Analysis of Semantic Equivalence in Khadivjam’s Translation of Al-Ayyām Based on Reiss and Baker’s Model

Document Type : research article

Authors

Department of Arabic Language Translation, Faculty of Humanities, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran

10.22059/jflr.2025.380586.1145

Abstract

The type of a text specifies translation approaches; therefore, it is essential to have a system that determines the type of the text. In her model, Reiss mentioned four types of texts with informative, expressive, appellative, and audio-medial functions. Classified under the autobiography genre, works like Al-Ayyām (= The Days) represent a composition of informative, expressive, and appellative functions. Therefore, translators should adopt approaches tailored to each function while translating such works, as these functions determine how translators should employ what translation approaches. After the text type is identified, two objective measures are at the translation analyst’s disposal: linguistic criteria and metalinguistic criteria. The linguistic criteria include semantic, lexical, syntactic, and stylistic equivalences, among which only the semantic equivalence is focused in this study. The semantic equivalence is also supported by Baker’s model in relation to logical, inductive, presupposed, and provoked meanings. Hosein Khadivjam’s translation of Taha Hosein’s Al-Ayyām was selected to apply Reiss and Baker’s model to functional semantics. Khadivjam translated this book into Persian under the title of The Days. The results of this descriptive-analytical study indicated that Khadivjam translated Al-Ayyām based on its dominant function, i.e. the informative function. Regardless of certain shortcomings that have emphatic meanings in translation, the translator succeeded in striking a semantic equivalence between the original text of Al-Ayyām and its translated text (i.e. The Days) in logical, inductive, presupposed, and provoked dimensions. Therefore, Khadivjam’s translation of Al-Ayyām equals the original text with respect to the measures of functional semantics.

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References

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Journal of Foreign Language Research
Volume 14, Issue 4
February 2025
Pages 643-660

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