Linguistic taboo in Arabic translations of the Bible

Abstract

Discussing selected solutions present in contemporary translations of biblical texts into Arabic, this article is an extension of Marek Piela’s research on the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Polish. I analyse lexemes and expressions that belong to the taboo sphere and thus demand the use of premeditated linguistic means in translation. 

The Bible verses studied in the article indicate that – when translating lexemes belonging to the taboo sphere – Arab translators follow the rules and avoid words naming God (Jahveh → Ar-rabb ‘Lord’) and body parts or objects having physiological connotations (vulg. maḥra‘a – ‘privy’ → neutral mazbala – ‘dump’). Vulgar idioms are never translated as such, probably also due to compliance with the rules of linguistic taboo. Translators adopt various solutions in this respect. They translate individual elements of expressions literally, which leads to the unintelligibility of the resulting phrase (maštin bqir – ‘pissing on a wall’ – a vulgar and scornful term for a young male → bā’il bi-ḥā’iṭ – ‘pissing on a wall’ – with no added secondary meaning). Sometimes vulgar expressions are rendered with equivalents interpreting their senses or functions. For instance, an expression naming a very insulting gesture šålaḥ ʼeṯ hazzmora ʼel ʼappo – lit. ‘to rise a twig up to one’s nose’ – is translated as waḍa‘a ’aqrāṭan waṯaniyya fī ’anfi-hi – ‘to put pagan earrings into one’s nose’. Idioms which euphemistically render tabooed contents tend to be translated literally, e.g. gillå ʽerṷa – ‘expose nudity’ – a euphemism for sexual intercourse → kašafa ‘awra – ʽexpose nudityʼ; in this case the Arabic equivalent refers to some other sinful and tabooed act. Other solutions include rendering referential meaning substituted with some evaluative expression (gillå kånåf – ‘to take off one’s clothes’ – a euphemism for sexual intercourse → ’ahāna – ‘to humiliate’). 

Concluding, it can be said that in most cases Arabic Bible translators do not manage to obtain dynamic equivalence in translating idioms, particularly the vulgar ones. Following the rules of linguistic taboo, they maintain formal equivalence or use expressions with similar referential meaning but of a different stylistic value.