Ernest Hemingway,

The Old Man and the Sea

Extract 2: Grammatical Gender as
a Translation Challenge
Hassane Darir
 Equivalence
• “The basic idea is that all the theories respond to
the one central problem: translation can be
defined by equivalence, but there are many
reasons why equivalence is not a stable concept.”
(Pym 2010, Preface)
Examples of Non-equivalence
 Grammatical Gender
• Some languages have gender distinctions: Masculine,
feminine, neuter.
• In German, ocean is masculine—der Ozean. On the other
hand, the word for sea is das Meer, which is neuter gender.
In Spanish, sea is el mar—masculine again. Similarly, the
word ocean in Spanish—el océano—is masculine.
• however, “Spanish has a number of “ambiguous” nouns
whose gender may depend on desired connotation, usage,
or regional differences. The Catalan language demonstrates
the same phenomenon, and allows for both el mar and la
mar.”
(https://bostonlanguage.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/what
-gender-is-the-sea/)
• You are going to read an extract from the novella The
Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and 6
Arabic translations of the same extract.
• In the extract, the main character so to speak reflects
on the gender of the sea comparing it on one occasion
to female and on other occasions to a male. The
Spanish language helps in this respect.
• How did each translator deal with this issue of the
same object being at one time referred to as musculine
and on other occasions as feminine?
• First read the ST:
 ST
• “Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when
the ocean can be so cruel? She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be
so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and
hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea.
• He always thought of the sea as 'la mar' which is what people call her in
Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things
of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the
younger fishermen, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had
motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money,
spoke of her as 'el mar' which is masculine. They spoke of her as a
contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought
of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours,
and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help
them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.”
• The text in context:
 ST: Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
• The importance of The Old Man and the Sea, which forms the
case study, is attributable, on the one hand, to its
unforgettable portrait of the old fisherman, Santiago, and its
vivid presentation of the novella's other principal ‘characters’,
namely the sea and fish and, on the other hand, to its
important themes, one of which is summarized in the book's
best-known line: "A man can be destroyed but not defeated".
The 'real' story behind the novella is a tale of an old Cuban
fisherman and a marlin (1935). Suffice it to say that the
novella first appeared in Life Magazine - New York (1952) and
it was a complete success from the morning it hit the
newsstands. The plot of the novella could be summarized as
follows (Tibbetts and Welshs, 2005: 327).
• “Santiago [is] an aging Cuban fisherman who
has not caught a fish in 84 days. His only
friend, a young boy, continues to have faith in
the old man who taught him how to fish. The
old man sets out to sea, and after a life-
threatening struggle with a huge fish,
succeeds in landing the fish, but only after the
fish has dragged him far out to sea. Santiago
lashes the fish to his boat and struggles to
return to shore as sharks devour his prize fish,
leaving him nothing more than a skeleton at
the end of this grueling ordeal.”
 Commentary on the ST
• In the previous extract, the narrator of the
story intends to reveal the inner thoughts of
the old man. In much of the extract, the old
man compares the sea to a woman
(personification). The Spanish language helps
in this respect.
• Focussing on the notion of grammatical
gender, consider how each translator
elaborated on the personification (i.e.
comparing the sea to a woman.)
TTs:
TT 1
1961
‫منير البعلبكي‪ ،‬ص‪29 .‬‬
• He always thought of the sea as
'la mar' which is what people call
her in Spanish when they love
her. Sometimes those who love
her say bad things of her but they
are always said as though she
were a woman. Some of the
younger fishermen, those who
used buoys as floats for their
lines and had motorboats,
bought when the shark livers had
brought much money, spoke of
her as 'el mar' which is
masculine. They spoke of her as a
contestant or a place or even an
enemy. But the old man always
thought of her as feminine and as
something that gave or withheld
great favours, and if she did wild
or wicked things it was because
she could not help them. The
moon affects her as it does a
woman, he thought.”
 Commentary
• The term ‫ البحرة‬acts as an equivalent term of the
Spanish term in its feminine form. To make this
possible, now the usual term present throughout the
novel ‘sea’ is replaced by ‫المحٌط‬. It is to be noted that
apart from its feminine form, the term ‫ البحرة‬does not
mean exactly the same thing as ‘la mar’.
.‫ الواسعة أو المنخفضة‬:‫• البَ ْحرة من األرض‬
‫الروضة‬
ْ ‫ أو‬،‫ أو البَ ْحرة المرٌة على نَ ْهر‬،‫ مستنمع الماء‬:‫والبَ ْحرة‬
)‫ (عن المعجم الوسٌط‬.‫ و ِب َح ٌّر‬،ٌ‫ ِبحار‬: ‫ والجمع‬.‫المتَّسعة‬
• Nonetheless, this is an intereting strategy and the
Arabic language can offer for sure more adequate
synonyms in the feminine form, which is something
that we are going to explore later on in this
presentation.
 Commentary
• “and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she
could not help them.” is translated as
• ‫إن الممر ٌذهب بصوابها كما تذهب المرأة بصواب الرجل‬, which is
an instance of overtranslation, or unfaithful translation
(misinterpretation, probably).
• Unlike the two previous translators (who opted for
making what is stated in general terms more specific),
some attempt is made by the translator to preserve the
simple vocabulary of the text. Cf:
• He always thought of the sea… ‫كان ٌدعو‬
• But the old man always thought of her as ‫لكن الشٌخ كان ال‬
‫ٌفكر فٌه إال‬
TT 2
1986
• He always thought of the sea as
'la mar' which is what people call
her in Spanish when they love
her. Sometimes those who love
her say bad things of her but they
are always said as though she
were a woman. Some of the
younger fishermen, those who
used buoys as floats for their
lines and had motorboats,
bought when the shark livers had
brought much money, spoke of
her as 'el mar' which is
masculine. They spoke of her as a
contestant or a place or even an
enemy. But the old man always
thought of her as feminine and as
something that gave or withheld
great favours, and if she did wild
or wicked things it was because
she could not help them. The
moon affects her as it does a
woman, he thought.”
 Commentary
• The term ‫ العجوز‬is inadequate as a translation
equivalent of the old man because of the
connotations of weakness and inability.
• As with the previous translation, The expression
« He always thought of the sea » is rendered in a
more explicit, more specific way, referring to love,
which is a positive achievement in translation.
..‫• كان ٌتماله دائما على طرٌمة اإلسبان‬
)‫ استمتع به‬:‫• (تملى الشىء‬
• 6. The style is largely very refined, cf.
.‫ نفس أثره على المرأة‬،‫• وللممر علٌه أثره‬
TT 3
1994
‫ص‪38 .‬‬
• He always thought of the sea as
'la mar' which is what people call
her in Spanish when they love
her. Sometimes those who love
her say bad things of her but they
are always said as though she
were a woman. Some of the
younger fishermen, those who
used buoys as floats for their
lines and had motorboats,
bought when the shark livers had
brought much money, spoke of
her as 'el mar' which is
masculine. They spoke of her as a
contestant or a place or even an
enemy. But the old man always
thought of her as feminine and as
something that gave or withheld
great favours, and if she did wild
or wicked things it was because
she could not help them. The
moon affects her as it does a
woman, he thought.”
 ‫‪Commentary‬‬
‫‪ is a distracting‬وهو مذكر فً اللغة اإلسبانٌة •‬
‫‪informational sentence.‬‬
‫‪The pronoun reference breaks in the following‬‬
‫‪sentence:‬‬
‫• ولكن العجوز كان ٌفكر فٌه دائما كأنثى‪ ،‬وكشًء ٌمنح هداٌا‬
‫عظٌمة أو ٌحبسها لنفسه‪ ،‬وإذا صدرت منها أمور وحشٌة أو‬
‫خطرة مؤذٌة فإنما ألنها ال تتمالن نفسها‪.‬‬
TT 4
2002
‫ص‪37-36 .‬‬
• He always thought of the sea as
'la mar' which is what people call
her in Spanish when they love
her. Sometimes those who love
her say bad things of her but they
are always said as though she
were a woman. Some of the
younger fishermen, those who
used buoys as floats for their
lines and had motorboats,
bought when the shark livers had
brought much money, spoke of
her as 'el mar' which is
masculine. They spoke of her as a
contestant or a place or even an
enemy. But the old man always
thought of her as feminine and as
something that gave or withheld
great favours, and if she did wild
or wicked things it was because
she could not help them. The
moon affects her as it does a
woman, he thought.”
• We have already referred to ‫ البحرة‬in the previous
translation.
• The style is not necessarily refined in this
translation. Cf:
• He always thought of the sea as 'la mar‘
la mar ‫فكر فً البحر ن‬
• The kaf at-tashbiih is never used in sense in
classical Arabic
• This translator does not make much claim to
literary translation.
TT 5
 ‫• الشٌخ والبحر‬
‫• عبد الحمٌد زاهٌد‬
‫• ‪2007‬‬
‫ص‪ 63 .‬زاهيد‪،‬‬
• “Why did they make birds
so delicate and fine as
those sea swallows when
the ocean can be so
cruel? She is kind and
very beautiful. But she
can be so cruel and it
comes so suddenly and
such birds that fly, dipping
and hunting, with their
small sad voices are made
too delicately for the sea.”
• He always thought of the sea as
'la mar' which is what people call
her in Spanish when they love
her. Sometimes those who love
her say bad things of her but they
are always said as though she
were a woman. Some of the
younger fishermen, those who
used buoys as floats for their
lines and had motorboats,
bought when the shark livers had
brought much money, spoke of
her as 'el mar' which is
masculine. They spoke of her as a
contestant or a place or even an
enemy. But the old man always
thought of her as feminine and as
something that gave or withheld
great favours, and if she did wild
or wicked things it was because
she could not help them. The
moon affects her as it does a
woman, he thought.”
 Commentary
1. The translator succeeds in translating the title of the
novel.
2. In addition to not specifying the type of birds referred
to in the ST ‫طٌور السنونو‬, the translator has decided to
ignore the subtle reference to the sea as a female, which
is paving the way to the elaborate personification in the
following paragraph. I also see no way to make up for this
loss at this stage, especially that in Arabic the word for
sea ‫ البحر‬is masculine whereas the word for earth ‫ الٌابسة‬is
feminine.
3. The expression « He always thought of the sea as.. » is
translated in a more explicit or specific way. ‫كان الشٌخ متٌما‬
‫بالبحر‬, which, as a translation strategy, is a form of
explicitation.
 Commentary (cont’)
• 4. The translator used two different strategies to deal
with the grammatical gender reference to the sea.
Referring to the usual practice in Spanish on one
occasion and ignoring it on the other.
• 5. They spoke of her as..” is translated in a more
specific way ..‫إنهم ٌنظرون إلٌه نظرة منافس‬
• 6. The style is largely very refined, cf.
‫كان الشٌخ متٌما بالبحر‬ •
..‫إال أن حدٌثهم عنه هو حدٌث عن امرأة‬ •
..‫إنهم ٌنظرون إلٌه نظرة منافس‬ •
‫ أو تحجبها عنن‬،‫مؤنث تهبن المنح الجلٌلة‬ •
... •
TT 6
‫‪• Al Al-Kasimi 2008‬‬

‫علي القاسمي‪،‬‬
‫الشيخ و البحر‪،‬‬
‫الرباط‪ :‬منشورات‬
‫السمن‪2008 ،‬‬
 ‫ص‪27-26 .‬‬
‫"إن المحٌط كرٌم وجمٌل جدًا‪ ،‬ولكن فً ممدوره أن ٌغدو لاسًٌا جدًا وأن‬
‫ٌرتفع بصورة مفاجئة (‪)...‬‬
‫كان ٌف ّكر دائما فً البحر بوصفه ] ‪la mar‬بالمؤنّث[ كما ٌدعوه النّ ُ‬
‫اس‬
‫ٌتفوه أولئن الذٌن ٌعشمون البحر‬ ‫باللُّغة اإلسبانٌّة عندما ٌحبّونه‪ .‬وأحٌانا ً ّ‬
‫بأشٌا َء سٌّئ ٍة عنه‪ ،‬ولكنّهم كانوا دائما ً ٌمولون تلن األشٌاء كما لو كان‬
‫البحر امرأة‪ .‬وكان بعض الصٌّادٌن األصغر سنّاً‪ ،‬أولئن الذٌن كانوا‬
‫الطوافات لتعوٌم خٌوطهم ولدٌهم لوارب بخارٌّة اشتروها‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ٌستعملون‬
‫ٌدر علٌهم الما َل الوفٌر‪ٌ ،‬دعون‬
‫عندما كان كبد سمن المرش ُّ‬
‫البحر ‪el mar‬بالمذ َّكر‪ .‬كانوا ٌتح َّدثون عن البحر بوصفه ُمنافِساً‪ ،‬أو‬
‫شٌخ كان دائما ً ٌعتبر البحر بمثابة امرأة‬ ‫ولكن ال َّ‬
‫َّ‬ ‫عدوا ً‪.‬‬
‫مكانا ً‪ ،‬أو حتّى ّ‬
‫ْ‬
‫فعلت‬ ‫ت َ ُم ُّن أَحٌانا ً بعطاٌا عظٌمة‪ ،‬أو تبخل بها فً أحٌان أخرى‪ ،‬وإذا ما‬
‫أشٌا َء شرٌرة ً أو غرٌبةً فألنَّها لم ٌ ُكن فً وسعها أن تفعل غٌر ذلن‪.‬‬
‫فالممر ٌؤ ِث ّر فً البحر كما ٌؤ ِث ّر فً المرأة‪ ،‬هكذا ف ّكر الشٌخ فً نفسه‪.‬‬

• He always thought of the sea as
'la mar' which is what people call
her in Spanish when they love
her. Sometimes those who love
her say bad things of her but they
are always said as though she
were a woman. Some of the
younger fishermen, those who
used buoys as floats for their
lines and had motorboats,
bought when the shark livers had
brought much money, spoke of
her as 'el mar' which is
masculine. They spoke of her as a
contestant or a place or even an
enemy. But the old man always
thought of her as feminine and as
something that gave or withheld
great favours, and if she did wild
or wicked things it was because
she could not help them. The
moon affects her as it does a
woman, he thought.”
‫ ولكن فً ممدوره أن‬،‫إن المحٌط كرٌم وجمٌل جدًا‬
)...( ‫ٌغدو لاسًٌا جدًا وأن ٌرتفع بصورة مفاجئة‬
la mar ] ‫كان ٌف ّكر دائما فً البحر بوصفه‬
‫اس باللُّغة اإلسبانٌّة عندما‬ ُ ّ‫بالمؤنّث[ كما ٌدعوه الن‬
‫ٌتفوه أولئن الذٌن ٌعشمون البحر‬ ّ ً ‫ وأحٌانا‬.‫ٌحبّونه‬
‫ ولكنّهم كانوا دائما ً ٌمولون تلن‬،‫بأشٌا َء سٌّئ ٍة عنه‬
‫ وكان بعض‬.‫األشٌاء كما لو كان البحر امرأة‬
‫ أولئن الذٌن كانوا‬،ً‫الصٌّادٌن األصغر سنّا‬
‫الطوافات لتعوٌم خٌوطهم ولدٌهم‬ ّ ‫ٌستعملون‬
‫لوارب بخارٌّة اشتروها عندما كان كبد سمن‬
‫ ٌدعون‬،‫ٌدر علٌهم الما َل الوفٌر‬
ُّ ‫المرش‬
‫ كانوا ٌتحدَّثون عن البحر‬.‫بالمذ َّكر‬el mar ‫البحر‬
َّ
‫ولكن‬ .ً ‫عدوا‬
ّ ‫ أو حتّى‬،ً‫ أو مكانا‬،ً‫بوصفه ُمنافِسا‬
‫شٌخ كان دائما ً ٌعتبر البحر بمثابة امرأة تَ ُم ُّن‬ َّ ‫ال‬
‫ أو تبخل بها فً أحٌان‬،‫أَحٌانا ً بعطاٌا عظٌمة‬
ً‫فعلت أشٌا َء شرٌرة ً أو غرٌبة‬
ْ ‫ وإذا ما‬،‫أخرى‬
‫ فالممر‬.‫فألنَّها لم ٌ ُكن فً وسعها أن تفعل غٌر ذلن‬
‫ هكذا ف ّكر‬،‫ٌؤ ِث ّر فً البحر كما ٌؤ ِث ّر فً المرأة‬
.‫الشٌخ فً نفسه‬
 Commentary
• The translator uses additional explanation in: “He always
thought of the sea as 'la mar‘”
‫بالمؤنّث‬la mar ] ‫• كان ٌف ّكر دائما فً البحر بوصفه‬
• ‫ بالمؤنث‬is not in the ST, but works fine in harmony with:
“spoke of her as 'el mar' which is masculine.”
.‫بالمذ َّكر‬el mar ‫• ٌدعون البحر‬
• An instance of opting for more specific vocabulary is
represented by the following:
• But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as
something that gave or withheld great favours,
‫ أو‬،‫شٌخ كان دائما ً ٌعتبر البحر بمثابة امرأة ت َ ُم ُّن أَحٌانا ً بعطاٌا عظٌمة‬
َّ ‫ولكن ال‬
َّ •
،‫تبخل بها فً أحٌان أخرى‬
• Noteworthy in this respect that the term feminine could
have been better translated as ‫أنثى‬.
• Can you think of an alternative strategy to
refer to the sea as female and as male?
• Is it necessary to refer to the Spanish words
for the sea?
• Let us see this in practice.
 ‫ابحث عن مرادفات لكلمة البحر‪ ،‬فمد تكون إحداها مؤنثة‪.‬‬
‫ض ّم‪ ،‬العُبَاب‪ ،‬الغ َْمر‪ ،‬ال ُم ِحٌط‪ ،‬الن َْوفَل‪ ،‬الش َّك‪.‬‬ ‫الغ َْمر‪ ،‬المَا ُموس‪ ،‬اللُ َّجة‪ ،‬الٌَ ّم‪ِ ،‬‬
‫الخ َ‬
‫‪The connotations are not exactly the same, so these are not complete‬‬
‫‪synonyms.‬‬
‫"تجزء ]العرب[ البحر نفسه‪ ،‬فاذا لالوا لجة فذلن ٌعنً وسط البحر وعمٌمه‪ ،‬واذا لالوا عرض‬
‫البحر فهو الجزء الذي تسٌر فٌه السفن‪ ،‬واذا لالوا سٌف البحر فذلن للساحل‪.‬‬
‫ٌستعمل المرآن الكرٌم كلمة اليم فً ممام الخوف والعموبة فمط‪ ،‬وٌستعمل البحر فً السٌالات‬
‫عامة‪.‬‬

‫فالن لُ َّجة فً العلم‪ :‬شبٌهٌ بالبحر فً َ‬

‫سعَة‬ ‫ٌ‬ ‫ص ْر َح فَلَ َّما َرأَتْهُ َح ِسبَتْهُ لُ َّجةٌ}‪.‬‬ ‫{لٌِ َل لَ َها ا ْد ُخ ِلً ال َّ‬
‫علمه‪.‬‬
‫{فَنَبَ ْذنَا ُه ْم فًِ ْالٌَ ِ ّم}‬
‫{فَانتَمَ ْمنَا ِم ْن ُه ْم فَأ َ ْغ َر ْلنَا ُه ْم ِفً ْالٌَ ِ ّم}‬
‫{ َولَمَ ْد َك َّر ْمنَا بَنًِ آ َد َم َو َح َم ْلنَا ُه ْم فًِ البَ ِ ّر َو ْالبَ ْح ِر}‬
Oh, no, not another version!
 ‫• لماذا خلمت الطٌور حساسة ورائعة مثل سنونو البحر بٌنما ٌمكن أن تكون‬
‫المحٌطات لاسًٌة جدًا؟ فهً لطٌفة وجمٌلة جدا‪ .‬لكنها ٌمكن أن تكون لاسٌة‬
‫للغاٌة فً لمح البصر‪ .‬مثل هذه الطٌور التً تطٌر وتغطس وتطارد ‪،‬‬
‫بأصواتها الصغٌرة الحزٌنة‪ ،‬أرق من تتحمل حٌاة البحر الماسٌة‪.‬‬
‫• كان الشٌخ مولعا بالبحر (اللجة) وكان ٌحٌل علٌها دائما مثل الشعراء بصٌغة‬
‫المؤنث تعبٌرا عن عشمهم لها‪ .‬أحٌانًا ٌنعتها بعضهم بأشٌاء سٌئة لكن حدٌثهم‬
‫عنها هو حدٌث عن امرأة‪ .‬أما بعض الصٌادٌن األصغر سنًا ‪ ،‬الذٌن استخدموا‬
‫عوامات تطفوا بها حبالهم والذٌن اشتروا محركات آلٌة عندما درت علٌهم‬
‫أكباد سمن المرش الكثٌر من المال ‪ ،‬فٌتحدثون عنها على أنها بحر بصٌغة‬
‫المذكر‪ ،‬كما لو كانت منافسا أو مكانا للسباق أو حتى عدوا لدودا‪ .‬لكن الشٌخ‬
‫كان ٌنظر إلٌها دائ ًما على أنها أنثى تمدم المنن الجزٌلة أو تحجبها‪ ،‬وإذا ما‬
‫بدرت منها أشٌاء فظة أو وحشٌة‪ ،‬فما ذلن إال ألنها ال تملن من األمر شٌئا‪.‬‬
‫فللممر على اللجة نفس أثره على المرأة‪ .‬كذلن لال الشٌخ فً ذات نفسه‪.‬‬
General Conclusions
• Evidently, given the non-equivalence,
something may always be lost in translation,
hence the need to compensate for it. This is
what is called loss and gain in translation.
Luckily, in literary translation, the translator
enjoys a large degree of freedom.
Nonetheless, the TT should remain within the
realm of trnslation and not turn into
adaptation in the large sense.
• DRH
 Explicitation
• Explicitation as a method of clarifying into the TT what
is implicit in the ST was formulated by Blum-Kluka
(1986) into a hypothesis that regards explicitation as a
translation universal, i.e. a feature or tendency that is
frequent in translated texts.
• Explicitation could be said to be largely true of the
translation extracts considered in this presentation.
• In our extracts, explicitation is achieved through
making more specific what is general and, to a lesser
extent, through expansion.
 References

• Blum-Kulka, Sh. (1986). “Shifts of cohesion

and coherence in translation”. In L. Venuti
(Ed.). The Translation Studies Reader. (2004).
Pp.290-305. London and New York: Routledge.