The Translation of Interjections: A Case Study of Al-Baalebeki's Translation of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities

Abstract

Interjections , like any other parts of speech, convey specific meanings. Their meanings are culture-specific and may cause serious problems of translators. This paper investigates the strategies used by the well-known translator Munir Al-Baalebeki in translating English interjections in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities into Arabic. These strategies are omission , transliteration , paraphrasing and providing an equivalent Arabic interjection. The strategy of omission is sometimes appropriately used when the interjection omitted does not affect the meaning of the text as a whole. It is the last resort the translator should adhere to when it is difficult to find an appropriate equivalent. But, it appears that Al-Baalebeki uses this strategy in positions where he could provide an appropriate equivalent. The strategy of transliteration reveals Al- Baalebeki's inability to understand the meaning of interjections in the source text. His transliterations mostly distort the original meaning and effect. The strategy of paraphrasing is appropriately used by Al-Baalebeki for conveying the original meaning and , sometimes , the effect of the source-language text. But this strategy is not appropriate where an equivalent Arabic interjection can be found since the interjection can better convey the original effect. The last strategy Al-Baalebeki uses in his translation, viz. providing an equivalent interjection ,shows his success in transferring the original meaning and effect to the target-language text.