NOTE: To change the image on this slide, select the picture and delete it. Then click the Pictures icon in the placeholder to insert your own image. DENOTATIVE MEANING AND TRANSLATION ISSUES Denotative Meaning Synonymy Hyperonymy-hyponymy Particularizing and generalizing translation

Denotative meaning and translation issues:  Denotative meaning  Synonymy  Hyperonymy - Hypnoymy  Particularizing translation and generalizing translation.  Partially overlapping translation  Semantic repetition in Arabic

Denotative Meaning  Is defined as the meaning that is fully supported by ordinary semantic conventions, such as the convention that ‘ window’ refers to a particular kind of aperture in a wall or roof.  In other words, it is the explicit meaning of a word that is find in the dictionary.  Cognitive, propositional or literal meaning.  Examples: ‘home’ > a place of security, comfort and family. ‘Apple’ > a fruit we eat. ‘Lamb’ > is a young sheep.

Denotative meaning  Denotative meaning is a matter of categories into which a language divides the totality of communicable experience.  For example, the denotative meaning of the word ‘ pencil’ consists in the fact that all over the world one may find similar objects that are included in the category of ‘pencil’- and of course all sorts of other objects that are excluded.

Full Synonymy In English language, the expressions ‘ my mother’s father’ and ‘my maternal grandfather’ : the two ranges of denotative meaning coincide perfectly in every specific instance of use. They include and exclude the same refernts. mother’s father Maternal grandfather Maternal Grandfather Mother’s father

Full Synonymy  From two different languages:  ‘Maternal uncle’ and ‘ خال’ cover exactly the same range of meaning and are therefore fully synonymous

Hyperonymy-hyponymy  Unfortunately, full synonymy is exceptional, both intralingually and interlingually.  Even the nearest semantic equivalent for translating the denotative meaning of an ST expression usually falls short of being a full TL synonym.  Example: the English word ‘ uncle’ and the Arabic words ‘ عم’ and ‘ خال’ the English term ‘ uncle’ lacks the technical association of ‘ paternal uncle’ and ‘ maternal uncle’, and would therefore be preferred in many contexts in translating عم or خال, since ‘uncle’ includes both paternal uncle and maternal uncle.

Hyperonymy-hyponymy  How can we describe this relationship between these words?  The relationship between ‘ uncle’ and عم and between ‘uncle’ and خال is known as hyperonymy-hyponymy.  A hyperonymy is an expression with a wider, less specific range of denotative meaning. Thus uncle is a hyperonym of the two words ‘ عم ‘ and خال.  A hyponymy is an expression with a narrower, more specific range of denotative meaning of one with a wider meaning. Thus خال and عم are hyponyms of the word ‘ uncle’.

Hyperonymy-hyponymy  P

Particularizing translation and generalizing translation  Translating by a hyponym implies that the TT expression has a narrower and more specific denotative meaning than the ST expression.  TT خال is more specific than ST ‘uncle’, adding particulars not present in the ST expression. This type of translation is called particularizing translation or particularization.  Another example: Translating صندوق  In the case of a street sweeper putting his rubbish into a صندوق, the more plausible translation would be ‘ bin’, while in the case of someone packing his books up to move them, the more plausible translation is ‘box’.

Particularizing translation and generalizing translation  Translating by a hyperonym implies that the TT expression has a wider and less specific denotative meaning than the ST expression.  In translating from Arabic to English, TT ‘uncle’ is more general than ST ‘عم ‘ or ‘خال ‘ omitting particulars given by the ST. We call this generalizing translation or generalization for short.  More examples: ‘ جلابية’ as ‘garment’ ‘مزمار’ as ‘ pipe’

 In their semantic near-equivalence, particularization and generalization both entail a degree of translation loss : detail is either added to or omitted from the ST.  However, in the absence of plausible synonyms, translating by a hyponym or hyperonym is standard practice and entirely unremarkable.  Only when a TL hyponym or hyperonym is unnecessary or contextually inappropriate, or misleading, can a TT be criticized in this respect. Particularizing translation and generalizing translation

 Examples:  The word ‘بلد ‘ in Arabic means ‘ country, town, city, place, community, village’. There is no single word in English that cover all these possibilities; therefore in a particular context the translator is likely to have to choose the one of these which he or she feels is most appropriate. The word محزن refers to something, such as a film or a story, which makes one feel sad. In contrast, the word ‘حزين ‘ may refer to a person or non human entity as an animal who is sad in themselves. In English, the word ‘sad’ covers both possibilities.: ‘ a sad person’ and ‘ a sad story’. Particularizing translation and generalizing translation

Partially overlapping translation  The Arabic word ‘ حفلة غناء ‘ involves : - Singing ( song) - organized /not organized in a formal way with musical players and audience.  The English equivalence ‘ concert’ involves: - singing and sometimes does not ( music without song). > Generalization - organized in a formal way with musical players and audience. > Particularization

Partially overlapping translation ST حفلة غناء TT Concert TT keeps: Musical gatherin g TT omits : Singing TT adds: Organized

Semantic Repetition in Arabic  Arabic frequently makes use repetition of synonyms or near-synonyms, in a way which is not normally found in English. This kind of repetition is called semantic repetition.  Two basic kinds: - where the two words or phrases used have closely-related but distinguishable meaning: الاستقصاء والتحليل’ > investigation and analysis

Semantic Repetition in Arabic - where the words or phrases used are fully synonymous, or at least in the context which they are being used, there is no clear difference in meaning: بصورة مستمرة متواصلة > in a continuing continuous manner ( literally).  Semantic repetition may involve any of the major parts of speech: nouns, as in الاستقصاء والتحليل, adjectives as in مستمرة متواصلة, verbs, as in يدهشه ويذهلة ‘surprise and baffle’, and adverbs for instance ‘ واجمة مكتئبة ‘ ‘ silently and dispiritedly’  Semantic repetition may be syndetic, i.e., it may involve the use of a connective ( typically و) السلوك الهمجي واالبربري > savage and barbaric behavior  It could be asyndetic, i.e., it may occur without the use of a connective: فتيات جميلات انيقات > pretty elegant girls

Semantic Repetition in Arabic How to translate semantic repetition into English? There are different techniques that can be used : 1.To merge the two Arabic words into one English word. This is likely to be an appropriate strategy where there is no clear difference between the two Arabic words. تدابير صارمة وقاسية > severe measures قدرة العسكر على تحديث المجتمع وعصرنته > the military’s ability to modernize society بصورة مستمرة متواصلة > continually. The asyndetic coordination between مستمرة and متواصلة makes a single-word translation still more likely; asyndetic doublets are typically used to represent a single concept.

Semantic Repetition in Arabic 2.The second fairly common technique, and one which is used where the two words in the semantic repetition have clearly different meaning is to employ at least partial grammatical transposition. تحلل القيم والاخلاقيات > the collapse of moral values ( noun-doublet > an adjective noun phrase ) وشعر الرجل بالضيق والحرج > the man began to feel slightly claustrophobic ( noun-doublet > adverb-adjective phrase) لقد اكدت البحوث الجامعية هذه الظاهر المخلة وتناولتها بالاستقصاء والتحليل > Academic research has confirmed and carefully analyzed this disgraceful phenomenon’

Semantic Repetition in Arabic 3.The third and fourth techniques take account of a feature of semantic repetition which is that it tends to provide a sense of emphasis. This is both because two words give two sets of meaning ( even if it is only the same meaning repeated), and because they are longer and therefore ‘ heavier’ in the sentence than only a single word would be. semantic distancing: it involves relaying both elements of the Arabic doublet by different words in English, but choosing English words whose meaning are more obviously distinct than those of their Arabic counterparts.

Semantic Repetition in Arabic For example: وكان منظرها يدهشه ويذهله > her appearance had both astonished and alarmed him the two words يدهش و يذهل are quite close in meaning. The semantic difference between astonish and alarm is greater than that between يدهش ويذهل.  Semantic distancing can be combined with grammatical transposition. See example on page The fourth technique of translating semantic repetition into English is to maintain the same form of repetition. السلوك الهمجي والبربري > this savage and barbaric behavior.