الملخص الإنجليزي
This study investigates the differences in metaphor translation approaches followed by the translators of modern Arabic poetry. The assumption that the translated version represents a complete equivalent of the source text is naïve, as the translator finds him/herself facing different challenges in interpreting each metaphor. The interpretation itself is very often considered difficult even for native speakers. The study evaluates some of these approaches to translating poetic metaphors from Arabic to English in terms of their accurate reflection of the original text as well as their influence on the target reader by comparing two versions of the same Arabic poem. One version is translated by a translator alone and the other is the collaborative work of a translator and a poet.
A qualitative and inductive approach is taken to data collection and analysis. Data
was collected by analyzing the translation in each English version. This comparison
allowed the researcher to find areas of similarity and difference in translation procedures between translators alone and in collaboration. The comparison includes 30 metaphors taken from three poems: "Love Song for Words' by Nazik Al Mallika, 'Ruins' by Omar Abu Risha and 'Samra' by Saeed Aql. In addition, data was collected through two surveys of English readers' acceptance of the translation in each poem.
Analysis of the translations reveals that translators alone and translators in collaboration with poets almost follow the same approach, retaining the same image and reproducing it in the target language. This approach is found to be the most convenient and appropriate. However, there is a distinction in its application. While translators alone relied mostly on literal translation, those cooperating with poets were bolder, resulting in more elegant translations. In addition, the survey results indicate that the poet's contribution has its effect on the quality of translation.
