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 أَيُّهَا النَّاسُإِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى‬

‫وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا‬

ٌ‫إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اَّللهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِري‬

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 cost-effective 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. In-depth 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 (1988:5). 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 culture-bound

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 mother-tongue 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 problem-laden

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 high-frequency 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 source-language collocation, the tension between accuracy and

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

culture-specific collocations are but some issues that a translator may encounter

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

languages, or in the same language, does not exist (Enani 1994:15-16). 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 EL-ILM’S Dictionary of Collocations, A Comprehensive

English – Arabic 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

mono-dictionaries on Arabic collocations or Arabic-English 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 reader-driven. Within the
2 Adequacy
notion of acceptability comes collocation as a sub-division. 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 co-occurrences 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 non-collocational
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.
Word-for-word translation is an interlinear translation, with the TL
immediately below SL words, preserving SL word order. Words are
Word-for-word 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
pre-translation 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 pre-translation 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 cross-linguistic 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, ‫( لون المطر‬The Color of Rain),

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

writer and diplomat (see P. 99). The research contains an in-depth 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 cost-effectively 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

‫ – لون المطر‬by Mohammed Abdul Wali (1940–1973), 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 qualitatively-driven 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 co-occur regularly in a

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

occurrence of individual lexical items” quoting (Crystal 1981). 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 natural-sounding 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 co-occurrences 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 high-frequency 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 (2006:106-121) 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:2-32);

and concurrently mentions seven collocational types when translating from English

into Arabic (Ghazala 2004b:35-59). 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, multi-word units, formulaic sequences, and

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

compares frequency-based approach with phraseological approach. Frequency-based

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 quesi-idioms. 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 culture-specific 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’); (2) delete a word from it (e.g., *‘spill beans2’); (3) add a

word to it (e.g., *‘face the classical music3’); (4) 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 (1995:315–332) 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
(‫ ;)خالصة القول‬the bottom line
2
Spill the beans: to reveal secret information unintentionally (‫)يفشي سرا‬
3
Face the music: to be confronted with the unpleasant consequences of one’s actions ( ‫يواجه عواقب‬
‫)أفعاله‬
4
Bury the hatchet: become friendly again after a disagreement or a quarrel (‫)يدفنون خالفاتهم‬

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 Al-Mawrid

18
English-Arabic 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., ‫ دخل متواضع‬may 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 (2006:125-127) 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); (8) 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 back-translation 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 non-cultural senses, Newmark (1988:142) provides

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

recognized translation or through-translation. If the concept does not exist (e.g., ‘tug-

of-love’) or the TL speakers are not yet aware of it, an economical descriptive

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

common in the social sciences and in computer language – should 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

(‫)إشعار مسبق‬, domino effect6 (‫التأثيرية‬/‫)النتيجة الحتمية‬, cold-calling7 (‫)زيارة ثقيلة‬, acid rain8

(‫)المطر الحمضي‬, norm reference testing9 (‫)اختبار وفق المستوى العام‬, criterion reference

testing10 (‫)اختبار وفق المعايير‬, rate-capping11 ( ‫ فرض قيود أخرى على جميع‬،‫التكبيل الضريبي‬

‫)الضرائب‬, jetlag12 (‫ انخفاض الضغط في الطائرة‬،‫)إعياء‬, lateral thinking13 (‫)التفكير الجانبي‬,

wishful thinking14 (‫ تفكير وهمي‬،‫)أحالم اليقظة‬, machine-readable15 (‫)نص يمكن أن يقرأ آليا‬,

sunshine industries16 (‫ الصناعات الرائدة‬،‫)الصناعات الجديدة‬, narrow money17 (‫ …)نقود مقننة‬etc.

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
Rate-capping is the setting of an upper limit for rates charged, esp. the interest rate on an
adjustable rate loan (Dictionary.com’s 21st Century Lexicon 2013-2014).
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 non-literary and therefore void of emotive

language, connotations, sound-effects 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 (1993:157-76) 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 (2011:71-75)

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 رجله‬literally, 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 – in English formal

correspondence – have no direct translations in Arabic. Arabic expresses a

comparable meaning using a sentence, ‫( وتفضلوا بقبول فائق اإلحترام‬literally: And be kind

enough to accept [our] highest respects). Such culture-specific 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,

20
To pull someone’s leg: to tell someone something untrue as a joke in order to shock them
temporarily and amuse them when they find out later that it was a joke ( ‫يورط ؛ إقحام شخص في حديث ال‬
‫)يرغب الخوض فيه‬

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 (2006:128-144) 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 ‫ شركتهم على القائمة السوداء‬and Lend me your ears ‫أعيروني‬

‫)انتباهكم‬. 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 ‫( إنه رجل عظيم‬but not *‫)إنه رمية كبيرة‬, 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 ‫( هناك الكثير من األشياء المريبة تجري من حولنا‬but not

*‫)هناك الكثير من العمل القردي‬. 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 co-occur 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 high-frequency 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

natural-sounding 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 (2011: 52) states that “synonyms or near-synonyms 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 flawless immaculate Impeccable
- - + + + performance
- - + - ? argument
? ? + - - complexion
- - - - + behaviour
- + - + - kitchen
+ + - ? + record
? + - ? ? reputation
- - ? ? + taste
- - ? + + order
- - - - + credentials
+ = common/acceptable collocation
- = unacceptable/unlikely collocation
? = questionable/may be acceptable in some idiolects

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 ‫يسلم خطابا‬ yusallimu khitaaban
Deliver a lecture ‫يلقي محاضرة‬ yulqi muhaadaratan
Deliver news ‫ينقل أخبارا‬ yanqulu akhbaaran
Deliver a verdict ‫يصدر حكما‬ yusdiru hukman
Deliver a baby ‫يولد امرأة‬ yuwallidu imra’atan
Deliver a blow ‫يوجه ضربة‬ yuwajjihu darbatan

Source: Mona Baker’s arbitrary collocational expressions within and across languages (Baker 2011:53).

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 2011:54), 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 (2011:55) 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 2011:56). 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 register-specific 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 register-specific 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 tool-making man.’
‘Critical path analysis is an operational research technique used in
5 Technical
management.’
‘Neuraminic acid in the form of its alkali-stable 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 generality-specificity 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 Examples
‘absolutely wonderful… ideally dark bass… enormously
1 Intense (hot)
successful… superbly controlled’
2 Warm ‘gentle, soft, heart-warming melodies’
‘significant, exceptionally well judged, personable, presentable,
3 Factual (cool)
considerable’
4 Understatement (cold) ‘not… undignified’

Source: Modified from Peter Newmark’s scale of emotional tone (Newmark 1988:14,15).

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 formality-informality 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 well-formed 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 closed-set 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 1988:19), 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 (2011:58), “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

(1988:24) 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 1996:273), 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 – in spite of what the dictionary would have us

believe – to 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 non-literary 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 non-literary 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 non-literary

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 ‫)درة التاج‬. 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 well-understood cultural equivalent, a cliché may have stronger emotional impact

than a functional (i.e. culture-free) 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 ‫ دع النار مشتعلة‬،‫ ال تطفئ النار المتأججة‬،‫دع األمور تتأزم‬
earn a living ‫اكسب قوْ تك‬
keep something going ‫دع العجلة تدور‬
throw a new light on ‫يلقي ضوءا جديدا على‬/‫يسلط‬

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 ‫ كبرت دائرة الخالف بينهم‬/ ‫أشعل الخالف بينهم‬
a sunny smile ‫ ابتسامة مفعمة بالحيوية‬/ ‫ ابتسامة مشرقة‬/ ‫ابتسامة جذابة‬

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 ‫ يوقع الفتن‬/‫يزرع الشقاق‬

outsell the pants off our competitors ‫ بعرق جبيننا‬/ ‫نبني أنفسنا بأنفسنا‬
almost carrying coals to Newcastle ‫ يبيع الماء في حارة السقايين‬/ ‫كحامل التمر إلى البصرة‬

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 through-translated (‫ )صيد الرؤوس‬provided that its sense (recruiting managers,

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

recent example is the word spastic (‫)مشلول‬, an old-fashioned 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 (‫)لون المطر‬,

written by Mohammed Abdul Wali (1940–1973), 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 (1998:35) 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 القصة‬
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...‫ السلوكيات‬/ ‫ المستويات‬/ ‫ األحجام‬/ ‫يقارن النتائج‬
2 Free collocation
individual elements, and its Emphasize concept / link / rights... etc.
constituents are freely .‫ الخ‬... ‫ الحقوق‬/ ‫ عالقة‬/ ‫يؤكد فكرة‬
substitutable.
Restricted collocation is
more limited in the Pay attention / heed ‫ انتباها‬/ ‫يعير اهتماما‬
Restricted selection of compositional Make decision / improvements ‫ يحرز تقدما‬/ ‫يتخذ قرارا‬
3
collocation element and usually has Give preference to sth ‫يعطي االفضلية‬
one component that is used At sb’s disposal ‫تصرفك‬/‫تحت أمرك‬
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. ‫يرسم خطا – يوضح الفرق‬
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 ‫يفشي سرا‬
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.)
‫ يفضح مؤامرة‬- ‫يفشي سرا‬
Collocation not ST collocation was not ‫هل تعرف معنى الغربة؟‬
6
translated translated at all. Do you know the meaning of that?

The criteria and values in Table 12 below are reader-driven to verify to what

extent translators have custom-tailored 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 you afraid?”
usually shivers of cold or fear. The
‫هل أنت خائف؟‬ “No I am Free “No I am
Free Free word shaking seems to have a
1 ‫ ربما من‬.. ‫ إنني ارتجف‬،‫ال‬ ‫ارتجف بردا‬ shaking – combinati 1 shivering… maybe 2 Diverse
collocation collocation weaker collocation than shivering
.. ‫ أو‬.. ‫ذلك البرد‬ perhaps on it’s from 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 "‫ "يحملق‬is 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
‫وصمت قليال وراح يحملق‬ ‫يحملق في‬ Free Free translated version. The second
2 and looked at combinati 1 started to stare at 2 Diverse
،‫في الفضاء أمامه‬ ‫الفضاء‬ 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 ‫وعادت عيناه‬ ‫عادت عيناه‬ 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 ‫ اصطدمتا‬has a sense of
surprise or suddenness. The
phrase met the dark tops of
mountains may express positive
‫اصطدمتا‬ after they met after taking in the
‫بعد أن اصطدمتا بقمم‬ Figurative Figurative Free connotations where the ST word
4 ‫عيناه بقمم‬ the dark tops of 1 black mountain 2 Diverse
،‫الجبال السوداء‬ collocation collocation collocation has negative senses. Eyes or gaze
‫الجبال السوداء‬ 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 "‫ "تحتضن الوادي العميق‬in ST is
which those mountains
‫التي تحتضن الوادي‬ ‫الجبال تحتضن‬ Figurative Figurative Free used figuratively, i.e., a
5 embraced the 2 that surrounded 1 Diverse
،‫العميق‬ ‫الوادي العميق‬ 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 ،‫النائم في صمت خرافي‬ ‫صمت خرافي‬ 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, ‫صمت‬
‫خاله أبديا‬, 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 ‫خاله أبديا‬, i.e., seemed to
Free an eternal Free Restricted
7 ،‫صمت خاله أبديا‬ ‫صمت أبدي‬ 2 father’s brooding 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 ‫ خاله‬which 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,
‫ردد الوادي‬ Yemen had
‫حتى وهو يردد صدى‬ Figurative there was an Free Free hinting to the cause of gunfire.
8 ‫صدى طلقات‬ 2 brought him to 2 Diverse
.‫طلقات نارية بعيدة‬ collocation echo of firing in collocation collocation Although, ST expresses that the
‫نارية بعيدة‬ 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 " ‫لم يذق طعم‬
‫ "األكل‬is a hint to the opposite
“Are you “Are you meaning, i.e., a miserable life
hungry?” hungry?” the where only gunfire and gun
‫؟‬.. ‫أنت جائع‬
‫لم يذق طعم‬ Figurative “Perhaps, I have Restricted other man said. Restricted powder is available. English
9 ‫ إنني لم أذق طعم أكل‬،‫ربما‬ 1 2 Diverse
‫األكل‬ collocation not taken collocation “Maybe. I haven’t collocation speaking community usually say
.‫حقيقي منذ أيام بعيدة‬
proper food for eaten a real meal "eat food" not "take food". In
days.” for days.” 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 الخبز‬reflects
the miserable life during
“What about
revolution of the sixties where
‫؟‬.. ‫والخبز‬ Free “And bread?” Free some bread?” Free
10 ‫مل من الخبز‬ 2 2 only bread is available but Comparable
... ‫لقد مللت منه‬ collocation “I’m tired of it.” collocation “I’m 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! Don’t
..‫ أتعرف‬،‫ إنك مغفل‬.. ‫إيه‬ ‫ذاق للخبز‬ Figurative are ignorant, I Restricted Restricted tasteful. Both are good
11 2 you know how 2 Diverse
‫إنني أتذوق له طعما رائعا؟‬ ‫طعما رائعا‬ 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’m tired of I’m fed up with
‫لقد مللت ما تسمونه أكال‬ Free Free Free change from "tired of a meal"
12 ‫مل األكل‬ what you call 2 what you call a 2 Diverse
.‫حقيقيا‬ 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
‫ ذقت فيها كل‬،‫عشرون عاما‬ have eaten crocodile soup in ST. Version two
everything,
‫شيء من الثعابين الصينية‬ / ‫ذاق الثعابين‬ Figurative Figurative everything, from Figurative uses frog soup in France, a more
13 from Chinese 1 2 Diverse
‫حتى شربة الضفادع‬ ‫شربة الضفادع‬ collocation collocation snakes in China to collocation accurate translation. The use of
snakes to the
... ‫الفرنسية و‬ frog soup in prepositional phrases (in France)
French
France…” in TT2 may be more effective and
crocodile soup
gives more sense to the place
and …
where the speaker had such
experience, unlike the use of
adjectives (Chinese and French) in
TT1.
“Are you going to
“Will you start Free
‫هل ستبدأ في قصة ذلك من‬ Free tell me all that all Free Usually, English people say tell a
14 ‫قص القصص‬ that story combinati 1 2 Diverse
‫؟‬.. ‫جديد‬ collocation over again?” The collocation story not start a story.
again?” on
young man asked.
“But why not?”
“Why not? The
‫ قد ال يمضي الليل‬،‫ ال‬.. ‫ولم‬ ‫مضى الليل‬ Free Free That way the Free
15 night will pass 2 2 No comment. Diverse
،‫سريعا‬ ‫سريعا‬ 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
‫ أو‬.. ‫فال نشعر بالسأم‬ / ‫شعر بالسأم‬ feel the pain or and we won’t be Free article the in TT1 which is
Free Free
16 .. ‫الخوف‬ / ‫الخوف‬ fear.” 1 bored or afraid.” combinatio 2 transferred from Arabic language Diverse
collocation collocation
‫؟‬.. ‫ أليس كذلك‬.. ‫أو الجوع‬ ‫الجوع‬ "Or hunger … “Or hungry?” n structure. Feel the pain has clear
isn’t it?” Arabic style ‫ يشعر باأللم‬where 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
.. ‫ربما‬ ‫دوت صوت‬ Free And a shot was
17 combinati 2 Shots from afar combinatio 2 No comment Comparable
‫ودوت طلقة من بعيد‬ ‫الطلقة‬ collocation heard in the
on were heard n
distance
Collocation Free
‫ردد األخدود‬ Free and echoed in the Meaning shade of echo was not
18 ،‫رددها األخدود‬ ... not 0 combinatio 2 Diverse
‫الصدى‬ 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 .‫فارتجف‬ ‫ارتجف خوفا‬ 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 إنك خائف‬ “Didn’t I say you “Did I tell you that
Free Free Free
20 ‫ إنني أشعر بالبرد‬،‫أرجوك‬ ‫شعر بالبرد‬ are afraid?” 2 you’re afraid?” 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation collocation
.‫فقط‬ “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 only.” cold.”
“Look! Don’t “Look, don’t you
you feel feel that there’s ST expression is about fear not
‫ أال تشعر بشيء جديد‬:‫انظر‬ something new Free something new whisper. By using scared, both
Free Free
21 ‫هذه الليله؟‬ ‫صوت خائف‬ to-night?” combinati 0 going on this 2 meaning and the effect of Diverse
collocation collocation
‫ما هو؟ قالها بصوت خائف‬ “What is it?” He on evening?” everyday language register were
said in a “What is it?” he conveyed to TT.
whisper. asked scared.
In Arabic, sky rains. In English,
‫لقد أمطرت السماء في‬ ‫أمطرت‬ Free “It rained Restricted “It rained this Restricted however, sky is usually omitted,
22 2 2 Comparable
.‫النهار‬ ‫السماء‬ collocation during the day.” collocation morning.” collocation and English speakers usually say it
rains rather than the sky rains.
Version one uses article the
profusely. The color of rain is
“So?” better than the color of the rain
“So?”
“Don’t you see from English native speakers'
‫إذن؟‬ Free “Don’t you feel Free
‫شعر بلون‬ Free the colour of viewpoints. In addition, the use of
23 ‫أال تشعر بلون المطر الذي‬ combinati 1 that the rain’s combinatio 2 Diverse
‫المطر‬ collocation the rain which ‫ لون المطر‬in 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 المطر‬ Free even the colour
24 ..‫حتى لون القمر‬ combinati 1 even the moon?” combinatio 2 profusely. This is again a new Diverse
‫لون القمر‬ 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 .‫وأشار بيده إلى القمر‬ ‫أشار إلى القمر‬ 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 you “Hey! Trust me, the context without adding the
‫األفضل أن تترك يدك على‬ ‫ترك يده على‬ Free keep your hand Free it’s better if you Free phrase "of your gun". When the
26 1 2 Diverse
.‫زناد بندقيتك‬ ‫زناد البندقية‬ 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! Don’t you
“Oh! Don’t you
see how
see how
wonderful
wonderful
‫ أال تنظر ما أروع كل‬..‫أوه‬ everything is ..?
Free Free everything is? Free
27 ‫؟ هل تخيلت عمرك‬..‫شيء‬ ‫منظرا ساحرا‬ Have you ever 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation Have you ever collocation
..‫منظرا ساحرا كهذا‬ imagined a
imagined seeing
magic scene
such a beautiful
like this in your
scene?...
life?
The moon sends 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
‫القمر يرسل ضوءه كشالل‬ ‫أرسل القمر‬ Figurative Free Free
28 like rain water 2 like the rain 2 personification in the ST Comparable
،‫المطر الذي تساقط نهارا‬ ‫ضوءه‬ 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,
‫انطلقت‬ look like the they look like the
‫حتى النجوم تشبه انطالقة‬ Figurative Free Free Usually, raindrops fall from the
29 ‫قطرات المطر‬ 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 you can’t feel it, The form 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 ‫ تقضي فيه أعواما‬has an emphasis on
،‫إن للمطر لونا ال تشعر به‬ falls upon. I creatures that fall sea, and this focus was not
‫ وتود تلك‬،‫إال عندما توده‬ never got into it. When I provided in TT1 (spent years), but
‫ لم‬،‫األحياء التي يتساقط فيها‬ affected by the was a sailor, I this sense component was
‫أكن أتأثر بالقمر أو المطر‬ ‫قضى في‬ Free moon or the Free never thought Free reserved by the addition of “on
30 1 2 Comparable
‫ كان ذلك‬،‫وأنا في الباخرة‬ ‫البحر أعواما‬ collocation rain when I was collocation about the moon collocation it” in “to spend years on it”. In
‫ أنت ال‬،‫يذكرني بالقرية‬ on the ship; it or the rain. They addition, the collocational unit in
‫ أن‬..‫تعرف معنى البحر‬ always would have only TT1 has a mistranslation in the
،‫تقضي فيه أعواما‬ 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
don’t know the don’t know 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
‫الشمس تشوي‬ Figurative the sun roasts Figurative the sun Figurative
31 ،‫تشويك الشمس‬ 2 2 sound figurative. The sun usually Diverse
‫بحرارتها‬ collocation you collocation barbecues you, collocation
burns.
and the
evenings and the night .. the night swallows you into its
‫المساء يلتهمك‬ Figurative Figurative Figurative
32 ،‫ويلتهمك المساء بصمته‬ swallow you 1 swallows you 2 silence is better than the evenings Diverse
‫بصمته‬ 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
‫كنت مستعدا لدفع حياتي‬ Figurative to pay my life Figurative Figurative
33 ‫دفع حياته ثمنا‬ 1 give my life for a 2 my life for something not pay my Diverse
.‫ثمنا لمنظر كهذا‬ collocation for a scene like collocation collocation
scene like this. life for it.
this.
Don’t you see Don’t you see the Both mountain tops and
‫أال تالحظ قمم الجبال‬ ‫الحظ قمم‬ Free Restricted Restricted
34 the mountain 2 mountain peaks 2 mountain peaks are good Diverse
‫المقابلة؟‬ ‫الجبال‬ collocation collocation collocation
tops? in front of us? collocations.
They are as They are very Comparing a mountain peak to
،‫إنها واضحة كل الوضوح‬
‫واضحة كل‬ Free clear as crystal Figurative vivid in all their Free crystal to show how they are
35 ،‫ انظر هنالك‬.‫بكل تفاصيلها‬ 2 2 Diverse
‫الوضوح‬ collocation with all their collocation details. Look over collocation clear. Very vivid is also a good
.‫سأدفع حياتي ثمنا لهذا‬
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
‫ كنت أظنها مجرد‬،‫يا إلهي‬ Free Free joining the army Free meaning. Joining the army serves
36 ‫حمل السالح‬ only an 2 2 Comparable
‫ أن أحمل السالح‬،‫مغامرة‬ 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
‫وأمضي وأنشد أناشيد‬ ‫أنشد أناشيد‬ Free sing Free and sing songs of Free
37 2 2 No comment Diverse
،‫الثورة‬ ‫الثورة‬ 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,
‫كتلك التي كنت أسمعها من‬ the revolution,
Napoleon, ‘the
،‫عمال الموانئ في فرنسا‬ Napoleon and
Marseillaise.’ But
‫ ونابليون‬،‫عن الثورة‬ ‫القمر يكشف‬ Figurative Marseilles but Figurative Figurative
38 2 did the French 2 Personification Comparable
‫ ولكن هل‬،‫والمارسيلييز‬ ‫كل شيء‬ collocation have they seen collocation collocation
‫رأوا شيئا رائعا كهذا؟ إن‬ ever see anything
anything as
...‫القمر يكشف لك كل شيء‬ wonderful like
wonderful as
this? The moon
this? The moon
reveals
reveals
everything for
everything to
you, yes,
you, yes
everything…”
everything.
Transferring the Arabic and into
And he pressed
‫ضغط على‬ Free Free Then he fired his Restricted English may affect the English
39 ،‫ ضغط على زناد بندقيته‬..‫و‬ the trigger of 1 2 Diverse
‫الزناد‬ 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
‫ردد الجبل‬ Figurative Free the mountain Free and lose style in literary
40 ،‫وردد الجبل الصدى‬ echoed the 1 2 Diverse
‫الصدى‬ 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
‫وارتجف الجسد الممدد‬ Free Free and the body by Restricted uncontrollable manner, English
41 ‫ارتجف خوفا‬ beside him 1 2 Diverse
.‫بجانبه‬ collocation collocation his side trembled. collocation speakers usually say he trembled
shook.
with fear. Shaking of fear is
acceptable collocation.
“What’s wrong
“What’s wrong?
with you? Are you
Are you crazy?”
‫ هل جننت؟‬..‫مالك‬ Free Free crazy?” he asked. Free
42 ‫القمر رائع‬ “No … nothing. 2 2 No comment Comparable
،‫ القمر رائع‬،‫ ال شيء‬..‫ال‬ collocation collocation “No, no. It’s just collocation
The moon is
that the moon’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 ،‫لقد هوى‬ ‫هوى القمر‬ 2 2 Diverse
collocation down. collocation horizon; collocation When the moon gets down at the
same night, it is … and it sets and
rises.
ST speaker emphasizes how much
he loves the moon in comparison
Don’t you
to the sun shines in Aden. In
notice
can’t you see English, adoring something is to
‫ألم تالحظ شيئا؟ لذلك أنا‬ Figurative anything? Free Free
44 ‫عبد القمر‬ 2 that? So I worship 2 love or venerate deeply. To Diverse
،‫أعبد القمر‬ collocation That’s why 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 ،‫الضوء الخافت‬ ‫الضوء الخافت‬ the dim light. 2 the soft light. 2 Diverse
collocation collocation collocation collocates for light.
It does not give It doesn’t give
you the whole you the full
،‫إنه ال يعطيك كل الصورة‬ Free Free Free Both whole and full collocates
46 ‫كل الصورة‬ picture, the 2 picture, the 2 Diverse
،‫الظالل تكفي‬ 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
Don’t shake like Don’t tremble, my living in Aden because the
،‫ال ترتجف هكذا يا عزيزي‬ this, my dear. friend. You’re just weather is hot. This point is not
Free Free Free
47 – ‫أنت لم تتعود البرد في‬ ‫تعود البرد‬ You are not 2 not used to the 2 clearly suggested in TT1 using Comparable
collocation collocation collocation
،– ‫عدن‬ 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 ‫شمس مضيئة‬ 2 shining all the 2 No comment Comparable
collocation always shining collocation collocation
time,
Free Free
‫الشمس تثير‬ Free but it depresses but sometimes it
49 ،‫ولكنها تثير الضيق أحيانا‬ combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
‫الضيق‬ collocation you sometimes. is a bother.
on n
You have not Free Free
Free You’ve never seen
50 ‫أنت لم تر جبال الثلج؛‬ ‫جبال الثلج‬ seen the snowy combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
collocation an iceberg.
mountains. on n
I worked twenty
years there as a I’ve seen in my
seaman; I saw twenty years as a
all the seas and sailor, all the seas
Free Free
‫إال أن أكون جنديا في‬ ‫جندي في‬ Free heard all the and heard all the
51 combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
،‫صفوف الثورة‬ ‫صفوف الثورة‬ 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
‫تلك آخر أسطورة كنت‬ legend I Free version two. Sometimes
‫حدثت‬ Free story I imagined Free
52 ‫ ولكنها‬،‫أتصور حدوثها‬ imagined to combinati 2 2 repetitive words or phrases does Comparable
‫أسطورة‬ 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.
“Listen, my The young man
dear, I have said, “Listen,
Both good shooter and good
heard this friend, I’ve heard
‫ لقد سمعت‬،‫اسمع يا عزيزي‬ sniper are good collocations.
twenty times Free you say this for
‫ ولكنك‬،‫ذلك للمرة العشرين‬ Free Free Shooter may not mean shooting
53 ‫رام جيد‬ but it is the first combinati 2 the twentieth 2 Diverse
‫ألول مرة تثبت لي بأنك رام‬ collocation collocation from a hidden place at a long
.‫جيد‬ time that you on time. But for the
range as sniper. This is not clearly
have proved to first time, you’ve
suggested by ‫ رام جيد‬in 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
‫ أو لعله قد‬،‫لعله يتألم هناك‬ down. Version two uses the
Free or he may be Free in pain, or maybe Free
54 ‫ لم‬،‫ لم أالحظ أي شيء‬.‫مات‬ ‫هوى القمر‬ 2 2 pronoun in the phrase it fell down Diverse
collocation dead. I didn’t collocation it died, I can’t tell. collocation
.‫أره إال بعد أن هوى‬ to refer to the thing that was hit
notice anything I didn’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 قال‬،‫وصمت قليال‬ then said: “But then went on,
‫– ولكنك كنت تعيد علي كل‬ you were “But you’re
‫ والقمر هو‬،‫ذلك من جديد‬ repeating all repeating all of
‫غرق في‬ Figurative Figurative Figurative
55 ‫ الذي يوجد في كل‬،‫القمر‬ that again, the 2 that again. The 2 No comment Diverse
‫األوحال‬ collocation collocation collocation
‫ ال‬..‫ليلة والنجم واألمطار‬ moon is the moon is the
‫شيء إال أنني غرقت في‬ moon, it is moon, the same
‫األوحال‬ 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)
rains … Nothing 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
‫وأنا أطارد ذلك األرنب‬ ‫طارد أرنبا‬ Free Free that damn rabbit Free deleted the modifier damn. TT2
56 that rabbit this 2 2 Diverse
،‫اللعين ظهر اليوم‬ ‫لعينا‬ collocation collocation that showed up collocation however has another strategy to
afternoon.
this afternoon. keep a comparable effect of ST.
‫لقد كنت أرسم في مخيلتي‬ ‫رسم في‬ Figurative I was drawing a Free I was imagining a Free TT2 sounds more effective and
57 2 2 Diverse
‫مائدة لذيذة‬ ‫مخيلته‬ collocation picture collocation delicious meal collocation accurate than TT1.
of a roasted
Free Free Free
58 ،‫ألرنب مشوي‬ ‫أرنب مشوي‬ rabbit for my 2 of grilled rabbit, 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
meal
but got nothing
‫ولكني لم أجد سوى الخبز‬ Free I got only dry Free Restricted Both dry or stale bread are good
59 ‫خبز يابس‬ 2 except stale 2 Diverse
!‫اليابس‬ collocation bread! collocation collocation collocations
bread!”
Free A cold wind Restricted Restricted
60 ‫وهبت رياح باردة‬ ‫هبت الرياح‬ 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 ‫كان لها صرير‬ ‫صرير الرياح‬ 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
‫تعبر شقوق‬ Free that shattered Restricted as it passed the Free
62 ،‫وهي تعبر شقوق األخدود‬ 1 2 figurative language… but the Diverse
‫األخدود‬ 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.
‫ردد الجبل‬ Free The mountain Free
63 ‫وردد الجبل صدى‬ repeated the combinati 1 2 Therefore it is more effective to Diverse
‫الصدى‬ collocation echoed collocation
echo on use the mountain echoed than
the mountain repeated the echo.
A human usually shouts or cries.
‫اإلنسان‬ Free of a human Free the shout of a Free If in a difficult situation, he cries.
64 ‫إنسان يصرخ‬ 2 2 Diverse
‫يصرخ‬ 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
‫ فمات‬،‫لم يجب عليه أحد‬ Figurative Figurative Nobody answered Figurative
65 ‫مات الصدى‬ answered it and 1 2 No comment Diverse
‫الصدى‬ collocation collocation it, the echo died, collocation
so it died.
Free
Free and the man fell Free The first version has an omission
66 ،‫وهوى إنسان في القاع‬ ‫هوى إنسان‬ 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 ‫وارتطم حجر‬ ‫ارتطم الحجر‬ ... not 0 2 Diverse
collocation against the rocks collocation of this element.
translated
Free in the deep Restricted in the deep Restricted
68 ‫في الوادي العميق‬ ‫واد عميق‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation valley. collocation valley. collocation
“Listen, Listen, do
“listen! Listen!
you feel
‫ هل تحس‬.. ‫ اسمع‬،‫اسمع‬ Do you feel Free The meaning of fear was
Free something?” the Free
69 ‫بشيء؟‬ ‫صوت خائف‬ anything?” combinati 2 2 compensated by using the word Diverse
collocation young man asked. collocation
،‫كان صوته خائفا‬ 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 .‫وشد بقوة على البندقية‬ ‫شد بقوة‬ 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.
“Don’t fear, it is “Don’t be afraid, Roaring can also collocate with a
‫ال تخف إنه صوت هدير‬ Free Free Free
71 ‫هدير المياه‬ the sound of 1 it’s the sound of 1 lion's sound, the sound of an Diverse
،‫المياه‬ collocation collocation collocation
running water, roaring water, engine or vehicle, or the sound of
water. “The sound of running
water” in TT1 has a more general
translation and is also acceptable.
72 ،‫إنه السيل القادم من الشمال‬ ‫السيل قادم‬ 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
‫كانت الغيوم تغطي كل‬ ‫الغيوم تغطي‬ Free covered the Free covered that Free
73 2 2 morning or the morning Comparable
،‫المنطقة منذ الصباح‬ ‫المنطقة‬ collocation place since collocation whole area this collocation
morning morning.
and this Free
‫المياه قادمة‬ Free Here come those Free Water may not collocate with
74 ‫هذه المياه القادمة بصخب‬ approaching combinati 1 2 Diverse
‫بصخب‬ collocation waters, violently, collocation approaching...
water on
Compound words such as rainfall
‫هي حصيلة األمطار التي‬ Free is the rainfall Restricted after all that Restricted
75 ‫هطل المطر‬ 2 2 are considered restricted Diverse
،‫هطلت‬ collocation water. collocation rainfall, collocation
collocations???
Don’t you hear Free
Free don’t you feel its Free Suggested translation: don’t you
76 ،‫أال تشعر بصوتها العذب‬ ‫مياه عذبة‬ its sweet combinati 2 2 Diverse
collocation great presence? collocation hear the water murmuring…
sound? on
The word “‫ ”هدير‬in 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 ‫يخيل إلي كأنه هدير جنود‬ ‫هدير جنود‬ 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
‫ دونما‬،‫يزحفون إلى الهدف‬ ‫زحف الجنود‬ Free Free Restricted
78 a goal, without 2 the target, 2 effect by using a more restricted Diverse
،‫خوف‬ ‫بال خوف‬ collocation collocation collocation
any fear, fearlessly. collocation, creeping... fearlessly.
breaking the They tear silence
Figurative Figurative Figurative
79 ،‫يمزقون الصمت والجبن‬ ‫مزق الصمت‬ silence and 2 and cowardliness 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
cowardice; to shreds.
they have
forgotten They forget
everything even everything, even
‫ حتى‬،‫لقد تناسوا كل شيء‬ Free Free Restricted
80 ‫اندفع الجنود‬ their existence. 2 their existence. 2 No comment Diverse
،‫ إنهم يندفعون‬،‫وجودهم‬ 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 واحد يتشجع ألن‬ because there is the others at his
Free Free Free
81 ‫ لو كان‬،‫اآلخرين بجانبه‬ ‫فر الجنود‬ someone beside 2 side. If a soldier 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
.. ‫ لفر‬.. ‫وحيدا‬ 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 .‫ولكنهم جموع‬ ‫جموع الجنود‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation are a crowd. collocation crowd, collocation
Do you know, you know, they’re
they are more more than one
‫ إنهم أكثر من‬،‫أتدري‬
‫ارتطم الجنود‬ Free than one. Do Free person. Don’t you Free
83 ‫ أتسمع‬،‫شخص واحد‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫بالجبال‬ collocation you hear their collocation hear them collocation
‫ارتطامهم بالجبال؟‬
beats against crashing against
the mountains? the mountains?
Even the fall of
Even the falling
‫وحتى تساقط األشجار ال‬ ‫تساقطت‬ Free the trees does Free Free Mother tongue interference of
84 2 trees don’t 2 Diverse
،‫تهمهم‬ ‫األشجار‬ collocation not matter to collocation collocation the in TT1.
bother them.
them,
they are They’re
moving, each compelled.
‫ كل واحد‬،‫إنهم يندفعون‬
Free one Free Everyone is Free
85 ‫ دونما‬،‫يشجع اآلخرين‬ ‫اندفع الجنود‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation encouraging the collocation encouraging the collocation
.‫ دونما خوف‬.‫خوف‬
other with no other, fearlessly,
fear.” defiantly.”
The flood had The flood
‫بلغ السيل‬ Free Free Free
86 ،‫وكان السيل قد بلغ الوادي‬ reached the 2 reached the 2 No comment Diverse
‫الوادي‬ collocation collocation collocation
valley; valley.
they were lying
They were lying at
‫كانوا ممتدين على قمة‬ on the top of
‫اندفع الماء‬ Free Free the mountain’s Free
87 ‫الجبل وكان الماء يندفع‬ the mountain, 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫بشدة‬ collocation collocation peak. Water collocation
‫بشدة‬ 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
‫وقد حمل أمامه أشياء كثيرة‬ things but they
was in its way,
،‫لم يالحظوا منها شيئا‬ ‫ارتفعت المياه‬ Free could see Free Free
88 2 though they 2 No comment Diverse
‫والماء يرتفع وينخفض‬ ‫وانخفضت‬ collocation nothing. Water collocation collocation
،‫بعنف‬ didn’t notice.
went up and
Water rose and
down
fell violently.
The sound of its The second version has a more
and the sound
‫وصوت ارتطامه يرتفع‬ ‫ارتفع صوت‬ Free Free crashing reached Free effective style by using the form
89 of its splashing 2 2 Diverse
،‫ويرتفع‬ ‫المياه‬ collocation collocation higher and collocation higher and higher rather than
was increasing
higher; increasing.
to the point
they thought it Translation shift from figurative
‫التهمهم صوت‬ Figurative they thought it Free Figurative
90 .‫حتى ظنوا بأنه سيلتهمهم‬ 1 would swallow 2 collocation to free collocation in Diverse
‫المياه‬ collocation would drown collocation collocation
them. version one.
them
Free Then they were Translation shift from figurative
Figurative and they were Restricted
91 ‫وضمهم صمت عميق‬ ‫صمت عميق‬ combinati 1 embraced in a 2 collocation to free collocation in Diverse
collocation silent collocation
on deep silence version one.
as the water
‫والماء يمضي من تحتهم‬ ‫مضى الماء‬ Figurative Restricted and water passed Restricted
92 flowed below 2 2 No comment Diverse
،‫بعيدا‬ ‫بعيدا‬ collocation collocation beneath them, collocation
them
slithering away
‫ثعبان‬ Free like a legendary Free Free
93 ‫كثعبان أسطوري‬ 2 like a mythical 2 No comment Diverse
‫اسطوري‬ collocation snake collocation collocation
snake
that has
Free Free Free
94 ‫خرج فجأة‬ ‫خرج فجأة‬ 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 ‫من أعماق الجبال‬ ‫أعماق الجبال‬ depths of the 2 2 Diverse
collocation collocation mountain collocation the in TT1.
mountains
after being after having been
imprisoned for imprisoned for
‫ وراح‬،‫بعد سجن دام قرونا‬ Free Free Free
96 ‫دام قرونا‬ centuries and 2 centuries. It 2 No comment Comparable
..‫يحطم 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
him, we don’t water. We don’t
‫ ال ندري‬،‫ونحن أيضا مثله‬ know what is know what is
Free Free Free
97 ‫ ولكننا‬،‫ما يلتهم أمامنا‬ ‫مضى بعنف‬ devoured in 2 being swallowed 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
،‫نمضي بعنف‬ front of us and in front of us, but
we are moving we just keep
violently, going.
but because we
Because we’re
are a group we Free Free
‫ولكوننا مجموعة فنحن ال‬ Free together, we’re
98 ‫شعر بالخوف‬ are not afraid combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Comparable
.‫ ال يهمنا‬،‫نشعر بالخوف‬ collocation not afraid. We
and we don’t on n
don’t care,
care
and then we are
beaten. But this then we crash. It’s
is the beginning Free just the Free
،‫ إنها البداية‬،‫ثم نرتطم‬ ‫البداية عنيفة‬ Free
99 and the combinati 2 beginning, and combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
،‫والبداية عنيفة دونما حدود‬ ‫دونما حدود‬ collocation
beginning is on beginnings are n
always forceful, always violent.
with no limits,
and everything Everything is
‫ ما‬..‫كل شيء مباح وقانوني‬ is legal … And as permitted and
Free Free Free
100 ‫دمنا في النهاية سنسقي‬ ‫سقى الحقول‬ we reach the 2 legal. And as long 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation collocation
،‫حقوال‬ 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
‫وما دمنا نعطي الصحراء‬ happiness, our
carpet of
‫ بساطا‬،‫لون اخضرار رائع‬ rush will not
happiness, if we
‫ إن اندفاعنا لن‬،‫من السعادة‬ ‫بساطا من‬ Figurative Figurative continue for long. Figurative
101 push on it will 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫ سنهدأ بعد‬،‫يستمر طويال‬ ‫السعادة‬ collocation collocation We will calm collocation
not take long
‫ ولكن سنعطي األرض‬،‫قليل‬ down after a
.‫لونا آخر! حياة أخرى‬ and we will
while, but we will
calm down
give the soil a
soon, but we
different color! A
will give the
different life.”
earth another

69
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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 .‫وساد صمت‬ ‫ساد الصمت‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation prevailed. collocation continued, collocation
Figurative The moon was Figurative the moon was Figurative
103 .‫وكان القمر حنونا‬ ‫القمر حنون‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation affectionate collocation kind, collocation
‫مضى السيل‬ Figurative and the flood Figurative the flood passed Figurative
104 .‫والسيل قد مضى بعيدا‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫بعيدا‬ collocation has gone far. collocation away. collocation
“And what “But what about
about her, did her? Did you
‫وماذا عنها هل كتبت لها‬
Free you write to Free write anything?” Free
105 .‫شيئا‬ ‫مزق الرسالة‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation her?” collocation The young man collocation
.. ‫مزقت كل شيء‬
“I have torn up said, “I tore up
everything, everything.
with whom
Free Free How would I send Free
106 ‫مع من سأرسل رسائلي؟‬ ‫أرسل رسالة‬ 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
‫ ما‬.. ‫ إنها بعيدة اآلن‬.. ‫عدن‬
told her that I was. I said, I’ll
‫كان أغباني! قلت لها سأكتب‬ Free Free Free
107 ‫أعتبره بطال‬ will write to her 2 write her all the 2 No comment Diverse
‫ لعلها تعتبرني‬،‫لها دائما‬ collocation collocation collocation
often and now time. Perhaps she
،‫اآلن بطال‬
she will think I thinks I’m a hero
am a hero now
Usually English speakers say tell a
and expect me and waits for me story which has more frequency
‫وتنتظر مني أن أحكي لها‬ ‫حكى‬ Free to tell her Free to tell her stories Free than tell a legend. The former has
108 2 2 Diverse
،‫أساطير عن بطوالتي‬ ‫األساطير‬ 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 She wouldn’t frightened and is shivering in an
Free
‫إنها لن تصدق بأنني أرتجف‬ Free believe that I believe that I Free uncontrollable manner, English
109 ‫ارتجف خوفا‬ combinati 1 2 Diverse
،‫عند سماع طلق ناري‬ 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
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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)
‫انغرس‬ as if the bullet
‫كأن الرصاص ينغرس في‬ Figurative as if the bullet Free Free
110 ‫الرصاص في‬ 2 had entered deep 2 No comment Diverse
،‫أعماقي‬ collocation was inside me. collocation collocation
‫أعماقه‬ inside me.
You are older You’re older than
‫ لقد رأيت‬،‫أنت أكبر مني‬ Free than me, you Free me, you’ve seen Free
111 ‫عالم فسيح‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
،‫عوالم فسيحة‬ collocation have seen the collocation many vast collocation
world horizons.
and perhaps Perhaps you’re
‫ أما‬.‫ولعلك تسخر مني اآلن‬ Free Restricted Restricted
112 ‫سخر منه‬ you will laugh 2 making fun of me 2 No comment Diverse
.‫أنا‬ collocation collocation collocation
at me but me.” now… But I…”
Free And he laughed Free He laughed sadly Free
113 .‫وضحك بحزن‬ ‫ضحك بحزن‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation sadly. collocation and went on. collocation
Free Free
Free “I am only a
114 .. ‫أنا مجرد طفل‬ ‫مجرد طفل‬ combinati 2 “I’m just a kid. combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
collocation child
on n
who knows
Free Free
‫ال يجيد سوى الحساب‬ Free nothing except I only know math
115 ‫يجيد الكتابة‬ combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
‫والكتابة‬ collocation arithmetic and and writing
on n
writing…
The ST collocation ‫بحماس أجوف‬
(literally, talk enthusiastically) is
and to talk accounted for in the next text (it's
Collocation
‫ التحدث عن الوطنية‬... ‫و‬ Free about Free and talking about just the excitement of it all). This
116 ‫حماس أجوف‬ 2 not 2 Diverse
.. ‫بحماس أجوف‬ 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 الكبير في حياتي هو‬ am here. I was fact that I’m here.
‫ كنت مستعجال في‬.‫أنني هنا‬ in a hurry to I made this The first version has changed
،‫ لو فكرت قليال‬،‫قراري هذا‬ Free
Free decide on this; decision without Free patriotism to nationality to avoid
117 ‫ لما كنت هنا – إنه‬،‫قليال فقط‬ ‫مل الناس‬ combinati 2 2 Diverse
collocation if I had thought thinking. If I had collocation redundancy. However, TT2 is of
‫ أنا الذي تحدث في‬،‫الحماس‬ on
‫الوطنية حتى مل الناس‬ a little I thought for just a more pragmatic impact.
،‫منه‬ wouldn’t be moment, I
here. It was my wouldn’t be
enthusiasm and here—it’s just the

71
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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 couldn’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
‘volunteer, from it am I?
volunteer’ and I Everyone said
volunteered. I ‘Volunteer,
have been volunteer,’ and so
‫ كيف‬،‫وها هي ذي الثورة‬ married for only I volunteered. I’d
‫أقف بعيدا عنها؟ كثيرون‬ a month; I only been married
،‫ تطوع‬،‫قالوا لي تطوع‬ didn’t think of a few months. I
‫ لم يمض على‬،‫وتطوعت‬ her and her didn’t think of my
‫ لم أفكر‬،‫زواجي سوى أشهر‬ father said not bride. Her father
‫ ال‬،‫ قال لي والدها‬،‫فيها‬ to worry, he told me, ‘Don’t
Grammatical mistake of the
‫ وقال‬...،‫ أنا هنا‬..،‫تخف‬ relative clause what is war and
‫شعر بطعم‬ Figurative was there and Figurative worry, I’ll be Free
118 ..‫ نحن هنا‬،‫األصدقاء‬ 2 2 what is fear. TT2 captures the Diverse
‫الحياة‬ collocation the friends said collocation here.’ My friends collocation
‫ ستخجل مني لو‬،‫وهاأنذا‬ intent of the author in terms of
‫ وما‬،‫قلت لها ما هي الحرب‬ they were there said, ‘We’ll be
form, style and content.
،‫ أقول لنفسي‬..‫هو الخوف‬ and so I am here.’ And here I
‫ لكني‬.‫إنني أخاف من أجلها‬ here. She will am. She would be
‫ إن طعم الحياة أشعر‬.‫كاذب‬ feel ashamed of me, if
‫ عند كل‬..‫به هنا على لساني‬ embarrassed if I I told her what
.‫طلقة رصاص‬ tell her what is war is and what
war and what is fear is. I say to
fear. I therefore myself, I’m afraid
tell myself that I for her sake, but
am afraid for I’m 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
‫دوى طلق‬ Free Another shot Free
119 ،‫ودوى طلق ناري‬ ... not 1 2 Omission Diverse
‫ناري‬ collocation sounded. collocation
translated
Free
Free Free
120 ،‫وارتجف‬ ‫ارتجف خوفا‬ I shake combinati 1 He trembled, 2 Omission Diverse
collocation collocation
on
Figurative and my mouth Figurative and his throat Figurative
121 .‫وجف ريقه‬ ‫جف ريقه‬ 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 ،‫لقد هوى‬ ‫هوى القمر‬ 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...
They’re so
and they are
wicked. They
smart, they
‫ يعرفون أن‬،‫إنهم مالعين‬ ‫القمر يكشف‬ Figurative Figurative know that the Figurative
123 know that the 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫القمر يكشف القمم‬ ‫القمم‬ collocation collocation moonlight collocation
moon reveals
uncovers the
the peaks
peaks,
Free so they climb Free and then they can Figurative
124 ،‫فيتسلقون الصخور‬ ‫تسلق الصخور‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation the rocks, collocation climb the rocks collocation
Free searching for Free and search for Free
125 ،‫ويبحثون عن فجوات‬ ‫بحث عن فجوة‬ 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 point of cultural
but it has gone. But he fell down.
‫ هل تشعر‬،‫ولكنه هوى‬ Figurative Figurative Free diversity, and the translator
126 ‫هوى القمر‬ Do you feel 2 Is something 2 Diverse
‫بشيء؟‬ collocation collocation collocation should be aware so as to avoid
anything?” wrong?”
any probable error. As the focus
is on the collocational expression
here, both translations have no

73
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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, no I am
‫ إنني خائف حتى‬.. ‫ ال‬، ‫ال‬ ‫خائف حتى‬ Idiomatic Idiomatic “No, no. I’m Idiomatic
127 frightened to 2 2 No comment Diverse
.. ‫الموت‬ ‫الموت‬ collocation collocation scared to death.” collocation
death.”
“No, don’t say
that, and “Don’t say that.
‫ استمر في‬،‫ ال تقل ذلك‬،‫ال‬ ‫استمر في‬ Free continue Free Keep on talking Free
128 2 2 Spoken register Diverse
..‫ كأن شيئا لم يحدث‬،‫حديثك‬ ‫الحديث‬ collocation talking as if collocation as if nothing collocation
nothing happened.”
happened.”
“You are a
different
person, you are
fighting today
and you have
fought before
and may be
The sailor
many times.”
‫ قاتلت‬،‫أنت شخص آخر‬ laughed. “On
The seaman
،‫ وقاتلت من قبل‬،‫اليوم‬ many a side and
laughed, “With
.‫وربما أكثر من مرة‬ without any
more than one
‫ ومع‬:‫ضحك البحار قائال‬ reason. But today,
side and with
‫ وبدون‬،‫أكثر من جهة‬ I’m fighting for
no reason, but Shift in tone in pursuit of the
‫ فأنا أحارب‬،‫ أما اليوم‬.‫مبرر‬ Free Restricted something. Restricted
129 ‫مهرب أسلحة‬ today I am 2 2 narrator’s soul searching efforts Comparable
‫ ربما كان‬..‫من أجل شيء‬ collocation collocation Perhaps I fought collocation
fighting for is better expressed in TT2.
‫ في‬،‫ذلك هو لون المطر‬ before with the
‫ من قبل حاربت مع‬.‫بالدنا‬ something.
Italians and after
‫ ثم عدت‬،‫اإليطاليين‬ Perhaps it is the
that I fought with
‫ ثم‬،‫فحاربت مع اإلنجليز‬ colour of the
the English, and
،‫عملت مهربا لألسلحة‬ 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 didn’t feel
130 ،‫ولكني لم أشعر بأي لذة‬ ‫شعر بلذة‬ 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
‫ وال القمر أو‬،‫لم تكن الجبال‬ colour of the
the color of rain,
‫النجوم حتى وال لون المطر‬ rain affected
Figurative Restricted nothing in the Restricted
131 ‫ كنت‬،‫في بالد الناس تثيرني‬ ‫قمم عارية‬ me like this in 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation world excited me. collocation
،‫ هذا الهواء البارد‬،‫أحلم بهذا‬ those countries.
،‫هذه القمم العارية‬ 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,
،‫هؤالء السخفاء المتسللين‬ climbers, those and arms, and
،‫صائدي الذهب والسالح‬ ‫السخفاء‬ Free gold and arm Free stupidity! Those Free
132 1 2 No comment Diverse
‫ والحالمين بعيد‬،‫والغباء‬ ‫المتسللين‬ collocation hunters, and collocation dreamers of the collocation
،‫الثورة‬ the dreamers of revolution and
revolution – the holiday
commemorating
it.
I dreamt of all I dreamt of all of
of them but I them. I didn’t
‫ ولم‬،‫حلمت بكل هؤالء‬ never knew that know that under
‫ وتحت هذه‬،‫أعرف بأنني‬ under this rain, this rain, my
،‫ أمطار بالدي‬،‫األمطار‬ the rain of my Free country’s rain, I’d Free
Free
133 ‫ إيه يا‬،‫سأكون أنا صائدا‬ ‫حصى الشاطئ‬ country, I will combinati 1 be a hunter. Yes, combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
collocation
‫ عرفت صفة موانئ‬..‫بني‬ be the hunter. on my son, I knew n
‫ نمت على‬،‫الدنيا كلها‬ Yes my boy, I streets in ports all
،‫حصاها‬ 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
،‫تشردت في أزقة مارسيليا‬ stayed hungry,
Marseilles. I was
‫ عملت أياما‬،‫وكنت جائعا‬ hungry. I worked
Free and I worked Restricted Restricted
134 ،‫ في مخازن الفحم‬،‫وليالي‬ ‫لهيب الفرن‬ 2 days and nights. I 2 No comment Diverse
collocation day and night in collocation collocation
‫ وتحت‬،‫وعند لهيب األفران‬ worked in coal
،‫سماء مثلجة‬ 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
‫عرفت معنى أن تحارب‬ means to fight a
fight a war that
،‫حربا ليست هي حربك‬ Figurative Figurative war that is not Restricted
135 ‫وجه جائع‬ is not yours. It is 2 2 No comment Comparable
‫صعب أن ترى وجوها‬ collocation collocation your war. It’s collocation
،‫جائعة‬ difficult to see
difficult to see
hungry faces,
hungry faces
and now, don’t
and … now … I you want me to
shall tell all this shout happily
to all the here, ‘I’m so
people, happy, I’m so
،‫ سأقص كل هذا‬..‫ اآلان‬..‫و‬ everywhere. happy!’ I’ll tell
‫ آه‬.‫لكل الناس وفي كل مكان‬ Ah, how much I this to all the
‫لكم كنت أخجل أن أقول لهم‬ Free detested telling Restricted people Restricted
136 ‫قص القصص‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
‫ فلن‬،‫ أما اآلن‬،‫من أين أنا‬ collocation them who I was collocation everywhere. Oh. collocation
‫ بل سأقص‬،‫أخجل مطلقا‬ but now I don’t How ashamed I
،‫عليهم قصتك‬ feel ashamed at was to tell them
all; on the where I’m from,
contrary, I will but now, I won’t
tell them your be ashamed at all,
story, but I’ll tell them
your story.
‫ابن – عدن – النائم شبه‬
Free the son of Restricted The son of Aden, Restricted
137 ‫ فوق قمم‬،‫عار وجائع‬ ‫قمم الجبال‬ 2 2 Grammatical shift Comparable
collocation Aden, who collocation who sits nearly collocation
،‫الجبال‬
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 برد لم يعرف طعمه‬ ‫برد لم يعرف‬ Figurative Figurative Compare the effect of both
138 experienced combinati 1 taste he doesn’t 2 Diverse
،‫يتغذى بالخبز وحده‬ ‫طعمه‬ collocation collocation translations.
before, who on know,
eats dry bread
eating only dry
Free and dreams of a Restricted bread, and Restricted
139 ،‫ويحلم بأرنب مشوي‬ ‫أرنب مشوي‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation roasted rabbit collocation dreaming of collocation
grilled rabbit,
and who writes
writing imaginary
imaginary
‫ويكتب رسائل خيالية المرأة‬ Free Restricted letters to an Restricted
140 ‫رسالة خيالية‬ letters to a 2 2 No comment Comparable
.‫أكثر خياال‬ collocation collocation imaginary collocation
more imaginary
woman.”
wife.”
“I’m not lying.”
“I am not lying.” “I didn’t say you
..‫إنني ال أكذب‬ “I didn’t say so. were. Everything
‫أصبحت‬ Free Free
‫ كل شيء‬،‫لم أقل لك ذلك‬ Free Everything here here is real, to the TT2 has a better effect than TT1
141 ‫الواقعية ال‬ combinati 1 combinatio 2 Diverse
‫هنا واقعي حتى أصبحت‬ collocation is true so truth degree that in terms of style.
‫تصدق‬ on n
!‫الواقعية ال تصدق‬ itself cannot be reality isn’t
believed! believable
anymore!”
Their eyes Their eyes
searched for searched for
something in something in
‫عيناهما تبحث عن شيء‬ front of them – front of them,
‫ شيء غير‬،‫أمامهما‬
Free something Restricted something other Restricted
142 ،‫ أو لون المطر‬،‫الصمت‬ ‫دبيب األقدام‬ 2 2 Accuracy is compromised in TT1. Diverse
collocation other than collocation than silence or collocation
‫شيء كانا يحسان بدبيب‬
‫أقدامه يتقدم‬ 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 ‫كنصل حاد‬ ‫نصل حاد‬ 2 like a sharp arrow 2 Both are creative translations. Diverse
collocation sharp thorn collocation collocation
Figurative that implants Figurative Figurative
144 .‫يزرع الموت‬ ‫يزرع الموت‬ 2 planting death. 2 No comment Diverse
collocation death. collocation collocation
And the flow The valley under Free
‫وكان الوادي من تحتهما‬ Figurative Figurative
145 ‫مضى الوادي‬ under them had 2 them looked far combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
‫يمضي بعيدا‬ collocation collocation
gone far away, n
‫فقد الوادي‬ after losing its it had lost its
Figurative Figurative Free
146 ،‫وقد فقد قوته األسطورية‬ ‫قوته‬ legendary 2 imaginary 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
‫األسطورية‬ power; strength.
it was clam now
‫ يمضى إلى‬،‫كان هادئا‬ Free Free It calmly led Free
147 ‫هدوء الوادي‬ moving 2 2 No comment Diverse
،‫الجنوب‬ collocation collocation southward. collocation
southwards.
Nobody knew
where it started Nobody knows
and where it where that valley
‫ال أحد فيهم يعرف من أين‬ TT1 has some vagueness, created
ended and they starts or ends.
‫ وإن‬،‫يبتدئ وال أين ينتهي‬ ‫األرض‬ Free by long sentences copying the
Figurative knew well what Figurative Even if they knew
148 ‫كانو يعرفون تماما ما يريد‬ ‫تحتضن‬ 1 combinatio 2 Arabic style. TT2 features clear Diverse
collocation it wanted to collocation it wouldn’t
‫ ويعرفون األرض‬،‫أن يعطيه‬ ‫الوادي وتقبله‬ n departure from ST, but is more
...‫التي تحتضنه وتقبله‬ give and the matter, what’s
effective than TT1.
earth that important is that
embraced it it provides.
and kissed it.”
The creeping
Free The footsteps Free Free
149 ،‫كان الدبيب يقترب‬ ‫اقترب الدبيب‬ 2 sound got closer, 2 No comment Diverse
collocation came close collocation collocation
closer,
ST collocation ‫ لون القمر يصغر‬is 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
‫صغر لون‬ Figurative moonlight Restricted the moon Restricted
150 ..‫وكان لون القمر يصغر‬ 2 2 color to convey a sense Diverse
‫القمر‬ 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
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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 was on a “Something
seaport, I was happened in a
‫ كنت‬،‫كان ذلك في ميناء‬
‫وريقات‬ Figurative young and my Free port. I was a Free
151 ‫ في يدي وريقات‬،‫حينها شابا‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫خضراء‬ collocation hands full of red collocation young man with collocation
،‫خضراء وحمراء‬
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 ،‫وفي أعماقي تتفجر رجولة‬ ‫يتفجر رجولة‬ manhood 1 2 Diverse
collocation collocation impulses were collocation manhood and strength of youth.
exploding.
erupting;
I did not extend I hadn’t yet sold
Figurative Free Figurative
153 ،‫لم أكن قد بعت ذراعي ألحد‬ ‫باع ذراعه‬ my arm to 2 my strength to 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
anyone, anybody.
Free I worked Free I worked Free
154 ،‫كنت أعمل بشرف‬ ‫عمل بشرف‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation honestly collocation honorably, collocation
‫عمل بعرقه‬ Figurative Free by sweat and Figurative
155 ،‫بعرقي وجهدي‬ and hard 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫وجهده‬ collocation collocation hard work. collocation
and I was happy
because I have I was happy that
left Yemen I’d left Yemen
‫وكنت فرحا ألني خلفت من‬ behind me, to behind me to see
‫ ألرى عالما‬،‫ورائي اليمن‬ see a new a new world full
‫خلفت من‬ Free Free Free
156 ‫ كله أضواء وصراخ‬،‫جديدا‬ world, full of 2 of lights and noise 2 No comment Comparable
‫ورائي اليمن‬ collocation collocation collocation
‫ أقل ما تصورته أنهم‬،‫وأناس‬ light, and and people. The
.‫من نوع المالئكة‬ sounds and least of these I
people I thought were
thought were angels.
angels.
On that night
On that night, in
‫ وفي ذلك‬،‫في تلك الليلة‬ Figurative and on that Figurative Free
157 ‫فقد الرجولة‬ 2 that port, I lost 2 No comment Diverse
‫ فقدت رجولتي‬،‫الميناء‬ collocation port I lost my collocation collocation
my virginity
manhood
in the arms of in the arms of the
‫في أحضان أول امرأة‬ ‫في أحضان‬ Figurative Figurative Figurative
158 the first woman 2 first woman I 2 No comment Comparable
،‫صادفتها‬ ‫امرأة‬ collocation collocation collocation
I met. met.

79
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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
‫ أعطيتها‬،‫كانت عندها طفلة‬ Figurative Free gave her Free The condensed style of TT2 has a
159 ‫أعطاها أوراقه‬ had a child; I 1 2 Diverse
،‫بكرم كل أوراقي‬ 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
‫وأخذت منها أكثر من‬ I was in fever; I told me lots of Preposition of in TT2 phrase on
‫ قالت لي أشياء‬،‫رجولتي‬
Free had spent on Free things, but I didn’t Free board of the ship does not exist in
160 ،‫كثيرة لم أفهم منها شيئا‬ ‫على الباخرة‬ 2 2 Diverse
collocation the ship six collocation understand collocation the text. It is probably a typing
‫ لقد قضيت‬.‫كنت محموما‬
،‫على الباخرة ستة أشهر‬ months. anything. I had a mistake.
fever. I’d spent six
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 تعرف معنى الغربة؟‬ ‫معنى الغربة‬ the meaning of not 1 2 Diverse
collocation kind of collocation expressed in ST using the
that? translated
loneliness? rhetorical question ( ‫هل تعرف معنى‬
‫)الغربة؟‬, which is one of the major
themes of this short story and
Mohammed Abdul Wali’s writings
in general. Suggested translation:
Do you know the meaning of
alienation?

80
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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 didn’t know until
then, but I found
‫ ولكني لقيتها‬،‫لم أكن أعرفها‬
I didn’t but I Collocation it in the bed of
‫على سرير تلك المرأة في‬ Figurative Free There is omission in TT1. TT2
162 ‫قبلة كاذبة‬ discovered it on not 0 that woman on 2 Diverse
‫ قبالتها كانت‬،‫تلك الليلة‬ collocation collocation approximates ST’s intentions.
.‫كاذبة‬ that night. translated that night, when I
discovered her
kisses were false.
I didn’t realize
I later realized Collocation that until I
،‫لم أشعر بذلك إال في البحر‬ Figurative Free
163 ‫استعاد الذاكرة‬ that the woman not 0 returned to sea, 2 Another omission in TT1 Diverse
،‫عندما استعدت ذاكرتي‬ 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
‫ ولكني لم‬،‫وعرفت أنني أبله‬ didn’t forget that
never forget
‫ ظللت‬.‫أنس تلك الميناء‬ Free Free port. I sent letter Free
164 ‫أرسل رسالة‬ that port. I kept 2 2 Grammatical shift Comparable
‫أرسل رسائلي إليها دون أن‬ collocation collocation after letter to her, collocation
.‫أعرف حتى عنوانها‬ 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
‫ كان ذلك‬،‫مجرد اسم الميناء‬
enough because the port, and that
‫ لقد نسيت‬.‫يكفي ألن أحبها‬ Free Free Free
165 ‫عاد عدة مرات‬ I loved her, I 2 was enough for 2 No comment Diverse
‫ وعدت عدة‬،‫حتى اسمها‬ collocation collocation collocation
،‫مرات‬ forgot her me to love her.
name. I I’ve returned
returned many times,
several times

81
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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
but she wasn’t
there because I
there. I returned
returned after
to her after three
‫ ألنني‬،‫ولكنها لم تكن هناك‬ three years.
years. That was
‫عدت إليها بعد ثالث‬ That was the
the only thing I
‫ ذلك هو الشيء‬،‫سنوات‬ only thing I TT2 is of more pragmatic appeal.
called love. I
.‫الوحيد الذي سميته حبا‬ Figurative called ‘love’. I Figurative Figurative TT1 has a grammar mistake in
166 ‫مرارة الغربة‬ 2 knew that she 2 Diverse
،‫أعرف اآلن أنها خدعتني‬ collocation know that she collocation collocation “left in my the bitterness of
cheated me; she
،‫ كل شيء‬،‫أخذت كل شيء‬ deceived me; travel”.
‫ولكنها تركت في فمي مرارة‬ took everything,
she took
.‫الغربة‬ everything, but
everything but
left me the
left in my the
sourness of
bitterness of
loneliness.
travel.

Collocation She planted this

‫ نعم‬،‫لقد زرعت هذه المرارة‬ ‫زرعت‬ Figurative Figurative Several omissions were carried
167 ... not 0 sourness, yes, she 2 Diverse
..‫زرعتها‬ ‫المرارة‬ collocation collocation out by first translator.
translated planted it.

You my dear,
own a house,
love and
Oh, friend, you
friends, but me,
،‫أنت يا عزيزي تملك بيتا‬ own a home,
I returned to
،‫ أما أنا‬..‫ آه‬،‫وحبا وأصدقاء‬ have love and Omissions in TT2 may not be
Yemen after
‫فلقد عدت إلى اليمن بعد‬ twenty years
friends, but me? justified. But our focus is on the
،‫ فلم أجد أحدا‬،‫عشرين عاما‬ I’ve returned to translation of collocation. Both
Free and found no Free Free
168 ،‫كانوا قد مضوا هم أيضا‬ ‫هم بالعودة‬ 2 Yemen after 2 “decided to go back to sea” in TT1 Diverse
collocation one; they have collocation collocation
‫ وال‬،‫وجدت بعض القبور‬ twenty years. I’ve and “tried to go back to the sea”
‫ لكني كنت‬،‫شيء غير ذلك‬ all gone. I found
been changed in TT2 are appropriate
...‫قد تغيرت بعض الشيء‬ some graves,
somewhat. I tried translations of ST.
،‫هممت أن أعود إلى البحر‬ nothing more; I
to go back to the
have changed
sea,
somewhat. I
decided to go
back to sea,
Free Free Free
169 ‫الصديق الكبير‬ ‫الصديق الكبير‬ my great friend 2 that big friend 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation

82
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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’ve not
170 ،‫الذي لم أفقده‬ ‫فقد صديقه‬ combinati 2 combinatio 2 No comment Diverse
collocation never lose. missed,
on n
the one who’s
It is ready to Free
‫والذي مستعد دائما ألن‬ Figurative always ready to Figurative
171 ‫البحر يحتضنه‬ take me any combinati 1 2 No comment Diverse
،‫ في أية لحظة‬،‫يحتضنني‬ 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
‫وها أنت ذا ترى بأنني هنا‬ coincidence and
there. It’s just
‫ إنها‬.‫وليس في مكان آخر‬ nothing more,
chance, isn’t it? A
‫ أليس‬.‫المصادفة وحدها‬ isn’t it so? Or it
Figurative Figurative chance, or the Figurative
172 ‫ أو مجرد‬،‫كذلك؟ مصادفة‬ ‫باع نفسه‬ is just sheer 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation luck that I’ve collocation
‫ لقد بعت‬،‫حظ تمنيته دائما‬ luck? I had sold
،‫نفسي ألكثر من جيش‬ always wanted.
myself to more
،‫وأكثر من شركة‬ I’ve sold myself
than an army
for more than an
and to more
army, a company.
than a
company.
I learnt how to I’ve learned how
‫تعلمت كيف أعمل في‬
Free work on a ship, Free to work in a ship Free
173 ‫ وتعلمت كيف أمسك‬،‫باخرة‬ ‫أمسك البندقية‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation and learnt how collocation and learned how collocation
‫ببندقية‬
to hold a gun to hold a gun
and to kill and kill people I
‫وأقتل أناسا ال أعرفهم‬ people who don’t know, with
Free Free Free
174 ‫وليس بيني وبينهم أية‬ ‫قتل الناس‬ have never 2 whom I have no 2 No comment Comparable
collocation collocation collocation
..‫عداوة‬ been my personal
enemies. argument.
،‫ إنني أعرف‬..‫أما اليوم فال‬ But today, and But today, it’s a
،‫وألول مرة لماذا أنا هنا‬ for the first different matter; I
‫ولماذا تقع هذه البندقية في‬ time, I know know for the first
،‫ قد ال أعرف من أقتل‬،‫يدي‬
Free why I am here, Free time why I’m Free
175 ،‫ولكني أعرف لماذا أقتل‬ ‫حمل الهدايا‬ 2 2 No comment Comparable
collocation and why I am collocation here, why I hold collocation
‫أتسمع؟ إنني أعرف وألول‬
‫مرة منذ عشرين عاما شيئا‬ holding this this gun in my
‫ صور المقابر ال تزال‬..‫ما‬ gun; I may not hand. I may not
‫ عدت فرحا أحمل‬،‫أمامي‬ 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)
،‫هدايا ونقودا‬ 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
something… 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
‫ولكني لم أجد سوى شواهد‬ Free Free
176 ‫شواهد قبور‬ nothing but combinati 1 tombstones 2 No comment Diverse
..‫قبور أمامي‬ collocation collocation
graves. on before my eyes.
Here, too, I am Here, I’m also
‫إنني هنا أيضا أصنع شواهد‬ building new carving new
‫صنع شواهد‬ Free Free Free Carving is far better than building
177 ‫ وربما صنعت‬،‫قبور جديدة‬ graves and 2 tombstones, 2 Diverse
‫قبور‬ collocation collocation collocation in terms of literary effect.
.‫واحد لنفسي‬ perhaps one for perhaps I’ll make
myself.” one for myself.”
The other voice
The other voice
Free interrupted him
:‫قاطعه الصوت اآلخر فجأة‬ Free interrupted Free
178 ‫قاطعه فجأة‬ combinati 1 suddenly, and 2 No comment Diverse
...‫– ال تقل ذلك أرجوك‬ collocation him, “don’t say collocation
on said, “Please
that please…”.
don’t say that…”
“Morning is “Morning is
‫ سنظل هنا‬،‫الصبح يقترب‬ Free approaching Free getting close, Free
179 ‫اقترب الصبح‬ 1 2 Spoken register Diverse
..‫معا‬ collocation and we will be collocation we’ll stay here collocation
here together.” together.”
“Yes we are the “Yes, we will,
..‫نعم فنحن آخر من بقى‬ last ones.” we’re the only
‫ال أحد‬ “Nobody!” ones left.”
‫يعرف قد يكون آخرون‬ “Who know, “Nobody knows,
Figurative Free Figurative
180 ‫استطاعوا مثلنا أن يشقوا‬ ‫شق طريقه‬ there may be 2 perhaps there are 2 No comment Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
‫لهم طريقا وسط تلك‬ others who others who, like
..‫الصخور‬ have found us, could’ve made
..‫ربما‬ their way their way to
through the these rocks.”

84
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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)
rocks.” “Maybe.”
“Perhaps.”
From a distance
Free Free From far away a Free
181 ،‫من بعيد الح ضوء‬ ‫الح ضوء‬ 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 .‫ولكن القمر لم يكن قد غاب‬ ‫غاب القمر‬ moon still 2 not yet 2 use of opposites appeared ... Diverse
collocation collocation collocation
lingered disappeared. disappeared.
In the distance
and in front of
‫ كانت خطوط‬،‫وأمامها بعيدا‬ ‫خطوط المطر‬ Free before the two Free
Free them there Effective use of language style in
183 ‫تربط السماء باألرض كانت‬ ‫تربط السماء‬ combinati 2 men, the horizon combinatio 2 Diverse
collocation were lines at TT2.
،‫تلوح بعيدا‬ ‫باألرض‬ on connected with n
the horizon
the earth.
Free and the smell Free There was a Free
184 .‫وكان لها رائحة عذبة‬ ‫رائحة عذبة‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation was good. collocation delightful smell. collocation
“Look! It’s the “Look, it’s the
rain. Don’t you rain, don’t you
‫ أال ترى‬،‫ إنه المطر‬،‫انظر‬ see its colour? I see its color? I
،‫لونه؟ ال أستطيع أن أصفه‬
‫إحساس‬ Free can’t describe it Free can’t describe it, Free
185 ‫ولكني أحس به إحساسا‬ 2 2 TT2 is of better pragmatic appeal. Diverse
‫عجيب‬ collocation but I feel a collocation but I feel it in a collocation
‫ حتى إني ألشعر‬،‫عجيبا‬
..‫بأنني أستطيع وصفه‬ strange feeling strange way, so
that I can much I can almost
describe it.” describe it…”
“I can sense its “I can feel its
‫إنني أستطيع أن أحس‬
smell, the smell smell, a fragrance
..‫ رائحة عطر ما‬،‫برائحته‬ Free Free Free
186 ‫حس بالرائحة‬ of scent I use to 2 I used to sell in a 2 No comment Diverse
‫كنت أبيعه في الدكان الذي‬ collocation collocation collocation
..‫عملت به‬ sell in the shop I store I worked
worked.” in…”
Free The footsteps Free The creeping Free
187 ،‫اقترب الدبيب‬ ‫اقترب الدبيب‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
collocation came nearer; collocation sound got closer, collocation
‫األرض تخبر‬ Figurative the earth knew Figurative the ground Free
188 ،‫كانت األرض تخبر بذلك‬ 2 2 No comment Diverse
‫بذلك‬ collocation that collocation announced it. collocation
The language should be easier
and the light
‫احتواهم‬ Figurative Free Light covered Free and more effective. Compare
189 ‫واحتواهما الضوء‬ encompassed 1 2 Diverse
‫الضوء‬ collocation collocation both of them, collocation light encompassed and light
it.
covered.

85
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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)
‫ارتفعت‬ Free Sounds were Free Free
190 ‫وارتفعت أصوات‬ 2 voices rose 2 No comment Diverse
‫األصوات‬ collocation heard, collocation collocation
and there were
several shots,
‫وكانت طلقات عديدة ونار‬ Free Free several shots, fire, Free
191 ‫غبار خفيف‬ fire, and light 2 2 No comment Comparable
،‫وغبار خفيف حولهما‬ collocation collocation light, dust around collocation
dust,
them.
and the valley
‫وردد الوادي صدى‬ ‫ردد الوادي‬ Figurative Free The valley echoed Free
192 echoed the 2 2 No comment Diverse
..‫الطلقات‬ ‫صدى الطلقات‬ collocation collocation with the sounds… collocation
shots.
“Don’t worry we “Don’t be afraid,
will be together.” we’ll stay
“And you will tell together.”
.‫ سنظل معا‬،‫ال تخف‬ that on the ship.” “And you’ll tell this
..‫وستحكي ذلك على الباخرة‬ “Yes, I will tell story on the ship.”
‫ سأقول لهم ما هو لون‬،‫نعم‬ Figurative them what the Figurative “Yes, I’ll tell them Figurative
193 ‫طعم البرد‬ colour of the rain 2 2 No comment Comparable
.‫المطر في بالدي‬ collocation collocation about the color of collocation
– ‫وسأقول لهم في – عدن‬ is.” rain in my
.‫ما هو طعم البرد هنا‬ “And in Aden I country.”
will tell them “I’ll tell them in
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 ،‫احتوى الجبل هدير‬ ‫هدير المياه‬ 2 rang with the 2 Diverse
collocation the sound of collocation collocation the violent ending.
noise
water
of moving water
‫وكان الماء ينساب في‬ ‫انساب الماء‬ Free as it ran in the Free Free
195 2 roaring into the 2 No comment Diverse
،‫ هادئا‬،‫الوادي‬ ‫في الوادي‬ collocation valley calmly, collocation collocation
valley,
gunfire was all
and the around them, and
mountains the sounds—of
،‫والجبال تردد الصدى‬ repeated the shots and the
‫ردد الجبل‬ Figurative Free Free The ending in version two has a
196 ..‫ عنيفا‬،‫صدى الطلقات‬ echoes of the 2 rushing water— 2 Comparable
‫الصدى‬ collocation collocation collocation better impact.
..‫عنيفا‬ 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 “mis-translation” 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 non-translated collocations, and 45 others reduced to

sense that lack pragmatic impact; whereas, TT2 has only one non-translated

collocation and only four collocations reduced to sense. For example, ‫ ارتجف بردا‬in 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 you afraid?” “Are you afraid?”
‫هل أنت خائف؟‬
“No I am shaking – “No I am shivering…
‫ أو‬.. ‫ ربما من ذلك البرد‬.. ‫ إنني ارتجف‬،‫ال‬ ‫ارتجف بردا‬
perhaps because of the maybe it’s from the cold
..
cold .... or....” .... or....”
He was silent for a
He was silent for a
‫وصمت قليال وراح يحملق في الفضاء‬ ‫يحملق في‬ moment and started to
moment and looked at the
،‫أمامه‬ ‫الفضاء‬ stare at the horizon before
sky in front of him,
him.

89
 Another example is “‫ ”يحملق في الفضاء‬which is translated into “looked at the

sky” in TT1 and “stare at the horizon” in TT2. The ST word "‫ "يحملق‬is 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 “‫ تحتضن الوادي العميق‬.. ‫ ”الجبال‬was 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 "‫ "تحتضن الوادي العميق‬in 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
‫وعادت عيناه بعد أن اصطدمتا بقمم‬ they met the dark tops of in the black mountain peaks,
‫الجبال تحتضن‬
‫ التي تحتضن الوادي‬،‫الجبال السوداء‬ mountains, which embraced those mountains that
‫الوادي العميق‬
،‫ النائم في صمت خرافي‬،‫العميق‬ the deep valley sleeping in surrounded the deep valley
false silence – asleep in its mythical silence.
It was like his father’s
،‫صمت خاله أبديا‬ ‫صمت أبدي‬ an eternal silence,
brooding silence,

An example of mistranslation due to ST misunderstanding “‫”صمت خاله أبديا‬

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! Don’t you see how wonderful “Oh! Don’t you see how
‫؟‬..‫ أال تنظر ما أروع كل شيء‬..‫أوه‬
everything is ..? Have you ever wonderful everything is? Have
‫هل تخيلت عمرك منظرا ساحرا‬ ‫منظرا ساحرا‬
imagined a magic scene like this in you ever imagined seeing such a
..‫كهذا‬
your life? beautiful scene?...
،‫أرنب مشوي‬ ‫أرنب مشوي‬ a roasted rabbit grilled rabbit
‫كانت الغيوم تغطي كل المنطقة منذ‬ ‫الغيوم تغطي‬ The clouds covered the place since The clouds covered that whole
،‫الصباح‬ ‫المنطقة‬ morning area this morning.
after being imprisoned for after having been imprisoned
‫ وراح يحطم كل‬،‫بعد سجن دام قرونا‬
‫دام قرونا‬ centuries and was destroying for centuries. It started to crush
..‫شيء‬
everything. everything.
and everything is legal … And as we Everything is permitted and
‫ ما دمنا في‬..‫كل شيء مباح وقانوني‬
‫سقى الحقول‬ reach the end we will water the legal. And as long as, in the end,
،‫النهاية سنسقي حقوال‬
fields we water the fields
‫مع من سأرسل رسائلي؟‬ ‫أرسل رسالة‬ with whom shall I send my letters? How would I send my letters?
.‫وضحك بحزن‬ ‫ضحك بحزن‬ And he laughed sadly. He laughed sadly and went on.
I’ve learned how to work in a
‫ وتعلمت‬،‫تعلمت كيف أعمل في باخرة‬ I learnt how to work on a ship, and
‫أمسك البندقية‬ ship and learned how to hold a
‫كيف أمسك ببندقية‬ learnt how to hold a gun
gun
and kill people I don’t know,
‫وأقتل أناسا ال أعرفهم وليس بيني‬ and to kill people who have never
‫قتل الناس‬ with whom I have no personal
..‫وبينهم أية عداوة‬ been my enemies.
argument.
I retuned happily carrying gifts and I returned carrying gifts and
،‫عدت فرحا أحمل هدايا ونقودا‬ ‫حمل الهدايا‬
money money,
،‫من بعيد الح ضوء‬ ‫الح ضوء‬ 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 "‫ "قص القصص‬was 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 you going to tell me all
“Will you start that story
‫؟‬.. ‫هل ستبدأ في قصة ذلك من جديد‬ ‫قص القصص‬ that all over again?” The
again?”
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.

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 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
.‫لقد أمطرت السماء في النهار‬ ‫أمطرت السماء‬ “It rained during the day.” “It rained this morning.”
Here come those waters,
‫هذه المياه القادمة بصخب هي‬ “... and this approaching
‫هطل المطر‬ violently, after all that
،‫حصيلة األمطار التي هطلت‬ water is the rainfall water.”
rainfall,
‫وهبت رياح باردة‬ ‫هبت الرياح‬ A cold wind blew A cold wind blew,

Arabic speakers usually say ‫ أمطرت السماء‬or ‫( السماء تمطر‬Lit. 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, ‫ هطول األمطار‬is confined to the compound noun

“rainfall” in both translations. Another example is ‫ وهبت رياح باردة‬which 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 “ ‫الوادي العميق النائم في صمت‬

‫ ”خرافي‬that 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
‫ النائم في‬،‫ الوادي العميق‬... … the deep valley … the deep valley asleep
‫صمت خرافي‬
،‫صمت خرافي‬ sleeping in false silence – in its mythical silence.

Another example, is “‫ ويلتهمك المساء بصمته‬،‫ ”تشويك الشمس‬translated 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
‫الشمس تشوي‬ the sun roasts you and the the sun barbecues you, and
‫ ويلتهمك‬،‫تشويك الشمس‬
‫المساء يلتهم‬ evenings swallow you with the night swallows you into
،‫المساء بصمته‬
‫صمت المساء‬ 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
‫كانا يحسان بدبيب أقدامه يتقدم‬ ‫نصل حاد‬
footsteps that was like a sharp feet creeping, like a sharp
.‫كنصل حاد يزرع الموت‬ ‫يزرع الموت‬
thorn that implants death. arrow planting death.

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 Both ‫ نصل حاد‬and ‫ يزرع الموت‬are 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 –

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 (1998:28). 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
‫ودوت طلقة من بعيد رددها‬ And a shot was heard in the
‫ردد األخدود الصدى‬ and echoed in the valley;
.‫ فارتجف‬،‫األخدود‬ 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
‫وهبت رياح باردة كان لها صرير‬ sound that shattered the
passed the gap. The mountain
‫ وردد‬،‫وهي تعبر شقوق األخدود‬ dreams. The mountains
echoed the shout of a man. Nobody
‫الجبل صدى إنسان يصرخ لم يجب‬ repeated the echo of a human
answered it, the echo died, and the
‫ فمات الصدى وهوى‬،‫عليه أحد‬ crying. No one answered it and
man fell to the bottom and crashed
‫ وارتطم حجر في‬،‫إنسان في القاع‬ so it died. It was a man in the
against the rocks in the deep valley.
.‫الوادي العميق‬ ‫ارتطم الحجر‬ deep valley.

‫ هل تحس بشيء؟‬.. ‫ اسمع‬،‫ اسمع‬- - “Listen, Listen, do you feel

- “listen! Listen! Do you feel
something?” the young man asked.
anything?”
‫ وشد بقوة على‬،‫كان صوته خائفا‬
.‫البندقية‬ It was a scary sound; he pulled the
He was whispering as he
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 تعرف معنى الغربة؟ لم أكن‬ Do you know the meaning of loneliness? I didn’t know until then, but I
‫ ولكني لقيتها على سرير‬،‫أعرفها‬ ‫قبلة كاذبة‬ that? I didn’t but I found it in the bed of that woman on
‫ قبالتها‬،‫تلك المرأة في تلك الليلة‬ discovered it on that night. I that night, when I discovered her kisses
‫ لم أشعر بذلك إال في‬.‫كانت كاذبة‬ ‫استعاد الذاكرة‬ later realized that the were false. I didn’t realize that until I
،‫ عندما استعدت ذاكرتي‬،‫البحر‬ woman was fake returned to sea, when I reflected on my
memories.

Furthermore, the phrase (‫ عندما استعدت ذاكرتي‬،‫ )لم أشعر بذلك إال في البحر‬in 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 culture-specific needs of prospective readership.

The following is also an example of deletion or omission of a certain segment

ْ ‫لقد زرع‬
of discourse which might have been better served earlier. The sentence ‫ت هذه‬

‫ نعم زرعتها‬،‫ المرارة‬was 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
‫ ألنني‬،‫ولكنها لم تكن هناك‬ but she wasn’t there. I returned
‫عدت إليها بعد ثالث‬ but she was not there because I to her after three years. That
‫ ذلك هو الشيء‬،‫سنوات‬ returned after three years. That was the only thing I called love. I
.‫الوحيد الذي سميته حبا‬
‫زرعت مرارة‬ was the only thing I called ‘love’. knew that she cheated me; she
،‫أعرف اآلن أنها خدعتني‬
‫الغربة‬ I know that she deceived me; took everything, everything, but
،‫ كل شيء‬،‫أخذت كل شيء‬
‫ولكنها تركت في فمي‬ she took everything but left in left me the sourness of
‫ لقد زرعت‬.‫مرارة الغربة‬ my the bitterness of travel. loneliness. She planted this
..‫ نعم زرعتها‬،‫هذه المرارة‬ 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 ‫ ارتجف‬in 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 خائف؟‬ “Are you afraid?” “Are you afraid?”
‫ أو‬.. ‫ ربما من ذلك البرد‬.. ‫ إنني ارتجف‬،‫ال‬ ‫ارتجف بردا‬ “No I am shaking – perhaps “No I am shivering… maybe it’s
.. because of the cold .... or....” from the cold .... or....”
Don’t shake like this, my dear. Don’t tremble, my friend. You’re
‫ أنت لم تتعود‬،‫ال ترتجف هكذا يا عزيزي‬
‫ارتجف بردا‬ You are not used to the cold in just not used to the cold, being
،– ‫البرد في – عدن‬
Aden. from Aden.
‫إنها لن تصدق بأنني أرتجف عند سماع‬ She will not believe that I shake She wouldn’t believe that I
‫ارتجف خوفا‬
،‫طلق ناري‬ 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
..‫إن طعم الحياة أشعر به هنا على لساني‬ and every shot.”
tongue tip with every shot fired;
.‫عند كل طلقة رصاص‬ ‫ارتجف خوفا‬ Another shot sounded. He
I shake and my mouth goes
.‫ وجف ريقه‬،‫ وارتجف‬،‫ودوى طلق ناري‬ trembled, and his throat was
dry.”
dry.
“Perhaps.”
.. ‫ربما‬ “Perhaps!”
Shots from afar were heard and
،‫ودوت طلقة من بعيد رددها األخدود‬ ‫ارتجف خوفا‬ And a shot was heard in the
echoed in the valley; the young
.‫فارتجف‬ distance and he shook.
man trembled.
and the body by his side
.‫وارتجف الجسد الممدد بجانبه‬ ‫ارتجف خوفا‬ 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 you going to tell me all
‫هل ستبدأ في قصة ذلك من‬ “Will you start that story
‫قص القصص‬ that all over again?” The
‫؟‬.. ‫جديد‬ again?”
young man asked.
‫المياه قادمة‬ Here come those waters,
‫هذه المياه القادمة بصخب‬ and this approaching water
‫بصخب‬ violently,
“Morning is approaching and “Morning is getting close,
..‫ سنظل هنا معا‬،‫الصبح يقترب‬ ‫اقترب الصبح‬
we will be here together.” we’ll stay here together.”
“Hey! Trust me, it’s better if
‫األفضل أن تترك يدك على زناد‬ ‫ترك يده على‬ “Better you keep your hand
you leave your hand on the
.‫بندقيتك‬ ‫زناد البندقية‬ on the trigger of your gun.”
trigger…”
And he pointed to the moon the older man said pointing
.‫وأشار بيده إلى القمر‬ ‫أشار إلى القمر‬
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!”
.. ‫ربما‬ ‫دوت صوت‬ “Perhaps.”
And a shot was heard in the
‫ودوت طلقة من بعيد‬ ‫الطلقة‬ Shots from afar were heard
distance
.‫فارتجف‬ ‫ارتجف خوفا‬ and he shook. the young man trembled.
‫ضغط على‬ And he pressed the trigger of
،‫ ضغط على زناد بندقيته‬..‫و‬ Then he fired his gun,
‫الزناد‬ his gun
“But what about her? Did you
“And what about her, did you
.‫وماذا عنها هل كتبت لها شيئا‬ write anything?”
‫مزق الرسالة‬ write to her?”
.. ‫مزقت كل شيء‬ The young man said, “I tore
“I have torn up everything,
up everything.
‫وكان الوادي من تحتهما‬ And the flow under them had The valley under them looked
‫مضى الوادي‬
‫يمضي بعيدا‬ gone far far away,

101
 Another similar example is the indiscriminate use of definite article ‘the’ by

native-Arabic translators as a result of mother tongue interference.

Inferred TT1 - Yar Mohammed's TT2 - Bagader & Akers'

ST Collocation
collocation Translation Translation
“So?”
‫إذن؟‬ “So?”
“Don’t you see the colour of
‫أال تشعر بلون المطر الذي‬ ‫شعر بلون المطر‬ “Don’t you feel that the rain’s
the rain which has washed
..‫غسل كل شيء‬ color cleaned everything,
everything,
‫غسل المطر لون‬
..‫حتى لون القمر‬ even the colour of the moon.” even the moon?”
‫القمر‬
and the mountains echoed the
،‫وردد الجبل الصدى‬ ‫ردد الجبل الصدى‬ the mountain echoed,
sound of the shot
‫وحتى تساقط األشجار ال‬ Even the fall of the trees does Even the falling trees don’t
‫تساقطت األشجار‬
،‫تهمهم‬ 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
‫وعادت عيناه‬ ‫عادت عيناه‬ and his eyes returned His gaze returned
‫بعد أن اصطدمتا بقمم الجبال‬ ‫اصطدمتا عيناه بقمم‬ after they met the dark tops of after taking in the black
،‫السوداء‬ ‫الجبال السوداء‬ mountains, mountain peaks,
‫الجبال تحتضن‬ those mountains that
،‫التي تحتضن الوادي العميق‬ which embraced the deep valley
‫الوادي العميق‬ surrounded the deep valley
“Perhaps!”
.. ‫ربما‬ “Perhaps.”
‫دوت صوت الطلقة‬ And a shot was heard in the
‫ودوت طلقة من بعيد‬ 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, ‫ ضمهم صمت عميق‬was 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
‫وضمهم صمت عميق‬ ‫صمت عميق‬ and they were silent
deep silence
،‫في برد لم يعرف طعمه‬ ‫برد لم يعرف‬ in the cold he never experienced in a cold whose taste he
،‫يتغذى بالخبز وحده‬ ‫طعمه‬ before, who eats dry bread doesn’t know,
‫والذي مستعد دائما ألن‬ the one [referring to the sea]
It [referring to the sea] is ready to
‫ في أية‬،‫يحتضنني‬ ‫البحر يحتضنه‬ who’s always ready to
take me any time
،‫لحضة‬ 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 non-figurative types of collocation.

3- Restricted collocations (11% in TT1 - 15% in TT2) were translated

effectively in both translations (TT1 – 95%, TT2 – 97%).

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 non-idiomatic 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-

to-date 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 (1988:213) 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 Abdul-Wali (1940–1973), 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. Abdul-Wali is considered one of the forerunners of the modern
Yemenite literary movement. He published three collections of short stories: al-Ard, ya Salma ("Our land, Salma",
1966), Shay’ ismuhu al-hanin ("Something called love", 1972) and ’Ammuna Salih ("Uncle Salih", 1978), as well as
two novellas: Yamutun ghuraba’ ("They Die Strangers") and Sana’a ... madina maftuha ("Sana’a – open 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, 140-150) include old words with new senses, existing
collocations with new senses, new coinages, derived words, abbreviations, new collocations, eponyms, phrasal words,
transferred words, acronyms, pseudo-neologisms, 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. Through-translation
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

‫يناقش هذا البحث مفهوم التالزم اللفظي في مجال الترجمة من الجانبين النظري والعملي‪.‬‬
‫تعد المتالزمات اللفظية من أعقد إشكاليات الترجمة من وجهة نظر علماء الترجمة‪ ،‬ويهدف‬
‫هذا البحث للتنقيب عن طبيعة هذا التعقيد وذلك من خالل ممارسة الترجمة العملية في‬
‫مجال القصص القصيرة‪ ،‬حيث تلتقي النظرية بالتطبيق‪ .‬يتحقق البحث عمليا من مفهوم‬
‫التالزم اللفظي من خالل تحليل األدب المقارن وبيان أوجه االختالف أو االتفاق بين‬
‫ترجمتين مختلفتين باللغة االنجليزية لنفس القصة األصلية في اللغة العربية‪ ،‬قصة "لون‬
‫المطر" للكاتب والسياسي الراحل محمد عبدالولي (‪ ،)1491 – 1491‬وذلك بهدف فهم أدق‬
‫للمتالزمات اللفظية في مجال الترجمة من اللغة العربية إلى اللغة االنجليزية‪ ،‬وإيجاد طرق‬
‫فعالة للتعامل مع اشكاالتها باحترافية من الناحية العملية‪ .‬النسخة األولى من الترجمة‬
‫ترجمها كل من أبوبكر باقادر وديبورا أيكرز وقام بنشرها مركز دراسات الشرق األوسط‬
‫بجامعة تكساس في والية أوستن بالواليات المتحدة األمريكية بتاريخ ‪ ،1111‬وترجمت‬
‫النسخة الثانية الدكتورة (األستاذ المشارك) شيرين ياسين يار محمد ونشرت في مركز‬
‫عبادي للدراسات والنشر في صنعاء بتاريخ ‪.1112‬‬

‫تم تقسيم القصة األصل والترجمتين إلى وحدات تالزمية بحيث يتم استخراج او استنباط‬
‫تالزم لفظي من خاللها‪ ،‬وذلك في جدول معد لهذا الغرض‪ .‬ويحتوي الجدول على األنواع‬
‫الرئيسية للتالزم اللفظي وهي‪ :‬التالزم اللفظي االختياري‪ ،‬والتالزم المحدود‪ ،‬والتالزم‬
‫المجازي‪ ،‬والتالزم ا الصطالحي‪ ،‬ويحتوي أيضا على المعايير القيمية لكل نوع مع تعليق‬
‫الباحث‪ .‬ويتضمن البحث نقاشات مفصلة مع أمثلة من الترجمتين على نحو مقارن حيث‬
‫ترتكز على ثالثة مجاالت رئيسية‪.‬‬

‫(‪ )1‬تقييم الترجمة من ناحية األدب المقارن مع توضيح أوجه االختالف واالتفاق بين‬
‫الترجميتين وكذلك مدى دقة كل ترجمة مع النص األصل من ناحية متلقي النص‬
‫واألثر الفعلي لكل ترجمة على متلقي النص في اللغة الهدف‪.‬‬

‫‪1‬‬
‫(‪ )1‬أنواع المتالزمات اللفظية المستخدمة في النص األصل والترجمتين كل على حدة‪،‬‬
‫حيث يناقش البحث أنواع المتالزمات اللفظية من ناحية المفردات المعنوية وليس‬
‫التقسيمات النحوية‪ ،‬وذلك تبعا للكاتب هاوارث (‪ ،)1998‬وتنقسم إلى أربعة أنواع‪:‬‬
‫التالزم اللفظي االختياري‪ ،‬والتالزم المحدود‪ ،‬والتالزم المجازي‪ ،‬والتالزم‬
‫االصطالحي‪ ،‬كما تم ذكرها آنفا‪ ،‬حيث بنيت هذا األنواع بناءا على مدى تالزميتها‬
‫وترابط مفرداتها مع بعضها‪ ،‬فالتالزم اللفظي االختياري له نطاق واسع في اختيار‬
‫المفردات المكونة له‪ ،‬بينما التالزم المحدود يأخذ نطاق محدود في اختيار مفرداته‪،‬‬
‫وإذا دخل على التالزم معنا مجازيا أصبح تالزما مجازيا‪ ،‬أما إذا كانت مفردات‬
‫التالزم اللفظي لها معنى ال يمكن استنباطه من المفردات المكونة له فهو يعتبر تالزما‬
‫اصطالحيا‪.‬‬

‫(‪ )1‬الطرق أو األساليب المستخدمة للتعامل مع إشكالية التالزم اللفظي (استراتيجيات‬

‫التعامل مع المتالزمات اللفظية)‪ ،‬وتتضمن أسلوب التجنب أو الحذف‪ ،‬والتكرار‪،‬‬
‫واالنتقال‪ ،‬والتناظر‪ ،‬والتخفيف‪.‬‬

‫‪ )1‬أسلوب التجنب أو الحذف (‪ :)Avoidance Strategy‬عبارة عن طريقة أو‬

‫أسلوب يلجأ إليه المترجم بحيث يتم حذف أو تجنب ترجمة التالزم اللفظي‬
‫المذكور في النص األصل إما لعدم كفاءة المترجم أو الستخدام مفردات أخرى‬
‫قد يعتبرها المترجم أفضل من وجهة نظره أو من وجهة نظر القراء‪ .‬وقد يجأ‬
‫المترجم لحذف بعض المتالزمات اللفظية لشعوره أنها غير مناسبة للنقل إلى‬
‫ثقافة أخرى الحتوائها على عناصر ثقافية قد تكون مخلة للعرف الثقافي‪.‬‬

‫‪ )1‬أسلوب التكرار (‪ :)Repetition Strategy‬أسلوب التكرار في الترجمة هو‬

‫استخدام متالزم لفظي معين بشكل متكرر في النص المترجم‪ ،‬وبشكل واضح‪.‬‬
‫وهذا األسلوب قد يحمل النص إطنابا أو اسهابا يؤثر على مدى جودة النص‬
‫المترجم‪ ،‬ولكن يمكن استخدام هذا التكرار في حالة وجود أهمية لتكرار تلك‬
‫المتالزمات اللفظية بحسب مقاصد النص األصل‪ .‬واألفضل هو استخدام‬

‫‪1‬‬
‫التنوع في اختيار المتالزمات اللفظية مع مراعات دقتها بحيث تلبي مقاصد‬
‫النص األصل وال تنقص من ناحيته المعنوية واألثر الفعال على متلقي النص‪.‬‬

‫‪ )1‬أسلوب االنتقال (‪ :)Transfer Strategy‬أسلوب االنتقال هو تأثير اللغة‬

‫األم على النص المترجم‪ ،‬بحيث تظهر معالم النص األصل في النسخة‬
‫المترجمة‪ ،‬وقد يؤثر هذا األسلوب على جودة ترجمة المتالزمات اللفظية‪ ،‬كما‬
‫ينظر إليه البعض أنه خطأ في الترجمة وليس استراتيجية مقصودة‪ .‬ولكن قد‬
‫ينظر إليه البعض اآلخر أنه أسلوب مقصود للمحافظة على ما يريده أو يقصده‬
‫الكاتب في النص األصل وهذا ما تسميه منى بيكر في كتابها "بكلمات أخرى"‬
‫‪ )1111( In Other Words‬بالتالزم المعلوم (‪،)Marked Collocation‬‬
‫وهو استخدام مفردات التالزم اللفظي بأسلوب غير اعتيادي لنقل فكرة جديدة‬
‫مقصودة متضمنة في مقاصد النص األصل‪.‬‬

‫‪ )9‬أسلوب التناظر (‪ :)Analogy Strategy‬طريقة التناظر في الترجمة هو‬

‫استخدام تالزم لفظي معدل أو آخر غير الموجود في النص األصل وإنما قد‬
‫يكون من مرادفاته‪ .‬واستخدام هذا األسلوب قد يحسن من دقة الترجمة في‬
‫النص الهدف بحيث ينتقل المترجم بين الخيارات المتاحة له ويستخدم التالزم‬
‫اللفظي األنسب للتعبير عن المعنى المقصود باحترافية ونقل صورة أدق لها‬
‫أثرا أقوى على القراء في اللغة الهدف‪ .‬وقد ال يصيب المترجم في اختياره‬
‫للمتالزم اللفظي بدقة عالية وهنا قد يؤثر على مقاصد النص األصل و‪/‬أو األثر‬
‫المرجو على متلقي النص في اللغة الهدف‪.‬‬

‫‪ )5‬أسلوب التخفيف (‪ :)Reduction Strategy‬وهي طريقة أو أسلوب‬

‫لترجمة المتالزمات اللفظية في النص األصل سواءا كانت اصطالحية‪ ،‬أو‬
‫مجازية أو محدودة إلى متالزم لفظي اختياري أو مفردات غير تالزمية في‬
‫النص الهدف‪ .‬وقد يؤثر هذا على جودة الترجمة وقوة التعابير التالزمية نسبة‬
‫إلى قرائنها في النص األصل‪ .‬ولكن قد يجأ إليها المترجم بسبب الفجوات‬
‫اللغوية والثقافية القائمة بين اللغتين‪ ،‬وقد ال يؤثر على جودة النص أحيانا‪،‬‬

‫‪1‬‬
‫حيث يأتي دور المترجم في اختيار األلفاظ والمتالزمات اللفظية المناسبة بما‬
‫يخدم مقاصد النص األصل ويحافظ على األثر المرجو في اللغة الهدف‪.‬‬

‫أهم استنتاجات البحث‪ :‬ترجمة الدكتورة شيرين ياسين يار محمد (‪ )1112‬أقل جودة من‬
‫ترجمة أبوبكر باقادر وديبورا أيكرز (‪ )1111‬من منظور المتالزمات اللفظية وأثرها على‬
‫متلقي النص المترجم‪ .‬أظهر المترجمين كفاءة في ترجمة المتالزمات االختيارية والمحدودة‬
‫بينما تفاوت مقدار أدائهما في ترجمة المتالزمات المجازية‪ ،‬حيث كانت ترجمة الدكتورة‬
‫شيرين أقل جودة من منظور المتالزمات اللفظية وأثرها على القراء‪ ،‬وهنا تكمن صعوبة‬
‫المتالزمات اللفظية فهي تعتبر من أعقد إشكاليات الترجمة كما صرح بذلك عالم الترجمة‬
‫بيتر نيومارك في كتابه الجامع في الترجمة ‪.)1411( A Textbook of Translation‬‬
‫إضافة إلى ذلك استخدم أبوبكر باقادر وديبورا أيكرز أساليب ترجمة المتالزمات اللفظية‬
‫بكفاءة أكبر من الترجمة األخرى‪ ،‬وهذا التفاوت في األداء بين الترجمتين يفيد أن الترجمة‬
‫عبارة عن عمل جماعي تعاوني وتكاملي مشترك بين عدد من الثقافات واللغات‪.‬‬

‫‪9‬‬