A case for the use of Arabic dialect in the translation of English commercials

Authors

Abdel Karim Daragmeh, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, An-Najah National University, Nablus, PalestineFollow
Aya Srouji, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine

Abstract

This study makes a case for the use of dialectical Arabic in translating brands and blends from English commercials. We examine the translations of two KitKat and Snickers commercials which contained word blends and slogan statements. As we do so, we compare the dialectical translations with the Modern Standard Arabic choices to demonstrate that dialectical translation better fits into the genre of commercials as a popular culture text due to three main reasons. These include the informal nature of dialectical uses, the greater variation in the linguistic patterns, and the greater flexibility in accommodating new blends.

Recommended Citation

Daragmeh, Abdel Karim and Srouji, Aya (2022) "A case for the use of Arabic dialect in the translation of English commercials," An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities): Vol. 36: Iss. 12, Article 14.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.aaru.edu.jo/anujr_b/vol36/iss12/14