Idioms and Cultural references in the Translation of Muhsin Al-Ramli's Novel “Scattered Crumbs”

Abstract

Abstract: The present paper seeks to address the strategies adopted to translate into English a corpus of idioms extracted from the literary translation of Muhsin al-Ramli's novel "Scattered Crumbs"(Arabic version published in Cairo, 2000). The objectives of the paper are twofold. First, the theoretical part outlines the theoretical perspective on literary translation and then reviews the scene on idiomatic expressions, compares the various scholarly opinions on idioms and the translating strategies used in the literary context. Second, the practical aspect draws upon an analysis of a corpus of data collected from the above novel to arrive at the most frequent strategies applied by the translator, Yasmean S. Hanoosh, in her translation for the novel "Scattered Crumbs" (2003), published by The University of Arkansas. The paper has also pedagogical implications. In comparing the idioms in the source text of the novel with their translations in English, translation tutors and practitioners can use the novel as a course book to teach translation strategies in literary translation courses. Using the real examples extracted from the novel, students can practice the most frequently used strategies in how to deal with/ and render a variety of idiomatic expressions.