TRANSLATING METAPHORS FROM ENGLISH INTO EGYPTIAN COLLOQUIAL ARABIC IN DISNEY SONGS
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Date
2025-09-08
Authors
Zain Raed Mohamad Zwana
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Publisher
جامعة النجاح الوطنية
Abstract
This study investigates the translation of metaphors embedded in Disney’s animated songs from English into Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. The primary aim is to identify how translators can preserve the semantic depth and emotional resonance of these metaphors while accommodating the rhythmic and cultural demands of colloquial dubbing. The corpus consists of seven iconic Disney films—Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Frozen, Moana, The Lion King, and Aladdin—from which a representative song was selected for each film. These seven songs, in both their original English versions and their officially released Egyptian Arabic dubs, form the sample for comparative analysis.
A descriptive‐comparative methodology was employed. First, each English song was scrutinized to extract and classify its spatial metaphors according to Newmark’s taxonomy. Second, the Egyptian Colloquial Arabic versions were examined to locate and document how these metaphors were rendered. Finally, the strategies used—whether reduction, modulation, communicative translation, or creative transcreation—were analyzed to assess their effectiveness in maintaining metaphorical meaning, musical synchronization, and cultural resonance. No audience surveys were conducted; instead, the focus remained exclusively on textual and performative metrics.
The principal finding reveals that colloquial adaptations consistently outperformed more literal approaches, achieving higher conceptual integration and synchronization accuracy. By transforming three‐word English adjective clusters into single dynamic verbs and adding culturally resonant idioms, translators preserved both the poetic charm and the emotional immediacy of the original metaphors. The study’s foremost recommendation is that future Arabic‐language song localizations prioritize colloquial registers and employ a structured “modulation toolkit,” thereby ensuring that Disney’s imaginative world continues to enchant audiences in a culturally authentic and musically coherent manner.