TRANSLATION OF RELIGIOUS INTERTEXTUALITY IN AHMED MATTER'S POETRY: OBESTACLES AND STRATEGIES

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Date
2022-09-19
Authors
Isra’ Omar Abdullah Fuqha
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Abstract
This study has examined the problems of translation of religious intertextual references in Ahmed Matter’s poetry made by graduate students in the Translation and Applied Linguistics Programs at An-Najah National University. While translating intertextual references, translators may come across a broader range of connotations for which the process of translation would be complex and challenging. This matter requires a translator to adapt his/ her method depending on the case at hand. Against this background, this study has explored the problems the students have faced and strategies they have used to render their translations of Matter’s poetry from Arabic into English. To this end, the researcher selected excerpts from the poet’s poetry and examined some features of the selected intertextuality after translation. The researcher administered a translation test of seven poems by the poet. A random sample of 20 M.A. translation students were asked to figure out intertextuality and translate it into English. The findings of the study showed that the translators encountered several problems when rendering intertextuality. These problems were mostly related to ignorance of translation strategies, unawareness of some cultural expressions, lack of cultural awareness and linguistic proficiency, and inappropriate use of suitable lexical words. Actually, it was very difficult to maintain the poetic system which consists of harmony, verse, rhyme and rhythm. So, students were likely to face such problems while translating and loss the artistic value of the ST. Furthermore, the study revealed the students used the cultural strategy (using an equivalent in TL that has the same meaning as in SL) and functional strategy (using an equivalent in TL that can reflect the function achieved by ST expression). This accounted for 163 instances or 79.2%. Paraphrasing (putting what you have read into your own words) accounted for 80 instances or 35.1% and literal translation (a translation that follows closely the form of SL) accounted for 37 instances or 18.3% of total responses. In the light of the study findings, the researcher also recommends that graduate students to be more aware of the differences between British and Arab cultures, and to familiarize themselves with Newmark’s strategies and to possess linguistic competence. Furthermore, the researcher suggests introducing Matter’s poetry in the curricula and conducting more studies on his poetry from other perspectives. By considering the theoretical background of intertextual aspect of the translated texts, the translator is qualified to produce a translation that attracts the TT readers. He/she deals with language a “baby” that grows and develops to give linguistic structures a semantic impetus (connotative meaning rather than denotative meaning). He/she is also the one who can get out of the context and give his/her text artistic features as in Matter’s poetry. Keywords: Religious Intertextuality; Obestacles; Strategies.
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