An Assessment of Translating Rhetorical Devices in King Abdullah II’s Political Speeches into English: Metonymic Expressions as a Case Study

Abstract

Rhetorical devices are certain means of aesthetic and considerable values added to texts in general, and to both expressive and vocative in particular. The general concept and purpose of rhetorical devices are commonly shared between English and Arabic; yet, the subclassifications and branches of rhetoric as a unique discipline are not equal. Their mismatch makes the assessment of rendering those concerned devices in the text thorny and not quite an easy task. In addition, the study sheds light on the act of translating such texts taking into account how the aesthetic value and equivalent effect are maintained in the TLTs. The study hypothesizes that translating rhetorical devices is a thorny task to translators, due to their different types. Also, translators are not consistent with certain methods of translation as far as rendering such rhetorical devices is concerned. The model adopted to make the translation quality assessment is that of Reiss (1971/2000) who submits a thorough method of assessment and considers text type a focal point in conducting a specific approach to translation. As for procedure and data collection concerning this study, (5) texts compising metonymic expressions have been selected to be analyzed and discussed in accordance with criteria of the model adopted. The study comes up with certain concluded points which almost verify the relevent hypotheses of the study.