A Critical Discourse Analysis of Translated Texts

Prepared by the researche : Badia Elharraki – Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco

Democratic Arabic Center

Arabic journal for Translation studies : Eighth Issue – July 2024

A Periodical International Journal published by the “Democratic Arab Center” Germany – Berlin

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Introduction

This paper aims to explore the intricacies of translating discourse from English to Arabic. We contend that a thorough analysis of translated texts requires considering three key aspects: the translated text and its source, the discursive practices involving both the translator’s actions and the audience’s interpretations, and the broader socio-cultural context of the translation, all within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). To grasp how texts are translated and assess their fidelity to the source, we emphasize the concept of ‘shift,’ in addition to other procedures, showcasing the various mechanisms contributing to an effective translation from English to Arabic while preserving meaning in both languages. The translation of three media articles from English to Arabic by Elharraki (2012) offers an opportunity to examine the intricate relationship between shifts in meaning and ideological implications. We also aim to demonstrate that addressing the tension between ‘foreignization’ and ‘domestication’ in CDA is essential in translation analyses.

1– CDA as a theoretical and methodological framework
CDA proves invaluable in grasping the dynamics within language, thanks to its Hallidayan perspective wherein language is intricately linked to its socio-linguistic setting. By elucidating the linguistic mechanisms that underpin the construction of ideology, CDA becomes an indispensable tool for unraveling the implicit strategies authors employ in discourse to convey their perceptions of the world, whether deliberate or subconscious.

Fairclough (1995) proposes an analytical framework of three related discourse dimensions of a communicative event—namely, the text itself, the productive and receptive practices surrounding the text, and the sociocultural environment that surrounds all of them.  In other words, A CDA of a communicative occurrence involves examining the connections between three aspects of that occurrence, which are termed text, discourse practice, and sociocultural practice. The term “text” encompasses both written and spoken forms, with spoken texts possibly being solely verbal (such as radio) or incorporating visual elements (like television). “Discourse practice” refers to the activities involved in producing and consuming text. “Sociocultural practice” pertains to the social and cultural contexts in which the communicative event occurs.

A crucial question in CDA concerns the definition of ‘ideology’. “Ideologies are particular ways of representing and constructing society which reproduces unequal relations of power, relations of domination and exploitation” (Fairclough & Wodak, 1997, p. 275).  Similarly, Fairclough (1992, p. 67) defines it as “significations generated within power relations as a dimension of the exercise of power and struggle over power”. It is maintained that “language is not powerful on its own – it gains power by the use powerful people make of it” (Wodak & Weiss, 2003, p. 14).

The values and ideologies which underlie texts tend to be hidden rather than overtly stated. As Threadgold (1989) observes, texts are never ideology-free nor objective, nor can they be separated from the social realities and processes they contribute to maintaining. For this author, spoken and written genres are not just linguistic categories but “among the very processes by which dominant ideologies are reproduced, transmitted and potentially changed” (p. 17). In her view, a spoken or written genre is never just the reformulation of a linguistic model, but always the performance of a politically and historically significant process.

     We will use CDA as a theory and a method in the analysis of the translated texts. At the level of the text, an understanding of how translation proceeds and how equivalence with the source texts is maintained requires a deep understanding of the pivotal notion of ‘ shift’ by displaying the various mechanisms that contribute to a ‘faithful’ translation. The term “equivalence” will be scrutinized to exhibit its different manifestations at the textual tier. At this level (the text), the research question we are mainly concerned with revolves around the issue of whether translators have an array of choices up their sleeve to render faithful meaning or are limited in their choices. In other words, if translators have alternatives, we should be able to characterize the level at which these translation choices are textually possible. It should be noted that we will rely on some data we had in Elharraki (2022a, b), where the focus was on one article, namely “Asymmetric struggle for the hearts and minds of viewers: Can the media actually trigger sympathy towards terrorists?” by Ifat Maoz (2010) to complete the project where the text is linked to both discursive practice and sociocultural context in one model; however, we have added other procedures to make the analysis more thorough and we extended our analysis to cover two additional articles: “The competition between Al-Jazeera’s Arab news diversity and US channels: Content analysis of Iraq war” by Al-Jenaibi (2010) and  “Towards an open ethics: Implications of new media platforms for global ethics discourse”  by Ward and Wasserman (2010).

Since textual analysis is located within the analysis of other discursive practices that are productive and interpretive, and since the production of texts usually takes place in a complex environment against which the order of discourse provides key elements about the operative hegemonies, an analysis of discursive practice is an efficient tool to characterize how social orders of discourse are drawn upon. Fairclough (1995b) makes the difference between a linguistic analysis (of a descriptive type), and an analysis of discursive practice (of an interpretative type); thus, he maintains that discursive practice handles the text to be interpreted in a general context of social practices. In this study, we will show that a shift in the meaning of words, which gives translators more freedom in translating depending on their personal and ideological orientation, is a potential site for discursive production and interpretation.

Finally, we will deal with the level of sociocultural practice, the third dimension in CDA which has to do with social practices that are ideologies, hegemonies and hierarchies of power in the culture and society the discourse is produced in (Fairclough, 1992, pp. 66). This critical analyst sees social practices as the things people have accepted and learned from the environment, culture and society they live in, and discourses as a part of a particular social practice being produced in a certain cultural and historical environment. In our study, we will analyze the translated text within its general context and we will focus on the first article which will be dealt within the framework of press representations during violent conflicts.  Besides, we will attempt to spot ideological and political trends in the Israeli’s construction of reality (as far as actors and actions in news discourse are concerned), constructed differently by Palestinians and Arabs in general (including the translator).

2- A CDA analysis of translated texts

The first article we have translated is entitled “Asymmetric struggle for the hearts and minds of viewers: Can the media actually trigger sympathy towards terrorists?” and written by Ifat Maoz (2010). In this article, the author argues that interviews with terrorists humanize and trigger sympathy towards them – even among potential victims of these terrorists. The article studies Jewish-Israeli responses to a televised interview with a female Palestinian who was caught by Israeli security services on her way to perform a suicide bombing in Israel. The author adopts quantitative methods to determine the effect of the interview on Jewish-Israeli viewers and shows that political identification in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict – as hawks or as doves – affects viewers’ perceptions of the interviewed woman and viewers’ emotional responses to her.

The second article is entitled “The competition between Al-Jazeera’s Arab news diversity and US channels: Content analysis of Iraq war” and written by Badreya Al-Jenaibi (2010). This paper examines Al Jazeera and CNN channels as sources of news diversity, and attempts to gain an understanding of how culture affects news reporting, with a particular focus on the Arab culture as compared to American culture using Al-Jazeera as an Arab source of news and CNN as a western news source.

The third article translated is “Towards an open ethics: Implications of new media platforms for global ethics discourse”, written by Ward and Wasserman (2010). This article offers an international perspective on how new media technologies are transforming the parameters of debates about journalism ethics. It argues that new, mixed media help create “open media ethics” and explores the way these developments encourage a transition from closed professional ethics to universal ethics.

2.1- Text

2.1.1- Shift

The term “shift,” as defined by Catford (1965), delineates between formal correspondence, where source language (SL) and target language (TL) categories align closely within their respective systems, and translational equivalence, which pertains to two segments of texts serving as translations of one another. Catford posits that a shift occurs when there are deviations from formal correspondence between a source text (ST) and a target text (TT), indicating that translational equivalents do not correspond formally. He identifies two main types of shifts: level shifts, which involve changes between grammar and vocabulary, such as translating verbal aspects using adverbs, and category shifts, which encompass structure shifts (alterations in clause structure), class shifts (changes in word class), unit shifts (translating a phrase with a clause), and intra-system shifts (changes in number despite similar number systems in both languages). Generally, shifts in translation occur as adaptations to systemic disparities between ST and TT. This concept has been widely embraced across various translation approaches, viewing translation as a process of transformation where one system is replaced by another while maintaining a similar communicative function. Hatim and Mundy (2004) draw parallels between Catford’s “formal correspondence” and “textual equivalence” and Saussure’s differentiation between “langue” and “parole.” Formal correspondence aligns with “langue,” the underlying system of language, while textual equivalence pertains to “parole,” the actual linguistic performance in real-life situations.

To evaluate the degree of translators’ latitude in expressing meaning in the TT, a grammatical examination has uncovered restrictions in certain areas. Particularly, regarding category shifts, translators encounter limitations stemming from language-specific attributes like inflection and word order. As a result, when there is a discrepancy in formal correspondence between the source and target languages, translators are compelled to conform to the general structure of the target language.

ST: we focused specifically on two major schemes or positions through which Israeli-Jews relate to the Arab–Israeli conflict

 TT: ركزنا بشكل محدد على مخططين أو موقفين رئيسيين نربط من خلالهما بين الصراع اليهودي الإسرائيلي والعربي الإسرائيلي

Back Translation (BT): on two schemes or two positions main

The example provided highlights the importance of acknowledging duality, which is indirectly conveyed in English by using the word ‘two’ before the nouns ‘schemes’ and ‘positions.’ In Arabic, this concept is expressed through the inflectional morpheme ‘ayni’, meaning ‘two.’

Because of the systemic differences that exist between English and Arabic at the level of word order, shifts are bound to occur at the clause level. The English clause-structure (SVC) has a formal correspondence (VSC) in Arabic.

  ST: In the asymmetric struggle of terrorists with state actors, the media                                                                                    

          play a central role.

TT:  تلعب وسائل الإعلام دورا مهما ومركزيا في الصراع الغير متكافئ بين الفلسطينييين                                    والمسؤولين الرسميين في الدولة

BT: plays media outlets role important.

On another scale, structural shifts may also take place at other levels. Consider the following structures that illustrate the change that occurs at the phrase level in so far as the order of the constituting elements are concerned:

ST: information war

     TT: حرب المعلومات

     BT: war information

ST: negative feelings towards the terrorist

TT: مشاعر سلبية تجاه الفلسطينية

BT: feelings negative

ST: open media ethics

TT: أخلاقيات وسائل الإعلام العامة

     BT: ethics outlets media general

In class shift, where the translated equivalent of an SL item belongs to a different class from the original item, this transition from one class to another across languages is inevitable if there is no equivalent lexical category in the TT. Otherwise, the translator has the freedom to switch from one category to another for stylistic purposes. For instance, in the example below, we observe a clear class shift from a verb in English to a noun in Arabic.

ST: The different and conflicting themes and frames that emerged as the interview unfolded can help to better understand the responses of viewers to this interview.

TT : أوضحت الموضوعات والإطارات المختلفة والمتضاربة التي برزت خلال المقابلة على إمكانيتها للمساعدة على فهم أفضل للاستجابات المشاهدين لهذه المقابلة.

    BT: for an understanding better

This movement from one class to another, as in the other types of shifts, is bound to occur when there is no corresponding lexical category available. In most cases, however, finding a direct lexical match is easy.
In the context of intra-system shift, where Arabic and English share the same system but formal correspondence is unattainable for the translator, as in the case of dates where numbers need to be substituted with lexical forms, the translator’s flexibility is considerably limited. Nevertheless, within this category of intra-system shift, the translator may encounter situations where they have the choice between two alternatives, such as singular and plural forms. Despite this option, the translator often leans towards adhering to the preference of Arabic users for singular forms over plural forms.

ST: In the 1970s and 1980s, several regional newspapers developed, and news broadcast stations began to emerge as part of daily life

 TT: أحرزت عدة صحف إقليمية تقدما خلال السبعينات والثمانينات وبدأت محطات بث                                              تظهر كجزء من الحياة  اليومية

BT: during the seventies and the eighties.

In this particular scenario, although Arabic shares the same numerical system as English, translators are not afforded the liberty to retain the same format in dates. Consequently, translators are compelled to substitute the numerical values with lexical expressions.

Another instance of intra-system shifts occurs when a term that is plural in the ST has a correspondent in the singular in the TT:

ST: The study used quantitative methods to determine the effect of the interview on Jewish-Israeli viewers, and to show that political identification in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict –as hawks or as doves – affects viewers’ perceptions of the interviewed terrorist and their emotional responses to her.

TT : استخدمت الدراسة أساليب كمية لتحديد مدى تأثير هذه المقابلة على المشاهدين الإسرائيليين، وكذا لتبين أن الهوية السياسية في الصراع الإسرائيلي الفلسطيني، “كصقور أو حمائم” تؤثر على رؤية المشاهدين في اللقاءات مع الإرهابيين والاستجابة العاطفية لها.

BT:   the perception of viewers

         the response emotional

Grammatically, utilizing the plural form in Arabic is feasible. Nevertheless, in terms of stylistic preference, the aforementioned translation choice is favored, reflecting the translator’s decision to conform to widely accepted usage—a stylistic preference. Despite having the freedom in this matter, the translator chooses to align with the inclination of Arabic users towards singularization rather than pluralization.
In the final category of shifts, known as unit shift, morphemes transition into words, words evolve into phrases, and clauses transform into sentences, and vice versa. In this case, there is no discretion available to select a corresponding form. For instance:

ST: media

TT: وسائل الإعلام

BT: means of media

ST: Al-Jazeera’s notoriety in the West increased immediately after September 11 when Osama bin Laden faxed a statement to the station declaring that he was not responsible for the attacks

TT  : زادت شهرة الجزيرة في الغرب مباشرة بعد احداث 11 شتنبر عندما صرح أسامة بن لادن للقناة بالفاكس أنه لم يكن مسؤولا عن الهجمات

BT: events of 11 September

ST: supposedly

TT: من المفترض

BT: from the supposed

ST: Twitterers

TT: مستعملي التويتر

BT: users of Twitter

In such cases, the translator must adhere to the established norms within their community to avoid producing a translation that appears unnatural.

Generally, freedom in translation becomes especially noticeable in two main areas. Firstly, in level shift, translators have the chance to select between a grammatical or lexical structure since both options are feasible. Level shift occurs when an element in the ST at one linguistic level corresponds to a translated equivalent in the TT at a different level. This includes shifts from grammar to lexicon and vice versa.

ST: This study examines Jewish-Israeli responses to a televised interview with a female Palestinian terrorist, caught by Israeli security services on her way to perform a suicide bombing in Israel

TT: تناقش الدراسة الحالية ردود الفعل اليهودية الإسرائيلية على مقابلة تلفزيونية مع مقاومة فلسطينية تم القبض عليها من قبل المصالح الأمنية وهي في طريقها لتنفيذ عملية  استشهادية في إسرائيل

BT: The study present

The ST deictic term ‘this,’ which serves a grammatical function, has been replaced with a lexical word in Arabic. ‘This’, functioning grammatically in English, has been substituted with the word ‘alḥaliyyatu’, “the present”, which is a lexical term in the Arabic language system. Consequently, ‘this study’ has been translated as ‘the present study.’ At this level, it is evident that the translator has freedom, as both grammatical and lexical structures are available for selection based on personal stylistic preference. In the provided example, the same form could have been retained in Arabic as ‘hatihi ddirāssatu’ (‘this study’).

Secondly, translators also have freedom in cases of shift by addition, shift by omission, and shifts in word meanings. As the term suggests, shift by addition occurs when the translator opts for structures containing more words than those in the ST.

ST: Israeli security

TT: : أجهزة الأمن الإسرائيلي

BT:  services security

ST: Al-Jazeera

TT: قناة الجزيرة

BT: channel AL-Jazeera

In such contexts, the translator has the option to maintain the same number of words as in the ST and render the phrases as ‘al’amnu l’sra’iliyyi’ for ‘Israeli security’ and ‘aljazīra’ for ‘Aljazeera’ (while considering the context), or convey the same ideas by adding more words. This decision hinges on the translator’s approach, which may aim to minimize the number of words in the TT for a gist translation or expand the TT for a more detailed explanation.

In contrast to shift by addition, shift by omission occurs when the translator selects structures with fewer words than those found in the original text of the ST.

ST: Participation, therefore, has two moments: participation in discussion and participation in adoption.

TT: المشاركة في المناقشة و في تبنيها

BT: participation in discussion and its adoption

As in the preceding shift, translators have the liberty to omit words from the ST or retain them in the TT based on their stylistic preference.

Shift in meaning constitutes the realm where translators enjoy the highest level of freedom in translation, influenced by their individual and ideological standpoints. As categorized by Baker (1992), meaning can be delineated into four types: propositional, expressive, presupposed, and evoked meaning. Expressive meaning, in contrast to propositional meaning, cannot be classified as true or false as it pertains to the speaker’s emotions and opinions rather than the reference to words and utterances. Consequently, translators can adopt a subjective approach to the text. In the subsequent example, the translator modifies the meaning of “monsters” to “giants,” indicating a favorable inclination towards Western media.

SL: Al-Jazeera rose to challenge “monsters” like CNN and BBC, the companies that Al-Jazeera itself listed as its major competitors

TT : تقدمت الجزيرة لتصل إلى تحدي “العمالقة “مثل “سي.ان.ان” و”بي.بي.سي” اللذان يعتبران من ضمن الشركات التي صنفت  الجزيرة كأكبر منافسيهما.

BT: Giants.

In summary, a grammatical examination has revealed that translators may encounter limitations in fully conveying messages in the TT. Particularly, at certain levels such as category shift and structure shift, freedom is restricted due to language-specific attributes like inflection and word order. Consequently, when there is a lack of formal correspondence between the source and target languages, translators are compelled to adhere to the primary structure of the target language.

In class shift, where the translated equivalent of an SL item belongs to a different class from the original item, this transition from one class to another across languages is unavoidable if there is no corresponding lexical category in the TT. However, the translator has the freedom to switch between categories for stylistic reasons if such options are available.

Regarding intra-system shift, where Arabic shares the same system as English but formal correspondence cannot be achieved (as with dates, requiring the substitution of numbers with lexical forms), the translator’s freedom is restricted. Nonetheless, within the same category, such as singular/plural forms, the translator may choose between alternatives, often preferring singular forms to align with Arabic usage preferences. In unit shift, where morphemes evolve into words, words into phrases, and clauses into sentences, freedom in selecting a corresponding form is absent.

Freedom in translation is more apparent in two primary areas. Firstly, in level shift, translators can opt for grammatical or lexical structures if both are feasible. Secondly, in shifts by addition, omission, and alterations in word meanings, translators have liberty. However, it remains true that expressive meaning provides translators with the most fertile ground for reshaping the ST according to their personal, cultural, social, and ideological backgrounds.

2.1.2- Procedures

When translating, we face an array of procedures from which we can pick and choose to adapt the text to its immediate environment. Word-for-word or sense-for-sense procedures have always constituted a debatable issue and translators have always attempted to position themselves at some point of the literal/dynamic cline. To accomplish a faithful translation, we have experimented with different types of procedures depending on the problems we have encountered and also depending on the translation situation. This has been done in the light of the nature of the texts which we have treated as communicative, i.e. we have used many procedures that vary in terms of importance according to the contextual factors of both the ST and the TT. The existence of interlinguistic diversity has led us to wonder about the means, techniques and procedures to which we can have recourse to reach the best translation possible. Our main source in this respect has been Vinay and Darbelnet (1995 [1977]). Below we survey the most crucial and frequent procedures we adopted in the course of translating the media articles.

Borrowing

Borrowing is exploited to fill a lexical gap, usually a metalinguistic one such as a new technical process or an unknown concept (Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995, p. 31). It is the simplest of all translation methods. Newmark (1988, p. 81) uses the term transference to denote this procedure. Other terms for the same procedure are emprunt, loan word and transcription. Borrowing is a procedure that takes place normally in language contact situations. This task refers to a case where a word or an expression is taken from the SL and used in the TL, but in a ‘naturalized’ form to conform to the rules of grammar or pronunciation of the TL. The following are some of the examples we have found in the course of our translation of the articles on media from English to Arabic:

ST : media ecology

TT:  إيكولوجيا وسائل الإعلام

ST :technology

TT: تكنولوجيا

SL: an utopia

TT:  الطوبوية

ST: CNN

TT:  سي ان ان

SL :Intifada

TT: الانتفاضة

ST: The authors point to an old Arabic saying, khalif to3raf, which means

“oppose and be known.”

TT: يشير الكتاب إلى قول عربي قديم “خالف تعرف” الذي يعني “عارض لتكون معروفا”

This last example is revealing as it shows the real difference between borrowing and transliteration. Whereas all the translated items have undergone relatively a form of phonological and morphological adaptation or assimilation, the last one is different as it was taken from Arabic in its original form. This last form depicts this notion of transliteration which occurs when the translator transcribes the SL characters or sounds in the TL (Bayar, 2007). This is a procedure that refers to the conversion of foreign letters into the letters of the TL. Sometimes transliteration is not perceived as translation proper as it looks for transcription rather than searching for the cultural and semantic equivalent word in the TL; however, it remains that this technique helps in transcribing proper nouns or culturally-bound expressions in the SL for the sake of preserving the local stance (domestication).

 Calque

Vinay and Darbelnet stated that a calque is a special kind of borrowing whereby a language borrows an expression from another language, but then translates literally each of its elements (1995, p. 32). Generally speaking, calques depict a situation where the translator imitates in his translation the structure or the manner of expression of the ST.

SL: Fox Desert

TL:  ثعلب الصحراء

SL: United Nations

TL: الامم المتحدة

SL: Mother of all smokescreen

TL: منبع التمويه بالدخان

SL: western news organisation

TL: منظمة الاخبار الغربية

Transposition

Transposition consists of replacing one word class with another without changing the meaning of the message (Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995, p. 36). In general, shifts are necessary to avoid the use of calques.

SL: Al-Jazeera’s managing director explains that the staff of the broadcast station all has professional backgrounds

TL: يوضح رئيس المجلس الإداري للجزيرة أن جميع موظفي المحطة لهم خلفيات مهنية محترفة

ST: This professional media ethics remained closed for most of the 20th century. Much of the ethics discourse was “in-house,”

TT: ظلت أخلاقيات الإعلام المحترفة خاصة في معظم مراحل القرن 20 بحيث كان جزء كبير من أخلاقيات الخطاب “داخلي” 

 While Vinay and Darbelnet restrict the term to one type of grammatical change (i.e. word class change), Newmark extends it to cover a wider range of grammatical shifts that can be reflected in changes of number, person, gender, word order and word class changes.

SL: Interviews with terrorists are often seen as humanizing and evoking sympathy towards them – even among potential victims of these terrorists

TT: غالبا ما ننظر في المقابلات مع الإرهابيين على أنها تضفي طابعا إنسانيا وتثير التعاطف تجاههم حتى من طرف الضحايا المحتملين لهؤلاء الإرهابيين

Modulation

Modulation is defined by Hardin and Picot (1990) as a change in point of view that allows us to express the same phenomenon differently. It is applied when translation, although structurally acceptable, is considered unsuitable or unidiomatic in the TL (Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995, p. 36). Unlike the other procedures, this one is applicable at the whole message level.

ST: The terms “closed” and “open” refer to general features of the ethics in question. The terms refer to how an ethics is used, discussed, critiqued, and changed.

TT: تشير المفردات “عامة” و”خاصة” إلى الملامح العامة للأخلاقيات الموضوعة قيد التساؤل، حيث توضح هذه المصطلحات كيفية استعمال الأخلاقيات وكذا مناقشتها ونقدها وتغييرها

 This semantic-pragmatic procedure that changes the category of thought, the focus, the point of view and the whole conceptualization is given a real value in Vinay and Darbelnet (1977).  It is considered to be more practical in cases where the TL rejects literal translation.

SL: unless it’s in English – a thing of the past.

TT: اللغة الانجليزية هي المستقبل

In sum, modulation as a procedure of translation occurs when there is a change of perspective accompanied with a lexical change in the TL.

Adaptation

Adaptation changes the content and the form of the ST in a way that conforms to the rules of the language and culture in the TL community. As a translation procedure, it handles culturally-bound words/expressions, metaphors and images in translation. In other words, the translator resorts to rewriting the SLT according to the characteristics of the TL. It is a form of cultural substitution that refers to the case where the translator uses equivalent words that are ready-made in the TL, and serve the same goal as those of the SL but without alienating them. In other words, the translator substitutes cultural words of the SL by cultural words of the TL. An example of cultural substitution is clearly seen in the translation of the following:

ST: Interviews with terrorists are part of a new and personalized genre of media coverage of terror.

TT: تعتبرالمقابلات التي آجريت مع المقاومين جزءا من نوع جديد وذا طابع شخصي للتغطية الإعلامية للمقاومة الفلسطينية

2.2- Discursive practice

Our exploration of the initial aspect in CDA, the text, has clarified the precise transformation occurring from the ST to the TT at the textual level. It is evident from this linguistic examination that genuine freedom is only experienced at the level of meaning because semantic meaning always presents a potential arena for negotiation and thus for the transmission of ideology. This implies that any thorough translation analysis should be conducted in the context of an examination of both the ST and the TT by comparing and contrasting the intent and the audience of the original text with those of the TT, adhering to formal correspondence when similar structures denote the same content, and resorting to a more dynamic translation when translatability and comprehensibility are at risk. Expressive meaning undoubtedly remains the most influential element in translation as it may prompt translators to deviate from the ST in some critical instances and take liberties in modifying elements to fit them into the context of the target text.

As previously noted, an examination of discursive practice serves as a powerful tool for elucidating the construction of social discourses. Fairclough (1995b) makes a distinction between linguistic analysis (descriptive) and analysis of discursive practice (interpretative), highlighting that the latter situates the text within broader social practices. Shift in the meaning of words, which grants translators more flexibility in translation based on their personal and ideological inclinations, represents a potential focal point for discursive production and interpretation. For example, as demonstrated earlier, the translator’s substitution of “monsters” with “giants” indicates a favorable stance toward Western media.

It has been mentioned in Elharraki (2022b) that the translator’s freedom poses fidelity concerns at the expressive level, considering translation as both “a textual thing” (House, 1981, p. 65) and a form of intercultural communication (Gregory, 2001). This dual nature has spurred translation theorists to investigate the importance of registers. Drawing from Halliday’s systemic functional grammar, Munday (2008) argues that translation should prioritize the register and discourse levels (Hatim & Mason, 1990). Research has uncovered various alterations in the TT that reflect the translator’s ideology, leading to a tension between ‘foreignization’ and ‘domestication’, as elucidated by Venuti (2008) within the context of the ‘translator’s invisibility’. This dynamic mirrors the translation process known as “modulation”, defined by Hardin and Picot (1990) as “a change in point of view that allows us to express the same phenomenon differently.” Modulation is employed when a translation, while structurally acceptable, is considered unsuitable or unidiomatic in the target language (TL), as outlined by Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, p. 36). Unlike other translation procedures, modulation operates at the level of the entire message. For instance, the term “suicide bomber” referring to a Palestinian woman illustrates the challenges translators may face with their audience. When Arab translators render it as ‘inti ḥāriyya’ (‘suicide bomber’), they prioritize fidelity but may offend the Arab audience (foreignization). Conversely, if they translate it as ‘istishhādiyya’ (‘a woman who sacrifices herself for a sacred cause’), they compromise fidelity to appease the Muslim community and ensure a reader-friendly translation (domestication). These tensions underscore the translator’s lack of complete freedom in their choices as they navigate the complex interplay of culture and ideology.

2.2- Sociocultural practice

Fairclough (1992, p. 64) argues that discourse contributes to social practices by reconfirming and reconstructing them. Language or texts can reconfirm, reconstruct, recreate or change already established discourse structures or hierarchies (Fairclough, 1992). Fairclough (2003, p. 9) posits that “ideologies are not simply beliefs and values; they are representations of aspects of the world which can be shown to contribute to establishing, maintaining and changing social relations”. He further explains that ideologies are “the significations/constructions of reality (physical world, social relation, social identities) which are built into various dimensions of the forms/meanings of discursive practices, and which contribute to the production or transformation of relations of domination.” (1992, p. 87).

Ideologies, from this angle, are not simply learned; they are reconstructed in all aspects of life. Fairclough (1992, p. 87) suggests that the ideologies that are embedded in discursive practices are most effective when they become naturalized, and people see them as common sense, which need not be questioned. Besides, Fairclough (1992, p. 90) argues that people are not always aware of the ideologies they practice, and they do not always realize them because the ideologies are so natural and automatic. How social structures influence discourses, and the way social structures are themselves the product of discourse are part of contextual analysis. The particular interest of Fairclough is related to the fact that discourses signify and constitute ideological power. The continuities and discontinuities in media discourse constitute an invaluable key to how social practices maintain power.

Concerning the translation of the first article, the general context revolves around press representation during violent conflicts, where the reality depicted in the article by the Israeli author is seen differently by the translator (an Arab translator) i.e., the two opponents do not share the same view about the socio-political stances and historical narratives. Generally, in similar situations many of the contradictions, fissures and fractions in the structures of the divergent communities are left hidden, and result in many internal political and ideological tensions in both communities, which are discursively articulated in news discourse and translation in different ways. Slater (2007) argued that both rivals (Israelis and Arabs) know the importance of the news media in shaping the perceptions of local and international audiences. Likewise, it has been found that “Israelis and Palestinians (and Arabs in general) are both very aware that they are playing to an international audience and, as always, there is a major struggle over who should be cast as the aggressor and who as victim” (Wolfsfeld, 2003). For this author, news discourse is a battlefield where journalists focus on essentialized representations where we find a general tendency to underscore the suffering of the ‘Self’ by personalizing one’s victims and downplaying the suffering of the ‘Other’ by making few references to their victims. Wolfsfeld (2003) argues that Palestinian and Israeli media have fuelled the conflict by prioritizing enmity rather than building trust, and by putting media in the service of ethno-national objectives based on an essentialized distinction between ‘Self’ and ‘Other’.

Considering the translators’ background, their personal history significantly influences their translation. Consequently, for an Arab translator, the term “terrorist” carries inherent provocation, particularly for those who sympathize with the Palestinian cause. What Israelis label as terrorists are perceived by Arab and Muslim audiences as “freedom fighters”, while suicide bombers are often viewed as “Istishhādiyyūn” (individuals sacrificing themselves for a sacred cause). Translating such text while retaining the original connotations may seem inadequate for Arab audiences, as it necessitates a thorough consideration of various factors influencing both the production and reception of the text, notably the broader contextual backdrop. In the case of this article, its translation is intertwined with a political milieu marked by a protracted history of conflict between Arabs and Israelis, a dynamic that significantly shapes the translation of Israeli texts. Consequently, domestication emerges as a logical approach from the translator.

In summary, translation endeavors to convey equivalent meaning in the target language by examining the values inherent in both the target and source languages at the linguistic and cultural levels. Many translators opt to adapt source language values to better resonate with the target language audience, a process known as domestication. Conversely, others adhere strictly to the values of the source language in line with fidelity, a practice termed foreignization. Both techniques are integral components of discursive practice, which in turn is intertwined with sociocultural practice.

3- Conclusion

We have reached some important conclusions. First, to reach a good translation, it is obligatory to use CDA as a framework in the overall conceptualization of the movement from the original text to the translated text. Second, the only shift in translation that gives freedom to translators is the intra-systemic one, a part of class shift, shift by addition, shift by omission, and shift in meaning. Third, we have found that expressive meaning is the most influential element in translation as it may lead translators to drift away in some crucial cases from the ST and take some liberty in modifying elements to fit them in the context of the target text. Finally, a CDA analysis of translated texts provides an excellent way to analyze how ideology is transmitted via discursive practice under the influence of the general context.

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