An- Najah National University Faculty of Graduate Studies Translating Restaurants' Menus from English into Arabic: Problems and Strategies By Kefaya Adeeb Hafeth Saleh Supervisor Dr. Odeh Odeh Co-Supervisor Dr. Sameer El –Isa This Thesis is Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of Applied Linguistics and Translation , Faculty of Graduate Studies, An- Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine. 2011 iii Dedication TToo mmyy ddeeaarr mmootthheerr ffoorr hheerr lloovvee,, ccaarree,, ssuuppppoorrtt aanndd ppaattiieennccee.. TToo mmyy bbeelloovveedd ffrriieennddss ffoorr tthheeiirr hheellpp aanndd ccoonnffiiddeennccee.. iv Acknowledgments My first word is to thank Allah for giving me patience to complete my thesis and for allowing this study to see light. I am heartily thankful to my supervisors, Dr. Odeh Odeh and Dr. Sameer EL- Isa, for their advice, suggestions, support and encouragement all the way through to the end which enabled me to come up with this thesis. I am also grateful to the examining members for their helpful suggestions. Sincere thanks also go to restaurant owners who provided me with the needed data for the study. I am also grateful to Mr. Ma`an Hijawi and Mr. Khalid Salamah for allowing me to share experiences through personal interviews. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all of those who supported me during the study, especially my beloved brother's family in Jordan and my friends for their help, understanding and love. v : Translating Restaurants' Menus from English into Arabic: Problems and Strategies : . Declaration The work provided in this thesis, unless otherwise referenced, is the researcher’s own work, and has not been submitted elsewhere for any other degree or qualification. : Student's name: : Signature: : Date: vi List of Abbreviations Source Language. SL Target Language. TL Source Culture. SC Target Culture. TC Source Text. ST Target Text. TT Culture Specific Concept. CSC Culture Specific Concepts. CSCs Culture Bound Terms. CBTs no date . n.d. pages. pp. Volume. Vol. quoted Qtd vii Table of Contents Page Content iii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Declaration vi List f Abbreviations vii Table of Contents xList of Tables xi List of Figures xiiAbstract 1 Chapter I: Introduction to the Core and Domains of the Study 1 1 Domains and key notions of the study 1 1.1 Food and culture 2 1. 2. Culture and language 31.3. Translation and culture 5 1.4. Translation and globalization 6 1.5. Food and globalization 7 1.6. English as a global language 91.7. The Menu 91.7.1. Definition of the menu 10 1.7.2. Role of the menu 11 1.7.3. The menu as a text type 12 1.7.4. Linguistic characteristics of menus 13 1.7.5. Non-linguistic characteristics of menus 14 1.7.6. Translation of menus 142. Statement of the problem 15 3. Purposes of the study 154. Questions of the study 165. Hypotheses of the study viii 166. Significance of the study 18Chapter II: Review of Related Literature 18 2.1. Menus planning and foreign terminology 19 2.2. The importance of translating menus 21 2.3. Common problems and suggested solutions in menus translation 24 2.4. Source-oriented strategies vs. target-oriented strategies 292.5. Summary 31 Chapter III: Methodology 313.1. Sample of the Study 32 3.2. Limitations of the study 323.3. Data collection 333.4. Procedures and data analysis 34 Chapter IV: Problems and Challenges of Translating Food Menus 344.1. Introduction 344.2. Logos and brand names 364.2.1. Proper names of people and places 40 4.2.2. Differences in vowel systems between English and Arabic that cause mispronunciation 41 4.2.3. Cultural and religious connotations 424.2.4. Slogans 444.3. Culture – specific concepts ( CSCs ) 454.3.1. Lack of equivalence 504.3.2. Sensitive terms and taboos 534.3.3. Lexical similarity of some terms. 564.4. The use of non- frequent lexical items 58 Chapter V: Strategies of Translating Menus and Food Terms 585.1. Introduction 595.2. Transliteration ( Borrowing ) ix 645.3. Literal Translation 67 5.4. Adaptation 685.4.1. Adaptation of slogans 69 5.4.2. Adaptation of CSCs 715.4.3. Adaptation for emotive purposes 71 5.4.4. Adaptation following the name of the food operation 72 5.5. Addition 725.5.1. Addition at word level 755.5.2. Addition at phrase level 805.6. Omission 855.7. Translation by a more general word ( superordinate ) 865.8. Translation by a more specific word ( hyponym ) 88 5.9. Multiple translations of the same concept 895.9.1. The TL regional dialects 915.9.2. Translation by different synonyms in the TL 925.9.3. Lexical ambiguity of some terms 935.9.4. The overuse of transliteration 96 Chapter VI: Conclusions and Recommendations 966.1. Conclusions 986.2. Recommendations 100References 111Appendix x List of Tables Page Table No. 43 Slogans and their suggested translations Table 1 46 Examples of culture-specific concepts and their translations Table 2 59 Frequency and percentage of translation strategies Table 3 61 Terms of non-equivalence and their transliteration in Arabic Table 4 65 Examples of literal translation Table 5 68 Examples of slogans and their adaptations in Arabic Table 6 69 Examples of adaptation by paraphrase and description Table 7 73 Examples of addition at word level Table 8 74 Addition for promotional purposes Table 9 76 Examples of addition at phrase level Table 10 78 Examples of unfaithful addition Table 11 85 Examples of translation by general terms Table 12 87 Translation by hyponyms Table 13 90 Multiple translations due to regional dialects. Table 14 92 Multiple translations by synonyms Table 15 93 Transliteration vs. literal translation Table 16 94 Transliteration vs. adaptation Table 17 xi List of Figures Page Figure No. 35 The logo of Coca Cola 1 37 The brand name of McDonald's and its transliteration in Arabic. 2a & 2b 37 Proper names used in brand names of three international food companies. 2c, 2d, 2e & 2f . 38 The brand name of Subway. 3a 38 The brand name of Burger King & its transliteration in Arabic 3b & 3c 39 The brand name of Chili House 4 40 The brand name of Pizza Hut and its transliteration in Arabic 5a &5b 41 The brand name of Church's Chicken 6a 41 The brand name of Texas Chicken and its translation in Arabic 6b & 6c 48 A picture of General Tsao's Chicken 7 48 Fettuccine Alfredo dish 8a & 8b 54 Sausages & Hotdog 9a & 9b 55 Shrimp & Prawn 10a & 10b 56 Pasta, Spaghetti & Noodles 11a , 11b &11c xii Translating Restaurants Menus from English into Arabic: Problems and Strategies BY Kefaya Adeeb Hafeth Saleh Supervisor Dr. Odeh Odeh Co-Supervisor Dr. Sameer El –Isa Abstract This study tends to identify the primary problems that face menus' translators depending on the assumption that translating menus and food terms from English into Arabic is a problematic issue. Moreover; it aims to evaluate the main strategies used in translating menus in order to judge their accuracy, faithfulness and appropriateness to the menu as a genre. The study is based on textual analysis of the corpus that includes 19 of restaurant menus in four different Arab cities: Nablus and Ramallah in Palestine, Amman in Jordan and Sharm - El- Sheikh in Egypt. The English food terms are compared with their Arabic translations and alternative translations are being suggested where is necessary and suitable. The findings reveal that the main problems of translating menus are related to brand names, proper names, culture-specific concepts and ambiguous and semantically related terms. It also shows that seven strategies are used in translating menus. However, the source –oriented strategies such as transliteration and borrowing are the most frequent. The examination of the strategies proves that each strategy has positive or negative interpretations depending on the context of use. xiii Finally, the study concludes that the attentive reading of the source text and the good knowledge of linguistic and cultural aspects of menus on the part of translators will help to solve the problems of translating food terms and to produce satisfactory target texts which are free from errors and/or misleading and weak renderings. The recommendations built on these conclusions, the researcher hopes, will improve the process of translating menus by opening the doors for advanced research in this field from different dimensions. 1 Chapter I Introduction to the Core and Domains of the Study 1. Domains and key notions of the study Food may be considered as a carrier and a symbol of culture. Moreover, it is a tool through which a particular culture can invade different communities all over the world. For example, the American fast- food outlets are everywhere today and the names of American and other foreign food items such as "burgers" and "hotdogs" have found their way to the menus of local restaurants in Palestine and Jordan, among other places. Many studies (e.g. Counihan and Esterik, 2008) emphasize the relationship between food, culture, globalization and translation. However, few studies, to the researcher's best knowledge, investigate the issue of translating menus and foreign names of food items from English into Arabic although the issue may raise interesting questions. Since food is a part of a culture that may spread to other cultures through translation, this study deals with culture and globalization as the main two key notions in translating food terms and menus. 1.1. Food and culture Muhammad (1986: 3) defines culture as "all that a society inherits, learns and produces in the interaction with its environment." In other words, it is the experiences and habits which can be expressed in our history, social life, religion, traditions and customs. In this context, food is one area in which cultural identity may be expressed. Dr. Sahu (n.d.), in her 2 article " Translation as Power ", considers food as the most significant carrier of national culture, particularly material culture (http://www.creativessaplings.com). Shortidges (1998: 6) argue that food habits differ from one culture to another. As a result, the focus on cultural dimensions by different scholars has increased during recent years. Kittler et.al. (2007: 1) argue that food habits vary among different ethnic or regional groups. This makes food an important expression of culture and cultural identity. In this context, Anderson (2005: 1) raises the question: "Why do the British and French not only eat so differently but also tease each other so mercilessly about it, century after century? The British call the French ' frogs', to which the French respond that "The English have a hundred religions and only one sauce'." Food is not only a symbol of identity of one community or one culture, but it can be also a source for strange stories. In this context, Schlosser (2001: 231) ridicules the claim of Den Fajita, the billionaire who brought McDonalds to Japan that food can change the physical features of people. Schlosser says that Mr. Fajita promised his people "if we eat McDonald's hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years, we will become taller, our skin will become white and our hair will be blond." However, Schlosser claims that "eating burgers and fries in Japan has not made people blonder but fatter." 1.2. Culture and language The two notions are related and complement even thought there many interpretations exist. Bassnett (1980: 13-14) sees that both language http://www.creativessaplings.com 3 and culture are interdependent and neither can survive without the other since language is "the heart within the body of culture." The same idea is emphasized by Smith (2002: 45) who states that language is "a carrier of cultural messages." Contextually, Muhammad (1986: 7) believes that culture is dependent on language because people learn culture through language and culture survives through language. This emphasizes that it is rather difficult to separate the identities of both language and culture. The idea of inseparable relationship between language and culture is suggested strongly by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf. Sampson (1980: 81-92) agrees with the Sapir-Whorf hypotheses which claims that language determines or at least influences thought and some non-linguistic behaviors. Hence, when language is a symbol of culture that reflects its literature, science, customs, values and even names of food items, the popularity of foreign languages and foreign terms in one culture may indicate a threat to both the national and cultural identities. 1.3. Translation and culture Food culture first became an area of interest for translation studies as it shifted approach and orientation from linguistics to cultural, back in the 1970s. The importance of culture in translation is associated with the fact that translation is not merely an exercise at the language level, but also involves the cultures of the two peoples that can be close or remote. Ricardo (2002: 92) presents the article of Juliane House, "Universality Versus Culture Specificity in Translation" where she introduces significant statements that highlight the importance of culture over language in 4 translation. Such statements include "One does not translate languages but cultures. " and "In translation we transfer cultures not languages." Nowadays, much attention is given to the cultural dimension in translation studies. According to Chan (2004: 52), translators ought to be sensitive to the cultural aspects which create much difficulty in translation. The same idea is shared by Newmark (1988: 94-100) who believes that cultural focus usually causes translation problems due to the cultural "gap" or "distance" between the source and target cultures (SC) and (TC) respectively. This gap can be represented through a number of concepts, including terms of food or clothes to name a few, which are bound to the SC and have no equivalents in the TC. Such concepts or terms are usually known as culture-specific concepts (CSCs) or culture-bound terms (CBTs) Al-Harasi (2009) presents two different viewpoints concerning translation and culture. The first one considers the text as part of the culture to which it belongs and the purpose of translation is to introduce the SC to the target reader. As a result, translation should keep the norms and cultural aspects in order to enrich both the target language and culture. On the other hand, the second emphasizes the global nature of the text rather than the aspects of the source language or source culture (http://www.nizwa.com). Somewhere in the middle between the two visions, stand some scholars such as Full (2004: 15) who considers the translator as a mediator who should take into consideration that the target reader has different cultural vocabulary. This process of mediation is expected to be affected by globalization and the position of English as a global language. http://www.nizwa.com 5 1.4. Translation and globalization Cornin (2003: 1) quotes Odell who states that "the new world is now the united states of the world and the 'English race' has conquered the globe." Traditionally, scholars like Ray (1962: 187) and Brislin (1976: 38), both (qtd. in Muhammed, 1986: 13) define translation as a process of transferring meaning from one language to another and as a cross-cultural communication. This communication among different cultures, according to al-Tahtamouni (2006: 1), is a key factor that facilitates the exchange of the abstract and/or concrete aspects of globalization including products. This can be fulfilled through communication which can prove difficult without translation. In other words, translation plays a rather important role as a bridge between cultures and languages that can make nations closer and, at the same time, help them to keep their identities and local colors. In her article, "Globalizing Translation.," Adewuni (n.d) indicates that both of globalization and translation deal with language and culture but their effects are the opposite. While translation brings people closer and helps communication and understanding between people of different cultural backgrounds, globalization gives the chance for a particular language or culture to dominate the world. (http://www.translationdirectory.com) Moreover, globalization can be responsible for the dominance of English borrowed words in other languages in addition to the overuse of source- oriented translation strategies such as transliteration. In this context, Hornby, et. al. (1995: 188) refer to the article of Jettemorva et. al, "New Advertising Markets As Target Areas of Translation," in which they argue http://www.translationdirectory.com 6 that "non-translation" or "zero translation" is an evidence of "linguistic imperialism and foreign cultural dominance." A clear example is in the dominance of the American life style through "the flood of borrowing" into the other languages. This point of view may explain the dominance of transliteration (borrowing) in translating food menus in four Arab cities as the study shows in the next chapters. 1.5. Food and globalization Cornin (2003: 77) defines globalization as the "global movements and exchanges of people, commodities and ideas." The conclusion here is that commodities which include food items are symbols of globalization that carry both its values and effects. In this context, Ho (2008: 57-59) talks about three waves of globalization. The third, as identified by scholars, including Spybey (1996), Matres (2001), Talwar (2002) and Hopkins (2002), as "Americanization", "McDonalization", "Macworld" and "Coca- colonization." Conflicting views about American food items consider them as a symbol of American style of life that threatens national cultures, and on the other hand they are seen as a sign of modernity and high social status. However in the final analysis these American food items will remain examples of globalization that no doubt affect national cultures, and some might say have diverse effects on religious beliefs as well, through spreading the values of American culture 7 1.6. English as a global language In our view it is legitimate to wonder why English is so dominant today. This has been a focal point for many scholars. Crystal (1997: 7-8) believes that the popularity of a particular language results from the political and/or economic power of a nation. This fact is clear in the case of English which becomes international following the strength of the British Empire during the nineteenth century and the growth of the American power in the last seven decades. Today English is used everywhere, in schools, universities, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, media and the internet. This is part of the role of English as a lingua franca of the global village that covers different fields such as science and technology and advertising. In this context, Schaffner (2000:48) states that "It leads consumer culture." In fact, there are two views towards the dominance of English in our everyday activities including the food industry. The first view, according to Crystal (1997: 114-115), rejects the status of English because it threatens the national identity of other nations where language is the primary symbol of identity. Those who advocate for this view see English as an invader seeking to control the planet. In the Middle East, where English is widely used by Arabs, many scholars criticize this phenomenon. Al-Qatri (2009) argues that those who refer to things by their "foreign" names including names of food stuffs violate their own national identity (http://www.qatarim.com). Meanwhile I stand by this view and see that this is a result of lack of confidence in the Arabic language. Khoust (2010), on the other hand, sees that many customers in the Arab world don't consider Arabic as the language of the age. Therefore, there is a tendency to weaken http://www.qatarim.com 8 national identity which leads to a habit of westernization that includes customs, clothes and food (http://www.manfacta.com). These anti- globalization ideas are recognized by many scholars, Arab and foreign alike. For example, Ho (2008: 62) refers to the continuous resistance from people who feel the danger to their local cultures and values. The same indication is made by Samha (2005) who adds that the fear of the threat of the American culture's control of consumer needs, desires and ways of life leads to the conclusion that "Americanization" and "globalization" are synonymous. Yousef (2004) considers the dominance of English as a process of destroying culture and creating "empty personalities" with false affiliation to a global community (west) which causes the loss of national identity. Moreover, he suggests that strict laws be issued to make it illegal to use foreign names and terms in all fields of specialization. (http://www.saaid.net). However, Inglis (2005: 125-132) accepts the idea of interaction between "local" and "global" factors whereby people can keep their thoughts and values in spite of global factors. It may be true that foreign terms help to enrich the target language and solve some translation problems. However, the overuse of English names for prestigious aims may raise the question of national identity and create cultural and/or linguistic problems in translation. This fact increases the importance of the decision-making process. Food industry, food habits, menus and names of dishes, could be considered as clear example where the globalization of the English language has its worldwide impact. Hence, we cannot assign translating menus as a cultural study nor as a linguistic http://www.manfacta.com http://www.saaid.net 9 one, as the cultural aspects and globalization play a central role in such an issue. 1.7. The Menu Menus can be considered as one of the related and the most significant example of food culture. In this context, Robert Robinson, a BBC television reporter, argues that "The national Dish of America is Menu." (www.standford.edu). 1.7. 1. Definition of the Menu There are several definitions for food menus. These definitions can be classified into two types. The first type defines a menu as just a list of dishes, while the second type refers to its advertising theme. A traditional definition of a menu is given by Andrews (2007: 95) that a menu is "the range of food and beverage items offered in a food service outlet." On the other hand, some scholars stress the importance of attractive design to advertise the food operation. For example, Ann and Arnold Zwicky (n.d.: 88), in their article" America's National Dish", define menu as "a sort of list usually subdivided according to the traditional parts of the meal accompanied with a descriptive part to give information about the dish in order to attract the customers (http://www.translationdirectory.com). Other definitions, by some Arab scholars, give more importance to the theme of the menu as a central point in the art of food service. Manal al- Khouli (2002: 15) defines a menu as a group of food dishes and types that have a certain order following the norms of cooking and they are served in a significant design that can achieve the intended purpose(s). Considering http://www.standford.edu http://www.translationdirectory.com 10 the origin of the word "menu", Abu-Tour (2005: 124) says that it is a French adjective which means "a detailed list". Meanwhile, he believes that a menu should be attractive, appealing and priced correctly. 1.7. 2. Role of the menu The menu has a very important role for both customers and food operations. Kotschevar and Withrow (2007: 23) emphasize the double function of the menu. For customers, it is a list of offerings and dishes that facilitates their choices of food items, while for operators and owners, it is "a strategic document that defines the purpose of the establishment and every phase of the operation." The previous statement indicates the importance of the menu for a food service which widely depends on the menu to improve sales and to sound unique. In this context, McVety and J. Ware (1990: vi) state that "The menu is the backbone of a food service operation." The same idea is shared by Andrews (2007: 118) who considers the menu a symbol of the identity and the theme of the restaurant.. It is the soul of the restaurant that represents its signature. At the same time; it is a tool to advertise the restaurant. The role of the menu, in brief, is "to promote, advertise and inform." The role of the menu has developed through time according to Shur (2008) who presents one example considering the development of menus in Russia after the Soviet era. The writer focuses on the move from dealing with the menu as an informative text that merely lists the dishes to an advertising text that intends to attract the customers' minds and emotions through words and pictures and even through the use of famous Russian figures. 11 All the previous quotations, and examples, show the importance of the menu as a central factor in the marketing policy of any food operation Depending on this fact, owners and operators have begun to pay more attention to the planning, designing and translation of menus. Their final aim is to produce attractive and appealing menus following the old Arabic proverb that says ‘People eat with their eyes.’ 1.7.3. The menu as a text type Texts are usually classified according to the functions and the purposes they aim at achieving. For example, menus aim at both informing as well as persuading. There are three traditional classifications of texts: informative, expressive and operative texts. According to Jurate (2006: 257-271), the menu as a text, is made for a specific purpose and a specific audience. It has a double function; it is an informative text that tells the customers what they need to know about the dishes available. Meanwhile, it is a means of advertising aimed at expressing the restaurant's image and the culture of the country (http://www.ceeol.com). The same idea is shared by Ann and Arnold. Zwicky (n.d.: 83) who examine American – restaurant menus as genre where the provided information and the words used reflects the informative and advertising functions of the menu. The idea that the menu is a text with a double function leads to the conclusion that it is a hybrid text that has more than one function and that shifts frequently from one function to another based on Hatim and Mason definition of a hybrid text .(1990: 146-147). http://www.ceeol.com 12 1.7.4. Linguistic characteristics of menus The language of a menu seems to represent the standard of the restaurant. It also seems to depict the sophistication of the meals offered. Ann and Arnold Zwicky (n.d.: 83-99) emphasize the use of adjectives to advertise dishes rather than a description of them. Such adjectives include fresh, new, delicious and super. Moreover, past participle modifiers, such as boiled are widely used while some of them such as topped or dipped have advertising functions to attract the customers. Ann and Arnold summarize the language of the menu in one statement that says: "A menu supplies its information in a list of noun phrases, heavy with modifying past participles such as topped and dipped, often larded with appealing adjectives like rich, crispy, special and fresh." (http://www.translationdirectory.com). In our view menus share the features of advertisements, and hence the language used in them has the characteristics of the language of advertising. Wallace (1981: 267-286), in his article "How Registers Register," makes a brief analysis of the language of advertising. It usually involves the use of simple, informal, personal, friendly and easy-to-read style, in addition to the use of descriptive adjectives, verbs, adverbs and nouns to highlight and exaggerate a situation. For example, the adjectives such as special, famous and supreme can be necessary because they add color and feeling. This idea of simplicity is shared by Donnell and Tod (qtd in Jarjeis, 1989: 12) as they point out that the language of the menu should be simple, drawn from everyday, colloquial language. On the other hand, some scholars call for sophistication of the language. Among them is Al http://www.translationdirectory.com 13 Tanero (2005) who considers that menus should be flowery in their language to indicate the high standard of the food operations which they represent. The use of foreign terms can be useful as they are part of the knowledge of the elites and because they sound better (http://www.multilingual.com). 1.7.5. Non-linguistic characteristics of menus A menu is not only words. According to Davis, et al. (2008: 267), it is a complete design that includes color, shape and size. All these elements, in our view, should be taken into consideration to produce a satisfactory menu which should be attractive, interesting, clean, accurate, simple and easy to read. Therefore, attention should be given to the layout and design of the menu to improve its features. Eckestein (1983: 214-217) and Lawson (1994: 159) are among several scholars who try to determine the general characteristics of a "good menu". While Eckestein talks about variety, balance and truth, Lawson mentions attractiveness and accuracy in a friendly style. The style, which includes size, shape and quality of paper, should agree with the market strategy of the food service. Under no condition should the menu be over-elaborate nor too short. However, elaboration can be preferable to avoid unpleasant surprises. According to Kotschevar and Withrow (2007: 100), "It is probably better to give too much information than too little." Thus lack of clear and truthful description may cause misleading choices, which is unfair to customers and can cause them never to come back. http://www.multilingual.com 14 1.7.6. Translation of menus Not only wording but also translation of restaurants menus is very important because a professionally translated menu can improve the image of the restaurant and help to avoid intercultural miscommunication. Considering translating menus from English into Arabic, there are serious problems related to cultural specific concepts, odd names of dishes, logos and brand names. The strategies used to solve such problems are varied. They are mainly transliteration (borrowing) which usually produces target texts culturally bound to their originals. Unfortunately, few studies tackle the issue of translating menus, especially from English into Arabic. Therefore, this study tries to identify certain problems of translating food menus and the strategies used to solve them in an attempt to judge their appropriateness. The main problems and the questions of the study will be discussed in the following sections. 2. Statement of the problem Translating menus is a problematic issue that causes problems related to brand names, CSCs, sensitive and ambiguous terms. The fact that some food items are totally unknown in Arab culture causes both cultural and linguistic problems. The multi-functions of menus increase the difficulty of translating them. It is a complex process of decision making based on knowledge and taste on the part of the translator. Most of the translated menus we have examined are very close to the original STs. The translated versions abound with borrowed terms. Some even sound foreign due to the overuse of transliteration of foreign names of food items. Moreover, some menus suffer of poor translations, wrong choice of lexical items, or 15 misleading translations either intentionally or unintentionally. For example, the word "sauce" transliterated as " " is usually confused in Arabic with the word "chick". This example indicates the importance of choosing the suitable strategy for each food term. Moreover, the multiple translations of some concepts may reveal the influence of some extra-linguistic factors related the region, the type of the expected audience and other environmental factors. 3. Purposes of the study This study attempts to identify the problems of translating restaurants menus and food terms from English into Arabic taking into consideration the various components of the menu, such as the brand name, CSCs and even neutral food terms. Further, the study evaluates the main strategies used in solving such problems focusing on the advantages and weaknesses of these strategies and suggesting alternative translations where it is necessary and possible. It also identifies the reasons behind various translations of some terms. 4. Questions of the study The study aims at answering the following questions: 1. What are the main problems and challenges that face translators of restaurants' menus? 2. Are the common strategies used in translating menus and food terms adopted appropriately? 16 3. Does the dominance of transliteration and borrowed terms in menus result from need or/ and prestige? 4. What are the reasons behind multiple translations of some food terms? 5. Hypotheses of the study In the light of the previous studies, in addition to personal experience, the researcher has set the following hypotheses: 1. Translating food menus may cause certain problems related mainly to brand names and CSCs. 2. The strategies used for translating menus are mainly transliteration (borrowing) and literal translation vs. adaptation techniques. 3. Translated menus suffer from a number of weak choices and misleading renderings or multiple translations of the same concept. 6. Significance of the study Some studies concerning menus seem to focus on the language and characteristics of the menu. Yet very few, to the researcher's best knowledge, have directly dealt with issues related to translating menus and food terms from English into other languages, particularly Arabic. Therefore, the significance of this study stems from the fact that it tackles a recent subject in the field of research. It addresses the problems and challenges of translating menus. It examines the problems focusing on brand names and problems related to non-equivalence in addition to ambiguity and sensitivity of some food terms. At the same time, it suggests 17 solutions for some of these problems which may help improve the translation of menus and food terms. Further, the study sheds light on the frequent strategies adopted in translating menus and food terms. It evaluates the strategies descriptively, thus highlighting the advantages and identifying the weak points of each strategy. It also attempts to find the reasons behind the misleading application of some strategies suggesting solutions and alternative translations where necessary. This analysis is aimed at helping translators read menus and choose rendering of food items more carefully. Hopefully, it will also help owners and managers of restaurants' owners to control and revise the translations of the menus of their restaurants giving the necessary attention to hiring translators and evaluating translations since owners of restaurants usually determine the commission for translating menus. Finally, the study discusses the multiple translations of some food concepts and terms. This discussion includes the reasons such as dialects and synonyms. It also suggests solutions to deal with these multiple choices. Following the previous theoretical background tackling menus from both linguistic and cultural dimensions and seeking to achieve the purposes of the study, the researcher makes use of few earlier studies and examples from different parts of world. These studies concerning problems and strategies of translating menus and food terms will be examined briefly in the next chapter. 18 Chapter II Review of Related Literature Menus have been the focus of many researchers worldwide. Planning and designing the menu as a marketing tool have also been investigated while translating menus and food terms has received little attention. Since the current study focuses on translating food menus from English into Arabic, this chapter briefly presents some studies conducted on menus wording and translation. These studies tackle issues related to foreign terminology in menus, problems of translating menus and the strategies applied in translating food terms. This review is expected to support the researcher's arguments. 2.1. Menus planning and foreign terminology Menus have been the subject of a number of studies. Some of these studies have questioned the use of foreign terminology in food menus. Kreck (1988: 18-25) indicates that the use of foreign terminology in food menus is an "old phenomenon." In the past, any menu of prestige (i.e. a menu that denote something of superior quality), anywhere in the world, had to be written in French. However, there are two views concerning the use of foreign terminology in food menus. The first one emphasizes the importance of the menu as a mean of communication that should meet the expectations of customers from different backgrounds. In this context, James (1983: 2) encourages the use of multilingual menus to achieve the theme of communication. On the other hand, some scholars consider the use of foreign languages in local food menus as unnecessary act. For 19 example, Eckestein (1983: 91) believes that it is not advisable to use a mixture of languages on the menu, as, for instance, English and French because, for many English guests, the French part is ‘Chinese’. This argument may justify the current discussion of issues related to borrowing and the reasons behind using foreign terms, mainly English, in food menus. In the age of globalization, English terms are used frequently in local menus in Palestine and Jordan supporting the assumption that menus, historically, can be considered as witnesses of societies and their styles of life. McVety and Ware (1990: 45-47) and Abu Tour (2005: 127-135) identify the factors that affect menu planning such as nationality, age, level of income and religious restrictions on the part of the customer. Other factors are related to the meal itself including flavor, texture, shape and colors. All these factors can determine the quality of the menu. This quality necessarily varies amongst high- class and popular restaurants. In fact, the image of the restaurant has a strong impact on the menu. Davis, et al. (1998: 267) state that in quality restaurants the menus are usually a l carte and written in French. The researcher also noticed that most menus of claimed high-class restaurants in Amman and Ramallah are written in English only as a sign of high standard and quality. 2.2. The importance of translating menus The final aim of the whole process of translation is the receptor. Hatim and Munday (2004: 163) indicate the significant role of the receptor. They consider satisfying the receptor as the main factor that judges the adequacy of translation. 20 In the case of menus translation, the aim at satisfying the receptors' expectations is clear. Therefore, translating food menus is very important and necessary. The researcher agrees with Libman (2009) who argues that "It is a big difference that menu translation can make" (http://www.onehourtranslation.com). Whenever customers visit a restaurant and the menu offered is understandable and the foreign names are translated correctly, they are more likely to order and to become regular customers because of the positive feedback. In this context, Libman (2009) stresses the importance of translating aspects of food and beverage, saying, "It would be ideal if you are able to provide your patrons, especially foreigners, with a menu translation." Moreover, he calls for a professional translation which can be an ideal way to increase the sales and to give the restaurant a significant edge over the competitors (http://www.onehourtranslation.com). The same call is shared by Liao (2008: 1) who raises the need for specialized translators for food translation (http://www.standford.edu). The call for professional translation is due to the fact that translating menus and food terms is not an easy task as one may think. The difficulty increases whenever there is a cultural gap between the source culture and the target culture. Al Tanero (2005) emphasizes that menus are tricky and that their translation requires not just knowledge of the two languages but also a deep sense of localization. This knowledge is necessary because translating foreign food terms can be very difficult. Al Tanero quotes Naqvy who comments on the difficulty of translating some food items such as wines and cheeses saying "not many people, including knowledgeable http://www.onehourtranslation.com http://www.onehourtranslation.com http://www.standford.edu 21 translators, may have ever tasted, seen or heard about many wines or cheeses." (http://www.multilingual.com). Concerning the theme of communication in translating menus, HuaYing (2008: 21-26) suggests the application of skopos theory in terms of translation of dishes and food names. Skopos theory, which is a translation approach, proposed by Reiss and Vermeer in the late 1970s, believes that the purpose is the main factor that determines the shape of the target text. Yung (Ibid: 24-26) tries to explain the relationship between skopos theory and translating food names following the function. A translated menu is expected to achieve four main functions that represent the basics of skopos theory. These functions are the informative, aesthetic, commercial and cultural functions. In the application, a translated menu should keep the characteristics and the style of the dish for the informative function. Moreover, it should be done as a work of art (on the basis of aesthetic function).Moreover the use of adaptation techniques to fill the cultural gap and to produce satisfactory translations that facilitate communication can achieve both of the commercial and cultural functions taking into consideration that translation is intercultural communication (http://www.linguist.org.cn). 2.3. Common problems and suggested solutions in menus translation Translating menus creates many problems due to either linguistic or cultural factors such as the difference in vowel system, non-equivalence and sensitive terms or taboos. Such problems increase the difficulty of translating menus and highlight the need for solutions through using the appropriate translation procedures and strategies. The problems that http://www.multilingual.com http://www.linguist.org.cn 22 translators of menus face are varied. Penny Marinou (n.d.) explains the reasons that make translating recipes and menus a big challenge. First, a dish on the menu has to inform the customer and has to be sound appetizing. Second are the dialect differences, such as those between British and American English, for example, aubergine in British English and eggplant in American English. Finally is the translator's total ignorance of the object of food and lack of cultural knowledge. Therefore, translators should have knowledge, taste and concern in the field. (http://www.translationdirectory.com). Further, Liao (2008: 1-3) mentions what he considers the main problems of translating menus in China. The first problem is the odd names of dishes which a normal translator cannot handle. Another problem is related to useless additions. For example, ‘fried’ or ‘deep fried’ can mean the same thing most of the time and ‘deep’ can be a useless word (http://www.stanford.edu). However, this argument is not necessarily true since some adjectives, such as ‘deep’, can achieve emotive functions indicating a high level of frying. Another main problem is related to culture-specific concepts (CSCs). A CSC is defined, according to Baker (1992: 21), as a "concept which is totally unknown in the target culture. The concept in question may be abstract or concrete; it may relate to a religious belief, a social custom or even a type of food." According to Ordudari (2007: 1-5), it is a big challenge for translators to deal with CSCs accurately. For example, the term "hotdog", "burger", and "nuggets" are totally unknown in the Arab culture. Therefore, the terms are usually borrowed with the concept itself. http://www.translationdirectory.com http://www.stanford.edu 23 Furthermore, Newmark (1981: 39) points out another problem of translation, namely overtranslation. It is when the TT includes more meanings than do exist in the ST usually for emotive purposes. For example, the phrase "Extra loaded pizza" is translated into " ". The adjective ' ' meaning ' crispy' does not exist in the ST and it is an example of overtranslation. Meanwhile, Al- Tahtamouni (2006: 62-63) identifies the problem of the use of non-frequent lexical items which might be correct but do not achieve the aim of easy communication. Translators may follow this technique to prove their linguistic abilities. (See chapter IV. 4.4. p. 56) The discussion of the problems cannot be isolated from the search for solutions. Some scholars suggest a number of simple, easy and direct solutions. For example, Martin (n.d.) suggests a universally translated menu to help customers avoid unpleasant food surprises. In this context, he prepares ten small guides describing famous universal dishes (http://goeurope.about.com). Similarly, Eckestein (1983: 92) encourages the use of a standard dictionary of food terms which enables translators to get familiar with foreign food terms that are used frequently. Another solution is proposed by Kotschevar and Withrow (2007: 100) who focus on giving descriptions with visual factors such as pictures that help to clarify without unnecessary exaggerations. Some writers emphasize the importance of knowledge not only on the part of the translators but also on the part of the customers themselves. Fernandez (2007: 2-3) believes that there are some international dishes that people from different cultures should know. This http://goeurope.about.com 24 knowledge is essential for customers, especially when they intend to travel, or visit a high-class restaurant. Still, the best solution can be in the choice of the accurate translation strategy on a given commission. Interestingly, Darwish (2003: 73-74) states that there is no "right" or "wrong" translation. Moreover, no translation is better than the other, but the idea is summarized in the right choice of the suitable translation procedure that could be effective in relevance to the purpose of the translated product. The same idea is shared by Sahu (n.d.) who ensures that there is nothing like ultimate or accurate translation. The writer quotes Seleskovitch, an analyst of translation who says "everything said in one language can be expressed in another"(http://www.creativessaplings.com). 2.4. Source-oriented strategies vs. target- oriented strategies The primary strategies of translation are either source oriented such transliteration (borrowing) or target oriented such as adaptation and cultural substitution. While source–oriented strategies produce TTs which are bound to the original STs and the target-oriented strategies are close to the TC norms and values, literal translation is neutral and faithful. However, no one strategy is ideal in all contexts. A strategy which is successful in one context can be misleading or confusing in another. Therefore, the choice of the suitable strategy for each lexical item is the central mission of the translator. The different points of view concerning each strategy prove the importance of the decision- making process. For example, the term "'ice cream" is usually translated in Palestine or Jordan as " ". However, such translation can be misleading in other countries such as Egypt where the word " " is an old name for "wine". Here, transliteration as http://www.creativessaplings.com 25 " " becomes preferable. On the other hand, transliteration can be misleading or meaningless such as the example of "sauce" which was examined earlier in this research. A major source-oriented strategy that is widely used in translating menus and names of dishes is transliteration which is also known as borrowing or loan words. Campbell (2004: 63) defines a loan word as "a lexical item (a word) which has been 'borrowed' from another language, a word which originally was not part of the vocabulary of the recipient language but was adopted from some other languages and made part of the borrowing language's vocabulary." Campbell gives some examples such as "ketchup" which is acquired from Dutch "ketjap". Pollard and Chan (2001: 1088) argue that transliteration (borrowing) has a big advantage of narrowing the distance between the target readers and the ST at least phonologically. It also helps translators to avoid misleading or confusing translations. In my view, transliteration could be seen to be better than inadequate translation or distortion such as the example of "ice cream" mentioned above. Yet, the overuse of transliteration could not be seen to be preferable since it produces target texts which are bound to the originals. Zhou (2008) criticizes the use of transliteration when translation is possible and meaning can be rendered in the target language. Another scholar who shares the idea is Chings (1966) who states "Translation when possible and transliteration when necessary" (qtd. in Pollard and Chan, 2001: 1089). This statement, by Chings, is significant since it may indicate that transliteration is not a translation while it is considered by most scholars as a strategy of translation. For Chings, 26 transliteration is just to render the sound while translation is to render the meaning. Considering the use of transliteration for food menus and names of dishes, Gagansmo (2010) suggests three ways to translate names of dishes: 1- a photo of the dish, 2- transliteration of the name, and 3- translation plus description which can be a space for the translator's creativity. However, he believes that transliteration can be the ideal method to deal with names of some dishes such as "pizza" because no translation may be applicable in the target language. In addition, it is also expected that everybody knows what pizza is like (http://www.fourpxarticles.com). In the same context, Mahjub (2007) advises the use of transliteration with foreign names including proper names, clothes, food, drinks, furniture and other names that are not part of the Arab culture and that Arabs have never known before. Therefore, Arabic has no equivalents for such names. In certain conditions, Mahjub supports using importation since it helps to enrich the language with a repertoire of words that express different fields (http://www.dahsha.com). Still, the large number of transliterated food terms and names of dishes in restaurant menus and advertisements is a phenomenon that deserves to be studied. Fairwan (2007: 65) tries to give reasons for such a phenomenon. The reasons vary from ignorance and carelessness on the part of the translator to the influence of the American culture on other cultures including the Arab culture. However, the importation from other languages, in most conditions, does not happen randomly, or without a reason. Therefore, some writers have investigated the issue in an attempt to find http://www.fourpxarticles.com http://www.dahsha.com 27 out the reasons that have produced different types of borrowing. Among these scholars are Campbell (2004: 64) and Scotton (2006: 212-216) who mention what they consider as the two primary reasons behind borrowing which are need and prestige. Whenever a language acquires a new concept, it borrows its foreign name along with it in order to fill gaps in the recipient language. In other situations, the foreign term is seen as highly-esteemed, so we find borrowings for prestige which are sometimes called ‘luxury’ loans. It is usually so because of the dominance of one language over another when two languages are spoken in the same community. In the case of translation from English into Arabic, including that of food terms, Hanafi (2006) refers to the fact that a large number of borrowed foreign terms have invaded the Arabic language, especially in the last three decades. In fact, this phenomenon is not new. Full (2004: 13) states that the existence of foreign terms in the target text is as old as the history of translation itself. Translation has been seen as a way to enrich the language and the culture. Al-Saqqa (2001: 5-14) distinguishes between two kinds of borrowings or loan words in Arabic. In the first kind, the word is Arabicized which means that it has all the characteristics of the original words in the target language such as derivations. The word telephone is a clear example of this kind. In the second type, the word is non-Arabicized which means that the borrowed word has only one form in the target language without the ordinary derivations such as plurals or verb forms. Following this classification, one can conclude that many foreign food terms such as 28 "burger" " ", "pizza" " " and "ketchup" " " are non- Arabicized since they do not have derivations, plurals or verb forms. On the other hand, the target-oriented strategies such as adaptation, omission and addition adapt the ST to the TC in order to satisfy the intended recipients. Translators usually opt to use such strategies to achieve promotional functions, clarify unfamiliar concepts or specify products. Hornby, et. al. (1995: 182-183) introduce an article by Smith and Braley who support the use of adaptation which carries out certain "tactical adjustment" to meet the audience's needs and expectations. In fact, adaptation is a preferable strategy from the point of view of many other scholars. Schaffner (2000: 333-336) shares a similar attitude towards adaptation and mediation in the process of translation because what is culturally appropriate for one community is not necessarily appropriate for another. Similarly, Hatim (2001: 19-20) refers to the concept of adjustment that includes certain techniques such as addition, omission, and cultural substitution. These techniques can be very useful to clarify the intended meanings. Blum, et. al. (1997: 82) emphasize the need to add certain aspects by the translator whenever it is difficult to get accurate literal translation. Still, translators should not try to be helpful through overtranslation because interpretative translations may lead to mistranslation. Furthermore, adaptation can be considered as a synonym of localization. In this context, Guidere (2006) stresses the conflict between two opposite strategies to deal with advertising texts including menus: the 29 first one is internationalization (standardization) and the second, adaptation (localization), in which the translator should pay attention to social, religious and ethical norms and restrictions in dealing with linguistic and graphic elements of the text (http://www.wisegeak.com). In the case of food menus, there is a tendency towards having a standard translation. Still, some scholars criticize full standardization and call for a kind of balance with localization. For example, Zhou (2008) considers that standardizing a menu translation is a double-edged sword since it has both positive and negative effects. It removes ambiguity and misleading translations, but it takes away the rich connotations. Interestingly, he makes a simile between standardizing menu translation and plain rice which has necessary nutrients but without flavor (http://www.chinadaily.com). When the SL term has a direct equivalent in the TL, both of transliteration and adaptation become unnecessary as literal translation can simply achieve the intended message. In such a case, it becomes the best, safest and most faithful strategy. Venuti (2000: 36), for instance, suggests literal translation when he says addressing translators, "be accurate, you have no license to change words that have plain one-to-one translation just because you think they sound better than the original..." 2.5. Summary Translation is a process of decision making that starts with determining the type of the text and ends with choosing the suitable strategy to deal with a certain type of text taking into consideration all the micro - and macro-structure factors. Considering menus translation, the process seems to be more difficult due to the absence of sentence structure http://www.wisegeak.com http://www.chinadaily.com 30 and the large number of odd names of dishes that are usually new and unknown in the target culture. In addition, the difficulty increases because of the double purpose of the menu as an informative text that should inform but in an advertising style that helps to achieve the commercial and aesthetic function. As a result, translators of menus should be careful in order to be able to give satisfactory translations. According to Gisslen (2010: 101), the misleading translation of menus can give a negative idea about the restaurant. It may indicate for customers that no care to wording and translation indicates no care to food cooking. Therefore, an appropriate translation is necessary whenever foreign food terms are included. This intended accurate translation can be achieved through using the appropriate procedures and strategies whether they are source-oriented strategies such as transliteration and borrowings or target-oriented strategies such as adaptation and localization. A certain strategy may be suitable on one occasion but unsuitable on another. Any strategy can be accurate when it is used for the right function and the right type of audience. The wrong choice causes mistakes or shortcomings that may destroy the message. To avoid this, translators need to think about all the aforementioned factors that affect translating food terms and menus to produce a successful and attractive translation. 31 Chapter III Methodology The primary aim of this chapter is to clarify the methods and procedures used in this study. The sample of the study followed by the limitations of the study, data collection and data analysis are presented in this chapter. 3.1. Sample of the study The sample of the current study consists of 19 restaurant menus; all are bilingual and include English food terms with their Arabic translations. The sample can be classified according to the type and the place of the restaurant. Concerning the type, the menus are classified into two groups: 1. The first group represents the menus of foreign cuisines and branches of international food companies such as The American fast –food operations Subway and Pizza Hut. This group includes 11 menus. 2. The second group contains local Arab menus that include some international food items and dishes, such as "burger", "pasta" and "pizza". This group is illustrated by 8 menus. The sample is also distributed upon 4 Arab cities as the following: 12 menus from Amman in Jordan, 3 from Nablus and 1 from Ramallah in Palestine and 3 from Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. (As indicated in Appendix B). The selected menus in the 4 cities involve some common fast-food 32 items and international dishes. However, Amman has the biggest selection of menus because it is a capital city that has franchises of many international food companies which is not available in Nablus or Ramallah, for example. 3.2. Limitations of the study The selected menus for the study, though seem limited, are the most representative among the 95 menus which were collected by the researcher. They are the only bilingual ones while the rest are monolingual, either English or Arabic. Moreover they represent different types of restaurants including franchises of some famous international food companies that introduce similar food items in many other Arab cities and countries. Although the area of the study is limited to the four Arab cities,: Nablus and Ramallah in Palestine, Amman in Jordan and Sharm-El-Sheikh in Egypt, it covers varied samples of expected customers either local customers or foreign tourists. Finally, this study of menus translation focuses on the linguistic and cultural dimensions. However, other dimensions, such as the psycholinguistic and sociolinguistics, could be addressed by future studies. 3.3. Data collection The majority of the data of the current study were collected by the researcher herself from different restaurants and coffee shops that offer foreign food items and dishes in the city of Amman in Jordan and the cities of Nablus and Ramallah in Palestine. Only 3 menus, which are the ones 33 from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, were taken from 2 Arabic printed books concerning menus planning. The books are: 1 . 2. 3.4. Procedures and data analysis By investigating the 19 menus, it has been noticed that translating menus is a complex task that is fraught with problems. In order to identify these problems and, may be, their causes, the researcher adopts the descriptive analysis approach by which the problems are described, discussed and illustrated with examples from the sample of the study. The analysis covers textual and graphic elements of the menu and compares English food terms and their Arabic translations. The analysis of the problems is usually followed by suggested solutions or translations. The suggested translations have been translated back into English. Further, the description includes 7 strategies adopted in translating menus. These strategies are: transliteration (borrowing), literal translation, adaptation, addition, omission, translation by a more general word (superordinate) and translation by a more specific word (hyponym). The descriptive analysis of strategies is complemented with 2 personal interviews with a translator and a restaurant owner. The accuracy and faithfulness of the strategies are judged by the researcher who suggests alternative translations when it is useful or necessary. 34 Chapter IV Problems and Challenges of Translating Food Menus 4.1. Introduction Translating a food menu is not an easy task. It is a process of solving problems in order to create faithful, accurate and attractive translations. This fact is the main concern of this chapter. Having investigated the selected examples of food menus in Palestine, Jordan and Egypt and interviewed some translators and restaurant owners, the researcher was able to reach answers for the questions of the study. Therefore, she concentrates, in this chapter, on analyzing and discussing the main problems and challenges that face menus translators. This chapter tackles both cultural and linguistic problems and challenges that increase the level of difficulty in translating menus. Brand names as well as CSCs cause the major problems, in addition to the problem of synonyms or semi- synonyms. Many examples from the sample of the study are included to illustrate the problems. The details of the problems are discussed in a descriptive style while the problematic elements along with their solutions are evaluated. In some cases, alternative translations are being suggested by the researcher. 4.2. Logos and brand names Mohammad (2006) defines a brand as "a name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of 35 competitors." (www.atida.com). The American Marketing Association gives a similar definition for a logo as" a word, phrase or graphic, that is used as a continuing symbol for a company, organization or a brand "(www.hooverwebdesign.com). However, the logo usually represents the graphic elements of the brand. Sometimes the brand name itself can be a logo through the way it is written such as Coca Cola and the following logo: Figure (1) the logo of Coca Cola. (http://www.logoblog.org). In all conditions, the brand name should be simple, appellative and easy to be pronounced and remembered. A good brand name can be very effective in different communities. Some international brand names have become parts of many languages such as Arabic. Many people, for example, use the word Pepsi instead of cola although Pepsi is a brand name. Therefore, food and beverage companies pay great attention to their brand names and the best way to transfer them to the target markets through translation. Some writers including Lamb (2009: 141), Onkvisit and Shaw (2008: 393) and Al- Shehari (2001: 216) suggest the standardization and transliteration of brand names to keep the strength of the brands and to avoid confusing translations. However, brand names can be adapted to the TL and the TC to remove any negative connotations and to keep national identity. Boden (2008: 196) mentions some examples of rendering international brand http://www.atida.com http://www.hooverwebdesign.com http://www.logoblog.org 36 names in China such as Coca Cola which is translated as Ke Kou Kele meaning" Joyful taste and happiness" Concerning the translation of 9 selected brand names used by 9 of the most famous international food companies and operations in Jordan, in the sample transliteration is used 8 times (around 88.8%) while adaptation is used only once (around 11.2%). A careful analysis of the translations reveals that the adopted strategies may cause problems in the TL. In the following few pages the researcher tends to clarify some of these problems and the techniques used to solve them. Moreover, she suggests some slight changes to improve translation and to achieve the intended message. 4.2.1. Proper names of people and places The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (1986: 1016) defines a proper noun (or a proper name) as a word that names a person, a place or institution. Proper names refer to specific referents and serve to distinguish a particular individual from others. Some brand names include proper names of people or places which can constitute a major problem in translation. In fact, it is very difficult, sometimes impossible, to render brand names which are proper names. Harvey and Higgins (1992: 29), Newmark (1988: 214) and Vermeer (2003: 89) argue that proper names shouldn't be translated unless they have special connotations in the text. They suggest either copying or transliteration to render brand names. In the sample of the study, there are 4 brand names which are, completely or partially classified as proper names. Transliteration is successfully used to render the brands in spite of some shortcomings. Here are the examples: 37 2d 2c 2e 2f 2a 2b. Figure (2c), (2d), (2e) and (2f). Proper names used in brand names of three international food companies. See Appendices. Figure (2a), (2b), The brand name of McDonald's and its transliteration in Arabic (www.google.ps). Let's take the example of Tuscana Pasta in which the word "Tuscani" refers to "pasta" which comes from "Tuscana" a region in Italy. "Tuscana" is a proper name that has no equivalent in Arabic, so it is transliterated into " " and the whole brand is rendered as " ". Although the term "pasta" has a possible equivalent in Arabic as ‘ ’ which is also originally foreign but still more familiar in the Arab culture. The transliteration of the brand name remains the preferable procedure to keep the rights of the original producers and to avoid imitation of the product or different translations of the same brand name which may affect the reliability of the product and the food operation. However, the researcher suggests the addition of the word ‘ ’ meaning ‘Italian’ to emphasize the origin of this type of pasta. It can also help to attract customers since Italy is the original source of pasta. The final translation could be ". " In other examples, the proper names are copied in their original language and script. Harvey and Higgins (1992: 29) call for exoticism in http://www.google.ps 38 which the noun remains unchanged from the SL to the TL. Such a strategy proves that no translation is possible for a brand name which is defined as a proper name. For example, the brand Sbarro, which is a chain of pizza restaurants in New York that specializes in traditional Italian cuisine, is named after the founders of the restaurant, Gennaro and Carmela Sbarro (www.fundinguniverse.com). The name and the logo are copied into the TL because translation is impossible and transliteration as ‘ ’ can add nothing. On the contrary, it may create confusion between Sbarro as a name of a food company and as a name of a famous Japanese car. However, transliteration and copying are not limited to proper names; they are widely used in translating brand names, such as the following examples 3c. 3b 3a Figures (3b) and (3c) The brand name of Burger King and its transliteration in Arabic. See Appendix b. Figure (3a) The brand name of a Subway. See appendix b. In the example of Subway, transference helps to avoid meaningless or misleading translation that may result from literal translation. The brand- name Subway can be literally translated as ‘ ’ or ‘ ’ (al-Mawrid Dictionary, 2005: 925). Such translations will sound laughable and meaningless since they tell nothing about the product, in addition to the fact that both of the literal translations are not attractive enough as brand names of a food company. http://www.fundinguniverse.com 39 Sometimes the transference of logos and brand names in English is due to the fact that emblems (icons) may be more effective than written names, especially for logos being translated into many alphabets. In other words, the design of the logo along with the way a brand name is written can compensate for translation by words Figure (4) The brand name of Chili House.( See appendix B.) The way the word "Chili" is written, with the picture of peppers, indicates that the meals are "spicy" and the logo is drawn in the shape of a house. Here, pictures can say more than words. Another significant example is that of Burger King. Although the brand can be translated nicely as " ", which means "The king of meat.", it is always transliterated in order to keep the foreign spirit of the name based on the assumption that people usually know such famous brands and that there is no one possible and reliable translation in the TL. By time, customers become familiar with the brands. They will easily remember and distinguish them. Translators usually have no license to change brand names which makes the researcher hesitate to suggest alternative translations for the brands in question 40 4.2.2. Differences in vowel systems between English and Arabic that cause mispronunciation The tendency toward transliterating brand names may cause some linguistic problems and reveal the negative face of transliteration. Let's take the following example: 5a 5b Figure (5a) and (5b) The brand name of Pizza Hut and its transliteration in Arabic. See Appendix B and (http://merchantcircle.com) Here, the brand name Pizza Hut is transliterated as " ". Some Arab customers whose English is poor may confuse the pronunciation of hut /h t/ and hot /h t/. Many of them think that pizza Hut means " " which is ‘hot Pizza’. A lot of people, in the city of Jenin, told the researcher that there is a franchise of Pizza Hut in Jenin. The researcher decided to visit the place to find that it is a local restaurant named ‘Pizza Hot.’ The main reason behind such ambiguity is the difference in the vowel system between English and Arabic. Vowels are independent letters in English while they are represented through diacritical marks in Arabic. This fact leads to mispronunciation of some terms along with a change in meaning. For example, the transliterated word " " may be pronounced as / h t/ which means" a small building, often made of wood." (Longman Dictionary, 1989: 301), or as / h t / which means "having a certain degree of heat. "(Ibid: 295). The two meanings are completely different. To remove such ambiguity the researcher suggests adding the necessary diacritical mark to the Arabic transliteration. The final translation of the http://merchantcircle.com 41 brand Pizza Hut could be " ". The logo that illustrate hut helps to clarify the meaning. Despite the fact that some customers whose English is poor may not prefer such a translation that sounds foreign, it seems to be the best rendering. It is not advisable to make big changes in translating brand names because different versions of the brand weaken its fame and specialty. (AL-Shehari, 2001: 3). The researcher tends to agree with this opinion 4.2.3. Cultural and religious connotations Some brand names carry cultural connotations or imply a religious message. Customers in the TCs, such as the Arab culture, may be sensitive or suspicious of such connotations or messages. This fact forces the company to adapt the brand to fit the target culture and to remove the negative connotations. Here is a significant example that illustrates the problem and the adaptation solution 6c 6b 6a Figure (6b) and (6c) The brand name of Texas Chicken and its translation in Arabic. See Appendix b. Figure (6a) The brand name of Church's Chicken. (http://churchs.com.) The brand name Texas Chicken, which is rendered as " ", is originally known as Church's Chicken. The original company was established in 1952 for the benefit of George. W. Church. St. in Texas. But in the Arab countries, including Jordan, the name has been changed into Texas Chicken to avoid the religious connotations that the word "church" http://churchs.com. 42 may evoke in Muslim communities (www.muslim.net.vb). However, the translation as " " remains foreign and sounds American since '' " "Texas" is a state in the USA. To overcome such a problem certain statements were added in Arabic. The first statement is: , It can be translated into English as "Our chicken is fresh, vegetarian and halal." It addresses the Muslim fast-food market because it includes the word "halal" which means permissible. Another significant clarification added is the following: . The English translation of the statement could be the following: "The trademark of Texas Chicken is globally owned by the Islamic company 'Acapita Inc '." These additions tend to keep the franchise away from the original company and the church. They adapt the names to the Arab Muslim culture in order to achieve high sales and to satisfy the customers sending a message that "we respect your morals, beliefs and values relating to food culture." 4.2.4. Slogans Al-Agha (2006: 67) defines slogans as "short phrases that a company uses over and over in its advertisements." Sometimes slogans become parts of logos and brand names. While brand names are usually transliterated or http://www.muslim.net.vb 43 copied, slogans can be rendered in the TL. Therefore, translators should take great care to understand the slogans and convey them in the target language. The following table includes three slogans which are parts of three brand names, accompanied with suggested translations: Table (1): Slogans and their suggested translation Suggested translations Slogan Brand name )( eat fresh Subway )( Flavoured to Excite The Pizza Company Better ingredients- better pizza Pizza Papa John's (See Appendix B.) Here, the researcher puts forwards her suggestions because she strongly believes that slogans should be translated rather than copied. However, the translations should be as short as the original. They should also be attractive since they imply a promotional goal. They tend to influence the market and convince customers to choose the product. Meanwhile, they should tell something about the nature of the product. For example, Subway restaurants are known for offering fresh bread baked in the restaurant every four hours. In short, translating brand names can be a problematic issue either linguistically or culturally. There is no clear agreement about the best strategies and procedures to render brand names. Still, there is a great tendency towards copying and transliteration which ensures that when the TC imports the products of other cultures, it shall accept their languages 44 and names. The problems result from transliteration which increases the difficulty of translating brands where few choices are available. However, good translators will always find space for some "tactical adjustments" that may solve problems and prove their skills and creativity. 4.3. Culture-Specific Concepts (CSCs): Sofer (2009: 86) refers to the cultural, political, social, economic and even religious differences between the ST and the TT audiences. These differences make translating advertising copies, including menus, as a real challenge. The cultural differences have particular significance since they create a lot of difficulties in translation. They represent the cultural gap between the SC and the TC. This gap is clearly noticed in CSCs or CBTs. Harvey (2003: 2-6) defines CSCs as terms that refer to concepts which are specific to the SC. In other words, they express concepts which are totally unknown in the TC.. In the case of menu translation, CSCs create a serious problem. Many dishes and food ingredients are specific to a certain culture. Most likely, they have no counterparts in the TL. Therefore, there is a great tendency towards standardization of menu translation that some food terms, such as "pizza" and "burger," become international items, especially in the age of globalization in which English is a dominant language. However, there are many attempts to overcome the problematic issues related to CSCs in order to adapt them to fit the TC. Upon careful investigation of 19 food menus in Palestine, Jordan and Egypt, along with their Arabic counterparts, the researcher was able to 45 come up with certain observations concerning the problems of translating CSCs and foreign food terms. She discusses, in detail, these problems, as well as the strategies adopted to render such concepts and terms. 4.3.1. Lack of equivalence The problem of non-equivalence often poses difficulties for the translators who try different strategies for dealing with them. Food terms and dishes are good examples of CSCs which were defined earlier in this study. The items in question include types of cheeses, sauces, desserts, drinks and unfamiliar names of dishes. Some examples which are extracted from the sample of the study are frequently used in many different menus in Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. Other examples are specific to certain cuisines such as Italian (see Appendix b.).The researcher introduces some of these examples in the following table: 46 Table (2): examples of food CSCs and their translations. TTs STs Pizza Nuggets Margarita pizza Mediterranean prawn Tortullini Chicken stroganoff Ricotta cheese Romano cheese Parmesan cheese Rague sauce Tartare sauce Pizzaiola sauce Black forest Sabrina Cappuccino Nero's Favourite Chef's Pata Stromboli Baked Ziti Fettuccini Alfredo Taco shells General Tsao's (See Appendix B. ) The table above shows some, not all, of the examples. They were selected by the researcher as the most representative. These items seem to be foreign for customers that may keep them away from the restaurant 47 because people usually hesitate to ask for dishes with which they are unfamiliar. The names of some dishes sound odd and difficult to be pronounced, which may lead customers to avoid ordering them. The major reason behind this phenomenon is that these dishes belong to different origins. The international dishes represent different cuisines throughout the world, such as Italian, French, and Chinese …and so on. These names have been borrowed from one culture to another along with the dishes themselves. They are very difficult to be rendered in the TL that has no direct counterparts for these terms. (www.multilingual.com). Therefore, all the examples are borrowed (transliterated) into Arabic. Let’s take some examples from different cuisines. The first one, "general Tsao's", which is transliterated into Arabic as" ", is originally Chinese food. It is named to honor General Tso Tsungtang or as his name is spelled in modern Chinese as Zuo Zongtang who is one of the most remarkably successful military commanders in Chinese history (www.chinesefoodiy.com). The fact that the dish is a proper name makes it impossible to find a direct and correct counterpart in the TL. However, transliteration alone may not be enough since it gives no information about the nature or ingredients of the dish. It could be useful to give a short, informative and appealing description of the dish. For instance, the Arabic transliteration " " can be helpfully accompanied with the following explanatory statement: )(. http://www.multilingual.com http://www.chinesefoodiy.com 48 Another solution could be the use of pictures to illustrate the dish depending on the assumption that pictures can tell more than words and that" people eat with their eyes". In this context, the previous example can be illustrated as the following: Figure (7) A Picture of General Tsao's dish. (http://www.en.bestpicturesof.com). In other examples, other techniques of adaptation such as addition and translation by paraphrase can be very useful. Sometimes, a key word added can clarify the nature of the dish to a great extent, For instance, the word" "if added to" " may be enough to state that the dish is simply a kind of macaroni and not so odd as customers may think at first sight. The same can be said about "Fettuccine Alfredo" rendered as " " to which the addition of the word" "can elaborate that it is a pasta dish and that fettuccine is a kind of pasta. Still, a short additional description of the dish as " . " is more useful. Pictures are also helpful and attractive. The following are pictures of "fettuccine Alfredo": 8b 8a Figures (8a) and (8b). Fettuccine Alfredo dish. (http: //www.foodnetwork.com). http://www.en.bestpicturesof.com 49 Further, adaptation and paraphrase become necessary when literal translation is meaningless. One example that illustrates the issue is that of " Drums of Heaven" which has no direct equivalent in the TL. Suppose the translator has rendered the term literally as " ", the literal translation tells nothing about the dish. It sounds more as a name of a film or a poem. Meanwhile, any expected transliteration as " " is just a complex retention of the foreign name. Therefore, in this particular example, a descriptive translation as" " is the best solution to provide customers with basic information about the dish. It is also successful since it is as short as the original. Another group of odd names of dishes results from the overuse of transliteration although literal translation or adaptation is possible. One example that attracted the researcher's attention is that of "Mediterranean Prawn," that is transliterated as " ". The transliteration is difficult to be pronounced which may decrease the orders of the dish. Interestingly, it is possible to avoid such a problem through literal translation as" ". The addition of the word " " is advisable for better clarification. A final suggested translation by the researcher could be " ". Although the term may not be as prestigious or attractive as the original, it is nonetheless clear and informative enough to meet the basic norms of the menu. In short, non-equivalence and odd names of dishes form a big challenge in the process of translation not only because they need intensive search and knowledge, but also due to the limited choices of appropriate strategies or techniques to deal with them. However, translators can be 50 creative in their attempts to adapt and adjust the translations, as much as possible, to the TC in order to satisfy the expectations of the audience and improve the sales. 4.3.2. Sensitive terms and taboos The cultural dimension is very important in translation. Chan (2004: 52) and Newmark (1988: 94-100) agree that cultural aspects usually cause translation problems for which translators should be careful and sensitive in order to fill the cultural gap. In the same context, Hatim and Mason (1997: 223-224) state that "It is certainly true that in recent years the translator has increasingly come to be seen as a cultural mediator rather than a mere linguistic broker." All these comments come in the spirit that we do not translate languages but culture. A careful analysis of the sample of the study shows that the names of some food dishes are problematic in the sense that they carry negative cultural and religious connotations. Let's take the example of "hotdog" which is a very popular American fast-food concept. The sample of the study introduces two different translations of the concept following two different translation techniques. In the first one, the term" hotdog" is transliterated into Arabic as " ". Such rendering may be rejected by a wide group of customers who have little knowledge of English because they may attribute the product to the meat of dogs, which is disgusting and unusual, in Arab culture, to eat dog's meat. In the second translation, "hotdog" is rendered as" " as a possible translation free of connection with disagreeable elements. However, transliteration is used twice out of three (around 66%) 51 in the sample of the study, while " " is used only once (around 33%). (See appendix b.) There are other examples that have relations with religious values. The difference in religious values between the SC and the TC affects the decision-making process taking into consideration some environmental factors such as commission and the expected audience. For instance, the terms "ham" and "bacon" are very much sensitive in Muslim communities as they refer to pigs' meat, which is forbidden in Islam. They are not included in fast-food restaurants in Amman and Nablus, but they are parts of high-class restaurants in Sharm El-Sheikh where a large number of foreign customers and tourists are expected. The two terms are transliterated into Arabic as " " and " ", respectively. Here, the translator achieves a kind of balance between faithfulness and adaptation. S/he respects the right of customers to know. Meanwhile, s/he avoids clash with religious values that may result from literal translation. On the other hand, Muslim customers, who are surely expected in a large Muslim country such as Egypt, have the right to know what they are ordering, especially if their English is poor. Therefore, the researcher suggests having two versions of the same menu; one is free of pig's meat in which the food items "bacon" and "ham" are deleted completely from the menu. In the other version, the items are included with their transliterations or literal translation where "bacon" is rendered as " " (Al- Mawrid Dictionary, 2005: 82), and "ham" is translated as " " (Al-Mawrid Dictionary, 2005: 410). The religious sensitivity is avoided because the customers who tend to choose the second suggested version have a clear idea that it includes items related to pig's meat. 52 One more major source for cultural and religious sensitivity is the offensive and harsh terms that may shock customers and become taboos in the public morality, for example, the term" wine" can be translated literally into Arabic as " " or " ". Still, translators tend to use the second one as it sounds less offensive and more prestigious than " ", which is harsh, blunt and offensive for Muslim customers. The main reason behind this replacement is that the term" "is mentioned several times in the holy Qu'ran and in the Hadiths of prophet Mohammad –peace be upon him- as a forbidden drink. As a result, it is widely rejected by Muslim customers and this raises the necessity for the substitution of a less sensitive term for " ". This method is known as euphemism. According to Algeo and Pyles (2009: 214), as well as Govier (2009: 85), euphemism, which is derived from a Greek word meaning good-sounding, is a polite term to replace taboos, embarrassing, uncomfortable and undesirable. Sometimes translators opt to misleading translations to deal with such terms. Fore example, "wine" might be translated as " ", meaning "super drink", or " ", meaning "grape juice "or simply " ", meaning "a drink". Such mis- translations remove the negative connotation but remain unfaithful. To sum up, some food terms can be culturally sensitive which increases the difficulty of translation. However, translators should take into consideration all the extra-linguistic factors. They need to remember their roles as mediators between cultures who can expect and change and not work as machines that are limited to the text. In the process of the translation of a cultural element, the external factors such as social, 53 religious and moral values play an important role that a sensitive translator can never ignore. 4.3.3. Lexical similarity of some terms Some food terms are synonyms or semi-synonyms, which means they have the same or nearly the same meaning (www.grammar.about.com). Such terms are particularly troublesome since they are similar in most aspects to the extent that many translators, including professional ones, can rarely distinguish between them. The terms are semantically complex and the concepts are almost the same with slight differences. One significant example is that of "hotdogs" and "sausages" as both terms are translated into " " in 3 different menus (of the sample of the study). The researcher checked many sources such as dictionaries and inquired of many people working for years in fast food restaurant, but she was unable to find a clear or considerable difference between the two concepts. In fact, "hotdogs" are the same as" sausages". All "hotdogs" are "sausages" but not all "sausages" are "hotdogs". The only difference is that a hotdog is an emulsified sausage (www.wisegeek.com). The problem is more serious when one menu presents the two items. Sure, the translator cannot render both of them as " ". One possible solution is the one applied in Lubnani Snack restaurant in Jordan where "hotdog" is transliterated as " " and "sausage" is rendered as " ". However, this may bring us back to the previous problem of cultural connotations (4.2.3). Rendering "hotdog" as" "and "sausages" as" " can be a good solution. In spite of the fact that the two Arabic translations are http://www.grammar.about.com http://www.wisegeek 54 synonyms with slight differences, they are two different words, at least phonetically. The pictures can help, or clarify, more Figure. (9a) sausages Figure. ( 9b) hotdog http://www.fotosearch.com Let's take another example for more clarification. Two similar food concepts are "prawn" and "shrimp". Both are translated into Arabic as " ". They have the same counterpart in Arabic because the difference between them lies in secondary details. Some say that the difference is in size: that while "shrimp" is small, "prawn" refers to larger ones. Others recognize the difference in gill structure. Prawn has a branching gill structure while shrimp is lamellar (www.helpwithcooking.com). It is also known that "shrimp" is widely used in US English and "prawn" in UK English. Whatever the source of difference, the two concepts have only one counterpart in Arabic which raises a problem in translation. The translators tend to solve the problem by transliteration for "prawn" as" " or translation as " " and literal translation for "shrimp" as" ". However, the researcher suggests addition as a possible technique to render the terms. She suggests " "for "shrimp" and" "for "prawn" as alternative translations. The following pictures support the idea: http://www.fotosearch.com http://www.helpwithcooking.com 55 Figure ( 10b) prawn Figure (10a). shrimp http://www.helpwithcooking.com A third example that attracts the attention of the researcher is that of "spaghetti", "pasta" and "noodles". The three terms refer to different types of the same concept. While the first two terms are borrowed originally from Italian, the third one is taken from the German word "nudel" (www.cookitsimpky.com). A careful look at Al-Mawrid Dictionary (2005) reveals a similar meaning for the three concepts: "Spaghetti" means" " (883); "pasta", " " (663), while "noodles", " " (617). The three definitions include the word " " which is the general term (superordinate) that covers the three concepts. In Arabic, the terms are usually borrowed or transliterated as it is clear in the sample of the study. Although transliteration (borrowing) represents the safe side of the process of translation, they produce names which are bound to the original ST. The possibility of adaptation is available through adding the word " " to the transliterated names to clarify the type of the dish. This strategy that combines two procedures together is known, according to Newmark (1988: 91), as couplet. The alternative translation as " "for " " and " " for " " may be more satisfactory and http://www.helpwithcooking.com http://www.cookitsimpky.com 56 informative, though less prestigious. Moreover, pictures are very helpful to differentiate such terms with semantic relations. These are pictures for the three concepts in question (11c) noodles (11b) spaghetti Figure ( 11a) pasta, http://www.fotosearch.com 4.4. The use of a non-frequent lexical item It is taken for granted that there is more than one possible accurate and faithful translation of each term in the TL. However, one translation can be more appropriate and satisfactory than others for different reasons. It can be more relevant and emotive than others. For example, the term" crispy" has two equivalents in Arabic. The first one is " " and the other is " ". Interestingly, the phrase "crispy beef" is rendered as " ", in one menu, in the sample of the study, and " ", in another. In fact, the word " " is not frequently used in relation to food. Most likely, it is used in political and security contexts meaning "unstable" as well as for metals meaning "fragile". On the other hand, " " is attributed to food products and widely used in the field of advertising. It can better convey the message while " " may cause message distortion Another example is to be discussed in regard to the frequent use of terms representing dialect varieties vs. standard Arabic terms. The term "coleslaw" has been rendered as " " and " ". Both translations are faithful and accurate. The only, but important, difference http://www.fotosearch.com 57 lies in the frequency of use. Obviously, the word " " is more popular in Jordan and Palestine which represent the major area of research. The other term " " that means " , ,,, " (Al -Mu'jam Al-Wasit, 1972: 785) i