Translation Quality Assessment of Proverbs from English into Arabic: The Case Study of One Thousand and One English Proverbs Translated into Arabic

Abstract

Proverbs are very important in every language and culture. However, translators sometimes mistranslate them. Thus, this study sheds light on the translation quality assessment of proverbs. These proverbs are collected from One thousand and one English proverbs translated into Arabic by Omar Jabak. This study aims at pointing out the most frequently used strategies for translating proverbs, and investigating how far Na Pham's error analysis model is appropriate for the description and assessment of the strategies used in translating these proverbs. Na Pham's error analysis model is used to identify comprehension, linguistic and translation errors. Moreover, this study aims at detecting the most common errors under each strategy used. The findings of this study show that Na Pham's error analysis model is appropriate for the assessment. It also reveals that there are certain types of errors which are committed more often than others. In addition, it uncovers that the types of errors detected when translating proverbs using partial equivalence and paraphrasing are very similar. Comprehension errors, giving an inaccurate meaning, and distorting the meaning are the most frequently detected errors when translating proverbs using partial equivalents and paraphrasing. On the other hand, wrong lexical choice and too-literal translation are the most frequently detected errors when using literal translation. Finally, this study suggests solutions for improving the quality of Arabic translations of proverbs. In addition, some recommendations for further studies are suggested.