TRANSLATION STRATEGIES IN ENGLISH – ARABIC TRANSLATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Abstract

This study examines the application of Baker’s (2011) translation strategies in the English–Arabic translation of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. The analysed document is Ba'labki's (1992) translation of Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea. By adopting a qualitative method, the research analyses selected segments from the source text and their Arabic translation to investigate how specific translation strategies are employed to convey meaning accurately and effectively. The analysis is conducted at the sentence and paragraph levels, allowing for a detailed comparison between the source text and the target text. The study focuses on eight strategies proposed by Baker: translation by a more general word, translation by a less expressive or neutral word, cultural substitution, loan word plus explanation, paraphrase using related words, paraphrase using unrelated words, omission, and illustration. The findings reveal that these strategies play a crucial role in addressing lexical, cultural, and stylistic challenges encountered in literary translation. The translator’s choices demonstrate a balance between preserving the original meaning and adapting it to suit the linguistic and cultural expectations of the Arabic readership. Overall, the study highlights the effectiveness of Baker’s strategies in enhancing clarity, readability, and communicative impact in novel translation, underscoring their significance in English–Arabic literary translation.