Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Citizen Translation in the Arab World: How Citizens’ Needs Are Met Through Non- Professional Translation in the Dissemination of Knowledge(The Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2024) Binomirah, Ghadah; Marta Arumi Ribas, Anna Gil-Bardají andThe phenomenon of citizen translation in the Arab world is emerging as a critical force in the dissemination of knowledge and cross-cultural communication. With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies and social media, bilingual citizens, driven by a sense of social responsibility and activism, are increasingly contributing to the translation landscape without formal training. This research addresses the gap in understanding how citizen translators influence the availability of Arabic content online and shape the socio-political discourse in the region. By employing a constructivist grounded theory methodology, this study investigates the motivations behind citizen translators' involvement, their impact on the professional translation field, and the broader implications for translation studies. The study involved qualitative data collection through in-depth interviews with active citizen translators across various online platforms. Data analysis revealed that these individuals often operate out of a commitment to preserving and promoting cultural identity and bridging the information gap in underserved fields such as philosophy, political science, and non-Western media. The research found that citizen translation is not merely a supplementary activity but is becoming a significant force that challenges traditional notions of translation professionalism and academic discourse. The findings suggest that citizen translation contributes to a democratization of knowledge, enabling broader access to information and participation in global dialogues. The study proposes a new theoretical framework that situates citizen translation within the larger context of socio-political activism and digital content creation. This framework offers insights into how non-professional translators can influence both the quality and quantity of translated content available in Arabic, shaping the cultural and intellectual landscape of the Arab world. The implications of this study extend beyond translation studies, offering a lens through which to understand the evolving role of digital media and grassroots movements in knowledge production. It highlights the need for further research into the socio-economic impacts of citizen translation and its potential to transform both local and global communication networks. Keywords: Digital Arabic content, translation, Web 2.0 tools, online content, Arabic language, content creation8 0Item Restricted Corpus-driven Translation Pedagogy: An Empirical Study(Kent State University, 2025) Alramadhan, Mohammed H; Baer, Brian J.Corpus-based approaches have seen substantial growth across different areas of applied translation studies, with translator pedagogy emerging as a key area of focus. This is evident in the broad range of academic literature, alongside the current ongoing projects, dedicated to this field. While considerable research has already examined the role of different corpus types in translator education, relatively little has been done with parallel corpora to empirically validate the underlying assumptions reviewed in the literature, particularly in terms of English-Arabic translation. This study seeks to bridge this gap by conducting a more systematic and empirical investigation of parallel corpus-based translation teaching (PCBT), taking into account two primary areas of enquiry: 1) if and how the incorporation of parallel corpora has an impact on the quality of student translations, and 2) if and how students find this approach conducive to learning to translate. Student translations and survey responses were analyzed to gain insight into the effectiveness of PCBT. The findings reveal that PCBT has led to an improvement in translation quality, as seen in its capacity to mitigate error occurrences in student translations. Furthermore, the findings point to the potential of PCBT in fostering more constructive learning through students’ engagement in data-driven learning, a process that included observation, negotiation, evaluation, and critical thinking. Finally, the responses from the survey demonstrate that the students exhibited positive attitudes toward PCBT, recognizing its impact not only in terms of improving their translation accuracy and quality but also in terms of reinforcing positive attitudes toward translation.27 0Item Restricted Comics Translation from English into Arabic(University of Southampton, 2024) Alshahrani, Sharifa; Minney, JamesComics is a multimodal medium wherein meaning is created by taking in all modes of expression at once. It uses different semiotic modes, the verbal and visual modes, in the design of a semiotic product to make meaning. Indeed, these different modes can be socially and culturally shaped to convey meaning. Therefore, translation cannot treat comics as monomodal texts by translating only the verbal mode inside or outside the speech balloons, as the cultural differences and meanings are also encoded in the visual mode. With the rise of the internet and editing software, comics translation has expanded beyond the traditional confines of professional contexts such as publishing houses and official translation and has opened up new avenues for fan translations, “scanlation.” Scanlation has increasingly emerged at the hands of individuals who are emotionally attracted to the culture and medium. Scanlation is voluntarily carried out by fans who translate out of passion. Understanding how the multimodal relationship in comics is exploited and interpreted in the translation can be explained by exploring the translation strategies and procedures adopted by publishing houses versus scanlation websites. This thesis investigates the translation of comics from English into Arabic, with a focus on young adult and adult comics, addressing a significant gap in the existing literature. This aim is based on the premise that the production and reception of comics depend on the position of comics within a given culture’s literary polysystem. To investigate these issues, this research first identified the position of young adult and adult comics translation in the Arab world based on bibliographical data analysis using the hypotheses of the Polysystem Theory as a guiding framework. Second, this research compared the strategies and procedures used by publishing houses with those seen on scanlation websites using corpus analysis. More precisely, this comparative investigation sought to highlight the translational norms of the cultural references and the medium conventions in English comics translated into Arabic. Third, this study aimed to understand how the adopted translation strategies influenced the multimodal relationships between modes in comics in light of the text-image classification framework. The findings in this study demonstrate that the translation of young adult and adult comics is, first and foremost, a reflection of the position of comics in the target culture’s literary polysystem. In other words, the small number of comic titles translated into Arabic has a significant bearing on the translation strategies deployed. Both publishing houses and scanlation websites depend predominantly on the verbal mode to convey the meaning, with alterations made to the visual mode to conform to the target culture’s norms, even in content aimed at young adult and adult audiences. As a result, the text-image relationships change according to the strategies applied, causing a shift in the semantic balance favouring the verbal mode. The findings of the present study provide valuable and critical insights into the translational norms for translators and scanlators. It offers an enhanced understanding of handling multimodal texts such as comics focusing on linguistic, pictorial, and typographical signs.16 0Item Restricted Annotated translation project of 'Self-Heal by Design' by Barbara O’Neill and 'The Dr. Barbara Natural Remedies Encyclopedia' by Jacqueline Bridge.(Cardiff University, 2024) Alshahrani, Ardan Saeed; Abe, NozomiThis annotated translation project focuses on translating ‘Self-Heal by Design’ and ‘The Dr. Barbara Natural Remedies Encyclopedia, from English into Arabic for the non-profit organization ‘نسيم الشفاء’ (Healing Breeze), which aims to provide accessible health information to Arabic-speaking patients, particularly mothers of sick children. This project employed Skopos Theory to ensure that the translation met the goal for the target audience. Feedback from mothers was gathered to confirm the translation's clarity and accessibility. Additionally, translation theories such as Nida’s dynamic equivalence, Vinay and Darbelnet’s, methods, multimodality, and feminization theory were applied to ensure accuracy and accessibility on both linguistic and cultural level. Ultimately, the project aims to effectively convey scientific and health information, as well as simple recipes, in accessible manner.52 0Item Restricted the evaluation of AI-generated subtitles(Saudi Digital Library., 2023) Alharbi, Amjad; Tilmann AltenbergAI in translation studies is a relatively new field that has piqued the interest of researchers due to its potentials on the translation as practice and a field. Following a review of subtitle evaluation and AI within the field of translation studies, this dissertation explores the domain of AI-generated subtitles and assesses their quality in comparison to human-generated subtitles. Through manual comparative analyses and utilizing quality assessment models FAR and MQM, the research uncovers the strengths and weaknesses of AI-generated subtitles, shedding light on their struggles with nuanced language use and cultural references. Furthermore, the research underscores the paramount importance of cultural and contextual sensitivity in subtitling, an area where human subtitlers excel. It highlights the practical implications of these findings for translation practices and education, advocating for a balanced approach that harnesses the strengths of both AI and human capabilities. Despite certain limitations, including a limited sample size and Netflix-specific focus, the distraction illuminates the dynamic landscape of subtitling, emphasizing the potential for AI-human collaboration to optimize practices and ensure the delivery of high-quality subtitles.74 0Item Restricted Translate some excerpts from the book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” by John C. Maxwell.(Saudi Digital Library, 2023-12-21) Alzubaidi, Atheer; Baker, Charlotte; Naguib, ShuruqThis study takes an in-depth look into the challenges and strategies involved in translating a self-development book from English to Arabic. It specifically focuses on excerpts from "The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth." With an aim to navigate the linguistic, cultural, and rhetorical aspects of the translation process, the study seeks to discern the most effective techniques to retain the meaning and impact of the original text. One of the primary objectives of this research is to highlight the complexities of the translation process, and it does so by scrutinizing specific translation strategies such as functional equivalence, formal or linguistic equivalence, and addition or extended explanation. As for functional equivalence, it is believed that “the relationship of the target language receptors to the target language text should be roughly equivalent to the relationship between the original receptors and the original text”. (Zhang, and Wang, 2010). Formal or linguistic equivalence leans towards a more literal, word-for-word translation. And addition or extended explanation involves incorporating additional context or explanation in the target text to ensure clarity and comprehension. By adopting these strategies, the study aims to achieve a balance between maintaining the essence of the original text and ensuring its resonance with Arabic-speaking audiences. Further, the study delves into various translation cases. Each case presents an instance of translation where certain adjustments in sentence structures, idiomatic expressions, and connotations were required to preserve their intended meaning while adapting them to the target language and culture. Such cases underline the careful deliberation needed in selecting the appropriate translation strategy to navigate the complexities of linguistic and cultural differences. Finally, the study stresses the importance of being mindful of these aspects when translating. Understanding the nuances of language, appreciating cultural differences, and correctly interpreting rhetorical cues are critical in creating high-quality translations. Such translations not only resonate with the target audience but also effectively bridge linguistic and cultural gaps.31 0Item Restricted Translation and Commentary of a Contemporary Mental Illness Memoir from English into Arabic(Saudi Digital Library, 2023-11-27) Alharbi, Shoruq Lafi; Diouri, MouradThis dissertation is a translation and commentary of Andrea Petersen’s memoir; On Edge: A Journey Through Anxiety. This memoir highlights resilience against enormous challenges and powerfully illustrates the author’s path to recovery from anxiety and mental illness. The text is educational and could demystify anxiety disorders and mental illnesses via personal narrative. This dissertation aims to identify theories that will facilitate the translation of this work from English to Arabic. Moreover, preserve the imagery of the author ethically. By considering the most prominent features of contemporary mental illness memoirs – such as figurative language, technical terminologies, and other cultural aspects – the dissertation explores the process of communicating personal illness narratives across cultures to fill the gap of illness narrative in Arabic while preserving the traumatic experience’s related imagery and details. The theoretical framework consists of the interdisciplinary approach of the translator being a ‘secondary witness’ Dean-Cox’s 2013 in translating traumatic memories and emphasizes the translator’s ethical role. Next is a genre analysis of contemporary mental illness memoirs. Finally, as a general translation approach, using the functional theory of skopos. This framework facilitated the following outcomes: First, imagery-enhancing figures of speech are preserved. Second, the functional approach guided the translation of technical and medical terms. Third, the culturally specific items were translated without disrupting the narrative. This project will contribute to mental illness narrative translations. The aforementioned framework refines the translation product, allowing it to motivate further publications and translations in the domain of the contemporary mental illness memoirs genre.55 0