AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 6, Number2. May 2022 Pp. 209-232
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol6no2.16
Issues in the Utilization of Transposition: A Case Study of The 100: A Ranking of the Most
Influential Persons in History
Adel Awadh A Alharthi
Department of Foreign Languages
Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
Received:3/14/2022 Accepted: 4/27/2022 Published: 5/24/2022
Abstract:
The current study aims to explore the types of transposition techniques used by Arab translators when translating The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History by Michael H. Hart (1978) into Arabic. The study seeks to address the following questions: a) what are the types of transposition/class shift used by Arab translators to translate the ST into Arabic; b) what are the factors that govern the translators’ utilization of transposition; and c) to what extent do the Arabic translations differ from the ST. The research draws on Vinay and Darbelnet (1995), Newmark (1988), and Catford 1965/2000. A qualitative approach was followed in this study. The qualitative approach involved identifying each instance of transposition, using a comparative model which is commonly used in translation studies to study shifts. The findings of the study revealed that the Arab translators used four types of transposition: noun to verb, adjective to verb, verb to noun, and adjective to noun. A possible explanation for the utilization of these techniques might be that the Arab translators had some stylistic preferences, which were evident in their different treatment of the linguistic elements in the source text. In addition, the translators worked within some linguistic constraints, which forced them to use various interventional strategies in order to bridge the linguistic gap between English and Arabic. The results of the study should add to previous research on transposition techniques and the factors that may affect their utilization in different contexts. Further research in this area is needed for more understanding of how transposition techniques may bridge the linguistic gap between the ST and TT.
Keywords: class shift, linguistic constraints, stylistic preferences, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential
Persons in History, transposition
Cite as: Alharthi, A. A.A. (2022). Issues in the Utilization of Transposition: A Case Study of The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies 6 (2) 209-232.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol6no2.16
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