The Use of Category Shifts in the Translation of Scientific Texts

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide an in-depth analysis of the utilization of category shifts in the process of translating two scientific texts: The Science Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by John Farndon and Spaceflight: A Concise History by Michael J. Neufeld. The study addresses the following research questions: 1) What are the types of category shifts used by Arab translators to translate scientific texts into Arabic, and 2) To what extent do the translations convey the intended meaning of the source texts and bridge the linguistic gap between the two languages (English and Arabic). The research draws on Catford's (1965) classification of category shifts. It adopted a qualitative approach in analyzing each instance of shifts that corresponds to a particular type of category shifts. The findings of the study revealed that four types of category shifts were used by Arab translators to translate the scientific texts from English into Arabic. It was also found that the use of these shifts was governed by the huge linguistic gap between the two languages. The results of this research should contribute to the growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of specialized translation. In fact, so far, very little attention has been paid to the utilization of shifts in Scientific texts. Therefore, this study makes a major contribution to research on shift in translation by unveiling the linguistic problem that arise during the translation of scientific texts and their impact on the translators' choices, especially in Arabic context.