Transcript How To Translate Proverbs

TRANSLATION OF
PROVERBS
Prof: Walid Amer.
OUTLINE
-Definition
-Classification
Types of Proverbs:
1. Colloquialism
2. Slang
3. Allusion
4. Phrasal verbs
-Types of difficulties in translating proverbs.
- Proverbs Translating Strategies
1. Total Equivalence
2. Partial Equivalence
3. Paraphrasing
- Conclusion
What are Proverbs ?
Proverbs are words, phrases, or expressions that cannot be taken
literally.
When used in everyday language, they have a meaning other
than the basic one you would find in the dictionary.
In other words
Proverb is a simple way of speaking. It is used when we want to
make our speech more concrete and more understandable.
(no pain, no gain) which refers to the situation of suffering in
order to gain the thing we have intended to achieve.
What are Proverbs ?
Google Translation will never be able to cope with.
But their beauty is also their limit: they are
expressions of each culture, sometimes specific to
a tiny area or a city only. They are “culturalbound”, that is why it is so hard to export them to
another context, because the translator needs to
find other cultural references.
Classification of Proverbs
A. Colloquialism:
Colloquialism or colloquial language is considered
to be characteristic of or only appropriate for
casual, ordinary, familiar, or informal conversation
rather than formal speech or writing. They are
used in daily conversations. For example in the
case a person laughs a lot we say (he died of
laughter). It is an informal way of (saying laughed
a lot).
CLASSIFICATION OF IDIOMS
B. Slang
Slang is the use of highly informal words and
expressions that are not considered as the
standard use of language. It is often used as a way
to say words that are not appropriate or somehow
taboo.
For instance: using the word (sick)to refer to a
powerful man.
CLASSIFICATION OF IDIOMS
C. Allusions
Allusion is a figure of speech that makes a
reference to a place, event, literary work, myth, or
work of art, either directly or by implication.
e.g. “Poison Tree” By R.Frost
CLASSIFICATION OF IDIOMS
E. Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verb is the combination of a verb and a
preposition, a verb and an adverb, or a verb with
both an adverb and a preposition. A phrasal verb
often has a meaning which is different from the
original verb.
They are usually used informally in everyday
speech as opposed to the more formal verbs. For
example the informal use of (to go on) instead of
the word (to continue) or the use of (to hand) in
rather than (to deliver).
Types of difficulties that arise when
translating proverbs
A. It may sound rather difficult at times to be recognized on
the part of the translator that he is facing a proverb in a
given text. This is due to the fact that not all proverbs are
easily recognized.
B. Another problematic issue facing the translator in this
regard is when an expression is having two meanings, one
of which is literal, and the other is idiomatic.
A slap on the face
It has two meanings. The first is literal, whereas the second
is idiomatic (a sudden and unexpected rejection, defeat, or
disappointment)
A pain in the neck
It could either mean a physical pain or idiomatically: (an
irritating or annoying person)
,so how to
translate
proverbs?
TRANSLATION STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSLATING PROVERBS
A. Using a proverb of Similar Meaning and Form
(Total Equivalence (Form + Meaning)
By using this strategy, the translator tries to find a
proverb in the target language which is
equivalent to the source language both in terms
of meaning as well as lexical items.
The following examples illustrate the usage of many
foreign proverbs in present-day Arabic:
To shed crocodile tears
‫يبكي بدموع التماسيح‬
To Shed light on
‫يسلط ضوءا على‬
To give the green light
‫يعطي الضوء األخضر‬
A stumbling block
‫حجر عثرة‬
TRANSLATION STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSLATING PROVERBS
B. Using a proverb of Similar Meaning but
Dissimilar Form
(Partial Equivalence (Similarity in meaning not in form)
In this case the meaning of the target proverb is
the same as that of the original but the lexical
items(forms) are different. Lets see the
illustrative examples:
On pins and needles
‫على أحر من الجمر‬
Not to talk over one’s head
‫أعط القوس باريها‬
A word in season
‫لكل مقام مقال‬
Can’t make head or tail of
‫اختلط الحابل بالنابل‬
something
TRANSLATION STRATEGIES FOR
TRANSLATING PROVERBS
C. Translation by Paraphrase
This strategy is most commonly used in the
process of translating proverbs in the cases
that the translator cannot find any equivalents
for the source proverb. The following are some
examples of paraphrasing:
A hard nut to crack
‫قضية شائكة‬/‫مسألة مستعصية‬
To live from hand to mouth
‫يحيي حياة الكفاف‬
To let the cat out of the bag ‫يذيع أمرا‬/‫يفشي سرا‬
Have no backbone
‫ضعيف االرادة أو الشخصية‬
CONCLUSION
Translating proverbs is the most arguable, complex,
and problematic task for translators.
In order to translate a proverb efficiantly, the
translator should identify it from those
expressions which are not proverbs. Then
investigates the classification to which that
particular proverb belongs and selects the suitable
strategy for his translation.
THANK YOU