1. THE ART OF
TRANSLATIONPrepaired by
Dr. M. Fahmy Raiyah

2. CONTENTS
• The Process of Translation
Catford’s Definition of Translation
Eugene Nida’s Model
• Tools of the Translator
Dictionaries
Reference Works
Relevant Material
• Translation Levels
The Lexical Level
The Syntactic Level

3. THE TRANSLATION
PROCESS

4. Catford’s Definition of Translation
Translation is the act of replacing text
in the source language (SL) by an
equivalent text in the target language
(TL), where not only superficial semantic
equivalents are sought but also a
maximum of implied meanings and
emotional effects are transferred.

5. Eugene Nida’s Model
Source Language Target (Receptor)
(SL) Language (TL)
Analysis Synthesis
Transfer

6. • Analysis (Decoding)
• Transfer
• Synthesis (Encoding or Re-structuring)

7. • Equivalence
• Translation Losses

8. TOOLS OF THE TRANSLATOR

9. The translator must in good command of
both the source and target languages. I
addition, he needs the following tools of the
trade:
1. DICTIONARIES
2. REFERENCE WORKS
3. OTHER WORKS IN THE FIELD OF THE SOURCE
LANGUAGE TEXT
TOOLS OF THE TRANSLATOR

10. 1. Dictionaries
Unabridged Abridged Monolingual Bilingual
paper
electronic
General
vocabulary
Usage and
Idioms, etc

11. • Monolingual dictionaries
Unabridged:
o Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
o Random House Dictionary of the English Language
o American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
o Webster’s New International Dictionary
Abridged:
o Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
o Oxford Concise Dictionary of English (COED)
o Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
o Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

13. • Bilingual Dictionaries
(English – Arabic & Arabic –English):
o–
o–
o
o
o
o
o

15. Two of the best
recommended English
dictionaries for advanced
students

16. • Dictionaries of Usage and Idioms

17. ELECTRONIC DICTIONARIES
ONLINE COMPUTER-BASED SOFWARE HANDHELD

18. • Online Dictionaries
o Cambridge: dictionary.cambridge.org
o Dictionary.com: dictionary.reference.com
o Macmillan: www.macmillandictionary.com
o Merriam Webster: www.m-w.com
o Oxford Dictionaries: oxforddictionaries.com -
Dictionary
o Collins: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/
o Longman: http://www.ldoceonline.com/
o Chambers: http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/
o The Free Dictionary: www.thefreedictionary.com

19. 2. REFERENCE WORKS
o Dictionaries of Specialized Terminology
o Encyclopedias
o Dictionaries of Biography (Who’s Who)

20. Specialized Dictionaries

22. Encyclopedias

23. 3. RELEVANT MATERIAL
If the translator is not familiar with the topic
of the text he is translating, he needs to learn
about it from any relevant sources. He can
search the internet or the library for anything
that would help him understand that material.

24. LEVELS OF
TRANSLATION

25. 1. THE LEXICAL LEVEL
Factors that affect the meaning and choice
of a word:
• The Context
• Degrees of Formality
• Date of the Text
• Varieties of English

26. Abstract Nouns
• Synonyms
Example: happiness, gladness, joy, enjoyment,
delight, rapture, ecstasy, felicity, contentment
pleasure
• Culturally-based words
Examples: romanticism, socialism, democracy

27. Concrete Nouns
Some concrete nouns specific of certain cultures
are difficult to translate.
Food: sushi, pizza,
Dress: kimono, sari,
Houses: igloo, tipi
Transportation:
Ricksha, canoe
igloo Tipi or teepee

28. Proper Nouns
• Proper nous are not translatable.
Example: Mr. John Smith does not become
• Notice the historical distortions of many proper
nouns

29. 2. THE SENTENCE LEVEL
• Differences between the English and Arabic
sentences need to be attended to.
• Study carefully the basic sentence patterns
and sentence types to be able to write correct
English sentences.