Challenges in Translating Colloquial Egyptian Arabic Poetry Into English The Case of Register and Metaphors-A Contrastive Study

International Journal of English Language
& Translation Studies
Journal homepage: http://www.eltsjournal.org
Challenges in Translating Colloquial Egyptian Arabic Poetry into English: The Case of
Register and Metaphors-A Contrastive Study
[PP: 14-22]
B. A. Essam
Faculty of Al-Alson
Ain Shams University
Egypt
Esra'a Mustafa
Faculty of Al-Alson
Ain Shams University
Egypt.
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Article History This study tackles the challenges of translating poem composed in colloquial
The paper Egyptian Arabic (CEA) into English. It applies Halliday’s concept of register on a
received on: CEA poem and its translation to determine the different varieties used in the original
16/07/2014 and how far they are maintained in the translation. It pays a special attention to the
Accepted after usage of metaphors and its relation to the register, highlighting the translation
peer-review on: challenge of rendering culture-specific and register-specific metaphors into English.
05/08/2014 It is evident that both the register and the metaphors carry an essential weight of
Published on: both the semantic and effective meaning, which is lost to a great extent in the
01/09/2014 translation. The paper applies a case study on at Al- Gakh's panoramic poem "The
Call": a longitudinal section of the recent three years in the Egyptian society and a
Keywords: précis of the events of the Egyptian revolutionary path.
Metaphors, The results reveal that there is a significant correlation between the register and the
Register, used metaphors. While the register is almost completely lost in the translation; some
colloquial poems, of the related metaphors are successfully and faithfully rendered into English. This
Arabic varieties, compensates somehow for the lost effective meaning of the register.
and Al-Gakh Notwithstanding, metaphors which are highly related to the register of colloquial
Arabic varieties lose their effective meaning in the translation too. Keeping the
tenor and the field is proved not to be enough to communicate the effective and the
semantic original meaning.
Cite this article as: Essam, B. A. & Mustafa, E. (2014). Challenges in Translating Colloquial Egyptian Arabic
Poetry into English: The Case of Register and Metaphors-A Contrastive Study. International Journal of English
Language & Translation Studies. 2(3), 14-22 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org
IJ-ELTS Volume: 2 Issue: 3 July-September, 2014
1. Introduction According to Badawi (1973), the

This study focuses on the different Egyptian community has five varieties;
Arabic varieties used in the Egyptian accent: Classical Arabic, Modern standard Arabic,
the most widely comprehended accent in the Educated spoken Arabic, Semiliterate spoken
Arabic world and the lingua franca of Arabic and Illiterate spoken Arabic.
colloquial Arabic poetry. It is concerned Corresponding to the register of
chiefly with the colloquial varieties and their Halliday (1985), each variety is used by a
extensive use in poetry, highlighting and particular speaker in a particular occasion to
exploring the tremendous challenge of serve a specific function. Classical Arabic is a
translating such varieties into English. The mood used in the field of the Holy Qur’an and
colloquial varieties are used dynamically in classic texts and its tenor is somehow
poetry to reflect certain ideologies and poetics restricted to men of religion. Modern standard
which are usually lost or dwindled within the Arabic is used in the language of media and
English translation. The colloquial language modern written texts, educated spoken Arabic
relies heavily on culture-specific concepts is used in conversation among educated
“culturemes”, which are difficult to render people in the field of politics, sociology,
into other languages. This study, moreover, culture, and science, semi-literate spoken
argues for cross-linguistically conceptual Arabic is used by educated people in their
metaphors. everyday life; discussing ordinary situations
The practical part is a case study and illiterate spoken Arabic used in
conducted on Al- Gakh's panoramic poem conversations among illiterate people in daily
"The Call": a longitudinal section of the situations.
recent three years in the Egyptian society. The three levels share some features as
Eventually, the paper will recommend some they belong to the same origin, but they differ
tips banking on the drawn conclusion. in being purely classic, purely colloquial or
2. Research Questions mixture of both. That’s why Mitchel (1986)
1. Can the colloquial Arabic registers be divided Arabic into three varieties only;
maintained in English translation? vernacular Arabic: used and positively
2. Can mood loss in translation distort evaluated in both rural and urban areas,
the original meaning, if both the tenor and the standard Arabic which is used mainly in
field are maintained? writing and in formal spoken situations and
3. What are the linguistic strategies used finally a mixture of both which can be used
to render different Arabic registers into formally and informally.
English? Halliday (1985) argues that, “language
4. Are there common cross-language is a system of linguistic choices; the poetic
metaphors in Egyptian colloquial Arabic and choice of one of the colloquial varieties is
English? deliberately used to deliver a message”.
3. Theoretical Framework Colloquial Egyptian Arabic appeals
3.1 Arabic varieties fascinatingly to all Arabic speakers. It is
A number of studies have referred to the chosen to be the lingua franka all over the
non-native Arabic speakers’ misconception Arabic world.
that Arabic has only two varieties in Egypt; Bassiouney (2009), among many other
the formal modern standard Arabic and the linguists, argues for the broader definition of
informal Egyptian colloquial Arabic. code switching. She adopts the definition of
Page | 15
Myers-scotton who suggests that code- other, which corresponds to the interpersonal
switching is part of the “communicative metafunction, field is the topic and the ideas
competence” of a speaker; it is the “innate discussed which corresponds to the ideational
faculty” which enables speaker to assess metafunction, and the mood is the meduim by
different linguistic choices in different which these ideas are expressed in a coherent
situations. She adopts the broader definition appropriate way through formal or informal
of codes switching as switching between two language, written or spoken, this is directly
varieties, not only two languages. “Varieties related to the textual metafunction. Any
is a cover term for selections at all linguistic change in any level of the register leads to a
levels so that choices between varieties change in the linguistic variety used.
include, for example, choices of one language 4. Reasons for Selecting Gakh’s Poem for
rather than another, one dialect over another, Application
one style or register over another, and one Hesham Al-Gakh (1981- ) is a
form of a directive or refusal over another” contemporary Egyptian poet known for his
3.2 Metaphors poetic wit and epitomical for revolutionary
In the heart of Newmark’s (1998) attitude in most of his poems. He was born in
textbook of translation, he ponders “Whilst Qena and graduated from the faculty of
the central problem of translation is the commerce, Ain Sham University. All his
overall choice of a translation method for a poems, including this poem, have been
text, the most important particular problem is produced verbally in various occasions for
the translation of metaphor”. more than eight years. Youtube records the
According to Kearn (1987), Metaphors highest watching rate in comparison to any
in Arabic are figures of speech based on other poets. The debut delivery of this poem
simile relationship between two items one of was in a TV show in February 2014.
which is deleted. English metaphors are The poet is also an eyewitness in the
figures of speech (tropes) used to compare revolutionary path in Egypt. He was,
two items to each other using the linguistic moreover, arrested and suffered torture and
relation be or have. The major components of incarceration during the past autocratic
both Arabic and English metaphors are the regime of former president, Mubarak.
tenor, the compared item (the carrier of the Hesham seems to usher, hitherto, his vocation
borrowed attribute) and the vehicle, and the against the so-called “Moslem brethren” and
compared to item (the original carrier of the the uprising military-based regime. Al Gakh
attribute). In cognitive linguistics, the terms is well-known for his poetic wit and
target and source are replacing tenor and epitomical for revolutionary attitude in most
vehicle respectively. of his poems. The selected poem is a
3.3 Register: panoramic landscape of the contemporary
Halliday(1985) introduces the concept Egyptian revolution, a longitudinal section of
of register as “a variety of language, the recent three-years-epoch that reflects and
corresponding to a variety of situation”. The crystalizes the various Arabic varieties in
basic elements of the register are “tenor”, question. The style and narration are very
"field” and “mood”. The concept of register original and perfectly compatible with the
combines the three Hallidayan metafunctions. zeitgeist.
The tenor refers to the language users in a
certain context and their relations to each
Page | 16
5. The Data Analysis and Discussion using purely modern standard Arabic and the
This study examines Hesham Al- longest section in the poem:
Gahk’s poem “The Call” [Al-Mukalma]. Both Field: Egyptians’ suffering for three years
source text and its translation are annexed in Mood: mixture of illiterate, semi-literate, and
appendix A. The study, also, pays a special educated spoken colloquial Arabic.
attention to the cultural-specific expressions Tenor: the poet as a citizen.
and how they are rendered in the English Dominant feature: mixture of individuality in
translation. The poem is a phone call between the first person singular pronoun and
four speakers talking about Egypt in the collectivity in the first person plural pronoun
interval ranging between January25th, 2011 and mixture of varieties.
and August 2013. It is divided into four 5.1 Metaphors
sections according to the speakers; a 5.1.1 Metaphors in the source text
representatives of the interim ministry, In section I, metaphors are used 9
Islamic political parties, military men, and the times, 5 of them are related to the section’s
Egyptians. The poem is purely colloquial dominant feature; slang words. They are
except for eleven lines in the last section. The related to animals which are culture specific
four sections correspond to four registers: symbols. For example, ‫[ ﺣﻤﺎرك‬Literally: your
Section I: donkey]. “donkey” stands for stupidity in both
Field: Domination after the ousted president English and Arabic. Accordingly, it is easy to
Mubarak. keep such a metaphor in ‫ﺣﻤﺎرك‬-donkey
Mood: semi-literate spoken colloquial referring to the ousted president in both
Egyptian Arabic. English and Arabic. Moreover, ‫أى ﻛﻠﺐ‬
Tenor: representative of the interim ministry [Literally: any dog] is used differently in the
Dominant feature: slang words. Arabic and English cultures. “Dog” is
Section II: negatively used in the Arabic metaphor to
Field: Political domination after the ousted mark a mean unvocal, low or unfaithful
president Mubarak. person. On the contrary, English uses it to
Mood: mainly semi-literate colloquial with positively describe a loyal person or a faithful
insertions of Educated spoken Arabic. friend. The translator has to use, then, a
Tenor: representative of the Islamic political different functional term or idiom.
parties to his Sheikh/leader. In Section II, Metaphors occurs 7 times.
Dominant feature: religious words. Some of these metaphors are directly related
Section III: to the abovementioned register. “ ‫اﻟﺠﻮاﻣﻊ ﺗﺤﺖ‬
Field: military domination after the ousted ‫إﯾﺪﻧﺎ‬- [Literally: mosques are under our hands”
president Morsi. refers to the domination of the Islamic parties
Mood: semi-literate colloquial with insertions and exercising influence over masjids’. It also
of Educated spoken Arabic. depicts mosques as a material small item can
Tenor: a military man to his leader. be controlled by hands. Interestingly, the
Dominant feature: respectful terms and rhetoric question of “‫اﻟﻨﺎس ھﺎﺗﺎﺧﺪ دﯾﻨﮭﺎ‬-
determined concise language. [Literally: people will take their religion?” is
Section IV: a metaphor materializes religion as a physical
Interestingly, it can be divided into two item can be captured and received. “ ‫اﻟﻨﺎس ﺑﺘﻤﺸﻲ‬
sections- the shortest section- 11 lines ‫ورا اﻟﺨﻄﺐ‬- [Literally: people walk behind
produced by a poet and are meant to be vague sermons” visualizes sermons as a leader
Page | 17
followed by permissive affiliates and person who is angry “ ‫ﻋﻤﻠﺖ ﻛﻞ ﺣﺎﺟﺔ ﺗﺰﻋﻠﻚ‬-
subordinates. [Literally: I did everything that makes you
In section III, Metaphors are least angry]. As for the revolution metaphors, they
frequent in this section. The speech mood is differ according to the poet’s imagination and
highly formal and tough to cope with the the ugly reality. It is referred to as “‫”زﻓﺘﻨﺎ‬-
relevant military speaker. It, surely, [Literally: our wedding] “and “‫[ ”ﺣﻠﻢ‬Literally:
corresponds to the register in which a military dream] as it used to be in the imagination of
man, talking about dominating the country, is the Egyptian citizens.
using the concise formal variety. The most Notwithstanding, it is mostly referred to
significant metaphor is the extended metaphor as “‫ ﻧﯿﻠﺔ‬which is a colloquial Egyptian Arabic
of Egypt as a listener and inspiration to word referring to something very bad and
singers “‫ﻏﻨﻮا ﻟﻤﺼﺮ‬- [Literally: sang to Egypt], gives the effective meaning of anger and
as a mother called upon by her son “‫ﯾﺎ أﻣﮫ‬ disappointment”, which is a challenge in
[Literally: mother], and as a person living in a translation, “‫[ اﻟﺘﻘﯿﻠﺔ‬Literally: heavy”, referring
stormy sea “‫[ ﻣﺼﺮ ﻋﺎﯾﺸﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺑﺤﺮ ھﺎﯾﺞ‬Literally: to the disaster, “‫[ ”ﺷﺎﯾﻔﮫ ﺑﯿﺘﻜﺴﺮ‬Literally: seeing
Egypt lives in a stormy sea]. it(dream) being broken].
In section IV, the poet initially incepts The metaphors related to the Egyptians
with modern standard Arabic lines, eight are essentially negative and express
metaphors are used. The poet makes an excruciating sufferance. They are referred to
extensive use of metaphors in these 11 lines as items bought and sold “‫ﺑﺘﺒﯿﻌﻮا ﻓﯿﻨﺎ وﺗﺸﺘﺮوا‬
probably to mock other so-called “tawdry” [Literally: buying and selling us”, “ ‫ﺻﻮاﺑﻌﻲ‬
poets who care only for using highly florid ‫[ ”اﺗﮭﺮوا‬Literally: my fingers tore] – a culture-
language and ignore the crux of meanings. specific metaphor comparing severely
Metaphors such as “‫اﻟﺸﻌﺮ ﻣﺼﻠﻮب‬- [Literally: exhausted fingers to something fray.
poetry is crucified] personify poetry to suffer Metaphors are rhetoric strategies used
a crucifixion, “‫[ وﺟﻊ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻷﺑﻮاب‬Literally: to deliver the same message communicated
agony is at the door] pertaining to through register. They are poetic realizations
personification of agony, and ‫ﻗﻞ ﻟﻠﺴﺮاب‬ of the concept of register. It is evident that
[Literally: tell the mirage] comparing mirage metaphors directly correspond to the register
to a communicative person to be told of every section in the poem. The poet hinged
something. All in all, these captures can be highly on this literary device to load emotions
ushered within the frame of sufferance and and capture and entice the enthusiastic and
tragic loss. However, the overall content of mental interest.
these eleven lines is vague and obscure. 5.2 Metaphors and word play in the target
Next, the poet comfortably shifts to the text:
longest part in the entire poem where In section I, metaphors are used 8
metaphors occurs 23 times; about Egypt, the times, 4 of them are related to the section’s
revolution, and people. This triad is directly dominant feature; slang words. They are
related to the register which is centered on the related to animals which are culture specific
Egyptian sufferance after the revolution and is symbols. For example, “jackass” that stands
narrated by one of the Egyptians. The for stupidity in both English and Arabic. The
metaphors personify Egypt as the poet’s connotative meaning and implicature of
beloved whose eyes are his shelter “ ‫ﺑﺘﺤﺎﻣﻰ‬ “jackass” are quite close. They are frequently
‫ﺑﻌﯿﻨﯿﻜﻲ‬- protect myself by your eyes”, and as a used by the body politic to refer to the
Page | 18
presidents of the two countries. However, reiterating the significance of the deeply felt
translation technique in rendering “dog” opted emotions. The poet uses the noble figures as
for using the hyponym device to employ the hyponyms for bravery or prestige, and
word “ill-famed”: keeping the integrity of the sometimes stupidity.
allusive and affected meaning of the poetic Understanding the allegorical use of ‘Antar, is
message. essential to comprehend the relation of
In the same vein, the inherent imagery “flatter” to the prestigious “‘Antar”: the
of the English idiom “we worship the ground famous poet and warrior. In the same vessel,
a jackass walks on” is both a marvelous the connotative and associative meanings of
extending metaphor and an allusion for using Ref’at, and Ikhwan are fundamental.
exalting the future president and whatever he Hence, such words are transliterated to be
touches – a subservience that enable him to be eventually noted in Appendix B.
almost a lord. The source text’s allusion is In Section II, Metaphors occurs 5 times.
implied in “‫[ ”ھﻨﺨﻠﯿﮫ ﺣﻤﺎرﻧﺎ‬Literally: we make it The minus metaphor is “‫”اﻻﻋﻼم ﺳﺎﻟﺨﻨﺎ‬
our donkey] which implies that they will [Literally: mass media is fucking us]. The
exercise their usual influence whoever be in slang use of the word “fuck” has many
office. It implies, too, that “Mr President” is multiple meaning other than copulation or
just a title or a pliable vocation regardless of sexual intercourse. The same word “‫ ”ﺳﺎﻟﺨﻨﺎ‬is
the persona: a picturesque that is enhanced by phonetically close to another Arabic word that
the connotation of the idiomatic expression of literally means fuck. This sort of word play or
“lord it”. onomatopoeia was filtered at the expense of
Notwithstanding, the use of the word the metaphoric rendering. This filtration is
“stained” in translation of “‫[ ”ﯾﺘﺬوق‬Literally: verily for some pragmatic considerations
to make up] is functional according to because the audience would never accept his
skoppos theory. The Arabic word means “to implicit meaning to be worded explicitly. It is
make up” that collocates with accessories and “you hide, I hide. You replace, I replace”
paints. The slogans will enable the new strategy played between the poet and the
president to appeal to the body politic by translator.
murmuring and babbling on some ideational Moreover, “‫اﻟﺠﻮاﻣﻊ ﺗﺤﺖ إﯾﺪﻧﺎ‬- [Literally:
slogans. The metaphoric stylistic device of mosques are under our hands] included
using some words cosmetically or as omission of the tribune as a whole-to-part
beautifier is, however, kept. relation, expressing the domination of the
Phonically, the word ‫ ﺣﻤﺎرك‬/homarak/ Islamic parties and exercising influence over
[Literally: your donkey] is allegorically close masjids’ tribunes, orators and visitors. It also
to ‫ﻣﺒﺎرك‬/Mobarak/ that puns for the ousted depicts mosques as a material small item that
president on the associative meaning and can be controlled by hands. Interestingly, the
onomatopoeic levels. translation delivers the controlling meaning
Etymologically, the poet converts the but doing without the hand element with the
proper nouns into slang verbs; the usage of use of the passive voice. Otherwise,
the word ‫ ﻗﻨﺪﻟﻨﺎ‬is a hyponym for Hesham Kandi metaphors are successfully rendered.
(the Ikwani Prime Minister). The word Kandil In section III, Metaphors are almost
itself is a male given Arabic name meaning inconspicuous. The speech mood is highly
“mantle”. This word was used to foreshadow formal and tough to correspond to the register
and evoke inductive and invective effects for in which a military speech about dominating
Page | 19
the country using the concise formal variety. 5.3 Prosody and phonology
The most significant metaphor is the extended Generally speaking, the colloquial
metaphor of Egypt as a listener and Arabic poems follow neither certain meter nor
inspiration to singers “‫ﻏﻨﻮا ﻟﻤﺼﺮ‬- [Literally: any rhythm. Some of them follow internal or
sang to Egypt], as a mother called upon by external rhyme or both. In this case, Al-Gakh
her son “‫[ ﯾﺎ أﻣﮫ‬Literally: mother], and as a plays a very conspicuous musicality by
person living in a stormy sea “ ‫ﻣﺼﺮ ﻋﺎﯾﺸﺔ ﻓﻲ‬ adopting the heroic couplet along with his
‫[ ﺑﺤﺮ ھﺎﯾﺞ‬Literally: Egypt lives in a stormy long poem. Intermittently, he uses inner
sea]. The above celebrating picturesque was rhyme. The musical sounds are rising and
delivered intact in “They chirp “Egypt ye, declining in pitch according to the tone and
Ma, art our ship”, and “Egypt sails wild register. For example, the military-based
waves”. The archaic use of “thou art” is an section delivers the lowest manacled
implicature to the allegorical song that musicality while the final section produces
ancestors used to sing many decades ago. the highest pinnacled sound.
In section IV, rendering the vague lines Accordingly, the translation has
is a piece of cake. The target text is still approached mostly the heroic couplet and
“tawdry” and ambiguous enabling word-for- preserved some phonological aspects of
word and idiom-for-idiom translations. The internal rhyme and rhythm. For example,
picturesque differs slightly in translating “ ‫وﺟﻊ‬ “hustle and bustle” in translation of /sadah
‫[ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻷﺑﻮاب‬Literally: agony is at the door] as madah/ with the initial letters different. This
“on the verge” which is more analogous and idiom for idiom translation is not stemming
functional to the purpose. out of a brainy translator. It is, however,
For the last section, idiom-for-idiom assessed through searching translation
translation, collocation and verbal connotation corpora and using the Computer-assisted
proves a great success in translating the 23 translation (CAT).
metaphors; including “the venous wall”, “Nile Rhythmically speaking, the translated
groans”, “the have-nots”, “I spurt”, “tatters lines follow the accentual syllabic meter with
that ripped”, “hustle and bustle”, “selling us all lines ten-syllabled. Although such
short”, “invincibly massed”, “I’m deeply constrains might seem, to many translators,
rooted”, “down your throat”, “make my blood complementarily or voluntarily, the ideational
boil” ..etc. content of the final translated produced is
This magnificent success rate in tightly linked to the poetic uniqueness --
rendering very similar and domesticated developing the greatest emotionality that is
imagery hinges on the common cross- intensely-loaded in the source lines.
language metaphors especially between these 5.4 Register
two languages.
The following table summarizes the (un)maintenance of the four registers in the target text
Page | 20
Section I Section II Section III Section IV

Field Maintained Maintained Maintained Maintained
switched (formal switched (formal switched (formal
Mood To the least extent
English) English) English)
Tenor Kept Kept Kept Kept
Dominant feature To the least extent To a lesser extent To the least extent To a lesser extent
University, Egypt. He is fond of translating
6. Conclusion Arabic poetry into English with comparing
The different Colloquial Arabic registers and contrasting the translated poem to the
are expressive to the ideology of the poet and nearest analogous English poems.
cannot be insofar maintained in English Esra'a Mustafa is a graduate of faculty of
translations. Mood loss in translation maims Al-Alson, Ain Shams University. She is
and distorts the original meaning for a great pursuing her MA in Linguistics Al-Alson, Ain
extent in spite of maintaining both the tenor Shams University, Egypt. Her major areas of
and the field. There are some common cross- research interest include- cognitive
language metaphors in both Egyptian linguistics, pragmatics and critical discourse
colloquial Arabic, and English. Accordingly, analysis (CDA).
poetic metaphors and register in colloquial
Egyptian Arabic are significantly related. References
Domesticate whenever possible! It means that Primary Source: Al-Gakh: The Call” Web.
idiom-for-idiom translation and sense-for- <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXaSV
sense are to be advocated to transfer most of BveJZc>. Retrieved on July 12, 2014.
the poetic messages. Secondary Sources:
Suggestions and Recommendations Bassiouney, R. (2009). Arabic
Computer assisted translation is mandatory in sociolinguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
providing the translators with nearest cultural University Press.
and conceptual equivalence—preserving the Halliday, M. A. K. (1985/89) p art A. In M.
translated registers mostly intact and figuring A. K. Halliday and R. Hasan, Language,
out genuine solutions to the trajectory of Context, and Text: Aspects of Language in a
imagery, implicature and culturemes. This is Social-Semiotic Perspective .
specifically fruitful within the scope of the Oxford/Geelong: OU p / Deakin University
colloquial Egyptian Arabic. Further studies press
are required toward fathoming this poetic Hassan, M. K. (2004). Classical and
treasure. Tele-communicative discourse is colloquial Arabic: Are they used
characteristic to Al-Gakh with no poems ever appropriately by non-native speakers. In
published in press: a phenomenal factor is Kassabgy, N., Ibrahim, Z. & Aydelott, S.
worthy to be explored as an influential Contrastive rhetoric Issues insights and
promoting tool. pedagogy. Cairo: The American University
press.
About the Authors: Kearns, M., S., (1987). Metaphors of Mind in
Bacem A. Essam is a graduate of faculty of Fiction and Psychology. The commonwealth
Arts. He is pursuing his MA in Translation of Kentucky: Kentucky University Press
studies at the faculty of Al-Alson, Ain Shams Mitchel, T. 1986. What is Educated spoken
Arabic? International Journal of the sociology
Page | 21
of language 61, 7-23 cited in Hassan, M. K.  Newmark, P. (1988). A text book of

(2004). Classical and colloquial Arabic: Are translation. NewYork: Prentice Hall
they used appropriately by non-native International
speakers. In Kassabgy, N., Ibrahim, Z. & :‫اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر اﻟﻌﺮﺑﯿﺔ‬
Aydelott, S. Contrastive rhetoric Issues ‫ دﻻﺋﻞ‬.1992 .‫ ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﻘﺎھﺮ ﺑﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ‬،‫اﻟﺠﺮﺟﺎﻧﻲ‬
insights and pedagogy. Cairo: The American 67:‫ ص‬.‫ اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺔ اﻟﺜﺎﻟﺜﺔ‬.‫ ﻣﺤﻤﻮد ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺷﺎﻛﺮ‬:‫ ﺗﻌﻠﯿﻖ‬.‫اﻹﻋﺠﺎز‬
University press. ‫ ﻣﻜﺘﺒﺔ اﻟﺨﺎﻧﺠﻲ‬:‫اﻟﻘﺎھﺮة‬
‫ ﻣﺴﺘﻮﯾﺎت اﻟﻌﺮﺑﯿﺔ اﻟﻤﻌﺎﺻﺮة ﻓﻲ‬,1973 .‫ ﺑﺪوي‬،‫اﻟﺴﻌﯿﺪ‬
‫ دار اﻟﻤﻌﺎرف‬:‫ اﻟﻘﺎھﺮة‬.89:213 :‫ ص‬.‫ﻣﺼﺮ‬
APPENDIX: A Translation by B. A. Essam
Translation by B. A. Essam Transcription of Original poem
The Call is a conversation with several conflicting speakers ‫اﻟﻤﻜﺎﻟﻤﺔ أرﺑﻊ أﺷﺨﺎص ﺑﯿﺘﺨﺎﻧﺠﻮا‬
...
I I
I knew the ropes I previously did. ‫ﺧﻼص ﻋﺮﻓﺖ ﺧﻼص ﻋﺮﻓﺖ‬
they revolted to get a jackass ousted, ‫ﻋﻤﻠﻮا ﺛﻮرة وﺷﺎﻟﻮا زﻓﺖ‬
But it's not to do on just his person. ‫ﺑﺲ ﻣﺎ ﺗﻘﻮﻟﯿﺶ ﺧﻼص ﻣﺸﻮا ﺣﻤﺎرك‬
We worship the ground a jackass walks on; ‫أى واﺣﺪ ﺑﻌﺪه ھﻨﺨﻠﯿﮫ ﺣﻤﺎرﻧﺎ‬
despite his name was not even “jackass”! ‫ ﺣﻤﺎرك‬.. " ‫ﺣﺘﻰ ﻟﻮ ﻣﺎﻛﺎﻧﺶ إﺳﻤﮫ‬
Talk inanely no more about the folks. ‫ﺷﻌﺐ ﻣﯿﻦ ﯾﺎ ﺟﺤﺶ إﻧﺖ‬
Has Egypt ever been ruled by the folks? ‫ھﻲّ ﻣﺼﺮ إﻣﺘﻰ ﺣﻜﻤﮭﺎ ﺷﻌﺐ‬
The complete English translation of the Poem ‘The Call’ by B. A. Essam can be requested through mail
to- literaryartrans@gmail.com .
Appendix B: Glossary
‘Antar: a pre-Islamic famous poet and warrior; epitomical for bravery and creativity.
Athan: the call for Moslem’s prayers; five times a day.
Ikhwan: affiliate of the “Moslem Brethren”: theopolitical association/ group. [Adj. Ikwani]
Ref’at: a modern Islamic enchanter whose voice is classical to the Egyptian ears especially on voicing the Athan .
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Challenges in Translating Colloquial Egyptian Arabic Poetry Into English The Case of Register and Metaphors-A Contrastive Study

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Challenges in Translating Colloquial Egyptian Arabic Poetry Into English The Case of Register and Metaphors-A Contrastive Study

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International Journal of English Language

& Translation Studies

Journal homepage: http://www.eltsjournal.org

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

1. Introduction According to Badawi (1973), the

Section I Section II Section III Section IV

of language 61, 7-23 cited in Hassan, M. K.  Newmark, P. (1988). A text book of

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