Jul 2026· International Journal of Translation and Interpretation Studies· 0 citations
TL;DR
The study concludes that, in postcolonial Arabic literary translation, human mediation remains essential for preserving figurative meaning and narrative positioning, while AI tools may serve only as preliminary support rather than as a replacement for human judgment.
Abstract
This paper examines the translation of metaphor and idiomatic expression in postcolonial Arabic literature through a comparative evaluation of human translation and Gemini 3.6 Flash. Focusing on selected examples from Ibrahim Nasrallah’s The Time of White Horses, the study investigates how figurative language encoded in cultural, social, and political experience is rendered in English, and how far the human translator and the AI system succeed in preserving meaning, imagery, tone, and narrative force. The analysis is guided by an integrated theoretical framework combining equivalence theory, domestication and foreignization, and narrative theory, allowing the study to assess translation at the lexical, cultural, and ideological levels. Using a qualitative descriptive-analytical comparative method, the paper studies a set of metaphorical and idiomatic expressions representing honor, kinship, land, resistance, religion, and colloquial speech. The findings show that the human translator generally preserves figurative force through context-sensitive paraphrase, image retention, or culturally informed reformulation, while Gemini 3.6 Flash often moves toward literal rendering, semantic narrowing, or partial domestication that reduces the richness of the original expression. In some cases, the AI output remains intelligible but loses the emotional and cultural density that gives the source text its literary power. The study concludes that, in postcolonial Arabic literary translation, human mediation remains essential for preserving figurative meaning and narrative positioning, while AI tools may serve only as preliminary support rather than as a replacement for human judgment.
This article explores the diachronic evolution and metaphorical transformation of religious-mythological vocabulary in English and Azerbaijani within a comparative-historical framework. The problem addressed involves how sacred lexemes—originally tied to theological, ritualistic, or mythological domains—have transitioned into metaphorical expressions that permeate modern discourse. The primary objective of the study is to examine key lexical items such as light, fire, angel, and hell, analyzing how these terms, rooted in Christianity and Islam respectively, carry metaphorical meanings shaped by distinct cultural experiences. The methodology draws on theoretical foundations from cognitive linguistics and cultural semantics, employing qualitative analysis to trace the path from literal lexicon to metaphorical application. The key results reveal that while both languages display universal metaphorical patterns grounded in shared human cognition, their semantic realizations are significantly influenced by divergent religious traditions and sociocultural environments. Additionally, the article addresses the challenges in metaphor translation and the implications for intercultural communication. By analyzing these linguistic shifts, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how religious vocabulary functions not only as a linguistic resource but also as a vehicle for cultural worldviews and collective identity.
Sanubar Hamidli Zabil, Solmaz Jafarguliyeva Yashar, Shabnam Surkhayzadeh Ilham et al.· Aposta: Revista de Ciencias...· 0 citations
Metaphor, or istiʿāra in Arabic, is one of the most prevalent rhetorical devices used in Qur'anic discourse. The Qur'an employed metaphor to convey meanings not immediately apparent on the surface of the text, yet significant. Thus, translating these metaphors into English was extremely difficult due to linguistic and cultural differences. Three well-known English translations of the Qur'an by Ali, Pickthall, and Abdel-Haleem were examined in this study. The study adopted a theoretical approach depending on metaphor translation and Newmark’s conceptual metaphor theory. To achieve its goals, the study was based on 40 Qur'anic verses in Arabic, as only 13 metaphors were selected for analysis. The study adopted a qualitative approach, using content analysis to analyze the data. The findings indicated that literal translation was the most common strategy for rendering metaphorical meaning and religious concepts in Qur'anic discourse. It was also discovered that many translation attempts employed general literary strategies to systematically achieve meaning and impact. Lastly, the study recommends that translation be carried out carefully to guarantee that English-speaking readers can understand it well. The accurate translation of Qur'anic metaphors was essential for proper understanding.
Sultan Almjlad· Journal of Arabic Sciences a...· 0 citations
Folk discourse, which includes proverbs, folktales, and traditional sayings, is an important source of cultural knowledge. This paper is concerned with a comparative analysis of the metaphorical expressions in Bangladeshi folk language in comparison to their counterparts in Chinese in the cognitive linguistics framework. The study is based on two theoretical frameworks, namely, Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) and Cultural Conceptualization Theory (Sharifian, 2011), which are used to explore the conceptualization of abstract concepts of life, morality, emotions, and fate within both cultures. Stratified random sampling resulted in 200 folk texts (100 per culture); a mixed-methods approach was used to compare metaphorical patterns, and Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS (Version 26.0). The MIPVU procedure was used in a systematic manner to identify the metaphors. Results show universal cognitive patterns, as well as culture-specific patterns, which are a reflection of different culture-based philosophies, religions, and social systems. Chinese folk discourse is an expression of the Confucian and Taoist values, which focus on the harmony of society and moral development, and uses metaphors based on social hierarchy and nature images. Bangladeshi folk discourse is a mixture of the influence of Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic beliefs with a main emphasis on spirituality, karmic aspects, the divine will, and the practice of the individual. The study highlighted a framework of cross-cultural metaphor analysis called Cognitive-Cultural Mapping. The implication of the findings is of great importance to translation studies, language pedagogy, and intercultural communication.
Md. Fasiur Rahman, Xue Chen· International journal of res...· 0 citations
This study demonstrates that the primary challenge in translating Indonesian literary works into Arabic lies in the cultural elements embedded in metaphors, proverbs, and local expressions. Employing a qualitative textual analysis of Hamka’s Di Bawah Lindungan Kaʿbah, the research reveals that differences in worldview between Indonesian and Arab societies influence lexical choices and stylistic expressions, making literal translation insufficient. The findings highlight the necessity for translators to grasp the cultural context of the source text to ensure comprehensive meaning transfer. The study contributes to translation studies by formulating strategies that integrate semantic and stylistic approaches, including transliteration with explanatory notes, functional equivalence in the target culture, and the preservation of social metaphors. These strategies prove effective in maintaining cultural authenticity while ensuring readability for Arabic audiences. Overall, the research reinforces the view that literary translation is an act of intercultural mediation, synthesizing linguistic, semantic, and cultural dimensions to preserve meaning, aesthetic nuance, and cultural resonance in the target language.
How does multilingualism function not just as a biographical condition but as a political, aesthetic, and pedagogical practice? In this interview, Julia Alekseyeva, a multimodal scholar, graphic memoirist, translator, and leftist activist whose scholarship spans Soviet, French, Japanese, and US cultural contexts, reflects on language acquisition through displacement, translation across media, and the role of comics and documentary forms in antifascist politics. The conversation foregrounds Alekseyeva’s perspective as a post-Soviet Jewish immigrant to the US working across four languages and multiple artistic registers, from graphic memoir to academic monograph and public-facing essays. It offers an account of how multilingualism shapes intellectual formation, creative practice, and political commitment, while also advancing a critical argument that multilingualism can challenge ethnonationalist identity frameworks. The interview presents multilingualism as a form of intellectual and political bridging that unsettles fixed identities and speaks directly to urgent contemporary cultural debates.
Ioana Luca, Julia Alekseyeva· Journal of Literary Multilin...· 0 citations
Physician-writers use language as a basic cognitive tool to encode their professional and imaginative engagement with illness, the body, and human mortality. The aim of the present paper is to identify the conceptual metaphors and cultural schemas on which two physician-writers from different cultural traditions base their encoding of birth-pain. It is a qualitative study that examines the novel Awrāq Shamʿūn al-Miṣrī [The Papers of Shamoun the Egyptian] by the Egyptian writer Ossama Abdul-Raouf Elshazly and the short-story collection Round the Red Lamp: Being Facts and Fancies of Medical Life by the British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The analysis draws on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and Cultural Linguistics (CL), operationalised through the MIP/MIPVU procedure. Results show that the two authors conceptualise birth-pain in systematically opposed ways. Elshazly’s work is based on suffering is a generative womb, a metaphor that combines clinical and spiritual components drawn from Islamic theology. In contrast, Doyle uses childbirth is a combat, a metaphor that reflects a secularised, mechanistic European worldview.
Halla Saleem Nazer Al-Shammari, Mazin Jasim Al-Hilu· مجلة واسط للعلوم الانسانية· 0 citations
