Lexical simplification : a universal feature of translation

Abstract EN

The present paper explores simplification as one feature of translation universals from English into Arabic.

It aims at investigating how much the translators were aware of lexical simplification as a universal feature in the translated texts and discovering to what extent the language of translation is simple in order to preserve the meaning and information to make the translated texts more reader-friendly.

this study hypothesizes that the language of translation is assumed to be lexically simpler than that of non-translated target-language texts and characterized by a low level of information flow by reducing lexical density.

This study adopts certain lexical simplification strategies like using more frequent words, methods to avoid lexical repetition and lexical omission of unnecessary word.

The data chosen for analysis in the current study include a test involving 10 English literary texts selected from the famous novel the Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen in 1813 and translated by six participants as Junior teachers and M.

A.

students in the Department of Translation – College of Arts – University of Mosul, some of them were provided deliberately with a list of recommended strategies.