Arabic Translation Research Articles

Psychometric Properties of the Arabic Vanderbilt Children's ADHD Diagnostic Rating Scale (VADRS-A) in a Saudi Population Sample.

This study aimed to utilize Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to investigate the constructive validity of the Arabic translation of the Vanderbilt Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) Diagnostic Scale (VADRS-A) using its two versions, the Arabic Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Parent Rating Scale (VADPRS-A) and the Arabic Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Teacher Rating Scale (VADTRS-A). A descriptive research design was employed. Children were assessed by their parents and teachers, and a cluster sample of 1812 participants was chosen from many schools in Saudi Arabia, divided into two groups: parents (504) and teachers (1308) of children whose ages ranged between 5 to 12 years old. The VADPRS-A and VADTRS-A were administered to parents and teachers under the supervision of the Saudi ADHD Society. The results of the PCA of VADPRS-A found that the six factors saturate one general factor that explained (59%) of the total variance of the factor matrix with eigenvalues (3.540). Similarly, the PCA of VADTRS-A demonstrated that the five factors were saturated on a general factor that explained (69.20%) of the total variance of the factor matrix with eigenvalues (3.460). Also, the results indicate the high internal consistency of VADPRS-A and VADTRS-A, all factors correlated together and the total scores positively and significantly statistically (p>.001) correlation coefficients ranged between (0.296 to 0.843) for VADPRS-A, and ranges between (0.432 to 0.939) for VADTRS-A. Also, the Cronbach's α coefficient values for the six factors and total score of VADPRS-A were (.906, .925, .900, .896, .853, .872, .959) respectively, and these values are close to the values of the McDonald's ω for the factors and the total score were (.908, .923, .901, .871, .850, .877, .925) respectively. In the same way, Cronbach's α coefficients were (.967, .921, .914, .858, .948, .971) for all factors and the total score of VADTRS-A respectively, and these values are close to the values of the McDonald's ω (.968, .921, .919, .856, .943, .965) for all factors and the total score of VADTRS-A. In addition CFA for VADPRS-A and VADTRS-A models showed acceptable factor loading and good values of goodness-of-fit indices; CFI, TLI, RMSEA, IFI, and GFI (0.956, 0.942, 0.049, 0.956, 0.952) respectively for VADPRS-A model, and were (0.958, 0.932, 0.051, 0.963, 0.964) for VADTRS-A model, all of these were at an acceptable range. These results suggest a fit with the previous theoretical literature about VADPRS and VADTRS and DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria of ADHD. These findings highlighted the good psychometric properties of VADRS-A in both its versions VADPRS-A and VADTRS-A in the Saudi environment. Due to these findings, we suggest utilizing VADPRS-A and VADTRS-A during ADHD diagnosis in children 5-12 years old in Saudi Arabia, to facilitate early diagnosis and intervention, and to help mitigate the risks of ADHD during subsequent developmental phases in children's lives.

A Socio-Pragmatic Study of Satire in English Political Speeches with Reference to Its Arabic Translations

Satire is a typical mode of expression that is humorously utilized with the intent of attacking or criticizing a certain person, behavior, state, or the whole community. Satire, in political genres, is informatively manifested for materializing negative ends on the part of the satire entity. Satirical expressions are oppositely devised, critically held, and morally targeted; whereof a problematic area would arouse towards the perception of their incongruous targets, the extent of their critical dimensions about their aim of moral reform. Besides, translators would face the dilemma of satirical incongruity and their moral statues would inevitably differ. Thence, five satirical texts with their translations randomly opted from the political site www. The week.com show debates political satire in English with its four renditions in Arabic. Socio- Pragmatic means for unraveling satirical mysteries are objectively culled. It is hypothesized that satire in political language comes with the intent of criticizing and ridiculing the political situation with the aim of getting reform. Bringing forth translational mechanisms for the renditions of covert intents based on cultural and communal grounds are attempted. In conclusion, most of the political satires are hostilely put forward against rather than reforming the political figures and the political situation. Most of the satirical expressions found no accurate renditions in the other language due to their discrepancy and the absence of contextual condition, paralinguistic cues and intonational patterns.

The Potential Impact of Drama Text Translation on Audiovisual Translation

This article aims to demonstrate some potential similarities between the translation of drama texts and of audiovisual (AV) material, in particular subtitling. The study shows that major similar elements of playwriting and audiovisual scripts, such as the immediacy and direct contact with the audience/spectator and the use of dialogue, despite the difference in emphasis in a play on the dialogue of the characters and scenery and in a film on the dialogue and media. Situational, social and/or cultural contexts are important and existent in both the playtext and in the audiovisual text (particularly audiovisual descriptions, i.e. providing description of the image, sound and dialogue). The two genres of translation (drama and audiovisual texts) seem to share certain features which in turn help in the selection of potential subtitlers. The paper proposes that a successful translator of drama is more likely to succeed in audiovisual translation because of above similarities. Analysing excerpts from the Arabic translations of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar both as playtext and as subtitled film, this study attempts to prove this premise or hypothesis, and its outcome can help to set up a potentially successful procedure for institutions and companies to train potential audiovisual translators who have previous experience in translating drama texts.

How Do Translators Handle Literary Deviations in Poetry? A Case Study: Arabic Translation of The Waste Land

The present study sought to analyze linguistic deviations in poetry from a translational perspective, a case study: Arabic translation of The Waste Land by Nabil Ragheb, a popular Egyptian critic, writer and intellectual. The analysis of the translation of linguistic deviations reveals to what extent the translator tries to strike a balance between the aesthetic dimensions of language sought through deviations and the universal normalization process that translations go through. Gideon Toury (1995, 265) states that “normalization could be generalized based on inferences drawn from observations of large quantities of data”. The translator usually looks for alternative deviations in the target language (TL) in order to create a similar literary effect in the receiving audience, whereas, in others, they strive to replace them with the normal typical structures and meanings. The study is based on a mixed methodological approach to data analysis, i.e. quantitative and qualitative methods. The study concludes that T.S. Eliot makes use of seven out of eight linguistic deviations: lexical deviation, grammatical deviation, phonological deviation, graphological deviation, semantic deviation, deviation of register and deviation of historical period. As to the translation of such linguistic deviations, the translator opts most of the time for the normalization strategy to conform to the (TL) system and culture.

تطبيق وسائل الصور لتنمية قدرة الطلاب على ترجمة النصوص العربية لدى طلاب الصف الأول بالمدرسة المتوسطة الإسلامية الحكومية 3 فيدي

The purpose of this study is to determine the implementation of image media to improve students' ability to translate Arabic texts for first grade students at State Islamic Junior High School 3 VIDI. The research method used by the researcher is an experimental research method. The research tools used by the researcher in collecting data are observation, tests, and documents. The results of the study are that the implementation of image media to improve students' ability to translate Arabic texts for first grade students at State Islamic Junior High School 3 VIDI is that its application in teaching Arabic text translation in two rounds in terms of the acquisition of the average value of students' educational results in the first round means 62.82 and needs to be applied to the second round and obtains an average score of 90.21. The teaching and learning process was effective and the students were active and enthusiastic in learning.

The Relationship Between Mastery of Nahwu Sharf and The Ability to Translate Arabic Texts

In translation, one will face difficulties transferring Arabic texts into Indonesian. There are often many inconsistencies in language change when it has been translated. Nahwu and sharf are often linked to the problem. It is incomplete for someone to learn this nahwu sharf, which makes the Arabic translation imperfect. Likewise with the reality that happened to the 5th semester students Department of Arabic Teaching, University of Muhammadiyah Malang. This study aims to determine the relationship between mastery of nahwu sharf and the ability to translate Arabic texts into Indonesian. The results of the Pearson Correlations Bivariate test on this test with sig (2-tailed) by 5% and = 0.468, showing a result of 0.574 0.468, which means . This study shows a significant relationship between the two variables. Based on correlation results = 0.574, it is located at intervals 0.40 – 0.599, which means the relationship between the two variables lies at a medium-level correlation. This answer is that mastery of nahwu sharf is not the only aspect that influences translation skills; various other aspects influence the ability to translate Arabic texts.

Sejarah Transmisi Keilmuan ke dalam Bahasa Arab

Arabic translation in Islamic history played an important role in connecting the civilization of the Arab world with ancient knowledge and foreign cultures. From the time of the Prophet Muhammad to the time of the Ottoman Empire, the translation of science and philosophy was key in the development of science in the Islamic world. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the importance of mastering foreign languages and communication with non-Arab communities encouraged translation activities. The Prophet Muhammad himself sent letters to foreign kings and even translated the Koran. During the Umayyad era, the translation of Greek knowledge into Arabic began as a personal initiative of clerics. Furthermore, the Abbasid Daula, especially during the time of Caliph al-Ma'mun, witnessed a large-scale translation movement and the establishment of Bayt al-Hikmah as a translation center. During the Ottoman Empire, Islamic education initially experienced a setback, but Sultan Mahmud II reconstructed the education system, including the curriculum and teaching methods. This article emphasizes that individual hard work and political support in the scientific translation movement were important factors in the development of Islamic civilization. Further research can explore the role of translation in the context of Islamic education and the development of Islamic society today.

A Comparative Study of Different Dimensionality Reduction Techniques for Arabic Machine Translation

Word embeddings are widely deployed in a tremendous range of fundamental natural language processing applications and are also useful for generating representations of paragraphs, sentences, and documents. In some contexts involving constrained memory, it may be beneficial to reduce the size of word embeddings since they represent a core component of several natural language processing tasks. By reducing the dimensionality of word embeddings, their usefulness in memory-limited devices can be significantly improved, yielding gains in many real-world applications. This article aims to provide a comparative study of different dimensionality reduction techniques to generate efficient lower-dimensional word vectors. Based on empirical experiments carried out on the Arabic machine translation task, we found that the post-processing algorithm combined with independent component analysis provides optimal performance over the considered dimensionality reduction techniques. Therefore, we arrive at a new combination of the post-processing algorithm and dimensionality reduction (independent component analysis) techniques, which has not been investigated before. The latter was applied to both contextual and non-contextual word embeddings to reduce the size of the vectors while achieving a better translation quality than the original ones.

Psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the chronic pain acceptance questionnaire (CPAQ) in a sample of patients with chronic pain

Purpose Chronic pain (CP) acceptance is a major factor in determining the well-being of patients with chronic pain. The chronic pain acceptance questionnaire (CPAQ) was translated and validated into Arabic (CPAQ-Ar). Methods 244 patients with CP completed the CPAQ-Ar, the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), the short form health survey (SF-36), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21). 110 patients completed the CPAQ-Ar twice separated by two weeks to investigate test-retest reliability. Results Cronbach’s α was 0.902 while the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.917. The standard error measurement (SEM) was seven points while the minimal detectable change with 95% confidence interval (MDC95) was seventeen points. The CPAQ-Ar showed moderate to high correlations with the PCS, the BDI-II, the SF-36, the MFIS, the PSQI, and the DASS-21 indicating a good concurrent validity. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed that the CPAQ-Ar consists of two subscales. Better pain acceptance associated with male gender, older people, employed participants, low pain intensity, and single pain site. Conclusions The CPAQ-Ar is a valid and reliable tool for the measurement of pain acceptance in Arabic speaking patients with CP.

Intercultural Competence in Literary Translation: Ali Al-Kasimi’s Arabic Translation of Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast as a Case Study

This paper presents the results of a research study about the aspects of intercultural competence displayed in Ali Al-Kasimi’s Arabic translation of Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. The study attempts to determine how intercultural competence is manifested in the Arabic translation of Ali Al-Kasimi. It also seeks to identify the strategies that the translator resorted to in the translation of 50 culture specific elements in the source text. The aim is to develop an understanding of the ways in which intercultural competence can be displayed in the translation of literary texts. In addition, the main strategies that were used by the translator in translating cultural terms will be highlighted, analysed and discussed. By doing so, a comprehensive understanding of how to implement intercultural competence-based strategies in the translation of literary texts can be derived. The results of the study suggest that cultural adaptation and reframing are the two most used intercultural competence-based translation strategies by the translator.

Al Jazeera’s Para-Textual Reframing of The Atlantic and Foreign Affairs Coverage of The 2022 Russian-Ukrainian War

The Russian-Ukrainian War, which began in February 2022, has recently become a trend and attracted the attention of different news agencies. This paper examines the paratextual components of ten news articles on the Russian-Ukrainian War. The source articles are extracted from The Atlantic and Foreign Affairs, while the Arabic translation is retrieved from Al Jazeera website. In this paper, the narrative theory is adopted (Baker, 2018) since it is a dynamic and flexible approach that emphasizes the role of translators and interpreters as active participants in constructing reality. The English articles with their Arabic counterparts were compared, and the parts that were paratextually reframed in the translated versions were identified. Investigating how Al Jazeera reframed the Russian-Ukrainian War through translation, Al Jazeera appears to sometimes create different, diverse, and contradictory versions of the narrative. This may result in various and, sometimes, different views of the same story. The findings showed that the paratextual framing strategies utilized by Al Jazeera to reframe the Russian-Ukrainian War include titles, subheadings, introductions, and footnotes. The paper concludes that the war is framed in the source texts in line with the source media outlets‘ agenda and is then reframed in the target language through translation. The entire process might affect how the target audience views the event under study.

Psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Big Three Perfectionism Scale–Short Form (BTPS-SF) in a community sample of adults

BackgroundDespite the high clinical relevance of the perfectionism construct as a transdiagnostic contributor to different mental health symptoms, and the recent burgeoning of research in this area across cultures in the past two decades, the Arab region was one of the cultural settings experiencing the slowest progress in this line of research. This study aimed to make a meaningful contribution to the literature by validating an Arabic-language version of the 16-item Big Three Perfectionism Scale–Short Form (BTPS-SF). In particular, we sought to examine structure and concurrent validity, internal consistency, and measurement invariance across gender groups.MethodA web-based, convenience sampling method was adopted to collect a sample of Arabic-speaking adults from the general population of Lebanon (N = 515; aged 27.55 ± 10.92 years; 69.9% females). The forward-backward method was applied in translating the Arabic version of the BTPS-SF.ResultsThe examination of the internal structure, using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), demonstrated that the three-factor model (i.e., rigid, self-critical, and narcissistic perfectionism) fitted well to the data. All three factors of the Arabic 16-item BTPS-SF yielded excellent reliability estimates, with both Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega ranging from 0.83 to 0.86. Multi-group CFA revealed that fit indices showed no significant difference in model fit at the configural, metric, and scalar levels, thus suggesting that the factor loadings, pattern structure, and item intercepts are invariant across gender groups. Finally, BTPS-SF subscales scores correlated positively with psychological distress (i.e., depression, stress and anxiety), and inversely with subjective well-being, indicating an acceptable concurrent validity.ConclusionThe present findings allow us to conclude that the Arabic BTPS-SF permits to capture reliably and validly three main factors of perfectionism. We hope that providing this psychometrically sound scale will encourage its large use not only in empirical research, but also in clinical applications, including psychological screening and treatment monitoring.

The Significance of Arabic Translation in the Persian Empire during the Middle Ages

The Significance of Arabic Translation in the Persian Empire during the Middle Ages

Bridging Ideologies in Translation: An Ideological Critical Stylistic Analysis of Yemeni Conflict Discourse

This study investigates how reframing strategies and linguistic aspects are employed to legitimize and normalize ideologically loaded narratives introduced by the Yemeni internationally recognized government (YIRG), with a particular focus on the impact of dominant ideologies and the translator's political and social affiliations on the target texts. Combining frameworks from different fields, the study draws upon Baker's (2006) narrative theory and Jeffrie's (2010) model of critical stylistics to provide a comprehensive understanding of the translation process and its management during conflict. Analyzing English-language materials translated into Arabic, the study utilizes source English materials, including news, reports, and opinions, from Western media outlets. The corresponding Arabic translations are drawn from media belonging to the YIRG. The study concludes that the YIRG's dominant ideology significantly constrains the political translation process during the conflict. This ideology is reflected in the reframing of narratives to align with the adopted ideology, encompassing the repositioning and labeling of participants according to the prevailing ideology. Moreover, textual choices, grammatical and semantic, influence the translator's representation of events, word choice, and pragmatic references to the opposing party through deictic expressions.

Qur’ānic Intertextuality in Early Christian Arabic Bible Translations

This paper provides a number of cases where early Christian Arabic Bible translators resorted to qur’ānic-sounding language and (later) also a qur’ānic aesthetic in their production of biblical codices. The main purpose of the paper is to discuss various reasons as to why they went so far into the “realm of the other” when producing these translations. The answer to that question is most likely connected to the little-known function of these Bible translations, a topic also addressed in the paper. The adoption of qur’ānic language results in a comparatively high level of intertextuality and the use of codicological features associated with Mamluk Qur’āns also tend to blur religious borders. Thus, the paper also explores the possibility to view a portion of the Christian Arabic Bible endeavour as part of the broader process of “religious co-production.”

Saʿadia Gaon’s Tafsīr of the Hebrew Bible in an Arab-Muslim Context: A Paradigm Shift?

There is a widely held assumption that translating sacred texts in line with the sociocultural and linguistic contexts of specific audiences is a recent trend that came out of nowhere, one that is motivated by the eccentric interests of an isolated group of translators whose translation strategies and products are deemed non-conformist at best or heretical at worst. This article calls this assumption into question using a case study of the work of Saʿadia Gaon (882–942), one of the pioneer translators of the Hebrew Bible into Judaeo-Arabic. The key hypothesis on which this paper is premised is that Saʿadia’s tafsīr strategies effected a paradigmatic shift in the Arabic translation of the biblical text. Through studying specific examples from Saʿadia’s translation of the Torah and the book of Psalms, this article seeks to identify his translation strategies, locating them in the sociocultural context in which he produced the translations. Specific focus is laid on issues around anthropomorphism and the use of idiomatic Islamic expressions. The article also reflects on the reception of Saʿadia’s work and the impact it had on later generations of translators and readers.

Mao Zedong’s Works in the Arab World: Translation, Publication, and Influence

Abstract This article sorts out the translation, publication, and influence of Mao Zedong’s works in the Arab world. The translation and publication of the Arabic version of Mao Zedong’s works took about 30 years from the early 1950s to the late 1970s. Among them, the four-volume “Selected Works of Mao Zedong” published by Foreign Languages Press is a high-level translation completed by top Chinese Arabic translators represented by Mr. Liu Linrui after overcoming various difficulties and has had a wide impact in the Arab world. Arab left-wing friendly figures and the publishing organizations they sponsor also made important contributions to the translation and publication of Mao Zedong’s works. These works inspired many Arab countries in their struggle to gain independence and liberation. The dissemination of Mao Zedong’s works in Arab countries is of great significance in shaping the positive image of new China in the Arab world, spreading China’s revolution and modernization construction experience, promoting Sino-Arab friendship, helping cultivate Chinese media talents’ proficiency in Arabic and enhancing China’s soft power construction.

Cannibal Maria in the Siege of Jerusalem: New approaches

AbstractThis essay traces the far‐reaching legend of Maria/Miriam of Bethezuba, sometimes called Mary, Marie, or Marion, a starving Jewish woman who (according to Flavius Josephus's The Jewish War) ate her own baby during the 70 CE Roman Siege of Jerusalem. This episode of maternal infanticide and cannibalism under occupation is the culmination of Biblical curses and prophecies, a complicated reference to the Eucharist, and an emblem of Jewish (women's) suffering and culpability across time. It is also a key to Jewish‐Christian arguments about futurity and the writing of history. Scholarly developments in the past decade prompt a new look at this episode. These include research on Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic and other translations of Josephus that demonstrate complex relationships among Jewish, Christian, and Muslim readerships and modern English translations of key Hebrew, Arabic, Ge'ez (Ethiopic), and Middle English versions of the story. This essay provides a brief literary and theological history of Maria's story informed by the new scholarship, with particular attention to medieval Jewish‐Christian relations, and suggests additional directions for research.

A Cognitive Approach to Metaphor Translation in Children’s Literary Discourse: The Case of Romeo and Juliet

Metaphor as a concept has traditionally been viewed as a literary device through which writers can hold readers’ interest. However, recent evidence suggests that metaphors can go well beyond their rhetorical function and can be examined from a cognitive standpoint. This study uses a cognitive approach to metaphor translation in children’s literary discourse, with a reference to Romeo and Juliet, and its translations into Arabic. Specifically, the study attempts to explore the ways in which metaphors are presented to the Arabic reader, taking into consideration the way English and Arabic cultures and languages conceptualize experiences and notions. The paper argues that the use of metaphors presents a challenge for Arab translators because the transfer from one language and culture to another one is hampered by linguistic and cultural differences; the difficulty of translating metaphor is also due to the differences that exist between children’s and adults’ understanding of metaphors. In this article, I describe an exploratory study that investigates the ways in which Moroccan elementary school children perceive metaphors. The results indicate that Moroccan elementary school children tend to misinterpret metaphors because they use different cultural references when attempting to interpret them. The findings also reveal hat comprehension of metaphors involves the transfer of knowledge from one conceptual domain to another, which depends largely on the cognitive development of the child.

English to Arabic Machine Translation of Mathematical Documents

This paper is about the development of a machine translation system tailored specifically for LATEX mathematical documents. The system focuses on translating English LATEX mathematical documents into Arabic LATEX, catering to the growing demand for multilingual accessibility in scientific and mathematical literature. With the vast proliferation of LATEX mathematical documents the need for an efficient and accurate translation system has become increasingly essential. This paper addresses the necessity for a robust translation tool that enables seamless communication and comprehension of complex mathematical content across language barriers. The proposed system leverages a Transformer model as the core of the translation system, ensuring enhanced accuracy and fluency in the translated Arabic LATEX documents. Furthermore, the integration of RyDArab, an Arabic mathematical TEX extension, along with a rule-based translator for Arabic mathematical expressions, contributes to the precise rendering of complex mathematical symbols and equations in the translated output. The paper discusses the architecture, methodology, of the developed system, highlighting its efficacy in bridging the language gap in the domain of mathematical documentation.