The role of superordinates, general words and collocates in the translation of political speeches

Abstract EN

The study seeks to give an overview of lexical cohesion elements (superordinate, general word and collocation) in the translation of political speeches.

It deals with some lexical problems resulting from the transfer of the message from the source language text into the target language text, which is often beset by many problems that most frequently result from the differences between the languages.

Among the problems touched upon in this study are some of the lexical problems that any translator of political speeches may encounter.

The researcher relies on Halliday and Hassan’s (1976) classification of lexical cohesion which comprises : repetition, synonymy, superordinate, general word and collocation.

Of special interest to the present study are the superordinate, general word and collocation categories in the translation of political speeches and the lexical relations between those elements.

To be constantly kept in mind is the importance of understanding the relationship between lexical items, since such awareness enables the translators to produce meaningful, effective and cohesive target texts.

For the purpose of this study, six examples were drawn from Obama's Inaugural Speech 2009 and compared to their translations in Arabic, French and Italian.

The study arrives at the conclusion that the superordinate helps disambiguate meaning and elucidate relations and consequences which might otherwise remain unclear.

With reference to collocation, the study has shown that it is a key factor in the avoidance of translations.