An analytical study of Arabic culture-bound expressions in (Ziqaq Al-Midaq)‎ by Najeeb Mahfooz with reference to translation

Abstract EN

Translation can be viewed as a cross-cultural task in which the translator acts as an intercultural mediator.

Thus, the unique culture of the East can be introduced to the West world via the process of translation.

One way of introducing Arabic culture to the West is through the translation of Arabic famous literary works into English.

Ziqaq al-Midaq by Najeeb Mahfooz, the Egyptian novelist and the winner of Noble Prize, is one of the best Arabian novels that has been translated into many languages including Italian, French, and English.

Humphrey, D.

and Gassic, T.

made great efforts to put the novel in English but they have succeeded in one place and failed in another as the present study will show to the reader later on.

Ziqaq al-Midaq is full of culture-bound expressions that would trigger many difficulties and make the translation of it a thorny and tricky task because many of these items do not have equivalents in the target language.

Also, the recurrent inappropriate choices made by the selected translators seriously affected the quality of their translation product.