A Contrastive Analysis of Some Cultural Ecological, Material and Religious Problems of English/Arabic Translation

Abstract

This research presents a contrastive analysis of some cultural problems of English/Arabic translation. The significance of the study stems from the fact that it concentrates on some of the cultural ecological, material and religious differences between English and Arabic. These differences form a hindrance in the translation process if the translator is unaware of. The analysis pinpoints some of the points of conflict in order to provide translators and second language learners with insights that would make the translation process more effective and fruitful. For instance, it is noticed that some ecological terms may have different meanings and connotations in both languages, i.e. English and Arabic. Moreover, the most outstanding problem in both material and religious cultures is that, in many cases, there is an absence of equivalents in the target language culture. Thus, the literal translation of such terms results in a misleading translation : Contrastive Analysis, Translation, Culture, Ecological Problems, Material Problems, Religious Problems.