Transcript Comparing between English & Arabic: A Translator*s Perspective

Comparing English & Arabic
A Translator’s Perspective
April 7th, 2015
Dania A. Salamah
Translator’s Club
College of Languages & Translation, KSU
Contents
I. Articles
II. Nouns and adjectives
III. Translating “Be” and other linking verbs
IV. Translating “Have”
V. Subject-Verb Agreement
VI. Practice
VII. References
I Articles
‫‪Articles in Arabic..‬‬
‫ال التعريف ‪• Definite article:‬‬
‫همزة وصل ▫‬
‫اتصال ال التعريف باالسم يقتض ي االستغناء عن التنوين ▫‬
‫ال يوجد ‪• Indefinite article:‬‬
‫التنوين دليل على التنكير ▫‬
Articles in English..
• Definite article:
 the
▫ when the noun is known or clear to the listener/speaker
▫ with certain words (e.g., the doctor, the bank, the army, the police, the
airport
• Indefinite article:
A
 an
▫ when referring to something for the first time
▫ When the noun is not known to the reader/listener
• Examples:
▫ I had a steak for dinner. The steak was delicious.
▫ When we were on vacation, we stayed at a very nice hotel.
However, the problem was that the hotel was very
expensive.
▫ The teacher told Amal to sit on a chair. So she sat on the
chair near the window.
▫ The window is opposite the door in our classroom.
The vs. A/An vs. ∅
▫ Use “the” when there is only one of something
 The moon, the sun, the universe
 The longest, the shortest, the biggest
 The only…
 The sea, the sky, the ground
 When we mean voyage sea with no “the”
 No article with space (i.e., outer space) BUT The space is
big enough for the sofa.
 The radio, the theater, the cinema
 BUT no “the” with television We watch television
▫ UNLESS we mean the television set Please turn on the television
 No “the” with the names of meals (i.e., breakfast, lunch,
dinner)
 We have breakfast at 9:00 every morning.
 Dinner is always a family event.
▫ BUT  I had a nice dinner with my friends
 Use “the” with singular countable nouns to mean something
in general
 Types of animals/plants:
▫ The elephant is a huge animal = Elephants are huge animals
▫ The rose is a fragrant flower = Roses are fragrant flowers
 Type of machine/invention:
▫ The telephone was invented by Thomas Edison.
▫ The car is the most common means of transportation in Saudi Arabia.
 The + adjective
 The meaning is always plural
▫ the rich, the old, the blind, the sick, the injured, the poor, the
young, the unemployed
▫ But  a blind man, not a blind
 The + nationality words
 With some nationalities to mean the people of that country
▫ the British, the English, the Spanish, the Dutch, the Irish, the
French, the Swiss
▫ the Chinese, the Japanese
▫ (the) Italians, (the) Arabs, (the) Scots, (the) Turks, (the)
Russians
 The hospital vs. hospital
 Hospital (the idea of hospital) someone goes to hospital or is in hospital if
he is ill
 The Hospital (a specific hospital) to visit someone there
 No “the” with School, university, college, prison (the idea of these
places)
 BUT: She went to the school to apply for a job. (not as a student or to study)
 BUT: Where is the university? (the location/building)
 No “the” with bed, work, home
 Go to bed.. She is in bed  the bed (furniture)
 Go to work.. Be at work.. Start work..
 Go home.. Come home.. Stay at home..
 Geographical Names
 Continents no the
▫ Asia, Africa, North America
 Countries and states no the
▫ France, Saudi Arabia, Japan
▫ BUT: Use the with names including republic, union, kingdom, and
states
▫ The United States of America, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of China
▫ BUT: Use the with plural names
▫ The Philippines, the Netherlands
 Cities no the
▫ Cairo, New York
▫ Exception: The Hague (in the Netherlands)
 Islands (groups) the
▫ The Bahamas, the Canary Islands
 Islands (single islands) no the
▫ Bermuda, Sicily
II Nouns & Adjectives
‫‪Nouns and adjectives in Arabic..‬‬
‫• الصفة تتبع املوصوف في اللغة العربية‬
‫• الصفة تتوافق مع املوصوف في اللغة العربية من حيث‪:‬‬
‫▫ التعريف والتنكير‬
‫▫ التذكير والتأنيث‬
‫▫ العدد (اإلفراد والتثنية والجمع)‬
‫‪‬‬
‫‪‬‬
‫‪‬‬
‫‪‬‬
‫‪‬‬
‫الحقيبة الكبيرة‬
‫الطبيب املاهر‬
‫املعلمات الحريصات‬
‫الفنجان الزجاجي‬
‫العاملين النشيطين‬
‫ٌ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫حقيبة كبيرةٌ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫طبيب ٌٌ‬
‫ماهر‬
‫ٌ‬
‫ٌٌ‬
‫حريصات‬
‫معلمات‬
‫ٌ‬
‫فنجان ز ٌٌ‬
‫جاجي‬
‫عاملين نشيطين‬
Nouns and adjectives in English..
• Adjectives occur before the nouns they modify in English
• English adjectives do not agree with the nouns they modify
▫ Blue ball
▫ Small room
▫ Hard-working student
III Translating “Be” and other linking
verbs
• Omitting the verb
▫ Linking verb
 I am a student.
 She is kind
▫ Helping verb (present continuous tense)
 I am leaving now.
 We are speaking English.
• Translating the verb
▫ Main verb
 The child was ill.
 The boys were one team.
▫ Helping verb (past continuous tense)
 Her mother was preparing lunch.
 The guests were praying.
• Linking verbs: become , seem , appear , get, turn, grow,
feel, look, smell, taste, sound
▫ They perform linking functions and need to be translated
according to the meaning they represent in the sentence..
 They seem upset because of what happened.
 The food smells delicious.
 The children feel happy.
 The weather became cold.
IV Translating “Have”
• As a helping verb  disregard the verb
▫ The workers have already left.
▫ The patient has seen the doctor.
• As a main verb  understand the meaning and translate it
accordingly
▫ She has money.
▫ He has breakfast at 8:00 every morning.
V Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-Verb Agreement in Arabic..
1. When the verb occurs before the subject and it is in 3rd person
(‫)الغائب‬
▫ singular
 ‫كتب الولد‬
 ‫يكتب الولدان‬
 ‫كتب األوالد‬
▫ gender agreement
 ‫كتب الطالب‬
‫كتبت الطالبة‬
 ‫تكتب املعلمات يكتب املعلمو ٌن‬
 ‫كتبت األستاذتان كتب األستاذان‬
▫ With broken plurals (‫ )جمع التكسير‬ feminine form of verb
 Example:
 ‫ظهرت النجوم‬
UNLESS the plural refers to male human beings!
 ‫حضر الرجال‬
▫ True gender is taken into consideration
‫ق‬
‫وليس‬
ٌ ‫ أمر الخليفة بسجن السار‬
ٌ‫أمرت الخليفة بسجن السارق‬
‫‪2. When the verb occurs after the subject‬‬
‫‪gender and number agreement‬‬
‫البنات دخلن إلى الغرفة‬
‫األوالد فتحوا الباب‬
‫املهندس حضر االجتماع‬
‫الطبيبة فحصت املريض‬
‫▫‬
‫‪‬‬
‫‪‬‬
‫‪‬‬
‫‪‬‬
• Using the 3rd person plural verb..
▫ When the plural subject is not mentioned
 ‫ذهبوا – أكلوا – درسوا‬
▫ When the subject is placed first for emphasis
 ‫الطالب خرجوا عندما انتهى وقت املحاضرة‬
▫ When the subject has already been mentioned
 .‫اختبر الطالب ثم ذهبوا ملنازلهم‬
Subject-Verb Agreement in English..
• Subjects and verbs must agree in number
▫
▫
▫
▫
The student is present.
The students are present.
She has spoken to her teacher.
They have finished their homework.
• Third person singular subjects
▫ Verbs that occur with third person singular subjects must take the (s)
suffix
 The student comes to school everyday.
 She eats lunch with her family after school.
VI Practice
‫•‬
‫•‬
‫•‬
‫•‬
‫•‬
‫ٌ‬
‫طالبٌ‬
‫في الفصل‬
‫ٌ‬
‫طالب في الفصل‬
‫ٌ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫طالبة ٌ‬
‫ذكية‬
‫ُ‬
‫ُ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫الذكية‬
‫الطالبة‬
‫ٌ‬
‫الطالبة ٌ‬
‫ذكية‬
‫‪1. Translate the following sentences into English:‬‬
‫•‬
‫•‬
‫•‬
‫•‬
‫•‬
‫•‬
‫ُ‬
‫ُ‬
‫الضيقٌ‬
‫الشارع‬
‫ٌ‬
‫شارع ٌ ٌ‬
‫ضيق‬
‫ُ‬
‫الشارع ٌ ٌ‬
‫ضيق‬
‫ُ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫ُ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫الجديدة‬
‫املدرسة العاملية‬
‫ٌ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫جديدة‬
‫مدرسة عاملية‬
‫ُ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫ٌ‬
‫وجديدة‬
‫املدرسة عاملية‬
2. Translate the following sentences into Arabic:
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
You are her father.
He is eating an apple.
She is invited to the party.
The bird was beautiful.
My brother was writing a letter.
The two students have missed class.
Have a seat.
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
We grew tired as we were climbing the mountain.
The weather turns hot in July.
It sounds like they did not enjoy the trip.
Have fun!
Amal had a nice vacation.
3. Complete the following sentences with a/an, the, or ∅:
• We went out for _______ meal last night. _______ restaurant we went to was
excellent.
• _______ President of the United States is elected every four years.
• After _______ lunch, we went for a walk by _______ sea.
• When I was _______ child, I used to be very shy.
• He has _______ very long hair.
• I visited _______ Bahamas, but I have never been to _______ Cyprus.
• Have you finished with _______ book I lent you last week?
•
•
•
•
As I was walking along the street, I saw _______ $10 bill on _______ sidewalk.
_______ moon goes around _______ earth every 27 days.
I invited Amy to _______ dinner next week.
Can you turn _______ television down please? It's too loud.
References
• Azar, B. S. (1999). Understanding and using English grammar (3rd ed.).
New York: Longman.
• Haywood, J. A. & Nahmad, H. M. (1976). A new Arabic grammar. UK:
Lund Humphries London
• Khalil, A. M. (1999). A contrastive grammar of English and Arabic.
Jordon: Jordon Book Centre Company Limited..
• http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/linkingverb.htm