scholarly journals The other Side of the Coin of Lexical Borrowing from Arabic into English

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ahmad Thawabteh

The present paper investigates Arabic lexical borrowings in terms of the new signifieds accrued in the receptor language (English) drawing on Venuti’s (1998) notions of ‘domestication’ and ‘foreignization’. The paper shows that SL meanings are at loggerheads with those in the receptor language. The paper argues that lexical borrowings are consequence of cultural transfer in intercultural communication situations and they can be a double-edged sword. Whilst the shift from the original meaning(s) via borrowing may be considered a gain for the receptor language, it can do injustice to the source language.

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Åshild Næss ◽  
Mathias Jenny

AbstractIn this paper we discuss two cases of contact-induced language change where lexical and grammatical borrowing appear to have gone in opposite directions: one language has borrowed large amounts of vocabulary from another while at the same time being the source of structural borrowings into the other language. Furthermore, it appears in both cases that the structural borrowing has come about through bilingualism in L1 speakers of the source language, while L1 speakers of the language undergoing the structural change are largely monolingual. We propose that these two unusual factors are not unrelated, but that the latter is the cause of the former: Under circumstances where the numerically much smaller language in a contact situation is the contact language, the L2 speakers' variety, influenced by their L1, may spread into the monolingual community. e lexical borrowing naturally happens from the bilingual speakers' L2 into their L1, resulting in opposite directions of lexical and structural borrowing. Similar processes have been described in cases of language shift, but we show that it may take place even in situations where shift does not occur.


2020 ◽  
pp. 333-355
Author(s):  
Joanna Szerszunowicz ◽  

The aim of this paper is to discuss the usefulness and reliability of the onomasiological approach in the cross-linguistic analysis of fixed multiword expressions based on the example of Polish phrases coined according to the model: ADJECTIVENOM FEM SING + GŁOWA ‘HEAD’ and their English and Italian counterparts. The three corpora are constituted by expressions registered in general and phraseological dictionaries of the respective languages to ensure that the units belong to the canon of Polish, English and Italian phraseological stock. The analysis of units collected for the purpose of the study clearly shows that in order to determine the true picture of cross-linguistic equivalence, the study should be focused on semantics of analysed phrases. Furthermore, the formal aspectmay be of minor significance in some cases due to the similarity of imagery of a source language idiom and the target language lexical item. On the other hand, stylistic value may have a great impact on the relation of cross-linguistic correspondence of the analysed units.


Author(s):  
Soufiane Laachiri

The present article attempts to present a succinct and circumspect comparison between two different translations for Mourice Blanchot’s book « L’écriture du désastre ».The first translation was performed by Ann Smock in 1995 and was from French into English, while the other translation was skillfully produced by Azzedine Chentouf from French into Arabic in 2018. The contrast in attitudes and translational fertilization has provided us with ample opportunities to study, reflect on, and rethink the nexus of  Blanchot’s philosophy from different linguistic perspectives. However, in our attempt to formulate our judgments on the English and Arabic versions of the book, we can judge by an escapable logic and with analytical evidence that the English translation entitled « The writing of the disaster » has intensified the hold of a literal translation that makes the chances of being close to the original meaning of the source text depressingly small. Chentouf’s translation, on the other hand, remains profoundly meaningful; it is capable of going down into the marrow of  Blanchot’s thought to assert understanding of his intellectual complexities. In brief, despite the triviality of the advanced examples, we are certain that Azzedine Chentouf, through his Arabic translation, knows the hard philosophical portrait of Mourice Blanchot in its inclusiveness. Therefore, it is no surprise that every choice he makes in this translation explains his tremendous efforts as a philosopher first before being ranked as a translator.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrejs Veisbergs

The period of German occupation in Latvia came after twenty years of Latvian independence and a year of Soviet occupation. The shifts in the translation policies at these critical junctions were incredibly fast. The independence period was marked by a developed translation industry, a variety of the source languages, a variety of kinds of literature, with a broad scope in the quality of the translations. When the Soviets came, they quickly nationalized the publishers, ideologised the system and reshaped the pattern of what was translated. Russian was made the main source language, and other languages were minimized. The share of ideological literature grew exponentially, reaching one third of all books. Soon after the German invasion, the publishers regained their printing houses and publishing was renewed. The percentage of translations was similar to that of the independence period, with German literature making up 70% of the source texts. Most of the other source texts were Nordic and Estonian. Translation quality of fiction was generally high and the print runs grew. There are surprisingly few ideologically motivated translations. The official policies of the regime as regards publishing in Latvia appear to be uncoordinated and vague, with occasional decisions taken by “gate-keepers” in the Ostministerium and other authorities according to their own preferences. There was a nominal pre-censorship, but the publishers were expected to know and sense what was acceptable. In turn the latter played it safe, sticking to classical and serious works to translate and publish. Some high class translations of Latvian classics into German were also published during the period.


2021 ◽  
pp. 238-256
Author(s):  
Amal Arrame

Translation is not simple transpositions operations or transcoding processes from one language to another, it involves complex mental processes where linguistics alone cannot be sufficient. It is a communication situation between two languages, Arabic and French in this case, where the objective of the translator is the transmission of his final product in a clear way, respecting the meaning and the author intention of the original version. Translation of phrases is a real dilemma for translators; however, it turns out that it is a necessity in order to discover the other, and to try to keep the same effect as the source text by giving it a stylistic touch typical to the target language. To this end, we have carefully chosen the corpus that we have translated. A corpus that reflects the originality of the Arabic language and the possibility of reducing the linguistic, cultural and discursive gaps between Arabic and French through translation. The translation processes we have chosen, take into account the target language, French in this case, its idioms, phrases and proverbs inventory, its particularity and, finally, its ability to comprehend the idea contained in the idioms of the source language.


Author(s):  
Kristin Rygg

This article raises the question of whether the traditional approach in intercultural training focusing on knowledge about cultural differences and skills to avoid culture clash is sufficient in order to prepare intercultural communication trainees for dynamic and psychologically demanding multicultural environments. Inspired by the concept of mentalizing in the psycho-therapeutic method called Mentalization-based treatment, training that encourages imaginatively “seeing the other from the inside and oneself from the outside” is suggested as better able to prepare for complex intercultural realities. Tolerance is seen as tolerance for being in the intercultural process as much as tolerance for others’ differences. A theoretical discussion between the notion of mentalizing in mentalization-based treatment and perceptions of empathy, imagination and mindfulness further provides insight into the role of interactive tools such as case work and role plays in intercultural training. These, in turn, are seen as best suited to fulfil the goals and ambitions of the theories. However, experiences gained from them must be verbalized in order to cause increased awareness.


Author(s):  
Nancy D Bell

AbstractHumor can often carry an implicit negative message and thus be potentially dangerous to use. In addition, it is culturally and linguistically complex and sophisticated. Because of these things, it poses a challenge for L2 (second language) speakers and we might expect to see attempts at humor failing and causing offense in intercultural interaction. This paper reports on a study that examined humor in interaction between native and non-native speakers of English and found that humor did not seem to be a cause of conflict because of adjustments speakers made to their speech and their situated interpretations of meaning. In general, taboo topics and potentially dangerous forms of humor were avoided and humor was carefully contextualized. Native speakers reported being careful about the vocabulary they used in creating humor and both sides appeared to approach humor in intercultural communication prepared to accommodate the other and with an attitude of leniency.


Author(s):  
Ewa Geller ◽  
Michał Gajek ◽  
Agata Reibach ◽  
Zuzanna Łapa

Abstract The aim of the paper is to present a new, wordnet-based method of studying lexical borrowing. In contrast to the two-dimensional (micro- and macrostructure) organization of traditional dictionaries, describing each unit in isolation, wordnets introduce an additional dimension of inter-word relations in the entire lexicon. The ability to connect wordnets cross-linguistically allows in turn for juxtaposing, comparing, and visualizing a broad spectrum of lexical relations between loanwords within the recipient language and their cognates in the source language for which the term cross-linguistic mapping has been used. The method was applied to a wordnet-based, yet differently structured network of Polish loanwords in Yiddish. This allowed to supplement the traditional typology of transferred words by introducing the notion of ‘rootedness’, that is the degree of their interconnectedness in the source and recipient systems. This in turn has provided a promising means for distinguishing inherited from acquired vocabulary.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-69
Author(s):  
Merawati Hutauruk ◽  
Dian Puspita

This research aimed to investigate the possibilities of pragmatic failure done by Indonesian EFL students through their translation. This study employed theories by Thomas (1983) and Muir et al (2011) to answer the research question coming along with the problem concerned. As mentioned by Natrio (2018) that Indonesian EFL students lack pragmatic competence because they don’t recognize the intention of one language transferring is inappropriate. This research used a descriptive qualitative method in collecting the data. The data were coming from students‟ performance in translating short dialogue texts which contained idioms in them. The instrument given was two-way translation, English-Indonesian, and vice versa. As the result, this study found that the respondents experienced pragmatic failure in their performance which happened in several types, namely pragma-linguistic failure and socio-pragmatic failure, both of which were found in all types of texts given. It was also found that the failure that happened in English-Indonesian text was higher in number compared to the other type of text in which in all the data found, the failure in English –Indonesian text translation is 161 while in Indonesian-English text translation is 139. On the other hand, this study also revealed that the factors of the students‟ pragmatic failure that happened in their translation performance were coming from both the pragmatic transfer which influenced by either their native, source language or their understanding and lack of linguistic proficiency.


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