Politeness strategies in translating Donald Trump’s offensive language into Arabic

Abstract

This paper examines the strategies employed by six Arabic news channels in translating the controversial comments that Donald Trump made during his election campaign (2015–2016) and his first three years in office (2017–2019). Drawing on politeness theory, we look at the ways in which translators negotiate the offensive and inappropriate nature of comments made by Donald Trump that could threaten the positive face of Arab audiences. However, protecting the face of their target audience is not the only concern Arab translators consider when dealing with Donald Trump speech. Translators might also intervene to protect their own face because, in reproducing Donald Trump’s offensive comments, they might also be considered responsible for the use of face-threatening language acts. Additionally, we argue that translators are aware of Donald Trump’s discursive ethos which is central to his rise to power. Mitigating the offensive and inappropriate content of Donald Trump’s comments might alter his public image in the eyes of Arab viewers. We argue that translating Donald Trump’s ethos as an abrasive speaker who uses insults as a rhetorical weapon outweighs the need to protect the positive face of Arab audiences.