The Arabic Translation of Cohesive Devices used in “The Midnight Library” Novel

Abstract

This study deals with English cohesive devices as discourse markers, which are used for various purposes, such as connecting ideas and expressing attitudes. In fact, such devices may cause problems in case of translation, especially when dealing with them in literary works. Therefore, this study aims to identify the English cohesive devices and clarify how the translators translate these devices into Arabic. The study data is collected from the English novel “The Midnight Library” written by Matt Haig. The study sample includes (5) texts extracted from this novel to be translated by (3) MA students in the Translation Department, College of Arts, Tikrit University. Concerning the analysis of data, the study adopts two models: Halliday and Hasan's (1976) model for identifying the cohesive devices in the novel under study; and Newmark’s (1988) model for determining the method of translation. The study reveals that cohesive devices are used to demonstrate a semantic function rather than a communicative one, causing a challenge for translators to translate them into Arabic.