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Article published In:
Babel
Vol. 63:2 (2017) ► pp.214–229

When stylistic features are overlooked in translation

The case of Mohammed Abdul-Wali into English

 | Ibb University
If a literary translator wishes to produce a rewarding and successful translation, his main focus should be not only on content but also on the stylistic manipulation of the text. This paper considers how overlooking the writer’s stylistic varieties affects the quality of translation, rendering the story questionable. Problems related to translating the present tense within a past narrative and reported speech, drawn from Leech and Short (1981, 2004), will be discussed. The textual illustrations will be taken from Mohammed Abdul-Wali’s representative collection They Die Strangers (1966) in English (2001), which was published by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. The argument is potentially helpful to the study of stylistics and translation studies as a whole.
Keywords: stylistics, historical present, simultaneous present, speech presentation, culture, literature
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The present tense in past narrative
    • 2.1Present tense transitional problems
      • 2.1.1“The Last Class”
      • 2.1.2“The Chinese Road”
      • 2.1.3“Saturday Market”
  • 3.Reported speech presentation in fiction
  • 4.Reported speech presentation in Arabic narrative
  • 5.Reported speech presentation in Abdul-Wali’s fictional world
    • 5.1“The Color of the Rain” and “On the Road to Asmara”
    • 5.2“Abu Rupee”
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 31 August 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.63.2.04alm
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