The Trouble with Translating the Arabic Language

Translating from one language to another is often a complicated task due to subjective notions regarding language, the use of regional dialects, idioms and figures of speech, and differences between the spoken or written languages.

However, translating Arabic can be even more troublesome due to the complex nature of the language and because it is a Semitic language – it is completely different to European languages and those spoken in the Western world.

Approximately 300million people around the globe use Arabic as their primary language, making it the fifth most spoken language, with over 20 nations across the Middle East and North Africa using it as their principle language.

While Arabic may be considered a fairly common language, it still provides challenges for translators and linguists.

Here are a few of the challenges most frequently found with the translation of Arabic and how translation experts can help you overcome them.

 

Spoken and Written Arabic

One factor that often causes problems for those wishing to translate Arabic is that the spoken language and the written language are two very different things.

If you know the purpose of your translation, for example, if you need a newspaper article translated from English to Arabic, then you are likely to need Standard Modern Arabic (SMA). This is the format that is generally used by newspapers, religious TV programmes, and more official media outlets. SMA is standardised across the Arabic world.

If you require translation that is likely to be spoken, such as, TV advertisements, radio shows, surveys, or less official forms of communication, then you should not use SMA. In this instance, you must know which country and region the final translation is destined for as this will show which Arabic spoken dialect your translation requires.

A professional translation team will advise you how best to proceed and which type of translation you should use. They can also localise your translation so it can be applied to regional areas where dialects come into play.

 

Dialects

The next challenge for Arabic translations come when considering the variety of dialects that exist within the Arab speaking world. Although Westerners may speak slightly different forms of English (even in the UK there are small regional differences in dialect from North to South or West to East), they are still based upon the same source; someone from Scotland could still understand a person from England.

However, with Arabic dialects this is not always the case. Arabic is unique in that each country has its own spoken form of Arabic that has developed over time from Classic Arabic roots. Arabic people from two different countries may have trouble understanding each other verbally.

When you require an Arabic translation that will utilise spoken Arabic, you must be conscious about which country you plan to target. Advance planning with your translation provider can save much time and money through use of effective localisation for Arabic speaking regions. Be aware that while some translators may be fluent in one or two Arabic dialects, it does not mean that they are capable of translating multiple dialects.

Check with your provider which dialects they offer and select a translation provider that suits your needs, and that uses native speakers as translators where possible.

 

Arabic Grammar and Structure

The sentence structure and grammar rules of Arabic are completely different to Western languages. This can cause problems when translating, as only native speakers, or those who have spent years speaking the language, tend to translate languages naturally and flawlessly.

Translations that have not been completed by a native speaker are easy to spot – we’ve all read comical sounding instruction manuals for assembling home products, or spotted errors in translated documents that interrupt the flow of the sentence. A native speaker can offer a translation that is clear, concise, and grammatically accurate.

For example, an English speaking person would say “many years ago”, but an Arabic speaker would say “since many years ago” due to the differences in sentence structures.

 

As you can see Arabic is not an easy language to translate, but by using a professional translation team who offer skilled, native translators you should be able to overcome any problems with translation.

Arabic is a unique language that can take years to master for a non-native speaker, but as it is in such demand around the globe there are likely to be many more students who take up the challenge to learn the language.

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