African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research

ISSN: 2689-5129
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2020 (pp. 22-30) www.abjournals.org

STRATEGIES USED IN TRANSLATING ENGLISH TABOO EXPRESSIONS INTO

ARABIC
Ramadan Ahmed Almijrab
Benghazi University, Libya

ABSTRACT: Untranslatability, or translation fails, takes place when it is impossible to build

functionally relevant features of the situation into the contextual meaning of the target
language text. Scholars in the field of translation studies distinguish between linguistic and
cultural untranslatability: linguistic untranslatability is the failure to find a target language
equivalent of the source language item. This translation void is due entirely to the differences
between the two languages in question in our case English and Arabic. For cultural
untranslatability what appears to be a quite different problem arises, however, when a
situational feature, functionally relevant for the source language text, is completely absent in
the culture of which the target language is a part. Taboo, on the other hand, can be defined as
a cultural or religious custom that forbids people to do, touch, use or talk about a certain thing.
Differences between cultures may cause more severe complications for the translator than do
differences in language structure. Drawing on the actual translation between English as a
lingua franca and a religiously oriented language like Arabic, this paper examines cultural
untranslatability especially when dealing with taboo words and expressions. The paper also
suggests certain strategies to be adopted when translating English taboo words into Arabic.
KEYWORDS: Taboo, Translation, Untranslatability, English-Arabic, Culture

INTRODUCTION
Translation is one of the most important cross-linguistic and cross-cultural practices. One of
these practices is the rendering of taboo words and expressions which are the most colorful and
vibrant parts of any language. Though their use is generally unacceptable in almost any society,
they remain a vigorous part of the vernacular. Taboos fundamentally functioning as vehicles
of self-exasperation, so it makes sense that the translation can be approached in a similar
manner. Due to their reliance on context and varied usage, taboo words are often the hardest
parts facing the process of translation.
Scholars have different viewpoints about taboos. For some, it is a universal phenomenon that
takes place in any speech community but for others it is not since it is created by each culture
and each language. The latter viewpoint is similar to that of Fromkin et al (2013) who argue
that taboo has a strong cultural component representing particular custom and the way people
view their society. This is a clear indication that taboo is part and parcel of culture and norms
of particular society. In this respect, House (2009) sees culture as a connected series of beliefs
and values that are shared through each speech community. Thus, certainly language and
culture are strongly associated with each other so far as one can claim that culture is the
manifestation of language. Therefore, translation is about the transfer of language and culture
from one society to another. However, it is difficult to transfer culture because it is the totality
of any society life style, i.e. culture is a complex collection of experiences which conditions

22
African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research
ISSN: 2689-5129
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2020 (pp. 22-30) www.abjournals.org

daily life; it includes history, social structure, religion, traditional customs and everyday usage.
Translating cultural loaded terms or what Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) call culturally specific
items or what Toury (1988) terms cultural turn can create some problems during the translation
process. In this respect, cultural barrier may cause more severe complications for the translator
than does the linguistic barriers. Due to mismatch of culture, taboo expressions are difficult to
deal with especially when translating between English and Arabic.
What is Taboo?
Taboo expressions are thought of as indivisible components of each language. They are
considered as a subject, word, or activity that individuals avoid as a result of their
extraordinarily offensive or embarrassing impact. According to Ljung (2011: 184-185), these
words can be placed into five major classes or themes, specifically “religious theme,
scatological theme, reproductive organ theme, sexual activities theme, and finally the mother
theme”. The problem even deteriorates in interlingual translation due to different cultures of
the source language (SL) and the target language (TL).
Taboo words are often considered offensive, shocking or rude. The duality and vagueness of
the nature of taboo words intensify the problem of their translation between different
languages. Almost all languages have taboo words (dirty words) and their sources could be
linguistic or culture specific. However, some expressions are considered taboo and may elicit
embarrassment or offence to certain people whereas they are used naturally by other people.
For example, in Chontal (the language of Maya people in Mexico) devil is a taboo word, so
people call him older brother, because they believe if they utter his name, the devil will appear
to them. In Finnish, it is taboo to say he is in prison instead; people say he is sitting in his hotel
(Larson 1984). On the contrary, these expressions are not considered taboo among Arab
speakers.
Taboos Untranslatability
Catford (1965:94) distinguishes between linguistic and cultural untranslatability: "in linguistic
untranslatability the functionally relevant features include some which are in fact formal
features of the language of the SL text. If the TL has no formally corresponding feature, the
text, or the item, is (relatively) untranslatable”. He (Ibid: 99) adds that “cultural
untranslatability takes place when a situational feature, functionally relevant for the SL text, is
completely absent from the culture of which the TL is a part.” He also claims that cultural
untranslatability resembles collocation and it is usually less 'absolute' than linguistic
untranslatability. On the other hand, Linguistic untranslatability refers to the failure to find a
TL equivalent of the SL item. This translation void is entirely due to the differences between
language systems. However, collocation untranslatability, according to him, is more relevant
to linguistic untranslatability rather than to cultural untranslatability. For instance, international
terms like the Greek term democracy need not be translated being a lexical item with
recognizably similar phonological/graphological exponents in several languages, and having a
common contextual meaning.
Most of the taboo words fall in the category of cultural untranslatability, i.e. what is said in one
culture cannot be accepted in the other and vice versa. For instance, the showing of thump up
in Arabic culture is a sign of success, peace and friendliness whereas in Iranian culture it is
taboo and gives opposite meaning, i.e. related to sex (Davoodi 2009). Some terms in English,

23
African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research
ISSN: 2689-5129
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2020 (pp. 22-30) www.abjournals.org

for instance, may carry different meanings, according to the situation of occurrence: the word
gay means happy and full of fun, but when it is connected with gay community, it becomes
taboo at least in the Muslim-Arab culture. In American-English, the noun cock (male bird) is
replaced by the euphemistic noun rooster to avoid its connotative meaning (manhood). In
Judaism, the phrase calling God is forbidden and considered a kind of blasphemy Therefore
God is replaced by Heaven while Muslims are calling Allah whenever they want to ask for His
mercy and forgiveness. Catford (1965) also gives an example of linguistic untranslatability
when he mentions that the Finnish term sawna has no formal equivalence in English. He adds
that formal linguistic differences between the SL and the TL lead to translation failure.
The Non-descriptive Nature of Taboo Expressions
Before going any further, I would like to stretch a point about the semantic nature of taboo
words and expressions. Some scholars such as Halliday (1985) and Lyons (1995) have
proposed ways of classifying meaning into two types, descriptive or propositional and
expressive or non-propositional. There are some differences between descriptive and non-
descriptive meaning: in the former type, the meaning is logical and propositional. It is
referential as it guides the hearer in identifying the intended referent(s). It is also displaceable
because it is tied to the here-and-now of the current speech situation. Expressive meaning is
fully conceptualized and descriptive aspects of the meaning of a sentence are 'exposed' in the
sense that they can potentially be negated, questioned or denied. (Cruse 2004).
In the following example the meaning of bloody cannot be contradicted because if someone
answers that is a lie to the utterance somebody has turned the bloody lights off, that would
mean, the lights had been turned off, i.e. only descriptive meaning would be denied. In this
respect, Cruse (Ibid: 48) argues that bloody could have a metalinguistic meaning such as “You
shouldn’t have used the word bloody”. Bloody here, cannot contribute to the meaning of the
sentence because it does not contribute to the truth or falsity of the utterance. It is merely
prosodic, i.e. expresses the speaker’s exasperation or emotion.
Despite their non-propositional nature, it can be argued that taboos are not always about
evoking negative emotions, they are also a cultural phenomenon and sometimes they function
to convey strong feeling to something and give extra emotional emphasis (Jay, 2009). For
example, when we say bloody good meal it does not mean that the meal is literally bloody but
the word bloody gives extra emotional emphasis. In Arabic, it could be translated
euphemistically as ‫( وجبة طعام خارقة للعادة‬an extraordinary meal).
Strategies Used in Rendering Taboo Expressions
Translation strategies are the steps and procedures taken by translators to tackle the source
text’s (ST) translation problems. In this respect, translators have to bear in mind that the
identification of the translation problem should precede the application of the appropriate
strategy. In this paper, three approaches are adopted because of their suitability and
appropriateness in dealing with the rendering of taboo words and expressions. First, the SL
taboo term is not taboo in the TL. Second, the SL taboo term is also taboo in TL. Third, the
term which is not taboo in the SL is considered taboo in the TL. It can be said that the first
approach, which poses no problem to the translator who is able to render taboo terms directly
in the TL whereas the second and third approaches need special treatment by the translators.
To elicit the translations of type two and three, the translator may adopt four strategies: (i)

24
African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research
ISSN: 2689-5129
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2020 (pp. 22-30) www.abjournals.org

censorship, (ii) substitution, (iii) rendering taboo for taboo and (iv) applying euphemism.
Special emphasis has been put on the application of euphemism. It is worth noting that these
applied strategies are an amalgamation of Vinay and Darbelnet’s (1995) translation strategies
specifically modulation, Venuti’s (1995) domestication and foreignization and Almijrab’s
(2013) translation procedures and criteria.
Censorship or Omission
According to this strategy, the translator simply omits the SL taboo, i.e. the translator deleted
a certain part or parts of a ST while transferring it into the TL. In this case, s/he censors it as
an extra term. Consider the following example: It is bloody cold in here. ‫( الجو بارد هنا‬the weather
is cold in here) where the taboo word bloody is omitted in the Arabic version and the meaning
still intact. However, in some instances, the taboo term is a key word in the ST and its omission
could distort the meaning of the text. For example, in the expression the gay community in
Europe the word gay cannot be omitted in the target language, therefore the translator has to
resort either to substitution or euphemism. However, this strategy is much better than literal
translation of the taboo which should be avoided at all costs. As an example, the literally
translating of bitch into its Arabic version ‫( كلبة‬female dog) is not so accurate and certainly
not faithful to the original text.
When possible, according to many translators, it is best to opt for either substitution or
euphemism, as it ensures that your translation will be accepted by the target audience.
Translators should choose between translating the text as it is worded or adjusting it to reflect
the speech patterns of the target language. They largely agree not to omit specific words based
solely on ethical or moral grounds because the text itself is not targeted towards them so they
should not be offended by the language and it is within their best interest to provide a faithful
translation. However, when the use of swearwords affects a translation’s flow, it is sensible to
omit them in order to preserve the impact and purpose of the original text.
Substitution
This means to substitute SL taboos with other TL terms. This procedure often distorts the
meaning of the original because communicative difficulties constantly confront translators
when the text begins with unshared assumptions about its communicative purpose (House
1977). For example, the English word bar, which has contradictory associative properties in
Arabic, for an English reader, it is a place where people get together, chat, drink and play
games. On the contrary, the Arabic counterpart ‫( خمًارة‬place for drinking alcohol) is in itself a
stigmatizing term. This is because it involves ‫( خمر‬alcohol) which is forbidden in the Muslim-
Arab culture being associated with moral deviance and religious corruption. Instances of cross-
cultural assumptions between Arabic and English are usually subject to a shift of ideology. For
example, the word gay extending its meaning from the adjective gay (happy) but its connotative
meaning is most often translated into Arabic as ‫( شاذ جنسيا‬Homosexual). Notice that unlike
English, the Arabic term ‫( شاذ‬literally: odd) denotes radicalism, extremity and deviance from
the norm. Thus, the two names (English and Arabic) represent two conflicting cultural
assumptions involve an ideological loss when substituting one for the other. As can be noticed
meaning does not always stem from the word or its immediate surrounding but from its use in
its cultural context.

25
African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research
ISSN: 2689-5129
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2020 (pp. 22-30) www.abjournals.org

In this context, almost all English F-words are substituted in Arabic due to the fact that Arabic
is religiously oriented, i.e. any taboo and/or swear words are prohibited according to Islamic
teachings. For instance, these taboo words usually changed in Arabic as ‫( عليك اللعنة‬curse be
upon you), ‫( تبا لك‬screw you) ‫( ايها الوغد‬bastard). In addition, the word shit, widely used among
the Arabs, is changed into ‫( اللعنة‬damn).
Warren (1992) gives other devices rather than substitution to deal with taboo words. First,
compounding which is the combining of two individually polite words forms a euphemism for
an unacceptable term. Masturbation ‫العادة السرية‬, (the secret habit). Second, derivation which is
the modification of an English term to form an Arabic expression. The English word suck,
derived from the Latin word fellare, is changed into the Arabic expression ‫( الجنس الفموي‬oral
sex(. Third, loan words. Durrell (1968) claims that most of the taboo English banned words
seem to be of Saxon origin, while the euphemisms constructed to convey the same meaning
are of Latin-French. For instance, anus (‫( )فتحة الشرج‬Latin –French) and ass hole (Saxon).
Fourth, metaphor, for instance a multitude of colourful metaphorical euphemisms surround
menstruation ‫( الدورة الشهرية‬monthly period) centering around the colour red, for instance, the
cavalry has come a reference to the red coats of the British cavalry, 'it is a red letter day and
flying the red flag.
Taboo for Taboo
This means to find the word’s equivalent in the target language. This is the most effective
method but cannot always be used because taboos are often culturally derived and do not
always have perfect translations. Although, translators are aware that SL taboo expressions
unacceptable to target people and society, they prefer to translate them into the TL taboo
expressions. For example, this woman is gay. The adjective gay can be translated into Arabic
as.‫( سحاقية‬Lesbian) in ‫هذه امرأة سحاقية‬. However, the Arabic counterpart has negative effect
because such act is forbidden according to Islamic religion. Nowadays, and because of the
evolution of Arabic as a modern language both influencing and influenced, the new term ‫مثلي‬
(literary, people who are sexually attracted to the same gender) has been introduced to replace
the old terms ‫ سحاقية‬for women and ‫( شاذ‬odd) for men. Another example of taboo for taboo
strategy is the translation of the English expression oral sex as ‫( الجنس الفموي‬sex through the
mouth). This decorous Arabic neologism is less stigmatizing and is accepted by educated Arab
Muslims.
However, applying this method to the translation of taboos into Arabic is often embarrassing
to the TL Muslim community. It is undeniable fact that all the three divine religions, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam, reject such activities and consider them as sins. Since taboo is a cultural
concept which expresses emotions and exasperation, its meaning can be changed as culture
changes, for example the term nigger, in the United States, were socially accepted, now they
are considered a highly offensive term. Sometimes translators, alternatively, resort to
borrowing or loan word strategy which is the idea of taking the SL word and just change its
spoken rules in TL. For example, the English taboo word sex and shit are transliterated into
colloquial Arabic without change. This process is called by Pym (2018:43) copying words or
transcription in the broadest sense, where items from one language are brought across to
another. He (Ibid.) gives some examples as follows: on the phonetic level (e.g. Spanish. fútbol),
morphology (e.g. Spanish. balompié, literally ‘ball-foot’) or script (e.g. McDonald’s in all
languages, alongside Russian. Макдоналдс or Arabic ‫ماكدونالدز‬.

26
African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research
ISSN: 2689-5129
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2020 (pp. 22-30) www.abjournals.org

The Application of Euphemism

Euphemism is a linguistic tool that is universal in almost all languages in both spoken and
written discourses. The phenomenon of euphemisation is a politeness strategy that has a
significant impact on the English-Arabic-English translation. Euphemism is the substitution of
impolite insulting or inoffensive expression to replace one that upsets or something hostile. In
other words, euphemism is a decorous synonym used to replace a word or expression that may
be considered offensive in the TL. It also aims to tone down the strong language or offensive
expression by using fewer offensive words or expressions instead. Beckman and Callow (1974:
120) define euphemism as "a metaphorical or metonymic use of an expression in place of
another expression that is disagreeable or offensive". Leech (1981: 53) gives a semantic
meaning to euphemism stating, "euphemism is the practice of referring to something offensive
or delicate in terms that makes it sound more pleasant or becoming than it really is". He (Ibid.)
adds this technique consists of replacing a word which has offensive connotations with another
expression, which makes no overt reference to the unpleasant side of the subject, and may even
be a positive misnomer.
According to Linfoot-ham (2005:228) “the need for euphemism is both social and emotional,
as it allows discussion of 'touchy' or taboo subjects without enraging, outraging, or upsetting
other people, and acts as a pressure valve whilst maintaining the appearance of civility”.
Euphemisms are used in English to colour the language with decorous expressions. For
instance; when a woman says she is going to powder her nose, or a man uses some phrases
such as; drain the lizard and see a man about a dog, all of them mean they are off to pee. The
translation of such expressions into Arabic could cause problems, if the translator is not familiar
with their euphemistic nature
The subject of sex, being a major concern in human life and one that is likely to elicit
embarrassment, is the main source of euphemism for all people of most ages and walks of life.
"Euphemisms are powerful linguistic tools embedded so deeply in our language that few of us
even those who pride themselves on being plainspoken, ever get through a day without using
them," (Rawson, 1981:1). They are used mainly in sensitive texts to preserve courteousness.
People tend to use euphemism to mitigate discourteous discourses, to hide unmannered ideas,
to camouflage unpleasant thoughts, or to use any figure of speech such as metonymy, pun and
metaphor for replacing taboo words. As Qur'an is a revered text, euphemism, in almost all
sensitive issues, is widely used especially in the cases of sexual taboos. Consequently, it is
vitally important to highlight the overlap that might result from rendering such euphemistic
expressions into English. Sometimes dysphemism, the opposite of euphemism, is employed to
clearly underline specific objectives in the Arabic text. A common example of dysphemism is
the word cow in British English, which can be used as a derogative term for a woman who is
thoroughly disliked. Coincidently, its Arabic counterpart ‫ بقرة‬conveys the same connotative
meaning.
Unlike English, Arabic is religiously oriented. It is of course the language of the Divine
revelation. The Qur’an states clearly that ‫{ وكذلك انزلناه قراءنا عربيا‬Thus have We sent this Down-
an Arabic Qur’an} (Qur’an (20-113). It is believed by all Muslims that the Qur’an has been
declared by Allah as strictly an Arabic text. ‫{ إنًا أنزلناه قرءانا عربيا لعلكم تعقلون‬We have sent it down
as an Arabic Qur’an, In order that ye may learn wisdom.} Qur’an 12-2). This means that
religion is something confidential and sacred in Islamic culture. Arabic, accordingly, takes its
euphemistic nature from the Qur’an, for instance, the euphemistic Quranic Arabic term ‫نكاح‬

27
African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research
ISSN: 2689-5129
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2020 (pp. 22-30) www.abjournals.org

)making love( should take place within the context of marriage, i.e. premarital sex is considered
a sin in Islamic teachings and whoever commits such a sin will be heavily punished. Thus, the
English phrase sexual intercourse can only be rendered ‫( معاشرة األزواج‬they live like husband
and wife). This is because any sexual relations outside the marital frame is socially
unacceptable and highly tabooed in Islamic religion. This is due to the fact that children must
be born within a nuclear family and named after their legitimate biological fathers as stated in
the Qur’an verse ‫{ ادعوهم ال بائهم هو اقسط عند اهلل‬Call them by (the names of) their Legitimate
fathers: that is juster in the sight of God} (Qur’an (33-5). This verse also made it clear that
adopting children is not allowed in Islam an adultery is also forbidden ‫وال تقربوا الزنا انه كان فاحشة‬
‫{وساء سبيال‬Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) And an evil, opening the road
(To other evils)} (Qur’an 17-32).
In this context, it is difficult to find equivalents to the English term’s boyfriend, girlfriend in
Arabic. Some translators render them as ‫( صديق أو صديقة‬friends) which does not convey the
exact meaning because they live together like husband and wife and may have children.
Therefore, the Holy Qur'an provides formal correspondence of these terms as ‫أخدان‬: ٍ‫مُحۡصَنَـٰت‬
ٍٍ۬‫ت وَالَ مُتَّخِذَٲتِ أَخۡدَان‬
ٍٍ۬ ٰ‫{ غَيۡرَ مُسَـٰفِحَـ‬they should be Chaste, not lustful, nor taking Paramours}. (Qur’an
4:25). This verse also clarifies without any doubt that any sexual relations before marriage
(according to Islamic Shariah [law]) is forbidden.
Nida (2000) calls euphemism as softening because according to this process there is a kind of
reduction of emotional harm and unpleasant effects of the word. However, he (Ibid.) states that
the number of softened words should remain low so that the style of the TT will not be distorted.
Therefore, translators are advised to be careful when softening particular expressions in order
to preserve the context and the style of the source language text. Baker (1992) claims that it is
innocuous to resort to omission when rendering a word or expression as long as the meaning
is not vital enough to the development of the text to justify distracting the reader with lengthy
explanations. This censorship method results in some loss of meaning when words and
expressions are omitted in a translation. Therefore, it is only used as the last resort when
producing an appropriate translation is more important than the value of rendering a particular
meaning accurately.
Following Williams (1975) and Warren (1992) Al-Awda (2015) outlines the main components
of the revised model of euphemisation as follows:
(i) Widening. This involves the use of a general term to replace a more specific one in a
particular context, or the replacement of a specific cause with a generalised effect, for
example, to replace pork with meat in the Arabic translation. The noun meat is a
subordinate of pork and pork is a hyponym of meat, i.e. it is a kind of meat. This relation
is often as one of inclusion. Muslims are not allowed to eat pork ‫ لحم خنزير‬therefore, it is
translated as ‫( لحم‬meat) in order to please the Muslim-Arab readers.
(ii) Implication involves two propositions, where the second is usually a logical consequence
of the first. Euphemisms generated by this process suggest their meaning implicitly,
forcing the addressee to make some effort before identifying their implied value. Sexy
woman could be rendered into Arabic ‫( إمرأة لعوب‬frivolous woman).
(iii) The meaning of euphemism is similar to the Arabic figure of speech ‫( كناية‬metonymy)
which means to speak about something but you mean something different, or to use words

28
African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research
ISSN: 2689-5129
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2020 (pp. 22-30) www.abjournals.org

or expression that relate to the meaning allegorically. Tymoczko (1999: 42) defines
metonymy as “a figure of speech in which an attribute or an aspect of an entity substitutes
for the entity or in which a part substitutes for the whole”. Mihas (2005: 129) gives
somewhat similar use of euphemism to that of metonymy when he states “euphemisms
are used when one wants to name things without calling up a mental picture of them”.
The main aim of this cognitive point of view is that euphemisms strike at a person's
imagination and they do not depict complete pictures in the mind, i.e. they partially define
an event or object. Hence, the ability to comprehend the true meaning of a statement is
obscured.
Metonymy is similar to widening: both result in general substitutions. However, metonyms, as
the term suggests, are metonymically related to the items they substitute. It should be pointed
out here that euphemisms produced by the process of metonymy represent the whole which
conceals specific parts or attributes. In other words, the direction of the relationship between
the whole and specific parts or attributes, as offered by Tymoczko (Ibid.), is reversed in
euphemising taboo words (the euphemism represents the whole entity, which stands for
specific part or attribute, not the other way around). Metonymy, then, broadly refers to using a
word or phrase that stands for another entity associated to it in a whole-part relationship. For
instance, the English sentence: he said he had committed adultery is rendered into Arabic
metonymically ‫( قال انني أقمت عالقة اثمة‬he said he had a sinful relation). Not only adultery is
changed to (sinful relation) but also the verb committed which its literal Arabic meaning ‫اقترف‬
is changed to the Arabic neutral verb ‫( أقام‬had/made).

CONCLUDING REMARKS
Due to the strong spiritual relationship between Islam and its believers, it is clear that religion
has played a vital role in the rendering of taboo words and expressions. Therefore, and in order
to create a fluent TT, translators should translate the SL in a way compatible to the TL culture.
Form what preceded, it is found that euphemism, amongst the strategies mentioned above,
plays an important role in rendering English taboos into Arabic. Other strategies vary in their
usage according the cultural constraints and situation of occurrence.
Nonetheless, translators should not give themselves the authority to manipulate the ST in order
to achieve the objectives of the TT. This behaviour could lead to ideological shifts. However,
exploring the meaning of taboo words is up to the ST readers and depends on their cultural
knowledge, and social class and age. The translator could convey the implicit meaning of the
original while elucidating meaning in terms of TT culture. It is the translator's task to bridge
the gaps between source and target cultures and move toward the TT readers’ background
knowledge and expectations.
To deal with the untranslatability of taboos, the translator should not only compare the
structural differences but also should compare the cultural mismatch between the two
languages. The task becomes even harder when translation involves texts from unrelated
cultures. In this case, comparison could be useful as translators should be able to take into
account the different cultural presuppositions of the SL and the TL. Finally, it is hoped that the
strategies discussed so far, although not exhaustive, encompass some solution to the problems
of rendering taboos and offer some insights that could be of great help to translators.

29
African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research
ISSN: 2689-5129
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2020 (pp. 22-30) www.abjournals.org

REFERENCES
Al-Adwan, A. (2015) Towards a Model of Euphemisation in Arabic Subtitling. Arab World
English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on Translation No.4. Pp.Finally, 6-21
Ali, Y. (1982) The Holy Qur'an Translation and Commentary, Jeddah: Dār al-Kitāb.
Almijrab R. (2013) Evaluation of Translation Errors: Procedures and Criteria.
DOI:10.7763/IPDR. V62. 13 pp 58-65.
Almijrab, R. (2016). The Creation of Terminology in Arabic. American International Journal
of Contemporary Research Vol. 6, No. 2; pp 75-85.
Beckman, J and Callow, J. (1974) Translating the Word of God. Grant Rapids Michigan.
Catford, J. C. (1965) A Linguistic Theory of Translation: An Essay in Applied
Linguistics,London: Oxford University Press.
Cruse, A. (2004) Meaning in Language: An Introduction to Semantics and
Pragmatics.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Davoodi, Z. (2009) On the Translation of the Taboos. TranslationDorectory.com
Fromkin, V. Rodman, R. Hyams, N. (2013) An Introduction to Language. Boston:
Wadsworth.
Halliday, M. (1985) An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Arnold.
House, J. (1977) A Model for Translation Quality Assessment, Tübingen: Gunter Narr.
House, J. (2009). Translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jay, T. (2009) The Utility and Ubiquity of Taboo Words. Journal on Perspective on
Psychological Science, March Vol. 4 No. 2 153-161.
Larson, M. (1984). Meaning-based translation: A Guide to Cross-Language Equivalence.
New York: University Press of America.
Leech, G. (1981) Semantics. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Linfoot-ham, K. (2005). The linguistics of Euphemism: A Diachronic Study of Euphemism
Formation. Journal of Language and Linguistics.4, 2, 228.
Ljung, M. (2011). Swearing: A cross-cultural linguistic study. New York: Palgrave
Lyons, J. (1995) Linguistic Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nida, E. (2000). Principles of Correspondence. The Translation Studies Reader.(ed.).Venuti.
L. London: Routledge 126 – 141.
Pym, A. (2018) A Typology of Translation Solutions The Journal of SpecialisedTranslation.
pp 41-65.
Rawson, H. (1981) A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk. New York:Crown
Publishers.
Toury, G. (1988) Reflection on Translation, the Study of Translation and the
TranslationStudies. Stadia Translatologica Ser. A. I.
Tymoczko, M. (1999). Translation in a Postcolonial Context. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Vinay, J. and Darbelnet, J (1995) Comparative Stylistics of French and English: A
Methodology for Translation. Translated and edited by Sager J. and. Hamel John.
Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Warren, B. (1992). What Euphemisms Tell Us about the Interpretation of Words: Studia
Linguistica 46, (2), 128-172.
Williams, J. (1975). Origins of the English Language: A social and Linguistic History.New
York. The Free Press.

30