PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA
MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
AbdElhafid Boussouf University Centre- Mila
Branch: English Language
Department of Foreign Languages
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment for the Requirement of the Master Degree in
Language sciences and Didactics of Language
Presented by Supervisor:
1) Ahlam SEDDIKI
2) Ahlam BOUCHEKNDA
Dr. Hicham BENCHERIFBoard of Examiners
Chairman: Mr. Salim BOUDAD
Examiner: Ms. Sabah BOUGERNE
The Academic Year 2018 – 2019
Proverbs Translation in Enhancing Cultural Competency in
EFL
A Case Study of 2
ndYear Students of English at Mila University
Center
Ahlam Seddiki’s Dedication
I want to thank God the Almighty for never failing my prayers, without
his blessings none of this was possible
I dedicate this humble work to my amazing parents Mohamed &
Souâd
My brothers Alaâ & Soheyb
My sister Boutaina
My aunt Siham
II
Ahlam Bouchkenda’s Dedication
First of all I want to thank Allah the almighty for all the
blessings and forgiveness
I dedicate this modest work to the wonderful, the patient and
the ones who are always by my side
My father, may Allah reward him well
My mother, the pulse of my heart
My Grandfather Säid, may he rest in peace
To my lovely sister Meriem and her children Sirine, Adem,
and Mohamed-Moncef
To my right arm, my brother Moussa
To my dearest, Yasser, Soheib, Nwari, Abd Rahman, Halima,
Ismäil, Yassine, Khalida, Hayat, Oussama, Yaâkoub, and
Aymen
To the light of my life, my fiancé Imad
To my best friends, Soulaf, Mounira, and Nadia
Finally a deep thanks to everyone who have been supporting
and encouraging me throughout this research, and the whole
Acknowledgments
The writing of this thesis has been one of the most important academic
challenges we have ever had to face, without the support, guidance and
heart-warming company of the following people, this thesis could not have been
achieved, we owe our deepest gratitude to all those who made it possible for us
to complete this work.
Firstly, we are deeply indebted to our supervisor Mr
Bencherif for his
guidance, support and patience throughout the completion of this work, we feel
really privileged and honored to have him as our supervisor, without his
guidance and valuable feedback, this study would have never been
accomplished, we can’t find the words that can thank him enough for providing
most generously his valuable time and professional guidance as an academic
supervisor for our dissertation study.
We would also like to give our deepest thanks to all the teachers who taught us
in the past five years in Mila University Center for sharing their knowledge and
trying to transmit their teaching experiences to us, to the administrative staff
and all of the workers in the university center in general. Also we would like to
give our thanks for Mr Boulbair and Mr Boudad for being of great assistance
and giving us some of their precious time and great experience and for
accepting to be interviewed by us in order to collect data for our research, of
course we owe deepest thanks for the board of examiners Ms Bougarne as an
examiner and Mr Boudad as a chairman for the effort they made when
examining this work and for their valuable feedback .
We are utterly grateful to all of those who have believed in us and supported us
throughout this journey, we are also grateful to our mates and friends who
encouraged us and helped us in more than a way.
Finally, we will not forget of course to express our gratitude to all the students
who filled in the questionnaire, no one deserves more thanks than the sixty
students participating in this study, without their cooperation and help this work
would not have been completed.
IV Abstract
Having a good cultural competency is a requirement for EFL learners, it is build up by serious work on the part of the students, and appropriate instruction on the part of the teachers and trainers. EFL teachers use different strategies to teach learners about culture, one is the exposure to cultural items like proverbs. In this research work we aim at investigating the effectiveness of translating proverbs on the enhancement of the students of second year LMD cultural competence, it is hypothesized that introducing proverbs to EFL learners in a proper way in translation module can improve their cultural competency. On the basis of a questionnaire that is administrated to second year students of English at Mila University Center, and an interview that is conducted with two teachers of translation module at Mila university. The questionnaire was followed by an interview which was conducted with teachers of translation, to strengthen the reliability of the results. The two research tools enabled the collection of the quantitative and qualitative data. The questionnaire aimed at knowing the impressions of the questioned students about their experiences in translation and learning about culture at the same time. The analysis of the data gathered and the interpretation of results enable to confirm the hypothesis that was laid at the very beginning, learners can improve their cultural competency, via translating proverbs, however, the results cannot be over generalized for the sample of the study was limited in number.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a Foreign Language
N: Number of students Q: Question SL: Source Language ST: Source text TL: Target language TT: Target Text P: Page
VI
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Students choose to study English ………32
Figure 1.2: Students who gave definition to proverbs ……….……….35
Figure 1.3: students’ familiarity with English proverbs………....36
Figure 1.4: Students’ need of using English proverbs……….37
Figure 1.5: The frequency of students’ exposure to proverbs………...39
Figure 1.6: The sources that students rely on when translating proverb.……….………40
Figure 1.7: Focusing on culture instead of the linguistic when translating proverbs...…41
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: Students choose to study English ……….32
Table 1.2: Students’ attitudes towards teaching English ………..33
Table 1.3: Students’ opinions about the importance of learning about culture………..33
Table 1.4: Students’ familiarity with the term “Proverb” ………..…….34
Table 1.5: Students’ familiarity with English proverbs ………..…..36
Table 1.6: Students’ need for using English proverbs...37
Table 1.7: Students exposure to proverbs ……….………..38
Table 1.8: The sources that students rely on when translating proverbs ………....38
Table 1.9: Focusing on culture instead of linguistics when translating proverb………..40
Table 1.10: Translation teachers give explanations about the proverbs …………....41
VIII
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ………I
Acknowledgments ……….…………..II
Abstract ……….………..III
List of abbreviations ………..…..VI
Lists of figures ………..……….V
List of tables ……….IV
GENERAL INTRODUCTION ……….1
1. Statement of the problem……….1
2. Aim of the research ………..1
3. Research questions………..….1
4. Research hypothesis……….2
5. Methodology………...…..2
6. Structure of the study ………..2
CHAPTER ONE: TRANSLATION AND CULTURE ………4
Introduction ………4
1.1. Definition of translation ………..4
1.2. Types of translation ……….…6
1.3. Procedures involved in the process of translation………7
1.3.1. Borrowing………..…...7
1.3.3. Literal translation ………...7 1.3.4. Transposition ………...………...7 1.3.5. Modulation………...……….…………..8 1.3.6. Equivalence ………8 1.3.7. Adaptation………..…….8 1.4. Translation theories………9
1.4.1. Translation theories before the twentieth century ……….9
1.4.2. Equivalence and equivalence effect ……….…..9
1.4.3. The translation shift approach ……….…...9
1.4.4. Functional theories of translation………..10
1.4.5. Varieties in translation studies………....10
1.4.6. Philosophical theories of translation……….11
1.5. Equivalence in translation and its types………..12
1.5.1. Equivalence according to Nida………..…....…….12
1.5.2. Equivalence according to Mona Baker ……….12
1.6. Definition of Culture ………...13 1.7. Categories of culture………...13 7.1. Ecology ……….13 7.2. Material culture……….…..….14 7.3. Social culture ………..…..…..14 7.4. Social organizations………..…...….14
7.5. Gestures and habits……….16
1.8. The relationship between culture and translation ………....16
1.9.Linguistics and translation ………..…….17
X
Conclusion……….19
CHAPTER TWO: PROVERBS………21
Introduction………. ……….………..21 2.1. Definition of proverbs……….…...21 2.2. Aspects of proverbs ………23 2.2.1. Formal aspects ………...…….23 2.2.2. Semantic aspects………..24 2.2.3. Literary aspects………24 2.2.4. Cultural aspects………....25 2.2.5. Pragmatic aspects……….…25
2.3. The relationship between proverbs and culture………25
2.4. Translating proverbs………..……...…26
2.5. Proverbs in EFL classes………...…26
2.6. Cultural difficulties in translation from English into Arabic ……….27
Conclusion……….……….…28
CHAPTER THREE: FIELD WORK……….…………..29
Introduction ………..………30
3.1. Administration of the questionnaire ……….30
3.2. Description of the results of the questionnaire ……….…31
3.4. Discussion of the results of the questionnaire ………43
3.5. Teachers’ interview analysis ………..….45
3.6. Discussion of the teachers’ interview………50
3.7. Pedagogical implications………..…….52
3.7.1. Implications for teachers………52
3.7.2. Implications for learners………..52
3.7.3. Implications for researchers……….……53
Conclusion ………..…..53
GENERAL CONCLUSION References
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1. Statement of the problem
Cultural understanding during the process of translation is extremely important, especially in the translation of proverbs which requires an effort on the part of the translator to retain the cultural information from the source language to the target language. Proverbs are crucial components in people’s speech because they are fixed expressions that have meanings which cover all aspects of life and they may carry themes related to society, religion, experiences, education…etc.
Proverbs are not like any simple sentence that everyone is familiar with. They have their own structure, pattern and style, for that reason, translating proverbs requires having a cultural background in both languages (target and source). Catford in his book “Linguistic Theory of Translation” discussed cultural translatability and its limitations which are related to the differences between cultures and societies.EFL classes often look at translation as an interesting and an enjoyable act, one that eventually learn new vocabulary from. Unfortunately, proverbs which are introduced to learners in translation module are dealt with and translated with paying great attention to linguistic aspects and with paying little attention to the culture which those proverbs belong to.
2. Aims of study
The main objective of this research is to investigate on the effectiveness of the introduction of proverbs to EFL learners in translation module, and on the ways it can enhance the learners’ cultural competency.
3. Research questions
Improving the cultural competency of students needs a lot of classroom practice and a correct exposure to language elements, and the appropriate cultural items. Thus, the main question this study attempts to answer is:
In addition to the main question, there are two sub-questions that this study intents to answer at the end, the questions are:
a- Do students give importance to cultural aspects when translating?
b- Do students translate proverbs from a linguistic perspective or from a cultural one?
4. Research Hypothesis
It is hypothesized that if EFL learners are introduced in an appropriate way to proverbs in translation module, that would give them the opportunity to enhance their cultural competency.
5. Methodology
For the sake of gathering information to test the hypothesis of the presented research, two research methods are adopted the first one is a questionnaire for students of second year LMD and the second one is an interview for teachers, the questionnaire is given to sixty (60) of second year students of English at Mila University Center, it contains the total of 14 questions divided into three section. The second research tool is the teachers interview, the interview is directed to teachers of translation in Mila University Center, it contains 13 questions, ones which are somehow similar and related to the students questions to compare and to test the results that are gathered.
6. Structure of the research
This dissertation is made up of three main chapters, two theoretical parts and a practical part which contained two sections one for the students’ questionnaire and the other for the teachers’ interview.
Chapter one reviewed translation and culture in general, the relationship between the two, also the use of translation in EFL classroom. Chapter two includs a review about proverbs and its aspects. In addition it reviews the relationship between culture and proverbs, translating proverbs, proverbs in EFL classes and the difficulties in translation from English into Arabic. Chapter three which is dedicated to practical part includs the analysis and discussion of the results of both the questionnaire and the interview and its interpretation to test the hypothesis laid in this study.
Chapter One:
CHAPTER ONE: TRANSLATION AND CULTURE
Introduction
The common definition of translation is the transfer of a text or a speech from one language into another, and because it deals with the written and the spoken form of language, the process of translation cannot take place without a good knowledge about the language and its components. Furthermore, in addition to being familiar with the language, one must be knowledgeable about the culture related to the target and the source languages, because culture is an inseparable part of language it should not go unnoticed .
1. 1. Definition of translation
The word translation comes from a Latin word “translatio” which means “to bring” or “to carry across”, another relevant term comes from the Greek word “metaphorasis” which means “to speak across” and from this point the term “metaphrase” was born, which means “word for word translation”, later these terms have been the heart of theories relating to translation throughout history. Translation was needed greatly for various reasons such as human interaction, trade, religion texts, and the transportation of cultural components, these reasons made translation develop from just being a need to a discipline studied and developed by many theorists. Each theorist defined an approached translation in his own way and in his own perspective the following definitions are a sample of a variety of definitions:
According to Albert Eugen Nida, translation is: « The closest natural equivalent of the source-language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style ».(Nida,1969, p.12). In Nida’s view a good translation is the one seen as the original not as translation, he was interested on the response of the reader rather than the form of translation itself, he neglected the old debate of literal translation and meaning translation and came up with new different concepts in translation
André Lefever states that: « Translation is of course,a rewriting of an original text» (Lefever, 1992,2004a,p.xii). He points out that translation is a process of rewriting the original text in a way that fits the ideology or poetics dominating in the society of the target text.
John Catford in his book,A Linguistic theory of translation, proposes that: « Translation is an operation performed on languages: a process of substituting a text in one language for a text in another. clearly then, any theory of translation must draw upon a theory of language … a general linguistic theory » ( Catford,1965,p.1)
From Catford’s point of view, translation is inseparable from linguistics, so during the process of translation, a great importance should be given to the linguistic aspects, because he believes that translating is concerned mainly with the relation between languages.
According to Peter Newmark, translation is: « Often, through not by any means always, it is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text » (Newmark,1988,2001,p.5).
He focuses on analyzing and understanding the source text (ST) before translating it. Also he states: « A craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and /or statement in one language by the same message and/or statement in another language » (Newmark, 1982,2001, p.7). That is to say, translation in his view, is an act of transmitting the meaning of a text from one language to another, emphasizing the related meaning.
Bussnett looks at translation from a cultural angle and not from a linguistic one. She believes that translation is an act of transforming not only the meaning of words but also the culture related to the text which is being translated .According to her there is no identical cultures for that there is no fully similar language equivalents for the translated subjects.
1.2. Types of translation
Different theorists have come up with various definitions of translation, and each one of them set his own types of translation.
Peter Newmark stats four types of translation which are: semantic translation, adaptation, communicative method, free translation, and idiomatic.
Semantic translation differs from ‘faithful translation’ only in as for as it must take more account of the aesthetic value (that is, the beautiful and natural sound) of the SL text, compromising on “meaning” where appropriate jars in the finished version. Further, it may translate less important control words by the culturally neutral word or functional terms but not by cultural equivalence.
Adaptation is the “Freest” form of translation it is used mainly for plays (comedies) and poetry, the themes, characters, plots, are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to the TL culture and the text rewritten.
Communicative method attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in a way that both context and language are readly acceptable and comprehensible to the readers.
Free translation, reproduces the matter without the manner, or the context without the form of the original.
Idiomatic translation reproduces the “message” of the original but tends to distort nuances of meaning, by preferring colloquialism and idiom when these do not exist in the original.
Eugen Nida stats that there are two types of translation, based on the quality of translation itself, the two types are dynamic equivalence and formal correspondence:
Formal correspondence that is a translation in which the features of the form of the source language text have been mechanically reproduced in the TL.
Dynamic correspondence is a kind of translation, in which the message of the original text has been transported into the target language , in a way that the response of the receptors is essentially like that of the original receptors.
1.3. Procedures involved in the process of translation
There are seven procedures that translators follow while translating which are: borrowing, calque, literal translation, transposition, modulation, equivalence, adaptation.
1.3.1. Borrowing
Borrowing is a translation technique that involves using the same word or expression in original texts in the target text, the word or expression borrowed is usually written in Italics, this is
about reproducing an expression in the original text as it is, this technique actually does not translate. A simple example for this technique is stated in Peter Fawcets’ Translation and Language p34 “When the Russians launched the first space satellite, the western press borrowed the term
sputnik until we learned to call them Satellites”.
1.3.2. Calque
Calque is a literal translation at the level of the phrase, that is to say, ‘word for word’ translation. Using a calque means coming up and introducing a new term to the target language by adopting the structure of the source language. The most frequently cited examples are the various translations of sky scraper, in French is: gratte-ciel or in Spanish rascacielos.
1.3.3. Literal translation
Literal translation is often known as word for word translation, it is based on the transformation of a text from one language of a text from one language to another with no changes except for those required by the target-language grammar. According to Vinay and Darbelnet, a literal translation can only be with languages which are extremely close in cultural terms and it is acceptable if it contains the same syntax meaning and style of the TT as ST. For example, in French: Quelle heure est-il? ⇒What time is it?
1.3.4. Transposition
This translation procedure is about keeping the meaning of the source text intact while translating it. In what comes to grammar the translator is not bound respect the grammatical structures, but he has to keep the same meaning or concept of the TT.
This technique was criticized mainly for giving wrong impressions. For example: translating the French expression “l’économie n’acessé de croitre” by the very clumsy “the economy did not stop growing” when, in fact, it needs a verb/adverb transposition (the economy grew steadily) or a point of view reversal (the economy continued to grow).
1.3.5. Modulation
Defined by Vinay and Darbelnet as “a variation in the message obtained by changing the point of view, lighting” (1958:51) it means that is re-forming the text, where the meaning is kept the same and expressed in various forms of metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche and antonymy. In his book Fawcet gave examples of this translation procedure “Vinay and Darbelnet (1958:236-8) quote such examples as: give a pint of blood, donnez un peu de votre sang (concret-to-abstract), you are quite a stranger/on ne se voit plus (effect-to-cause) you can have it: je vous laisse. (reversal of terms).
This procedure of translation cannot be achieved unless the translator has a great knowledge of the target language to avoid any kind of confusion.
1.3.6. Equivalence
Vinay and Darbelnet define equivalence as the replication of the same situation using different wording, especially in what comes to translating idioms, it does not give a consideration to the presentation of language but rather to the language knowledge.
For example, in French chat échaudé craint l’eau froide⇒ once burned twice shy.
1.3.7. Adaptation:
It is the most complex of Vinay and Darbelnet’s translation procedures, adaptation is similar to equivalence in the way that the translator seeks to render the SL into the TL whilst insuring it is just as relevant and meaningful as the original was.
Adaptation is also called cultural equivalence, which replaces the source text withone that is better suited to the target language culture.
1.4. Theories of translation
Throughout history, translation has been looked at from different angles, by different linguists and theorists. Tthe following theories are some of the theories related to translation:
1.4.1. Translation theories before the twentieth century
The theory of translation dates back from Cicero up to the twentieth century is caught up in a sterile debate over if translation should be “word-for-word” or “sense-for-sense”.
St. Jerome discussed these two concepts in his translation of Bible into Latin. And the debate was over the translation of bible and other religious books relying on the translation theory which dates back to over thousand years ago.
In addition the Triad model of Dryden: metaphrase, paraphrase and imitation contributed on later writings on translation as it was an introduction for translation studies.
1.4.2. Equivalence and equivalence effect
In the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century, important issues have emerged in translation studies. The Russian-born American structuralist Roman Jackpson, at that time focuses on two main concepts which are: meaning and equivalence, moreover, Nida later on work on these concepts he further explained that translation has “Equivalent effect”. Other than this aim Nida worked on changing the focus in the theory of translation from word for word and sense for sense translation and direct it on formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence as the main elements of the translation equation.
1.4.3. The translation shift approach
In the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century, there were small linguistic changes occurring in the translation of source language to the target language. Venay and Darbelnet’s “Comparative stylistic analysis of French and English”(1958) which is the classical model and one
which has had a very wide impact on the different translation types or techniques, Venay and Darbelnet come up with two translation strategies: Oblique translation and Direct translation ;direct translation covers three procedures which are: borrowing, calque and literal translation, while oblique translation includes four more procedures : transposition, modulation, equivalence and adaptation.
In what comes to Catford, he follows a linguistic approach in translation, which includs the introduction of the term “shift” oftranslation, in which he considers the purpose of the language, and according to him there are two kinds of shifts: a level shift and a shift of category. But, although he introduces translation in a systematic way, his model is still viewed and considered linguistically inflexible.
1.4.4. Functional theories of translation
Functional theories of translation that has been developed in the seventies and eighties of the past century, has been moving from being a static linguistic phenomena towards a consideration of the communicative purpose of translation Reiss’s basic work links language function, text type and gender to translation strategies. Riess’s approach is combined with the very effective theory of “Vermeer” which is called “Skopos theory” that is introduced in 1970. Skopos theory focuses above all on the purpose of translation,(which determines the translation methods and strategies that are to be employed in order to produce a functionally adequate result).i.e, translation strategies are determined by the function of the target text in the target culture.
The Skopos theory is a part of translational action model which is proposed by Holz-Mänttäri which puts a real-world commercial translation in socio-cultural context. Translation is seen as communicative process involving: the initiator, the commissioner, the ST producer, the TT producer, the TT user and the TT receiver.
1.4.5. Varieties of cultural studies
Linguistic theories are put aside and the focus is on translation describing it as a cultural turn (the term used in translation studies angle) and integrating translation with other growing
approaches in cultural studies. The main focus in this field was on translation as rewriting, translation and gender and post colonial translation theory.
To start with, translation as rewriting: it is a direction which was developed from system theories of translation, its pioneer was André Lefever, where he points out that rewriting is basically determined by two factors: ideology and poetics.
The second point is post colonial translation theory which is a movement created by “Spivak” and Niranjana where the main concept is that the way translating text was totally imposed by the dominating western colonizers with the elimination of the identity and cultures of politically less powerful individuals and cultures, especially those of the third world.
Niranjana stats that translation is questioned because it is taking sides with western ideology and philosophy, and emphasizes the effect of power and dominance over translation.
1.4.6. Philosophical theories of translation
The hermeneutic movement or the theory of interpretation of meaning is linked to German Romantics. This movement is discussed by George Steiner in his book “After Babel” (1975) which was a description of literary translation , putting translation in the spotlight and as a center of interest of non-specialized in the field of translation.
Where Ezra Pound is looking at the expressive qualities of language and the way it can energize a specific text through translation. Walter Benjamin’s study discusses the task of the translator which is around producing a pure language through literal translation.
Derrida undermines some translation techniques including the contradiction between source language and target language. This emphasis on the principles of linguistic theory of translation arises new issues concerning a new system of translation studies.
1.5. Equivalence in translation and its types
Equivalence is a term which appears contently in translation studies and related theories, it has different types according different theorists, the following are some types of equivalence:
1.5.1. Equivalence according to Eugen Nida
In Nida’s view there are two types of equivalence which are dynamic and formal.
Formal equivalence: here the main emphasis is on the message itself where the translator attempts to give a corresponding structure to the source text. For example:sentence to sentence, poetry to poetry, concept to concept.
As stated by Nida in his book Towards A Science of Translation “Formal equivalence focuses attention on the message itself , in both form and content… one is concerned that the message in the receptor languageshould match as closely as possible the different elements in the source language”.(Nida, 1964, p.159).
Dynamic equivalence:
Is mainly based on the maintenance of the message or the concept with insuring that the target receptors will have the same reaction or understanding of the translated text as the original receptors did, linguistic needs and cultural aspects should be taken into account in order to achieve a successful transmission of the message.
Nida defines the goal of dynamic equivalence as seeking “the closest natural equivalent to the source-language message” (Nida, 1969:12) in Nida’s opinion a translation should make sense and transmit the spirit and the manner of the original, it should take an easy form of expression and produce a similar response to achieve the intended meaning of the original text
1.5.2. Equivalence according to Mona Baker:
meaning of single words and expressions. Equivalence above word level deals with figuring out combinations of words and phrases (stretches of language). Grammatical equivalence deals with grammatical categories and rules. Textual equivalence is about equivalence at the text level which includes word order, coherence and cohesion …etc. Pragmatic equivalence is about how texts are used in communicative situations that involves elements such as writers, readers and cultural context.
1.6. Definition of culture
Tyler (1871) states that “culture or civilization is that complex whole which includes knowledge , beliefs, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by men as a member of society” That is to say, culture is an umbrella that covers all aspects of life.
For Newmark(1988:94), culture is “The way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression”.
According to Brown (1994,p.170): “Culture is a deeply ingrained part of the very fiber of own being, but language the means for communication among members of a culture is the most visible and available expression of that culture” in other words, culture is the way people view the world, the identity and the system of communication, thinking…etc.
1.7. Categories of culture:
Newmark (1988) discusses foreign culture words into five different categories which are: ecology, material culture, social culture, social organizations, gestures and habits.
1.7.1. Ecology
Ecology is the category that contains geographical features like: winds, plains, hills…etc, which refer or resemble a particular culture of a certain country , as well as it has no relation with political or commercial embodiment, their diffusion also depends on the importance of their culture of origin and their specificity.
1.7.2. Material culture
Material culture generally includes terms which are related to every day tools and means of life that every individual uses, it contains food, houses and towns, and transport
Food and its related terms terms recognized the widest variety of translational strategies because of its important role to recognize the national culture. In what comes to clothes generally translators change just common words for clothes if the receptor does not need further explanation or more details. However there are some specific terms that does not only describe the type of clothes but the material used and the type of climate for which it is suited.
Culture may have different words for houses and towns that are difficult to translate these words should be translated generically if they are commonly used for example: palazzo means a large house. The main means of transportation is “The car” that has several names in every culture; as it symbolizes human private ownership (Newmark,1988:97-98).
1.7.3. Social culture
Social culture includes various terms, these terms refer to work and leisure, they are considered difficult to convey because of the problem connotation, and translating them without their connotations, they may lose their meaning (Newmark,1988:97-98).
1.7.4. Social organizations
Social organizations is a category of translation which includes the different institutions, organizations and authorities, that people turn to when they have a specific requirement
Political and administrative
Peter Newmark (1988) states that: “The political and social life of a country is reflected in its institutional terms. Where the title of a head of state (president, prime minister…) or the name of a parliament ( assembler, national, senate) are “transparent”, that is, made up of
“international” or easily translated morphemes , they are through translated ( National Assembly , chamber of deputies )” (Newmark,1988, p.99)i.e, such terms are referring to social life of a country, and if they could not be translated accurately, they must be placed between brackets after their equivalents because they are difficult to be translated.
Historical terms
According to Newmark (1988) historical terms such as “le grand siecle”, “l’ancien
régime” and “siecle des lumieres” such words can’t transfer the meaning accurately,
unless they have appropriate equivalents. International terms
These terms are already recognized through translations, and they are usually known by their acronyms for example: OMS (OrganisationMondiale de la santé) or in English (World Health Organization).usually the French acronyms are changed into English , because English acronyms become a “quasi-internationalism”.
Religious terms
The proselytising activities of christianity especially the Catholic church and the Baptists are reflected in many translations. Whereas, these religious terms are usually translated into the interests and common words are naturalized.
Artistic terms
According to Newmark (1988) the translation of artistic terms referring to movements, processes and organizations generally depend on the putative knowledge of the readership. This kind of terms include names of buildings, museums, theatres…etc these appellations are transferred and translated since they are considered a part of street, plans, and addresses.
1.7.5. Gestures and habits
In this category Newmark “made a distinction between description and function which can be made where necessary inn ambiguous cases”(Newmark,1988,p102). that is to say there are specific behaviors/gestures that are interpreted differently in particular situations.
1.8. The relationship between culture and translation
To communicate successfully, translators should simultaneously be aware of culture factors, historical and religious background of the source text in order to avoid cultural gaps and interference when the process of translation is undertaken.
Language is a part of culture and it is an important social factor in the human society, and it is a way of expressing feeling and thoughts that people try to convey.
The connection between language and culture is profoundly rooted , the total intertwining of the maintained interconnection has already stated by Brown “a language is a part of culture, and a culture is a part of language, the two are entirely interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture”(Brown ,2000,p.177). Professional translators need to know more than the language, they should know the culture and its relationship with it. It is capable to say that the process of translating from one language to another it is a hard task, since it demands adequate knowledge in both the source and the target culture, it means in order for you to translate a text you need to be familiar with both cultures, because translation is not only a linguistic act; it is also a cultural one, an act of communication across cultures.
Translation always involves both language and culture simply because the two cannot really be separated. Language is culturally embedded: it both expresses and shapes cultural reality, and the meaning of linguistic items by words or larger segments of tasks, can only be understood when considered together with the cultural context in which these linguistic items are used.
Therefore, in the process of translation translators may face some difficulties because they need to master the SL and the TL as well as its cultures, in order to find the accurate equivalences
without any confusion or misunderstanding. Thus cultural transfer is one of the most important parts of translation , since people are from different cultural backgrounds they have different views, thinking, ideologies about the world which affect their language , shaping different linguistic cultures which affect the translation act because what is accurate for one language it might be inappropriate for other cultures. Nida and Taber (1969) points out that cultural translation is: “a translation in which the content of the message is changed to conform to the receptor culture in some ways, and/or in which information is introduced which is not linguistically implicit in the original”.
To sum up with, the aim of translation is to unite the nations across the world and omit cultural gaps between languages and people, stated by Nida “ the closest natural equivalent of the source language , first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style”(Nida,1969,p.12). That is to say, in which the receptor can understand the origins of the source language people. So translation is highly influenced by cultural differences, therefore, the highly important things that the translator should keep in mind is to have a good knowledge of the TL and the SL cultural background to achieve the most accurate and appropriate equivalence.
1.9. Linguistics and translation
The relationship between translation and linguistics is obvious and a very close one, since translation had originated from linguistics in the first place, to become as a science nowadays, a science taught in multiple institutions, an occupation for numbers of translators and as a field of science that theorists and researchers work on.
It is known that translation is a process of transferring a message from one language to another. To be a translator, the most important thing that should be taken in consideration is to be aware about how languages work, this can show that translation is really inseparable from language. Linguistics is the scientific study of language, and language is in the center of all disciplines, in other words language is related to all disciplines. Fawcett states that “since linguistics is the study of language and has produced such powerful and productive theories about how language works, and since translation is a language activity, it would seem only common sense to think that the first had
something to say about the second”. It is well known that without language translation cannot exist and the translator must have a good knowledge of both the SL and the TL, linguistics on the other hand provides great help to the translators since it enables them to understand how languages work, like what Catford (1965:1) stated translation is “an operation performed on languages.
Generally linguistics is concerned with the description of any language Chapmen(1984) stated that: “the study of linguistics is concerned with language as an observable phenomenon of human activity, both in general principles and in the particular realization which we call language, e.g French, English,Arabic languages”.
Every language has its own structure, and if the translator does not know the structures of both languages (SL,TL), it becomes impossible to transfer the meaning from one language to another.
1.10. The use of Translation in EFL classes
The use of translation in foreign language teaching made many linguists and language teachers split into two groups, a group of supporters and a group of opponents, the supporters claim that translation can be helpful for students in clarifying linguistic units, learning new vocabulary and facilitating the learning process in general, “Translation has pedagogic advantages both for teachers and learners, […]. It is both a stimulus and aid in the cognitively demanding task of acquiring a new language, and […] for many language users it is a very practical and much needed skill” (Cook, 2010, p. xvi). The opponents of the use of translation, assume that translation does not belong in the classroom because it doesn’t embody making full use of the target language and they assume that it may cause L1 interference with L2 acquisition, as Shiyab(2006, pp. 115-116) stated “Translation should not be used in foreign language teaching because it causes language interference. Translation can inhibit thinking in the foreign language and can produce compound bilingualism rather than coordinate bilingualism. Besides, using translation in foreign language teaching can interfere in attaining automatic habits”.
CONCLUSION
This chapter is dedicated to introduce a variety of definitions of the term translation, its types,
procedures involved in the translation process, theories related to it, that was followed by defining what culture is along with its aspects moving on to the relationship between translation and culture and the relationship between translation and linguistics, and concluded with the use of translation in EFL classes.
CHAPTER TWO: PROVERBS
Introduction
A proverb is a saying that expresses a common truth. It is generally intended to teach the receptor a lesson or point out a moral value. Proverbs can help greatly in understanding a given culture that is for it is considered a part of it.
We find proverbs in all cultures around the world they are expressed in an embellished language, one that differs from the simple, communicated language. Proverbs usually give a set of instructions and guidance directed for individuals so they can follow, and they promotes good values that would be kept as words of wisdom for all generations in each culture
Proverbs are one of the language parts that are difficult to translate, because for transmitting the same message that is intended for the receptor to be understood can be challenging for translators to achieve. For that reason the translator need to be knowledgeable in the SL and the TL and to find the convenient way to transfer the meaning without effecting it.
2.1. Definition of proverbs
The word “proverb” comes from the Latin word “proverbium” that is the combination of the prefix “pro” which means forth and the root “verbium” which means “word”. So, the literal meaning of the word proverb is “a set of words put forth” (D‘Angelo, 1977:365).
The different features present in different proverbs make them various, which have resulted in the formation of many definitions. So, the variety in proverbs makes it difficult to come up with a definition that includes all the features of proverbs and that enables one to identify them easily. Below are some dictionary definitions of the word “proverb” but since they present the broadest definitions, they do not include all the features that exist in proverbs and for that, do not enable us to identify them with any certainty especially when examined independent of each other (Nuessel, 2003; Ridout& Witting, 1969).
A proverb is “a brief familiar maxim of folk wisdom, usually compressed in form, involving a bold image and frequently a jingle that catches the memory” (Cayne, 1988 as cited in Harnish, 1993)
A proverb is also considered as “a short, pithy saying in frequent and widespread use expressing a well-known truth or fact” (Morris 1979:1053 as cited in Nuessel, 2003).
It is also “a well-known phrase or sentence that gives advice or says something that is generally true” (Hornby, 2000:939).
Considering the insufficiency of the dictionary definitions, many attempts have been made to define proverbs and inspite of the efforts, there is no exact and inclusive definition to allow researchers to decide what exactly makes a proverb. Regarding these attempts, Taylor (1931:3) asserts that “the definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking”. Nevertheless, it would be impossible to expect each definition to offer everything about proverbs but it is possible to learn about the nature of proverbs from the existing definitions. Each and every definition has led scholars to discuss the features of proverbs and what is prototypical of them. The features or sometimes called proverbial markers discussed are not necessarily found in every proverb but they increase the proverbiality of an expression (Mieder& Holmes, 2000). In an effort to define proverbs, scholars have studied them from multiple perspectives.
Although proverb definitions often include the term “traditional”, it is not easy to prove whether a text has gained traditionality and hence, a proverbial status. The age and currency of a proverb among the population cannot be determined as easily as its structure, style and form are described (Mieder& Holmes, 2000). This problem is more obvious when we are dealing with proverbs of a foreign culture. For instance, English language learners might encounter a statement with many features common to proverbs but they might not be able to know whether it is a proverb since there is nothing to help them determine the age and currency in that foreign language. Only after some research, they can get to know whether it is a proverb. Another problem is the complexity of determining how old a statement must be to be considered as a proverb and how many people should recognize them and for how long (Mieder& Holmes,
2000). However, Mieder (2004) argues that through modern mass media, any text can easily be known and accepted by the majority of the population. What is important is that a text must maintain currency for an extended period of time and it must be repeated by members of a society to keep its currency or popularity.
2.2. Aspects of proverbs
The aspects of proverbs are categorized into five aspects which are: formal, semantic, cultural, literary and pragmatic.
2.2.1. Formal aspects
Proverbs are already known by its concise forms. A proverb is said to consist of seven words (Mieder, 2004). There are many longer proverbs, however, the shorter proverbs are, the more popular they are likely to be, since their short forms makes them more memorable and easy to use. In addition, proverbs have particular structures and it is these particular structures that allow proverbs to express totally different meanings in few words (Mieder, 2004). These are some of the common patterns in English language of the models proverbs structures can follow:
“When there’s x, there is y” for example: Where there is smoke there is fire.
“No x without y” for example: No gain without pain.
“Like x, like y” for example: Like father, like son.
“Better x, than y” for example: Better late than never.
“If x, then y” for example: If at first you don’t succeed, then try, try again”. (Mieder, 2004) ;(Mieder& Holmes, 2000) ; (Gibbs, 2001). For the structural property of proverbs, as cited in (Mieder, 2004) Gram (1983) discuss that the proverb should be considered “a lexical element quotational status”. It is considered as a lexical element since it is used as a single unit and it has a quotational status, because
proverbs are usually cited through such introductory expressions as “my grandfather used to say”, “it is time that”, “everybody knows that”, and “the proverb says”.
2.2.2. Semantic aspects
To create a proverb, proverbial markers that belong to formal aspects are not enough, since the most important thing/or issue in proverbs is its message which must be adopted (Meider& Holmes, 2000).
For the semantic properties of proverbs, antonymy and synonymy are the semantic relations that can be seen in proverbs. Proverbs are antonymous when they express contradictory ideas through related images as in “A big fish in a small pond”, “A small fish in a big pond”, and through different images as in “he who hesitates is lost”, “fools rush in”, or when a figurative and a literal proverbs express opposite ideas as “out of sight, out of mind”, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”.(Norrick,2007). Antonymous proverbs show that proverbs are not really true and their wisdom is valid only in the contexts they are used in, in fact; it is their dependence on the context that allows them “disambiguate complex situations and events” (Mieder, 2004)
2.2.3. Literary aspects
It is characterized by two features which are external and internal features. To start with external features of proverbs which are called by some scholars as poetic features, stylistic features, poetic devices and rhetorical techniques (D’Angelo,1977; Hernadi& Steen, 1999; Mieder& Holmes, 2000). These features give proverbs a literary value, make them easy to remember and to memorize, and help them earn proverbial status (Mieder, 2004)
Secondly, internal features consist of metaphors and types of imaginary or figures of speech that can be identified in proverbs. Curco (2005: 288), argues that many proverbs make use of metaphors to a great extent “proverbs encode concrete manifestations of more abstract themes to
2.2.4. Cultural aspects
Since the metaphorical nature of proverbs is culturally loaded, metaphors are structures which “culturally specific mental representations of aspects of the world” (Kovecses, 2006: 126) and “… metaphor is not merely a part of language, but reflects a fundamental part of the way people think, reason and imagine” (Gibbs, 2006:1).
2.2.5. Pragmatic aspects
Krikman (2009: 51) states that “proverbs do not function as mere poetic adornment of speech: neither are they used, normally, to meet man’s needs for philosophical phrase mongering. As a rule, they are used for some practical, pragmatical purposes in various circumstances of everyday communication”. The indirect nature of proverbs is one of the factors that make them useful and practical expressions in everyday communication.
The relationship between proverbs and culture
Proverbs are important elements in the culture of any given community, because it reflects its philosophy and common wisdom also it is considered as a clear mirror reflecting a community’s believes, traditions and experiences. Proverbs have a deeper relationship with a particular culture since proverbs describe socially important aspects or thoughts within a specific community. Moreover, cultural pictures of a certain community that are mostly expressed in metaphors are more vividly expressed in some proverbs of the community than in another. The term culture, as defined in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2000), represents the “customs and beliefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country and/or its people”. Moreover, as indicated, this term generally refers to the beliefs and attitudes about something that people in a particular group of people, a community or an
organization share. Concerning this definition, it can be said that both, proverbs and culture illustrate the way a certain community thinks, behaves and acts. Throughout studying proverbs one can go deeper in understanding any nations’ culture and to know better about its way of thinking, expressing its different experiences and its knowledge about life.
2.3. Translating proverbs
It is not logical to translate proverbs while just looking at the first meaning of its combined words either in your comprehension or in a dictionary. In translating proverbs, the translator should be aware of linguistic and new linguistic characteristics of both languages. We mean by linguistic features those elements that are not only conveyed through words, but through the most important feature which is culture. Each proverb conveys specific meaning in a specific context of situation, therefore proverbs should have the same cultural conventions in the original proverb, Baker (1992:68) has suggested few strategies for the translation of fixed expressions including proverbs which are: translation by paraphrasing, translation by omission using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form of SL idiom, using an idiom of similar meaning and form of SL.
2.4. Proverbs in EFL classes
EFL students may face various language problems, ones that can prevent them from being skillful and knowledgeable about the English language, to help the students overcome those problems teachers introduce them to figurative expressions like idioms, proverbs,metaphors…, because they are important elements in producing natural language. Proverbs are fixed expressions that can make their speech fluent, natural, and colorful, they can allow students to perform certain communicative functions and increase their understanding and awareness about English language and its culture. EFL students usually lake a good understanding of the idiomatic expressions in the English language, for that reason they may face difficulties in finding the exact meaning of the proverb when translating or interpreting it,
the role of the teacher here is to provide his students with more information about the figurative expressions, its cultural background, and the contexts where they can use it, to facilitate its understanding.
Inspite of the necessity of explicit instruction on proverbs in EFL classrooms, proverbs are clearly given a little consideration in what comes to the input provided for learners in language classrooms, most of the time proverbs are used as “time-fillers” when the students have free time and proverbs are not studied in context. “Many materials used in the language classroom either ignore idioms entirely or relegate them to the “other expressions” section of vocabulary lists, without providing exercises for learning them” (Irujo, 1984: 122).
2.5. Cultural difficulties in translation from English into Arabic
Communication between cultures can be achieved through translation. Through translation, people are introduced to different languages and ways of thinking, it is crucial to understand the relation between language and culture in order to achieve correct translations. “What truly distinguishes translation is that it takes place in the context of the relations between two cultures, two worlds of thought and perception” (Delisle 1988,74)
Newmark (1981,183-185) argues that there is a cultural value in translation. Language is partly the reflection of a culture.
Knowledge of the target culture is of high importance for successful English-Arabic translation, because there is a mismatch between cultural norms and beliefs between the Arab and Western cultures. Differences between languages are not only related to the linguistic system; but involve differences in the speakers’ interpretation and understanding for the world they live in, in other words it is related to the culture.
It is useful for English-Arabic translators to be aware that like differences between the two linguistic systems may cause problems, cultural differences can risk of falling in translation errors.
CONCLUSION
In the end of this chapter proverbs are said to be important elements in any culture, for that reason they are taught to EFL learners as a way to improve their linguistic and cultural competence and improve their level of English in general, also it makes students learn to pay attention to cultural differences before translation. In the broader level introducing proverbs for students to translate, invite students to use them and benefit from in their daily life.
Chapter Three:
CHAPTER THREE:FIELD WORK
Introduction
This chapter presents the analysis of the chosen instruments of this research which are a students’ questionnaire and a teachers’ interview. All the data obtained from learners’ answers of the questionnaire and teachers’ answers will be analyzed, discussed and interpreted to find adequate explanation about the use of proverbs in translation sessions and its effects on the students’ cultural competency.
The cooperation of the students is very important in this case, since they are aware of their deficiencies in translating proverbs, to some extent far from their teachers’ instructions. In addition, it seems appropriate to give students the opportunity to express their ideas to gain better understanding of translating proverbs.
Concerning the teachers’ interview, the teachers’ cooperation is also very important, since the teacher plays the role of an instructor and an observer of the students’ level, he can see the difficulties that students may face and can notice the improvement in their competencies. So, this chapter we will see the results of the students’ questionnaire and the teacher’ interview, to check whether the research hypothesis is confirmed. In addition to the previous, pedagogical implications for the learners, teachers, and researchers are also included.
3.1. Administration of the questionnaire
The questionnaire is distributed to sixty (60) second year students of English in the Department of Foreign Languages at Mila University Center. This number of students constitutes the sample of this research which has been chosen randomly. The students answered the questionnaire in the classroom after we gave them a brief explanation about the theme of this research.
introduction to the different parts of speech which contains figurative and idiomatic speech, in contrast to third year students who are mostly concerned with dealing with translating texts and such. The students were very cooperative in that they answered the questionnaire copies.
3.2. Description of the questionnaire
The students’ questionnaire consists of fourteen (14) multiple questions divided into three (3) sections as follows:
Section One: General information (Q1, Q5): it includes general questions to get an idea about
the students’ age and gender, preferences, and attitudes about the English language.
Section Two: Proverbs (Q6, Q9): it includes questions about the students’ knowledge about
proverbs, and to check their familiarity with this term.
Section Three: Proverbs and Translation (Q10, Q14): it includes questions about the
integration of proverbs in translation sessions, and the ways that students use to translate them.
3.3. Analysis of the questionnaire Section one: General Information
After asking the students about their age and gender to gather general information about them, we introduced to them a set of questions as follows:
Question one: Why have you choose to study English?
For occupational purposes To pursue higher studies
To know better about English language Other purposes
Students’ choices N % Occupational purposes 6 10% Pursue higher studies 20 33,3% Know better about English
language
15 25%
Other purposes 19 31,7% Table 1.1: why Students choose to study English
Figure 1.1: Why students choose to study English
Table 3.1 shows that 33,3% of the students chose to study English to pursue higher studies, 31,7% of them chose to study English for reasons they didn’t reveal, 25% of them chose to study it to know better about the language, whereas, just 10% of them chose it for the sake of getting a job.
Question two: Are you planning to work as an English teacher when you graduate? Yes No Maybe 10% 33% 25% 32% occupational purposes pursue higher studies
know more about the language other purposes
Options N %
Yes 25 41,7%
No 2 3,3%
Maybe 33 55%
Table 1.2: students’ attitudes towards teaching English
Table 3.2 displays the students’ attitudes towards working as English teachers when they graduate, 55% of the students haven’t decided yet about choosing to work as teachers, 41,7% of them are intending to work as English teachers, while the remaining 3,3% are not considering teaching English as their future job. Students at this level usually don’t have a clear idea about what they are going to do after they finish their collage years and they are still figuring out what are they’re going to do next.
Question three: Do you consider learning about the culture of English language important?
Yes No
Options N %
Yes 59 98,3%
No 1 1,7%
Table 1.3: students’ opinions about the importance of learning about culture
Table 3.3 shows that 98,3% of the students consider learning about the culture of English language important, whereas, only 1,7% of the students think that knowing about culture has no importance, the small number of the students who don’t give an importance to learning about culture indicates their lake of interest in improving themselves in contrary to the high
number of the students who have showed an interest in knowing about the culture of English and improving their cultural competency, since it is an inseparable part of the language.
Section Two: Proverbs
Question Four: Do you know exactly what “proverb” is?
Yes No
Options N %
Yes 43 71,7%
No 17 28,3%
Table 1.4: students’ familiarity with the term “Proverb”
Table 3.4 shows that 71,7% of the students know what the term “Proverb” means, while the remaining 28,3% don’t have a clear idea about what proverbs are, there is a high number of students who are familiar with this term, this is because studying proverbs is included in the syllabus of second year LMD especially in translation module, while the remaining 28,3% presents the students who don’t know what a “proverb” means because they face difficulties in differentiating between proverbs and other figurative speech like idioms, metaphors and such. This causes confusion for them.
Question Five: Briefly write your definition of a proverb, if you you think you can’t write a
definition, write down what comes first to your mind when you hear the word “Proverb”?
