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O V E R C O M I N G D I F F I C U L T I E S
I N T R A N S L A T I N G I D I O M S F R O M
E N G L I S H I N T O A R A B I C


Researchers Name: Assistant Lecturer
Ghusoon Subhi Khalil




Department of Translation
College of Arts
Al - Mustansiriya University



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Abst ract

The ai m of t he pr esent paper i s t o shed some l i ght o n t he mai n r easons whi ch
make i di omat i c expr essi ons such a t hor ny i ssue, not onl y f or l ear ner s of Engl i sh,
but also f or t r anslat or s. To over co me t hi s di f f i cul t y, t hr ee st r at egi es have been
suggest ed ; maki ng i t possi bl e f or t he t r ansl at o r t o adopt t he one he sees most
suit abl e i n t he gi ven t ext under t r ansl at i on. Ho wever , emphasi s is given t o cul t ur al
subst it ut i on in which t he meaning is gi ven pr ior it y over t he f or m i n f avour of
pr eser ving t he cul t ur al f l avour of t he t ar get l anguage.
1. Hypot hesis
It i s hypot hesi zed t hat t he cul t ur al di mensi on seems t o const i t ut e t he most
ser ious chal l enge i n t r anslat i ng idi oms bet w een Ar abi c and Engli sh.

2. Int roduct i on

An i dio m, accor ding t o Richar ds and Schmi dt (2002: 246), can be def i ned as: ' '
an expr essi on which f unct ions as a single unit and whose meani ng cannot be
wor ked out f r om i t s separ at e par t s.' ' For example, t he meani ng of t he i di om t o
have a bee i n one' s bonnet is: ' ' t o be co nt i nually occupied wi t h, or obsessed by,
one i dea or t hi ng.' ' This meani ng has not hing t o do w it h t he meani ngs of t he
separ at e wor ds of whi ch t he i diom is composed. However , it is t o be not ed t hat
an i di om usual l y has st ar t ed as a phr ase havi ng a l i t er al meani ng w hi ch t hen st ar t s
t o be used in a f i gur at ive way. Al -Haddad (1994: 217), ar gues t hat t her e must be
some r el at i onshi p bet w een t he meani ng of most i dio ms and t he meani ngs of t hei r

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co nst it uent s at some t i me in t he past , and, i f not , t hey wo uld not have been
expr essed by t hem.
Idi oms, t her ef or e, const it ut e a pr oblemat i c ar ea f or bot h f or eign lear ner s of
English and t r ansl at or s. The f or ei gn lear ner s should possess a good kno wl edge o f
i di oms i n t er ms of t heir t r ue meani ngs as w el l as t hei r cul t ur al associat i ons. As a
mat t er of f act , i dioms ar e r at her pr obl emat i c and di f f i cul t t o lear n. Thi s can be
ascr i bed t o a number of f act or s. Some such f act or s ar e r el at ed t o t he nonli t er al
meani ngs of i dioms or t o t he odd wor d gr oupi ng of some i di oms, or r at her t o t he
r igi d wor d or der of some idioms. Ot her f act or s can also be det ect ed. Al- Haddad,
1994:218) ment ions f our mor e such f act or s: i nsuf f iciency of t eachi ng t echni ques
f ol l owed i n t hi s ver y ar ea, i nadequacy of t he cr i t er i a o f t ext ual f r equency, t he
f or ei gn lear ni ng si t uat io n i n w hich English is lear ned, and lack of cult ur al
assi mi l at ion on t he par t of t he st udent s.
The t r anslat or , on t he ot her hand, has a t w o- f ol d r esponsi bi lit y laid on his
shoul der . Fir st , l i ke f or eign l ear ner s, a good mast er y of i dio ms i n t er ms of
meanings and cult ur al backgr ounds i s r equir ed. Then, and most im por t ant ly, he is
asked t o gi ve equi val ent i dio ms i n t he t ar get l anguage t o w hi ch he is t r ansl at i ng,
t aking i nt o account t he cult ur al di f f er ences t hat may ar ise bet ween bot h
l anguages.
3. Tr ansl at i ng Idi oms
Tr ansl at i on, i n gener al , i s not an easy t ask, and t r ansl at i ng i di oms, i n par t i cul ar ,
makes it r at her a mor e dif f i cult t ask. Peder sen (in Tr osbor g, 1997: 109) ar gues
t hat : ' ' The t r ansl at i on of i di oms i s as di f f i cult as i t is cent r al ' ' .Wher eas Lar son
(1984:143), ar gues t hat idi oms should be t r ansl at ed wi t h gr eat car e: The
t r anslat or must f ir st be sur e of t he meani ng of t he i dio m and t hen look f or t he
nat ur al equival ent way t o expr ess t he meani ng o f t he idiom as a w hole .


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The di f f icul t y ar i ses f r om t he f act t hat w or ds of an i diom should not be
t r anslat ed li t er al l y; ' ' t hese (i dioms) ar e never t r ansl at ed w or d f or w or d
(New mar k, 1988: 125). It has also been empasized by Lar so n (1984:20), t hat : The
r eal danger comes i n t r ansl at i ng an i dio m l it er all y, si nce t he r esul t w i l l usuall y be
nonsense i n t he r ecept or language .
Wor ds of an i di om, t her ef or e, ar e not t o be t r ansl at ed i n isol at i on; r at her t he
t r ansl at or shoul d go af t er t he r eal meani ng or image t r ansf er r ed by each i di om. In
t his r espect , t he t r ansl at or may f ace not a single, but r at her many pr obl ems w hi ch
may be summar i zed as f ol low s:
1. It may sound r at her di f f i cul t at t i mes t o be r ecogni zed on t he par t of t he
t r anslat or t hat he i s f aci ng an i di om i n a given t ext . Thi s i s due t o t he f act t hat not
al l i di oms ar e t o be r ecogni zed easi l y. Some i dioms ar e easi er t o r ecogni ze t han
ot her s. To over come such a pr obl em, t he t r ansl at or may r esor t t o l it er al r endit i on
as a st ar t and see w het her t he meani ng f it s, and i f no t , i.e., i f t he li t er al meani ng
does not make sense, he can t hen r ecognize it as an idi om and deal w it h it as
such: ' ' Gener ally speaking, t he mor e di f f i cult an expr ession is t o under st and and
t he l ess sense it makes i n a gi ven cont ext , t he mor e li kel y a t r ansl at or wi ll
r ecognize it as an idiom.' ' (Baker , 1992: 65).

2. Anot her pr oblemat i c issue f aci ng t he t r anslat or in t his r egar d is w hen an
expr essi on is having t wo meani ngs, o ne of w hich is l it er al, an d t he ot her is
idi omat i c. This happens most of t en w hen t he idiomat i c expr essi on is based on a
physi cal i mage. Th is is usuall y f o und in idi oms wher e par t s of t he body ar e
i nvol ved. Consi der t he f ol l ow i ng exam pl es:




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A sl a p o n t h e f a ce
It has t w o meanings. The f i r st is l i t er al , w her eas t he second i s idi omat ic (a sudden
and unexpect ed r ej ect ion, def eat , or disappoi nt ment ) (Seidl and M cmor die, 1988:
220).
Ke e p o n e ' s h e a d a b o v e w a t e r
Her e again t w o meanings ar e involved: lit er al, t o pr event your sel f si nki ng i nt o t he
wat er , and i diomat i c (keep out of debt , out of di f f icult y) (Ibid: 226).
A p a i n i n t h e n e ck
It coul d eit her mean a physical pai n or idi omat ical ly: (an ir r it at ing or annoying
per son) (Ibi d: 229).
The t ext -t ype i n w hich such expr essi ons ar e used w il l det er mi ne w hich o f t he t wo
meani ngs i s i nt ended, and t hen t he t r ansl at or makes hi s deci si on r egar di ng t he
st r at egy he adopt s i n deal i ng w i t h t hose expr essi ons.
3. Aer r ecognizi ng t he pr esence of i dio ms i n t he t ext under t r anslaon, t he
t r anslat or encount er s cer t ai n di f f i cul t ies w hen at t empt i ng t o r ender t hem i nt o
t he t ar get l anguage. Such di f f i cul t i es i nvol ve, above all , sel ect i ng t he most
appr opr iat e st r at egy f or t r ansl at ing idio ms. In her discussion of i dio ms, Baker
(1992:71-78), ment i ons f our st r at egies f or t r anslat ing i dioms. In t he pr esent
st udy, in w hich t wo dist i nct languages ar e i nvo lved, it has been suggest ed t hat t he
t r anslat or can achieve t he best ef f ect i n hi s r endi t i on of i di oms by select i ng any of
t he t hr ee st r at egi es t o be discussed soon.




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4. Tr ansl at i on St r at egi es of Idi oms
Thr ee di f f er ent st r at egies ar e suggest ed t o hel p t he t r anslat or in his endeavor t o
pr oduce t he most ef f ect i ve count er par t f or any idi om he may encount er i n t he
sour ce t ext . It i s t o be not ed t hat t he f i r st t w o st r at egi es may be r egar ded as mor e
ef f ect ive t han t he t hir d o ne, w hich he may choose as a last r esor t if he f i nds out
t hat t he ot her t w o st r at egi es pr ove i nappl i cable.

3. 1 Tot al Equival ence (Form + Meaning)
Accor di ng t o Baker (1992: 72)," t his st r at egy of f indi ng an idi om of si mi lar
meani ng and si mi l ar f or m i n t he t ar get l anguage may seem t o of f er t he i deal
solut i on, but t hat i s not necessar i l y al w ays t he case" .
It is t o be emphasized t hat idi omat i c expr essi ons ar e cult ur e- bound. A gr eat
maj or i t y of i di o ms, i n al l l anguages, have cul t ur al associ at i ons whi ch make t hem
pecul iar . Inani ( 1998:32 ) ar gues t hat most Engl ish and Ar abic i dioms have
appear ed as met aphor s which st ar t ed t o be used, bi t by bi t , unchanged unt i l t hey
have been r ecognized as est abl ished f or ms of a given l anguage. This point is
f ur t her emphasized by Al- Haddad (1994:217), w hen he ar gued t hat ' ' The
meani ng o f many idi oms r esul t s f r om t he f i gur at i ve ext ensi on of t he or i gi nal
si t uat ion w hich is of t en unknow n t o t he maj or it y of speaker s. This sour ce may
have been obscur ed by t ime" . Agai n, t hi s aspect has been point ed out by Lar son
(1984:21), w hen he menoned t hat idioms ar e gur es of speech and as such, ar e
of t en based on st or i es o r hist or i cal i ncident s. M any t i mes, t he or igi n of t he f i gur e
i s no l o nger appar ent .
Such bei ng t he case, t his kind of mat chi ng can onl y be ar r ived at i n cer t ai n
occasions, w hen bot h t he sour ce lan guage and t he t ar get language bel ong t o t he
same language f ami l y; hence, havi ng cul t ur al simi l ar i t i es, a mat t er w hi ch
f aci l i t at es t r ansl at i on. When, on t he ot her hand, t w o cul t ur al l y r emot e l anguages
such as Engl ish and Ar abi c ar e invol ved, i t is not advi sabl e t o r esor t t o t o t al
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equivalence si nce t he sour ce l anguage i di om and t he t ar get l anguage i diom may
have dist i nct cul t ur al i mpl icat i ons.
It is t o be not ed, ho wever , t hat many Engl ish idi oms have got cur r ency in t he
Ar abi c l anguage t hr ough t r anslat ion, and have been used t o a gr eat deal i n t he
dai l y j our nali st ic r egi st er or pr esent day wr it ing. In f act , such a phenomenon has
become so commo n i n moder n Ar abic t hat i t mi ght be t hought , at t imes, t hat
such expr essions ar e or iginall y Ar ab ic. This is due t o t he f act t hat Ar abi c has a
unique abil it y t o di gest t he f or ei gn t er ms and make t hem look l ike t he genuine
ones in i t (see Hi jazi , 1978:318).
The f ol l ow i ng exampl es i l lust r at e t he usage of many f or ei gn i di omat i c
expr essi ons i n pr esent -day Ar abic:

To shed crocodi l e t ear s -, _,--- _,-'--''

To f i sh i n t r oubl ed wat er -'=-, -'-'' ''

To di gest i deas -+, '`'

The man of hour .= ='-''

Li t erar y cur rent s -'',-'' ,--`'

To t hr ow li ght on -', '-,- _'=

Li on s shar e -= --`'

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Cr ux of t he mat t er -'- _,-,-''

To give t he green li ght =, -,-'' -=`'


The l esser of t wo evi l s ,' ,-''

A necessar y evil - --` --

A st umbl i ng bl ock == -`=


3.2 Par al Equi val ence (Si mi l ar i t y i n meani ng not in f or m)
Thi s st r at egy i nvol ves t r ansl at ing an ST i di omat i c expr essi on int o it s equi val ent
TT i diom w hi ch conveys t he same meani ng, but has a dif f er ent f or m. It i s of t en
possi bl e t o f i nd an idi om i n t he TL w hi ch has a meani ng si mi lar t o t hat of t he SL
i di om, but w hi ch consi st s of di f f er ent l exi cal i t ems.
In t hi s r espect , it i s advi sed t hat t he t r ansl at or possesses a good cul t ur al
backgr ound co ncer ni ng t he i di omat i c expr essi ons he may be f aced w i t h. A l ack o f
such a backgr ound may hi nder hi m f r o m gr aspi ng t he r eal image and t he
co mpr ehensive i dea and/ or meaning beh ind any idiom havi ng a cul t ur al
speci f i cat i on. It i s w or t hy t o ment i on t hat havi ng a good cult ur al backgr ound
about i dio ms i s a necessit y which i s supposed t o make t he t r ansl at or not only get
t he t r ue an d complet e meani ng behi nd i dioms, but al so t o enable him t o f i nd
equivalent i dio ms havi ng t he same or si mi l ar f unct i ons i n t he TL .
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(Sadi q, 2008:50).
Fur t her mor e, cult ur al backgr ound has been looked upon as a must in t r anslat ing
i di oms i f t he t r ansl at o r seeks t o pr oduce a t r ul y ef f ect i ve t ar get l anguage t ext
The cul t ur al backgr ound i s t he onl y w ay out t o t r anslat i ng i di oms i n an equi val ent
way ( Ibi d: 51).

The f ol l ow i ng ar e i l l ust r at i ve exampl es of ST i di oms w hi ch have been t r ansl at ed
int o t hei r TT count er par t s whi ch car r y t he same meani ng, but di f f er in t hei r f or ms:

On pi ns and needl es / On t ent erhooks -='' - =' _'=
To j ump on t he bandwagon -, =,-'' / ,'-, ',-''

To car r y coal s t o Newcast l e ,,'--'' -'= -'-'' _,-,
To gi ve someone hi s head / To keep a l oose rei n on someone
-''' _'= .-='' ' -',
To keep a t i ght r ein on someone ,-, ,'= '-=''
He has an axe t o gr i nd -- -,-, ,'=
To t ake t he r ough wi t h t he smoot h _-' _'= -=`' -','',
At sixes and sevens ~,~- '~'-=' Q'-~'-
To put a br ave f ace on =-=- -'- =;-'
To end up i n smoke _'~ '-'- ',;--- / ~- ',-' _'-,-'

At someone s beck and cal l / To eat out of someones hands
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_-~- _;= -'-- / _-~- Q, -,'~!
To f ly of f t he handl e / To bl ow one s t op ~,'- -,-'- / ,'= -,-'=

Not t o t al k over one s head =-' Q;--' ')-,'-
To cat ch someone on t he hop --='- _-- Q-= -,-
To add f uel t o inj ur y / To add i nsul t t o i nj ur y -', - Q-=-' --

To make a mount ai n out of a mol ehi l l J-- Q- -=-' --
To move eart h and heaven ;'-' '----' '--';
To r ain cat s and dogs ,=-- -';-'- ~,--'
To t ur n t ai l s / To t ake t o one s heels J~,' -'~ _-,--
To have a f i nger i n t he pi e - ;-- - ,-V'
A word i n season J-- ;'-- J'--
To be at one s wi t s end ~-'~ - J-~-'
In f ul l swi ng _-- ;-- _'~;
Dead t o t he wor l d _,'- - ;;--'
Thr ough t hi ck and t hin - -',~-' -',~-';
To know what s what V _~- -,'--
To r oll up one s sl eeves ,-~ Q- ---'~

To bur y t he hat chet / To be back on an even keel
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-;- -'---' _-! ')-,'=-
The bot t om l i ne ~-- --~--'
To gi ve a f r ee hand ' _-= - Q'--'

It i s no use cr ying over spil t mi l k _-~ ~-~-' J--'
Al l/ Complet el y at sea -; - -= --
Body and soul !--- !--'-;
A dead l oss =,~ - , -';

Put on / give your sel f ai r s (and gr aces) Q--- ~-,
To be at l ogger heads ! ~-~- '~-'
To be behi nd t he t i mes / have seen (known) bet t er days
J-' ,--' --- ~,~;
To f all on st ony gr ound ~,~- - ,- =-'=-'
Can t make head or / nor t ai l of somet hing ! =--= J-'=-' J-'--'-






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It i s wor t h not i ng, her e, t hat f i ndi ng Ar abi c idi oms car r yi ng t he same or al most
t he same meani ngs t o t hose l i st ed above or even t o any ot her idi om i s not as
easy a mat t er as it appear s t o be. As a st ar t , an int er pr et at ion of t he int ended
meani ng of t he or igi nal i di om i s r equi r ed. To accompl i sh t hi s, t he t r ansl at o r
begins his ext ensive sear ch f or gen uine Ar abi c idi omat ic co unt er par t s t o f it in
pl ace of t he Engl i sh ones. As a mat t er of f act , t wo or even so met i mes t hr ee
so ur ce bo oks ar e needed t o f ul f i l t his t ask. Not al l idi oms ar e included wi t hi n
Engli sh Ar abi c di ct i onar i es, and t hus, Engl ish Engli sh dict i onar i es ar e
indispensable. Fur t her mor e, Ar ab ic Ar abic dict i onar ies ar e al so needed so as t o
be sur e of t he meani ng i nt ended.

3. 3 Paraphrasi ng
Thi s st r at egy, as t he name i ndi cat es, i nvol ves gi vi ng a br i ef explanat i on of t he
meani ng behi nd t he i di omat i c expr ession bei ng used i n t he ST. This i s usual l y
done w hen t he t r anslat or is f aced wi t h i di omat i c expr essi ons i n t he SL whi ch have
no co r r esponding i di omat ic expr essi ons i n t he TL, or , mor e o f t en, w hen he f ai ls t o
f i nd an idiomat i c expr essi on i n t he TL t hat mat ches t he one used i n t he SL.
Par aphr asi ng may be consi der ed t he most common way of t r ansl at i ng i di oms
when a mat ch cannot be f ound i n t he TL or when it seems i nap pr opr iat e t o use
i di omat i c language in t he TT because of di f f er ences in st yl ist i c pr ef er ences of t he
SL and t he TL. It might be suggest ed, ho wever , t hat t he t r anslat or is advi sed t o
app ly t his st r at egy only w hen he is lef t w it h no o pt i on but t o par aphr ase.
It is t o be not ed t hat t his st r at egy i s best appl i ed t o such i di oms w hi ch ar e l ess
cul t ur e- speci f i c t han ot her s. Ot her w ise, t he cul t ur al f l avo ur w i l l be l ost .


The f ol lowi ng ar e some examples o f par aphr asing:
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A har d nut t o crack -'~- -~-~- / -~- --'~
To wal k on ai r -,-- --'~-' / ,~- --'~- -,-'-
To l i ve f r om hand t o mout h '-=- -'-= ~'---'
Wr ong end of t he st i ck --- -',--'
Sound i n wi nd and l i mb - ;-' =~
Have no backbone ~-~ ',(' -- ;' -~=~-'
To t hi nk on one s f eet -,~ )----'
To go t o t he ends of t he ear t h J-- ~;-'-
To let t he cat out of t he bag ~-- ',~ / --- ',-'
To keep bot h f eet on t he gr ound Q-- !--';








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Concl usi ons

Tr ansl at i on is a compl i cat ed pr ocess by i t sel f , l et al one t he t r anslat i on of
i di oms w hi ch ar e pr obl emat ic and di f f i cult t o lear n. Bei ng pr obl emat i c and
di f f i cul t t o l ear n i s not mer ely at t r ibut ed t o t he f act t hat i di oms have non-l i t er al
meani ngs, t hough t hi s i s a h uge pr oblem by i t sel f . So me ot her f act or s make
i di oms di st i nct i ve, and t hus not an easy mat t er t o t ackl e. Some i di oms ar e
char act er ized by t heir odd wor d gr oupi ng and/ or t hei r r igid and unj ust i f iable
wor d or der .
Two i nt er r el at ed dif f icult ies ar e det ect ed on t he par t of t he t r ansl at or when
deali ng w it h idioms: his ab il it y t o r ecogni ze an d i nt er pr et an idiom cor r ect ly on
one hand, and his success in l ooking f or t he most suit abl e r endit io n of an idi om
i nt o t he t ar get language, on t he ot her .
M or e of t en t han no t , idioms ar e cul t ur e-specif ic, a mat t er whi ch needs f ur t her
car e and aw ar eness on t he par t of t he t r ansl at or . In or der t o pr eser ve such a
cr it er i on, t he t r ansl at or shoul d w or k har d, not only t o avoi d li t er al i sms w hi ch he
must avoid wit h almost al l idioms but also t o endeavour t o pr ovide his r eader s,
whenever t his is possi ble, w it h i dio mat i c t r ansl at ions in w hich not only t he
i nt ended meani ng i s pr esent ed, but al so t he cul t ur al speci f i ci t y f l avo ur .





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