Republic of Yemen

Sana’a University
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Department of English

Translation of Collocation:
Problems and Issues

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of English, Faculty of

Arts, University of Sana’a, in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Master Degree in Translation

By

MAJID H. AL-JARADI
SUPERVISOR
ABDELRAHMAN ABDRABOU
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH & TRANSLATION STUDIES
FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES, SANA’A UNIVERSITY

ASSISTANT SUPERVISOR
DR. SATYARTH PRAKASH TRIPATHY
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH
FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES, SANA’A UNIVERSITY

2015 1437
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to my wonderful parents

II
 ‫يَا أڄيًَُا النَاسُإچنَا خَلڄقْنَاكڅمْ مِنْ ذڄكڄرڃ ٌَأڅنْثڄى‬

‫ٌَجَعَلْنَاكڅمْ شُعُوبُا ٌَقڄبَائِلڄ لِتڄعَارَفڅوا‬

ِ‫إچنَ أڄكْرَمَكڅمْ عِنْدَ اللَهِ أڄتْقڄاكڅمْ إچنَ اللَهَ عَلِيمِ خَبچر‬

31 ‫الحجرات‬

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you
peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in
the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and
Acquainted. [49:13]

III
 Acknowledgements

I thank Allah, the exalted Who showered His bounties and favors upon me and

guided me to His obedience on the right path. I am so much indebted to my

parents who stood up for me and supported me so passionately. I am grateful to

Professor Abdelrahman Abdrabou, the professor of English and Translation

Studies at Sana’a University, who has always supported me and inspired me, not

only through this research, but also through my undergraduate and postgraduate

academic years in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, where I took a number of

unforgettable courses with him. Throughout this research, he carried up the

responsibility to assist me to achieve the aim in due course. His valuable

suggestions and constructive feedback have always a creative power in the

continual development of this research. I also thank Professor Satyarth Tripathy,

who assisted in reading and revising this thesis with a great passion and

enthusiasm. His assistance and encouragement have pushed me forward to focus

on a timely achievement. I shall also thank everyone else who participated in the

success of this project, not named here; their encouragement and advice are highly

appreciated.

IV
 ABSTRACT

This thesis discusses the concept of collocation in translation from

different theoretical and practical perspectives. As collocation is seen by

many translation scholars as a complex translation problem, this research

is an attempt to investigate the nature of this complexity in translation

practice through short stories. The research practically investigates the

concept of collocation through a comparative and contrastive analysis of

two different English translations of the same Arabic short story, The

Color of Rain, written by Mohammed Abdul Wali, aiming at a better

understanding of the problem of collocation in translation from Arabic

into English, and finding out cost­effective ways to deal with such

problems practically and professionally. The original story and both

translated versions were deconstructed into collocational units or

elements where a collocation can be identified or inferred in a matrix.

The matrix also includes four main collocation types: free, restricted,

figurative, and idiomatic, plus criteria values of each type and the

researcher’s commentary. In­depth discussion with examples from both

translations is included covering three main areas: (1) comparative and

contrastive translation quality assessment of both translations from

collocation perspective; (2) types of collocations used in the original

story and in both translations; and (3) strategies used in the translation of

V
collocation, including avoidance or omission, repetition, transfer,

analogy, and reduction.

It is found that the first translation (TT1) has less pragmatic

impact than the second translation (TT2). Both translators demonstrated

competency in free and restricted types of collocation, but translating

figurative collocations is found out to be the most significant problem in

TT1 as opposed to TT2. TT2 used the five strategies mentioned above in

a more competent way than TT1, which reflects mastery in translating

collocations in this particular short story. This competency is synergized

through collaborative efforts offered by two translators from different

cultural backgrounds as featured in TT2. Sole translation activity may

reflect a less competent level of performance as demonstrated in TT1,

and this may be one important reason of the problems of collocation

encountered by the first translator.

VI
 Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... IV

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ V

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ VII

LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................... IX

LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................... IX

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... - 1 -

1.1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ...................................................................... ­ 1 ­

1.2. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ....................................................................... ­ 3 ­

1.3. RATIONALE .................................................................................................. ­ 5 ­

1.4. DEFINITION OF TERMS .................................................................................. ­ 6 ­

1.5. LIMITATION .................................................................................................. ­ 9 ­

1.6. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ................................................................................ ­ 9 ­

1.6.1. Broad Objective ................................................................................... - 9 -

1.6.2. Specific Objectives ............................................................................. - 10 -

1.7. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ ­ 10 ­

1.7.1. Data Collection .................................................................................. - 11 -

1.7.2. Data Analysis ..................................................................................... - 11 -

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................................ - 13 -

CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTUAL OBSERVATIONS OF COLLOCATION .... - 27 -

VII
 3.1. COLLOCATION TYPES ................................................................................. ­ 27 ­

3.2. SYNONYMOUS VARIABILITY VS. COLLOCATION ......................................... ­ 29 ­

3.3. COLLOCATIONAL RANGE ........................................................................... ­ 31 ­

3.4. COLLOCATION AND REGISTER .................................................................... ­ 32 ­

3.5. COHESION AND COHERENCE ...................................................................... ­ 35 ­

3.6. DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION .............................................................. ­ 39 ­

3.7. FIGURATIVE COLLOCATIONS AND LEVEL OF IDIOMATICITY ....................... ­ 40 ­

CHAPTER 4: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS ................................ - 46 -

4.1. DATA COLLECTION .................................................................................... ­ 47 ­

4.2. DATA ANALYSIS............................................................................................. 87

4.2.1. Translation Quality Assessment .............................................................. 89

4.2.2. Analysis of Collocation Types ................................................................. 91

4.2.3. Strategies of Translating Collocations ................................................... 96

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................ 104

5.1. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS ...................................................................... 104

5.2. RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ...................................................... 109

BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 110

ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................. 115

VIII
 List of Figures

FIGURE 2: NEWMARK'S PROCESS OF TRANSLATING .................................................................................... - 38 -

FIGURE 1: SYNTAGMATIC AND PARADIGMATIC RELATIONSHIPS .................................................................... - 37 -

FIGURE 3: NEWMARK'S COMPONENTS OF A METAPHOR............................................................................. - 41 -

FIGURE 4: TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF TT1 & TT2 ....................................................................... 89

FIGURE 5: COLLOCATION TYPES: COMPARING QUALITY BETWEEN TT1 & TT2 .................................................... 94

List of Tables
TABLE 1: DEFINITION OF TERMS ....................................................................................................... ­ 6 ­

TABLE 2: POSITIVE VS. NEGATIVE CONNOTATIVE MEANINGS OF COLLOCATES ............................. ­ 23 ­

TABLE 3: SYNONYMOUS VARIABILITY VS. COLLOCATIONAL PATTERNING..................................... ­ 29 ­

TABLE 4: COLLOCATIONAL PATTERNS OF SYNONYMS ACCROSS LANGUAGE BARRIERS ................ ­ 30 ­

TABLE 5: DEGREE OF COLLOCATIONAL RANGE .............................................................................. ­ 31 ­

TABLE 6: NEWMARK'S SCALE OF FORMALITY ................................................................................. ­ 33 ­

TABLE 7: NEWMARK'S SCALE OF GENERALITY VS. SPECIFICITY ..................................................... ­ 34 ­

TABLE 8: NEWMARK'S SCALE OF EMOTIONAL TONE ...................................................................... ­ 34 ­

TABLE 9: TEXTUAL COHESION IN ENGLISH ..................................................................................... ­ 35 ­

TABLE 10: COLLOCATION AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION ......... ­ 40 ­

TABLE 11: DEFINING COLLOCATION TYPES FOR DATA COLLECTION PURPOSES............................. ­ 49 ­

TABLE 12: CRITERIA AND VALUES FOR TRANSLATED COLLOCATIONS ........................................... ­ 50 ­

TABLE 13: DECONSTRUCTED COLLOCATIONAL UNITS OF ST & TTS .................................................. 51

TABLE 14: COLLOCATION TYPES: COMPARISON BETWEEN TT1 & TT2 .............................................. 93

IX
 Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1. Statement of the Problem

Translation is “rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the

way that the author intended the text” Newmark )1411:5). To communicate the

intention of the author, the translator is professionally obligated to transfer ideas and

thoughts explicitly marked or implicitly suggested by the ST. The idea here is to

generate a response from the targeted readership comparable to the one generated by

the ST. The transfer of meaning and intent across language and cultural barriers is

inherently problematic since meaning is abstract in nature and as such it defies

quantification. The translation process is further complicated if the ST is heavily

embedded with concepts deeply entrenched in culture. Poetic discourses in general

tend to be heavily embedded with cultural overtones as such they do pose significant

problems for professional translators let alone students of translation. One of the most

sticky issues in translation is frequently linked up to the translation of culture­bound

expressions foremost among them is the translation of collocational expressions. This

underscores the primary motivation underpinning this research pursuit and highlights

the nature of the problem to investigate within the scope of this research.

The translation of collocational expressions has always been viewed by

scholars in translation and translation professionals as a sticky issue. The controversy

arises primarily from the potential linguistic and cultural divides between the source

1
and target texts. For instance, Mahmoud (2005:117) states that 64 percent of college­

bound native speakers of Arabic tend to experience significant difficulties in

translating texts (heavily loaded with collocations) either into their own native

language or into a foreign language. He argues that the difficulties may primarily be

attributed to mother­tongue interference (MTI). He maintains that MTI usually results

in the production and generation of word combinations which may violate norms of

collocations at the TT level thus resulting in the production of texts which may be

judged as unnatural by native speakers at the TT level.

The difficulties of collocation have been stated by many translation scholars or

linguists although there has not been an agreement on specific problem­laden

categories. Collocations may be subdivided into two major categories: (1) free word

combinations (2) fixed expressions and idioms (Baker 2011:67). These may “consist

of lexical items that enter mainly into high­frequency grammatical structures”

(Newmark 1988:212); or may be concurrently grammatical and lexical in nature

(Benson, Benson and Ilson 1986b). Furthermore, Ghazala (2007:12) classifies

collocations into 17 grammatical and lexical types. The BBI Combinatory Dictionary

(1986) excludes free combinations, whereas the Oxford Dictionary of Current

Idiomatic English (1985) includes such combinations as a category within a four­

point scale of collocations (i.e., open collocations, restricted collocations, figurative

idioms, and pure idioms). Collocations were also classified into 13 types in the

Oxford Collocations Dictionary (2002:ix) ranging between weak collocations through

medium strength to the strongest and most restricted. Thus no two linguists or

2
translators would probably agree on one definitve approach to classify collocational

expressions. The diversity of the phenomenon poses a critical challenge for teachers

and translation professionals. Therefore, focused research on the concept of

collocation may be of great importance to further augment the process of translation

and identify persistent problems and issues which may affect translators’ work. This

research study would be of special significance for students and teachers of

translation as well as translation professionals.

1.2. Significance of the Study

The use of collocational expressions has a profound impact on translation and

translation quality assessment, where more specific and effective expressions find

their way in the composition of a text. Assessing the quality of collocational

expressions may increase collocational competence in the source and target

languages because students of translation can build their contextual background and

enhance their intuition to produce more accurate and effective texts. Collocations

enter into the composition of different text types and play a significant role in text

typology. They can increase the accuracy and effectiveness of a text because

collocational expressions form an integral part of text cohesion and text coherence.

This theoretical relationship forms a profound link between collocations and the

quality of a translation and can be one of the significant tools in translation and

translation quality assessment.

3
 The significance of collocations can also be attributed to the challenges they

pose in translation. Differences of collocation surface structure, misinterpreting the

meaning of a source­language collocation, the tension between accuracy and

acceptability of source language (SL) and target language (TL) collocations, and

culture­specific collocations are but some issues that a translator may encounter

(Baker 2011:58­65). The presupposition that exact equivalence or synonymy in two

languages, or in the same language, does not exist (Enani 1994:15­16). Therefore, the

role of a translator becomes harder to choose the most comparable expression which

suits a certain context. From this perspective collocations may offer translators a

significant tool to bridge the gap between source text (ST) and target text (TT).

Furthermore, there are recent efforts to compile independent collocation

dictionaries within and/or across languages. Unlike lexical dictionaries where the

emphasis lies on defining, classifying and exemplifying individual lexical items,

collocation dictionaries have attempted to bridge substantial gaps between different

language barriers and cultural inputs. But there are still few efforts to compose

collocation dictionaries among different languages. The first collocation dictionary in

Arabic language is DAR EL­ILM’S Dictionary of Collocations, A Comprehensive

English ‫ س‬Arabic Dictionary of Accuracy of Word Combination and Usage by

Ghazala (2007). Ghazala (2007:7) has incorporated collocational expressions in

Arabic language corresponding to those of English noting that Arabic is the first

language of synonymy in the world. He states that there are still no comprehensive

mono­dictionaries on Arabic collocations or Arabic­English collocations. These

4
issues, and others, have encouraged researchers in translation to investigate the nature

of this concept and find out its essential principles.

This research may be of value to translation professionals, translation teachers,

students of translation and linguistic studies, and students of English as a foreign

language. It provides insightfulness into short story translation from a comparative

literature viewpoint. The technique of deconstructing collocations into units, inferring

and classifying collocations in a matrix, and comparing or contrasting translations

with the original, is probably a powerful tool for understanding text overall

meaning(s) in accounting for the nuances of translation (see 4.1 Data Collection).

1.3. Rationale

Collocations probably assist in the production of natural language, give

alternative ways of writing or saying things effectively, and improve writing style and

thus they do bridge the gap between translation theory and translation practice. As a

concept, collocation is universal but the application of this concept may vary

significantly from language to another. However, translating collocations effectively

may add up to the total impact of the TT, produces more coherent and cohesive

writing style, and compensates for meaning loss.

Through careful observations by the researcher on translating and teaching

collocations at Sana’a University, Faculty of Languages, it was obvious that students

of translation have serious mistakes in the use of collocations, especially when they

5
conduct translation assignments, including literary paragraphs, essays, and short

sorties, from Arabic into English. This research will, therefore, be informed by

theories in comparative literature where one single text may invite a variety of

responses through acts of translation from Arabic into English. Short stories have an

abundant use of collocational expressions and thus may be a convenient and fertile

medium for this research. A short story usually deals with one particular incident or

one aspect of life and it has a limited scope. Short story writers therefore need a

creative eye to project the story narrative with effective language to pragmatically

impact prospective readership. Each word or expression of the story should feed into

the overall objective. From this perspective the short story, unlike other works of art,

can stand out to be a better choice for the purpose of this research.

1.4. Definition of Terms

The following matrix defines all relevant terms used in this research, arranged

according to the relevance of related terms within the same matrix.

Table 1: Definition of Terms

# Term Definition
Source text has been translated into the target language in terms of
1 Comparability
ST accuracy and TT acceptability.
The notion of adequacy in translation is driven by the two most
competing requirements in translation: ST accuracy, which is author­
centered, and TT acceptability, which is reader­driven. Within the
2 Adequacy
notion of acceptability comes collocation as a sub­division. Adequate
translated collocation is comparable to ST collocation in terms of
intended meaning and pragmatic effect.
Inadequate translation of collocation has either (1) an omission of
3 Inadequacy
collocation in TT that results in loss of meaning, and/or (2) a free

6
# Term Definition
combination reduced from ST figurative or idiomatic collocation,
which lacks pragmatic effect at TT level.
If translation X is not comparable to translation Y in terms of
4 Diverse translation
collocational units, this is probably described as diverse translation.
Componential analysis of the sense components which enter into the
5 Text deconstruction
composition of collocational units at ST and TT levels.
Collocation is arbitrary, habitual, or regular co­occurrences of certain
6 Collocation lexical items in a specific register to produce typical, natural, and
consistent language in different written or spoken contexts.
The smallest segment of discourse that contains one collocation used
7 Collocational unit as an inseparable unit in the text or as two separable words within the
same text where they can be inferred from the context as collocation.
Source text: the original text of a translated version in another
8 ST
language.
Target text: the translated version of the original text in another
9 TT
language.
Source text collocations are translated into non­collocational
10 Free combination
segments of discourse or weak collocations.
The meaning that can be derived from composing the literal meaning
11 Free collocation
of individual elements, and its constituents are freely substitutable.
Restricted collocation is more limited in the selection of
12 Restricted collocation compositional element and usually has one component that is used in
a specialized context.
The metaphorical meaning as a whole that can somehow be derived
13 Figurative collocation
from poetic discourses.
The unitary meaning that is totally unpredictable from the meaning
14 Idiomatic collocation
of its components.
Collocation not
15 Source text collocation was not translated at all.
translated
16 SL Source language: the language that is translated from.
17 TL Target language: the language that is translated into.
Collocational
18 Translators’ knowledge of collocations in ST and TT.
competence

7
# Term Definition
Inferred collocation is composed of two or more words that collocate
with each other in the same segment of discourse (i.e. collocational
19 Inferred collocation
unit), and a clear collocation can be inferred from the context
irrespective of where it is located in the text.
Word­for­word translation is an interlinear translation, with the TL
immediately below SL words, preserving SL word order. Words are
Word­for­word translated singly by their most common meanings, out of context,
20
translation and cultural words are translated literally. It is mainly used to
understand the mechanics of SL or to construe a difficult text as a
pre­translation process.
SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL
equivalents, and lexical words are again translated singly, out of
21 Literal Translation
context. It is often used as a pre­translation process to indicate
problems to be solved.
Translation strategy refers to the technique used intentionally or
unintentionally by a translator when translating a collocation from
22 Translation strategy
Arabic into English language. Translation strategies in this thesis
include avoidance, repetition, transfer, analogy, and reduction.
Avoidance is a translation strategy whereby certain ST collocations
are omitted in the translation due to either translator’s incompetence
23 Avoidance strategy
or in favor of an alternative expression deemed appropriate from the
perspective of the targeted readership.
Repetition strategy is the production of a certain collocation in a
24 Repetition strategy
repetitive way throughout the translated text.
Transfer strategy is the effect of mother tongue interference that is
25 Transfer strategy
prevalent in the translation.
Analogy is a translation strategy by means of which a TT collocation
26 Analogy strategy is adapted among different possible choices of TL collocations to
reflect a comparable effect of ST collocation.
Reduction strategy reduces a source text figurative or restricted
27 Reduction strategy
collocation to a free collocation or a generic word combination.

8
1.5. Limitation

Scholars of translation have argued that translating from Arabic into English is

more difficult than vice versa (Newmark 1988:3) due to cross­linguistic and cross­

cultural disparities. Therefore, this research mainly discusses the problems of

translating collocations from Arabic language into English and aims at investigating

the nature of these difficulties so it may propose some remedies. Because of limited

scope or scarcity of resources the research basically addresses translation problems

with focus on collocational expressions in one short story. It draws heavily on two

different translations of the same Arabic short story, ‫ال‬ ‫( ل‬The Color of Rain),

written by Mohammed Abdul Wali1 (1940­1973). The author was a modern Yemeni

writer and diplomat (see P. 99). The research contains an in­depth discussion of

various types of collocations used in this short story and compares two different

translated versions of this short story. The first version was translated by Abubaker

Bagader and Deborah Akers in 2001, and the second version was translated by Dr.

Shirin Yassin Yar Mohammed in 2006.

1.6. Research Objectives

1.6.1. Broad Objective

The main objective of this study is to identify and investigate the nature of the

problems emanating from the translation of collocational expressions from Arabic

into English, and aims at proposing cost effective ways to deal with such problems.

9
1.6.2. Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of this research are to

1. Define and specify the notion of collocation as it pertains to the purpose of

this study.

2. Investigate the nature of problems resulting from the translation of

collocational expressions from Arabic into English with focus on narrative

discourses.

3. Assess the translation quality of collocational expressions used in different

translations of the same original short story.

4. Suggest means and ways to cost­effectively address problems associated

with the translation of collocational expressions across linguistic and

cultural boundaries.

1.7. Research Methodology

The researcher will analyze two translated English versions of the short story

‫ال‬ ‫ س ل‬by Mohammed Abdul Wali (1940‫س‬1973), a Yemeni prominent short story

writer and a former diplomat. The first translation, The Color of Rain, was translated

by Abubaker Bagader and Deborah Akers and published in 2001 by the Center for

Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. The second translation

10
of the same short story was translated by Dr. Shirin Yassin Yar Mohammed and

published in 2006 by Ubadi Center for Studies and Publications in Sana’a.

The analysis is qualitatively­driven where the quality of both translated

versions is tested according to ST intentions and TT acceptability.

1.7.1. Data Collection

The ST is deconstructed into its collocational units. These units are identified and

compared with different translated versions of the original and/or other works

originally written in English language. ST collocations and their TT translations are

identified and listed in an organized matrix with the following heading titles:

(1) ST collocational unit, inferred collocation, & its type;

(2) TT collocational unit of version one including inferred collocation, & its type;

(3) TT collocational unit of version two including inferred collocation, & its type;

(4) Criteria value of both translated versions; and

(5) The researcher’s commentary.

1.7.2. Data Analysis

Data analysis mainly discusses how translators have managed to convey ST

collocations into TT compared with the ST intention(s). Referential and connotative

meanings of certain collocations are compared within the two translated versions, and

also discussed with examples from other works of art originally written in English

11
language when required. The quality of each collocation is determined with regard to

the translator’s ability to bridge the gap between ST intention and TT acceptability,

with more focus on the pragmatic effect of each collocational unit on the prospective

readership. The research also identifies the types of collocation used in ST and both

translated versions, and compares the end results. There is a discussion of various

problems emanating from linguistic, cultural, and figurative gaps between ST and

TT.

12
 Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature

In linguistics, collocations have been tentatively defined as “semantically

arbitrary restrictions which do not follow logically from the propositional meaning of

a word” (Baker 2011:52) or “the tendency of certain words to co­occur regularly in a

given language” (ibid). Newmark (1988:212) defines collocation as the “habitual co­

occurrence of individual lexical items” quoting )Crystal 1411(. Hatim and Munday

(2004:249) refer to collocation as “the way that words are typically used together.”

Oxford Collocations Dictionary (2002: vii) maintains that “collocation is the way

words combine in a language to produce natural­sounding speech and writing.”

Similar to these definitions, Ghazala (2006: 106) states that collocation is “a

combination of two or more words that always occur together consistently in

different texts and contexts in language.” Thus collocations are described as arbitrary,

habitual, or regular co­occurrences of words or lexical items to produce typical,

natural, and consistent language in different written or spoken contexts; or as Firth

(1957:11) initially puts it in his famous phrase, “You shall know a word by the

company it keeps.”

In translation, the concept of collocation has taken a wider scope between two

or more languages. However, Newmark (1988:212) states that collocations in

translation is “considerably narrower” consisting of “lexical items that enter mainly

into high­frequency grammatical strucutres.” He lists three grammatical collocations:

adjective plus noun, noun plus noun, and verb plus object collocational patterns, and
13
considers these as the most common collocations (Ibid:213). Two other types, adverb

plus verb and adverb plus adjective patterns, were termed as “disposable clichés”

(ibid). In this process of calssifying collocations, both linguistics and translation

scholars have different ramifications of collocational types with regard to different

cultural backgrounds. Some scholars have classified collocations between free word

combinations and fixed expressions and idioms (Baker 2011:52; Nesselhauf 2005:33;

Cowie 1998:23), while others have opted for a detailed typological identification of

collocation. Ghazala (2006:106­121) identifies twelve grammatical collocation types

and lists seventeen integrated lexical and grammatical collocations (Ghazala

2007:12). He also categorizes twenty grammatical, ten lexical, five styltistical and

eight contextual when translating from Arabic into English (Ghazala 2004a:2­32);

and concurrently mentions seven collocational types when translating from English

into Arabic (Ghazala 2004b:35­59). Furthermore, the Oxford Collocations Dictionary

(2002:vii) adopts thirteen collocational combinations ranging between weak

collocations (see a film), through medium strength (see a doctor), to stronger and

most restricted and idiomatic (see danger/reason/the point).

From the above, it becomes quite evident that the notion of collocation is being

viewed differently by linguistics and translation scholars alike. Nesselhauf (2005:1)

argues that collocation is composed of phraseological units, lexeme combinations,

prefabricated units, lexical chunks, multi­word units, formulaic sequences, and

collocational expressions, and adopts the terms “prefabricated units” or “prefabs”. He

compares frequency­based approach with phraseological approach. Frequency­based

14
approach to collocation is mainly concerned with computational analysis of

syntagmatic relations and is initiated by J. R. Firth and developed by M. Halliday and

J. Sinclair; while phraseological appraoch is used in the fields of lexicography and/or

pedagogy and is propounded by A. P. Cowie, I. Melcuk, and F. J. Hausmann. Cowie

(1998:30) adopts the phraseological approach to collocations; he divides phrasemes

into pragmatic and semantic types and subsumes collocation under semantic

phrasemes between idioms and quesi­idioms. Further, Takac (2008:7) discusses

paradigmatic and syntagmatic relationships of lexical items and considers

collocations as the restrictions of syntagmatic relationships, which are characterized

by linear sequencing of lexemes as opposed to paradigmatic relationships (i.e., the

relationship between lexemes that can be substituted with other lexical items in a

sentence). This profusion of collocational typological description poses a problematic

concern in identifying the exact nature of the concept of collocation because of its

universal appeal and its linguistic and culture­specific applicability.

Baker (2011) discusses words, collocations, fixed expressions and idioms as

interrelated phenomena in translation and considers idioms and fixed expressions as

the extreme end of the collocational scale. Only “flexibility of patterning” and/or

“transparency of meaning” determine the primary differences between these extreme

ends (Ibid:67). She states that collocations allow for different variations in form

based on collocational range (e.g. deliver a letter, delivery of a letter, a letter has

been delivered and having delivered a letter); whereas idioms and fixed expressions

are frozen patterns of language and allow for little or no variation in form (e.g. face

15
the music). Moreover, collocations can be divided into their constituent parts and

each part has a definitive meaning (e.g., conduct a meeting) but the meaning of each

item in an idiom cannot signify to the meaning expressed by the whole entity (e.g.,

bury the hatchet). Baker (2011:67) also writes, “a speaker or writer cannot normally

do any of the following with an idiom: (1) change the order of words in it (e.g., *‘the

short and the long of it1’(; )1( delete a word from it )e.g., *‘spill beans2’(; )1( add a

word to it (e.g., *‘face the classical music3’(; )9( replace a word with another )e.g.,

*‘bury a hatchet4’(; or (5) change its grammatical structure (e.g., *‘the music was

faced’(.” Farghal and Obiedat (1995:315‫س‬332) concludes that both senior and junior

English majors at Yarmouk University and language teachers of English, who are

native speakers of Arabic, are seriously deficient in collocations. Because of this

deficiency, they heavily resort to strategies of lexical simplification such as

synonymy, avoidance, transfer and paraphrasing (ibid).

Furthermore, Takac (2008:7) states that some collocations are entirely

predictable (e.g., blond hair), while other lexical items have a wide range of

collocations (e.g., letter collocates with post, write, send, etc.). Some other lexemes

appear in many different contexts making it rather difficult to predict all possible

collocations (e.g., verbs like have or get). Baker (2011:54) refers to predictability of

collocations as “collocational range” signifying the set of collocates which are

1
The long and the short of it: the most important facts about something rather than all the details
( ‫ ;)خاص ال‬the bottom line
2
Spill the beans: to reveal secret information unintentionally (‫)ي شي س ا‬
3
Face the music: to be confronted with the unpleasant consequences of one’s actions ) ‫ي اجه ع اقب‬
‫)أفع له‬
4
Bury the hatchet: become friendly again after a disagreement or a quarrel (‫)ي ف خاف ت م‬

16
typically associated with the word in question. She maintains that collocation’s “level

of capacity” and “number of senses” comprises the two main factors that influence

the collocational range of a word. “Level of capacity” determines the collocational

range depending on the collocates a word can naturally occupy; the more general a

word, the broader its collocational range. For example, the word bury is likely to have

a much broader collocational range than any of its hyponyms, such as inter or

entomb. The second main factor focuses on various senses that a word can signify,

i.e., a word can have different sets of collocates according to the multiple senses it

has. For instance, the verb run in its sense of “manage” collocates with company,

institution and business, but in its sense of “operate or provide,” it collocates with

other words such as service or course). Further, Newmark (1988:213) states that there

are few collocational options for narrow collocational ranges, where a word normally

has only one collocate (e.g., the sounds made by common animals), and therefore this

is a question of contrastive nature rather than a translation problem.

Understanding collocation as a concept has therefore been approached

differently by many linguists and translation scholars, and the problems of translating

collocations have also corresponded likewise. Newmark (1988:213) states that the

recognition of whether or not a collocation is familiar, natural, or just acceptable

poses one of the most important problems in translation. He provides two approaches

to translating a collocation. First, a translator should shift the grammatical structure

of ST collocation into a familiar, natural or at least acceptable counterpart in the TT

that suits its structure and semantic inputs. The other approach is to consider the

17
acceptable collocational ranges of any lexical word. He observes that translators’ role

is to find out transparent TL collocations relevant to their counterpart in the SL text,

and this is a sensitive and complex task. He concludes that translation is sometimes a

continual struggle to find appropriate collocations. To quote Newmark (1988:213),

“If grammar is the bones of a text, collocations are the nerves, more subtle and

multiple and specific in denoting meaning, and lexis is the flesh.” Baker (2011:58­

67), however, mentions five pitfalls frequently associated with the translation of

collocational expressions, including differences of language surface and deep

structures, native language interference, ST accuracy vs. TT acceptability, culture­

specific concepts, and marked collocations i.e., unusual combinations of words in ST

(see also Basil and Hatim 2004:249). In addition, Ghazala (2006:127) discusses

collocations in relation to their grammatical structure, fixedness vs. flexibility,

directness vs. indirectness, clarity vs. unclarity, formal vs. colloquial style, simplicity

vs. complexity, familiarity vs. peculiarity, and contextual factors.

Baker (2011:58) maintains that translators might get engrossed in the level of

ST comprehension and may produce odd phrases at the TT level, called “the

difficulty of generalization” and “variability of collocations” by Ghazala

(2006:122,124). However, a translator can easily manage to avoid this problem once

he is alerted to the potential influence of ST surface structure. To offset such

influence, Baker (2011:59) suggests that the draft translation may be put aside for a

few hours to allow the translator to assume the role of an editor or critic at the TT

level. Ghazala (2006:123,124) hints at using a good dictionary such as Al­Mawrid

18
English­Arabic Dictionary in anticipation that the students would give the collocation

counterparts at the TT level. Translators may also misinterpret ST collocations

because of native language interference e.g., ‫ خل م اضع‬may be translated as modest

income instead of small income (Baker 2011:59,60). Native language interference is a

crucial issue in the ESL/EFL teaching where the brain is actually attempting to

comprehend a new language system, at a time when the source language system is

firmly entrenched. The question of ST accuracy and TT acceptability is a pressing

area in the translation of collocations (2011:60,63). If the translator manages to take

the nearest acceptable collocation at the TT level, the difference may be minimal or

even insignificant. However, the difference could be more significant in certain other

contexts. For example, the nearest collocation of hard drink in Arabic is alcoholic

drink, but hard drink refers only to spirits in English excluding beer, lager and sherry

(Ibid). Furthermore, Ghazala (2006:125­127) provides nine translation procedures or

solutions to these collocation problems, ordered from best to poorest: (1) trace the

identical collocation in the target language; (2) use a close collocation if no direct

collocation is found; (3) use a suitable collocation if (1) and (2) above are

unattainable; (4) translate the correct meaning of the collocation if none of the above

can be found; (5) translate a direct meaning of the ST into a direct meaning in the TT

(this implies that indirect meanings should also be translated into indirect meanings

as well); (6) transfer the English colloquial collocation into colloquial Arabic

collocation, though formal Arabic may also be acceptable; (7) translate a formal

English collocation into a formal Arabic counterpart (colloquial translations are not

19
advisable(; )1( translate fixed collocations like ‘as…as’ similes into comparable

Arabic ones; and (9) translate collocations literally as the last resort although this may

produce odd or unacceptable expressions at the TT level. Thus, translators should

exert some effort to find a comparable collocation in the target language since

translation is considered “a continual struggle to find appropriate collocations”

(Newmark 1988:213); however, if this is deemed impossible, they just translate the

meaning of the collocation as nearly as possible. Students of translation should avoid

literal understanding, use back­translation techniques, remember fixed structures in

both languages, pay considerable attention to the semantic gap that might be

broadened or narrowed according to the cultural context, and produce natural

translations which are deemed acceptable from the perspective of targeted readership.

Newmark (1988:145) also discusses the problem of translating collocations

under the broad category of neologisms. He states that neologisms constitute the

professional translator’s biggest problem. He defines neologisms as “newly coined

lexical units or existing lexical units that acquire a new sense” )1988:140), and

discusses twelve types2 (see P. 99) among of which are new collocations. For existing

collocations with new cultural or non­cultural senses, Newmark (1988:142) provides

two procedures: “if the referent (concept or object) exists in the TL, there is usually a

recognized translation or through­translation. If the concept does not exist )e.g., ‘tug­

of­love’( or the TL speakers are not yet aware of it, an economical descriptive

equivalent has to be given.” However, he states that new collocations ‫ س‬particularly

common in the social sciences and in computer language ‫ س‬should be translated by a

20
descriptive term until a TL standard term is formulated (1988:145). He provides that

new collocations should be transferred if they appear important and a functional

descriptive term shall be added, because translators do not have the authority to

devise their own neologisms. Some examples of new collocations include lead time5

(‫مس ق‬ ‫) شع‬, domino effect6 ( ‫ال أثي ي‬/ ‫الح ي‬ ‫)ال ي‬, cold­calling7 ( ‫ث ي‬ ‫) ي‬, acid rain8

(‫ي‬ ‫الح‬ ‫)ال‬, norm reference testing9 ( ‫الع‬ ‫فق ال س‬ ‫)اخ‬, criterion reference

testing10 ( ‫فق ال ع يي‬ ‫)اخ‬, rate­capping11 ( ‫ج يع‬ ‫ع‬ ‫أخ‬ ‫قي‬ ‫ ف‬،‫ي ي‬ ‫ال يل ال‬

‫ائب‬ ‫)ال‬, jetlag12 ( ‫ال غط في ال ئ‬ ‫ ان‬،‫) عي ء‬, lateral thinking13 (‫ال ن ي‬ ‫)ال ي‬,

wishful thinking14 (‫ه ي‬ ‫ ت ي‬، ‫)أحا الي‬, machine­readable15 ( ‫)نص ي ن أ ي أ آلي‬,

sunshine industries16 ( ‫ال ائ‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ ال‬، ‫ال ي‬ ‫ع‬ ‫)ال‬, narrow money17 ( ‫م‬ ‫ …)ن‬etc.

5
The time between design and production or between ordering and delivery of a product.
6
A situation in which one event or action causes several other things to happen one after the other
(Longman dictionary of Contemporary English, 5th Ed. 2009), a political universal applying to the
USSR as to El Salvador or Vietnam.
7
A call or visit to someone you have never met before and try to sell them something.
8
Rain that contains harmful acid which can damage the environment and is caused by chemicals in
the air, for example from cars or factories.
9
Norm reference testing report whether test takers performed better or worse than a hypothetical
average student, which determined by comparing scores against the performance results of a
statistically selected group of test takers, typically of the same age or grade level, who have already
taken the exam (edglossary.com).
10
Criterion reference tests are designed to measure student performance against a fixed set of
predetermined criteria or learning standards (edglossary.com).
11
Rate­capping is the setting of an upper limit for rates charged, esp. the interest rate on an
adjustable rate loan )Dictionary.com’s 11st Century Lexicon 2013­2014).
12
Feeling of physical exhaustion and disorientation caused by travelling between time zones (in a
plane).
13
A way of thinking in which you use your imagination to see relationships between things that are
not normally thought of together (Longman dictionary of Contemporary English, 5th Ed. 2009).
14
When you believe that what you want to happen will happen, when in fact it is not possible
(Longman dictionary of Contemporary English, 5th Ed. 2009).
15
In a form that can be understood and used by a computer (Longman dictionary of Contemporary
English, 5th Ed. 2009).
16
An industry, such as electronics or making computers, that uses modern processes and takes the
place of older industries → sunset industry )that uses old equipment and methods, usually in an

21
Thus, new collocations tend to be non­literary and therefore void of emotive

language, connotations, sound­effects and original metaphor.

Hatim and Munday (2004:249) discuss strong vs. weak collocations and

postulate that translation requires the strength of collocation to be identified in the ST

and conveyed satisfactorily in the TT. They also discuss the analysis of lexical

patterning in relation to referential senses, semantic fields, connotative meanings and

common collocates. Further, Larson (1984/1998:160) as was quoted in Hatim and

Munday (2004:251) considers collocation as a formal, structural device, looking at

fixed combinations, including idioms, and the “restrictions” on the collocational

range of a word which “only a native speaker of the language can judge”. However,

Leech (1981:17) integrates collocative meaning as one of his seven types of meaning3

(see P. 99), who, as was quoted by Hatim and Munday (2004:251), defines it as “the

associations a word acquires on account of the meanings of words which tend to

occur in its environment.” Moreover, Louw (1993:157­76) discusses semantic

prosody as “the positive or negative connotative meaning which is transferred to the

focus word by the semantic fields of its common collocates.” Stubbs (1995:173;

1996:4) also examines collocates of causal verbs and finds that certain verbs have

negative connotative meanings or as he calls it “semantic prosody” while other verbs

have positive connotations. The following table is formed to illustrate the above

paradigm (see also Hatim and Munday 2004:251).

area that once had many industries like it, and that is becoming less successful, such as steel). The
metaphors here should be reduced to sense.
17
Cash and the forms of money that can most easily be turned into cash Broad money (cash and
all the forms of money that cannot easily be turned into cash).

22
 Table 2: Positive vs. Negative Connotative Meanings of Collocates
Causal Positive or negative connotative
Collocates
verb meaning (semantic prosody)
Problem, accident, disease, injury, pain, death,
chaos, commotion, crisis, delay, trouble, damage, All collocates have negative
Cause
offence, explosion, controversy, panic, stress, connotative meaning
inflation, shortage
Solution, service, benefits, care, food, help, jobs,
relief, support, training, education, information, All collocates have positive
Provide
reassurance, protection, shelter, amusement, connotative meaning
feedback, inspiration, opportunity, instructions, aid

Source: Modified from Hatim and Munday (2004:251), quoting Stubbs (1995:173; 1996:4).

In addition to this discussion of collocational patterning, Baker (2011:71­75)

discusses four other difficulties for translating idiomatic expressions: (1) recognizing

ST idioms and translating them to their counterparts in TT; (2) misinterpreting ST

idioms due to TT’s different context of use; (3) using ST idioms in their literal and

idiomatic senses; and (4) the differences of conventions, contexts and frequency of

use. As for the first difficulty, some idioms are misleading because the linguistic

context offers little or no clue to determine the intended meaning, and translators may

run the risk to translate them literally. Idioms like go out with18 and take someone for

a ride19 have both a literal and idiomatic meaning. Some writers may use such

idiomatic expressions in their two senses and this also creates another potential

problem for translators. Secondly, ST idioms might also be misinterpreted because

they have close counterparts in the TT that may have similar surface but totally or

different meanings. To quote Mona Baker’s (2011:70) example, to pull someone’s

18
Go out with: to have a romantic or sexual relationship with someone
19
Take someone for a ride: deceive or cheat someone

23
leg20 is identical on the surface to the Arabic idiom ‫( يسحب ج ه‬literally, pull his leg),

an idiom used in several Arabic dialects to mean tricking someone into talking about

something he or she would have rather kept secret. Therefore, it is our knowledge of

the sense components embedded in collocational patterns that could easily help us in

many cases to recognize an idiom. The above two difficulties may be attributed to ST

complexity where the translator has to develop a commendable familiarity with such

expressions before translating the idiom. Thirdly, an idiom or fixed expression may

have no direct correspondence in the target language. This is due to the fact that

different languages have various ways of expressing the same meaning: one language

expresses meaning in terms of a single word; another language in terms of a fixed

expression; a third may express the same meaning in terms of an idiom and so forth.

For instance, Yours Faithfully and Yours Sincerely ‫ س‬in English formal

correspondence ‫ س‬have no direct translations in Arabic. Arabic expresses a

comparable meaning using a sentence, ‫ف ئق اإح ا‬ ‫اب‬ ‫( ت‬literally: And be kind

enough to accept [our] highest respects). Such culture­specific idioms or fixed

expressions should be translated according to the accepted norms at the target

language level in order to deliver an enhanced version of the text and keep the

meaning as near and clear as possible to the prospective readership. Professional

translators constantly attempt to find the best expression in the target language which

expresses a comparable meaning through common structural patterns using a word,

To pull someone’s leg: to tell someone something untrue as a joke in order to shock them
20

temporarily and amuse them when they find out later that it was a joke ( ‫؛ قح ش ص في ح يث ا‬ ‫ي‬
‫فيه‬ ‫)ي غب ال‬

24
collocation, idiom, or even a sentence. This discussion leads us to a more cultural

problem of translating idiomatic and fixed expressions, the fourth difficulty provided

above: idiomatic conventions, contexts and frequency of use in written discourse,

which may be different in the source and target languages. English language uses

idioms in many types of text such as advertisements, promotional materials, the

tabloid press21, and even in serious international magazines (e.g., New Scientist). This

is because English language is highly idiomatic in style unlike Arabic, which draws a

sharp distinction between written and spoken discourse. Arabic is characterized with

a high level of formality and tends to avoid idiomatic style. Therefore, translators

should be aware of this point of contrast in order to convey an efficient and effective

text from or into Arabic language.

Moreover, Ghazala (2006:128­144) subsumes fixed expressions (including

idioms and proverbs) under collocations though he discusses each separately. He

classifies idioms into three groups: direct idioms, indirect idioms, and phrasal verbs.

Direct idioms have metaphorical meanings that can be translated directly (e.g., Their

company is on the black list ‫الس اء‬ ‫ال ئ‬ ‫ ش ك م ع‬and Lend me your ears ‫أعي ني‬

‫)ان ه م‬. Conversely, indirect idioms are more problematic because they cannot be

understood from the direct common meaning of the constituent words, and if these

are translated literally, the production will be wrong, strange, nonsensical or funny

e.g., He is a big shot ‫( نه جل ع يم‬but not * ‫) نه مي ك ي‬, and There’s far too much

21
Tabloid is a small format newspaper providing news in a condensed form and containing
sensational material or gossip

25
monkey business going on around here ‫من ح ل‬ ‫ال ي من اأشي ء ال ي ت‬ ‫( ه‬but not

* ‫ال ي من الع ل ال‬ ‫)ه‬. Ghazala (2006:133) states that indirect idioms should be

understood in context, by consulting monolingual and bilingual dictionaries of idioms

when required, and then translated into the TL idiomatic counterparts or reduced to

meaning but never translated literally. Furthermore, phrasal verbs are “extremely

popular idioms” (2006:133) that consist of a verb plus an adverb or preposition or

both and have special idiomatic meanings that cannot be figured out through their

constituent parts (see also Longman Phrasal Verbs Dictionary 2000). The problem is

to determine whether a phrasal verb is idiomatic or has its normal meaning in context.

Thus, meaning is usually unpredictable and/or unfamiliar and context should be

considered carefully with the assistance of special dictionaries. Ghazala (2006:138)

also describes proverbs as fixed and idiomatic, and suggests a direct translation to full

Arabic proverbs, or reduce a proverb to sense as a last resort. These distinctive types

of proverbs highlight the same difficulty of translating idiomatic expressions with

varying degrees.

From the previous discussion, one can conclude that collocations probably play

well if the context is clearly and precisely considered. Therefore, the translation of

collocations may have certain problematic issues with varying degrees according to

their level of idiomaticity or figurative language, register & contextual factors,

synonymous variability & collocational range, denotative & connotative factors, and

syntagmatic vs. paradigmatic relationships. These issues and others will be discussed

in more details in chapter three of this thesis.

26
 Chapter 3: Conceptual Observations of Collocation

This chapter is an attempt to investigate the concept of collocation in further

details with respect to other related concepts.

3.1. Collocation Types

It is obvious through the previous review of related literature that collocation is

a sticky notion in translation, but there seems to be a consensus of its significance in

linguistics and translation. It is deemed to be a universal concept, though approached

differently by professional translators and linguists. Baker (2011:52), Newmark

(1988:212), Ghazala (2006:106) and others have seen collocation as the tendency of

certain words to co­occur regularly in a given language. Newmark (1988:212)

provides a narrower definition of collocation in translation stating that it “consists of

lexical items that enter mainly into high­frequency grammatical structures.” In

addition, Hatim and Munday (2004:249) regard collocation as “the way that words

are typically used together,” while Oxford Collocations Dictionary (2002:vii)

maintains that collocation is “the way words combine in a language to produce

natural­sounding speech and writing.” These different yet related definitions of

collocation have probably come to existence through diverse approaches to its varied

types in various text types, genres and registers.

The types of collocational expressions in this research are customized from

Howarth (1998:28,35) including free, restricted, figurative and idiomatic

27
collocational expressions. The meaning of the free collocation can be derived from

composing the literal meaning of its individual elements, and its constituents are

freely substitutable. The word compare, for instance, can collocate with results, size,

levels, behavior and other collocates in a broad collocational range (see 3.3

Collocational Range). The restricted collocation, on the other hand, has a limited

collocational range with limited selection of compositional elements, and usually has

one component that is used in a specialized context. For example, shrug shoulders

and blonde hair have limited compositional elements or collocational range. Thirdly,

the figurative collocation has a metaphorical sense that can somehow be derived from

its literal interpretation of its constituent parts. Draw a line, for example, can have a

figurative sense component in a sentence like “The law in this country draws a line

between murder and manslaughter,” although it can be seen as a free collocation in

another context. The fourth type is the idiomatic collocational expression in which

the unitary meaning of its constituents is totally unpredictable from the meaning of its

components. For example, spill the beans has nothing to do with the verb spill or the

type of vegetable plant beans. Rather, it has a sense component that can be

understood from its holistic indivisible unit. These four collocational expressions may

fit the purpose of this research because they are categorized according to their degree

of restrictedness, from the most free and broad level to the most figurative and

idiomatic collocational expression (see 4.1 Data Collection).

28
3.2. Synonymous Variability vs. Collocation

Baker )1111: 51( states that “synonyms or near­synonyms will often have quite

different sets of collocates.” To quote her example, English native speakers usually

break rules not break regulations; they talk of waste time not squandering time. Non­

native speakers are usually trapped with the various options of synonyms in the target

language provided that they translate from their mother tongue. The following

example illustrates synonymous variability in relation to collocational patterning

quoted from Cruse (1986:281) and modified to suit the style of this research in table 3

below. The table demonstrates that synonyms have different sets of collocates. Put

differently, absolute synonymy does not exist.

Table 3: Synonymous Variability vs. Collocational Patterning

unblemished spotless
­ ­
­ ­
? ?
­ ­
­ +
+ +
? +
­ ­
­ ­
­ ­
+ = common/acceptable collocation
­ = unacceptable/unlikely collocation
? = questionable/may be acceptable in some idiolects
flawless immaculate
+ +
+ ­
+ ­
­ ­
­ +
­ ?
­ ?
? ?
? +
­ ­
Impeccable
+ performance
? argument
­ complexion
+ behaviour
­ kitchen
+ record
? reputation
+ taste
+ order
+ credentials

Source: Mona Baker’s unpredictability of collocational patterning (Baker 2011:53), quoting (Cruse
1986:281).

Further, if these collocations are translated into another language, there will

probably be different sets of collocates and synonyms. The verb deliver in the

29
following set of collocations is a good illustration to clarify the nature of collocations

across language barriers.

Table 4: Collocational Patterns of Synonyms Accross Language Barriers

English ST Arabic TT Transliteration
Deliver a letter ‫يس م خ ب‬ yusallimu khitaaban
Deliver a lecture ‫ي ي مح ض‬ yulqi muhaadaratan
Deliver news ‫ي ل أخ ا‬ yanqulu akhbaaran
Deliver a verdict ‫ح‬ ‫ي‬ yusdiru hukman
Deliver a baby ‫ي ل ام أ‬ yuwallidu imra’atan
Deliver a blow ‫ي جه ض ب‬ yuwajjihu darbatan

Source: Mona Baker’s arbitrary collocational expressions within and across languages )Baker 1111:51(.

Arbitrarily, the first lexical meaning of the verb deliver is probably rendered as

yusallimu in Arabic language; however, when different words enter into the

construction of these verb phrases, the meaning would entirely change. The meaning

of deliver in each verb phrase in table 4 above is totally different and the same

difference is also reflected in the target language. Furthermore, the phrase deliver a

baby was expressed in Arabic language as yuwallidu imra’atan. Arabic speakers

focus on the woman during the process of childbirth, while speakers of English prefer

to focus on the baby. If we back translate this phrase into English as deliver a woman,

this would be unacceptable among native speakers of English. Sinclair (1987:320)

aptly puts it, “there are many ways of saying things, many choices within language

that have little or nothing to do with the world outside.”

30
3.3. Collocational Range

Collocational range is the set of collocates that are typically used with the word

in question. Every word in a language has a range of compatible items to a certain

degree. Baker (2011:54) explains that some words have a much broader collocational

range than others and illustrates this with examples modified in table 5 below.

Table 5: Degree of Collocational Range

Word Collocate(s) Degree of Collocational Range
Shrug shoulders limited collocational range
company, business, show, car,
stockings, tights, nose, wild,
Run broad collocational range
debt, bill, river, course, water,
color and other collocates.

Source: Mona Baker’s example )Baker 1111:59(, quoted by the researcher and illustrated in the above table.

The verb shrug usually collocates with shoulders and has no strong link with

any other word in English. Reversely, run can have numerous collocates and is said

to have broader collocational range. Baker (2011:54) states that two main factors can

influence the collocational range of a word: (1) its level of capacity and (2) the

number of senses it can have. The former determines the collocational range

depending on the collocates the word can naturally occupy, the more general a word,

the broader its collocational range; while the latter focuses on the varied senses that a

word can signify, i.e., a word can have different sets of collocates according to the

multiple senses it has.

Further, collocational ranges are not fixed; words constantly attract new

collocations through the passage of time. Baker )1111:55( maintains that “words

attract new collocates all the time through processes of analogy, or because speakers
31
create unusual collocations of purpose.” Writers may use unusual collocations to

draw readership attention to certain ideas and thoughts. Thus, new or unusual

combinations should not be dismissed as unacceptable collocations; rather, they

might play a significant role in a text, especially literary texts, creating new images

that challenge readership expectations. New collocations are created all the time

either “by extending an existing range or by deliberately putting together words from

different or opposing ranges” )Baker 1111:52(. In fact, some collocations seem

untypical in everyday English but are common in specific registers.

3.4. Collocation and Register

Halliday (1985/89: 29, 38) describes register as “a variety of language,

corresponding to a variety of situation” interpreted by means of a conceptual

framework using the terms “field,” “tenor,” and “mode.” Field of discourse

constitutes the subject matter; tenor of discourse highlights the formality or

informality as an aspect of the register to which a text belongs; and mode of discourse

builds on the basic distinction spoken vs. written. Collocational expressions are

abundantly used in different registers, including everyday language and specialized

fields. What may seem untypical collocation in one field of discourse may fit as

common collocation in another field. According to Baker (2011:56) dull highlights,

vigorous depressions, and biased error may sound odd in everyday English but are

common collocations in the fields of photography, meteorology, and statistics,

respectively. She also states that register­specific collocations are not simply the set

32
of terms that go with a discipline; they extend far beyond the list of terms that one

normally finds in specialized dictionaries and glossaries (2011:57). Further, being a

native speaker of a language does not necessarily mean that the translator is fully

acquainted with all register­specific collocations of specialized fields. This is why

specialized and technical language is required in translation syllabuses.

Tenor of discourse deals with formality or informality as an aspect of text

register. Newmark (1988:14) suggests eight levels of formality scale illustrated in

table 6.

Table 6: Newmark's Scale of Formality

# Level of Formality Scale Examples
‘The consumption of any nutriments whatsoever is categorically
1 Officialese
prohibited in this establishment.’
2 Official ‘The consumption of nutriments is prohibited.’
3 Formal ‘You are requested not to consume food in this establishment.’
4 Neutral ‘Eating is not allowed here.’
5 Informal ‘Please don’t eat here.’
6 Colloquial ‘You can’t feed your face here.’
7 Slang ‘Lay off the nosh.’
8 Taboo ‘Lay off the fucking nosh.’

Source: Modified from Peter Newmark’s scale of formality (Newmark 1988:14).

Distinctions between these levels are probably unclear and sometimes

confused or “fuzzy” (Newmark 1988:14). Newmark (ibid) also suggests the scale of

generality or difficulty modified in table 7.

33
 Table 7: Newmark's Scale of Generality vs. Specificity
# Level of Generality Scale Examples
‘The floor of the sea is covered with rows of big mountains and deep
1 Simple
pit.’
‘The floor of the oceans is covered with great mountain chains and deep
2 Popular
trenches.’
‘A graveyard of animal and plant remains lies buried in the earth’s
3 Neutral
crust.’
4 Educated ‘The latest step in vertebrate evolution was the tool­making man.’
‘Critical path analysis is an operational research technique used in
5 Technical
management.’
‘Neuraminic acid in the form of its alkali­stable methoxy derivative was
6 Opaquely technical
first isolated by Klenk from gangliosides.’

Source: Modified from Peter Newmark’s scale of generality or difficulty )Newmark 1988:14).

The above generality­specificity scale clearly indicates different levels of the

field of discourse from the simplest form, i.e., the general level which anyone can

understand irrespective of his/her educational background, to the pure technical

discourse, which only an expert can comprehend. Neutral level is usually signified by

basic vocabulary and largely sounds objective in style.

Newmark (1988:14) also suggests four levels of emotional tone scale

expressed and illustrated by examples in table 8.

Table 8: Newmark's Scale of Emotional Tone

# Level of Emotional Tone Scale
1 Intense (hot)
2 Warm
3 Factual (cool)
4 Understatement (cold)
Examples
‘absolutely wonderful… ideally dark bass… enormously
successful… superbly controlled’
‘gentle, soft, heart­warming melodies’
‘significant, exceptionally well judged, personable, presentable,
considerable’
‘not… undignified’

Source: Modified from Peter Newmark’s scale of emotional tone )Newmark 1411:19,15(.

Intense or “hot” style is signified by profuse use of intensifiers unlike “cold”

tone which produces understatements. Further, there is a close link between

34
emotional tone and formality­informality scale in that an official style is likely to be

factual while colloquial style tends to be more emotive. The above mentioned three

scales suggested by Newmark (1988:14) are strongly correlated with collocational

expressions, in that collocations tend to exist in all these different levels, whether

presented in written or spoken mode, in everyday language or in various specialized

or technical fields.

3.5. Cohesion and Coherence

Cohesion and coherence form an integral part of discourse analysis. According

to Hatim and Munday (2004:335,336), cohesion is the requirement that a sequence of

sentences display grammatical and/or lexical relationships which ensure the surface

continuity of text structure, while coherence is a standard which all well­formed texts

must meet and which stipulates that the grammatical and/or lexical relationships

‘hang together’ and make overall sense as text. Southerland and Katamba (1996:584)

define cohesive devices as the “linguistic resources used to provide the cohesion that

is necessary for discourse to be preceived as an organized whole.” Primary cohesive

devices in English are modified from Southerland and Katamba (1996:584) in table 9.

Table 9: Textual Cohesion in English

# Cohesive Device Examples
1 Reference (anaphoric) I know Jane. She drives a red car.
2 Reference (cataphoric) It’s awfully dry, this toast.
Lexical cohesion Speaker G: Do you know our MP?
3
(substitution) Speaker H: I’ve never met the smarmy creep.
Speaker E: Do you speak French?
4 Ellipsis
Speaker F: No.

Source: Modified from Southerland and Katamba (1996:584).

35
 Cohesion has largely focused on closed­set grammatical items, especially

conjunctions; however, collocation has been often overlooked, particularly in translation.

Halliday and Hasan (1976) identify collocation as frequency of occurrence and view it in

paradigmatic terms, able to cut across sentence boundaries. Collocation can contribute to

cohesion by providing strong semantic links within or above sentence level featuring an

integrated text. Halliday (2004:577) illustrates how collocational link can be seen between

‘smoking’ and ‘pipe’ which contributes to the cohesion of the whole text.

A little fat man of Bombay

Was smoking one very hot day.
But a bird called a snipe
Flew away with his pipe,
Which vexed the fat man of Bombay.
(Halliday, 2004:577)

In the above quoted example, ‘smoking’ collocates with ‘pipe’ contributing to

overall text cohesion and coherence. In textual analysis, Saussure (1966:123) was

first to highlight the distinctive qualities between syntagmatic and paradigmatic

relationships. In discourse, words acquire relations based on their linear nature of

language because they are changed together. A term acquires its value only because it

stands in opposition to everything that precedes or follows it, or to both. Outside

discourse, however, words have different relationships acquired through common

associated meanings in the memory called “associated relations” by Saussure

(1966:123). Collocations are characterized by linear sequencing of lexemes as

opposed to paradigmatic relationships (Takac 2008:7). Figure 1 illustrates positioning

and substitution of syntagmatic (horizontal) and paradigmatic (vertical) relationships.

36
 lived

Paradigmatic
man died

the boy cried

Syntagmatic

Figure 1: Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic Relationships

Source: Takac’s syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationships of lexemes )Takac 2008:7), illustrated by the
researcher in the above diagram.

Collocations may attract more collocative words to form an extended

collocation of three words or more within the same syntagm producing the most

comparable choice in the TT. Ghazala (2006:124) refers to this as flexibility of

collocations, i.e., certain collocations may be interrupted by a descriptive word in the

middle of a collocational pair. For example, black market and exert an effort can be

constructed as black illegal market and exert a great effort. This quality of

collocations probably contributes as a building block of any given text and a

translator has the freedom of choice to manipulate and move between words. But this

is not usually the case, since there are other collocations that cannot be flexible such

as fixed and idiomatic expressions.

Further, cohesion and coherence are considered as one basic element in the

translating process. They form the third level of Newmark’s (1988:19) theory of

translating. His four levels of translating process are modified and illustrated in

Figure 2.

37
 1- Textual level (level of language)

2- Referential level (object or events)

3- Cohesive level (grammatical; train of thought, tone)

4- Level of naturalness (point of deviation)

Figure 2: Newmark's Process of Translating

Source: Newmark’s four levels of translating )Newmark 1411:14(, illustrated by the researcher in the above
diagram.

After choosing an appropriate method of approach, Newmark’s process of

translating begins with the SL textual level to deal with linguistic difficulties.

According to Baker )1111:51(, “translators sometimes get quite engrossed in the ST

and may produce the oddest collocations in the target language for no justifiable

reason.” The second level is referential, visualizing real or imaginary objects or

events as an essential part of comprehension and reproduction. The cohesive level

links both textual and referential levels and follows both the structure (conjunctions,

enumerations, reiteration, definite articles, referential synonyms, punctuation marks,

theme and rheme) and the moods of the text (positive vs. negative, negative vs.

neutral, or emotive vs. neutral). This cohesive level was considered by Newmark

)1411:19( as “the regulator” because “it secures coherence, [and] it adjusts emphasis

… [where] you reconsider the lengths of paragraphs and sentences, the formulation of

the title; [and] the tone of the conclusion.” A translator should then disengage from

SL text and ensure that TT makes sense and read naturally in the fourth level of

naturalness.

38
3.6. Denotation and Connotation

Meaning was classified by Nida and Taber (1982:56,91) into referential and

connotative meanings. Referential meaning or denotation equates the meaning of a

word or phrase with the entities to which it refers )O’Grady 1442:191(, while

connotation is associated with ideas and feelings suggested by lexical words

(Newmark 1988:16). Unlike denotative meaning, connotations of a word may differ

from one speech community to another. The word dog, for instance, is likely to have

positive connotations for English speakers and ‘kalb’ has negative associations for

Arabs although the denotation of the two words is identical. “The boundaries between

words and their meanings turn out ‫ س‬in spite of what the dictionary would have us

believe ‫ س‬to be fuzzy rather than precise, and this applies at both the denotative and

connotative levels” (Bell 1991:98). Virtually speaking, all content words probably

possess both denotative and connotative senses, and the exceptions appear to be with

grammatical operators such as the, and, may, etc. Newmark (1988:16,17) states that

all texts have an ‘underlife’. He maintains that non­literary texts are marked with

word denotations, while in literary texts (e.g., an allegory or a comment on society)

the precedence is given to its connotations and this is “the only theoretical distinction

between a non­literary and a literary text” from a translator’s point of view.

Collocation can also signify denotative and connotative features in a text.

Stubbs (1995:173; 1996:4), quoted by Hatim and Munday (2004:251), identifies

collocates of causal verbs and finds that certain verbs have negative connotative

meanings or as he calls it “semantic prosody” while other verbs have positive

39
connotations. The following example is modified to illustrate how collocations form

an integral component of connotation.

Table 10: Collocation an Integral Component of Denotation and Connotation

Positive or negative connotative
Causal verb Collocates
meaning (semantic prosody)
Problem, accident, disease, injury, pain, death,
chaos, commotion, crisis, delay, trouble, damage, All collocates have negative
Cause
offence, explosion, controversy, panic, stress, connotative meanings
inflation, shortage
Solution, service, benefits, care, food, help, jobs,
relief, support, training, education, information, All collocates have positive
Provide
reassurance, protection, shelter, amusement, connotative meanings
feedback, inspiration, opportunity, instructions, aid

Source: Modified from Hatim and Munday (2004:251), quoting Stubbs (1995:173; 1996:4).

3.7. Figurative Collocations and Level of Idiomaticity

Metaphor is considered by many translation scholars to be “the most

significant translation problem,” from word to text (Newmark 1988:9). By metaphor,

Newmark (1988:104) means any figurative expression: the transferred senses of a

physical word, the personification of an abstraction, the application of a word or

collocation to what it does not literally denote, including polysemous words and most

English phrasal verbs. It could be single, viz. one word, or extended, i.e., a

collocation, an idiom, a sentence, a proverb, an allegory, or a complete imaginative

text (ibid). He states that a metaphor has two purposes: referential and pragmatic. The

former is cognitive that describes a mental process, a concept, a person, an object, a

quality or an action; and the latter has an aesthetic value to appeal to the senses, to

interest, to please, to delight and to surprise (ibid).

40
 ..
……..
…………
…………..
……………
object sense
…………… image
………….
……….
….

Figure 3: Newmark's Components of a Metaphor

Source: The translation of metaphor by Peter Newmark (1988:105).

A metaphor has three areas: image, object, and sense as illustrated in Figure 3

above. The image is the picture conjured up by the metaphor; the object is what is

described or qualified by the metaphor, and the sense is the literal meaning of the

metaphor, the resemblance or the area overlapping object and image. Save up for a

rainy day, for instance, savings is the object being qualified; a rainy day is the image

or picture used; and the sense has many different sense components including time of

need, financial shortage, gloom, worry, illness… etc. Generally speaking, literary

texts are figurative in style and usually have more sense components than non­literary

texts.

Newmark (1988:106) distinguishes six types of metaphors: dead, cliché, stock

(or standard), adapted, recent, and original. Dead metaphors, where one is hardly

conscious of the image, relate frequently to universal terms. In English, for example,

words like ‘space’, ‘field’, ‘line’, ‘top’, ‘bottom’, ‘foot’, ‘mouth’, ‘arm’, ‘circle’,

‘drop’, ‘fall’, ‘rise’ can all be used metaphorically beyond their basic meaning.

Normally dead metaphors may not be difficult to translate but they often defy literal
41
translation. However, some dead metaphors can be translated literally since they are

used universally such as ‘bridge’, ‘chain’, and ‘link’. Cliché metaphors have probably

“temporarily outlived their usefulness”. They are probably used as a substitute for

clear thought, often emotively, but without corresponding to the facts of the matter

(e.g. a jewel in the crown ‫ال‬ ). Newmark (1988:107) suggests two translation

procedures for cliché metaphors. The series of clichés have to be retained if the text is

vocative or part of a political speech or any authoritative statement. However, a

translator should get rid of clichés when they are used in an informative text where

only facts or theories are sacred, including public notices, instructions, propaganda or

publicity, where the translator is trying to obtain an optimum reaction from the

readership. Thus a cliché metaphor can be reduced to a simple and more effective

sense, with a special consideration to the economy and nature of the text. But if there

is a well­understood cultural equivalent, a cliché may have stronger emotional impact

than a functional (i.e. culture­free) equivalent.

A stock (or standard) metaphor is “an established metaphor which in an

informal context is an efficient and concise method of covering a physical and/or

mental situation both referentially and pragmatically” (Newmark 1988:108). It has

certain emotional warmth and is not deadened by overuse. They are sometimes tricky

to translate and one should not use them except if they come naturally and

spontaneously. We should then produce a comparable image in the TL that has

comparable frequency and currency in the appropriate TL register. The following are

examples of a stock/standard metaphor.

42
 keep the pot boiling ‫مش ع‬ ‫ال‬ ، ‫ال أج‬ ‫ ا ت ئ ال‬، ‫اأم ت أ‬
earn a living ‫اكسب ق ْ تك‬
keep something going ‫الع ت‬
throw a new light on ‫ي ي ض ءا ج ي ا ع‬/‫يس ط‬

A translator should be aware of the cultural overlap suggested by the symbols

and metonyms in stock (standard) metaphors. A dragon is ‘maleficent’ in the West,

for instance, but ‘beneficent’ in the Far East. Thus an effective procedure for

translating stock (standard) metaphors is to provide an established TL image if

available and is frequently used within the same register. However, if there is no

established image in the TT, and this is usually due to cultural deviations, a translator

should reproduce the intended meaning in the expected formality vs. informality

scale, by using an acceptable and established collocation in the target language, or

reducing the image to sense.

widen the gulf between them ‫ائ ال اف بي م‬ ‫ ك‬/ ‫أشعل ال اف بي م‬

a sunny smile ‫ب لحي ي‬ ‫ اب س م م ع‬/ ‫ اب س م مش ق‬/ ‫اب س م ج اب‬

The attractiveness, brightness, or warmth of the smile depends on the

importance you give it in context. Thus reducing a stock metaphor to sense may

clarify, demystify, and make honest a somewhat tendentious statement. This is why

stock (standard) metaphors are heavily used in controversial or taboo subjects such as

death, sex, war, unemployment, or excretion to conceal intention or disguise the truth

of physical facts.

Adapted metaphor is actually a stock or standard metaphor that has been

adapted into a new context by its speaker or writer. Carrying coals to Newcastle, for

example, can be adapted to almost carrying coals to Newcastle. Adapted metaphors

43
should be translated by an equivalent adapted metaphor where possible, especially

with authoritative or ‘sacred’ texts. They can also be reduced to sense if there were

no adapted metaphors in the target language. If they were translated literally, they

might be misunderstood.

sow division ‫ ي قع ال ن‬/ ‫الش‬ ‫ي‬

outsell the pants off our competitors ‫ بع ج ي‬/ ‫ن ي أن س بأن س‬
almost carrying coals to Newcastle ‫الس يين‬ ‫ ي يع ال ء في ح‬/ ‫ل ال‬ ‫كح مل ال‬

Recent metaphor is a metaphorical neologism, i.e., they can be produced

through coining. It spreads in the SL rapidly and can be a metonym if it uses a

recently current object. Recent metaphors can be treated like any other neologism

with regard to the referent and the level of language used. For example, head-hunting

can be through­translated ( ‫ )صي ال‬provided that its sense (recruiting managers,

sometimes covertly, from various companies) is clear to the readership. Another

recent example is the word spastic ( ‫)مش‬, an old­fashioned term that describes a

disease which prevents control of the muscle, is now used informally as an insulting

word describing a person who drops things, falls easily, and is stupid.

Original metaphor is a metaphor that is “created by the SL writer” )Newmark:

1988:112). In authoritative and expressive texts, original metaphors should be

translated literally. This is because )a( original metaphors “contain the core of an

important writer’s message, his personality, [and] his comment on life;” and (b) they

44
can be a source of TL enrichment (ibid)22. However, if the original metaphor appears

to be loaded with cultural elements and might be obscure in the TL, you can

sometimes replace it with a descriptive metaphor or reduce it to sense. Translation

procedures, therefore, are narrow with expressive or authoritative texts. Unless a

literal translation works, a metaphor can be translated in the direction of sense or of

an image, or a modification of one, or a combination of both, depending on the

contextual factors and the importance of the metaphor within the text (Newmark

1988:113).

From the above discussion, it is deduced that figurative language can be of

different levels extending between free combinations and idiomatic figurative

expressions. The more figurative collocational expressions, the more sense

components they tend to signify. Collocation, therefore, is a universal concept

embedded in different conceptual grounds.

22
Newmark’s original metaphor is similar to Baker’s marked collocation, which involve deliberate
confusion of collocational ranges to create new images. A marked collocation, being an unusual
combination of words, is one that challenges our expectations as hearers or readers, which is often
used in fiction, poetry, humor, news reporting, and advertisements (Baker 2011:55).

45
 Chapter 4: Data Collection and Analysis

This chapter is an attempt to analyze the problem of collocation through two

translated English versions of the same short story The Color of Rain ( ‫ال‬ ‫)ل‬,

written by Mohammed Abdul Wali (1940‫س‬1973), a Yemeni prominent short story

writer and diplomat. The first translation, The Color of Rain, was translated by

Abubaker Bagader and Deborah Akers and published in 2001 by the Center for

Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. The translation is

conducted collaboratively across linguistic and cultural boundaries, and the two

translators have different cultural backgrounds. Bagader is a Yemeni translator, who

knows about the cultural aspects and the context of the original short story; whereas

Akers is an American translator, who can understand the nuances of meaning or the

impact of the cultural elements from the TT perspective. The second translation of

the same short story, The Colour of the Rain, was translated by Dr. Shirin Yassin Yar

Mohammed, and published in 2006 by Ubadi Center for Studies and Publications in

Sana’a. Yar Mohammed conducted sole translation of the original short story in an

attempt to account for the linguistic and cultural elements across Arabic and English

languages. These different cultural and paralinguistic backgrounds may affect to

certain extent the pragmatic impact of the translation, and may also influence

translators’ ability to use different methods or strategies of translating the short story.

46
 The analysis is essentially based on the qualitative approach where the quality

of the two translated versions is tested according to ST intentions and TT

acceptability.

4.1. Data Collection

The original short story and the two translated versions are deconstructed into

their collocational units. These units are identified and compared with each other.

The first translation is compared with the second translation, and both translated

versions are compared to the source collocation and/or other works originally written

in English language, when required. Collocations are identified in ST and both

translated versions are listed in an organized matrix with the following heading titles:

(1) ST collocational unit, inferred collocation, & its type;

(2) TT collocational unit of version one including inferred collocation, & its type;
(3) TT collocational unit of version two including inferred collocation, & its type;
(4) Criteria value of both translated versions; and
(5) The researcher’s commentary.

Classifying collocations into specific types as was discussed earlier is a

problematic area in itself; however, one viable option for the purpose of this research

is to classify the short story collocations into phraseological types. ST collocations

and the collocations of both TTs are identified with one of the following types

provided by Howarth (1998) and modified below.

47
 1. Free collocation
2. Restricted collocation
3. Figurative collocation
4. Idiomatic collocation

During the data collection process, it is found that certain collocations are

translated into free lexical items or not translated at all. The researcher added the

following two types to bridge any potential analysis gaps.

5. Free combination
6. Collocation not translated

Table 11 defines collocation types customized from Howarth (1998:28,35) for

data collection purposes. It draws a collocational scale or continuum from the freest

combinations to the most fixed idioms and expressions, rather than discrete classes.

Howarth )1441:15( states that “dividing lines cannot be strictly drawn, though points

along the scale are regarded as somehow reflective psychological reality.” He also

maintains that it is possible to categorize collocations according to their degree of

restrictedness, and thus identify degrees of conventionality (ibid 34). This approach

of categorizing collocations is probably relevant to the purpose of this research in that

it serves as a useful and practical method for identifying phraseological collocational

units in a complete text and analyzing the data accordingly.

48
 Table 11: Defining Collocation Types for Data Collection Purposes
Collocation
# Definition Example
Type
ST collocations are
translated into non­
Free ‫قص الق‬
1 collocational segments of
combination Start the story
discourse or weak
collocations.
The meaning that can be
derived from composing Compare results / size / levels / behavior… etc.
the literal meaning of .‫ الخ‬... ‫ الس كي‬/ ‫ ال س ي‬/ ‫ اأح‬/ ‫ال ئج‬ ‫ي‬
2 Free collocation
individual elements, and its Emphasize concept / link / rights... etc.
constituents are freely .‫ الخ‬... ‫ الح‬/ ‫ عاق‬/ ‫ي ك ف‬
substitutable.
Restricted collocation is
more limited in the Pay attention / heed ‫ ان ه‬/ ‫يعي اه م‬
Restricted selection of compositional Make decision / improvements ‫ يح ت م‬/ ‫ي ق ا ا‬
3
collocation element and usually has Give preference to sth ‫يع ي ااف ي‬
one component that is used At sb’s disposal ‫ت فك‬/ ‫تحت أم‬
in a specialized context.
The metaphorical meaning Draw a line (to think of as different, e.g. The law in
Figurative as a whole that can this country draws a line between murder and
4 manslaughter.)
collocation somehow be derived from
its literal interpretation. ‫ي سم خ س ي ضح ال‬
Spill the beans (to reveal secret information
unintentionally, e.g. John's friends were going to have
The unitary meaning that is a surprise party for him, but Tom spilled the beans.)
Idiomatic totally unpredictable from ‫ي شي س ا‬
5
collocation the meaning of its Blow the gaff (to reveal a secret accidently, e.g.
components. When Al cheated on his wife, his younger brother blew
the gaff on him.)
‫ ي ح م ام‬- ‫ي شي س ا‬
Collocation not ST collocation was not ‫هل تع ف معن الغرب ؟‬
6
translated translated at all. Do you know the meaning of that?

The criteria and values in Table 12 below are reader­driven to verify to what

extent translators have custom­tailored TT collocations for the prospective

readership. Thus the strategy of comparing both translations from collocation

perspective is based on TT acceptability to naturalize the text for English general

readership.

49
 Table 12: Criteria and Values for Translated Collocations
Criteria Values
­ ST collocation is omitted in TT.
0
­ ST collocation is translated in TT but meaning is violated.
ST collocation (including fixed expression) is reduced to sense
1
which lacks pragmatic impact on readership.
ST collocation is translated into TT with effective pragmatic
2
impact on prospective readership.

Table 13 provides all collocational units of Mohammed Abdul Wali’s short

story The Color of Rain with the translations, composing the full story. The full short

story was provided and deconstructed in the matrix to identify the collocational units

and retrieve collocational expressions that may cross sentence boundaries. The matrix

has been designed to suit the purpose of this thesis which includes (1) ST

collocational unit, its inferred collocation, its phraseological collocation type; (2)

translated collocation of the first translation (TT1), its collocation type, plus the

criterion value; (3) translated collocation of the second translation (TT2), its

collocation type, plus the criterion value; and (4) a brief commentary of the

researcher, plus an additional remark on collocational differences between TT1 and

TT2. In addition to the above provided criteria, the researcher adds the last column in

the matrix (TT1 & TT2 Difference) to check whether the two retrieved collocational

expressions were diverse or comparable to both translations. A diverse translation

means the translation of one collocational expression in TT1 is not comparable to the

translation of the same collocational expression in TT2 in terms of the same lexical

item retrieved from the collocational unit. If both collocations of TT1 and TT2 have

the same lexical item that can be retrieved from the collocational unit, irrespective of

its pattern or its location within this unit, this is referred to as comparable translation

of collocation between TT1 and TT1.

50
 Table 13: Deconstructed Collocational Units of ST & TTs
ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
ST writer hinted more than once
Are you
to cold and fear. In English one
afraid? Are ou afraid?
usually shivers of cold or fear. The
‫هل أنت خ ئف؟‬ No I a Free No I a
Free Free word shaking seems to have a
1 ‫ ب من‬.. ‫ ن ي ا تجف‬،‫ا‬ ‫ا ت فب ا‬ shaking – combinati 1 shivering… a e 2 Diverse
collocation collocation weaker collocation than shivering
.. ‫ أ‬.. ‫لك البر‬ perhaps on it s fro the cold
in this context. The effect of TT1
because of the .... or....
on TT readership is likely to be
cold .... or....
less effective than TT2.
The ST word "‫ "يح ق‬is heavily
loaded with visual meaning
shades. Usually one focuses on
something for a long time while
deeply meditating or pondering
about a very important matter.
This does not only suggest a quick
look at something as is suggested
He was silent He was silent for
by looked at the sky in the first
for a moment Free a moment and
‫ص ت ق يا ا يح لق‬ ‫يح ق في‬ Free Free translated version. The second
2 and looked at combinati 1 started to stare at 2 Diverse
،‫في الف ء أم مه‬ ‫ال ء‬ collocation collocation translator uses stare at the
the sky in front on the horizon
horizon, a collocation that has a
of him, before him.
sub-text of taking a long look at
something while meditating or
pondering about an important
issue. Newmark (1988:77) says
"the translator must word the
sentence in such a way that the
sub-text is equally clear in
English."
Although gaze is closer in
Free and his eyes Figurative Free meaning to the context of ST, the
3 ‫وع ت عين‬ ‫عي‬ ‫ع‬ 2 His gaze returned 2 Comparable
collocation returned collocation collocation use of eyes in the first translation
is also a good translation.

51
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
This gaze was so long but was
interrupted by mountain peaks.
The word ‫ اص م‬has a sense of
surprise or suddenness. The
phrase met the dark tops of
mountains may express positive
‫اص م‬ after they met after taking in the
‫بع أ اصط مت بق م‬ Figurative Figurative Free connotations where the ST word
4 ‫عي ب م‬ the dark tops of 1 black mountain 2 Diverse
،‫الجب السو اء‬ collocation collocation collocation has negative senses. Eyes or gaze
‫الس اء‬ ‫ال‬ mountains, peaks,
may take in the black mountain
peeks, i.e., to understand and
remember new facts and
information. Flashbacks are
possible when gazing at these
mountain peaks on the horizon.
ST added a description of
mountains and how high they are
by contrasting them to the deep
valley. TT2 translates the
semantic meaning of this sense
excluding the figurative use of
"embracing" expressed in ST. The
phrase "‫ "تح ن ال ا الع يق‬in ST is
which those mountains
‫ال ي تحت ن الوا‬ ‫تح ن‬ ‫ال‬ Figurative Figurative Free used figuratively, i.e., a
5 embraced the 2 that surrounded 1 Diverse
،‫الع يق‬ ‫الع يق‬ ‫ال ا‬ collocation collocation collocation personification of a mother who
deep valley the deep valley
embraces her child passionately.
This extra meaning shade is
added by the word embrace in
TT1. The first translation
therefore has added a figurative
sense component to the semantic
meaning expressed in the second
translation.

52
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
The valley was also described as
being asleep silently. The writer
compares the valley to a human
Free sleeping in false Figurative asleep in its Figurative being who has slept for ages and
6 ،‫ال ئم في ص ت خرافي‬ ‫ص ت خ افي‬ 1 2 Diverse
collocation silence – collocation mythical silence. collocation does not move, no matter what.
Silence was described as mythical
in TT2 to support the idea of how
long it has been sleeping.
The image of silent valley and the
long period of time was also
emphasized in the phrase, ‫ص ت‬
‫خ له أب ي‬, a silence that was
imagined to continue forever.
The phrase eternal silence
probably expresses this state of
silence, and usually the boring
state is attached to this silence by
It was like his the use ‫خ له أب ي‬, i.e., seemed to
Free an eternal Free Restricted
7 ، ‫ص ت خ له أب ي‬ ‫ص ت أب‬ 2 father’s roodi g 0 continue forever. Although Diverse
collocation silence, collocation collocation
silence, version two has used a good
description by the phrase
"brooding silence", a silence that
is mysterious and alarming, still
there is a mistranslation of the
word ‫ خ له‬which means "thought"
or "seemed" but was translated
into "like his father's". ST
comprehension is the first level in
the translation process.

53
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
The second version has added a
background to the setting of this
story by providing some
before the
information about Yemeni
revolution in
even when revolution during the sixties,
‫ال ا‬ Yemen had
‫ه ير ص‬ ‫ح‬ Figurative there was an Free Free hinting to the cause of gunfire.
8 ‫ص‬ 2 brought him to 2 Diverse
. ‫لق ت ن ي بعي‬ collocation echo of firing in collocation collocation Although, ST expresses that the
‫ن ي بعي‬ this distant peak
the distance. valley echoed with gunfire but
that echoed with
not mountain peaks as is in TT2,
distant gunfire.
the meaning is still effective
because mountain peaks may
also echo with gunfire.
There is a shift from the narrative
style to the dialogue style in ST.
The use of the word " ‫عم‬ ‫لم ي‬
‫ "اأكل‬is a hint to the opposite
Are ou Are ou meaning, i.e., a miserable life
hu gr ? hu gr ? the where only gunfire and gun
‫؟‬.. ‫أنت ج ئع‬
‫عم‬ ‫لم ي‬ Figurative Perhaps, I ha e Restricted other man said. Restricted powder is available. English
9 ‫عم أكل‬ ‫ ن ي لم أ‬، ‫ب‬ 1 2 Diverse
‫اأكل‬ collocation not taken collocation Ma e. I ha e t collocation speaking community usually say
. ‫حقيقي م أي بعي‬
proper food for eaten a real meal "eat food" not "take food". In
da s. for da s. addition, "proper food" and "real
meal" are both restricted
collocations in that the range of
collocations is limited in this
context of "having food".
The use of " ‫ "مل من ال‬reflects
the miserable life during
What a out
revolution of the sixties where
‫؟‬.. ‫الخب‬ Free A d bread? Free so e read? Free
10 ‫مل من ال‬ 2 2 only bread is available but Comparable
... ‫ل مللت م ه‬ collocation I tired of it. collocation I tired of collocation
nothing else is. The use of "tired
bread.
of bread" in both translations is a
good translation in this context.
What! … You Food can taste good or it is
You fool! Do t
..‫ أتع ف‬،‫ نك مغ ل‬.. ‫يه‬ ‫ا ل‬ Figurative are ignorant, I Restricted Restricted tasteful. Both are good
11 2 you know how 2 Diverse
‫ن ي أت و له ع ائع ؟‬ ‫ع ائع‬ collocation find it very collocation collocation collocations and are comparable
good it tastes?
tasteful. as there is only a minimal

54
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
grammatical or morphological
change.
TT2 used "fed up with a meal" to
I tired of I fed up with
‫ل مللت م تس نه أكا‬ Free Free Free change from "tired of a meal"
12 ‫مل اأكل‬ what you call 2 what you call a 2 Diverse
. ‫حقيقي‬ collocation collocation collocation that was used earlier in the text
proper food. real meal.
to avoid redundant language.
ST writer uses this marked
collocation figuratively to
communicate how the speaker
has suffered abroad. Both taste
Twenty years in
food or eat food collocates well.
which I have
In twenty years I In version one, it is not French
tasted almost
‫ قت في كل‬، ‫ع م‬ ‫عش‬ have eaten crocodile soup in ST. Version two
everything,
‫شيء من ال ع بين ال يني‬ / ‫ا ال ع بين‬ Figurative Figurative everything, from Figurative uses frog soup in France, a more
13 from Chinese 1 2 Diverse
‫حت شرب ال ف‬ ‫ش ب ال‬ collocation collocation snakes in China to collocation accurate translation. The use of
snakes to the
... ‫الفرنسي و‬ frog soup in prepositional phrases (in France)
French
Fra e… in TT2 may be more effective and
crocodile soup
gives more sense to the place
a d…
where the speaker had such
experience, unlike the use of
adjectives (Chinese and French) in
TT1.
Are ou goi g to
Will ou start Free
‫لك من‬ ‫هل س أ في ق‬ Free tell me all that all Free Usually, English people say tell a
14 ‫ص‬ ‫قص ال‬ that story combinati 1 2 Diverse
‫؟‬.. ‫ج ي‬ collocation o er agai ? The collocation story not start a story.
agai ? on
young man asked.
But h ot?
Wh ot? The
‫ي الليل‬ ‫ ق ا ي‬،‫ ا‬.. ‫لم‬ ‫ال يل‬ ‫م‬ Free Free That way the Free
15 night will pass 2 2 No comment. Diverse
، ‫سريع‬ ‫س يع‬ collocation collocation night will pass collocation
away soon
more quickly

55
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
Translation shift from collocation
to individual words. It is not
necessary that a collocation be
translated into a collocation in TT.
Sometimes it is more effective to
transfer the meaning of ST
collocation to one word in TT.
and you will not However, there is more use of
‫ أ‬.. ‫فا نشعر ب لسأ‬ / ‫شع ب لسأ‬ feel the pain or a d e o t e Free article the in TT1 which is
Free Free
16 .. ‫الخوف‬ / ‫ال ف‬ fear. 1 bored or afraid. combinatio 2 transferred from Arabic language Diverse
collocation collocation
‫؟‬.. ‫ أليس ك لك‬.. ‫أ الجو‬ ‫ال‬ "Or hunger … Or hungry? n structure. Feel the pain has clear
is t it? Arabic style ‫ يشع ب ألم‬where feel
pain without the article is better
in English. A translator should
disengage himself/herself from
the ST structure and concentrate
on generating a comparable
meaning and effect in TT using
appropriate TL structure.
Perhaps!
Free Perhaps. Free
.. ‫ب‬ ‫ص‬ Free And a shot was
17 combinati 2 Shots from afar combinatio 2 No comment Comparable
‫و وت لق من بعي‬ ‫ال‬ collocation heard in the
on were heard n
distance
Collocation Free
‫اأخ‬ Free and echoed in the Meaning shade of echo was not
18 ، ‫ه اأخ و‬ ... not 0 combinatio 2 Diverse
‫ال‬ collocation valley; translated in TT1.
translated n
Trembled is more effective than
shook. The word shake was
repeated more than once in TT1
Free
Free the young man Free to denote fear. But the use of
19 .‫ف تجف‬ ‫ا ت فخ ف‬ and he shook. combinati 1 2 Diverse
collocation trembled. collocation tremble in TT2 has given a variety
on
of language use to the TT style
making it more effective for
English readership.
... ‫ألم أقل لك نك خ ئف‬ Did t I sa ou Did I tell ou that
Free Free Free
20 ‫ ن ي أشعر ب لبر‬، ‫أ ج‬ ‫شع ب ل‬ are afraid? 2 ou re afraid? 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation collocation
.‫ف ط‬ Please, I feel Please, I just feel

56
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
cold o l . cold.
Look! Do t Look, do t ou
you feel feel that there s ST expression is about fear not
‫ أا تشع بشيء ج ي‬: ‫ان‬ something new Free something new whisper. By using scared, both
Free Free
21 ‫ه ال ي ه؟‬ ‫خ ئف‬ ‫ص‬ to- ight? combinati 0 going on this 2 meaning and the effect of Diverse
collocation collocation
‫م ه ؟ ق ل ب وت خ ئف‬ What is it? He on e e i g? everyday language register were
said in a What is it? he conveyed to TT.
whisper. asked scared.
In Arabic, sky rains. In English,
‫ل أمطرت الس ء في‬ ‫أم‬ Free It rained Restricted It rained this Restricted however, sky is usually omitted,
22 2 2 Comparable
. ‫ال‬ ‫الس ء‬ collocation duri g the da . collocation or i g. collocation and English speakers usually say it
rains rather than the sky rains.
Version one uses article the
profusely. The color of rain is
“o? better than the color of the rain
“o?
Do t ou see from English native speakers'
‫؟‬ Free Do t ou feel Free
‫شع ب‬ Free the colour of viewpoints. In addition, the use of
23 ‫أا تشع بلو ال طر ال‬ combinati 1 that the rai ’s combinatio 2 Diverse
‫ال‬ collocation the rain which ‫ ل ال‬in ST is figuratively
..‫غسل كل شيء‬ on color cleaned n
has washed loaded with meaning. This
everything,
everything, unusual use of new collocation is
referred by Baker (2011) as
"marked collocation".
Free Free Version one uses article the
‫غسل ال‬ Free even the colour
24 ..‫لو الق ر‬ ‫ح‬ combinati 1 even the moon? combinatio 2 profusely. This is again a new Diverse
‫ل ال‬ collocation of the moon.
on n marked collocation.
The dialogue style of TT2 is more
customized to suit English style of
writing short stories by providing
who said what, plus the use of
gerund. It is better to use "the
And he pointed the older man
Free Free Free other man said pointing to the
25 .‫أش بي إل الق ر‬ ‫ل ال‬ ‫أش‬ to the moon 1 said pointing to 2 Comparable
collocation collocation collocation moon" than "And he pointed to
with his hand. the moon.
the moon with his hand". In
addition, there is a word-for-
word translation of the phrase
"with his hand", an unnecessary
phrase in TT.

57
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
"Trigger" can be understood from
Better ou He ! Trust e, the context without adding the
‫عل‬ ‫اأف ل أ تتر ي‬ ‫ت ي ع‬ Free keep your hand Free it s etter if ou Free phrase "of your gun". When the
26 1 2 Diverse
.‫ن بن قيتك‬ ‫ن ال قي‬ collocation on the trigger collocation leave your hand collocation context is clear, it is better to
of your gun. on the trigger… omit certain phrases to add a
stylistic effect to TT.
Oh! Do t ou
Oh! Do t ou
see how
see how
wonderful
wonderful
‫كل‬ ‫م أ‬ ‫ أا ت‬.. ‫أ‬ everything is ..?
Free Free everything is? Free
27 ‫؟ هل ت ي ت ع‬..‫شيء‬ ‫اسح ا‬ ‫م‬ Have you ever 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation Have you ever collocation
..‫من را س حرا ك ا‬ imagined a
imagined seeing
magic scene
such a beautiful
like this in your
scene?...
life?
The oo se ds its light… The
The moon The moon is moon shines is a better
sends its light sending its light collocation, but there may be a
‫الق ر يرسل ضوء كشا‬ ‫أ سل ال‬ Figurative Free Free
28 like rain water 2 like the rain 2 personification in the ST Comparable
،‫ال تس قط ن ا‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ض ء‬ collocation collocation collocation
that has fallen shower that fell comparing the moon to the
during the day, this morning. rainfalls. Rainfalls were also
compared to soldiers in this text.
even the stars Even the stars,
‫ان ت‬ look like the they look like the
‫تش ه انطاق‬ ‫ح ال‬ Figurative Free Free Usually, raindrops fall from the
29 ‫ق ا ال‬ drops of rain 2 beginning of 1 Diverse
.‫القطرات من السحب‬ collocation collocation collocation cloud not begin...
‫من السحب‬ falling from the raindrops from
clouds. clouds.

58
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
The rain has a Rain has a color;
colour that you ou a t feel it, The for of to spend years on it
do not feel until but you can see it may have a better effect than
it gets it from when you want to you spent years . The phrase
the things it see those ‫ ت ي فيه أع ام‬has an emphasis on
،‫ل ن ا تشع به‬ ‫ل‬ falls upon. I creatures that fall sea, and this focus was not
‫ ت تك‬، ‫اع م ت‬ never got into it. When I provided in TT1 (spent years), but
‫ لم‬، ‫اأحي ء ال ي ي س قط في‬ affected by the was a sailor, I this sense component was
‫أكن أتأث ب ل أ ال‬ ‫في‬ ‫ق‬ Free moon or the Free never thought Free reserved by the addition of on
30 1 2 Comparable
‫ ك لك‬، ‫أن في ال خ‬ ‫ال ح أع ام‬ collocation rain when I was collocation about the moon collocation it i to spend years on it . In
‫ أنت ا‬، ‫ي ك ني ب ل ي‬ on the ship; it or the rain. They addition, the collocational unit in
‫ أ‬.. ‫تع ف مع ال ح‬ always would have only TT1 has a mistranslation in the
، ‫تق ي فيه أعوام‬ reminded me of made me long for phrase until it gets it from the
the village. You the village. You things it falls upon, which affects
do t k o the do t k o the the translation quality, although
meaning of the meaning of the this is not the focus of this
sea; you spent sea, to spend research.
years – years on it,
The sun roasts or barbecues may
‫الش س تش‬ Figurative the sun roasts Figurative the sun Figurative
31 ،‫تشويك الش س‬ 2 2 sound figurative. The sun usually Diverse
‫بح ا ت‬ collocation you collocation barbecues you, collocation
burns.
and the
evenings and the night .. the night swallows you into its
‫ك‬ ‫ال س ء ي‬ Figurative Figurative Figurative
32 ،‫ته‬ ‫يلت ك ال س ء ب‬ swallow you 1 swallows you 2 silence is better than the evenings Diverse
‫ب ه‬ collocation collocation collocation
with their into its silence. swallow you with their silence.
silence.
I was prepared
I was ready to Usually English speakers say give
‫ك ت مس ع ا ل فع حي تي‬ Figurative to pay my life Figurative Figurative
33 ‫فع حي ته ث‬ 1 give my life for a 2 my life for something not pay my Diverse
.‫ث ن ل ن ر ك ا‬ collocation for a scene like collocation collocation
scene like this. life for it.
this.
Do t ou see Do t ou see the Both mountain tops and
‫أا تاحظ ق م الجب‬ ‫احظ ق م‬ Free Restricted Restricted
34 the mountain 2 mountain peaks 2 mountain peaks are good Diverse
‫ال ب ؟‬ ‫ال‬ collocation collocation collocation
tops? in front of us? collocations.
They are as They are very Comparing a mountain peak to
، ‫ن واضح كل الوضو‬
‫اضح كل‬ Free clear as crystal Figurative vivid in all their Free crystal to show how they are
35 ،‫ ان ه لك‬. ‫ب ل ت صي‬ 2 2 Diverse
‫ال ض‬ collocation with all their collocation details. Look over collocation clear. Very vivid is also a good
.‫سأ فع حي تي ث ل ا‬
parts. Look there; I will trade translation.

59
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
there! I will pay my life for such
my life for this. beauty.
Oh, God, I Version two added extra sense
My God! I
thought that components to further clarify the
thought it was
‫م‬ ‫ ك ت أ‬،‫ي ل ي‬ Free Free joining the army Free meaning. Joining the army serves
36 ‫ح ل السا‬ only an 2 2 Comparable
‫ أ أح ل السا‬، ‫مغ م‬ collocation collocation was just an collocation clarify the scene being described
adventure to
adventure, that and to custom tailor the text for a
carry a weapon
I d carry weapons better natural text.
and walk and
‫أم ي أنش أن شي‬ ‫أنش أن شي‬ Free sing Free and sing songs of Free
37 2 2 No comment Diverse
، ‫ال و‬ ‫ال‬ collocation revolutionary collocation the revolution, collocation
songs
as those I use to
like the ones I
hear from the
used to hear in
sea-port
French ports
workers in
about the
France, about
revolution,
‫ك ك ال ي ك ت أس ع من‬ the revolution,
Napoleo , the
، ‫ع ال انئ في ف نس‬ Napoleon and
Marseillaise. But
‫ ن ب ي‬، ‫عن ال‬ ‫ال ي شف‬ Figurative Marseilles but Figurative Figurative
38 2 did the French 2 Personification Comparable
‫ ل ن هل‬، ‫ال سي يي‬ ‫كل شيء‬ collocation have they seen collocation collocation
‫أ ا شي ائع ك ا؟‬ ever see anything
anything as
...‫الق ر ي شف لك كل شيء‬ wonderful like
wonderful as
this? The moon
this? The moon
reveals
reveals
everything for
everything to
you, yes,
you, yes
e er thi g…
everything.
Transferring the Arabic and into
And he pressed
‫ضغط ع‬ Free Free Then he fired his Restricted English may affect the English
39 ،‫ن بن قيته‬ ‫ ضغط عل‬.. the trigger of 1 2 Diverse
‫ال ن‬ collocation collocation gun, collocation style and it can probably be
his gun 23
considered as an MTI error ,

23
MTI error is the effect of mother tongue interference that is prevalent in the translation (see 4.2.3 Strategies of Translating Collocations, transfer
strategy, P. 89).

60
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
especially if this error is repeated
throughout the text.
If the meaning is clearly
expressed by certain words, it is
and the
better not to add more words
mountains
‫ال ل‬ Figurative Free the mountain Free and lose style in literary
40 ، ‫الجبل ال‬ ‫و‬ echoed the 1 2 Diverse
‫ال‬ collocation collocation echoed, collocation translation. The mountain echoed
sound of the
is sufficient to convey gun fire
shot
sound. It is therefore better not
to add the sound of the shot.
When someone is extremely
frightened and is shivering in an
and the body
‫وا تجف الجس ال‬ Free Free and the body by Restricted uncontrollable manner, English
41 ‫ا ت فخ ف‬ beside him 1 2 Diverse
.‫ب ن ه‬ collocation collocation his side trembled. collocation speakers usually say he trembled
shook.
with fear. Shaking of fear is
acceptable collocation.
What s ro g
What s ro g?
with you? Are you
Are ou raz ?
‫ هل ج ت؟‬..‫م لك‬ Free Free raz ? he asked. Free
42 ‫ائع‬ ‫ال‬ No … othi g. 2 2 No comment Comparable
،‫ الق ر ائع‬،‫ ا شيء‬..‫ا‬ collocation collocation No, o. It s just collocation
The moon is
that the oo ’s
wonderful,
so wonderful.
The moon usually waxes when it
gets bigger each night or wanes
Free it has gone Free It s lower on the Free when it gets smaller each night.
43 ، ‫لق هو‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ه‬ 2 2 Diverse
collocation down. collocation horizon; collocation When the moon gets down at the
sa e ight, it is … a d it sets and
rises.
ST speaker emphasizes how much
he loves the moon in comparison
Do t ou
to the sun shines in Aden. In
notice
a t ou see English, adoring something is to
‫ألم تاحظ شي ؟ ل لك أن‬ Figurative anything? Free Free
44 ‫ع ال‬ 2 that? So I worship 2 love or venerate deeply. To Diverse
،‫أعب الق ر‬ collocation That s h I collocation collocation
the moon, worship something also means to
adore the
admire or love it very much. In
moon,
this sense, both adoring or
worshiping the moon are good

61
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
lexical collocations.
Free Restricted Restricted Both dim and soft are good
45 ،‫ال وء الخ فت‬ ‫ء ال فت‬ ‫ال‬ the dim light. 2 the soft light. 2 Diverse
collocation collocation collocation collocates for light.
It does not give It does t gi e
you the whole you the full
، ‫نه ا يع يك كل ال و‬ Free Free Free Both whole and full collocates
46 ‫كل ال‬ picture, the 2 picture, the 2 Diverse
،‫ال ا ت ي‬ collocation collocation collocation well with picture.
shadows are shadows are
enough. enough.
ST states that the speaker has not
used to the cold while he was
Do t shake like Do t tre le, living in Aden because the
، ‫ات ت فه اي ع ي‬ this, my dear. frie d. You re just weather is hot. This point is not
Free Free Free
47 ‫أنت لم تتعو البر في س‬ ‫ال‬ ‫تع‬ You are not 2 not used to the 2 clearly suggested in TT1 using Comparable
collocation collocation collocation
،‫ع س‬ used to the cold, being from used to the cold in Aden. TT2
cold in Aden. Aden. conveyed clearly this meaning by
providing the phrase used to the
cold, being from Aden.
There the sun is
Free There the sun is Restricted Restricted
48 ،‫هناك شمس مضيئة دائما‬ ‫ش سم ي‬ 2 shining all the 2 No comment Comparable
collocation always shining collocation collocation
time,
Free Free
‫الش س ت ي‬ Free but it depresses but sometimes it
49 ،‫لكن ا تثير الضي أحيانا‬ combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
‫ال يق‬ collocation you sometimes. is a bother.
on n
You have not Free Free
Free You e e er see
50 ‫أنت ل تر جبال الثلج؛‬ ‫ال ج‬ ‫ج‬ seen the snowy combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
collocation an iceberg.
mountains. on n
I worked twenty
years there as a I e see i
seaman; I saw twenty years as a
all the seas and sailor, all the seas
Free Free
‫إا أن أك ن جنديا في‬ ‫ج في‬ Free heard all the and heard all the
51 combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
،‫ص ف الث رة‬ ‫ص ف ال‬ collocation tales, except stories. But, that I
on n
that I will be a would be a
soldier in the soldier in the
revolutionary revolution,
army –

62
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
Adding and it happened in
version one does not have the
that s the last same effect as but it did in
that is the last
‫ت ك آخر أسط رة كنت‬ legend I Free version two. Sometimes
‫ح ثت‬ Free story I imagined Free
52 ‫ لكن ا‬،‫أتص ر حد ث ا‬ imagined to combinati 2 2 repetitive words or phrases does Comparable
‫أس‬ collocation would happen, collocation
.‫حدثت‬ happen and it on not emphasize the intended
but it did.
happened. meaning, it rather works against
generating a better pragmatic
effect in TT.
Liste , The young man
dear, I have said, Liste ,
Both good shooter and good
heard this frie d, I e heard
‫ ل س عت‬، ‫اس ع ي ع ي‬ sniper are good collocations.
twenty times Free you say this for
‫ ل ك‬،‫العش ين‬ ‫لك ل‬ Free Free Shooter may not mean shooting
53 ‫ا جي‬ but it is the first combinati 2 the twentieth 2 Diverse
‫أ م ت ت لي بأنك ا‬ collocation collocation from a hidden place at a long
. ‫جي‬ time that you on time. But for the
range as sniper. This is not clearly
have proved to first ti e, ou e
suggested by ‫ ا جي‬in ST.
be a good proved to be a
shooter. good sniper.
You hit something
After the fall may not convey a
Perhaps he is down there. It
clear meaning of what is fell
suffering there might be suffering
‫ أ لع ه ق‬، ‫لع ه ي ألم ه‬ down. Version two uses the
Free or he may be Free in pain, or maybe Free
54 ‫ لم‬،‫ لم أاحظ أ شيء‬. ‫م‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ه‬ 2 2 pronoun in the phrase it fell down Diverse
collocation dead. I did t collocation it died, I a t tell. collocation
. ‫أ ا بع أ هو‬ to refer to the thing that was hit
notice anything I did t see it
down, which was described in the
after the fall. move after it fell
previous sentence.
down.
He was silent He was silent for
for a while and a moment and
: ‫ ثم ق‬،‫ص ت ق يا‬ the said: But then went on,
‫س ل ك ك ت تعي ع ي كل‬ you were But ou re
‫ ال ه‬، ‫لك من ج ي‬ repeating all repeating all of
‫في‬ ‫غ‬ Figurative Figurative Figurative
55 ‫ ال ي ج في كل‬، ‫ال‬ that again, the 2 that again. The 2 No comment Diverse
‫اأ ح‬ collocation collocation collocation
‫ ا‬.. ‫لي ال م اأم‬ moon is the moon is the
‫شيء ا أن ي غرقت في‬ moon, it is moon, the same
‫اأوح‬ there every one that we see
night, and the every night with
stars and the the stars and the

63
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
rai s … Nothi g rains. There is
except that I got nothing there
lost in those except the fact
jungles that I sank in mud
trying to catch TT1 applies a cultural filter and
as I was chasing
‫لك اأ نب‬ ‫أن أ‬ ‫أ ن‬ Free Free that damn rabbit Free deleted the modifier damn. TT2
56 that rabbit this 2 2 Diverse
، ‫الي‬ ‫اللعين‬ ‫لعي‬ collocation collocation that showed up collocation however has another strategy to
afternoon.
this afternoon. keep a comparable effect of ST.
‫ل ك ت أ سم في مخيلتي‬ ‫سم في‬ Figurative I was drawing a Free I was imagining a Free TT2 sounds more effective and
57 2 2 Diverse
‫مئ ل ي‬ ‫م ي ه‬ collocation picture collocation delicious meal collocation accurate than TT1.
of a roasted
Free Free Free
58 ، ‫أ نب مشو‬ ‫أ نب مش‬ rabbit for my 2 of grilled rabbit, 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
meal
but got nothing
‫الخب‬ ‫ل ي لم أج س‬ Free I got only dry Free Restricted Both dry or stale bread are good
59 ‫خ ي بس‬ 2 except stale 2 Diverse
!‫الي بس‬ collocation bread! collocation collocation collocations
bread!
Free A cold wind Restricted Restricted
60 ‫ب‬ ‫وهبت ي‬ ‫ه ت ال ي‬ 2 A cold wind blew, 2 No comment Comparable
collocation blew collocation collocation
If the wind howls, it makes a loud
Free
Free Restricted high sound as it blows, but
61 ‫ل صرير‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ص ي ال ي‬ making a sound combinati 1 howling 2 Diverse
collocation collocation making a sound in TT1 may not
on
express this specific meaning.
The wind simply passed through a
gap howling. Version one
‫تع ش‬ Free that shattered Restricted as it passed the Free
62 ، ‫هي تعبر شقو اأخ و‬ 1 2 figurati e la guage… ut the Diverse
‫اأخ‬ collocation the dreams. collocation gap. collocation
meaning of ST was clearly
conveyed in Version two.
The verb echoed signifies that
The mountains Free there is a repetitive sound.
‫ال ل‬ Free The mountain Free
63 ‫الجبل ص‬ ‫و‬ repeated the combinati 1 2 Therefore it is more effective to Diverse
‫ال‬ collocation echoed collocation
echo on use the mountain echoed than
the mountain repeated the echo.
A human usually shouts or cries.
‫اإنس‬ Free of a human Free the shout of a Free If in a difficult situation, he cries.
64 ‫ي ر‬ ‫إنس‬ 2 2 Diverse
‫ي‬ collocation crying. collocation man. collocation Shouting does not convey that
there is a problem like crying.

64
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
No one
‫ ف ت‬، ‫لم ي ب ع يه أح‬ Figurative Figurative Nobody answered Figurative
65 ‫ال‬ ‫م‬ answered it and 1 2 No comment Diverse
‫ال‬ collocation collocation it, the echo died, collocation
so it died.
Free
Free and the man fell Free The first version has an omission
66 ، ‫في ال‬ ‫هو إنس‬ ‫نس‬ ‫ه‬ It was a man combinati 1 2 Diverse
collocation to the bottom collocation of this element.
on
Collocation
Free and crashed Free The first version has an omission
67 ‫ا تطم حجر‬ ‫ا ت م الح‬ ... not 0 2 Diverse
collocation against the rocks collocation of this element.
translated
Free in the deep Restricted in the deep Restricted
68 ‫الع يق‬ ‫في الوا‬ ‫ا ع يق‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation valley. collocation valley. collocation
Liste , Liste , do
liste ! Liste !
you feel
‫ هل تحس‬.. ‫ اس ع‬،‫اس ع‬ Do you feel Free The meaning of fear was
Free so ethi g? the Free
69 ‫بشيء؟‬ ‫خ ئف‬ ‫ص‬ a thi g? combinati 2 2 compensated by using the word Diverse
collocation young man asked. collocation
، ‫ك صوته خ ئف‬ He was on whispering in version one.
It was a scary
whispering
sound;
English speakers usually say pull a
gun or hold a gun but not clutch a
gun. Clutch may be used with
arm, bag, blanket, chest, edge,
Free as he clutched Free he pulled the gun Free hand, handbag, head, purse,
70 . ‫ش بقو عل البن قي‬ ‫ش ب‬ 1 2 Diverse
collocation at his gun. collocation near him. collocation stomach, or suitcase as the
object. Clutch at his gun is
acceptable in this context but
pulled his gun is a better
translation choice.
Splashing water (the noise of
water when hitting or falling on
something) may sound better.
Do t fear, it is Do t e afraid, Roaring can also collocate with a
‫ه ير‬ ‫ا ت ف نه ص‬ Free Free Free
71 ‫ه ي ال ي‬ the sound of 1 it s the sou d of 1 lion's sound, the sound of an Diverse
، ‫ال ي‬ collocation collocation collocation
running water, roaring water, engine or vehicle, or the sound of
ater. The sound of running
water in TT1 has a more general
translation and is also acceptable.
72 ، ‫من الش‬ ‫نه السيل الق‬ ‫السيل ق‬ Free it is the flood Free 2 it s the flood Free 2 No comment Comparable

65
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
collocation coming from collocation coming from the collocation
the north. north.
The clouds The clouds
‫ك نت الغيو تغطي كل‬ ‫تغ ي‬ ‫الغي‬ Free covered the Free covered that Free
73 2 2 morning or the morning Comparable
، ‫م ال‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال‬ collocation place since collocation whole area this collocation
morning morning.
and this Free
‫ال ي ق م‬ Free Here come those Free Water may not collocate with
74 ‫ب‬ ‫ه ال ي الق م ب‬ approaching combinati 1 2 Diverse
‫ب ب‬ collocation waters, violently, collocation approaching...
water on
Compound words such as rainfall
‫هي ح ي اأمط ال ي‬ Free is the rainfall Restricted after all that Restricted
75 ‫ه ل ال‬ 2 2 are considered restricted Diverse
،‫هطلت‬ collocation water. collocation rainfall, collocation
collocations???
Do t ou hear Free
Free do t ou feel its Free Suggested translation: don’t you
76 ، ‫أا تشع ب وت الع‬ ‫مي ع ب‬ its sweet combinati 2 2 Diverse
collocation great presence? collocation hear the water murmuring…
sound? on
The word ‫ ه ي‬in Arabic
expresses a special sound made
by moving soldiers in this context.
Is seems to me
Free Free It s like the roar Free In version one, there is a
77 ‫ي يل لي كأنه ه ير جنو‬ ‫هي ج‬ like the sound 2 2 Diverse
collocation collocation of soldiers collocation translation shift from a more
of soldiers
specific term in ST to a general
use of sound , a move from
subordination to superordination.
moving towards creeping towards The second version has a better
‫ ون‬،‫ل ال ف‬ ‫ي حفو‬ ‫حف ال‬ Free Free Restricted
78 a goal, without 2 the target, 2 effect by using a more restricted Diverse
،‫خوف‬ ‫با خ ف‬ collocation collocation collocation
any fear, fearlessly. collocation, creeping... fearlessly.
breaking the They tear silence
Figurative Figurative Figurative
79 ،‫ت والجبن‬ ‫ي قو ال‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ال‬ ‫م‬ silence and 2 and cowardliness 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
cowardice; to shreds.
they have
forgotten They forget
everything even everything, even
‫ ح‬،‫ل ت س ا كل شيء‬ Free Free Restricted
80 ‫ان فع ال‬ their existence. 2 their existence. 2 No comment Diverse
، ‫ إن م ين فعو‬،‫ج هم‬ collocation collocation collocation
They are They plunge
drawing forward,
forwards,

66
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
each one is everyone
being brave encouraged by
‫كل اح ي ش ع أ‬ because there is the others at his
Free Free Free
81 ‫ ل ك‬،‫اآخ ين ب ن ه‬ ‫ف ال‬ someone beside 2 side. If a soldier 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
.. ‫ لفر‬.. ‫حي ا‬ him; if he was were alone he
alone he would might have run
have fled. away,
Free However they Free but they are a Free
82 . ‫ول ن م ج و‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ج‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation are a crowd. collocation crowd, collocation
Do you know, ou k o , the re
they are more more than one
‫ ن م أك من‬، ‫أت‬
‫ا ت م ال‬ Free than one. Do Free perso . Do t ou Free
83 ‫ أتس ع‬، ‫ش ص اح‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫بل‬ collocation you hear their collocation hear them collocation
‫ا تط م م ب لجب ؟‬
beats against crashing against
the mountains? the mountains?
Even the fall of
Even the falling
‫ح تس قط اأشج ا‬ ‫تس ق ت‬ Free the trees does Free Free Mother tongue interference of
84 2 trees do t 2 Diverse
،‫ت م‬ ‫اأش‬ collocation not matter to collocation collocation the in TT1.
bother them.
them,
they are The re
moving, each compelled.
‫ كل اح‬، ‫ن م ين فعو‬
Free one Free Everyone is Free
85 ‫ ن‬،‫يش ع اآخ ين‬ ‫ان فع ال‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation encouraging the collocation encouraging the collocation
.‫ ن خ ف‬.‫خ ف‬
other with no other, fearlessly,
fear. defia tl .
The flood had The flood
‫ب غ السيل‬ Free Free Free
86 ، ‫السيل ق بلغ الوا‬ ‫ك‬ reached the 2 reached the 2 No comment Diverse
‫ال ا‬ collocation collocation collocation
valley; valley.
they were lying
They were lying at
‫ك ن ا م ين ع ق‬ on the top of
‫ان فع ال ء‬ Free Free the ou tai s Free
87 ‫ال ل ك ال ء ين فع‬ the mountain, 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫بش‬ collocation collocation peak. Water collocation
‫بش‬ the water came
rushed strongly,
rushing

67
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
carrying with it
carried many
everything that
‫ق ح ل أم مه أشي ء ك ي‬ things but they
was in its way,
، ‫لم ياح ا م شي‬ ‫ا ت عت ال ي‬ Free could see Free Free
88 2 though they 2 No comment Diverse
‫وال ء يرتفع وينخفض‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ان‬ collocation nothing. Water collocation collocation
،‫بع ف‬ did t oti e.
went up and
Water rose and
down
fell violently.
The sound of its The second version has a more
and the sound
‫صوت ا تط مه يرتفع‬ ‫ا تعص‬ Free Free crashing reached Free effective style by using the form
89 of its splashing 2 2 Diverse
،‫ي ت ع‬ ‫ال ي‬ collocation collocation higher and collocation higher and higher rather than
was increasing
higher; increasing.
to the point
they thought it Translation shift from figurative
‫مص‬ ‫ال‬ Figurative they thought it Free Figurative
90 .‫م‬ ‫ا بأنه سيلت‬ ‫ح‬ 1 would swallow 2 collocation to free collocation in Diverse
‫ال ي‬ collocation would drown collocation collocation
them. version one.
them
Free Then they were Translation shift from figurative
Figurative and they were Restricted
91 ‫ض م ص ت ع يق‬ ‫ص ت ع يق‬ combinati 1 embraced in a 2 collocation to free collocation in Diverse
collocation silent collocation
on deep silence version one.
as the water
‫ي من تح م‬ ‫ال ء ي‬ ‫ال ء‬ ‫م‬ Figurative Restricted and water passed Restricted
92 flowed below 2 2 No comment Diverse
،‫بعي ا‬ ‫بعي ا‬ collocation collocation beneath them, collocation
them
slithering away
‫ثع‬ Free like a legendary Free Free
93 ‫أسطو‬ ‫ك عب‬ 2 like a mythical 2 No comment Diverse
‫اس‬ collocation snake collocation collocation
snake
that has
Free Free Free
94 ‫خر فجأ‬ ‫ف أ‬ ‫خ‬ suddenly 2 suddenly leaving 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
appeared
from the
Free Free the depths of the Free Mother tongue interference of
95 ‫الجب‬ ‫من أع‬ ‫ال‬ ‫أع‬ depths of the 2 2 Diverse
collocation collocation mountain collocation the in TT1.
mountains
after being after having been
imprisoned for imprisoned for
‫ا‬ ، ‫بع سجن ا قرون‬ Free Free Free
96 ‫ا ق ن‬ centuries and 2 centuries. It 2 No comment Comparable
..‫يح م كل شيء‬ collocation collocation collocation
was destroying started to crush
everything. everything.

68
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
We are like We are like the
hi , e do t ater. We do t
‫ ا ن‬،‫نحن أي م ه‬ know what is know what is
Free Free Free
97 ‫ ل‬، ‫م ي م أم م‬ ‫بع ف‬ ‫م‬ devoured in 2 being swallowed 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
،‫ن ي بعنف‬ front of us and in front of us, but
we are moving we just keep
violently, going.
but because we
Be ause e re
are a group we Free Free
‫ل ن م ع ف حن ا‬ Free together, we’re
98 ‫شع ب ل ف‬ are not afraid combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Comparable
. ‫ ا ي‬،‫نشعر ب لخوف‬ collocation not afraid. We
a d e do t on n
do t are,
care
and then we are
beaten. But this then e rash. It s
is the beginning Free just the Free
، ‫ ن ال اي‬،‫ثم ن ت م‬ ‫ال اي ع ي‬ Free
99 and the combinati 2 beginning, and combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
، ‫الب اي عنيف ون ح و‬ ‫ن ح‬ collocation
beginning is on beginnings are n
always forceful, always violent.
with no limits,
and everything Everything is
‫ م‬..‫ق ن ني‬ ‫كل شيء م‬ is legal … A d as permitted and
Free Free Free
100 ‫م في ال ي سنسقي‬ ‫الح‬ ‫س‬ we reach the 2 legal. And as long 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation collocation
،‫حقوا‬ end we will as, in the end, we
water the fields water the fields
and because we
and give the
will give the
desert a great
desert a green
green carpet of
colour and a
‫م م نع ي ال ح اء‬ carpet of
happiness, our
‫ بس‬،‫ل اخ ا ائع‬ rush will not
happiness, if we
‫ ان ف ع لن‬، ‫من السع‬ ‫من‬ ‫بس‬ Figurative Figurative continue for long. Figurative
101 push on it will 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫ س أ بع‬،‫يا‬ ‫يس‬ ‫السع‬ collocation collocation We will calm collocation
not take long
‫ ل ن س ع ي اأ‬،‫ق يل‬ down after a
. ‫ل ن آخ ! حي أخ‬ and we will
while, but we will
calm down
give the soil a
soon, but we
different color! A
will give the
differe t life.
earth another

69
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
colour, another
life.
Free Silence Free Silence Free
102 .‫وس ص ت‬ ‫ت‬ ‫س ال‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation prevailed. collocation continued, collocation
Figurative The moon was Figurative the moon was Figurative
103 . ‫الق ر حنون‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ال‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation affectionate collocation kind, collocation
‫السيل‬ ‫م‬ Figurative and the flood Figurative the flood passed Figurative
104 .‫بعي ا‬ ‫السيل ق م‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫بعي ا‬ collocation has gone far. collocation away. collocation
A d hat But hat a out
about her, did her? Did you
‫هل ك ت ل‬ ‫م اع‬
Free you write to Free rite a thi g? Free
105 . ‫شي‬ ‫ال س ل‬ ‫م‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation her? collocation The young man collocation
.. ‫م قت كل شيء‬
I ha e torn up said, I tore up
everything, everything.
with whom
Free Free How would I send Free
106 ‫مع من سأ سل س ئلي؟‬ ‫أ سل س ل‬ shall I send my 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation my letters? collocation
letters?
She is far now, Aden is far away
and I was silly. I now. How stupid I
‫ م‬.. ‫ ن بعي اآ‬.. ‫ع‬
told her that I as. I said, I ll
‫ك أغ ني! ق ت ل سأك ب‬ Free Free Free
107 ‫ب ا‬ ‫أع‬ will write to her 2 write her all the 2 No comment Diverse
‫ لع تعتبرني‬، ‫ل ائ‬ collocation collocation collocation
often and now time. Perhaps she
،‫اآ بطا‬
she will think I thi ks I’ a hero
am a hero now
Usually English speakers say tell a
and expect me and waits for me story which has more frequency
‫م ي أ أح ي ل‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ح‬ Free to tell her Free to tell her stories Free than tell a legend. The former has
108 2 2 Diverse
،‫أس ير عن ب اتي‬ ‫اأس ي‬ collocation legends about collocation about my collocation 6705 frequency count and the
my heroism. adventures. latter has only 12 in the Corpus of
Contemporary American English.
When someone is extremely
She will not “he ould t frightened and is shivering in an
Free
‫بأن ي أ تجف‬ ‫ن لن ت‬ Free believe that I believe that I Free uncontrollable manner, English
109 ‫ا ت فخ ف‬ combinati 1 2 Diverse
، ‫قن‬ ‫ع س‬ collocation shake at the tremble when I collocation speakers usually say he trembled
on
sound of firing, hear gunfire, with fear. Shaking of fear is an
acceptable collocation.

70
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
‫انغ‬ as if the bullet
‫في‬ ‫ينغر‬ ‫كأ ال ص‬ Figurative as if the bullet Free Free
110 ‫في‬ ‫ال ص‬ 2 had entered deep 2 No comment Diverse
،‫أع قي‬ collocation was inside me. collocation collocation
‫أع قه‬ inside me.
You are older You re older tha
‫أيت‬ ‫ ل‬،‫أنت أك م ي‬ Free than me, you Free e, ou e seen Free
111 ‫ع لم فسيح‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
، ‫عوالم فسيح‬ collocation have seen the collocation many vast collocation
world horizons.
and perhaps Perhaps ou re
‫ أم‬. ‫لع ك تسخر مني اآ‬ Free Restricted Restricted
112 ‫مه‬ ‫س‬ you will laugh 2 making fun of me 2 No comment Diverse
. ‫أن‬ collocation collocation collocation
at me ut e. o … But I…
Free And he laughed Free He laughed sadly Free
113 . ‫ضحك بح‬ ‫ضحك بح‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation sadly. collocation and went on. collocation
Free Free
Free I a only a
114 .. ‫فل‬ ‫أن مجر‬ ‫ل‬ ‫م‬ combinati 2 I just a kid. combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
collocation child
on n
who knows
Free Free
‫ا يجي سو الحس‬ Free nothing except I only know math
115 ‫ي ي ال ب‬ combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
‫وال ت ب‬ collocation arithmetic and and writing
on n
writing…
The ST collocation ‫أج ف‬ ‫بح‬
(literally, talk enthusiastically) is
and to talk accounted for in the next text (it's
Collocation
‫ التح عن الو ني‬... Free about Free and talking about just the excitement of it all). This
116 ‫أج ف‬ ‫ح‬ 2 not 2 Diverse
.. ‫أجوف‬ ‫بح‬ collocation nationality with collocation patriotism. strategy of omission is to avoid
translated
dry enthusiasm, repetition/redundancy and
therefore does not affect the
pragmatic impact of TT.
and the great The biggest thing
thing is that I in my life is the
‫الشيء ال ي في حي تي ه‬ am here. I was fact that I here.
‫ ك ت مس ع ا في‬. ‫أن ي ه‬ in a hurry to I made this The first version has changed
،‫ق يا‬ ‫ ل ف‬،‫ق ا ه ا‬ Free
Free decide on this; decision without Free patriotism to nationality to avoid
117 ‫ ل ك ت ه س نه‬،‫ق يا ف ط‬ ‫مل ال‬ combinati 2 2 Diverse
collocation if I had thought thinking. If I had collocation redundancy. However, TT2 is of
‫ أن ال تح في‬، ‫الح‬ on
‫ال ي ح مل الن‬ a little I thought for just a more pragmatic impact.
،‫منه‬ ould t e moment, I
here. It was my ould t e
enthusiasm and here—it s just the

71
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
I talked of excitement of it
nationality until all. I talked about
I bored patriotism until
everyone. people ould ’t
bear to hear
anymore…
And this is the
revolution, how
could I stand now and here is
away from it? the revolution.
Many said How far away
olu teer, from it am I?
olu teer a d I Everyone said
volunteered. I Volu teer,
have been volunteer, a d so
‫ كيف‬، ‫ه هي ال‬ married for only I olu teered. I d
‫أقف بعي ا ع ؟ ك ي‬ a month; I only been married
، ‫ت‬، ‫ق ل ا لي ت‬ did t thi k of a few months. I
‫ لم ي ض ع‬،‫ت عت‬ her and her did t thi k of
‫ لم أف‬، ‫اجي س أش‬ father said not bride. Her father
‫ ا‬، ‫ ق لي ال ه‬، ‫في‬ to worry, he told e, Do t
Grammatical mistake of the
‫ ق‬...، ‫ أن ه‬..،‫ت ف‬ relative clause what is war and
‫شع ب عم‬ Figurative was there and Figurative orr , I ll e Free
118 .. ‫ نحن ه‬،‫اأص ق ء‬ 2 2 what is fear. TT2 captures the Diverse
‫الحي‬ collocation the friends said collocation here. M frie ds collocation
‫ س ل م ي ل‬،‫ه أن ا‬ intent of the author in terms of
‫ م‬، ‫ق ت ل م هي الح‬ they were there said, We ll e
form, style and content.
،‫ أق ل سي‬..‫ه ال ف‬ and so I am here. A d here I
‫ ل ي‬. ‫ن ي أخ ف من أج‬ here. She will am. She would be
‫عم الحي أشعر‬ . ‫ك‬ feel ashamed of me, if
‫ ع كل‬..‫به ه ع لس ني‬ embarrassed if I I told her what
. ‫ص‬ tell her what is war is and what
war and what is fear is. I say to
fear. I therefore self, I afraid
tell myself that I for her sake, but
am afraid for I a liar. I taste
her but I am my desire for life
lying. I feel the at each and every
taste of life shot.
here at my
tongue tip with
72
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
every shot fired;
Collocation
‫ق‬ Free Another shot Free
119 ، ‫لق ن‬ ‫و‬ ... not 1 2 Omission Diverse
‫ن‬ collocation sounded. collocation
translated
Free
Free Free
120 ،‫وا تجف‬ ‫ا ت فخ ف‬ I shake combinati 1 He trembled, 2 Omission Diverse
collocation collocation
on
Figurative and my mouth Figurative and his throat Figurative
121 .‫وجف يقه‬ ‫جف ي ه‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation goes dry. collocation was dry. collocation
There is clear shift of meaning
between the two versions of
translation. The second version
has added an English style of
Figurative The moon has Figurative The sailor said, I Figurative identifying the speaker... The
122 ، ‫لق هو‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ه‬ 2 2 Diverse
collocation gone collocation hope he was hit. collocation meaning of who was hit... The
first version it is the moon, while
the second it is an unknown man.
The original has an ambiguous
meaning...
The re so
and they are
wicked. They
smart, they
‫أ‬ ‫ يع ف‬،‫ن م ماعين‬ ‫ي شف‬ ‫ال‬ Figurative Figurative know that the Figurative
123 know that the 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫الق ر ي شف الق م‬ ‫ال م‬ collocation collocation moonlight collocation
moon reveals
uncovers the
the peaks
peaks,
Free so they climb Free and then they can Figurative
124 ، ‫فيتسلقو ال خو‬ ‫تس ق ال‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation the rocks, collocation climb the rocks collocation
Free searching for Free and search for Free
125 ،‫يبح و عن فجوات‬ ‫بحث عن ف‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation holes, collocation openings. collocation
In Arabic, the moon is muscular
but in English it is referred to as
she . This is a poi t of ultural
but it has gone. But he fell down.
‫ هل تشع‬، ‫ل نه هو‬ Figurative Figurative Free diversity, and the translator
126 ‫ال‬ ‫ه‬ Do you feel 2 Is something 2 Diverse
‫بشيء؟‬ collocation collocation collocation should be aware so as to avoid
a thi g? ro g?
any probable error. As the focus
is on the collocational expression
here, both translations have no

73
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
mistake.
No, o I a
‫ ن ي خ ئف حت‬.. ‫ ا‬، ‫ا‬ ‫خ ئف ح‬ Idiomatic Idiomatic No, o. I Idiomatic
127 frightened to 2 2 No comment Diverse
.. ‫ال وت‬ ‫ال‬ collocation collocation scared to death. collocation
death.
No, do t sa
that, and Do t sa that.
‫ است ر في‬،‫ ا ت ل لك‬،‫ا‬ ‫اس في‬ Free continue Free Keep on talking Free
128 2 2 Spoken register Diverse
.. ‫ كأ شي لم يح‬،‫ح ي ك‬ ‫الح يث‬ collocation talking as if collocation as if nothing collocation
nothing happe ed.
happe ed.
You are a
different
person, you are
fighting today
and you have
fought before
and may be
The sailor
a ti es.
‫ ق ت ت‬، ‫أنت ش ص آخ‬ laughed. O
The seaman
،‫ ق ت ت من ق ل‬، ‫الي‬ many a side and
laughed, With
. ‫ب أك من م‬ more than one
without any
‫ مع‬:‫ضحك ال ح ق ئا‬ side and with
reason. But today,
‫ ب‬، ‫أك من ج‬ I fighti g for
no reason, but Shift in tone in pursuit of the
‫ فأن أح‬، ‫ أم الي‬. ‫م‬ Free Restricted something. Restricted
129 ‫أس ح‬ ‫م‬ today I am 2 2 arrator s soul sear hi g efforts Comparable
‫ ب ك‬..‫من أجل شيء‬ collocation collocation Perhaps I fought collocation
fighting for is better expressed in TT2.
‫ في‬، ‫لك ه ل ال‬ before with the
‫ من ق ل ح بت مع‬. ‫با ن‬ something.
Italians and after
‫ ثم ع‬،‫اإي ليين‬ Perhaps it is the
that I fought with
‫ ثم‬، ‫فح بت مع اإن ي‬ colour of the
the English, and
، ‫ع ت م رب لأسلح‬ rain in our
then I was an
country. I
arms smuggler.
fought with the
Italians before,
then with the
British, then I
worked as a
smuggler of
arms,

74
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
Even the second version
Free Free translated didn’t feel anything
Free but I never felt But I did ’t feel
130 ، ‫ل ي لم أشعر بأ ل‬ ‫شع ب‬ combinati 1 combinatio 2 as a free combination, it has a Diverse
collocation any interest. anything.
on n better pragmatic effect than the
first version.
Neither the
Then, neither the
mountains nor
mountains nor
the stars or the
the stars nor even
‫أ‬ ‫ ا ال‬، ‫لم ت ن ال‬ colour of the
the color of rain,
‫ا ل ال‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ال‬ rain affected
Figurative Restricted nothing in the Restricted
131 ‫ ك ت‬،‫ت ي ني‬ ‫في با ال‬ ‫ق مع ي‬ me like this in 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation world excited me. collocation
، ‫ ه ا ال اء ال‬،‫أح م ب ا‬ those countries.
، ‫ه الق م الع ي‬ I used to dream
I dreamt of this
about this, this
– this cold wind,
cold air, these
these barren
naked peaks.
peaks,
Those stupid
infiltrators,
those silly hunters of gold,
،‫ه اء السخف ء ال تسللين‬ climbers, those and arms, and
، ‫ص ئ ال هب السا‬ ‫الس ء‬ Free gold and arm Free stupidity! Those Free
132 1 2 No comment Diverse
‫ الح ل ين بعي‬،‫الغ ء‬ ‫ال س ين‬ collocation hunters, and collocation dreamers of the collocation
، ‫ال‬ the dreamers of revolution and
revolution – the holiday
commemorating
it.
I dreamt of all I dreamt of all of
of them but I the . I did t
‫ لم‬،‫ح ت ب ل ه اء‬ never knew that know that under
‫ تحت ه‬،‫أع ف بأن ي‬ under this rain, this rain, my
، ‫با‬ ‫ أم‬، ‫اأم‬ the rain of my Free ou tr s rai , I d Free
Free
133 ‫ يه ي‬،‫سأك أن ص ئ ا‬ ‫الش ئ‬ ‫ح‬ country, I will combinati 1 be a hunter. Yes, combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
collocation
‫ ع فت ص م انئ‬..‫ب ي‬ be the hunter. on my son, I knew n
‫ ن ت عل‬، ‫ال ني ك‬ Yes my boy, I streets in ports all
،‫ح ه‬ knew the over the world. I
features of all slept on their
the seaports, I pavement.

75
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
slept on those
pebbles,
I was a beggar in
I got strayed in
the narrow
the alleys of
streets of
Marseilles, I
، ‫في أ ق م سي ي‬ ‫تش‬ stayed hungry,
Marseilles. I was
‫ ع ت أي م‬، ‫ك ت ج ئع‬ hungry. I worked
Free and I worked Restricted Restricted
134 ،‫ال حم‬ ‫ في م‬،‫لي لي‬ ‫ل يب ال‬ 2 days and nights. I 2 No comment Diverse
collocation day and night in collocation collocation
‫ تحت‬، ‫ع ل يب اأفرا‬ worked in coal
، ‫س ءم‬ the coal mines
mines, near the
and near the
flames of ovens
oven heat and
and under an icy
under snow
cold sky.
I knew what it
and I learnt to
‫ع فت مع أ تح‬ means to fight a
fight a war that
،‫ح ب ليست هي ح بك‬ Figurative Figurative war that is not Restricted
135 ‫جه ج ئع‬ is not yours. It is 2 2 No comment Comparable
‫صعب أ ت وجوه‬ collocation collocation our ar. It s collocation
، ‫ج ئع‬ difficult to see
difficult to see
hungry faces,
hungry faces
a d o , do t
a d… o …I you want me to
shall tell all this shout happily
to all the here, I so
people, happ , I so
،‫ سأقص كل ه ا‬.. ‫ اآا‬.. everywhere. happ ! I ll tell
‫ آ‬. ‫في كل م‬ ‫ل ل ال‬ Ah, how much I this to all the
‫ل م ك ت أخ ل أ أق ل م‬ Free detested telling Restricted people Restricted
136 ‫ص‬ ‫قص ال‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
‫ ف ن‬، ‫ أم اآ‬، ‫من أين أن‬ collocation them who I was collocation everywhere. Oh. collocation
‫ بل سأقص‬، ‫أخ ل م‬ ut o I do t How ashamed I
،‫ع ي م ق تك‬ feel ashamed at was to tell them
all; on the here I fro ,
contrary, I will ut o , I o t
tell them your be ashamed at all,
story, ut I ll tell them
your story.
‫ابن س ع س ال ئم ش ه‬
Free the son of Restricted The son of Aden, Restricted
137 ‫ ف ق م‬،‫ع ج ئع‬ ‫ق م ال‬ 2 2 Grammatical shift Comparable
collocation Aden, who collocation who sits nearly collocation
، ‫الجب‬
76
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
sleeps almost naked and hungry
naked and on the peak of
hungry on the mountains,
mountain
peaks
in the cold he
never Free in a cold whose
،‫في بر لم يعرف ع ه‬ ‫ب لم يع ف‬ Figurative Figurative Compare the effect of both
138 experienced combinati 1 taste he does ’t 2 Diverse
، ‫ح‬ ‫يغ بل‬ ‫عه‬ collocation collocation translations.
before, who on know,
eats dry bread
eating only dry
Free and dreams of a Restricted bread, and Restricted
139 ، ‫يح م بأ نب مشو‬ ‫أ نب مش‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation roasted rabbit collocation dreaming of collocation
grilled rabbit,
and who writes
writing imaginary
imaginary
‫ي ب س ئل خي لي ام أ‬ Free Restricted letters to an Restricted
140 ‫س ل خي لي‬ letters to a 2 2 No comment Comparable
.‫أك خي ا‬ collocation collocation imaginary collocation
more imaginary
o a .
ife.
I ot l i g.
Ia ot l i g. I did t sa ou
.. ‫ن ي ا أك‬ I did t sa so. were. Everything
‫أص حت‬ Free Free
‫ كل شيء‬،‫لم أقل لك لك‬ Free Everything here here is real, to the TT2 has a better effect than TT1
141 ‫ال اقعي ا‬ combinati 1 combinatio 2 Diverse
‫ه اقعي ح أصبحت‬ collocation is true so truth degree that in terms of style.
‫ت‬ on n
! ‫الواقعي ا ت‬ itself cannot be reality is ’t
believed! believable
anymore!
Their eyes Their eyes
searched for searched for
something in something in
‫عي ه ت حث عن شيء‬ front of them – front of them,
‫ شيء غي‬، ‫أم م‬
Free something Restricted something other Restricted
142 ، ‫ أ ل ال‬،‫ال ت‬ ‫بيب اأق ا‬ 2 2 Accuracy is compromised in TT1. Diverse
collocation other than collocation than silence or collocation
‫شيء ك ن يحس ب بيب‬
‫أق امه ي‬ silence or the the color of rain,
colour of the something that
rain, something felt like feet
they sensed creeping,

77
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
from the
footsteps
Figurative that was like a Figurative Figurative
143 ‫كن ل ح‬ ‫ن لح‬ 2 like a sharp arrow 2 Both are creative translations. Diverse
collocation sharp thorn collocation collocation
Figurative that implants Figurative Figurative
144 .‫ال وت‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ي‬ 2 planting death. 2 No comment Diverse
collocation death. collocation collocation
And the flow The valley under Free
‫من تح‬ ‫ك الوا‬ Figurative Figurative
145 ‫ال ا‬ ‫م‬ under them had 2 them looked far combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
‫ي ي بعي ا‬ collocation collocation
gone far away, n
‫ف ال ا‬ after losing its it had lost its
Figurative Figurative Free
146 ، ‫ق فق قوته اأسطو ي‬ ‫ق ته‬ legendary 2 imaginary 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
‫ي‬ ‫اأس‬ power; strength.
it was clam now
‫ل‬ ‫ي‬،‫ك ه ئ‬ Free Free It calmly led Free
147 ‫ه ء ال ا‬ moving 2 2 No comment Diverse
، ‫ال‬ collocation collocation southward. collocation
southwards.
Nobody knew
where it started Nobody knows
and where it where that valley
‫ا أح في م يع ف من أين‬ ended and they starts or ends.
TT1 has some vagueness, created
،‫ي ئ ا أين ي ي‬ ‫اأ‬ Free by long sentences copying the
Figurative knew well what Figurative Even if they knew
148 ‫ك ن يع ف ت م م ي ي‬ ‫تح ن‬ 1 combinatio 2 Arabic style. TT2 features clear Diverse
collocation it wanted to collocation it ould t
‫ يع ف اأ‬،‫أ يع يه‬ ‫ت ه‬ ‫ال ا‬ n departure from ST, but is more
...‫التي تحت نه وتقبله‬ give and the atter, hat s
effective than TT1.
earth that important is that
embraced it it provides.
and kissed it.
The creeping
Free The footsteps Free Free
149 ، ‫ال بيب يقتر‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ال بيب‬ ‫اق‬ 2 sound got closer, 2 No comment Diverse
collocation came close collocation collocation
closer,
ST collocation ‫ ل ال ي غ‬is a
hint to the fact that it fades out, a
focus on the color of moon. There
and the and the color of
is a reference in TT2 to the yellow
‫صغ ل‬ Figurative moonlight Restricted the moon Restricted
150 ..‫لو الق ر ي غر‬ ‫ك‬ 2 2 color to convey a sense Diverse
‫ال‬ collocation became collocation became more collocation
component of sickness or the bad
dimmer. yellow.
condition the speaker was in. Dim
light is also an acceptable
collocation.

78
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
The sailor said,
It as o a “o ethi g
seaport, I was happened in a
‫ ك ت‬،‫ك لك في مي ء‬
‫ي‬ Figurative young and my Free port. I was a Free
151 ‫ في ي و يق ت‬، ‫حي ش ب‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫اء‬ ‫خ‬ collocation hands full of red collocation young man with collocation
،‫خ راء وح راء‬
and green some green and
notes red banknotes in
my hands;
inside me
and inside me
Figurative Figurative masculine Figurative Erupting like a volcano reflects
152 ، ‫في أع قي تتفجر جول‬ ‫ج ل‬ ‫ي‬ manhood 1 2 Diverse
collocation collocation impulses were collocation manhood and strength of youth.
exploding.
erupting;
I did not extend I had t et sold
Figurative Free Figurative
153 ، ‫اعي أح‬ ‫لم أكن ق بعت‬ ‫اعه‬ ‫ب‬ my arm to 2 my strength to 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
anyone, anybody.
Free I worked Free I worked Free
154 ،‫ك ت أع ل بشرف‬ ‫ع ل بش ف‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation honestly collocation honorably, collocation
‫ع ل بع قه‬ Figurative Free by sweat and Figurative
155 ، ‫بعرقي وج‬ and hard 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫ج‬ collocation collocation hard work. collocation
and I was happy
because I have I was happy that
left Yemen I d left Yemen
‫ك ت ف ح أني خلفت من‬ behind me, to behind me to see
‫ أ ع ل‬،‫و ائي الي ن‬ see a new a new world full
‫خ ت من‬ Free Free Free
156 ‫ ك ه أض اء ص ا‬،‫ج ي ا‬ world, full of 2 of lights and noise 2 No comment Comparable
‫ائي الي ن‬ collocation collocation collocation
‫ته أن م‬ ‫ أقل م ت‬، ‫أن‬ light, and and people. The
. ‫من ن ال ائ‬ sounds and least of these I
people I thought were
thought were angels.
angels.
On that night
On that night, in
‫ في لك‬، ‫في ت ك ال ي‬ Figurative and on that Figurative Free
157 ‫ف ال ج ل‬ 2 that port, I lost 2 No comment Diverse
‫ فق ت جولتي‬،‫ال ي ء‬ collocation port I lost my collocation collocation
my virginity
manhood
in the arms of in the arms of the
‫أو امرأ‬ ‫في أح‬ ‫في أح‬ Figurative Figurative Figurative
158 the first woman 2 first woman I 2 No comment Comparable
، ‫ص ف‬ ‫ام أ‬ collocation collocation collocation
I met. met.

79
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
She told me
many things I
did not
She had a baby, I
understand. She
‫ أعطيت‬، ‫ك نت ع ه‬ Figurative Free gave her Free The condensed style of TT2 has a
159 ‫أع ه أ اقه‬ had a child; I 1 2 Diverse
،‫ب ر كل أو اقي‬ collocation collocation generously all my collocation better effect than TT1.
gave here all
money.
the money
because of my
generosity.
I took from her
more than my
manhood. She
‫أخ م أك من‬ I was in fever; I told me lots of Preposition of in TT2 phrase on
‫ ق لت لي أشي ء‬،‫ج ل ي‬
Free had spent on Free thi gs, ut I did t Free board of the ship does not exist in
160 ، ‫ك ي لم أف م م شي‬ ‫ال خ‬ ‫ع‬ 2 2 Diverse
collocation the ship six collocation understand collocation the text. It is probably a typing
‫ ل ق يت‬. ‫ك ت مح م‬
، ‫عل الب خر س أش‬ months. anything. I had a mistake.
fe er. I d spe t si
months on board
the ship.
Sometimes a translator does not
search to find out the best
possible meaning that is
comparable to ST in terms of
accuracy and pragmatic effect.
Good example for translator's
Do you know the avoidance of translating certain
Do you know Collocation
Free meaning of that Free words. The theme of alienation is
161 ‫هل تع ف معن الغرب ؟‬ ‫الغ ب‬ ‫مع‬ the meaning of not 1 2 Diverse
collocation kind of collocation expressed in ST using the
that? translated
loneliness? rhetorical question ( ‫هل تع ف مع‬
‫)الغ ب ؟‬, which is one of the major
themes of this short story and
Moha ed A dul Wali s riti gs
in general. Suggested translation:
Do you know the meaning of
alienation?

80
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
I did t k o u til
then, but I found
‫ ل ي ل ي‬، ‫لم أكن أع ف‬
I did t ut I Collocation it in the bed of
‫ع س ي ت ك ال أ في‬ Figurative Free There is omission in TT1. TT2
162 ‫ك ب‬ ‫ق‬ discovered it on not 0 that woman on 2 Diverse
‫ قبات ك نت‬، ‫ت ك ال ي‬ collocation collocation appro i ates “T s i te tio s.
. ‫ك ب‬ that night. translated that night, when I
discovered her
kisses were false.
I did t realize
I later realized Collocation that until I
، ‫لم أشع ب لك ا في ال ح‬ Figurative Free
163 ‫اس ع ال اك‬ that the woman not 0 returned to sea, 2 Another omission in TT1 Diverse
،‫ع م استع ت اكرتي‬ collocation collocation
was fake translated when I reflected
on my memories.
I knew then that I
and that I was
was stupid, but I
silly, but I will
‫ ل ي لم‬،‫ع فت أن ي أب ه‬ did t forget that
never forget
‫ ت‬.‫أنس ت ك ال ي ء‬ Free Free port. I sent letter Free
164 ‫أ سل س ل‬ that port. I kept 2 2 Grammatical shift Comparable
‫أ‬ ‫أ سل س ئلي لي‬ collocation collocation after letter to her, collocation
. ‫أع ف ح ع ان‬ sending her
even though I had
letters with no
forgotten her
address
name;
except for the
name of the all I remembered
port. That was was the name of
‫ ك لك‬،‫اسم ال ي ء‬ ‫م‬
enough because the port, and that
‫ ل نسيت‬. ‫ي ي أ أح‬ Free Free Free
165 ‫ع ع م ا‬ I loved her, I 2 was enough for 2 No comment Diverse
‫ وع ت ع‬، ‫ح اس‬ collocation collocation collocation
،‫مرات‬ forgot her me to love her.
name. I I e returned
returned many times,
several times

81
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
but she was not
ut she as t
there because I
there. I returned
returned after
to her after three
‫ أن ي‬، ‫لم ت ن ه‬ ‫ل‬ three years.
years. That was
‫لي بع ثا‬ ‫ع‬ That was the
the only thing I
‫ لك ه الشيء‬، ‫س ا‬ only thing I TT2 is of more pragmatic appeal.
called love. I
. ‫ال حي ال س ي ه ح‬ Figurative alled lo e . I Figurative Figurative TT1 has a grammar mistake in
166 ‫الغ ب‬ ‫م ا‬ 2 knew that she 2 Diverse
،‫أع ف اآ أن خ ع ي‬ collocation know that she collocation collocation left in my the bitterness of
cheated me; she
،‫ كل شيء‬،‫أخ كل شيء‬ deceived me; tra el .
‫ت كت في ف ي مرا‬ ‫ل‬ took everything,
she took
. ‫الغرب‬ everything, but
everything but
left me the
left in my the
sourness of
bitterness of
loneliness.
travel.

Collocation She planted this

‫ نعم‬، ‫عت ه ال را‬ ‫ل‬ ‫عت‬ Figurative Figurative Several omissions were carried
167 ... not 0 sourness, yes, she 2 Diverse
.. ‫ع‬ ‫ال ا‬ collocation collocation out by first translator.
translated planted it.

You my dear,
own a house,
love and
Oh, friend, you
friends, but me,
، ‫أنت ي ع ي ت ك بي‬ I returned to
own a home,
، ‫ أم أن‬.. ‫ آ‬،‫ح أص ق ء‬ Yemen after
have love and Omissions in TT2 may not be
‫ل الي ن بع‬ ‫ف ع‬ twenty years
friends, but me? justified. But our focus is on the
،‫ ف م أج أح ا‬، ‫عش ين ع م‬ I e retur ed to translation of collocation. Both
Free and found no Free Free
168 ، ‫ك ن ا ق م ا هم أي‬ ‫هم ب لع‬ 2 Yemen after 2 de ided to go a k to sea in TT1 Diverse
collocation one; they have collocation collocation
‫ ا‬، ‫ج بعض ال‬ t e t ears. I e and tried to go a k to the sea
‫ ل ي ك ت‬،‫شيء غي لك‬ all gone. I found
been changed in TT2 are appropriate
...‫ق تغي بعض الشيء‬ some graves,
somewhat. I tried translations of ST.
، ‫ه ت أ أعو ل ال ح‬ nothing more; I
to go back to the
have changed
sea,
somewhat. I
decided to go
back to sea,
Free Free Free
169 ‫يق ال بير‬ ‫ال‬ ‫يق ال ي‬ ‫ال‬ my great friend 2 that big friend 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation

82
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
Free Free
Free whom I will that I e ot
170 ، ‫لم أفق‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ف صيه‬ combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
collocation never lose. missed,
on n
the one who’s
It is ready to Free
‫ال مس ع ائ أ‬ Figurative always ready to Figurative
171 ‫ه‬ ‫ال ح يح‬ take me any combinati 1 2 No comment Diverse
، ‫ في أي لح‬،‫يحت نني‬ collocation embrace me at collocation
time on
any moment.
and you see I
am here and
And now you see
nowhere. It is a
me here and then
‫ه أنت ا ت بأن ي ه‬ coincidence and
there. It s just
‫ ن‬. ‫ليس في م آخ‬ nothing more,
ha e, is t it? A
‫ أليس‬. ‫ف ح ه‬ ‫ال‬ is t it so? Or it
Figurative Figurative chance, or the Figurative
172 ‫ أ م‬، ‫ك لك؟ م ف‬ ‫ن سه‬ ‫ب‬ is just sheer 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation lu k that I e collocation
‫ ل بعت‬، ‫حظ ت ي ه ائ‬ luck? I had sold
،‫نفسي أك من جيش‬ always wanted.
myself to more
، ‫أك من ش ك‬ I e sold myself
than an army
for more than an
and to more
army, a company.
than a
company.
I learnt how to I e lear ed ho
‫تع ت كيف أع ل في‬
Free work on a ship, Free to work in a ship Free
173 ‫ تع ت كيف أمسك‬، ‫ب خ‬ ‫أمسك ال قي‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation and learnt how collocation and learned how collocation
‫ببن قي‬
to hold a gun to hold a gun
and to kill and kill people I
‫وأقتل أن س ا أع ف م‬ people who do t k o , ith
Free Free Free
174 ‫ليس بي ي بي م أي‬ ‫ق ل ال‬ have never 2 whom I have no 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation collocation
.. ‫ع ا‬ been my personal
enemies. argument.
،‫ ن ي أع ف‬..‫أم الي فا‬ But today, and But toda , it s a
، ‫أ م ل ا أن ه‬ for the first different matter; I
‫ل ا ت ع ه ال قي في‬ time, I know know for the first
،‫ ق ا أع ف من أق ل‬، ‫ي‬
Free why I am here, Free ti e h I Free
175 ،‫ل ي أع ف ل ا أق ل‬ ‫ح ل ال اي‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation and why I am collocation here, why I hold collocation
‫أتس ع؟ ن ي أع ف أ‬
‫م م عش ين ع م شي‬ holding this this gun in my
‫ ص ال ب ا ت ا‬.. ‫م‬ gun; I may not hand. I may not
‫ ع ف ح أح ل‬،‫أم مي‬ know whom I know who I am

83
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
،‫ا‬ ‫ه اي ن‬ will kill but I killing, but I know
know why I will why I kill. Do you
kill. And for the hear me? After
first time in twenty years, for
twenty years the first time, I
so ethi g… the know something.
sight of graves The picture of
are still in front graveyards is still
of me; I retuned in front of me. I
happily carrying returned carrying
gifts and money gifts and money,
but I found Free but I found only
‫شواه‬ ‫ل ي لم أج س‬ Free Free
176 ‫ش اه ق‬ nothing but combinati 1 tombstones 2 No comment Diverse
..‫قبو أم مي‬ collocation collocation
graves. on before my eyes.
Here, too, I am Here, I also
‫ن ي ه أي أصنع شواه‬ building new carving new
‫ص ع ش اه‬ Free Free Free Carving is far better than building
177 ‫ ب صنعت‬، ‫قبو ج ي‬ graves and 2 tombstones, 2 Diverse
‫ق‬ collocation collocation collocation in terms of literary effect.
.‫اح ل سي‬ perhaps one for perhaps I ll ake
self. o e for self.
The other voice
The other voice
Free interrupted him
: ‫اآخ فجأ‬ ‫ق عه ال‬ Free interrupted Free
178 ‫ق عه ف أ‬ combinati 1 suddenly, and 2 No comment Diverse
... ‫س ا ت ل لك أ ج‬ collocation hi , do t sa collocation
on said, Please
that please… .
do t sa that…
Morning is Morning is
‫ س ل ه‬، ‫ال بح يقتر‬ Free approaching Free getting close, Free
179 ‫ح‬ ‫ال‬ ‫اق‬ 1 2 Spoken register Diverse
.. ‫مع‬ collocation and we will be collocation e ll sta here collocation
here together. together.
Yes e are the Yes, e ill,
.. ‫نعم ف حن آخ من ب‬ last o es. e re the o l
‫ا أح‬ No od ! o es left.
‫آخ‬ ‫يع ف ق ي‬ Who k o , No od k o s,
Figurative Free Figurative
180 ‫اس ع ا م أ يشقوا‬ ‫يه‬ ‫شق‬ there may be 2 perhaps there are 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
‫ل م ريق سط ت ك‬ others who others who, like
.. ‫ال‬ have found us, ould e made
.. ‫ب‬ their way their way to
through the these ro ks.

84
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
ro ks. Ma e.
Perhaps.
From a distance
Free Free From far away a Free
181 ،‫من بعي ا ضوء‬ ‫ا ض ء‬ a light 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation light appeared, collocation
appeared
although the but the moon had TT2 has an effective style of the
Free Free Free
182 . ‫ل ن الق ر لم ي ن ق غ‬ ‫ال‬ ‫غ‬ moon still 2 not yet 2 use of opposites appeared ... Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
lingered disappeared. disappeared.
In the distance
and in front of
‫ ك نت خطو‬،‫أم م بعي ا‬ ‫ال‬ ‫خ‬ Free before the two Free
Free them there Effective use of language style in
183 ‫ك نت‬ ‫تربط الس ء ب أ‬ ‫ت بط الس ء‬ combinati 2 men, the horizon combinatio 2 Diverse
collocation were lines at TT2.
،‫ت بعي ا‬ ‫بأ‬ on connected with n
the horizon
the earth.
Free and the smell Free There was a Free
184 . ‫ائح ع ب‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ائح ع ب‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation was good. collocation delightful smell. collocation
Look! It s the Look, it s the
rai . Do t ou rai , do t ou
‫ أا ت‬، ‫ نه ال‬، ‫ان‬ see its colour? I see its color? I
،‫ل نه؟ ا أس يع أ أص ه‬
‫حس‬ Free a t des ri e it Free a t des ri e it, Free
185 ‫ل ي أحس به إحس س‬ 2 2 TT2 is of better pragmatic appeal. Diverse
‫ع يب‬ collocation but I feel a collocation but I feel it in a collocation
‫ ح ني أشع‬، ‫عجيب‬
..‫بأن ي أس يع ص ه‬ strange feeling strange way, so
that I can much I can almost
des ri e it. des ri e it…
I a sense its I a feel its
‫ن ي أس يع أ أحس‬
smell, the smell smell, a fragrance
.. ‫ ائح ع م‬،‫برائحته‬ Free Free Free
186 ‫حس ب ل ائح‬ of scent I use to 2 I used to sell in a 2 No comment Diverse
‫ك ت أبيعه في ال ك ال‬ collocation collocation collocation
..‫ع ت به‬ sell in the shop I store I worked
orked. i …
Free The footsteps Free The creeping Free
187 ،‫اقتر ال بيب‬ ‫ال بيب‬ ‫اق‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation came nearer; collocation sound got closer, collocation
‫ت‬ ‫اأ‬ Figurative the earth knew Figurative the ground Free
188 ،‫تخبر ب لك‬ ‫ك نت اأ‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫ب لك‬ collocation that collocation announced it. collocation
The language should be easier
and the light
‫اح اهم‬ Figurative Free Light covered Free and more effective. Compare
189 ‫واحتواه ال وء‬ encompassed 1 2 Diverse
‫ال ء‬ collocation collocation both of them, collocation light encompassed and light
it.
covered.

85
 ST
Collocation I - Yar TT1 II - Bagader & TT2
Inferred Criteria Criteria TT1 & TT2
# ST Collocation Type Mohammed's Collocatio Akers' Collocation Brief Commentary
collocation Value Value Diff.
(Howarth Translation n Type Translation Type
1998)
‫ا ت عت‬ Free Sounds were Free Free
190 ‫وا تفعت أصوات‬ 2 voices rose 2 No comment Diverse
‫اأص ا‬ collocation heard, collocation collocation
and there were
several shots,
‫ن‬ ‫عي‬ ‫ك نت‬ Free Free several shots, fire, Free
191 ‫خ يف‬ ‫غ‬ fire, and light 2 2 No comment Comparable
، ‫غب خفيف ح ل‬ collocation collocation light, dust around collocation
dust,
them.
and the valley
‫ص‬ ‫و الوا‬ ‫ال ا‬ Figurative Free The valley echoed Free
192 echoed the 2 2 No comment Diverse
..‫الطلق ت‬ ‫ص ال‬ collocation collocation with the sounds… collocation
shots.
Do t orr e Do t e afraid,
will be together. e ll sta
A d ou ill tell together.
. ‫ س ل مع‬،‫ا ت ف‬ that o the ship. A d ou ll tell this
.. ‫س ح ي لك ع ال خ‬ Yes, I ill tell story o the ship.
‫ سأق ل م م ه ل‬،‫نعم‬ Figurative them what the Figurative Yes, I ll tell the Figurative
193 ‫عم ال‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
. ‫في با‬ ‫ال‬ collocation colour of the rain collocation about the color of collocation
‫سأق ل م في س ع س‬ is. rain in my
. ‫م ه عم البر ه‬ A d i Ade I ou tr .
will tell them I ll tell the i
what the taste Aden, what cold
of cold is. tastes like.
The mountain
The mountain
Free was filled with Free Free The use of noise may add up to
194 ،‫احتو الجبل ه ير‬ ‫ه ي ال ي‬ 2 rang with the 2 Diverse
collocation the sound of collocation collocation the violent ending.
noise
water
of moving water
‫في‬ ‫ك ال ء ينس‬ ‫ال ء‬ ‫انس‬ Free as it ran in the Free Free
195 2 roaring into the 2 No comment Diverse
، ‫ ه ئ‬، ‫ال ا‬ ‫في ال ا‬ collocation valley calmly, collocation collocation
valley,
gunfire was all
and the around them, and
mountains the sounds—of
، ‫الجب تر ال‬ repeated the shots and the
‫ال ل‬ Figurative Free Free The ending in version two has a
196 .. ‫ ع ي‬، ‫ص ال‬ echoes of the 2 rushing water— 2 Comparable
‫ال‬ collocation collocation collocation better impact.
.. ‫ع ي‬ shots coming echoed and re-
violently and echoed through
violently. the mountain
passes.

86
4.2. Data Analysis

Translation quality assessment is not an undisputed issue in translation studies.

Many different approaches to translation quality assessment have been developed

during the last few decades. One approach is to assess the quality of TT based on the

evaluator’s own experience and this is called the “pedagogical approach” )Rothe­

Neves 2002:117). A second approach is a scientific analysis and assessment of

translation based on the notion of accuracy with reference to the ST, and this is

usually referred to as the “scientific approach”. The model of quality assessment by

House (1987; 2000) is perhaps a good example, where an evaluator should define

“quality” in the first place, and then look into the data. Furthermore, Newmark

(1991:111) argues that a good translation has to be “as accurate as possible, as

economical as possible, in denotation and in connotation, referentially and

pragmatically.” Accuracy he argues should relate to the SL text, either to the author’s

meaning, or to the objective truth that is encompassed by the text, or to this objective

truth adapted to the intellectual and emotional comprehension of the readership which

the translator may have in mind. This is a linguistic/scientific approach to a good

translation, and if it plainly starts falling short, it is a “mis­translation” according to

Newmark (1991:111) approach. Another approach is to find out if a translation is

adequate or inadequate and this is probably referred to as “comparative literature

approach” where translation adequacy is driven by both ST accuracy and TT

acceptability.

87
 The shift to focus more on TT from the client or readership perspective has

taken a considerable attention lately. TT assessment based on the comparative

literature approach is probably a close comparative and contrastive analysis of TT

from the point of view of readership acceptability. This, however, does not

necessarily mean that ST accuracy is undermined, as it is the basis of the translating

process, where a translator takes a considerable attention to various propositions at

the ST textual level. TT acceptability, on the other hand, is probably a lengthy

process at the level of customization and naturalization of a translated text to suit the

needs of prospective readership. This may make an effective pragmatic impact on

readership. From this perspective comes the importance of cultural and poetic

discourses as was discussed in earlier chapters of this thesis.

Although translation scholars have not agreed on a particular formula to

describe the concept of collocation, they all agree on its importance in translation; it

is always viewed as a critical translation problem. The analysis of both translations

covers three aspects: (1) comparative and contrastive translation quality assessment

of both translations from the perspective of collocational expressions; (2) types of

collocations used in ST and TTs; and (3) strategies used in the translation of

collocation.

88
4.2.1. Translation Quality Translation Quality Assessment
Assessment
105.0%
The following results were 98.7%
100.0%
extracted after applying the criteria 95.0%

given in Table 12. Yar Mohammed's 90.0%

85.2%
85.0%
(2006) translation (TT1) is 85.2%
80.0%
comparable to the ST in terms of 75.0%

effective pragmatic impact on 70.0%

TT1 TT2

prospective readership; whereas,

Figure 4: Translation Quality Assessment of TT1 & TT2
Bagader & Akers' (2001) translation

(TT2) is 98.7%. TT1 has six non­translated collocations, and 45 others reduced to

sense that lack pragmatic impact; whereas, TT2 has only one non­translated

collocation and only four collocations reduced to sense. For example, ‫ ا ت ف ب ا‬in the

following collocational unit was translated into “shaking of the cold” in TT1 and

“shivering of cold” in TT2. ST writer hints more than once to cold and fear. In

English one usually shivers of cold or fear. The word shaking seems to have a weaker

collocation than shivering in this context; therefore, the effect of shivering of cold on

TT readership is likely to be more effective than shaking of the cold.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocational Unit
collocation Translation Translation
Are ou afraid? Are ou afraid?
‫هل أنت خ ئف؟‬
No I a shaking – No I a shivering…
‫ أ‬.. ‫ ب من لك البر‬.. ‫ ن ي ا تجف‬،‫ا‬ ‫ا ت فب ا‬
perhaps because of the a e it s fro the cold
..
cold .... or.... .... or....
He was silent for a
He was silent for a
‫ء‬ ‫ا يح لق في الف‬ ‫ص ت ق يا‬ ‫يح ق في‬ moment and started to
moment and looked at the
،‫أم مه‬ ‫ال ء‬ stare at the horizon before
sky in front of him,
him.

89
 Another example is “‫ء‬ ‫ ”يح ق في ال‬which is translated into “looked at the

sky” in TT1 and “stare at the horizon” in TT2. The ST word "‫ "يح ق‬is heavily

loaded with visual images suggesting deep meditating about a very important matter.

The phrase “looked at the sky” does not carry such sense components. Newmark

(1988:77) writes "the translator must word the sentence in such a way that the sub­

text is equally clear in English."

Furthermore, the figurative phrase “‫الع يق‬ ‫ن ال ا‬ ‫ تح‬.. ‫ ”ال‬was translated as

“mountains… embraced the deep valley” in TT1 and “mountains… surrounded the

deep valley” in TT2. ST phrase has a description of mountains and how high they are

comparable to the deep valley. In addition, the phrase "‫الع يق‬ ‫ن ال ا‬ ‫ "تح‬in ST is

used figuratively, i.e., a personification of a mother who embraces her child

passionately. Such extra sense components are embedded in TT1.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocational Unit
collocation Translation Translation
and his eyes returned after His gaze returned after taking
‫عي بع أ اص م ب م‬ ‫ع‬ they met the dark tops of in the black mountain peaks,
‫تح ن‬ ‫ال‬
‫ ال ي تحت ن الوا‬،‫الس اء‬ ‫ال‬ mountains, which embraced those mountains that
‫الع يق‬ ‫ال ا‬
،‫ ال ئم في ص ت خ افي‬،‫الع يق‬ the deep valley sleeping in surrounded the deep valley
false silence – asleep in its mythical silence.
It was like his father’s
، ‫ص ت خ له أب ي‬ ‫ص ت أب‬ an eternal silence,
brooding silence,

An example of mistranslation due to ST misunderstanding “ ‫”ص ت خ له أب ي‬

translated into “his father’s brooding silence” by Bagader and Akers (2001). The

same phrase was translated into “eternal silence” by Yar Mohammed (2006).

Although the phrase “brooding silence” is a good collocation, the context in ST

90
makes no reference to “his father’s”. This probably affects the meaning expressed in

the sentence and consequently affects its pragmatic impact.

4.2.2. Analysis of Collocation Types

Table 14 below demonstrates detailed indicators of collocation types arranged

from the freest to the most fixed and idiomatic. The majority of collocational

expressions fall within free collocation composing 50% of all collocations in TT1 and

59% in TT2. Both translations score 92.8% and 98.7% in TT1 and TT2, respectively.

This high score is an indicator of translators’ collocational competence in generating

high pragmatic impact at TT levels. Examples are abundant in this area; the following

are but few.

Inferred TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocation TT1 - Yar Mohammed's Translation
collocation Translation
Oh! Do t ou see ho o derful Oh! Do t ou see ho
‫؟‬..‫كل شيء‬ ‫م أ‬ ‫ أا ت‬.. ‫أ‬
everything is ..? Have you ever wonderful everything is? Have
‫من را س حرا‬ ‫هل ت ي ت ع‬ ‫اسح ا‬ ‫م‬
imagined a magic scene like this in you ever imagined seeing such a
..‫ك ا‬
your life? beautiful scene?...
، ‫أ نب مشو‬ ‫أ نب مش‬ a roasted rabbit grilled rabbit
‫م‬ ‫ك نت الغيو تغطي كل ال‬ ‫الغي تغ ي‬ The clouds covered the place since The clouds covered that whole
، ‫ال‬ ‫ال‬ morning area this morning.
after being imprisoned for after having been imprisoned
‫ا يح م كل‬ ، ‫بع سجن ا قرون‬
‫ا ق ن‬ centuries and was destroying for centuries. It started to crush
..‫شيء‬
everything. everything.
a d e er thi g is legal … A d as e Everything is permitted and
‫ م م في‬..‫ق ن ني‬ ‫كل شيء م‬
‫الح‬ ‫س‬ reach the end we will water the legal. And as long as, in the end,
،‫ال ي سنسقي حقوا‬
fields we water the fields
‫مع من سأ سل س ئلي؟‬ ‫أ سل س ل‬ with whom shall I send my letters? How would I send my letters?
. ‫ضحك بح‬ ‫ضحك بح‬ And he laughed sadly. He laughed sadly and went on.
I e lear ed ho to ork i a
‫ تع ت‬، ‫تع ت كيف أع ل في ب خ‬ I learnt how to work on a ship, and
‫أمسك ال قي‬ ship and learned how to hold a
‫كيف أمسك ببن قي‬ learnt how to hold a gun
gun
and kill people I do t k o ,
‫وأقتل أن س ا أع ف م ليس بي ي‬ and to kill people who have never
‫ق ل ال‬ with whom I have no personal
.. ‫بي م أي ع ا‬ been my enemies.
argument.
I retuned happily carrying gifts and I returned carrying gifts and
،‫ا‬ ‫ف ح أح ل ه اي ن‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ح ل ال اي‬
money money,
،‫من بعي ا ضوء‬ ‫ا ض ء‬ From a distance a light appeared From far away a light appeared,

91
 It is interesting to note that some of the examples as cited above may have

comparable translations in both versions. Watering fields, carrying gifts, sending

letters, holding a gun, killing people, imprisoned for centuries, and light appeared are

translated in a comparable way in both TT1 and TT2, and this may reflect the level of

competence of both translators in transferring such types of collocations from Arabic

into English.

This is not always the case, as there are many examples which reflect

translators’ diversity in dealing with collocational expressions. The following

example illustrates how a restricted collocation of "‫ص‬ ‫ "قص ال‬was translated as “tell

a story” in TT2 and “start a story” in TT1. But starting a story in TT1 may not

convey a strong collocation for English readers as “tell a story” in this particular

context.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocational Unit
collocation Translation Translation
Are ou goi g to tell me all
Will ou start that story
‫؟‬.. ‫لك من ج ي‬ ‫هل س أ في ق‬ ‫ص‬ ‫قص ال‬ that all o er agai ? The
agai ?
young man asked.

In addition, TT2 adds the phrase “The young man asked” to customize the

short story to the English reader in a dialogue form. TT1 is stuck to the ST style and

this may reduce the pragmatic effect on English readers.

92
 Table 14: Collocation Types: Comparison between TT1 & TT2
TT1: Shirin Yassin Yar Mohammed TT2: Abubaker Bagader and
# Collocation Type (2006) Deborah Akers (2001)
Count % Value Max TQA% Count % Value Max TQA%
1 Free collocation 97 49.5% 180 194 92.8% 116 59.2% 229 232 98.7%
2 Restricted collocation 21 10.7% 40 42 95.2% 29 14.8% 56 58 96.6%
3 Figurative collocation 35 17.9% 62 70 88.6% 31 15.8% 62 62 100.0%
4 Idiomatic collocation 0 0.0% 0 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0 0.0%
5 Free combination 36 18.4% 50 72 69.4% 19 9.7% 38 38 100.0%
6 Collocation not translated 7 3.6% 2 14 14.3% 1 0.5% 2 2 100.0%
Total 196 100% 334 392 85.2% 196 100% 387 392 98.7%

Restricted collocations compose around 11% of total collocations in TT1 and around

15% in TT2, scoring approximately 95% and 97% in TT1 and TT2 respectively. This

category was also translated effectively to the target language. The following are

some examples of restricted collocations.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocational Unit
collocation Translation Translation
. ‫ل أمطرت الس ء في ال‬ ‫الس ء‬ ‫أم‬ It rained duri g the da . It rained this or i g.
Here come those waters,
‫ه ال ي ال م ب ب هي‬ ... a d this approa hi g
‫ه ل ال‬ violently, after all that
،‫ح ي اأمط ال ي هطلت‬ water is the rainfall water.
rainfall,
‫ب‬ ‫وهبت ي‬ ‫ه ت ال ي‬ A cold wind blew A cold wind blew,

Arabic speakers usually say ‫الس ء‬ ‫ أم‬or ‫( الس ء ت‬Lit. the sky rains). In English,

however, sky is replaced by the pronoun “it” and English speakers usually say “it

rains” rather than “the sky rains”. This is very common and both translators have the

same translation. In addition, ‫اأم‬ ‫ ه‬is confined to the compound noun

“rainfall” in both translations. Another example is ‫ب‬ ‫ ه ت ي‬which is rendered

into “A cold wind blew” in both translations. Wind usually collocates with blow in a

93
limited collocational range.24 Restricted collocations in this sense may be easier for

professional translators than free collocations, which have a wider collocational

range.

Collocation Types: Comparing Quality between TT1 & TT2

TT1 TT2
100.0%
98.7%
96.6%
95.2%
95.0% 92.8%

90.0% 88.6%

85.0%

80.0%

75.0%

70.0%

65.0%
Free collocation Restricted collocation Figurative collocation Idiomatic collocation

Figure 5: Collocation Types: Comparing Quality between TT1 & TT2

Figurative collocations constitute around 17% of total collocations in TT1 and

15% in TT2. Quality indicators range between 88.6% and 100% in TT1 and TT2

respectively. Figurative collocations are decisively low in TT1 (excluding the two

last categories in Table 14, which are added to the first four main categories in order

to bridge potential text analysis gaps). One example is “ ‫الع يق ال ئم في ص ت‬ ‫ال ا‬

‫ ”خ افي‬that is translated as “… the deep valley sleeping in false silence” in TT1 and

24
Baker (2011:54) defines collocational range as the set of collocates which are typically associated
with the word in question.

94
“… the deep valley asleep in its mythical silence” in TT2. Silence is described as

mythical in TT2 to convey feelings of time suspended in length. This sense is not

signified by false silence in TT1.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocational Unit
collocation Translation Translation
‫ ال ئم في‬،‫ ال ا الع يق‬... … the deep valley … the deep valley asleep
‫ص ت خ افي‬
،‫ص ت خرافي‬ sleeping in false silence – in its mythical silence.

Another example, is “‫ه‬ ‫ك ال س ء ب‬ ‫ ي‬،‫ ”تش يك الش س‬translated as “the sun

roasts you and the evenings swallow you with their silence” in TT1 and “the sun

barbecues you, and the night swallows you into its silence” in TT2. The sun may

collocate with burn, but the use of either roast or barbecue adds a figurative sense as

featured by the ST. The evening/night was also used with swallow you into/with its

silence in both translations, a figure of speech denoting a sense of fear in a deserted

area, which is expressed in ST.

TT1 – Yar Mohammed’s TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocational Unit Inferred collocation
Translation Translation
‫الش س تش‬ the sun roasts you and the the sun barbecues you, and
‫ يلت ك‬،‫تشويك الش س‬
‫ال س ء ي م‬ evenings swallow you with the night swallows you into
،‫ال س ء ب ته‬
‫ص ت ال س ء‬ their silence. its silence.

Figurative collocations in short stories may come in a complex pattern

composing multiple images in condensed phrases. The following example illustrates

this point.

Inferred TT1 – Yar Mohammed’s TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocational Unit
collocation Translation Translation
something they sensed from the something that felt like
‫ك ن يحس ب بيب أق امه ي‬ ‫ن لح‬
footsteps that was like a sharp feet creeping, like a sharp
.‫ال وت‬ ‫كن ل ح ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ي‬
thorn that implants death. arrow planting death.

95
 Both ‫ ن ل ح‬and ‫ال‬ ‫ ي‬are condensed phrases connected with one another.

Both translations have conveyed two different but comparable translations signifying

multiple images akin to ST images. Both “sharp thorn that implants death” and

“sharp arrow planting death” convey comparable senses of severity or harshness of

dark nights, where only silence, fear and sometimes drops of rain are distantly

echoed. Figurative collocations have metaphorical senses which may stand to be one

of the most complex problems in translation. Newmark (1988:9) states that metaphor

is perhaps “the most significant translation problem, [that] may occur at all levels ‫س‬

from word to text.”

Idiomatic collocations are rarely used in short stories; no idiomatic sense has

been identified in this short story, The Color of Rain. By definition, idiomatic

expression is probably the unitary meaning that is totally unpredictable from the

meaning of its components, termed “pure idiom” by Howarth )1441:28). This is

probably pertaining to the properties or characteristics of short story writing and/or

mechanics.

4.2.3. Strategies of Translating Collocations

Translators may encounter different problems in the translation of short stories

among of which is the problem of collocation, which poses “the greatest challenge”

(Howarth (1998:42). To avoid difficulties induced by collocational expressions,

translators may resort to certain strategies such as avoidance, repetition, transference,

analogy, and/or reduction. The omission of certain collocations may be attributed to

96
either translator’s incompetence or to avoidance strategy. The following example

describes how the echo of heard shots was not translated in TT1 because of its

unnecessary or additional sense component; however, TT2 has provided an integrated

translation of sense components including the auditory image of echo in the valley.

The strategy of TT1 is to avoid such sense components, while TT2 has opted to

include all sense components. The latter may sound more acceptable to English

readers.

TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocation Inferred collocation
Translation Translation
Shots from afar were heard
‫ه‬ ‫من بعي‬ And a shot was heard in the
‫ال‬ ‫اأخ‬ and echoed in the valley;
.‫ ف ت ف‬، ‫اأخ و‬ distance and he shook.
the young man trembled.

The following is another example of avoidance as a translation strategy. The

ST has an image of cold wind blowing and howling as it passes through the mountain

gaps. Suddenly a man’s cry echoed all over the mountain and nobody answers it until

the echo dies and the man collapses. Along with the complex and multiple images

described above there is another sound of rock crashing against the deep valley. TT1

avoids this sense component and adds “It was a man in the deep valley” instead.

TT2, however, follows another translation strategy, a creative one focusing on the

message of how man may crash against the rocks in the aftermath of the Yemeni

revolution in 1962.

97
 Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's
ST Collocational Unit TT2 - Bagader & Akers' Translation
collocation Translation
A cold wind blew making a
A cold wind blew, howling as it
‫ك ل ص ي‬ ‫هت ي ب‬ sound that shattered the
passed the gap. The mountain
، ‫اأخ‬ ‫هي تع ش‬ dreams. The mountains
echoed the shout of a man. Nobody
‫لم ي ب‬ ‫ال ل ص نس ي‬ repeated the echo of a human
answered it, the echo died, and the
‫ه‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ ف‬، ‫ع يه أح‬ crying. No one answered it and
man fell to the bottom and crashed
‫ ا تطم حجر في‬، ‫نس في ال‬ so it died. It was a man in the
against the rocks in the deep valley.
.‫ال ا الع يق‬ ‫ا ت م الح‬ deep valley.

‫ هل تحس بشيء؟‬.. ‫ اس ع‬،‫ اس ع‬- - Liste , Liste , do ou feel

- liste ! Liste ! Do ou feel
so ethi g? the ou g a asked.
a thi g?
‫ع‬ ‫ ش ب‬، ‫ك ص ته خ ئ‬
. ‫ال قي‬ He was whispering as he
It was a scary sound; he pulled the
gun near him.
clutched at his gun.

The following is another example of avoidance resulting in omission of certain

sense components for different reasons. The following is a scene of seclusion with

sexual overtones.25 TT1 opts to avoid certain sense components which might be

culturally offensive from the point of view of the translator and offers instead an

implicit image.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's

ST Collocation TT2 - Bagader & Akers' Translation
collocation Translation

Do you know the meaning of that kind of

‫هل تع ف مع الغ ب ؟ لم أكن‬
‫ ل ي ل ي ع س ي‬، ‫أع ف‬
‫ قبات‬، ‫ت ك ال أ في ت ك ال ي‬
‫ لم أشع ب لك ا في‬. ‫ك نت ك ب‬
،‫ ع م استع ت اكرتي‬، ‫ال ح‬
Do you know the meaning of lo eli ess? I did t k o u til the , ut I
‫ك ب‬ ‫ق‬ that? I did t ut I found it in the bed of that woman on
discovered it on that night. I that night, when I discovered her kisses
‫اس ع ال اك‬ later realized that the were false. I did t realize that u til I
woman was fake returned to sea, when I reflected on my
memories.

Furthermore, the phrase (‫اك تي‬ ‫ ع م اس ع‬، ‫ )لم أشع ب لك ا في ال ح‬in the above

example was translated in TT1 as “I later realized that the woman was fake”. This

translation opted for brevity by using the word later, which better serves targeted

25
Immigration is one of Mohammed Abdul Wali’s main themes.

98
readerships. TT2 opts for explicitness “I didn’t realize that until I returned to sea,

when I reflected on my memories.” Avoidance strategies are germane to respond to

the stylistic and culture­specific needs of prospective readership.

The following is also an example of deletion or omission of a certain segment

of discourse which might have been better served earlier. The sentence ْ ‫ع‬
‫ته‬ ‫ل‬

‫ع‬ ‫ نعم‬، ‫ ال ا‬was excluded in TT1, but included in TT2 as “She planted this

sourness, yes, she planted it.”

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocation
collocation Translation Translation
‫ أن ي‬، ‫لم ت ن ه‬ ‫ل‬ ut she as t there. I retur ed
‫لي بع ثا‬ ‫ع‬ but she was not there because I to her after three years. That
‫ لك ه الشيء‬، ‫س ا‬ returned after three years. That was the only thing I called love. I
. ‫ال حي ال س ي ه ح‬
‫عت م ا‬ as the o l thi g I alled lo e . knew that she cheated me; she
،‫أع ف اآ أن خ ع ي‬
‫الغ ب‬ I know that she deceived me; took everything, everything, but
،‫ كل شيء‬،‫أخ كل شيء‬
‫ت كت في ف ي‬ ‫ل‬ she took everything but left in left me the sourness of
‫عت‬ ‫ ل‬. ‫م ا الغ ب‬ my the bitterness of travel. loneliness. She planted this
.. ‫ نعم ع‬، ‫ه ال را‬ sourness, yes, she planted it.

It is clear from the above examples that several omissions are carried out by

TT1 but are included in TT2. Certain strategies are used including avoidance of

unnecessary sense components, omission of redundant, or brevity being viewed here

as the ability to say the most with the least. These are all instances of avoidance as a

translation strategy.

Other strategies may include repetition, transfer, analogy, and reduction.

Repetition of a limited number of known collocations may affect the TT and produce

redundancy, unless it is intended by the translator to create a special effect for a

certain purpose. The repetition of shake of cold or fear is clear in the following

99
examples. The word ‫ ا ت ف‬in ST was used to refer to both cold and fear and is

deemed appropriate in Arabic language. TT1 opts for repetition with regard to

shaking of cold/fear; whereas, TT2 opts for another strategy of translation, using

different lexical items to preserve ST authenticity. Sometimes, shiver is used to

denote the sense of cold and may resonate the feeling of fear, while tremble is used to

highlight or explicitly underscore the notion of fear. This variety of language use is

probably a good feature in English language and may generate comparable pragmatic

effects.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocation
collocation Translation Translation
‫هل أنت خ ئف؟‬ Are ou afraid? Are ou afraid?
‫ أ‬.. ‫ ب من لك البر‬.. ‫ ن ي ا تجف‬،‫ا‬ ‫ا ت فب ا‬ No I a shaking – perhaps No I a shivering… a e it s
.. because of the cold .... or.... from the cold .... or....
Do t shake like this, my dear. Do t tremble, frie d. You re
‫ أنت لم تتعو‬، ‫ات ت فه اي ع ي‬
‫ا ت فب ا‬ You are not used to the cold in just not used to the cold, being
،‫البر في س ع س‬
Aden. from Aden.
‫بأن ي أ تجف ع س‬ ‫ن لن ت‬ She will not believe that I shake “he ould t elie e that I
‫ا ت فخ ف‬
، ‫قن‬ at the sound of firing, tremble when I hear gunfire,
I taste my desire for life at each
I feel the taste of life here at my
..‫لس ني‬‫عم الحي أشع به ه ع‬ a d e er shot.
tongue tip with every shot fired;
. ‫ص‬ ‫ع كل‬ ‫ا ت فخ ف‬ Another shot sounded. He
I shake and my mouth goes
.‫ جف ي ه‬،‫ وا تجف‬، ‫ق ن‬ trembled, and his throat was
dry.
dry.
Perhaps.
.. ‫ب‬ Perhaps!
Shots from afar were heard and
، ‫ه اأخ‬ ‫و وت لق من بعي‬ ‫ا ت فخ ف‬ And a shot was heard in the
echoed in the valley; the young
.‫ف تجف‬ distance and he shook.
man trembled.
and the body by his side
.‫ب ن ه‬ ‫وا تجف الجس ال‬ ‫ا ت فخ ف‬ and the body beside him shook.
trembled.

Further, the above multiple examples in TT1 may also follow the strategy of

transfer driven by mother tongue interference (MTI). This may be referred to as an

interference error rather than an intended strategy by a translator. The following

examples may better illustrate this translation strategy.

100
 Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'
ST Collocation
collocation Translation Translation
Are ou goi g to tell me all
‫لك من‬ ‫هل ستب أ في ق‬ Will ou start that story
‫ص‬ ‫قص ال‬ that all over again? The
‫؟‬.. ‫ج ي‬ agai ?
young man asked.
‫ال ي ق م‬ Here come those waters,
‫ب‬ ‫ه ال ي الق م ب‬ and this approaching water
‫ب ب‬ violently,
Morning is approaching and Morning is getting close,
.. ‫ س ل ه مع‬، ‫ال بح يقتر‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ال‬ ‫اق‬
e ill e here together. e ll sta here together.
He ! Trust e, it s etter if
‫ن‬ ‫عل‬ ‫اأف ل أ تتر ي‬ ‫ت ي ع‬ Better ou keep your hand
you leave your hand on the
.‫بن قيتك‬ ‫ن ال قي‬ on the trigger of your gun.
trigger…
And he pointed to the moon the older man said pointing
.‫وأش بي إل الق ر‬ ‫ل ال‬ ‫أش‬
with his hand. to the moon.

English speakers usually ‘tell a story’ but not ‘start a story’ as in the first

example above. They also talk of ‘coming water’ and ‘morning getting close’ but not

‘approaching water’ or ‘approaching morning’. They usually ‘keep or leave their

hands on the trigger’ without adding ‘of the gun’, and ‘point to the moon’ without

adding ‘with their hand’. These instances may reflect MTI. In Arabic language,

however, the case is different as is clear from the above examples. It should be also

noted here that the English language rhetorical strategies play a pivotal role in the

translation of collocations. The last example in TT1 features the conjunction “and”

which reflects Arabic preference for coordination over subordination.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocation
collocation Translation Translation
Perhaps!
.. ‫ب‬ ‫ص‬ Perhaps.
And a shot was heard in the
‫من بعي‬ ‫ال‬ Shots from afar were heard
distance
.‫ف ت ف‬ ‫ا ت فخ ف‬ and he shook. the young man trembled.
‫ضغط ع‬ And he pressed the trigger of
،‫ن ب قي ه‬ ‫ ضغط ع‬.. Then he fired his gun,
‫ال ن‬ his gun
But hat a out her? Did ou
And what about her, did you
. ‫م ا ع هل ك ت ل شي‬ rite a thi g?
‫ال س ل‬ ‫م‬ rite to her?
.. ‫م قت كل شيء‬ The ou g a said, I tore
I ha e tor up e er thi g,
up everything.
‫من تح‬ ‫ك ال ا‬ And the flow under them had The valley under them looked
‫ال ا‬ ‫م‬
‫ي ي بعي ا‬ gone far far away,

101
 Another similar example is the indiscriminate use of definite article ‘the’ by

native­Arabic translators as a result of mother tongue interference.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocation
collocation Translation Translation
“o?
‫؟‬ “o?
Do t ou see the colour of
‫ال‬ ‫أا تشع ب ال‬ ‫ال‬ ‫شع ب‬ Do t ou feel that the rai s
the rain which has washed
..‫غسل كل شيء‬ color cleaned everything,
everything,
‫ل‬ ‫غسل ال‬
.. ‫ال‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ح‬ even the colour of the oo . e e the oo ?
‫ال‬
and the mountains echoed the
، ‫ال ل ال‬ ‫ال ل ال‬ the mountain echoed,
sound of the shot
‫ا‬ ‫ح تس قط اأش‬ Even the fall of the trees does E e the falli g trees do t
‫تس ق ت اأش‬
،‫ت م‬ not matter to them, bother them.

Further, there is probably another type of transfer known as analogy strategy in

translation, and the following examples may illustrate this point.

Inferred TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocation TT1 - Yar Mohammed's Translation
collocation Translation
‫وع ت عين‬ ‫عي‬ ‫ع‬ and his eyes returned His gaze returned
‫بع أ اصط مت بق م الجب‬ ‫اص م عي ب م‬ after they met the dark tops of after taking in the black
،‫السو اء‬ ‫الس اء‬ ‫ال‬ mountains, mountain peaks,
‫تح ن‬ ‫ال‬ those mountains that
،‫الع يق‬ ‫ال ي تحت ن الوا‬ which embraced the deep valley
‫ال ا الع يق‬ surrounded the deep valley
Perhaps!
.. ‫ب‬ Perhaps.
‫ال‬ ‫ص‬ And a shot was heard in the
‫و وت لق من بعي‬ Shots from afar were heard
distance

In the above examples, eye returned, “colliding” mountain tops, embracing

the deep valley, spreading sound of shots were analogically substituted by gaze

returned, taking in the mountain peaks, surrounded the deep valley, and shots were

heard. This type of analogy serves to customize, appropriate, or naturalize the text for

prospective readership. Howarth (1998:40) states that analogy is the process of

adapting a known L2 collocation by substituting one element for another known

lexical item within L2. He regards analogy as a form of intralingual L2 transfer, and

concludes that it is “highly productive” (ibid).

102
 Another translation strategy is reduction or “synonymy” to quote Howarth’s

(1998:40) term, i.e. a SL figurative or restricted collocation is reduced to free

collocation or generic word combination. For example, ‫ ض م ص ت ع يق‬was translated

into and they were silent in TT1, a reduced sense from a figurative meaning to a

generic combination; however, TT2 has maintained a comparable figurative

collocation expressed in “then they were embraced in a deep silence”.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocation
collocation Translation Translation
Then they were embraced in a
‫ض م ص ت ع يق‬ ‫ص ت ع يق‬ and they were silent
deep silence
،‫في بر لم يعرف ع ه‬ ‫ب لم يع ف‬ in the cold he never experienced in a cold whose taste he
، ‫ح‬ ‫يغ بل‬ ‫عه‬ before, who eats dry bread does ’t k ow,
‫ال مس ع ائ أ‬ the one [referring to the sea]
It [referring to the sea] is ready to
‫ في أي‬،‫يحت نني‬ ‫ه‬ ‫ال ح يح‬ who’s always ready to
take me any time
، ‫لح‬ embrace me at any moment.

Furthermore, experiencing cold in TT1 example (2) is a reflection of a free

combination. Similarly, the third example as cited above is a reduction from a

figurative sense to a free combination. The sea was compared to a mother that is

ready to embrace the speaker at any moment. This figurative sense was reserved in

TT2 but reduced to free combination (the sea is ready to take me any time) in TT1.

The above translation strategies, including avoidance, repetition, transfer,

analogy, and reduction, are under the disposal of translators. When translators are

aware of how to use these strategies, they probably work as tools or techniques for

them; conversely, they can work against translators if they ignore them. In addition,

translation is an unfinished job. No one can claim to have reached the desired level of

competence, especially collocational competence, for we are all in pursuit of getting

more and more knowledge.

103
 Chapter 5: Concluding Observations and
Recommendations

5.1. Concluding Observations

This research provides an integrated analysis and review of the concept of

collocation as it pertains to translation from different perspectives as discussed in

chapter one. Chapter two provides a review of related literature. Chapter three

discusses collocation in relation to concepts that play a significant role in defining the

nature of this phenomenon, including synonymous variability, collocational range,

collocation and register, cohesion and coherence, denotation and connotation,

figurative collocations and level of idiomaticity. Chapter four is the core chapter of

this thesis which offers a clear definition of methodology, data collection, data

analysis and interpretation, plus findings. This chapter provides the concluding

observations and recommendations.

The study aims at investigating the notion of collocation from three

perspectives: (1) translation quality assessment perspective (TQA), (2) collocation­

based perspective, and (3) translation strategy perspective. The TQA section

identifies overall quality of both translated texts and investigates comparative and

contrastive aspects through clear examples driven from the translations and compared

with the original text. The study shows that Yar Mohammed’s translation )TT1( is of

104
less pragmatic impact compared to Bagader & Akers' translation (TT2) (Figure 4,

Pp.74). TT1 is 85.2% comparable to ST in terms of pragmatic impact, and TT2 is

98.7%. The discrepancy may be attributed to the choices of collocation types and

strategies adopted by translators.

Choosing a collocation that is accurate or comparable to ST in terms of adequacy

and pragmatic impact is probably a complex undertaking. A translator has to know

the nuances of collocational meanings at ST and TT levels. Overlooking these

nuances of meaning may be one possible reason affecting translation pragmatic

impact. Therefore, inappropriate selection of collocations may affect the shadow

meaning of words as intended by ST. The following are some concluding remarks

driven from the analysis of chapter IV.

1­ Overall assessment shows that TT1 has less pragmatic impact on readership

(85.2%) than TT2 (98.7%).

2­ Most translated collocations are free collocations, which account for

approximately 50% and 59% in TT1 and TT2, with average scores ranging

between 93% and 99%, respectively. This may reflect easiness of non­

idiomatic and non­figurative types of collocation.

3­ Restricted collocations (11% in TT1 ­ 15% in TT2) were translated

effectively in both translations (TT1 ‫ س‬95%, TT2 ‫ س‬97%).

4­ Figurative collocations (17% in TT1 and 15% in TT2) have the lowest

marking scale (88.6%) in TT1 among the four main types of collocations
105
 (i.e., free, restricted, figurative, and idiomatic collocations). This may reflect

the complexity of translating a figurative collocation because of the

metaphoric images embedded in such expressions. Newmark (1988:9) states

that the problem of metaphor in translation is “the most significant

translation problem”.

5­ Figurative collocations are excessively used in short stories following free

collocations.

6­ Figurative collocations in short stories may come in complex patterns

constituting multiple images in condensed forms. The metaphorical sense is

probably “the most pragmatic factor in translation”, and it is considered as

“language’s main resource for conveying strong feeling” )Newmark

1991:122).

7­ Translation of collocation into English, in most cases, is more complex than

translating into one’s own mother tongue. TT1 is a translation from Arabic

into English by a native speaker of Arabic, while TT2 has been translated by

two translators: the first is a native speaker of Arabic, and the second is a

native speaker of English. Collocational competence is found to be different

in both versions. Collaborative works in translation may be more productive

than solo performances. Newmark (1988:3) argues that translating into your

own native language of habitual use “is the only way you can translate

naturally, accurately and with maximum effectiveness”.

106
8­ Generally Arabic short stories, and particularly Mohammed Abudl Wali’s

The Color of Rain, tend to use non­idiomatic language variety. No idiomatic

collocation is found in this short story, and this is also reflected in the two

translated versions.

9­ Free (or general) combinations that are reduced from ST collocations (free,

restricted, or figurative) are found in TT1 (18.4%) more than in TT2 (9.7%).

Moreover, nearly 4% of ST collocations have not been translated in TT1,

compared to TT2 (0.5%). This may indicate the effectiveness of TT2 in

accounting for most collocations, with special attention given to ST

pragmatic impact on targeted readership.

10­ Strategies of translating collocations into English as a foreign language

(including avoidance or omission, repetition, transfer, analogy, and

reduction) may be less effective in TT1 than in TT2 (a detailed analysis is

found on page 80). TT2 is rendered by a native speaker of Arabic and a

native speaker of English, and this may be one reason why TT2 is more

effective than TT1 in terms of ST accuracy and TT acceptability.

11­ Effective translation of collocations may add up to the total text pragmatic

appeal and the general text flow.

12­ Deconstructing a text into its collocational units is probably an excellent tool

for comparing and evaluating translations of the original texts. The process

107
 of comparing and contrasting collocations using the comparative literature

approach is probably useful and effective through short stories.

13­ Most collocations (if not all) can cut across sentence boundaries (Halliday

2004:577), and across grammatical structures as well. Changing the form of

the original is inevitable, and this is because of different language structures.

Therefore, a translator is compelled to add, drop and manipulate textual

expressions, or sometimes reduce to a statement that is not necessarily of

collocational nature.

14­ Most collocations are translated differently by different translators. Only

21% of total collocations are translated in a comparable way within the two

translated versions.

15­ Collocations play a significant role in enhancing TT pragmatic appeal.

However, pragmatic competence does not require a ST collocation to be

translated into a TT comparable collocation; rather, it can be replaced by one

word or phrase to induce the necessary pragmatic impact.

16­ Literary translation requires a free and creative mind to produce yet another

text capable of outperforming the ST in terms of power, elegance and force.

108
5.2. Recommendations and Suggestions

Ghazala (2006:127) recommends that collocation be studied with relation to its

fixedness/flexibility, grammatical structure, directness/indirectness, clarity/unclarity,

formal/colloquial style, simplicity/complexity, context, and familiarity/strangeness.

This research does not offer a detailed investigation of collocation grammatical

structure, collocation style, familiarity/strangeness of a collocation, and this may be

addressed in further research pursuits. Other suggestions for further studies on

collocations within short stories may include (1) an analysis of collocation in relation

to cohesion and coherence, (2) collocation and connotation, (3) collocation and

synonyms (Baker 2011:52), (4) methods of translating collocations, (5) the use of up­

to­date corpora in collocation and translation, and (6) collocation and mother tongue

interference. The investigation of collocation in translation should be conducted to

bridge potential gaps between ST and TT both theoretically and practically. The

significance of collocation can be summed up in Newmark’s )1411:111( words, “If

grammar is the bones of a text, collocations are the nerves, more subtle and multiple

and specific in denoting meaning, and lexis is the flesh.” Therefore, translation may

offer a viable venue to better understand the pragmatic impact of collocation in acts

of communication across linguistic and cultural barriers.

109
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 Endnotes
1
Mohammed Abdul­Wali (1940‫س‬1973), a prominent Yemeni writer and diplomat, was born in Ethiopia from an
Ethiopian mother; joined the country's diplomatic corps; had a brief spell as head of Yemen Airlines; but fell out of
favor with the government and was imprisoned. Abdul­Wali is considered one of the forerunners of the modern
Yemenite literary movement. He published three collections of short stories: al­Ard, ya Salma ("Our land, Salma",
1422(, Shay’ ismuhu al­hanin )"Something called love", 1491( and ’Ammuna Salih )"Uncle Salih", 1978), as well as
two novellas: Yamutun ghuraba’ )"They Die Strangers"( and Sana’a ... madina maftuha )"Sana’a ‫ س‬open city"). He died
in a never thoroughly investigated airplane crash on his way from Aden to Hadramaut in South Yemen along with a
group of other ambassadors.
2
The twelve types of neologisms discussed by Newmark (1988, 140­150) include old words with new senses, existing
collocations with new senses, new coinages, derived words, abbreviations, new collocations, eponyms, phrasal words,
transferred words, acronyms, pseudo­neologisms, and internationalisms. The following table by Newmark (1988:150)
illustrates these neologism types, contextual factors, and translation procedures.

Type Contextual factors Translation procedures

A. Existing lexical items with 1. Value and purpose of neolog 1. Transference [with
new senses inverted commas)
1. Words 2. Importance of neolog to (a) SL 2. TL neologism (with
culture; (b)TL culture; (c) general composites)
2. Collocations 3. Recency 3. TL derived word
B. New forms 4. Frequency 4. Naturalisation
1. New coinages 5. Likely duration 5. Recognised TL translation
2. Derived words (including 6. Translator's authority 6. Functional term
blends)
3. Abbreviations 7. Recognised translation 7. Descriptive term
4. Collocations 8. Existence of referents in TL culture 8. Literal translation
5. Eponyms 9. Transparency or opaqueness of 9. Translation procedure
neolog combinations (couplets
etc.)
6. Phrasal words 10. Type of text 10. Through­translation
7. Transferred words (new 11. Readership 11. Internationalism
and old referents)
8. Acronyms (new and old 12. Setting
referents)
9. Pseudo­ neologisms 13. Fashion, clique, commercial
10. Internationalisms 14. Euphony
15. Is neolog in competition with
others?
16. Is neolog linguistically justified?
17. Is neolog likely to become
internationalism?
18. Is neolog (acronym) being formed
for prestige reasons?
19. Milieu
20. Status and currency of neologism in
SL

3
Leech’s seven types of meaning are )1( conceptual meaning (logical, cognitive, or denotative content), (2)
connotative meaning (what is communicated by virtue of what language refers to), (3) social meaning (what is
communicated of the social circumstances of language use), (4) affective meaning (what is communicated of the
feeling and attitudes of the speaker/writer), (5) reflected meaning (what is communicated through association with
another sense of the same expression), (6) collocative meaning (what is communicated through association with words
which tend to occur in the environment of another word), (7) thematic meaning (what is communicated by the way in
which the message is organized in terms of order and emphasis).

115
 ‫ملخص البحث‬

‫الع ي‪.‬‬ ‫من ال ن ين ال‬ ‫ال ج‬ ‫ي في م‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا‬ ‫ي قش ه ا ال حث م‬

‫ع ء ال ج ‪ ،‬ي ف‬ ‫ن‬ ‫من ج‬ ‫ال ج‬ ‫ش لي‬ ‫ي من أع‬ ‫ال‬ ‫تع ال ا م‬
‫الع ي في‬ ‫س ال ج‬ ‫لك من خا م‬ ‫يع ه ا ال ع ي‬ ‫ه ا ال حث ل يب عن‬
‫يق‪ .‬ي ح ق ال حث ع ي من م‬ ‫ي بل‬ ‫ي ‪ ،‬حيث ت ي ال‬ ‫ص ال‬ ‫ال‬ ‫م‬
‫بين‬ ‫أ جه ااخ اف أ اات‬ ‫بي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ي من خا تح يل اأ‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا‬
‫"ل‬ ‫اأص ي في ال غ الع بي ‪ ،‬ق‬ ‫ين ب ل غ اان ي ي ل س ال‬ ‫ت ج ين م‬
‫لك ب ف ف م أ‬ ‫" ل تب السي سي ال احل مح ع ال لي (‪ 1491‬س ‪،)1491‬‬ ‫ال‬
‫من ال غ الع بي ل ال غ اان ي ي ‪ ،‬ي‬ ‫ال ج‬ ‫ي في م‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ل ا م‬
‫من ال ج‬ ‫اأ ل‬ ‫ب ح افي من ال حي الع ي ‪ .‬ال س‬ ‫فع ل ل ع مل مع اش ات‬
‫اأ سط‬ ‫الش‬ ‫اس‬ ‫ق بش ه م ك‬ ‫ا أي‬ ‫ي‬ ‫بق‬ ‫كل من أب ب‬ ‫ت ج‬
‫اأم ي ي ب يخ ‪ ،1111‬ت ج ت‬ ‫ال ح‬ ‫في اي أ س ن ب ل اي‬ ‫ب مع ت س‬
‫في م ك‬ ‫نش‬ ‫مح‬ ‫) شي ين ي سين ي‬ ‫ال ش‬ ‫(اأس‬ ‫ال ني ال ك‬ ‫ال س‬
‫ال ش في ص ع ء ب يخ ‪.1112‬‬ ‫اس‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ع‬

‫ا ا اس‬ ‫تا مي بحيث ي م اس‬ ‫حا‬ ‫اأصل ال ج ين ل‬ ‫تم ت سيم ال‬

‫اأن ا‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ال‬ ‫‪ .‬يح‬ ‫مع ل ا الغ‬ ‫لك في ج‬ ‫ل ي من خال ‪،‬‬ ‫تا‬
‫‪ ،‬ال ا‬ ‫ال ح‬ ‫‪ ،‬ال ا‬ ‫ي ااخ ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ي هي‪ :‬ال ا‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ئيسي ل ا‬
‫مع تع يق‬ ‫ال ع يي ال ي ي ل ل ن‬ ‫ع‬ ‫أي‬ ‫ا اص احي‪ ،‬يح‬ ‫‪ ،‬ال ا‬ ‫ال‬
‫حيث‬ ‫نح م‬ ‫من ال ج ين ع‬ ‫مع أم‬ ‫م‬ ‫ن ال حث ن ش‬ ‫ال حث‪ .‬ي‬
‫ئيسي ‪.‬‬ ‫ثاث م ا‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ت ت‬

‫بين‬ ‫مع ت ضيح أ جه ااخ اف اات‬ ‫ال‬ ‫من ن حي اأ‬ ‫(‪ )1‬ت ييم ال ج‬
‫مع ال ص اأصل من ن حي م ي ال ص‬ ‫ق كل ت ج‬ ‫ال ج ي ين ك لك م‬
‫م ي ال ص في ال غ ال ف‪.‬‬ ‫ع‬ ‫اأث ال ع ي ل ل ت ج‬

‫‪1‬‬
‫ح ‪،‬‬ ‫م في ال ص اأصل ال ج ين كل ع‬ ‫ي ال س‬ ‫ال‬ ‫(‪ )1‬أن ا ال ا م‬
‫ليس‬ ‫ال ع ي‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ي من ن حي ال‬ ‫ال‬ ‫حيث ي قش ال حث أن ا ال ا م‬
‫(‪ ،)1998‬ت سم ل أ بع أن ا ‪:‬‬ ‫لك ت ع ل تب ه ا‬ ‫ال ح ي ‪،‬‬ ‫ال سي‬
‫ال ا‬ ‫‪،‬‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا‬ ‫‪،‬‬ ‫ال ح‬ ‫ال ا‬ ‫‪،‬‬ ‫ي ااخ ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا‬
‫تا مي‬ ‫م‬ ‫ااص احي‪ ،‬ك تم ك ه آن ‪ ،‬حيث ب يت ه ا اأن ا ب ءا ع‬
‫اسع في اخ ي‬ ‫له ن‬ ‫ي ااخ ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫‪ ،‬فلا‬ ‫مع بع‬ ‫ات‬ ‫ت ابط م‬
‫اته‪،‬‬ ‫م‬ ‫في اخ ي‬ ‫مح‬ ‫يأخ ن‬ ‫ال ح‬ ‫ال ا‬ ‫ن له‪ ،‬بي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ال‬
‫ا‬ ‫ا ك نت م‬ ‫ي ‪ ،‬أم‬ ‫ي أص ح تا م م‬ ‫مع م‬ ‫ال ا‬ ‫ا خل ع‬
‫تا م‬ ‫يع‬ ‫ن له ف‬ ‫ا ال‬ ‫ه من ال‬ ‫ا ي ن اس‬ ‫ي ل مع‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا‬
‫اص احي ‪.‬‬

‫ي (اس اتي ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫م ل ع مل مع ش لي ال ا‬ ‫أ اأس ليب ال س‬ ‫(‪ )1‬ال‬

‫ا ‪،‬‬ ‫ب أ الح ف‪ ،‬ال‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ن أس‬ ‫ي )‪ ،‬ت‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ع مل مع ال ا م‬
‫يف‪.‬‬ ‫‪ ،‬ال‬ ‫‪ ،‬ال‬ ‫اان‬

‫ي أ‬ ‫عن‬ ‫‪ )1‬أسلو التجنب أو الح ف (‪ :)Avoidance Strategy‬ع‬

‫ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا‬ ‫جم بحيث ي م ح ف أ ت ب ت ج‬ ‫ي أ ليه ال‬ ‫أس‬
‫ا أخ‬ ‫ا م‬ ‫جم أ اس‬ ‫في ال ص اأصل م لع ك ء ال‬ ‫ال ك‬
‫ال اء‪ .‬ق ي أ‬ ‫ن‬ ‫أ من ج‬ ‫ن‬ ‫جم أف ل من ج‬ ‫ق يع ه ال‬
‫أن غي م س ل ل ل‬ ‫ي لشع‬ ‫ال‬ ‫جم لح ف بعض ال ا م‬ ‫ال‬
‫ل ع ف ال في‪.‬‬ ‫م‬ ‫ع ص ث في ق ت‬ ‫اح ائ ع‬ ‫ث ف أخ‬

‫ه‬ ‫ا في ال ج‬ ‫ال‬ ‫‪ )1‬أسلو الت را (‪ :)Repetition Strategy‬أس‬

‫جم‪ ،‬بش ل اضح‪.‬‬ ‫في ال ص ال‬ ‫ل ي معين بش ل م‬ ‫ا ما‬ ‫اس‬
‫ال ص‬ ‫ج‬ ‫م‬ ‫ب أ اس ب ي ث ع‬ ‫ق يح ل ال ص‬ ‫ه ا اأس‬
‫ا تك‬ ‫أه ي ل‬ ‫ج‬ ‫ا في ح ل‬ ‫ا ه ا ال‬ ‫جم‪ ،‬ل ن ي ن اس‬ ‫ال‬
‫ا‬ ‫ي بحسب م ص ال ص اأصل‪ .‬اأف ل ه اس‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬

‫‪1‬‬
‫بحيث ت ي م ص‬ ‫ق‬ ‫ي مع م اع‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬ ‫في اخ ي‬ ‫ال‬
‫م ي ال ص‪.‬‬ ‫اأث ال ع ع‬ ‫ال ص اأصل ا ت ص من ن حي ه ال ع ي‬

‫ه تأثي ال غ‬ ‫اان‬ ‫(‪ :)Transfer Strategy‬أس‬ ‫اانتق‬ ‫‪ )1‬أسلو‬

‫مع لم ال ص اأصل في ال س‬ ‫جم‪ ،‬بحيث ت‬ ‫ال ص ال‬ ‫اأ ع‬
‫ي ‪،‬ك‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬ ‫ت ج‬ ‫ج‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ج ‪ ،‬ق ي ث ه ا اأس‬ ‫ال‬
‫‪ .‬لنق‬ ‫ليس اس اتي ي م‬ ‫ليه ال عض أنه خ أ في ال ج‬ ‫ي‬
‫م ي ي أ ي‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ل حف‬ ‫م‬ ‫ليه ال عض اآخ أنه أس‬ ‫ي‬
‫"‬ ‫أخ‬ ‫في ك ب "ب‬ ‫بي‬ ‫ال تب في ال ص اأصل ه ا م تس يه م‬
‫(‪،)Marked Collocation‬‬ ‫ال ع‬ ‫‪ )1111( In Other Words‬ب ل ا‬
‫جي‬ ‫ل لف‬ ‫غي اع ي‬ ‫ي بأس‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ا م‬ ‫ه اس‬
‫في م ص ال ص اأصل‪.‬‬ ‫م‬ ‫م‬

‫ه‬ ‫في ال ج‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ي‬ ‫التن ظر (‪:)Analogy Strategy‬‬ ‫‪ )9‬أسلو‬

‫في ال ص اأصل ن ق‬ ‫أ آخ غي ال ج‬ ‫ل ي مع‬ ‫ا تا‬ ‫اس‬
‫في‬ ‫ق يحسن من ق ال ج‬ ‫ا ه ا اأس‬ ‫من م ا ف ته‪ .‬اس‬ ‫ي‬
‫ال ا‬ ‫ال ح له يس‬ ‫جم بين ال ي ا‬ ‫ال ص ال ف بحيث ي ل ال‬
‫ل‬ ‫أ‬ ‫نل ص‬ ‫ب ح افي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ي اأنسب ل ع ي عن ال ع‬ ‫ال‬
‫جم في اخ ي‬ ‫ال اء في ال غ ال ف‪ .‬ق ا ي يب ال‬ ‫ع‬ ‫أث ا أق‬
‫م ص ال ص اأصل ‪/‬أ اأث‬ ‫ه ق ي ث ع‬ ‫ي ب ق ع لي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ل ا‬
‫م ي ال ص في ال غ ال ف‪.‬‬ ‫ال ج ع‬

‫أس‬ ‫أ‬ ‫ي‬ ‫هي‬ ‫التخفيف (‪:)Reduction Strategy‬‬ ‫‪ )5‬أسلو‬

‫ي في ال ص اأصل س اءا ك نت اص احي ‪ ،‬أ‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬ ‫ل ج‬
‫غي تا مي في‬ ‫ا‬ ‫أ م‬ ‫ل ي اخ ي‬ ‫ل ما‬ ‫ي أ مح‬ ‫م‬
‫ال ع بي ال ا مي نس‬ ‫ق‬ ‫ال ج‬ ‫ج‬ ‫ال ص ال ف‪ .‬ق ي ث ه ا ع‬
‫ا‬ ‫جم بس ب ال‬ ‫ال‬ ‫في ال ص اأصل‪ .‬ل ن ق ي أ لي‬ ‫ق ائ‬ ‫ل‬
‫ال ص أحي ن ‪،‬‬ ‫ج‬ ‫بين ال غ ين‪ ،‬ق ا ي ث ع‬ ‫ال في ال ئ‬ ‫ال غ ي‬

‫‪1‬‬
 ‫ي ال س ب‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬ ‫األ‬ ‫جم في اخ ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫حيث يأتي‬
‫اأث ال ج في ال غ ال ف‪.‬‬ ‫م ص ال ص اأصل يح فظ ع‬ ‫ي‬

‫من‬ ‫(‪ )1112‬أقل ج‬ ‫مح‬ ‫شي ين ي سين ي‬ ‫ال ك‬ ‫أهم استنت ج ت البحث‪ :‬ت ج‬
‫أث ه ع‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬ ‫(‪ )1111‬من م‬ ‫ا أي‬ ‫ي‬ ‫بق‬ ‫أب ب‬ ‫ت ج‬
‫ال ح‬ ‫ااخ ي ي‬ ‫ال ا م‬ ‫ج ين ك ء في ت ج‬ ‫ال‬ ‫جم‪ .‬أ‬ ‫م ي ال ص ال‬
‫ال ك‬ ‫ي ‪ ،‬حيث ك نت ت ج‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬ ‫في ت ج‬ ‫م ا أ ائ‬ ‫ت‬ ‫بي‬
‫ال اء‪ ،‬ه ت ن صع ب‬ ‫أث ه ع‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬ ‫من م‬ ‫شي ين أقل ج‬
‫ب لك ع لم ال ج‬ ‫ك ص‬ ‫ال ج‬ ‫ش لي‬ ‫من أع‬ ‫ي ف ي تع‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬
‫‪.)1411( A Textbook of Translation‬‬ ‫في ك به ال مع في ال ج‬ ‫ني م‬ ‫بي‬
‫ي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ال ا م‬ ‫أس ليب ت ج‬ ‫ا أي‬ ‫ي‬ ‫بق‬ ‫أب ب‬ ‫لك اس‬ ‫ضف ل‬
‫في اأ اء بين ال ج ين ي ي أ ال ج‬ ‫‪ ،‬ه ا ال‬ ‫اأخ‬ ‫من ال ج‬ ‫ب ء أك‬
‫ال غ ‪.‬‬ ‫بين ع من ال ف‬ ‫عن ع ل ج عي تع ني ت م ي مش‬ ‫ع‬

‫‪9‬‬