Lexical issues in English Arabic translation:
1. Denotative and Connotative meaning:
Denotative meaning, also known as the dictionary meaning, refers to the relationship
between lexical items and the non-linguistic entities which they refer. Connotative
meaning, also known as the poetic meaning, refers to the emotional associations
which are suggested by the lexical items. For instance, ‫ أبيض‬is denotatively used in
‫' قميص أبيض‬a white shirt' but connotatively in ‫ ' ثورة بيضاء‬a peaceful, bloodless
revolution' .
In the following example, the translator has used the term ‘lady’ rather than ‘woman’
since ‘lady’ has overtones of respect.
‫ يا أنثاي من بين ماليين النساء‬.....‫آه يا بيروت‬
Ah Beirut….my lady amongst millions of women
The lexical item ‫ بومة‬and the English word ‘owl’ have the same denotative meaning.
Both of them refer to the same class of bird. However, the two words have different
connotative meanings. In Arabic the word ‫ بومة‬has many negative connotations and
is always seen as a symbol of bad luck, while in English, ‘owl’ has positive and
favourable associations. To translate the English expressions: ‘He is as wise as an
owl’ or ‘He is a wise old owl.’ into Arabic as ‫ هو حكيم كالبومة‬would be unacceptable
because of its negative connotations in Arabic. The English expressions are
rendered into Arabic as ‫‘ هو حكيم‬He is wise’. Problems in translation arise when a
lexical item has different connotations in two languages. Therefore, the translator may
need to explain the connotative meaning of the lexical item in the form of a footnote
or a definition within the text in order for the target language reader to understand the
favourable or unfavourable connotations of the source language item.
2. Collocation
Collocative meaning is s “the associations a word acquires on account of the meaning
of words which tend to occur in its environment”. For example, ‘pretty’ and
‘handsome’ share the common grounds of ‘good looking’, but they are differentiated
by the range of nouns with which they are likely to co-occur. Pretty’ collocates with
‘girl’, ‘boy’, woman’, ‘flower’, while ‘handsome’ collocates with ‘boy’, ‘man’,
‘vessel.
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Collocations differ from one language into another. English and Arabic use different
collocational patterns that reflect the preferences of each community for certain
modes of expression and certain linguistic configurations. For example, the English
‘deliver’ collocates with ‘letter’, ‘speech’, ‘news’, ‘blow’, ‘verdict’, ‘a baby’. Arabic,
on the other hand, uses different verbs, as shown in the following examples:
English Collocation
deliver a letter/telegram
deliver a speech/lecture
deliver news
deliver a blow
deliver a verdict
deliver a baby
Arabic equivalent
‫يسلم خطابا \ تلغرافا‬
‫يلقي خطبة\ محاضرة‬
‫ينقل أخبارا‬
‫يوجه ضربة‬
‫يصدر حكما‬
‫يولد امرأة‬
In the following set of collocations the English ‘catch’ collocates with ‘fish’, ‘cold’,
‘train’, ‘fire’. Arabic, on the other hand, uses different verbs, as shown in the
following examples:
English Collocation
catch a fish
catch a cold
catch a train
catch fire
Arabic equivalent
‫يصطاد سمكة‬
‫يصاب بنزلة بر د‬
‫يلحق بالقطار‬
‫تشتعل فيه النار‬
The English-Arabic translator should pay considerable attention to the collocational
differences between the two languages in order to choose the appropriate collocation
in the target language. A translator who renders ‘shake hands’ as ‫ يهزاأليدي‬would give
an erroneous translation. The Arabic equivalent for the English collocation ‘shake
hands’ is ‫يصافح‬, which is not a collocation in Arabic.
3. Synonymy
It refers to 'sameness' in meaning. Semanticists often agree that 'total synonymy' is
unlikely and that 'synonymy 'among lexical items could occur if the items are close
enough in their meanings to allow a choice to be made between them in some
contexts. For instance in English 'begin' and 'commence' can be considered synonyms
because they can substitute for each other in almost all cases, as the following
examples show:
1. The church service commences at 11.00 a.m on Sundays.
2. The church service begins at 11.00 a.m on Sundays.
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Two or more synonymous words or expressions may differ in style. For example,
‘die’, ‘pass away’, ‘kick the bucket’, ‘decease’ and ‘croak’ differ with regard to the
degree of formality and/or politeness. In Arabic, the lexical item ‫ توفي‬is more formal
than ‫مات‬. Other euphemistic expressions of death are ‫ انتقل إلى رحمة هللا‬and ‫انتقل إلى جوار‬
‫ربه‬. The two expressions can be translated into English as ‘passed away’, a term that
would roughly convey the intended meaning of the Arabic expressions in an
appropriate way.
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