Translating Routine Phrases from Arabic into English: Between Functional Translation and Cultural Specificity

Abstract

ABSTRACT Phraseological units are essential components of any language or culture. Recognizing and appropriately interpreting these units reveals that the entire expression or work of art has been translated correctly. The translation of phraseological units is a current topic in translatology. Several studies have been carried out to investigate the translation of phraseological units from Arabic into English. However, the study of routine phrases has received insufficient attention in the Arabic and English academic communities. Routine phrases are phraseological units that lack textual independence and integrate specific communicative contexts with vital psychological and social functions. Therefore, two key differences set the current study apart from the previous studies. First, it sheds light on the challenges that translators experience in rendering routine phrases. Second, it explores translators’ coping strategies in translating complex, local, and popular phrases from Arabic into English when adopting darija “vernacular” and fusha “standard” language simultaneously in the same literary work. Addressing these areas would shed light on the extent of challenges that translators experience in translating routine phrases, particularly within the context of the Arabic vernacular language. This knowledge would also be valuable in revising the typology of functional translation and cultural specificity strategies.