Translating Prepositions

Comparison Between Arabic And English Prepositions English prepositional usage is one of the Arab learners problems. Although Arabic and English prepositions have some characteristics in common, they differ in both number and usage. There are only twenty Arabic prepositions the most important and commonly used are six prepositions, (min, ila, ala, ba, la, fi), while in English there are one hundred fifty prepositions. 

The first characteristic is that neither Arabic nor English prepositions can stand by themselves: they get their meanings through their usage in contexts. The other characteristics is that the number of prepositions in English is more than Arabic; but, at the same time, each preposition may have to serve variety of purposes. The same preposition may express time or space and be followed be a noun, a verb, an adverb or an adjective.

The main problem for these learners lies firstly in the fact that not every Arabic preposition has definite equivalent in English and vice versa, and secondly, in that not every English or Arabic preposition has a definite usage and meaning.

One problem in translating prepositions is that some Arabic prepositions are looked upon as if they are equivalents that totally equals certain English prepositions. This causes a lot of mistakes in translation. *For example; In = في On = على From = من by ب/ بواسطة = As shown in the next slide>

The Problem in “In” and “في” I slept in bed. (Correct) (In) Spring begins in the first of March. (On) In the end of the journey we brought fruit. (At) In my last holiday I did many different things. (During) I went home in happily. (?)

The first “in” was used on its right place The first “in” was used on its right place. However, “in” on the other four examples was literally translated from the Arabic preposition “في “ instead of (on, at, during, zero prep.) in order.

The Problem in “On” and “على” I saw a football match on TV.  (On) Correct The bird is flying on my head. (Over) He jumped on the wall. (Over) I will come on seven o’clock. (At)

“On” is used perfectly right on the first sentence; however, it is used wrongly instead of (over, at) on the last three examples. This is the result of literal translation and misconception about prepositions translation.

The Problem in “From” and “من” لقد جئت من منزلي. I came from my house. (correct) أنا غاضب منك. I am angry from you. (Incorrect) I am angry with you. (correct)

In the first example, “من” is transferred in a right way into “from” producing a correct English sentence. However, in the second example, “من” shouldn’t be translated into “from” but “with”. English learners may use from as a full equivalent for “من”, and that’s a problem in translating prepositions.

Another problem is that Arab insert or omit certain English prepositions according to Arabic usage. In literal translation, learners may add a preposition when the Arabic context requires one, so this would produce wrong English sentences. Or they may omit prepositions in the English sentence when the Arabic one doesn’t require a preposition. This illustrated in the following examples:

Inserting Unnecessary Prepositions استمتع الفتى بمشاهدة الفيلم. The literal translation of this sentence is:              the boy enjoyed with the film.                   the boy enjoyed from the film. However, the right translation should be with no proposition: The boy enjoyed the film.

In the previous example, the Arabic sentence had a preposition, so Arab learners are likely to add a similar preposition to the English sentence when it actually requires no prepositions.

Omitting necessary Prepositions حين وصلنا أريحا, اشترينا فاكهة. When we arrived in Jericho we bought fruit. يجب أن أبقى في الجامعة ثمانية سنين. I must stay at the university for eight years. لقد رأيت قبة الصخرة. I saw the dome of the rock.

In the previous examples, the Arabic sentences require no prepositions, so Arab learners are likely to omit the prepositions (in, for, of) in the English sentences producing incorrect and senseless sentences.

Learn some rules that help in simplifying the usage of prepositions, Conclusion To transfer prepositions from English into Arabic or vice versa, you should; Learn some rules that help in simplifying the usage of prepositions, Know the differences between English and Arabic prepositions that seem to be similar, Get exposed to correct propositional usage, And most importantly, PRACTISE!

THANK you