ‫المعنى‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً القال و القٌل‬
‫ؼٌر أنً ال أشعر بؤي والء من ناحٌتهم وأظن أننً لو تؽٌبت ٌوما واحدا‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً ما ال ٌنفع‬
‫ لماذا ال أستطٌع تدرٌبهم‬................................‫ فسوؾ‬،‫لمرض بي‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً الثرثرة حول‬
‫على أن ٌكونوا متحملٌن للمسإولٌة؟‬
‫نافورة المٌاه‬
Table 5: Sample of Second Questionnaire's Questions on Idioms

For the culturally-bound expression section, the choices were reduced to three choices to
reduce the ambiguity and the similarity of some options. In addition some of the literal
translations of the expressions, especially those that talked about historical and literary
incidents were accompanied by a note of explanation between parentheses (refer to Table 6).
‫التقٌٌم‬ ‫التعبٌر البدٌل‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫دعاء المدمنٌن على الكحول المجهولٌن‬ ‫و بهذه الطرٌقة فإننا ال نعطً هذه المشاكل القوة لتسٌطر‬
" ‫دعاء‬Alcoholics Anonymous ‫" (و هو دعاء‬ ‫علٌنا و نتشرب بالروح التً تنبعث من دعاء‬

24
 ‫" إلهً هبنً الشجاعة ألاؼٌر من األشٌاء اشتهر عن جمعٌة مدمنً الكحول الذٌن ٌسعون للتخلص‬.................."
)‫من هذا اإلدمان‬ ‫التً ٌجب أن تتؽٌرو السكٌنة ألقبل األشٌاء التً ال ٌمكن‬
.‫تؽٌٌرها‬
"Alcoholics Anonymous "

Table 6: Sample of the Second Questionnaire's Questions on Culturally-Bound

Expressions

The second draft of the questionnaire was shared with the respondents of the six pair-in-
depths interviews after the core discussion. The comments and the feedback of the 12
interviewees were used to produce the final draft of the questionnaire that was sent out for
the quantitative stage.

Final Draft
One major section was added to this draft. Its importance was discovered based on the
insightful feedback received from the pair-in-depth interviews. When discussing the
translation of some religious expressions and some sensitive social practices, there was
diversity in the feedback of respondents as to whether these elements should be literally
translated or totally deleted. Therefore, the third section of the questionnaire was composed
of close-ended direct questions that asked the respondents about their preferences when
translating these sensitive social and religious expressions (refer to Table 7).
‫األمثال‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫ْفغ‬ٝ ‫ ٍب ال‬ٜ‫ْفقُ٘ ٍؼظٌ ٗقخٌٖ ف‬ٝ 01 ‫ٍ٘ب‬ٝ ‫بج‬ٞ‫ ى٘ حغ‬ّْٜ‫خٌٖ ٗأظِ أ‬ٞ‫ ٗالء ٍِ ّبح‬ٛ‫ ال أشؼش بأ‬ّٜ‫ش أ‬ٞ‫غ‬
ٓ‫ب‬َٞ‫ اىزشرشة ح٘ه ّبف٘سة اى‬ٜ‫ْفقُ٘ ٍؼظٌ ٗقخٌٖ ف‬ٝ 02 ‫ ىَبرا ال‬................................ ‫ فغ٘ف‬،ٜ‫ٗاحذا ىَشض ب‬ 1‫ط‬
‫و‬ٞ‫ اىقبه ٗ اىق‬ٜ‫ْفقُ٘ ٍؼظٌ ٗقخٌٖ ف‬ٝ 03 ‫ت؟‬ٞ‫ِ ىيَغؤٗى‬ٞ‫نّ٘٘ا ٍخحَي‬ٝ ُ‫ أ‬ٚ‫بٌٖ ػي‬ٝ‫غ حذس‬ٞ‫أعخط‬

Table 7: Sample of the Final Questionnaire's Questions on Idioms

In addition, the second section was reduced to ten questions, and some of the questions now
offered only two choices—literal translation and paraphrasing; paraphrasing stands for the
TL equivalent, since there was no TL equivalent for those expressions (refer to Table 8).
‫التعبيراث الثقافيت‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫ت مبّج حقذً بشّبٍجب‬ٞ‫ن‬ٝ‫ت أٍش‬ٍٞ‫ إػال‬ٜٕٗ( ٜ‫ت ٗ اّفخبح اىؼَت ب‬ٞ‫ح‬ٝ‫قيِ بنو أس‬ٝ ‫ل‬ٝ‫ شش‬ٚ‫ "اىؼز٘س ػي‬............ ِ‫أػشف أُ بؼضن‬
01
) ‫ْبث‬ٞ‫ اىغخ‬ٜ‫ب ف‬ّٞ٘ٝ‫حفض‬ ٛ‫ظ عٖال مأ‬ٞ‫بة ً ُ أجو ػالقت حخ٘س ببىضٗاس ى‬ٞ‫ اىح‬1‫ط‬
ِ‫قي‬ٝ ٗ ‫َب‬ٝ‫شا قذ‬ٞ‫فنشُ حفن‬ٝ 02 "‫ اإلطالق‬ٚ‫ىؼبت ػي‬

Table 8: Sample of the Final Questionnaire’s Questions on Culturally-Bound

Expressions

25
As a result, the questionnaire ultimately consisted of twenty-six questions, twelve for
idioms, ten for culturally-bound expressions, and four for culture and deletion. Upon
completion of this stage of the qualitative field work, the quantitative work followed.

4.4.3. Quantitative Method

To prepare the questionnaire for this stage, some modifications were made. In order to send
the questionnaire to different locations in Jeddah, the local city of the research, and Riyadh,
the capital of the Saudi Arabia, a number of different interviewers was required.
Consequently, an information sheet was added to the questionnaire to guide the interviewers
in ensuring that the questionnaire administration was consistent across groups. The
information sheet clearly stated the steps of the questionnaire, along with the specific
questions that verify its criteria. In addition, every single question was coded in preparation
for the tabulation and statistical calculation. The final questionnaire is included along with
the information sheet in Appendices 3 and 4.

The questionnaire was distributed in the two main cities in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah and
Riyadh. These cities were chosen for several reasons. First, the community of Riyadh is
known for its conservative disposition. It represents the religious ideology of the Saudi
people more than the Jeddah community, which is known for its ideological diversity and
multiculturalism. For its low multiculturalism and high localism, Riyadh is a rich
environment in which to meet the criteria of the research‘s subjects who tend to read
translated books rather than reading English books. In addition, Riyadh includes a higher
percentage of Saudis than does Jeddah. Furthermore, the questionnaire targeted both males
and females to ensure that its conclusions pertained to both genders. To address the target
respondents directly, this stage was specifically conducted next to/in two main bookstores in
Saudi Arabia: Jarir and Obaikan which are among the top translation centres locally.

4.5. Questionnaire and Reliability

In order to enhance the reliability of the questionnaire, the measurement used for this study,
several techniques were employed. First, as mentioned before, one of the main objectives of

26
the pair-in-depth interviews was to test the questionnaire and its readability and validity.
Second, the repeated question that was added to the first draft of questionnaire and which
was later deleted was another trial to raise the reliability of the questionnaire through testing
the respondents‘ seriousness. Furthermore, having more than one question for every type of
idiom and culturally-bound expression was meant to lead to reliable results. Most
importantly, the test and re-test technique was implemented to verify the reliability of every
question on the questionnaire.

The test and re-test reliability check was conducted as follows. After one month of the first
round of the quantitative stage, in which 121 respondents took the questionnaire, the second
round took place, during which the questionnaire was re-administered to 15 respondents out
of the initial 121 respondents. Afterwards, the results of these 15 respondents in both rounds
were compared. The comparison showed that 3 questions scored less than 10 on the scale of
15 which stands for the 15 respondents. These low reliable questions are Q8 (the proverb),
Q9 and Q11 which are metaphorical idioms. For detailed information about the statistical
results of the test and re-test technique, refer to Appendix 6.

27
 CHAPTER 5 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

5.1. Qualitative: Meeting Respondents in Person

The qualitative stage of the research aims to learn about the target audience and their
preferences in terms of strategies and expectations when reading translated books. This stage
also aims to get direct and comprehensive feedback from the sample about the questionnaire
for the sake of improvement. In other words, this stage partially serves as a trial step towards
finalizing the measuring tool of this research.

As mentioned before, this stage was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of one
focus group. This phase aimed to test the first draft of questionnaire, and the outcome was
incorporated in Draft 2 in Chapter 4.

Twelve respondents were interviewed for the second phase; half of them were men, and half
were women. All of the interviewees matched the criteria of the research sample. The
interviews were conducted in Arabic and mainly focused on four topics: 1) reading
translated books generally, and personal and professional development books specifically, 2)
opinions about the language of the translated books and participants‘ reactions towards it, 3)
how they prefer Western idioms and culture-bound expressions to be translated; and 4) a
discussion about the questionnaire. A sample of the questions raised during the interviews is
in Appendix 8.

The discussion for this stage is categorized based on gender because the interviews were
conducted in separate pairs to adhere to the segregation and social restrictions of the TC.

5.1.1. Women’s Point of View: Motives and Preferences

Women‘s motives behind reading books vary and include the desire to learn about Western
cultures, the inspiring, interesting and optimistic content, Western writers‘ respectful attitude
towards readers, and the catchy titles and attractive displays of books in bookstores.
However, the desire to educate themselves and improve their skills is the highest drive

28
behind buying translated books in general. In addition, what they like most about Western
authors within professional and personal development is that they are globally addressing
human minds and raising issues that relate to humanity in general. They also think that those
authors are simple and direct in their approach, presenting applicable ideas and useful
advice.

Regarding the language of the available translated books, most of the female interviewees
think that the language is weak and sometimes difficult to understand, which makes them
read the paragraph more than once to grasp the idea. Nevertheless, this low language quality
does not matter to them as long as they can understand the general message. They also think
that sometimes the difficulty of understanding is not because of the incompetence of the
translator, but rather out of the oddness of the original notion of the ST; one of the
respondents mentioned an experience in which the author advises readers to burn hair ends
in order to encourage the hair to grow. She found the sentence difficult to understand for the
innovativeness of the thought rather than the lack of proper translation.

There is discrepancy in female feedback about preferences regarding translating culturally-

bound expressions. In terms of social and cultural notions, they all agree that the translator
should be loyal and honest in transferring the thoughts of the original author. To support
their argument, they stress the fact that the target audience is already familiar with Western
culture because of globalization and open media. ―TV shows like Dr Phil and Oprah, along
with Hollywood movies, play major roles in making Arab readers aware of Western culture,
particularly the American and European societies‖ is the essential claim that female
respondents gave when asked about culturally-bound expressions.

On the other hand, they give different feedback about translating religious notions, like
alcohol drinking and celebrating Christmas and sexual notions like dating and having sexual
relationships outside marriage. Some of them are pro translating the religious notions, but
the others are pro replacing those notions with Islamic ones. The former group thinks that
everything should be translated as it is, since the target audience is mature and has the ability
to filter and judge. Also they believe that they need to learn more about the Western culture

29
to avoid its faults and at the same time to build on their success. The latter group thinks that
religious and sexual notions should be domesticated in order not to harm the
conservativeness of the TC. For them, quotes from the Bible should be replaced by verses
from Quran and ‗girlfriend‘ should be replaced by ‗wife.‘ However, both groups agree that
notions that attack or harm Islam or Muslims either directly or indirectly should be deleted.

5.1.2. Men’s Point of View: Motives and Preferences

Likewise, male respondents have various motives behind reading translated books; however,
enhancing their work skills is their major motive behind reading human development books.
They also like the creative thoughts of Western authors which, they claim, most Arab
authors lack.

Although male respondents‘ feedback about the language of translated books varies, they all
agree that the language, most of the time, is weak and difficult to understand. This weak
language may stop them from completing the book. They think that sometimes the translator
has no knowledge about the topic and consequently fails to convey the intended message.
However, when they are asked to choose between reading an Arabic book and reading a
translated book within the same topic, they give different answers. One-third of the
respondents would read the translated books because they trust translators who tend to
domesticate the ST and present the TT in a layout that suits the target culture. The rest
would choose the original Arabic book to avoid the weak language of translation and out of
trust in the Arab author, who would be more effective in reflecting the TC.

All male respondents agreed that culturally-bound expressions should be wholly translated,
though those expressions are unrelated to the TC and accordingly difficult to be applied.
Similarly, they react to religious and sexual notions, but they advised that the translator may
generalize the notions to avoid translating sensitive expressions. They also refer to the fact
that they live in a global village and know a lot about Western society, so there is no harm in
translating everything about Western culture, including religious and sexual notions.

30
 5.1.3. From Hypothetical to Actuality: Testing the Questionnaire
After discussing their preferences, the questionnaire was given to the respondents, and the
results are discussed in this section.

For idioms, most female respondents choose either the AE or the PM. One-third of the
women choose some LT because they are affected by the translation language that is
available on the market. For Ghazala (2008:7), literal translation is frequently used in Arab
countries not only by novice translators, but by professional practitioners, which is the
reason why some respondents choose the LT. They get used to this type of translation
available on the market, as was mentioned by some of the respondents in the qualitative
stage. For those who pick the LT, the AE is the second choice for them, since they are
interested in reading literary books and accordingly appreciate the beauty of language. The
other two-thirds either pick the AE or the PM equally. Likewise, one-third of the female
respondents choose several LT for culturally-bound expressions, and the rest alternate
between AE and PM.

For idioms, most male respondents choose either the AE or the PM. They never chose the
LT. It was also noticed that the respondents who are good readers and tend to read literary
book prefer the AE because they really care about the beauty of language. In addition, these
respondents pick the original Arabic books in the previous section because the language type
and cultural reflection matter to them.

For culturally-bound expressions, men respondents choose either the AE or the PM. It seems
that there is a contradiction in the men‘s answers regarding cultural notions. In the previous
section, they theoretically wanted all of the cultural notions to be translated without change
and to generalize the sensitive (religious and sexual) notions. Nonetheless, in actuality, when
they were given the questionnaire, they never choose the LT. On the contrary, they pick the
AE more, which shows that they really care about the values and notion of their cultures,
especially where there is an equivalent that can be used. Except for one case, they choose the
LT that is accompanied with an explanation between parentheses.

31
Regarding the layout and the items of the questionnaire, most of the respondents‘ feedback
was positive, and their comments were taken into consideration when developing the final
form of the questionnaire.

5.2. Quantitative: Wider Reach

The final questionnaire was given to a sample of 121 respondents, who were classified
demographically as follows.

5.2.1. Demographic Features

The whole sample is classified based on gender, age group, community, social class and
nationality. In age group there are two categories: age group A ranges between 22 and 35
years; and age group B ranges between 36 and 55 years. For community and nationality,
there are two categories: Jeddah and Riyadh, and Saudi and non-Saudi. In terms of social
class, there are three categories: C1, C2, and B, integrally determined based on income,
education, and occupation. Social class C1 is the upper-middle class that can be defined as
educated people who may live in modest districts but in nice homes/apartments. They work
in senior posts in governmental or medium-sized companies. Class C2 is the lower-middle
class, usually low-ranking clerk positions or assistants at companies. They may have a
Bachelors degree from an average university and occupy junior posts in medium sized
organizations. By contrast, class B consists of people who are the top position holders in
large companies, or the educated class of the society. They usually have more than one car,
live in affluent areas of the city, and are termed ‗successful.‘

5.2.2. Idioms: Translation Strategies and TC

Gender Preference
Females
For the 12 questions about idioms, AE gets the highest score for female respondents in 6
questions, with PM getting the highest in the others. The highest percentage throughout the
12 questions is 58%, scored for the PM in Q5 that has an allusion by Abraham Maslow.
However, the second highest percentage is 52%, scored for the AE in Q9 and Q12. In Q9,

32
the AE is the favourite as a translation strategy for the idiom ‗you miss the bus‘ and in Q12,
the AE is the favourite for the discoursal expression ‗sooner or later.‘

LT is the second most popular choice for females in Q2 and Q9; both idioms are
metaphorical. LT in these questions is similar to AE, whereas both share the same words and
the same structure. To elaborate, in Q2, LT and PM have the same score of 28%; both
choices share the same structure with the AE. In addition, this score supports the work of
Ghazala (2008: 129) who recommends literal translation for metaphorical idioms.
AE was like an alarm knock on a sensitive string
fortunately the situation came up when we
PM was like an alarm stimulating a sensitive topic
Q2 purchased an appliance. But when it did come
was like a stimulus that triggered off a hot button
up, it …….. LT
response

Table 9: Question 2

Similarly in Q9, AE and LT share the same words:

AE you missed the marriage train
I do not want you to panic or to feel that………
Q9 PM you will become an old maid
but it is time to stop wasting your days.
LT you missed the bus

Table 10: Question 9

Males
For male respondents, PM gets the highest score in five of the 12 questions. The second-
highest scorer is the AE, which was the preferred answer for four questions. Among them is
the biggest percentage, 82%, scored for Q12, the discoursal expression. Both AE and PM
scored 34% equally for Q3. However, LT got the highest score for two questions, Q7 and
Q10. Although the phrase of Q7 was literally translated, it stresses a strong meaning using
the words ‗knees‘ and ‗kneel down.‘ Both words draw an image that illustrates the situation
and at the same time forms a phrase that can be used as a potential Arabic idiom in the
future.
During the five years I have lived in UK, I saw AE was rushed madly upon by misfortunes twice
that country………. because train conductors PM live crises twice
Q7
were maliciously obedient in following all the
LT brought twice to its knees
rules and procedures written on paper.

Table 11: Question 7

33
In Q10, the LT holds the word ‗back‘, which has a connotation of support in both languages.
Therefore, the LT is a potential equivalent to complete the sentences, though it perhaps does
not make sense in Arabic, generally speaking. In contrast to the women, LT is either the
men‘s first or second choice in six of the questions. In addition, wherever the LT is the first
choice, PM is the second choice for men.

Age group
A (22-35)
The highest score strategy for age group A is AE, repeated six times. LT was the favourite
for Q7, which was discussed in the previous section. PM is the second most popular
strategy, and was repeated in five questions. LT was the second highest strategy once for
Q2, as discussed earlier.

B (36-55)
The most popular strategy for age group B is PM, repeated eight times. The second highest
percentage, 57%, was scored for PM of Q4.

Community and Nationality

In Jeddah, LT and PM shared the first place of the highest strategy with four repetitions. In
Q3, both PM and AE scored 37%. LT was the highest for questions 2, 7, 8, and 10. The LT
of Q2 is the women‘s favourite, while Q7‘s and Q10‘s LT are the men‘s favourite. The LT
of Q8‘s proverb ‗no pain, no gain‘ may be used in Jeddah as a result of the openness and
multiculturalism of this city, which make its community familiar with such idioms and their
literal translations.
AE ‗If you want the honey, bear the bees‘ stings‘
……. has validity in some circumstances, but
‗The one who wants to achieve results has to bear the
Q8 it is not the essence of an effective exercise PM
difficulties‘
program.
LT ‗No pain, no gain‘

Table 12: Question 8

In Riyadh, PM is the highest strategy in 6 questions. It also shares the highest score with AE
in two questions, 7 and 11. LT is neither the first nor the second choice for the Riyadh
34
community. This means that PM is the Riyadh‘s community‘s first choice, and AE is its
second.

For Saudi respondents, PM is the highest strategy, repeated seven times out of ten questions.
LT is the highest for Q2 and shared the same percentage with AE. By contrast, AE is the
non-Saudi respondents‘ preference for seven questions and LT is neither the first nor the
second choice for them.

Social Class
PM is the highest favourite for Bs, repeated seven times out of 12 questions. The second
choice for them is AE, and they prefer the LT only in Q7 for the phrasal reason mentioned
previously. For C1s, LT and PM equally share the position of first choice across the 12
questions

The result of the C2 class is quite different. The highest score is PM, repeated in six
questions, but they also choose the LT in three questions: Q3, 6, and 8, with a score above
50%. In addition, LT is not chosen for these questions by any classification of the sample
except for Q8, where the LT version is the favourite of the Jeddah community. What also
adds to the strangeness of this result is that the LT of Q6 has no apparent significance and
cannot be interpreted from the context of the question.

5.2.3. Idioms and Translation Strategies from a Different Angle

The table below shows the breakdown of the 12 questions about idioms according to the
idiom types and the highest-scored strategies.
Idioms with potential Opaque Discoursa
Idiom Type Metaphorical Idioms Proverb
to be part of TL Idioms l Idiom

Q# Q1 Q2 Q3 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q12

Whole
PM PM PM AE PM AE PM PM AE PM/LT PM AE
Sample
Female AE AE PM AE PM AE PM PM PM AE PM AE
Male PM AE AE PM LT AE PM AE AE LT PM AE
Group A AE AE AE AE AE AE PM PM PM LT PM AE

35
 Group B PM PM PM AE PM PM PM AE AE PM PM AE
PM/
Jeddah PM LT PM LT AE PM AE PM LT LT AE
AE
Riyadh PM AE PM AE PM AE PM PM AE PM PM AE
Saudi AE LT/AE PM AE PM AE PM PM PM PM PM AE
Non-Saudi PM PM PM AE PM AE PM AE AE AE PM AE
B PM AE PM AE PM AE/PM PM PM PM LT PM AE
C1 PM PM AE AE PM AE PM AE AE PM/AE PM AE
C2 PM PM LT AE PM AE PM PM/AE/LT LT PM LT PM

Table 13: A Breakdown of the Questions’ Results According to Idiom Type

The majority of the sample prefers PM for translating four of the metaphorical idioms. In
addition, for most of the respondents, PM is the best strategy to translate the two idioms that
have the potential to be TL idioms in Q4 and 5, which eliminate their potential of being part
of the TL idioms. PM also is chosen for the proverb in Q8 and the opaque idiom in Q7.
Having revealed that PM is preferred by most of the respondents, the claim of Baker (1992),
which states that Arabic is among the languages that allow limited use of idioms in writing,
is supported. However, AE is preferred for the opaque idiom of Q6 and the discoursal
expression in Q12.

Female respondents pick PM for the two potentially transferable idioms, the proverb and
two of the metaphorical idioms, Q3 and Q10. AE is their preference for four metaphorical
idioms and the discoursal idiom. For the two opaque idioms, the female respondents are
divided between PM and AE. By contrast, male respondents choose PM for four
metaphorical idioms and the proverb in Q8. Opaque idioms for men are divided between AE
and LT, and the potential idioms between AE and PM.

Age group A is consistent in choosing AE for all metaphorical idioms, and PM is its choice
for the potentially transferable idioms, the proverb and one opaque idiom. Meanwhile, age
group B chooses PM for almost all the metaphorical idioms, the proverb, one opaque idiom
and one potentially transferable idiom.

36
For the Jeddah community, there is no consistency in their choices. All idiom types are
distributed between the three translation strategies. However, the Riyadh community prefers
PM for potentially transferable idioms and the proverb, and AE for opaque and half of the
metaphorical idioms.

Saudi respondents choose AE for most of the metaphorical idioms and PM for the rest,
except for one metaphorical in Q2, for which LT scored the highest. Metaphorical and
potentially transferable idioms are divided equally between AE and PM for non-Saudis; PM
is their choice for the proverb and AE for the opaque idioms.

5.2.4. Culture-Bound Expressions: Translation Strategies and TC

Throughout all questions in this section, LT and PM are the listed choices. However, AE is
given as a third choice in Q14, 16, 19, and 21. Most of the times, the LT is provided with an
explanation about the background of the culturally-bound expression, which for Homiedi
(2004:24) is the best strategy to translate culturally-bound expressions and idioms. This is
the case in Q15, 17, 18, 19, and 20. The result for this section is almost consistent across all
categories. Out of ten questions, PM is the highest scoring strategy in eight questions for
almost all categories.

In Q19, LT is the favourite strategy for all categories except the Riyadh community and
social classes B and C2. The Riyadh community and social class B choose AE, while class
C2 chooses PM. As mentioned before, the LT includes an explanation about the background
of the Titanic. This background might be irrelevant or unnecessary for Riyadh respondents;
they appear to be more conservative and close-minded, which makes them choose the AE.
The AE of the culturally-bound expression of this question, ‗like straightening deck chairs
on the Titanic,‘ is a rhetoric idiom that has a historical connotation.

37
 AE The one who cries after Malta‘s destruction
It is like straightening chairs on the deck of a
Efficient management without effective LT sinking ship (like what happened on the great
Q19
leadership is, as one individual had Titanic)
phrased it, ―…………….‖ It is like straightening chairs on the deck of a
PM
sinking ship

Table 14: Question 19

For class B, who are described as highly educated, the expressive and stylistic effect of the
AE is more privileged than the LT. On the other hand, it could be argued that the simplicity
of class C2 in terms of education and income was behind choosing the PM that is simple,
short and straightforward.

In Q21, the highest strategy across all categories is AE, except for the Jeddah community
and class C2,2 who both prefer PM. The Jeddah community may prefer the PM version
because they think that the original author would not write the AE ‗the love of Allah‘ while
the original is ‗the love of Christ.‘ This is the case for some respondents in the pair-in-depth
interviews. Also the wording and structure of the choices may lead the respondents to
choose this specific strategy. Thus, the Muslim community will never choose the LT.
AE My love of Allah
……… is visible through my actions toward
Q21 PM My faith
others.
LT My love of Christ

Table 15: Question 21

5.2.5. Culturally-Bound Expressions and Translation Strategies from a

Different Angle
The table below shows the breakdown of the ten questions of culturally-bound expressions
according to their types and the highest-scored strategies.
Culturally- Historical- Social- Social-
Social Historical-Literal
bound Exp social Environmental Religious

Q# Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q22 Q18 Q19 Q20 Q21
Whole PM PM PM/AE PM PM PM PM LT PM AE

2
It is important to mention that 70% of the C2 class were located in Jeddah, which justifies the similar
score.

38
 Sample
Female PM PM PM/AE PM PM PM PM LT PM AE
Male PM PM PM/AE PM PM PM PM LT PM AE
Group A PM PM PM/AE PM PM PM PM LT PM AE
Group B PM PM PM/AE PM PM PM PM LT PM AE
Jeddah PM PM PM/AE PM PM PM PM LT PM PM
Riyadh PM PM PM/AE PM PM PM PM AE PM AE
Saudi PM PM PM/AE PM PM PM PM LT PM AE
Non-Saudi PM PM PM/AE PM PM PM PM LT PM AE
B PM PM PM PM PM PM PM AE PM AE
C1 PM PM PM PM PM PM PM LT PM AE
C2 PM PM LT PM PM PM PM PM PM/LT PM

Table 16: Breakdown of the questions’ results according to Culturally-Bound

Expressions

The results for culturally-bound expressions are consistent. For the historical-social, social-
environmental and social expressions, the whole sample and the different classifications
choose PM. For historical-literal, PM is the choice except for Q19. The whole sample
chooses LT, which provided an explanation, except for the Riyadh community and the B
class, both of whom pick the AE. On the other hand, the Jeddah community picks the PM
for the religious expression in Q21, which reflects the tendency of this community towards
multiculturalism.

5.3. Deletion as a Final Resort

The third section of the questionnaire contains four questions with three choices. The
choices are deletion, LT, and AE. This section aims to explore whether deletion is the
audience‘s favourite in any culturally-bound cases. In this section, the respondents are asked
directly to choose the strategy which is paraphrased simply to state the situation of
translating some sensitive cultural situations. For example, they are asked what they would
prefer – deletion, LT, or PM – when translating social and ethical practices that belong to
Western society, like going to nightclubs and having sexual relations outside of marriage.

Here, the results are quite unexpected. Although deletion is the highest in Q25 for the
sample, with a non-significant score of 36%, LT is second with a score of 35% of the whole

39
sample. Q25 asks about the best strategy for translating religious practices, and it is
surprising to get the two most extreme strategies, LT and deletion, close in their score. In
addition, deletion got the lowest score in the other three questions, which indicates that
respondents do not prefer deletion at all levels. This result agrees with the feedback of the
majority of the interviewees in the qualitative stage.

Another surprising result is in Q23, where LT and AE scored the same, 40%, for the whole
sample. The question asks about how to translate sensitive social practices – mainly sexual
practices. However, when revising the questions in the culturally-bound section, particularly
Q22, which contains a sensitive sexual notion, the result was similar; here 60% of the
sample chose PM, and the rest chose LT.

Q26 asks the respondents about their preferred strategy for translating literary and historical
quotes and incidents (refer to Table 17). Most of the respondents prefer LT, which
corresponds to Q19 that asks about translating a literary expression and where LT is the
most frequent strategy.
Q26 Sentences that contain some literary and To be deleted as long as deletion will not
01
historical incidents that belong to affect the general meaning
western society like historical stories 02 To be literally translated
and quoting the literary works. To be replaced by quotes from Arabic
03
literature and History
Table 17: A Sample of Deletion Questions

40
 CHAPTER 6 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

6.1. The Message Matters: Paraphrasing or Arabic Equivalent

At the qualitative stage, translations using AE and PM were the interviewees‘ favourite
strategies for most idioms. Also one-third of the female interviewees chose LT, but men
never liked LT. At the quantitative stage, and across all idiom questions of the
questionnaire, AE was most frequently chosen by female respondents. PM was their
second favourite strategy, and LT was chosen by them in the questions where the LT of
the idiom resembled the AE. By contrast, PM was chosen most by male respondents,
with AE as the second most popular. They chose LT for a couple of questions (Q7 & 10)
in which the LTs emphasized an image that could symbolize the meaning of the idiom.
This result appears to indicate that women are interested in the beauty of language more
than men are.

For the other classifications of the research sample, age group B, the Riyadh community,
Saudis, and the B social class all chose PM most across all idiom questions, while AE
was chosen most by age group A and non-Saudi respondents. However, in the answers of
those classifications, a minor percentage opted for the LT, except for the Riyadh
community, who are described as being more conservative and close-minded.

Across the whole sample, PM ended up in first place as the most popular answer for eight
questions, and AE was the second most popular as repeated for four questions. However,
statistically, AE took first place, with 40% of the total answers of the 121 respondents;
PM came in second with 38% (refer to Figure 1). Therefore, we can conclude that AE
and PM are the most acceptable strategies for translating idioms within the genre of
professional and personal development. This conclusion is supported by Ghazala‘s point
about translating proverbs; this can be generalized and applied to all other types of
idioms. Ghazala (2008:143) states that literal translation is not recommended for
proverbs, because it might distort the meaning, while paraphrasing or ―translating by
sense‖ can be the last resort when the equivalent or near equivalent is not available.

41
 Total Score for Idioms

40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
Total
15%
10%
5%
0%
Arabic Meaning Literal
equivalent Paraphrased Translation

Figure 1: Total Score for Idioms

For culturally-bound expressions, the interviewees at the qualitative stage chose LT for
social practices; for religious notions, however, men chose PM or generalization, and
women chose LT or AE. Yet when given the questionnaire, they chose either AE or PM,
with more opting for AE.

At the quantitative stage, there was consistent feedback about culturally-bound

expressions across all categories (refer to Figure 2). Most of the respondents chose PM
for all questions except for two: Q19 and Q21. For Q19 (Titanic idiom), LT was the
favourite except for the Riyadh community and the B class, who choose AE, and the C2
class, who choose PM. These exceptions can be interpreted as a consequence of Arab
readers‘ familiarity with and understanding of the cultural and historical ideas of the
Titanic. For Q21 (religious expression), AE was the favourite, except for people from
Jeddah and the C2 class, who chose PM. This exception goes with the feedback of most
interviewees, who preferred the religious notions to be replaced by Islamic ones or to be
generalized.

42
 Total Score for Culturally-Bound Expressions

50%

40%

30%
Total
20%

10%

0%
Arabic Meaning Literal
equivalent Paraphrased Translation

Figure 2: Total Score for Culturally-Bound Expressions

In a nutshell, domesticated strategies, including paraphrasing and translation using

equivalents, were more favourably received than the foreignized strategies, which include
literal translation, even though most of the literal translation choices in the culturally-
bound expressions in the questionnaire were accompanied with explanations.

6.2. Other Strategies: Literal Translation and Deletion

It is true that LT scored a minor percentage across the questionnaire, but this share cannot
be ignored. For example, the LT of idioms shared first place with PM for the Jeddah
community and the C1 social class. This result is supported by Ghazala‘s notion (2008:
129), which recommends translating metaphorical idioms directly using literal translation
so the TT can be indirectly understood. Also due to globalization and world media, many
Arab readers, especially those from the multi-cultural community of Jeddah, are familiar
with Western culture, which makes them understand and accept literal translation. In
addition, the translation available in the local market nowadays, which somewhat
depends on literal translation, affects readers‘ sense of judgment and makes them see
literal translation as the linguistic style of translated books.

Regarding deletion, the results, either in the qualitative or quantitative stages, do not
support deletion at all levels of culturally-bound expressions, though deletion non-

43
significantly scored high in one of the third section‘s questions relating to religious
practices (refer to Figure 3 which shows the total score for deletion at the quantitative
stage).

Total Score for Deletion

50%
40%
30%
20% Total
10%
0%
Deletion Literal Arabic EQ
Translation

Figure 3: Total Score for Deletion

To synthesize, literal translation might be acceptable and sound familiar to Arab readers
who frequently read translated books and who are oriented to Western culture and
practices. On the contrary, deletion is not preferred as it is presumably received by Arab
readers as a dishonest practice on the part of the translator, and this supposition is
supported by much of interviewees‘ feedback in the qualitative stage. It can also be taken
as an indication of how keen Arab readers are to learn about Western cultures.

6.3. Recommendations and Implications

To a certain degree, Arab readers are satisfied with what is available now in terms of
translated books, and they convey indifference regarding the quality of translation.
However, we cannot conclude that they really do not care about the quality of language
because when they have a quality translation that mostly depends on translation using
Arabic equivalents, they praise the quality and comment on the ease of reading and
smooth flow of sentences. In addition, it is very important to remember that Arab readers
are eager to read in Arabic the knowledge of famous Western writers, regardless of the
linguistic frame in which it is presented. Moreover, Arab readers are already used to the
approach adopted by the leading translation centres in Saudi, which mainly use literal
translation and sometimes paraphrasing.

44
Arab readers are seeking self-development in their exploration of personal and
professional development books. Therefore, translating books within the genre of
professional and personal development using paraphrasing and generalization, i.e. pro-TL
strategies, is communicatively effective and at the same time acceptable, since the readers
are hungry for information and knowledge. This conclusion is applicable in the case of
idioms and culturally-bound expressions. In other words, if direct equivalents for idioms
or cultural expressions are not available, paraphrasing would be sufficient and acceptable
to the target audience.

Furthermore, it can be inferred from the results of this research that translating books that
address women more than men, using more polished language, and translating idioms and
cultural expressions using equivalents from the target language would be more effective
and acceptable. On the other hand, men care about the message more and prefer
generalized translation, which means that books that are purely addressed to men can be
translated using paraphrased meaning and generalized notions that convey the message
directly without any attempt towards using stylish language.

6.4. Restrictions and Further Researches

This research would be conducted more effectively, reach more accurate results, and
obtain applicable recommendations were it not restricted to the feedback of readers only.
In other words, a more comprehensive approach to the research would include insights
and reflections of what the translators tend to do when translating idioms and culturally-
bound expressions, as well as how they decide to choose one strategy over another. It
would also enhance the methodology if the research tested different translations of
specific numbers of idioms and culturally-bound expressions using different translation
strategies to see which strategy is more effective and more acceptable.

Future research can ascertain from this study the importance of conducting a range of
research on this topic. For one thing, research that investigates how translators tend to
translate idioms and cultural expressions and the reasons behind choosing one strategy

45
rather than the other would contribute to any kind of research that is meant to measure the
feedback of readers. Likewise, obtaining accurate feedback from the readers can be
conducted in stages; in each stage, one strategy could be tested to verify the significant
effectiveness of it in comparison to the other strategies.

Finally, more researches on the demands of the local market in terms of translated
material would contribute to any linguistic or cultural translation research that aims to
explore the best practices and the effective strategies in dealing with translation
problems. This kind of market research would also serve as an informative platform that
would pave the way for any national attempt towards regulating and developing
translation industry.

46
 ‫‪APPENDICES‬‬

‫)‪Appendix 1 First Draft of the Questionnaire (Arabic‬‬

‫البٌانات الدٌمغرافٌة‬
‫أكثر من ‪40‬‬ ‫‪40-20‬‬ ‫أقل من ‪20‬‬ ‫‪:‬‬ ‫العمر‬
‫دكتوراه‬ ‫ماجستٌر‬ ‫باكالورٌوس‬ ‫‪:‬‬ ‫المستوى الدراسً‬
‫ؼٌرها‬ ‫الرٌاض‬ ‫جدة‬ ‫‪:‬‬ ‫المدٌنة‬

‫******************************************************************************************‬
‫الرجاء قراءة التعلٌمات قبل البدء فً تعبئة االستبٌان‬
‫هذا االستبٌان ٌتألف من قسمٌن‪:‬‬
‫‪ .1‬القسم األول ٌقٌس مدى فهم القارئ العربً لبعض التعبٌرات اللؽوٌة المترجمة من اللؽة االنجلٌزٌة إلى العربٌة‬
‫‪ .2‬القسم الثانً ٌقٌس مدى قبول القارئ العربً لبعض التعبٌرات الثقافٌة المترجمة من اللؽة االنجلٌزٌة إلى العربٌة‪.‬‬
‫*****************************************************************************************‬
‫أوال‪ :‬التعبٌرات اللغوٌة‬
‫التعلٌمات‪:‬‬
‫‪ .1‬الرجاء اختٌار المعنى األصح للعبارات التً تحتها خط بوضع الرقم ‪ 1‬فً المربع المقابل‬
‫‪ٌ .2‬مكنك ترتٌب المعانً (بحٌث ٌمثل رقم ‪ 1‬المعنى األكثر صحة و ٌمثل الرقم ‪ 3‬الرقم األقل صحة)‪.‬‬

‫التقٌٌم‬ ‫المعنى‬ ‫العبارة‬

‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً القال و القٌل‬ ‫ؼٌر أنً ال أشعر بؤي والء من ناحٌتهم وأظن أننً لو تؽٌبت ٌوما واحدا لمرض بً‪،‬‬ ‫‪.1‬‬
‫فسوؾ ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً الثرثرة حول نافورة المٌاه لماذا ال أستطٌع تدرٌبهم‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً ما ال ٌنفع‬
‫على أن ٌكونوا متحملٌن للمسإولٌة؟‬
‫يضٌعون وقتهم فً التنزه و الحدٌث‬

‫كان كمنبه دق على وتر حساس‬ ‫لحسن الحظ أصبح األمر على ما ٌرام فقط عندما اشترٌنا الجهاز‪ .‬و لكن عندما‬ ‫‪.2‬‬
‫عرضنا هذا األمر للمناقشة كان كمنبه ضغط بشدة على زر استجابة حادة‪ ،‬وبدا لً‬
‫كان كمنبه أثار موضوعا حساسا‬ ‫هذا االمر كرمز لكل التفكٌر ؼٌر العقبلنً و قد ولّد داخلً سلسلة من األحاسٌس‬
‫السلبٌة‪.‬‬
‫كان كمنبه أٌقظنً من ؼفلتً‬

‫و أصبح المشروع أشبه باألرض الخربة‬
‫وتحوله إلى منظر بشع ٌإذي العٌون‬
‫و تحوله إلى مصدر تعاسة‬
‫كان المشروع ٌتهاوى‪ ،‬و بدت الشوارع اشبه ما تكون بساحة من األعشاب البرٌة‪ ،‬أما‬ ‫‪.3‬‬
‫مالكوا المنازل القلٌلة التً كانت قد شٌدت فقد تكاتفوا سوٌا فً مواجهة تدهور قٌمة‬
‫ممتلكاته م‪ ،‬و على مستوى المدٌنة ساد جو من االضطراب بشؤن تاخر مشروع أرض‬
‫النخبة عن موعده المحدد و تحوله لقذى العٌون‬

‫ال تسمن و ال تؽنً من جوع‬
‫تساوي حتى مجرد صفقة من البقول ما لم تكن معنٌة بالمشكلة الحقٌقٌة و لن تستطٌع‬
‫ال فابدة منها‬
‫ال تباع و تشترى‬
‫كل من كان جٌدا فً الطرق ٌمٌل إلى الظن ٌؤن‬
‫كل األشٌاء مسامٌر‬
‫أن كل من برع فً أمر ما قاس جمٌع االمور‬
‫علٌه‬
‫تعامل مع األشٌاء كؤنها مسامٌر‬
‫تمطرنً باألسبلة‬
‫تستجوبنً استجوابا حادا‬
‫تعطٌنً الدرجة الثالثة‬
‫إما إن ٌتحسنوا و إال فالباب ٌفوت جمل‬
‫الكسالى أو ؼٌر األكفاء؟" و بادرواحد من المجموعة باإلجابة "أقذفهم بالقنابل الٌدوٌة"‬
‫إن لم ٌتحسن األداء فسٌفقدون عملهم‬
‫إن لم تحسن مظهرهم فسنشوههم‬
‫ؼٌر أنً آكل قلبً من الؽٌظ‬
‫ؼٌر أنً فً قمة الحزن و القهر‬
‫كم هو فرق حقٌقً ذلك الذي ٌصنعه التفهم‪ .‬إن جمٌع النصائح الحسنة فً العالم لن‬ ‫‪.4‬‬
‫أن تصل إلى المشكلة إذا ما كنا مسلمٌن أنفسنا لهذه الدرجة من الذاتٌة الشخصٌة‬
‫إال ان الناس تمٌل إلى البقاء فً منطقة الراحة مع نصؾ الدماغ المسٌطر و تجري‬ ‫‪.5‬‬
‫التعامل مع كل موقؾ طبقا للجانب المفضل فً المخ‪ .‬وكما ٌقول إبراهام ماسلو‪ :‬إن‬
‫الذي فً ٌده مطرقة ٌمٌل إلى الظن بأن كل ما حوله مسامٌر‬
‫وفً كل مرة أكون فٌها مسافرا إلى الخارج‪ ،‬تنتزع منً االعترافات و تسؤلنً أٌن‬ ‫‪.6‬‬
‫تناولت إفطاري؟ و من كان معً؟‬
‫كنت ذات مرة مع مجموعة من األشخاص حٌث سؤل أحدهم "كٌؾ تطور موظفٌك‬ ‫‪.7‬‬
‫و قد ابتهج العدٌدون لهذا النهج البتار فً اإلشراؾ اإلداري وهو نهج "أصلحهم أو‬
‫أغرقهم"‬
‫‪ .8‬إننً ارقب أصدقابً و أقربابً و هم ٌحققون بعض النجاح أو ٌنالون بعض التقدٌر و‬
‫ابتسم لهم و اهنبهم فً حماس غٌر أنه فً داخلً تتملكنً‬
‫التعاسة‬

‫ؼٌر أنً آكل قلبً‬

‫تكون ما بٌن شد و رد‬ ‫و بٌنما اإلنسان ٌتقلب من عامل آلخر فإن النسبٌة الناجمة مثل البكرة المعلقة التً‬ ‫‪.9‬‬

‫‪47‬‬
 ‫ال تبقى على حال بل تتارجح من القمة إلى القاع‬ ‫تدور فً حٌاة اإلنسان قد تصل إلى القمة فً إحدى اللحظات ثم تنخفض فً اللحظة‬
‫مثل الحٌاة و اإلنسان‬ ‫التالٌة‬
‫دست على أحزانً‬ ‫‪ .10‬عندما تحققت أخٌرا من اننً أمتلك هذه القوة‪ ،‬و حٌنما ابتلعت مرارتً و أدركت أننً‬
‫قد اخترت أال أكون بابسة‪ -‬فً تلك اللحظة هببت واقفة لقد شعرت أنً كالمارد الذي‬
‫تجاوزت أزمتً‬ ‫انطلق من القمقم‬

‫ابتلعت األقراص المرة‬

‫نفضوا الػبار عن أنفسهم‬
‫لذا تخلوا عن كل ما بٌن أٌدٌهم‬
‫لذا أطاحوا بالصؽٌر و حوض االستحمام إلى‬
‫الخارج‬
‫و بعد أن ضربنا بمدركاتنا القدٌمة عرض‬
‫الحابط‬
‫وبعد أن تخلٌنا عن مدركاتنا القدٌمة‬
‫و بعد أن وسّعنا مدركاتنا القدٌمة‬
‫كان كمنبه دق على وتر حساس‬
‫و كان كمنبه أثار موضوعا حساسا‬
‫كمنبه أٌقظنً من ؼفلتً‬
‫‪ .11‬و كنتٌجة لذلك فقد اعرض الكثٌر من الناس عن برامج ادارة الوقت و عن المخططٌن‬
‫الذٌن ٌجعلونهم ٌشعرون بؤنهم مجدولون اكثر مما ٌجب‪ ،‬و مقٌدون إلى حد بعٌد‪ ،‬ولذا‬
‫فقد أطاحوا بكل شٌئ وراء ظهورهم عابدٌن إلى تقنٌات الجٌلٌن األول و الثانً من‬
‫اجل الحفاظ على العبلقات‬
‫‪ .12‬وبعد أن ارخٌنا العنان لمدركاتنا القدٌمة عن ابننا و اعتمدنا على دوافع مستندة إلى‬
‫القٌم بدأت مشاعر جدٌدة فً االنبثاق‪ ،‬لقد وجدنا أنفسنا نستمتع بما ٌحدث بدال من‬
‫وضعه موضع المقارنة و االتهام‬
‫‪ .13‬و كان هذا األمر ٌعد إشارة بالنسبة لً‪ ،‬و لحسن الحظ أصبح األمر على ما ٌرام فقط‬
‫عندما اشترٌنا الجهاز‪ .‬و لكن عندما عرضنا هذا األمر للمناقشة كان كمنبه ضغط بشدة‬
‫على زر استجابة حادة‪ ،‬وبدا لً هذا االمر كرمز لكل التفكٌر ؼٌر العقبلنً‬

‫******************************************************************************************‬
‫ثانٌا‪ :‬التعبٌرات الثقافٌة‬
‫التعلٌمات‬
‫‪ .1‬الرجاء اختٌار التعبٌر األكثر مالءمة لملئ المكان الخالً و ذلك بوضع الرقم ‪ 1‬فً المربع المقابل‬
‫‪ٌ .2‬مكنك ترتٌب الخٌارات (بحٌث ٌمثل الرقم ‪ 1‬التعبٌراألكثر قبوال و ٌمثل الرقم ‪ 4‬التعبٌر األقل قبوال)‪.‬‬

‫التقٌٌم‬ ‫التعبٌر البدٌل‬ ‫العبارة‬

‫وسط البلد‬ ‫عندما كنا فً بداٌة حٌاتنا الزوجٌة و كانت مٌزانٌتنا صؽٌرة‪ ،‬صممت‬ ‫‪.1‬‬
‫زوجتً ان نقطع مسافة ‪ 50‬مٌل إلى ‪ .................‬حٌث تباع أجهزة‬
‫منطقة بعٌدة حٌث ٌوجد السوق الكبٌر‬ ‫فرجٌدٌر النه لم ٌكن ٌوجد تاجر فً مدٌنة الجامعة الصؽٌرة ٌبٌع هذا النوع‬
‫من األجهزة‬
‫السوق‬

‫المدٌنة الكبٌرة‬

‫أن تنزل من أبراجك العاجٌة لتواجه الواقع‬
‫أن تترك ما اعتدت علٌه لتكتشؾ و تعٌش عالما جدٌدا‬
‫أن تترك الراحة و تبدأ فً العمل فً البراري‬
‫أن تهجر عالم الراحة فً مستقرك الربٌسً لتواجه عالما‬
‫كامبل جدٌدا و مجهوال فً قفار البرٌة‬
‫البحر المٌت فً األردن‬
‫البحر المٌت‬
‫ألنه مثل ‪ ..................‬الذي ٌؤخذ و لكنه ال ٌعطً و ٌصبح بذلك راكدا‬
‫البحر الؽدار‬
‫إن األمر ٌقتضً قدرا هاببل من األمن الداخلً حتى ٌمكن البدء بروح من‬ ‫‪.2‬‬
‫المؽامرة‪ ،‬بروح من ارتٌاد المجهول‪ ،‬بروح من اإلبداع و بدون شك‪ ،‬فإن‬
‫علٌك‪............................... .‬‬
‫و لكن لو ألقٌنا نظرة من قرب نحو كثٌر من التوجهات المطلوبة للنمو و‬ ‫‪.3‬‬
‫تحقٌق الذات‪ ،‬فإننا سوؾ نجد فً لبها أو جوهرها التمركز حول الذات‪.‬‬
‫ولكن ٌوجد فً مركز الذات القلٌل من االمان و التوجٌه و الحكمة و القوة‬

‫البحر المٌت فً إسرابٌل‬

‫عشٌقته‬ ‫و كان جدوله حافل بالمهمات بما فً ذلك شراء بعض الكتب و ؼسل‬ ‫‪.4‬‬
‫سٌارته و توصٌل ‪ .................‬و ؼٌر ذلك‬
‫خطٌبته‬

‫زوجته‬

‫صدٌقته (‪(girl friend‬‬

‫دعاء المدمنٌن على الكحول المجهولٌن‬ ‫و بهذه الطرٌقة فإننا ال نعطً هذه المشاكل القوة‬ ‫‪.5‬‬
‫لتسٌطر علٌنا و نتشرب بالروح التً تنبعث من دعاء‬
‫" ‪ "..................‬إلهً هبنً الشجاعة ألاؼٌر من‬
‫دعاء " ‪( "Alcoholics Anonymous‬و هو دعاء اشتهر عن جمعٌة مدمنً‬ ‫األشٌاء التً ٌجب أن تتؽٌرو السكٌنة ألقبل األشٌاء‬
‫الكحول الذٌن ٌسعون للتخلص من هذا اإلدمان)‬ ‫التً ال ٌمكن تؽٌٌرها‪.‬‬

‫دعاء الخمر المجهول‬

‫" ‪"Alcoholics Anonymous‬‬

‫سلطة المتحدث و استعطاؾ الجمهور و المنطق‬ ‫لقد كان لقدماء اإلؼرٌق فلسفة رابعة تضمنتها ثبلث‬ ‫‪.6‬‬

‫‪48‬‬
 ‫إٌثوز(و ٌعنً إخبلص و سلطة المتحدث) و باثوز(ٌعنً استعطاؾ الجمهور ) و‬
‫لوقوز (و ٌعنً المنطق و الحقابق التً تدعم حجة المتحدث)‬
‫إٌثوز و باثوز و لوقوز‬
‫‪Ethos, Pathos, and Logos‬‬
‫من ٌبكً بعد خراب مالطا‬
‫عدم جدوى االهتمام بتنظٌم الكراسً و المقاعد على ظهر سفٌنة أوشكت على‬
‫الؽرق (كما حدث على ظهر سفٌنة تاٌتنك العظٌمة و هً تؽرق)‬
‫من مسإلٌته تنظٌم الكراسً فوق ظهر السفن‬
‫عدم جدوى االهتمام بتنظٌم الكراسً و المقاعد على ظهر سفٌنة أوشكت على‬
‫الؽرق‬
‫فؤنت ستحب العودة إلى المنزل ما دام ٌنتظرك فٌه أناس تربطك بهم عبلقة قوٌة و‬
‫متٌنة‬
‫فٌمكنك الرجوع إلى المنزل مرة أخرى‪(-‬و ذلك على عكس رواٌة توماس وولؾ‬
‫التً بعنوان "ال ٌمكنك العودة إلى المنزل") ‪ -‬إذا كان منزلك عبارة عن عبلقة‬
‫ي‬‫ثمٌنة و صحبة ؼالة‬
‫ال ٌمكنك العودة إلى المنزل الملٌا بالعبلقات الثمٌنة‬
‫فٌمكنك الرجوع إلى المنزل مرة أخرى‪ -‬إذا كان منزلك عبارة عن عبلقة ثمٌنة و‬
‫ي‬
‫صحبة ؼالة‬
‫مسجد الحً‬
‫دار عبادتك‬
‫الجمعٌة‬
‫كنٌستك‬
‫ألن محبتً هلل‬
‫ألن إٌمانً و اعتقادي‬
‫ألن محبتً لؤلنبٌاء‬
‫ألن محبتً لٌسوع‬
‫بالمبادئ األخبلقٌة السماوٌة األساسٌة‬
‫بقٌم األدٌان السماوٌة األساسٌة‬
‫بالقٌم‬
‫بالقٌم المسٌحٌة الٌهودٌة األساسٌة‬
‫أحب ألخٌك ما تحب لنفسك‬
‫عامل الناس بمثل ما تحب أن ٌعاملوك به‬
‫هو أن تفهم اآلخرٌن بعمق كؤشخاص و بالطرٌقة التً‬
‫كن طٌبا مع الناس‬
‫كلمات مرتبة فً تتابع منهجً و هً ‪ ..........‬و‬
‫أزعم أن تلك الكلمات تحتوي على جوهر مبدأ السعً‬
‫أوال للفهم و تقدٌم صورة مإثرة‬
‫إن اإلدارة دون القًادة المإثرة هً أقرب ما تكون‬ ‫‪.7‬‬
‫إلى‪ ، ................ .‬و لن تستطٌع اإلدارة الناجحة أن‬
‫تعوض فشل القٌادة و ٌعود سبب صعوبة القٌادة إلى‬
‫أننا ننحرؾ بها و ننؽمس فً تصور ذهنً لئلدارة‬
‫و شعرنا بؤن أساس استمرار حبنا هو أن نتحدث و‬ ‫‪.8‬‬
‫خاصة عن المشاعر وأن نحاول التحدث مع بعصنا‬
‫البعض كل ٌوم حتى و إن كنت على سفر ألن ذلك‬
‫هو أساس السعادة واألمان التً ستعم أرجاء المنزل‪.‬‬
‫‪..................‬‬
‫أم ا المتحدث الثالث فسوؾ ٌكون من زمبلء العمل و‬ ‫‪.9‬‬
‫المهنة على حٌن سوؾ ٌكون الرابع من ‪ ...........‬أو‬
‫إحدى الجمعٌات فً المنطقة‬
‫‪ .10‬أسعى ألن أكون خٌّرا كجار ‪ .............‬ستظهر فً‬
‫سلوكٌاتً تجاه اآلخرٌن‬
‫‪ .11‬ومن ناحٌة أخرى هناك أشخاص أقل فً ترددهم‬
‫لدور العبادة و مع هذا ٌظهر فً سلوكهم و مواقفهم‬
‫تمسكا حقٌقٌا ‪......................‬‬
‫‪ .12‬تقول القاعدة الذهبٌة‪ "................." :‬فً حٌن أن‬
‫المعنى الظاهر لهذه القاعدة قد ٌعنً أن تقدم لهم ما‬
‫تحب أن ٌقدموه لك لكنً أعتقد أن المعنى الجوهري‬
‫ترٌد أن ُتؾ‬
‫هم أنت بها‪.‬‬

‫قدم لآلخرٌن ما ترؼب أن ٌقدمه اآلخرون لك‬

‫مع خالص شكري و تقدٌري‪،،،،،،،،‬‬

‫نور علوي بلفقٌه‬
‫طالبة ماجستٌر الترجمة فً جامعة برمنجهام فً المملكة المتحدة‬
‫ٌناٌر ‪2009‬‬

‫)‪Appendix 2 Second Draft of the Questionnaire (Arabic‬‬

‫البٌانات الدٌمغرافٌة‬
‫أكثر من ‪40‬‬ ‫‪40-20‬‬ ‫أقل من ‪20‬‬ ‫‪:‬‬ ‫العمر‬
‫أنثى‬ ‫ذكر‬ ‫‪:‬‬ ‫الجنس‬
‫دكتوراه‬ ‫ماجستٌر‬ ‫باكالورٌوس‬ ‫‪:‬‬ ‫المستوى الدراسً‬
‫ؼٌرها‬ ‫الرٌاض‬ ‫جدة‬ ‫‪:‬‬ ‫المدٌنة‬

‫******************************************************************************************‬
‫الرجاء قراءة التعلٌمات قبل البدء فً تعبئة االستبٌان‬
‫هذا االستبٌان ٌتألف من قسمٌن‪:‬‬

‫‪ .3‬القسم األول ٌقٌس مدى مالءمة بعض التعبٌرات اللؽوٌة المترجمة من اللؽة االنجلٌزٌة إلى العربٌة‬
‫‪ .4‬القسم الثانً ٌقٌس مدى قبول القارئ العربً لبعض التعبٌرات الثقافٌة المترجمة من اللؽة االنجلٌزٌة إلى العربٌة‪.‬‬
‫*****************************************************************************************‬
‫أوال‪ :‬التعبٌرات المجازٌة و األمثال‬

‫الرجاء اختٌار العبارة األكثر مالءمة لملئ المكان الخالً بوضع دائرة حول الحرف المقابل‪.‬‬

‫المعنى‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً القال و القٌل‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .14‬ؼٌر أنً ال أشعر بؤي والء من ناحٌتهم وأظن أننً لو تؽٌبت ٌوما واحدا لمرض بً‪،‬‬

‫‪49‬‬
 ‫المعنى‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً ما ال ٌنفع‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫فسوؾ ‪ ................................‬لماذا ال أستطٌع تدرٌبهم على أن ٌكونوا متحملٌن‬
‫للمسإولٌة؟‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً الثرثرة حول نافورة المٌاه‬ ‫ج)‬

‫كان كمنبه دق على وتر حساس‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .15‬لحسن الحظ أصبح األمر على ما ٌرام فقط عندما اشترٌنا الجهاز‪ .‬و لكن عندما‬
‫عرضنا هذا األمر للمناقشة ‪ ،..........................‬وبدا لً هذا االمر كرمز لكل‬
‫كان كمنبه أثار موضوعا حساسا‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫التفكٌر ؼٌر العقبلنً و قد ولّد داخلً سلسلة من األحاسٌس السلبٌة‪.‬‬

‫كان كمنبه ضؽط بشدة على زر استجابة حادة‬ ‫ج)‬

‫برباطة جؤش‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .16‬العملٌة كلها أشبه باللعبة و التً ٌجب أن تمارسٌها ‪ ،..........................‬و إال لن‬
‫تحصلً أبدا على ما تبحثٌن عنه‬
‫بدون قلق و توتر‬ ‫ب)‬

‫بدون ٌد مبتلة من العرق‬ ‫ج)‬

‫ال تسمن و ال تؽنً من جوع‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .17‬كم هو فرق حقٌقً ذلك الذي ٌصنعه التفهم‪ .‬إن جمٌع النصابح الحسنة فً العالم‬
‫‪ ...................‬ما لم تكن معنٌة بالمشكلة الحقٌقٌة و لن تستطٌع أن تصل إلى‬
‫ال فابدة منها‬ ‫ب)‬
‫المشكلة إذا ما كنا مسلمٌن أنفسنا لهذه الدرجة من الذاتٌة الشخصٌة‬
‫لن تساوي حتى مجرد صفقة من البقول‬ ‫ج)‬
‫تؽٌٌر الحال من المحال‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .18‬إال ان الناس تمٌل إلى البقاء فً منطقة الراحة مع نصؾ الدماغ المسٌطر و تجري‬
‫أن كل من برع فً أمر ما قاس جمٌع االمور علٌه‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫التعامل مع كل موقؾ طبقا للجانب المفضل فً المخ‪ .‬وكما ٌقول إبراهام ماسلو‪:‬‬
‫كل من كان جٌدا فً الطرق ٌمٌل إلى الظن بؤن كل األشٌاء‬ ‫ج)‬ ‫‪.................................‬‬
‫مسامٌر‬
‫تمطرنً باألسبلة‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .19‬وفً كل مرة أكون فٌها مسافرا إلى الخارج‪ .................... ،‬و تسؤلنً أٌن تناولت‬
‫تستجوبنً استجوابا حادا‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫إفطاري؟ و من كان معً؟‬
‫تعطٌنً الدرجة الثالثة‬ ‫ج)‬
‫تتكالب علٌه المصابب مرتٌن‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .20‬خبلل السنوات الخمس التً عشتها فً برٌطانٌا العظمى رأٌت هذا البلد‬
‫‪ ...........................‬و ذلك ألن محصلً تذاكر القطارات كانوا بتبعون‬
‫ٌمر بؤزمتٌن حقٌقٌتٌن‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫االجراءات و القواعد المكتوبة بمكر و دهاء‬

‫ٌركع على ركبتٌه مرتٌن‬ ‫ج)‬

‫"إذا أردت جنً العسل تحمل لسع النحل"‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .21‬قد تصدق عبارة ‪ ........................‬فً بعض األحوال و لكنها لٌست جوهر‬
‫برنامج التمارٌن الفعالة‪.‬‬
‫"من أراد تحقٌق النتابج علٌه تحمل الصعاب"‬ ‫ب)‬

‫"ال ألم و ال ربح"‬ ‫ج)‬

‫بؤنه قد فاتك قطار الزواج‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .22‬ال أرٌدٌك أن تصابً بالذعر أو أن تشعري ‪ .................... .‬و لكن حان الوقت‬
‫أنك قد أصبحت عانس‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫للتوقؾ عن إهدار أٌامك‬
‫بؤنه قد فاتتك الحافلة‬ ‫ج)‬
‫تنالٌن بها أقصى المنى‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ٌ .23‬مكنك إٌجاد فارس األحبلم الذي تعرفٌن أنه مناسب لك‪ ،‬ستحصلٌن على عبلقة‬
‫‪ ، ........................... .‬و تحقق أحبلمك التً طالما حلمت بها منذ الطفولة‬
‫تشبع كل احتٌاجاتك‬ ‫ب)‬

‫تحك ظهرك‬ ‫ج)‬

‫لقد تسلل الملل و الرتابة إلى زواجنا‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ ...... …….‬إننا ال نتشاجر أو نفعل أي شٌا لقد كففنا عن حب بعضنا البعض‪.‬‬ ‫‪.24‬‬
‫لقد فقد زواجنا كل معانً اإلثارة‬ ‫ب)‬
‫لقد أصبح زواجنا أملسًا‬ ‫ج)‬
‫عاجبل أم آجبل‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .25‬ؼٌر أنك ستجد نفسك مضطرا إلى مواجهة الحقابق ‪......................‬‬
‫سواء اآلن أو بعد حٌن‬ ‫ب)‬
‫قرٌبا أو الحقا‬ ‫ج)‬

‫ثانٌا‪ :‬التعبٌرات الثقافٌة‬

‫الرجاء اختٌارالتعبٌر األكثر مالءمة لملئ المكان الخالً و ذلك بوضع عالمة فً المربع المقابل‬

‫التعبٌر البدٌل‬ ‫العبارة‬

‫ٌعتقدن أن‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .13‬أعرؾ أن بعضكن ‪" ............‬العثور على شرٌك الحٌاة‬
‫من أجل عبلقة تتوج بالزواج لٌس سهبل كؤي لعبة على‬
‫ٌفكرن تفكٌرا قدٌم ا و ٌقلن‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫اإلطبلق"‬

‫ٌقلن بكل أرٌحٌة و انفتاح العمة بً (وهً إعبلمٌة أمرٌكٌة كانت تقدم برنامجا تفزٌونٌا فً‬ ‫ج)‬
‫الستٌنات)‬
‫البحر المٌت فً األردن‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .14‬و لكن لو ألقٌنا نظرة من قرب نحو كثٌر من التوجهات‬

‫‪50‬‬
 ‫التعبٌر البدٌل‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫البحر المٌت‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫المطلوبة للنمو و تحقٌق الذات‪ ،‬فإننا سوؾ نجد فً لبها‬
‫البحر المٌت فً إسرابٌل‬ ‫ج)‬ ‫أو جوهرها التمركز حول الذات‪ .‬ولكن ٌوجد فً مركز‬
‫الذات القلٌل من االمان و التوجٌه و الحكمة و القوة ألنه‬
‫مثل ‪ ..................‬الذي ٌؤخذ و لكنه ال ٌعطً و ٌصبح‬
‫بذلك راكدا‬
‫نصاب ساعات العمل‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .15‬إنك تتعلم حٌن تصمت‪ ،‬كما أنك تعطً من ٌعمل معك‬
‫ٌهم الوالء الذي ٌتجاوز كثٌرا‬
‫التنفٌس المعنوي‪ ،‬إنك تبث ؾ‬
‫الثمان ساعات الٌومٌة‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫‪ .....................‬البلزمة للوظٌفة (أو البلزم للوظٌفة)‪.‬‬

‫المتطلبات المادٌة (‪ 8‬ساعات فً خمسة أٌام)‬ ‫ج)‬

‫ما هو برجك؟ الجو شدٌد الحرارة ألٌس كذلك؟ هل قرأت العدد االخٌر من مجلة سٌدتً؟‬ ‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .16‬لقاء التعارؾ ببساطة من أكثر الطرق العشوابٌة و الؽٌر‬
‫منتجة فعادة تؤخذ الحوارات أشكاال مثل‪:‬‬
‫اضاعة الوقت فً السإال عن آخر المستجدات االجتماعٌة و السٌاسٌة و أحوال الطقس‬ ‫ب)‬ ‫‪................................‬‬

‫إلى أي برج تنتمً ؟ هل ترى كل هذه االمطار الؽزٌرة؟ هل طالعت م جلة" بٌبول "هذا األسبوع؟"‬ ‫ج)‬

‫دعاء المدمنٌن على الكحول المجهولٌن‬
‫دعاء " ‪( "Alcoholics Anonymous‬و هو دعاء اشتهر عن جمعٌة مدمنً الكحول الذٌن‬
‫ٌسعون للتخلص من هذا اإلدمان)‬
‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .17‬و بهذه الطرٌقة فإننا ال نعطً هذه المشاكل القوة لتسٌطر‬
‫علٌنا و نتشرب بالروح التً تنبعث من دعاء‬
‫" ‪ "..................‬إلهً هبنً الشجاعة ألاؼٌر من‬
‫ب)‬ ‫األشٌاء التً ٌجب أن تتؽٌرو السكٌنة ألقبل األشٌاء التً‬
‫ال ٌمكن تؽٌٌرها‪.‬‬

‫" ‪"Alcoholics Anonymous‬‬ ‫ج)‬

‫سلطة المتحدث و استعطاؾ الجمهور و المنطق‬
‫إٌثوز(و ٌعنً إخبلص و سلطة المتحدث) و باثوز(ٌعنً استعطاؾ الجمهور ) و لوقوز (و ٌعنً‬
‫المنطق و الحقابق التً تدعم حجة المتحدث)‬
‫‪Ethos, Pathos, and Logos‬‬
‫من ٌبكً بعد خراب مالطا‬
‫عدم جدوى االهتمام بتنظٌم الكراسً و المقاعد على ظهر سفٌنة أوشكت على الؽرق (كما حدث‬
‫على ظهر سفٌنة تاٌتنك العظٌمة و هً تؽرق)‬
‫عدم جدوى االهتمام بتنظٌم الكراسً و المقاعد على ظهر سفٌنة أوشكت على الؽرق‬
‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .18‬لقد كان لقدماء اإلؼرٌق فلسفة رابعة تضمنتها ثبلث‬
‫كلمات مرتبة فً تتابع منهجً و هً ‪ ..........‬و أزعم‬
‫ب)‬
‫أن تلك الكلمات تحتوي على جوهر مبدأ السعً أوال للفهم‬
‫و تقدٌم صورة مإثرة‬
‫ج)‬
‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .19‬إن اإلدارة دون القٌادة المإثرة هً أقرب ما تكون‬
‫ب)‬ ‫إلى ‪ ، .................‬و لن تستطٌع اإلدارة الناجحة أن‬
‫تعوض فشل القٌادة و ٌعود سبب صعوبة القٌادة إلى أننا‬
‫ج)‬ ‫ننحرؾ بها و ننؽمس فً تصور ذهنً لئلدارة‬

‫فؤنت ستحب العودة إلى المنزل ما دام ٌنتظرك فٌه أناس تربطك بهم عبلقة قوٌة و متٌنة‬
‫عنوان "ال‬
‫فٌمكنك الرجوع إلى المنزل مرة أخرى‪(-‬و ذلك على عكس رواٌة توماس وولؾ التً ب‬
‫ي‬
‫ٌمكنك العودة إلى المنزل") ‪ -‬إذا كان منزلك عبارة عن عبلقة ثمٌنة و صحبة ؼالة‬
‫ي‬‫فٌمكنك الرجوع إلى المنزل مرة أخرى‪ -‬إذا كان منزلك عبارة عن عبلقة ثمٌنة و صحبة ؼالة‬
‫أقنعة المهرجٌن‬
‫أقنعة عٌد الهاالوٌن‬
‫أقنعة عٌد رأس السنة‬
‫ألن محبتً هلل‬
‫ألن إٌمانً و اعتقادي‬
‫ألن محبتً لٌسوع‬
‫بالمبادئ األخبلقٌة السماوٌة األساسٌة‬
‫بقٌم األدٌان السماوٌة األساسٌة‬
‫بالقٌم المسٌحٌة الٌهودٌة األساسٌة‬
‫لٌس هدفه من الزواج الجانب الحسً فقط‬
‫و لٌس هدفه االستمتاع بجسدي فقط‬
‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .20‬و شعرنا بؤن أساس استمرار حبنا هو أن نتحدث و‬
‫ب)‬ ‫خاصة عن المشاعر وأن نحاول التحدث مع بعصنا‬
‫البعض كل ٌوم حتى و إن كنت على سفر ألن ذلك هو‬
‫ج)‬ ‫أساس السعادة واألمان التً ستعم أرجاء المنزل‬
‫‪..................‬‬
‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .21‬و من ٌحاولن اللجوء إلى عملٌات التجمٌل ٌنتهً بهن‬
‫ب)‬ ‫الحال إلى شكل مزٌؾ و صناعً أكثر من ‪...............‬‬
‫ج)‬
‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .22‬أسعى ألن أكون خٌّرا كجار ‪ .............‬ستظهر فً‬
‫ب)‬ ‫سلوكٌاتً تجاه اآلخرٌن‬
‫ج)‬
‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .23‬ومن ناحٌة أخرى هناك أشخاص أقل فً ترددهم لدور‬
‫ب)‬ ‫العبادة و مع هذا ٌظهر فً سلوكهم و مواقفهم تمسكا‬
‫ج)‬ ‫حقٌقٌا ‪......................‬‬
‫أ)‬ ‫‪ .24‬أنا أستحق الزوج المناسب الذي سٌكمل عمره معً‪ ،‬و‬
‫نعٌش معا فً تجربة جمٌلة‪ ،‬و ٌتعرؾ على شخصٌتً و‬
‫ب)‬ ‫نكمل بعضنا البعض و ‪..................................‬‬

‫لٌس هدفه الحصول على جسدي فقط‬ ‫ج)‬

‫مع خالص شكري و تقدٌري‪،،،،،،،،‬‬

‫لفقٌه‬
‫نور علوي ب‬
‫طالبة ماجستٌر الترجمة بجامعة برمنجهام فً المملكة المتحدة‬
‫مارس ‪2009‬‬

‫‪51‬‬
 Appendix 3 Final Draft of the Questionnaire (Arabic)

If respondent does not accept  Close interview; If accepts  Continue

Thank you for your participation in this study.

Your cooperation is very important in the good development of this study

.‫ تابع المقابلة إذا قبل المشاركة‬، ‫انهى المقابلة إذا لم ٌقبل المجٌب المشاركة فً المقابلة‬

‫ تعاونك مهم جداً فً التطور الجٌد لهذه الدراسة‬. ‫شكراً لمشاركتك فً هذه الدراسة‬

Section I: Screener : 1 ‫القسم‬

S1. May I have your age please? ‫ مٌ ػَشك؟‬.1

Less than 22 years old 01 ‫سنوات‬22 ‫أقل من‬ Terminate ً‫انه‬

22 – 35 years old 02 ‫ سنوات‬35 – 23
Continue ‫تابع‬
36 - 55 years old 03 ‫ سنوات‬55 – 36
More than 55 04 ‫ سنوات‬55 ‫أكثر من‬ Terminate ً‫انه‬

S2. Nationality ‫الجنسٌة‬

Saudi 01 ‫سعودي‬ Continue ‫تابع‬

Arab 02 ‫عرب‬
Other expatriate 03 :‫ حدد‬،‫جنسٌة أخرى‬ Terminate ً‫انه‬

S3. Educational Degree ‫ما هو مؤهلك العلمي؟‬

High School 01 ‫الثانوٌة العامة‬ Terminate ً‫انه‬

Bachelors 02 ‫الباكالورٌوس‬
Masters 03 ‫الماجستٌر‬ Continue ‫تابع‬
Doctorate 04 ‫الدكتوراة‬

S4. How many English translated books have you read? ‫كم كتاب مترجم قرأت حىت اآلن؟‬
S5. In what kind of topics you like to read? ‫يف أي املوضوعات حتة أن تقرأ؟‬

S4 # of Books S5 Type of Books

01 None 01 Literary 02 Self & Professional Development 03 Others
Terminate ً‫انه‬
02 1–2 01 Literary 02 Self & Professional Development 03 Others
03 3–4 01 Literary 02 Self & Professional Development 03 Others
Continue ‫تابع‬
04 More than 4 01 Literary 02 Self & Professional Development 03 Others

If Self Development (S5 = Code #02) was not chosen, TERMINATE interview.

Section II: Main Questionnaire : 2 ‫القسم‬

Interviewer: There will be two parts in this questionnaire. In

the first one, it is about idiomatic expressions that are
translated from English to Arabic. Let us start with this
ً٘‫ إرا أسدث عأق‬.‫ت‬ٞ‫ اىؼشب‬ٜ‫ت إى‬ٝ‫ض‬ٞ‫ت ٗ األٍزبه اىَخشجَت ٍِ اإلّجي‬ٝ‫ اىؼببساث اىَجبص‬:‫اىقغٌ األٗه‬
section. Please read the statements and please choose
ُ‫ أسج٘ أ‬.‫الئَٖب أٗ ىل أُ حأخز اى٘سقت ٗ أّج حقً٘ بخؼبئخٖب‬ٝ ‫ل ٗ أّج حخخبس ٍب‬ٞ‫بقشأة اىؼببسة ػي‬
the best option of the three that would best fill in the gap.
‫ش‬ٞ‫ذ أّٔ ال ح٘سد ػببسة غ‬ٞ‫ أّٔ األمزش ٍالءٍت ح‬ٙ‫حقشأ اىؼببسة أمزش ٍِ ٍشة ٗ حخخبس ٍب حش‬
Please read it 2 to 3 times and please select the answer
.‫بساث‬ٞ‫حت ٍِ ضَِ اىخ‬ٞ‫صح‬
that is appropriate for you. There is no right or wrong
answer but rather what you would feel best suits to finish
the sentence.

52
 ‫األمثال‬ ‫العبارة‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً ما ال ٌنفع‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫ؼٌر أنً ال أشعر بؤي والء من ناحٌتهم وأظن أننً لو تؽٌبت ٌوما واحدا لمرض بً‪،‬‬
‫فسوؾ ‪ ................................‬لماذا ال أستطٌع تدرٌبهم على أن ٌكونوا متحملٌن‬
‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً الثرثرة حول نافورة المٌاه‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫للمسإولٌة؟‬ ‫س‪1‬‬

‫ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم فً القال و القٌل‬ ‫‪03‬‬

‫كان كمنبه دق على وتر حساس‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫لحسن الحظ أصبح األمر على ما ٌرام فقط عندما اشترٌنا الجهاز‪ .‬و لكن عندما عرضنا‬
‫هذا األمر للمناقشة ‪ ،..........................‬وبدا لً هذا االمر كرمز لكل التفكٌر ؼٌر‬
‫كان كمنبه ضؽط بشدة على زر استجابة حادة‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫العقبلنً و قد ولّد داخلً سلسلة من األحاسٌس السلبٌة‪.‬‬ ‫س‪2‬‬
‫كان كمنبه أثار موضوعا حساسا‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫بدون قلق و توتر‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫العملٌة كلها أشبه باللعبة و التً ٌجب أن تمارسٌها ‪ ،..........................‬و إال لن‬
‫تحصلً أبدا على ما تبحثٌن عنه‬
‫برباطة جؤش‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫س‪3‬‬
‫بدون ٌد مبتلة من العرق‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫لن تساوي حتى مجرد صفقة من البقول‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫كم هو فرق حقٌقً ذلك الذي ٌصنعه التفهم‪ .‬إن جمٌع النصابح الحسنة فً العالم‬
‫‪ ...................‬ما لم تكن معنٌة بالمشكلة الحقٌقٌة و لن تستطٌع أن تصل إلى المشكلة‬
‫ال تسمن و ال تؽنً من جوع‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫إذا ما كنا مسلمٌن أنفسنا لهذه الدرجة من الذاتٌة الشخصٌة‬ ‫س‪4‬‬
‫ال فابدة منها‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫أن كل من برع فً أمر ما قاس جمٌع االمور علٌه‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫إال ان الناس تمٌل إلى البقاء فً منطقة الراحة مع نصؾ الدماغ المسٌطر و تجري‬
‫التعامل مع كل موقؾ طبقا للجانب المفضل فً المخ‪ .‬وكما ٌقول إبراهام ماسلو‪:‬‬
‫تؽٌٌر الحال من المحال‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫‪.................................‬‬ ‫س‪5‬‬
‫كل من كان جٌدا فً الطرق ٌمٌل إلى الظن بؤن كل األشٌاء مسامٌر‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫تعطٌنً الدرجة الثالثة‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫وفً كل مرة أكون فٌها مسافرا إلى الخارج‪ .................... ،‬و تسؤلنً أٌن تناولت‬
‫إفطاري؟ و من كان معً؟‬
‫تستجوبنً استجوابا حادا‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫س‪6‬‬
‫تمطرنً باألسبلة‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫ٌمر بؤزمتٌن حقٌقٌتٌن‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫خبلل السنوات الخمس التً عشتها فً برٌطانٌا العظمى رأٌت هذا البلد‬
‫‪ ...........................‬و ذلك ألن م حصلً تذاكر القطارات كانوا ٌتبعون االجراءات‬
‫ٌركع على ركبتٌه مرتٌن‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫و القواعد المكتوبة بمكر و دهاء‬ ‫س‪7‬‬
‫تتكالب علٌه المصابب مرتٌن‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫"من أراد تحقٌق النتابج علٌه تحمل الصعاب"‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫قد تصدق عبارة ‪ ........................‬فً بعض األحوال و لكنها لٌست جوهر برنامج‬
‫الفعال ‪.‬‬
‫ة‬ ‫التمارٌن‬
‫"إذا أردت جنً العسل تحمل لسع النحل"‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫س‪8‬‬
‫"ال ألم و ال ربح"‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫بؤنه قد فاتتك الحافلة‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫ال أرٌدٌك أن تصابً بالذعر أو أن تشعري ‪ .................... .‬و لكن حان الوقت‬
‫للتوقؾ عن إهدار أٌامك‬
‫أنك قد أصبحت عانس‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫س‪9‬‬
‫بؤنه قد فاتك قطار الزواج‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫تنالٌن بها أقصى المنى‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫ٌمكنك إٌجاد فارس األحبلم الذي تعرفٌن أنه مناسب لك‪ ،‬ستحصلٌن على عبلقة‬
‫‪ ، ........................... .‬و تحقق أحبلمك التً طالما حلمت بها منذ الطفولة‬
‫تحك ظهرك‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫س‪10‬‬
‫تشبع كل احتٌاجاتك‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫لقد أصبح زواجنا أملسًا‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫‪ ......‬إننا ال نتشاجر أو نفعل أي شٌا لقد كففنا عن حب بعضنا البعض‪….‬‬

‫لقد تسلل الملل و الرتابة إلى زواجنا‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫س‪11‬‬

‫لقد فقد زواجنا كل معانً اإلثارة‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫عاجبل أم آجبل‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫ؼٌر أنك ستجد نفسك مضطرا إلى مواجهة الحقابق ‪......................‬‬

‫سواء اآلن أو بعد حٌن‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫س‪12‬‬

‫قرٌبا أو الحقا‬ ‫‪03‬‬

‫‪Interviewer: The second section assesses the acceptance‬‬

‫اىقغٌ اىزبّ‪ :ٜ‬اىخؼب‪ٞ‬شاث اىزقبف‪ٞ‬ت اىَخشسٍت ٍِ اإلّجي‪ٞ‬ض‪ٝ‬ت إى‪ ٜ‬اىؼشب‪ٞ‬ت‪ .‬إرا أسدث عأقً٘ بقشأة‬
‫‪of some cultural expressions translated from English to‬‬
‫اىؼببسة ػي‪ٞ‬ل ٗ آّج حخخبس ٍب ‪ٝ‬الئَٖب أٗ ىل أُ حأخز اى٘سقت ٗ أّج حقً٘ بخؼبئخٖب‪ .‬أسج٘ آُ حقشأ‬
‫‪Arabic. Please read the statements and please choose‬‬
‫اىؼببسة أمزش ٍِ ٍشة ٗ حخخبس ٍب حش‪ ٙ‬أّٔ األمزش ٍالءٍت ح‪ٞ‬ذ أّٔ ال ح٘جذ ػببسة غ‪ٞ‬ش صح‪ٞ‬حت‬
‫‪the best option of the three that would best fill in the gap.‬‬
‫ٍِ ضَِ اىخ‪ٞ‬بساث‪.‬‬
‫‪Please read it 2 to 3 times and please select the answer‬‬

‫‪53‬‬
 ‫‪that is appropriate for you. There is no right or wrong‬‬
‫‪answer but rather what you would feel best suits to finish‬‬
‫‪the sentence.‬‬

‫التعبٌرات الثقافٌة‬ ‫العبارة‬

‫ٌقلن بكل أرٌحٌة و انفتاح العمة بً (وهً إعبلمٌة أمرٌكٌة كانت تقدم برنامجا تفزٌونٌا فً الستٌنات)‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫أعرؾ أن بعضكن ‪" ............‬العثور على شرٌك الحٌاة من أجل‬
‫عبلقة تتوج بالزواج لٌس سهبل كؤي لعبة على اإلطبلق"‬ ‫‪31‬س‬
‫ٌفكرن تفكٌرا قدٌما و ٌقلن‬ ‫‪02‬‬
‫و لكن لو ألقٌنا نظرة من قرب نحو كثٌر من التوجهات المطلوبة‬
‫البحر المٌت‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫للنمو و تحقٌق الذات‪ ،‬فإننا سوؾ نجد فً لبها أو جوهرها التمركز‬
‫حول الذات‪ .‬ولكن ٌوجد فً مركز الذات القلٌل من االمان و‬
‫البحر المٌت فً األردن‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫التوجٌه و الحكمة و القوة ألنه مثل ‪ ..................‬الذي ٌؤخذ و‬ ‫‪14‬س‬
‫لكنه ال ٌعطً و ٌصبح بذلك راكدا‬

‫البحر المٌت فً إسرابٌل‬ ‫‪03‬‬

‫نصاب ساعات العمل‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫إنك تتعلم حٌن تصمت‪ ،‬كما أنك تعطً من ٌعمل معك التنفٌس‬
‫المعنوي‪ ،‬إنك تبث فٌهم الوالء الذي ٌتجاوز كثٌرا‬ ‫‪1‬س‪5‬‬
‫المتطلبات المادٌة (‪ 8‬ساعات فً خمسة أٌام)‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫‪ .....................‬البلزمة للوظٌفة (أو البلزم للوظٌفة)‪.‬‬
‫"هذا األسبوع؟ "بٌبول" إلى أي برج تنتمً ؟ هل ترى كل هذه االمطار الؽزٌرة؟ هل طالعت مجلة‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫لقاء التعارؾ ببساطة من أكثر الطرق العشوابٌة و الؽٌر منتجة‬
‫فعادة تؤخذ الحوارات أشكاال مثل‪................................ :‬‬ ‫‪1‬س‪6‬‬
‫اضاعة الوقت فً السإال عن آخر المستجدات االجتماعٌة و السٌاسٌة و أحوال الطقس‬ ‫‪02‬‬
‫ما هو برجك؟ الجو شدٌد الحرارة ألٌس كذلك؟ هل قرأت العدد االخٌر من مجلة سٌدتً؟‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫سٌطر علٌنا و‬‫و بهذه الطرٌقة فإننا ال نعطً هذه المشاكل القوة لت‬
‫" (و هو دعاء اشتهر عن جمعٌة مدمنً الكحول الذٌن ٌسعون ‪Alcoholics Anonymous‬دعاء "‬ ‫نتشرب بالروح التً تنبعث من دعاء " ‪ "..................‬إلهً‬
‫‪01‬‬
‫للتخلص م ن هذا اإلدمان)‬ ‫هبنً الشجاعة ألاؼٌر من األشٌاء التً ٌجب أن تتؽٌرو السكٌنة‬ ‫‪1‬س‪7‬‬
‫ألقبل األشٌاء التً ال ٌمكن تؽٌٌرها‪.‬‬
‫المتضرعٌن الملهوفٌن‬ ‫‪02‬‬
‫إٌثوز(و ٌعنً إخبلص و سلطة المتحدث) و باثوز(ٌعنً استعطاؾ الجمهور ) و لوقوز (و ٌعنً المنطق‬ ‫لقد كان لقدماء اإلؼرٌق فلسفة رابعة تضمنتها ثبلث كلمات مرتبة‬
‫‪01‬‬
‫و الحقابق التً تدعم حجة المتحدث)‬ ‫فً تتابع منهجً و هً ‪ ..........‬و أزعم أن تلك الكلمات تحتوي‬ ‫‪1‬س‪8‬‬
‫استعطاؾ الجمهور و المنطق سلطة المتحدث و‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫على جوهر مبدأ السعً أوال للفهم و تقدٌم صورة مإثرة‬

‫من ٌبكً بعد خراب مالطا‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫إن اإلدارة دون القٌادة المإثرة هً أقرب ما تكون‬
‫إلى ‪ ، .................‬و لن تستطٌع اإلدارة الناجحة أن تعوض‬
‫(كما حدث على عدم جدوى االهتمام بتنظٌم الكراسً و المقاعد على ظهر سفٌنة أوشكت على الؽرق‬ ‫فشل القٌادة و ٌعود سبب صعوبة القٌادة إلى أننا ننحرؾ بها و‬
‫‪02‬‬ ‫‪1‬س‪9‬‬
‫ظهر سفٌنة تاٌتنك العظٌمة و هً تؽرق)‬ ‫ننؽمس فً تصور ذهنً لئلدارة‬
‫عدم جدوى االهتمام بتنظٌم الكراسً و المقاعد على ظهر سفٌنة أوشكت على الؽرق‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫فٌم كنك الرجوع إلى المنزل مرة أخرى‪(-‬و ذلك على عكس رواٌة توماس وولؾ التً بعنوان "ال ٌمكنك‬ ‫و شعرنا بؤن أساس استمرار حبنا هو أن نتحدث و خاصة عن‬
‫‪01‬‬
‫ي‬
‫العودة إلى المنزل") ‪ -‬إذا كان منزلك عبارة عن عبلقة ثمٌنة و صحبة ؼالة‬ ‫المشاعر وأن نحاول التحدث مع بعصنا البعض كل ٌوم حتى و‬
‫‪20‬س‬
‫إن كنت على سفر ألن ذلك هو أساس السعادة واألمان التً ستعم‬
‫فؤنت ستحب العودة إلى المنزل ما دام ٌنتظرك فٌه أناس تربطك بهم عبلقة قوٌة و متٌنة‬ ‫‪02‬‬
‫أرجاء المنزل ‪..................‬‬
‫ألن محبتً لٌسوع‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫أسعى ألن أكون خٌّرا كجار ‪ .............‬ستظهر فً سلوكٌاتً‬
‫تجاه اآلخرٌن‬
‫ألن إٌمانً و اعتقادي‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫س‪21‬‬
‫ألن محبتً هلل‬ ‫‪03‬‬
‫لٌس هدفه الحصول على جسدي فقط‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫أنا أستحق الزوج المناسب الذي سٌكمل عمره معً‪ ،‬و نعٌش معا‬
‫فً تجربة جمٌلة‪ ،‬و ٌتعرؾ على شخصٌتً و نكمل بعضنا‬ ‫س‪22‬‬
‫لٌس هدفه من الزواج الجانب الحسً فقط‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫البعض و‪..................................‬‬

‫‪Interviewer: The third section assesses the preference of‬‬

‫‪the reader in certain situations whether to delete, translate‬‬
‫‪literally, or provide an Arabic equivalent while translating‬‬
‫‪from English to Arabic. Please read the statements and‬‬ ‫اىقغٌ اىزبىذ‪ :‬بشنو ػبً ٍبرا حفضو ػْذ حشجَت اىحبالث اىخبى‪ٞ‬ت‪ .‬إرا أسدث عأقً٘ بقشأة اىؼببسة‬
‫‪please choose the best option of the three translation‬‬ ‫ػي‪ٞ‬ل ٗأّج حخخبس ٍب ‪ٝ‬الئَٖب أٗ ىل أُ حأخز اى٘سقت ٗ أّج حقً٘ بخؼبئخٖب‪ .‬أسج٘ آُ حقشأ اىؼببسة‬
‫‪strategies.‬‬ ‫أمزش ٍِ ٍشة ٗ حخخبس ٍب حش‪ ٙ‬أّٔ األمزش ٍالءٍت ح‪ٞ‬ذ أُ ال ح٘جذ طش‪ٝ‬قت غ‪ٞ‬ش صح‪ٞ‬حت ًُ‬
‫‪Please read it 2 to 3 times and please select the answer‬‬ ‫ضَِ اىخ‪ٞ‬بساث‪.‬‬
‫‪that is appropriate for you. There is no right or wrong‬‬
‫‪answer but rather what you would feel best suits to‬‬
‫‪translate such an expression.‬‬

‫التعبٌر األفضل‬ ‫العبارة‬

‫ثقافت‪.‬‬
‫أن تستبدل بممارسات و عادات تتوافق مع عاداتنا االجتماعٌة و نا‬ ‫‪01‬‬ ‫العبارات التً تعكس عادات و ممارسات اجتماعٌة و أخبلقٌة تخص المجتمع‬
‫الؽربً مثل التردد علً النوادي اللٌلٌة و العبلقات الجنسٌة خارج مإسسة‬ ‫‪2‬س‪3‬‬
‫أن تترجم ترجمة حرفٌة‪.‬‬ ‫‪02‬‬ ‫الزواج‪:‬‬

‫‪54‬‬
 ‫التعبٌر األفضل‬ ‫العبارة‬
.‫أن تحذؾ تماما من النص عند الترجمة طالما الحذؾ ال ٌخل بالمعنى العام‬ 03
.‫أن تحذؾ تماما من النص عند الترجمة طالما الحذؾ ال ٌخل بالمعنى العام‬ 01 ‫العبارات التً تحوي بعض االقتباسات من االنجٌل و مقدسات األدٌان األخري‬
‫كاالستشهاد بؤقوال القسسٌسٌن و األحبار‬
.ً‫أن تستبدل باقتباسات و استشهادات من الدٌن اإلسبلم‬ 02 4‫س‬2
.‫أن تترجم ترجمة حرفٌة‬ 03
.‫أن تترجم ترجمة حرفٌة‬ 01 ً‫العبارات التً تعكس عادات و ممارسات دٌنٌة ؼٌر إسبلمٌة مثل التردد عل‬
‫الكنٌسة أو االحتفال بالكرٌسمٌس‬
.‫أن تحذؾ تماما من النص عند الترجمة طالما الحذؾ ال ٌخل بالمعنى العام‬ 02 25‫س‬
.‫أن تستبدل باقتباسات و استشهادات من الممارسات و العادات االسبلمٌة إن وجد‬ 03
.‫أن تحذؾ تماما من النص عند الترجمة طالما الحذؾ ال ٌخل بالمعنى العام‬ 01 ً‫العبارات التً تضم أحداث و اقتباسات تارٌخٌة و أدبٌة تخص المجتمع الؽرب‬
:‫مثل االستشهاد ببعض القصص التارٌخٌة أو االقتباس من األعمال األدبٌة‬
.‫أن تترجم ترجمة حرفٌة‬ 02 26‫س‬
.‫أن تستبدل باقتباسات و استشهادات من التارٌخ و األدب العربً إن وجد‬ 03

Thank you for your time in participating in our research. With your opinion, we continue to progress.

Appendix 4 Final Draft of the Questionnaire (English)

Section II: Main Questionnaire : 2 ‫القسم‬

Interviewer: There will be two parts to this questionnaire. The first

one is about idiomatic expressions that are translated from English
to Arabic. Let us start with this section. Please read the statements
and choose the best option of the three that would best fill in the
gap.
Please read it 2 to 3 times and select the answer that is appropriate
for you. There is no right or wrong answer, but rather what you
would feel best suits to finish the sentence.
ٜ‫ت إى‬ٝ‫ض‬ٞ‫ت ٗ األٍزبه اىَخشجَت ٍِ اإلّجي‬ٝ‫ اىؼببساث اىَجبص‬:‫اىقغٌ األٗه‬
ُ‫الئَٖب أٗ ىل أ‬ٝ ‫ل ٗ أّج حخخبس ٍب‬ٞ‫ إرا أسدث عأقً٘ بقشأة اىؼببسة ػي‬.‫ت‬ٞ‫اىؼشب‬
‫ أسج٘ أُ حقشأ اىؼببسة أمزش ٍِ ٍشة ٗ حخخبس‬. ‫حأخز اى٘سقت ٗ أّج حقً٘ بخؼبئخٖب‬
َِ‫حت ٍِ ض‬ٞ‫ش صح‬ٞ‫ذ أّٔ ال ح٘سد ػببسة غ‬ٞ‫ أّٔ األمزش ٍالءٍت ح‬ٙ‫ٍب حش‬
.‫بساث‬ٞ‫اىخ‬

Expression Meaning
01 spend most of their time chatting
But I do not feel any loyalty from them. I think if 02 spend most of their time on useless stuff
Q1
I were home sick for a day, they would……..
03 spend most of their time gabbing at the water fountain

01 was like an alarm knock on a sensitive string

Fortunately, the situation came up when we
Q2 purchased an appliance. But when it did 02 was like an alarm stimulating a sensitive topic
come up, it was like a stimulus that……..
03 triggered off a hot-button response

But the process that gets you there is a game, 01 with self-possession
a game that has to be played loose and fun if
Q3 02 without worries and tension
you want to win. You have got to play the
game …….. 03 without sweaty palms
What a difference real understanding can 01 does not fatten and substitute hunger
make! All the well-meaning advice in the
Q4 02 is useless
world ………….. if it does not even address the
real problem. 03 won't amount to a hill of beans
01 “Changing the case is impossible.”
“If somebody is good at one thing, he/she deals with
02
Q5 In the words of Abraham Maslow, …….. other things in the same way.”
“He that is good with a hammer tends to think
03
everything is a nail.”
01 rains me with questions
She ……….. every time I am away. Where did I
Q6 02 interrogates me severely
eat my breakfast? And who else was there?
03 gives me the third degree

55
 During the five years I lived in UK, I saw that 01 rushed madly upon by misfortunes twice
country………. Because train conductors were
Q7 02 live crises twice
maliciously obedient in following all the rules
and procedures written on paper. 03 brought twice to its knees
01 „If you want the honey, bear the bees‟ stings‟
……. has validity in some circumstances, but it
„The one who wants to achieve results has to bear the
Q8 is not the essence of an effective exercise 02
difficulties‟
program.
03 „No pain, no gain‟
I do not want you to panic or to feel 01 you missed the marriage train
Q9 that……… but it is time to stop wasting your 02 you have become an old maid
days. 03 you missed the bus
You can create a relationship that 01 help you reach the highest wishes
Q10 will…………..and fulfil the dream you had since 02 fulfil your ambitions
you were a little girl. 03 scratches every itch you have
01 Boredom and routine have sneaked into our marriage.
………… We do not fight or anything. We just
Q11 02 My marriage has lost all excitement.
do not love each other anymore.
03 My marriage has gone flat.
01 hastily or lately
But you will find yourself forced to face the
Q12 02 either now or after a while
reality…..
03 sooner or later

Interviewer: The second section assesses the acceptance

of some cultural expressions translated from English to
‫ إرا أسدث عأقً٘ بقشأة‬.‫ت‬ٞ‫ اىؼشب‬ٜ‫ت إى‬ٝ‫ض‬ٞ‫ت اىَخشجَت ٍِ اإلّجي‬ٞ‫شاث اىزقبف‬ٞ‫ اىخؼب‬:ّٜ‫اىقغٌ اىزب‬
Arabic. Please read the statements and choose the best
‫ أسج٘ آُ حقشأ‬.‫الئَٖب أٗ ىل أُ حأخز اى٘سقت ٗ أّج حقً٘ بخؼبئخٖب‬ٝ ‫ل ٗ آّج حخخبس ٍب‬ٞ‫اىؼببسة ػي‬
option of the three that would best fill in the gap.
‫حت‬ٞ‫ش صح‬ٞ‫ذ أّٔ ال ح٘جذ ػببسة غ‬ٞ‫ أّٔ األمزش ٍالءٍت ح‬ٙ‫اىؼببسة أمزش ٍِ ٍشة ٗ حخخبس ٍب حش‬
Please read it 2 to 3 times and select the answer that is
.‫بساث‬ٞ‫ٍِ ضَِ اىخ‬
appropriate for you. There is no right or wrong answer, but
rather what you would feel best suits to finish the sentence.

Expression Meaning
I know that some of you ………….. .., “I do not 01 who think old thinking would say
think a life partner to enter into the sanctity of
Q13 marriage is any kind of game.” would say with the Progressiveness of Aunt Bee (who is
02 an American Media personality who presented a TV
show in the 60s)
But if look closely at many of the popular 01 the Dead Sea in Jordan
approaches to growth and self-fulfillment, we 02 the Dead Sea
often find self-centering at their core. There is the Dead Sea in Israel
Q14
a little security, guidance, wisdom, or power in
03
the limited center of self. Like …….. it accepts
but never gives.
When you listen, you learn. And you also give the work load
the people who work for you and with you 01
Q15
the psychological air. You inspire loyalty that
goes well beyond………….. 02 the eight-to-five physical demands of the job
I mean, give me a break, how lame is typical “What is your sign? The weather is hot today, isn‟t it?
01
date rhetoric:…………………………… Have you read the last edition of Sayidati Magazine?”
Wasting time asking about the last political and social
Q16 02
updates and about weather.
"So, what is your sign? Can you believe all this rain? Did
03
you see People magazine this week?"
In this way, we do not empower those 01 the prayer of Unknown Alcoholic addicts
problems to control us. We share in the spirit “The Alcoholic Anonymous prayer,” which is a famous
Q17
embodied in………. “Lord, give me the 02 prayer of the Alcoholic Addicts Society.
courage to change.
The early Greeks had a magnificent ethos (Personal credibility), pathos (emphatic side), and
philosophy which is embedded in three 01 logos (the logic)
Q18
sequential words:…… Personal credibility, emphatic side, and logic
02

56
 Efficient management without effective 01 The one who cries after Malta‟s destruction
leadership is, as one individual had phrased it,
It is like straightening chairs on the deck of a sinking ship
Q19 “…………….” 02
(like what happened on the great Titanic)
03 It is like straightening chairs on the deck of a sinking ship
We feel the key to staying in love is to talk You can go home again if it contains people with whom
01
particularly about feelings. We try to you have strong relationships.
Q20 communicate with each other several times You can go home again (opposite to Thomas Wolfe‟s
every day, even when I am traveling. …… 02 novel You Cannot Go Home Again) if it contains people
with whom you have strong relationships.
……… is visible through my actions toward 01 My love of Allah
Q21 others.
02 My faith
03 My love of Christ
I deserve somebody to spend time with me, 01 not to target from marriage the physical side
Q22 share experiences with me, and get to know 02 not to enjoy my body only
me……… 03 not to grab my ass

Interviewer: The third section assesses the preference of

the reader in certain situations to delete, translate literally,
or provide an Arabic equivalent while translating from
‫ إرا أسدث عأقً٘ بقشأة اىؼببسة‬.‫ت‬ٞ‫ بشنو ػبً ٍبرا حفضو ػْذ حشجَت اىحبالث اىخبى‬:‫اىقغٌ اىزبىذ‬
English to Arabic. Please read the statements and choose
‫ أسج٘ آُ حقشأ اىؼببسة‬.‫الئَٖب أٗ ىل أُ حأخز اى٘سقت ٗ أّج حقً٘ بخؼبئخٖب‬ٝ ‫ل ٗأّج حخخبس ٍب‬ٞ‫ػي‬
the best option of the three translation strategies.
ٍِ ‫حت‬ٞ‫ش صح‬ٞ‫قت غ‬ٝ‫د أُ ال ح٘جذ طش‬ٜ‫ أّٔ األمزش ٍالءٍت ح‬ٙ‫أمزش ٍِ ٍشة ٗ حخخبس ٍب حش‬
Please read it 2 to 3 times and select the answer that is
.‫بساث‬ٞ‫ضَِ اىخ‬
appropriate for you. There is no right or wrong answer, but
rather what you would feel best suits to translate such an
expression.

Expression Meaning
Q23 Sentences that reflect social and ethical To be replaced by our traditions and
01
practices that belong to Western society, customs
like going to night clubs and sexual 02 To be literally translated
relations outside marriage
To be deleted as long as deletion will not
03
affect the general meaning
Q24 Sentences that contain some quotes from To be deleted as long as deletion will not
01
the Bible and holy books of other religions, affect the general meaning
like quoting priests and popes. 02 To be replaced by quotes from Islam
03 To be literally translated

Q25 Sentences that reflect non-Islamic 01 To be literally translated

religious practices, like going to churches To be deleted as long as deletion will not
and celebrating Christmas. 02
affect the general meaning
03 To be replaced by practices from Islam
Q26 Sentences that contain some literary and To be deleted as long as deletion will not
01
historical incidents that belong to Western affect the general meaning
society, like historical stories and quoting 02 To be literally translated
literary works.
To be replaced by quotes from Arabic
03
literature and History

Thank you for your time in participating in our research. With your opinion, we continue to progress.

Appendix 5 Statistical Analysis of the 121 subjects

Demographics

1 - Total 2 - City 3 - Gender 4 - Age 5 - Social Class 6 - Nationality

Riyad Mal Fema 22 – 36 – Sau Exp
Total Jeddah B C1 C2
h e le 35 55 di Arab
BASE: All
121 60 61 61 60 65 56 43 72 6 58 63
Respondents

57
2 - City
Jeddah 50% 100% 0% 49% 50% 51% 48% 37% 58% 33% 50% 49%
Riyadh 50% 0% 100% 51% 50% 49% 52% 63% 42% 67% 50% 51%
3 - Gender
100
50% 50% 51% 0% 46% 55% 51% 49% 67% 55% 46%
Male %
Female 50% 50% 49% 0% 100% 54% 45% 49% 51% 33% 45% 54%
4 - Age
22 – 35 54% 55% 52% 49% 58% 100% 0% 65% 47% 50% 64% 44%
36 – 55 46% 45% 48% 51% 42% 0% 100% 35% 53% 50% 36% 56%
5 - Social Class
100
36% 27% 44% 36% 35% 43% 27% 0% 0% 45% 27%
B %
100
60% 70% 49% 57% 62% 52% 68% 0% 0% 53% 65%
C1 %
100
5% 3% 7% 7% 3% 5% 5% 0% 0% 2% 8%
C2 %
6 - Nationality
100
48% 48% 48% 52% 43% 57% 38% 60% 43% 17% 0%
Saudi %
Exp Arab 52% 52% 52% 48% 57% 43% 63% 40% 57% 83% 0% 100%
7 - Location
Jarir 45% 38% 52% 56% 35% 51% 39% 44% 49% 17% 57% 35%
Obekon 55% 62% 48% 44% 65% 49% 61% 56% 51% 83% 43% 65%
S3 - Educational
Degree
High School 67% 70% 64% 51% 83% 72% 61% 65% 67% 83% 67% 67%
Bachelors 26% 25% 28% 44% 8% 26% 27% 28% 28% 0% 28% 25%
Masters 7% 5% 8% 5% 8% 2% 13% 7% 6% 17% 5% 8%
S5.1 - Type of Novel
Read
Literary 75% 60% 90% 85% 65% 72% 79% 81% 72% 67% 71% 79%
Self & Professional 100 100 100 100 100
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Development % % % % %
Others 73% 58% 87% 82% 63% 69% 77% 70% 74% 83% 69% 76%

Main Questions

1-
2 - City 3 - Gender 4 - Age 5 - Social Class 6 - Nationality
Total
Jedda Riyad Mal Femal 22 – 36 – Saud Exp
Total B C1 C2
h h e e 35 55 i Arab
BASE: All
121 60 61 61 60 65 56 43 72 6 58 63
Respondents
First Part - Q1
37 36 33
36% 33% 39% 26% 47% 45% 27% 40% 33%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 42 39 50
40% 37% 44% 41% 40% 35% 46% 36% 44%
Paraphrased % % %
21 25 17
23% 30% 16% 33% 13% 20% 27% 24% 22%
Literal Translation % % %
First Part - Q2
42 33 17
36% 25% 46% 28% 43% 40% 30% 34% 37%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 23 38 67
34% 27% 41% 39% 28% 23% 46% 31% 37%
Paraphrased % % %

58
 35 29 17
31% 48% 13% 33% 28% 37% 23% 34% 27%
Literal Translation % % %
First Part - Q3
26 43 17
36% 37% 34% 34% 37% 38% 32% 33% 38%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 49 39 17
41% 37% 46% 34% 48% 37% 46% 40% 43%
Paraphrased % % %
26 18 67
23% 27% 20% 31% 15% 25% 21% 28% 19%
Literal Translation % % %
First Part - Q4
28 44 33
38% 42% 34% 43% 33% 43% 32% 41% 35%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 60 49 50
53% 48% 57% 46% 60% 49% 57% 52% 54%
Paraphrased % % %
12 17
9% 10% 8% 11% 7% 8% 11% 7% 7% 11%
Literal Translation % %
First Part - Q5
40 43 33
41% 58% 25% 46% 37% 38% 45% 31% 51%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 53 38 33
43% 28% 57% 28% 58% 46% 39% 52% 35%
Paraphrased % % %
19 33
16% 13% 18% 26% 5% 15% 16% 7% 17% 14%
Literal Translation % %
First Part - Q6
40 46 17
42% 37% 48% 46% 38% 42% 43% 36% 48%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 47 38 33
40% 40% 41% 31% 50% 45% 36% 38% 43%
Paraphrased % % %
14 17 50
17% 23% 11% 23% 12% 14% 21% 26% 10%
Literal Translation % % %
First Part - Q7
30 35 17
32% 28% 36% 25% 40% 31% 34% 29% 35%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 30 35 50
34% 32% 36% 33% 35% 32% 36% 36% 32%
Paraphrased % % %
40 31 33
34% 40% 28% 43% 25% 37% 30% 34% 33%
Literal Translation % % %
First Part - Q8
35 26 33
30% 25% 34% 31% 28% 32% 27% 33% 27%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 47 44 17
44% 33% 54% 36% 52% 45% 43% 41% 46%
Paraphrased % % %
19 29 50
26% 42% 11% 33% 20% 23% 30% 26% 27%
Literal Translation % % %
First Part - Q9
47 40 67
44% 30% 57% 36% 52% 37% 52% 45% 43%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 33 35 33
34% 47% 21% 46% 22% 32% 36% 31% 37%
Paraphrased % % %
21 25
22% 23% 21% 18% 27% 31% 13% 0% 24% 21%
Literal Translation % %
First Part - Q10
35 31 17
31% 30% 33% 26% 37% 35% 27% 29% 33%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 40 40 50
40% 25% 56% 30% 52% 34% 48% 43% 38%
Paraphrased % % %
26 29 33
28% 45% 11% 44% 12% 31% 25% 28% 29%
Literal Translation % % %
First Part - Q11
37 42 67
41% 45% 38% 34% 48% 48% 34% 41% 41%
Arabic equivalent % % %

59
Meaning 37 33 17
34% 30% 38% 33% 35% 29% 39% 31% 37%
Paraphrased % % %
26 25 17
25% 25% 25% 33% 17% 23% 27% 28% 22%
Literal Translation % % %
First Part - Q12
72 67 33
67% 70% 64% 82% 52% 62% 73% 66% 68%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 23 22 50
24% 18% 30% 11% 37% 29% 18% 31% 17%
Paraphrased % % %
11 17
9% 12% 7% 7% 12% 9% 9% 5% 3% 14%
Literal Translation % %
Second Part – Q13
Meaning 65 69 67
68% 80% 56% 61% 75% 71% 64% 60% 75%
Paraphrased % % %
35 31 33
32% 20% 44% 39% 25% 29% 36% 40% 25%
Literal Translation % % %
Second Part – Q14
26 33 67
32% 20% 44% 48% 17% 28% 38% 38% 27%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 74 67 33
68% 80% 56% 52% 83% 72% 63% 62% 73%
Paraphrased % % %
Literal Translation 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Second Part – Q15
77 72 33
72% 75% 69% 56% 88% 78% 64% 71% 73%
Arabic equivalent % % %
23 28 67
28% 25% 31% 44% 12% 22% 36% 29% 27%
Literal Translation % % %
Second Part – Q16
26 26
25% 22% 28% 26% 23% 22% 29% 0% 24% 25%
Arabic equivalent % %
Meaning 60 57 67
59% 62% 56% 56% 62% 65% 52% 57% 60%
Paraphrased % % %
14 17 33
17% 17% 16% 18% 15% 14% 20% 19% 14%
Literal Translation % % %
Second Part – Q17
Meaning 74 74 67
74% 72% 75% 67% 80% 75% 71% 72% 75%
Paraphrased % % %
26 26 33
26% 28% 25% 33% 20% 25% 29% 28% 25%
Literal Translation % % %
Second Part – Q18
Meaning 67 69 67
69% 75% 62% 62% 75% 72% 64% 60% 76%
Paraphrased % % %
33 31 33
31% 25% 38% 38% 25% 28% 36% 40% 24%
Literal Translation % % %
Second Part – Q19
42 33 33
36% 33% 39% 34% 38% 35% 38% 38% 35%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 21 22 50
23% 20% 26% 25% 22% 23% 23% 17% 29%
Paraphrased % % %
37 44 17
40% 47% 34% 41% 40% 42% 39% 45% 37%
Literal Translation % % %
Second Part – Q20
Meaning 70 67 50
67% 68% 66% 51% 83% 72% 61% 59% 75%
Paraphrased % % %
30 33 50
33% 32% 34% 49% 17% 28% 39% 41% 25%
Literal Translation % % %
Second Part – Q21
51 56 17
52% 42% 62% 44% 60% 52% 52% 47% 57%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Meaning 40 33 50
36% 47% 26% 39% 33% 40% 32% 45% 29%
Paraphrased % % %

60
 11 33
12% 12% 11% 16% 7% 8% 16% 9% 9% 14%
Literal Translation % %
Second Part – Q22
Meaning 60 58 67
60% 57% 62% 57% 62% 54% 66% 59% 60%
Paraphrased % % %
40 42 33
40% 43% 38% 43% 38% 46% 34% 41% 40%
Literal Translation % % %
Third Part – Q23
16 22 17
20% 20% 20% 3% 37% 23% 16% 26% 14%
Deletion % % %
35 43 33
40% 52% 28% 62% 17% 34% 46% 34% 44%
Literal Translation % % %
49 35 50
40% 28% 52% 34% 47% 43% 38% 40% 41%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Third Part – Q24
28 21
22% 25% 20% 13% 32% 28% 16% 0% 21% 24%
Deletion % %
33 39 67
38% 35% 41% 48% 28% 37% 39% 36% 40%
Literal Translation % % %
40 40 33
40% 40% 39% 39% 40% 35% 45% 43% 37%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Third Part – Q25
40 35 17
36% 43% 28% 26% 45% 43% 27% 38% 33%
Deletion % % %
40 29 67
35% 30% 39% 44% 25% 31% 39% 33% 37%
Literal Translation % % %
21 36 17
30% 27% 33% 30% 30% 26% 34% 29% 30%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Third Part – Q26
21 10
13% 25% 2% 20% 7% 15% 11% 0% 17% 10%
Deletion % %
51 58 67
56% 52% 61% 52% 60% 54% 59% 55% 57%
Literal Translation % % %
28 32 33
31% 23% 38% 28% 33% 31% 30% 28% 33%
Arabic equivalent % % %
Total Scores for the three Strategies
Section 1
Total
Arabic equivalent 40%
Meaning Paraphrased 38%
Literal Translation 22%
Section 2
Total
Arabic equivalent 29%
Meaning Paraphrased 45%
Literal Translation 26%
Section 3
Total
Deletion 23%
Literal Translation 42%
Arabic EQ 35%

61
 Appendix 6 Statistical Analysis of the Test and Re-Test Check

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6
% Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts
73% 11 67% 10 67% 10 80% 12 93% 14 73% 11

27% 4 33% 5 33% 5 20% 3 7% 1 27% 4

Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12

% Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts
87% 13 60% 9 60% 9 73% 11 60% 9 80% 12

13% 2 40% 6 40% 6 27% 4 40% 6 20% 3

Q13_B Q14_B Q15_B Q16_B Q17_B Q18_B

% Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts
100% 15 73% 11 67% 10 73% 11 100% 15 100% 15

0% 0 27% 4 33% 5 27% 4 0% 0 0% 0

Q19_B Q20_B Q21_B Q22_B Q23_C Q24_C

% Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts % Counts
80% 12 73% 11 87% 13 73% 11 73% 11 73% 11

20% 3 27% 4 13% 2 27% 4 27% 4 27% 4

Q25_C Q26_C
% Counts % Counts
67% 10 73% 11

33% 5 27% 4

Appendix 7 Collected Data

Idioms
Translatio
ST location intended meaning TT location TL Equivalent
n Strategy
they'd spend most of ‫فسوؾ ٌنفقون معظم وقتهم‬
they spend their times in trivial ‫ٌقضون وقتهم فً القال و‬
their time gabbing at the Page 15 ‫فً الثرثرة حول نافورة‬ Page 18
things ‫القٌل‬
water fountain ‫المٌاه‬
To arrive in a place or situation
wind up sick Page 59 after or because of a course of ‫تعود أدراجك مرٌضا‬ Page 83 ‫تسقط مرٌضا‬
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

action
Literal Translation the has a TL Equivalent

a situation that is unpleasant but

swallowed that bitter pill
from follows function
down-to-the-minute time
allocations for every
activity
let go
"do unto others as you
want others to do unto
you"
I'll sweet-talk you to your
face and bad-mouth you
behind your back
people know in their
hearts
the tip of the iceberg of
emphatic listening
that triggered off a hot
button response
Page 73 ً‫ابتلعت مرارت‬ Page 102 ‫تجرعت المر‬
must be accepted
Page 158 ‫الشكل ٌتبع المضمون‬ Page 222 ‫الجواب ٌجهر من العنوان‬
‫حافل بالمهمات المحددة‬
Page 169 very tight time table Page 237 ‫ٌوم محجوز عن بكرة أبٌه‬
‫الدقٌقة لكل نشاط على حدة‬
Page 169 do not bother yourself with it ‫دعه ٌعمل‬ Page 240 ‫ال تلقً له باال‬
‫عامل الناس بمثل ما تحب‬
do to people what you want ‫قدم لآلخرٌن ما ترؼب أن‬
Page 192 Page 269 ‫أن ٌعاملوك به أو أحب‬
people to do to you ‫ٌقدمه اآلخرون لك‬
‫لؤلخرٌن ما تحبه لنفسك‬
ً‫سؤقول معسول الكبلم ف‬ ‫كالذي ٌعطٌك من طرؾ‬
Page 196 ‫وجهك و سؤتكلم عنك‬ Page 275 ‫اللسان حبلوة و ٌروغ منك‬
‫بالسوء من خلفك‬ ‫كما ٌروغ الثعلب‬
Page 224 ‫ٌعرؾ الناس ٌقلوبهم‬ Page 317 ‫بفطرتهم أو ؼرٌزتهم‬
a small part of a problem or a
Page 248 difficult situation which is really ً‫قمة جبل االستماع العاطف‬ Page 354 ‫بٌت القصٌد‬
much larger than it seems
a subject that is important to
‫كمنبه ضؽط بشدة على زر‬
Page 312 people and which they feel very Page 448 ‫دق على وتر حساس‬
‫استجابة حادة‬
strongly about

62
 To inflict injury as if by treading
heavily: "trampling on the
to trample on the sacred
feelings of those about you" ‫أن تخوض فً منطقة مقدسة‬ ‫ترعى حول حمى الماكن‬
ground of another's Page 314 Page 450
Thornton Wilder ‫فً قلب شخص آخر‬ ‫الحساسة‬
heart
http://www.thefreedictionary.com
/trampling)
to play the game without ‫بدون ٌد مبتلة من العرق و‬
Page 6 with firm grib and determinism Page 17 ‫بعزٌمة قوٌة‬
Smart

‫القلق‬
Love

sweaty palms
‫لٌس هذا وقت تجربة األداء‬
this is no dress rehearsal Page 10 Page 20
‫أو التدرٌب على العرض‬
Translatio
ST location intended meaning TT location TL evident
n Strategy
leave him alone and do not
get off his back Page 17 ‫ال تقفوا خلؾ ظهره‬ Page 20 ‫اتركوه و شؤنه‬
bother him
shake things up, make ‫ٌقلب األشٌاء راسا على‬
Page 41 Page 56
heads roll ‫ ٌدٌر الرإوس‬،‫عقب‬
shape up lazy and ‫كٌؾ تطور موظفٌك‬
Page 58 improve and turn out Page 82
incompetent employees ‫الكسالى و ؼٌر االكفاء؟‬
drop hand grenades Page 58 metaphorically ‫أقذفهم بالقنابل الٌدوٌة‬ Page 82
something that you say in order
to tell someone that if their
shape up or ship out Page 58 ‫أصلحهم أو أؼرقهم‬ Page 82
behaviour does not improve,
they will have to leave
(slang: go for) an employee who
gofers page 86 runs errand in addition to regular ‫سعاة‬ Page 121
duties
an original description of a plan
‫تنتقل باألمر إلى صورة‬
reduce it to the blueprint Page 99 or idea that explains how it is Page 138
‫التصمٌم المعماري‬
expected to work
‫قم بقٌاساتك مرتٌن لتقطع‬
measure twice, cut once Page 99 think deeply before acting Page 138
‫أخشابك مرة واحدة‬
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

marching orders for the give someone their marching ‫و تعطً األوامر الخاصة‬
Page 99 Page 139

Literal Translation that has no TL Equivalent

day orders - to tell someone to leave ‫بهذا الٌوم‬
‫مشحونة بالمشاحنات و آثار‬
the battle scars of quick
Page 105 multi-metaphorical expression ‫الجروح الناج مة عن‬ Page 145
fix skirmishes
‫المعارك‬
licking the earth Page 115 ‫كمن ٌاعق األرض‬ Page 160
a situation which changes
like roller coasting ً‫البكرة المعلقة التً تدور ف‬
Page 122 suddenly and often between Page 170
through life ‫حٌاة اإلنسان‬
being good and being bad

solve problem is fight or ً‫لحل المشكبلت تتمثل ف‬

Page 138 face the problem or ignore it Page 192
flight "‫"اضرب و اهرب‬
a pushing yes accompanying a
a burning yes Page 149 ‫كلمة نعم ملتهبة‬ Page 208
desire to reveal it

if you give someone an amount

understanding of the
Page 227 of money up front, you pay them ‫للهدؾ الذي أمامنا‬ Page 321
goal up front
before they start a job
if your life runs hot and ‫إذا ما كانت حٌاتك تتقلب‬
Page 238 out of shock Page 337
cold ‫بٌن االنفعال و البرودة‬
you can work your ‫إنك تستطٌع أن تفتش‬
to work very hard for a very long
fingers to the bone to Page 241 ‫بؤصابعك ألعمق األعماق‬ Page 341
time
make a deposit ‫لتودع ودٌعة ما‬
to start expressing strong
opinions impressively, especially
delivering grandiose ‫متحدثا فً ببلؼة ارتجالٌة‬
Page 257 about a subject that people are Page 368
rhetoric from a soapbox ‫افظٌة متكلفة‬
bored of hearing you speak
about
"an idea whose time had " ‫فكرة صادفت وقتها المبلبم‬
Page 266 Page 380
come" ‫"لهم‬
hung on the edge of ‫كانت معلقة على تخوم‬
Page 266 cultural expression Page 381
chaos ‫الفوضى‬
in a flash of certainty Page 293 ‫فً لمعة من ثقة‬ Page 422
to cut and clear (a way) through
by hacking at the leaves Page 317 )‫بقطع الضبلت (األوراق‬ Page 454
undergrowth
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Translatio
ST location intended meaning TT location TL evident
n Strategy
‫سفح‬ ً‫اذا عجز الحمار ف‬
Literal Translation that are Potential to

you can't have the fruit
without the roots
he that is good with a
hammer tends to think
‫فبل ٌمكنك جنً الثمار دون‬
Page 186 Page 261 ‫الجبل لم ٌنقل الحمل إلى‬
‫الجذور‬
‫أعبله‬
think in the same pattern and ‫إن الذي فً ٌده مطرقة ٌمٌل‬
Page 130 deal with all things in the same ‫إلى الظن بؤن كل ما حوله‬ Page 181
be TL Equivalent

everything is a nail way ‫مسامٌر‬

when we pick up one
end of the stick, we pick
up the other
chasing after the
poisonous snake that
bites us will only drive
the poison through our
entire system
the world won't amount
to a hill of beans
ً‫إذا التقطنا أحد طرف‬
when we consider an aspect of ‫ما علٌنا سوى أن نلتقط‬
Page 91 ‫ فإننا نلتقط الطرؾ‬،‫العصا‬ Page 127
the matter other aspects follow ‫طرؾ الخٌط‬
‫اآلخر‬
‫إن مطاردة الثعبان السام‬
focus on the wrong aspect while ‫الذي ٌعضنا لن تسفر سوى‬
Page 91 Page 128
being in a dangerous status ‫عن سرٌان السم فً ك افة‬
‫أجزاء جسمنا‬
‫لن تساوي حتى مجرد صفقة‬
Page 250 to have very little or no value Page 357 ‫شروى نقٌر‬
‫من البقول‬

63
 Translatio
ST location intended meaning TT location TL evident
n Strategy
you should be sorry for the ً‫ؼٌر أنه فً داخلً تتملكن‬ ‫أعض اصابع الندم و‬
I'm eating my heart out Page 16 Page 19
choices you have made ‫التعاسة‬ ‫الحسرة‬
literal meaning but the
get rich quick Page 35 ‫كن ثرٌا حاال‬ Page 48 ‫الثراء السرٌع‬
expression has a sound effect
more than his pride
Page 37 more than what he can stand ‫أكبر مما ٌتحمله كبرٌاإه‬ Page 50
could swallow
‫ٌبدو مستعصٌا على‬
too good to be true Page 54 it is very perfect to be realistic Page 73
‫التصدٌق‬
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

use control levers Page 55 using control tools ‫استخدام وسابل التحكم‬ Page 77 ‫بٌده مقالٌد األمور‬
to say that you agree with and
more than giving lip ‫بدال من مجرد الر كون إلى‬
Page 169 support an idea or plan but not Page 239
service ً‫التؤٌٌد اللفظ‬
do anything to help it to succeed
‫ترتفع األرباح إلى عنان‬
Profits skyrocket Page 57 profits rised rapidly Page 80
‫السماء‬
‫التكالٌؾ هً الً ارتفعت‬
costs skyrocket; profits ‫إلى عنان السماء فً حٌن‬
Page 57 rise rapidly and fell rapidly Page 81
nose-dive ‫ؼاصت األر باح إلى‬
‫األعماق‬
to actually perform what you
"walk our talk" Page 148 ‫ٌطابق فعلنا كبلمنا‬ Page 207
say you can do
she gives me the third a situation in which someone
degree every time I'm Page 185 tries to find out information by ‫تنزع منً االعترافات‬ Page 260 ‫تحقٌق و استجواب‬
away asking you a lot of questions.
to upset someone, esp. by
"step on me again. ‫تخطانً مرة أخرى كل‬
Page 209 getting involved in something Page 294
Everyone does" ‫واحد ٌفعل‬
that is their responsibility
the managers were ‫المدراء هم الذٌن كانوا‬
Page 231 get the best Page 327
creaming ‫ٌجنون الثمار‬
if your performance

Paraphrasing
‫إذا لم ٌتطابق سلوكك‬
doesn't square with your Page 238 to agree with something Page 337
‫الخاص مع سلوكك العام‬
public performance
our differences are no
a problem which prevents
longer stumbling blocks ‫لن تستمر كؤحجار تعٌق‬
Page 259 someone from achieving Page 371
to communication and ‫التقدم و التدفق‬
something
progress

‫ذلك دون االتطرق إلى‬

‫موقؾ هذا الشخص إزاء‬
let alone put their boots
‫األعمال المنزلٌة البسٌطة و‬
under their bed and start Page 1 Page 12
‫األمور المالٌة التً قد‬
filling joint tax returns
‫تجمعهم كزوج و زوجة‬
‫ٌظلهم سقؾ واحد‬
the sizzle has started to ‫حل الفتور مكان الحماس‬
Page 4 Page 14
fizzle ‫المتقد‬
I know for absolute,
Page 6 ‫كحقٌقة مطلقة و ٌقٌنٌة‬ Page 16
drop-dead certain slang-cannot be changed
Love Smart

scratch every itch you

Page 10 ‫تشبع كل احتٌاجاتك‬ Page 20
have
we are going to have an ‫أننا سنستمتع للؽاٌة بالقٌام‬
Page 10 Page 21
absolute ball doing it ‫بذلك‬
stop burning daylight Page 10 ‫التوقؾ عن إهدار أٌامك‬ Page 21

dog biscuit page 45 ‫مجرد شٌا ببل قٌمة‬ PAGE 59

playing with sweaty ‫تمارسٌن اللعبة بقلق و‬
page 52 page 66
palms ‫توجس‬
step into the shoes of ‫تخٌلً أنك أقرب صدٌقة‬
page 57 page 71
your closest friends ‫لنفسك‬
your dog-eared copy page 56 ‫نسختك المهتربة‬ page 72
ً‫لكن مٌزة واحدة ال تكف‬
but one log won't burn page 62 page 77
‫لكن ٌد واحدة ال تصفق‬ ‫لتحقٌق عبلقة مثالٌة‬
Translatio
ST location intended meaning TT location TL evident
n Strategy
to work on the internal behaviour
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

inside-out
you always reap what
you saw
a thousand mile journey
begins with the first step
page 15 and attitudes first then to work on ‫من الباطن إلى الظاهر‬ page 17 ‫من الداخل إلى الخارج‬
the external
you always gain the result of
Page 22 ‫إنك دابما تحصد ما تزرع‬ Page 27
what you have done
the long journey needs an ‫إن رحلة األلؾ مٌل تبدأ‬
Page 37 Page 50 ‫رحلة األلؾ مٌل تبدأ بخطوة‬
initiative movement ‫بالخطوة األولى‬
TL Equivalent

doing their own things Page 50 do what they want ‫ٌفعلون ما ٌحلو لهم‬ Page 69

who picks up the pieces Page 58 ‫من سٌجمع األشبلء‬ Page 82

sooner or later Page 77 at some time in the future ‫عاجبل أم آجبل‬ Page 109
to be very involved at the busiest
I get caught up in the ‫و تمسك بتبلبٌبً أمور‬ ‫أؼرق فً تفاصٌل أمور‬
Page 105 or most active stage of a Page 146
thick of thin things ‫بسٌطة‬ ‫تافهة‬
situation or activity
‫تختلط مشاعر الحب و‬
love-hate over reaction Page 112 mixed opposite feelings Page 155
‫الكراهٌة معًا‬
throw more light on brain focus on the wrong aspect while ‫لتلقً مزٌدا من الضوء على‬
Page 130 Page 182
functioning being in a dangerous status ‫وظابؾ المخ‬

64
 ‫إن المدرسة ال تساوي‬
schools are for birds Page 246 cultural expression Page 351
‫شروى نقٌر‬
we're beating around the ً‫إننا نضرب أخماسا ف‬
Page 247 Trying with no sucess Page 352
bush ‫أسداس‬
you're already miles ‫تكون قد قطعت بالفعل‬
Page 253 proceed in the future Page 361
down the road ‫شوطا طوببل فً طريقك‬
to prevent a small problem from ‫الذي ٌقضً على المشكبلت‬
potential problems can
Page 259 getting worse by stopping it soon ً‫الكامنة و هً مازالت ف‬ Page 371
be nipped in the bud
after it starts ‫مهدها‬
on the very edge of
Page 265 ‫على شفا هارٌة الفوضى‬ Page 378
chaos
an idea which shows a lot of
imagination but which is not
a flight of fancy Page 266 ‫مجرد سباحة فً الخٌال‬ Page 379
practical or useful in real
situations
create wedges in the
Page 272 Affect the relationship badly ‫ٌدق إسفٌنا فً عبلقتهما‬ Page 391
relationship
everyone else is buried ‫كل شخص آخر ٌنؽمس‬
Page 277 Too much busy with details Page 398
by the minutia ‫حتى أذنٌه فً التفاصٌل‬
‫إذا أردت جنً العسل تحمل‬
No pain no gain Page 291 No reward without efforts Page 419
‫لسع النحل‬
we can't live without
‫إننا ال نعٌش كً نؤكل بل‬ ‫"نحن قوم ال نؤكل حتى‬
eating but we don't live Page 302 Page 435
‫نؤكل لنعٌش‬ "‫نجوع و إذا أكلنا ال نشبع‬
to eat
to expect something to be
we have blindly taken for
Page 315 available all the time and forget ‫أخذناها كؤمر مسلم به‬ Page 452
granted
that you are lucky to have it
pull me out off the lonely Take me out of the bad ‫ٌنتشلنً من الؽرق فً المٌاه‬
page 2 page 12
water situation ‫الراكدة‬
‫وكؤن قطار الزواج أو‬
missed the bus Page 10 Too old or too late Page 21
Love Smart

‫االرتباط قد فاتك‬
walking hand in hand page 45 Happy and accompanied ‫تسٌر و هً متؤبطة ذراع‬ page 60
a dog-eat-dog dating
page 46 Very brutal world ‫عالم الزواج شرس و عنٌؾ‬ page 60
world
‫خارج مضمار العبلقات‬
off the hook page 64 page 78
‫الزوجٌة‬
Translatio
ST location intended meaning TT location TL evident
n Strategy
my marriage has gone
Page 16 unexciting ً‫لقد أخفق زواج‬ Page 19
flat
loosened up our old gradually changing our old ‫ومع ارخاء العنان لمعتقداتنا‬
Page 20 Page 24
perception of our son perception about our son ‫القدٌمة عن ابننا‬
to improve your situation by your
up-by-the-bootstraps
Page 148 own efforts without any help from ‫و القرٌب من شراك النعل‬ Page 207
efforts
other people
To arrive in a place or situation
wind up sick Page 59 after or because of a course of ‫تعود أدراجك مرٌضا‬ Page 83 ‫تسقط مرٌضا‬
action
you're wiped out Page 152 to be destroyed ‫ثم تشل قدرتك‬ Page 212 ‫قضً علٌك‬
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

let go Page 169 do not bother yourself with it ‫دعه ٌعمل‬ Page 240 ‫ال تلقً له باال‬
someone who behaves as if they
or playing little tin god in
Page 188 are more important or powerful ‫و ألعب معك لعبة الكذب‬ Page 264
your life
than they really are

an organized father and
son outing, complete
with gymnastics,
wrestling matches,
hotdogs, orangeade, and
a movie- the works
I carry my battle scars
with me into any future
negotiations
let's really hammer it out
inwardly they were
eating their hearts out
brought twice to its
knees
we involved people at
grass root level
would give all the dirty
job
that had been built were
up in arms
becoming an eyesore
Incorrect Translation
‫كانت نزهة مارسوا فٌها‬
‫بعض األلعاب الرٌاضٌة‬
‫مثل المصارعة و تناولوا‬
Page 192 cultural aspects Page 270
‫بعض شطابر السجق و‬
‫المشروبات و شاهدوا فٌلما‬
‫ اسمه العمل‬- ‫سٌنمابٌا‬
‫ربما ساقوم خبلل مفاوضات‬
Page 212 Page 299
‫المستقٌل بإنزال األذى بك‬
to create an agreement or
Page 213 ‫و دعنا نتطبلق إلٌها‬ Page 302
solution to a problem
you should be sorry for the ‫إال أنهم من الداخل تتآكل‬ ‫تحترق قلوبهم حسرة و‬
Page 219 Page 310
choices you have made ‫قلوبهم من الؽٌظ‬ ‫ؼٌظا‬
to destroy or defeat someone or
Page 223 ‫رأٌت هذا البلد ملتزما‬ Page 315
something
the ordinary people in a society
Page 230 or political organization and not ‫أن ٌطوروا من األساس‬ Page 325
the leaders
to do the unpleasant or difficult ‫ٌوفرون كل الوظابؾ األقل‬
Page 231 Page 327
things ‫شؤنا‬
Page 282 to be very angry ‫تكاتفوا سوٌا فً مواجهة‬ Page 405
Page 287 something very ugly ‫و تحوله إلى قذى العٌون‬ Page 405

65
 Culturally-Bound Expressions
Translation
ST location intended meaning TT location classification
Strategy
Aesop's fable of the
‫خرافة عٌسوب حول األوزة‬ (Historical/Liter
goose and the golden Page 52 cultural expression Page 73
‫و البٌضة الذهبٌة‬ ary)
egg
Well quite literally it is one who
studies forever. You might say
that everyone is in fact an eternal
student. But I am referring to that
type of person who is a
permanent resident in a
university. The perks of staying
in college are numerous--
namely you don't have to pay for
the eternal student your life. Some of the lucky are
Page 59 ‫نموذج الدارس األبدي‬ Page 83 Social
syndrome able to con parents into paying
for their stay at institutes of
higher education, but one can
occasionally trick the
government and other
scholarship organizations into
paying. There are several types
of eternal students ranging from
the truly dedicated to the wild
partier.
Page (Social/Environ
to the "big city" "‫إلى "المدٌنة الكبٌرة‬ Page 448
312 mental)
Thomas Wolf was wrong. . ‫فقد توماس ولؾ مخطا‬
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

You can go home again- ‫فٌمكنك الرجوع إلى المنزل‬

Page cultural expression Novel "You
if your home is a ‫ إذا كان منزلك‬-‫مرة أخرى‬ Page 450 social/literary
314 Can't go home again" (1940)
treasured relationship, a ‫عبارة عن عبلقة ثمٌنة و‬
precious companionship ‫صحبة ؼالبة‬
"there are only two " ‫هناك وصٌتان فقط دابمتان‬
lasting bequests we can Page -‫ٌمكننا أن نعطٌهما ألبنابنا‬ cultural
cultural expression Page 453
give our children- one is 316 ‫ و‬،‫واحدة منهما هً الجذور‬ expression
root, the other wings" ‫"األخرى هً األجنحة‬
self-fulfilling prophecy Page 69 cultural and religious ‫نبوءة تحقق أؼراضها ذاتٌا‬ Page 112 religious

Hollywood scripts Page 80 cultural expression ‫السٌنارٌو الهولٌودي‬ Page 113 social
‫االهتمام بتنظٌم الكراسً و‬
like straightening deck Page taking care of something after historical/literar

Literal Translation
‫المقاعد على ظهر سفٌنة‬ Page 143
chairs on the Titanic 102 being destroyed- uselessness y
‫أوشكت على الؽرق‬
a puppet pulled by
Page ً‫القٌام بدور الدمٌة الت‬ social/Environm
someone else's strings to Page 154
111 ‫ٌتبلعب بها شخص‬ ental
high proactively
going to and fro in the
world and up and down ‫و التجول فً العالم‬
in it like Satan, explaining Page ‫كالشبطان و شرح و تجربة‬
religious concept Page 160 religious
and experiencing 115 ‫كل ما ٌمنحه الؽرور و‬
whatever Vanity Fair has ‫التباهً من لذة‬
to offer
terms of active, inactive, ‫وصؾ اآلخرٌن بعبارات‬
Page
liberal, orthodox or religious expression ‫نشٌط كسول متحرر سلٌم‬ Page 163 religious
117
conservative ‫العقٌدة محافظ‬
look at the program in ‫تنظر إلى ورقة فً ٌدٌك‬
Page 96 cultural and religious practice Page 135 social
you hands ...‫تضم أسماء‬
like the Dead Sea in Page ‫مثل البحر المٌت الذي ٌاخذ‬ social/environm
cultural aspect Page 164
Israel 118 ً‫و لكنه ال ٌعط‬ ental
The Pareto principle (also
known as the 80-20 rule, the law
of the vital few and the
principle of factor sparsely)
Page ‫ٌطلق على هذا األمر "مبدأ‬ cultural
The Pareto Principle states that, for many events, Page 218
156 "‫بارٌتو‬ expression
80% of the effects comes from
20% of the causes. e.g., "80% of
your sales comes from 20% of
your clients."
Page
Sunday to work on it cultural aspect ‫ٌوم األحد النجازه‬ Page 229 social
163
complete with high Page
cultural ‫فرق طلبة المدارس العلٌا‬ Page 325 social
school bands 230
an organized father and ‫كانت نزهة م ارسوا فٌها‬
son outing, complete with ‫بعض األلعاب الرٌاضٌة‬
gymnastics, wrestling Page ‫مثل المصارعة و تناولوا‬
cultural aspects Page 270 social
matches, hotdogs, 192 ‫بعض شطابر السجق و‬
orangeade, and a movie- ‫المشروبات و شاهدوا فٌلما‬
the works ‫ اسمه العمل‬- ‫سٌنمابٌا‬
(Cultural) A usually high-
performance automobile that
Page leads a group of competing cars ‫دور ٌشبه سٌارة تقوم بتعٌٌن‬
a pace car in the race Page 322 social
227 through the pace lap of a race ‫سرعة العداد فً سباق‬
but does not participate in the
race.
beyond the eight-to five ‫(ثمانٌة‬ ‫المتطلبات المادٌة‬
Page
physical demands of the cultural working hours ‫البلزمة‬ ) ‫مقابل خمس ة‬ Page 371 social
259
job ‫للوظٌفة‬

66
 you have to leave the
‫فإن علٌك أن تهجر عالم‬
comfort zone of base
Page ‫الراحة فً مستقرك لتواجه‬ social/Environm
camp and confront an cultural concept Page 375
263 ً‫عالما جدٌدا و مجهوال ف‬ ental
entirely new and
‫قفار البرٌة‬
unknown wilderness
Page
daily prayerful meditation cultural religious expression ‫التؤمل و الصلوات الٌومٌة‬ Page 420 religious
292
Christ takes the slums Page ‫ٌخرج هللا األحٌاء الفقٌرة من‬
religious expression Page 443 religious
out of people 309 ‫الناس‬
as though there were
‫مع أنه ٌوجد فطٌرة واحدة‬
only one pie out there
‫ و إذا أراد شخص‬،‫فحسب‬
and if someone get a big Page
‫ما الحصول على قطعة‬ Page 309 social
piece of the pie, it would 219
‫ سٌكون ذلك‬،‫كبٌرة منها‬
mean less for everybody
‫على حساب اآلخرٌن‬
else
in a place the served ‫فً مكان ٌقدم الخمور لن‬
liquor would violate his Page 2 social ex ‫ٌجعله ٌتمكن من الحدٌث‬ page 12
parole ‫معً كما ٌجب‬ social
ً‫و أصبح كالن ساء البلت‬
those women who dress
‫ٌجعلن الحٌوانات األلٌفة‬
up her pets and calls Page 3 social exp. Page 13
‫ترتدي المبلبس و ٌطلقن‬
them her "children"
ً‫علٌها لقب أطفال‬ social
‫و بصدد الحصول على‬
you are about to get your
Page 5 social exp. ‫الحزام األسود فً فن إقامة‬ Page 154
relationship "black belt"
‫العبلقات الناجحة المثٌرة‬ social
she needs to spend a ‫إنها تحتاج لقضاء المزٌد من‬
little more time at the Page 7 social exp. ً‫الوقت فً تناول الطعام ف‬ Page 18
buffet ‫البوفٌه‬ social
Love Smart

"so what is your sign? " ‫إلى أي برج تنتمً؟ هل‬

Can you believe all this ‫ترى كل هذه االمطار‬
Page 11 social exp. Page 21
rain? did you see People ‫الؽزٌرة؟ هل طالعت مجلة‬
magazine this week?" "‫"هذا األسبوع؟ "بٌبول‬ social
Mr. Rift jumps up on the ‫و صول الرجل المناسب‬
hood and knocks on your Page 11 social exp. ‫قافزا على ؼطاء سٌارتك‬ Page 21
windshield screaming ‫طارقا لزجاجها و ه و ٌصٌح‬ social
‫التعارؾ باألشعة تحت‬
"Infrared Dating" Page 11 Page 22
‫الحمراء‬ social
you're heading for more ‫أمامك لٌالً وحدة طوٌلة‬
nights alone than a page 48 religious-social ‫أكثر من الراهبة التً تعتزل‬ page 62 religious-social
cloistered nun ‫الناس‬
‫للتحرش الجنسً أو‬
molestation or abuse page 49 social -religious page 63 social -religious
‫اإلؼتصاب‬
welcome to Singleville page 54 social exp. ‫أهبل بك فً مدٌنة العوانس‬ page 79
social
Translation
ST location intended meaning TT location classification
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Strategy
cultural and religious (is a
alcoholic anonymous worldwide organization of people alcoholic ‫دعاء‬
page 86 Page 120 social -religious
prayer who share a desire to stop anonymous
drinking alcohol.[1])
The modes of persuasion are
devices in rhetoric that classify
the speaker's appeal to the

Borrowing
audience. They are: ethos,
pathos and logos. Ethos is an
appeal to the authority or
Page honesty of the speaker, Pathos ethos, pathos, and
ethos, pathos, and logos Page 365 Historical
255 is an appeal to the audience’s logos
emotions, Logos is logical
appeal, and the term logic is
derived from it. It is normally
used to describe facts and
figures that support the
speaker's topic.
Translation
ST location intended meaning TT location classification
Strategy
in September and June- -‫فً شهري سبتمبر و ٌونٌو‬
Page
the beginning of school cultural expression ‫موعد بدء و انتهاء السنة‬ Page 193 social
139
and the end of school- -‫الدراسٌة‬
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

church or community Page ‫أدوار دٌنٌة أو فً شبون‬

religious expression Page 228 religious
affairs 162 ‫المجتمع‬
Page
his girlfriend cultural expression ‫خطٌبته‬ Page 237 social
169
Page
Christ changes men religious expression ‫و ٌؽٌرهم هللا‬ Page 443 religious
309
Christ can change Page ‫و لكن هللا ٌمكنه أن ٌؽٌر‬
TL Equivalent

religious expression Page 443 religious

human nature
I believe that correct
principles are natural
laws, and that God, the
Creator and Father of us
all, is the source of them,
and also the source of
our conscience
require the power of God
to deal with
Teilhard de Chardin, "We
are not human beings
having a spiritual
experience. We are
309 ‫الطبٌعة البشرٌة‬
‫أعتقد أن المبادئ الصحٌحة‬
Page ‫هً قوانٌن طبٌعٌة و أن هللا‬
religious and cultural expression Page 457 religious
319 ‫الخالق هو مصدرها و كذلك‬
‫مصدر ضمابرنا‬
‫و لكنها تتطلب قدرة هللا‬
Page
religious and cultural expression ‫سبحانه و تعالى للتعامل‬ Page 457 religious
319
‫معها‬
‫ٌقول تٌبلرد دي كارٌن "إننا‬
Page ‫لسنا كابنات بشربة لها‬
religious and cultural expression Page 457 religious/social
319 ‫تجربة روحٌة و لكننا‬
‫كابنات روحٌة لها تجربة‬

67
 spiritual beings having a "‫بشرٌة‬
human experience."
they had been dating for Page ‫كانا مخطوب ٌن منذ مدة‬ cultural
cultural expression Page 237
a long dating 169 ‫طوٌلة‬ expression
‫امرأة كبٌرة و مرعبة‬
"crazy cat woman" that ‫مهووسة بالرجال و ٌخٌم‬
scares the Page 3 social exp. ‫علٌها شبح العنوسة و‬ Page 13
neighbourhood kids. ‫تخٌؾ أطفال الجٌران و ال‬
‫تفعل سوى تربٌة القطط‬ social
‫زوج أو صدٌق من الجنس‬
a boyfriend or husband Page 4 social exp. page 15
‫اآلخر‬ social
getting married is not ‫الزواج لٌس شٌبا حتمٌا‬
Page 4 social exp. page 15
something you must do ‫ٌنبؽً أن تقومً به‬ social
Love Smart

instead of a bride maid Page 7 social exp. ‫و لٌس وصٌفة العروس‬ Page 17
social
to play the dating game Page 9 social exp. ‫لممارسة لعبة االرتباط‬ Page 20
social
Jeez Louise Page 11 religious expression ! ً‫ٌا إله‬ Page 21
religious
‫آخر أربع عطبلت نهاٌة‬
the last four Fridays Page 46 social exp. page 61
‫األسبوع‬ social
‫و عضو فً أنشطة دور‬
a member of my church Page 47 religious and cultural expression page 61
‫العبادة‬ religious
‫و هناك نوع آخر من‬
Angelina Jolie sexpot
Page 54 social exp. ‫الفاتنات مثل الممثلة أنجٌلٌنا‬ page 68
types
ً‫جول‬ social
Translation
ST location intended meaning TT location classification
Strategy
The basic Judeo-
Page
Christian ethic honours religious expression deleted Page 226 religious
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

161
the Sabbath
Handel's Messiah might
Page
rate higher priority than a cultural concept deleted Page 176 social
127
rock concert
Page
good church member religious expression deleted Page 176 religious
127
service or seeking after Page
deleted Page 176 social
material wealth 127

your church or some ً‫من إحدى الجمعٌات ف‬

Page 97 cultural and religious practice Page 135 religious/social
community organizations ‫المنطقة‬
the old Testament, part
of the fundamental fabric
Page 89 religious concept deleted Page 125 religious

Deletion
of the Judeo-Christian
tradition
the musical Man of La Page
deleted Page 432 social/literary
Mancha 300
servant of Potiphar Page 89 religious concept deleted Page 125 religious
‫سواء كان المكان أحد‬
at a nightclub, gym, ‫النوادي أو صالة لؤللعاب‬
Page 11 social-religious Page 22 religious/social
church or online dating ‫الرٌاضٌة أو المواعدة عبر‬
‫االنترنت‬
‫الفتٌات الشابات الجمٌبلت و‬
Love Smart

hot, young, single girls page 45 social-religious ‫ؼٌر المتزوجات أو لسن‬ page 59 religious/social
‫مخطوبات‬
trendy nightclubs or new
page 45 social-religious deleted page 59 social
restaurant bars
a Christian page 53 religious concept deleted page 67 religious
you are not Ms. Potato
social-literary page 73 social
Head
Translation
ST location intended meaning TT location classification
Strategy
Page
church centeredness ‫مركز المإسسات الدٌنٌة‬ Page 163 religious
117
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Page ‫المبادئ األخبلقٌة السماوٌة‬

Judeo-Christian ethic religious expression Page 163 religious
117 ‫األساسٌة‬
proclamation of the redemption
you can be active in a ‫الشخص قد ٌنشط داخل دور‬
Page preached by Jesus and the
Paraphrasing or TL Equivalent

church but inactive in its ً‫العبادة و لكنه ال ٌنشط ف‬ Page 163 religious
117 Apostles, which is the central
gospel ‫تطبٌق تعالٌم الدٌن‬
content of Christian revelation
(slang: go for) an employee who
Page
gofer delegation runs errand in addition to regular ‫التفوٌض اآلمر‬ Page 242 social
173
duties
The term continues to be used in
these specific ways, but it is also
Page used in a more general way to
stewardship delegation ‫التفوٌض بالمسبولٌة‬ Page 242 social
173 refer to a responsibility to take
care of something one does not
own
Page ‫لسنا على إحاطة تامة بكل‬
we're not omniscient omniscient Page 171 social
123 ‫العلوم‬
Page ً‫لقضاء وقت معها مع باق‬
Christmas family reunion cultural expression Page 389 religious
272 ‫العابلة بمناسبة رأس السنة‬
Page
Christian religious expression ‫رجل الدٌن‬ Page 189 religious
136

68
 a loving Heavenly Father
Page
and that every Goliath religious expression deleted Page 189 religious
136
can be overcome
Page
the love of Christ religious expression ‫محبتً هلل‬ Page 189 religious
136
to share the two little Page ‫لدٌه توجه نخو تقدٌم روح‬
linguistic-social exp Page 12
words "we" and "us" 136 ‫الجماعة على النزعة الفردٌة‬ social
I am planning on getting
‫ سنتا من ثمن‬40 ‫سؤوفر‬
forty cents off a can of Page 3 social exp. Page 14
‫عبوة سابل التنظٌؾ‬
Pledge social
your "friend at the ‫و كؤننً الجاسوس ا لخاص‬
Page 12 Page 23
factory" ‫بك‬ social
little girls who march their
‫سمعنا كلنا عن الفتٌات‬
Babies down the "aisle"
Page 13 ‫الصؽٌرات ٌلعبن بدمٌتهن و‬ Page 24
so they can marry their
‫ٌجعانها تتزوج دمٌة األخ‬
brothers' G.I. Joes social
if your goal is to get to "I ‫إذا كان هدفك هو أن ٌوافق‬
do", then you have a ،‫أي رجل على الزواج منك‬
different set of standards Page 14 linguistic-social exp ‫سٌكون هناك معاٌٌر مختلفة‬ Page 25
from what you have if ‫عما إذا كان هدفك هو‬
your goal is "I am" ‫السعادة الزوجٌة‬ social
Jude Law's younger ‫رجل فً قمة الوسامة و‬
page 45 social exp. page 60
brother ‫األناقة‬
a dog-eat-dog dating
page 46 social-religious ‫عالم الزواج شرس و عنٌؾ‬ page 60
world social
with all the
progressiveness of Aunt Page 46 history-social ‫ٌفكرن تفكٌرا قدٌما‬ page 60
Bee social/historical
playing the game and ‫ٌمارسون لعبة التعارؾ و‬
page 46 social-religious page 60
Love Smart

doing the dance ‫التوافق‬ social

‫أو االنضمام الحدى‬
joining fraternity page 46 social exp. page 60
‫الجمعٌات‬ social
you've slept with enough ‫لدٌك تارٌخ قد ال تفخرٌن به‬
guys to make up two page 49 social-religious ‫و قد ٌكون مصدرا للخزي و‬ page 63
football teams ‫العار‬ social
‫فؤذا جاءك رجل أحمق‬
when some jerk roles up,
page 51 social-religious ‫للتعرؾ علٌك و كل ؼرضه‬ page 65
slaps you on the butt
‫التسلٌة فقط‬ social
‫لٌس هدفه من الزواج‬
not grab my ass page 51 social-religious page 66
‫الجانب الحسً فقط‬ social
‫لدى الرجال الباحثٌن عن‬
in the Singles Scene Page 53 social page 67
‫امرأة مناسبة‬ social
same Rhonda Radio ‫و نؾس اللهجة األمرٌكٌة‬
Page 53 social page 67
from Nowhere USA voice ‫ألصواتهم‬ social
I Love the 80s Page 54 social-literary ‫تبدو من موضة الثنانٌنات‬ page 69
social/literary
Miss Thangs with their
‫بالفتٌات الطوٌبلت القامة‬
flat bellies and endless page 57 social page 71
‫ذوات الخصور النحٌلة‬
legs social
Halloween Mask Page 59 social-religious ‫أقنعة عٌد رأس السنة‬ page 73
religious/social
‫لم تكن الفتاة الفاتنة بارعة‬
Goody Two-Shoes page 60 social-literary page 74
‫الجمال‬ social/literary
spunky "double dog dare ‫نوع الفتٌات الجرئ الممتع و‬
page 60 social page 74
ya" ‫ؼٌر المتوقع‬ social
"Whoohoo" page 60 social ‫تصبح صاخبة بكل تؤكٌد‬ page 74
social

Appendix 8 Interviews Questions

Pair-in-depth questions
1. Why are you interested in professional and personal development?
2. Who are the writers that you like most within this field?
3. Why do you read translated books rather than reading Arabic books?
4. What is special about the information you gain from translated books?
5. How do you find the language of translated books?
6. Do you enjoy reading these books because of the content or the easiness of
their languages?
7. What bothers you most about translated books?
8. From where do you buy the translated books?

69
9. Which bookstore you prefer, Jarir or Obaikan? Why?
10. Are you happy with the quality of translation? Why or why not?
11. Do you like to read books that are full of cultural concepts that do not relate to
our Saudi and Islamic culture? Example: boyfriend, Christmas, historical
characters, and incidents.

70
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Baker, M. 1992. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. Routledge, London and
New York.
Bell, R. 1991. Translation and Translating. Longman. London and New York
Dickins, J, Harvey, S & Hihhins, I. 2002. Thinking Arabic Translation. Routledge,
London and New York.
Carter, R. 1998. Vocabulary: Applied Linguistics Perspectives. 2nd Edition. Routledge,
London and New York.
Catford, J C. 1965. A Linguistic Theory of Translation, London: OUP; Uma Teoria
linguistica da Traducao, Sao Paulo: Cultrix 1980
Coulthard, M. (ed). 1994. Advances in Written Text Analysis. Routledge, London and
New York.
Covey, S. 1989. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Franklin Covey Co. New
York.
Covey, S. 1989. (2006 Trans. Jarir Bookstore). ‫ت‬ٞ‫ اىؼبداث اىغبغ ىيْبط األمزش فؼبى‬. Jarir
Bookstore. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ghazala, H. 2008. Translation as Problems and Solutions. Dar El-Ilm Lilmalayin.
Lebanon.
Harbi, N. (ed). 2007. Performance of the Arabic Book Translation Industry in Selected
Arab Countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi-Arabia and Syria. MPRA
Paper No. 6707, posted 12. January 2008 / 12:44 at http://mpra.ub.uni-
muenchen.de/6707/m
Hatim, B. 2001. Teaching and Researching Translation. Longman. London.
Hatim, B. and Mayson, I. 1997. The Translator as Communicator. Routledge.
Holmes, J. 2001. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 2nd Edition. Longman.
McGraw, P. 2005. Love Smart. Free Press.
Newmark, P. 1988. A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice Hall International.
Toury, G. 1995. Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. John Benjamin Publishing

Company.

71
Venuti, L. (ed) 2000. The Translation Studies Reader. Routledge. New York and London.

Articles
Abu-Risha, M. 2008. ‗Investigating Ethnolinguistic Theory across Language‘ in The
Journal of Specialized Translation. Issue:9, January 2008.
Abu-Ssaydeh, A. 2004. ‗Translation of English Idioms into Arabic‘ in Babel, Vol:50,
Issue:2.
Al-Dammad, A. 1999-2008. ‗Domestication vs. Foreignization in English-Arabic
Translation‘. ProZ.com Translation Article Knowledgebase at
http://www.proz.com/doc/1643 visited on July 25, 2008.
Armellino, E. 2008. ‗Translating Culture-Bound Elements in Subtitling—An Example of
Interlinguistic Analysis: A Scene from Scent of a Woman‘ in TranslationJournal,
Vol:12, No:2. Available at http://accurapid.com/Journal/44culturebound.htm
Gahzala, H. 2004. ‗Stylistic-semantic and Grammatical Functions of Punctuation in
English-Arabic Translation‘ in Babel, Vol:50, Issue:3 (2004), pp. 230–245. ISSN:
0521–9744.
Hale, S & Campbell, S. 2006. ‗The Interaction between Text Difficulty and Translation
Accuracy‘ in Babel, Vol:48, Issue:1, pp. 14-33.
Homeidi, M. A. 2004. ‗Arabic Translation Across Cultures‘ in Babel, Vol:50, Issue:1,
pp.13–27.
Jaber, A. 2001. ‗Arab Translators‘ Problems at the Discourse Level‘ in Babel, Vol:47
Issue:4, pp.304–322.
Karamanian, A P. 2002. ‗Translation and Culture‘ in Translation Journal, Vol:6, No. 1.
Available at http://accurapid.com/journal/19culture2.htm
Mohammed, A H. and Omer, M R. 2000. ‗Texture and Culture: Cohesion as a Marker of
Rhetorical Organization in Arabic and English Narrative Texts‘ in RELC Journal,
Vo:.31, 45.
Mahmoud, A. 2002. ‗Interlingual Transfer of Idioms by Arab Learners of English‘ in
Internet TESL Journal, Vol:viii, No:12, December 2002.

72
Sa‘Addin, M. 1999. ‗Towards a Viable Applied Linguistic Theory of Translation: An
Ethnolinguistic Point of View‖. Translation in Performance. Department of
Modern Languages, University of Bradford. Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Sánchez, M T. 2007. ‗Translation and Sociolinguistics: Can Language Translate
Society?‖ in Babel, Vol:53, Issue:2, pp.123–131.
Teilanyo, D I. 2007. ‗Culture in Translation: The Example of J. P. Clark‘s The Ozidi
Saga‘ in Babel, Vol:53, Issue:1, pp.1–21.

Dictionaries
Trrefry, D. ed. 2006. Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers. Glasgow,
UK.
Al-Mawrid Arabic-English Dictionary. 2004. Dar Al-Elm Lilmalayin, Lebanon.
Al-Mawrid English-Arabic Dictionary. 2004. Dar Al-Elm Lilmalayin, Lebanon
http://www.dictionary.com
Longman Idioms Dictionary. 1998. UK: Longman, England.
Oxford Idioms Dictionary. 2000. Oxford University Press
Oxford Wordpower English-English-Arabic Dictionary. 2004. Oxford University Press
The American Heritage Dictionary. 1985. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
www.thefreedictionary.com

73