Diglossia in Translating Proverbs between Arabic and English: A Linguistic Perspective

Diglossia is a common linguistic phenomenon in Arabic in all aspects of communication including proverbs. This paper examines how diglossia affects the translation of Arabic diglossic proverbs into English, taking Saudi vernacular as an example. The study adopts a descriptive analytical approach. Five (5) professional translators from five (5) Arab countries (Saudi, Yemeni, Egyptian, Syrian and Sudanese) were hired to respond and comment on thirty-six (36) carefully selected Saudi proverbs into English. The proverbs were categorised into six groups: lexical diglossia, morphological / phonological variation, code-mixing (code-switching), semantic / pragmatic contrast, frequency and cultural relevance, and formality-informality tension. The analysis is based on the views of Nida (formal and dynamic equivalence), Baker (pragmatic strategies) and Toury (translation norms). The findings show several facets of diglossia in translation. Translators closer to the Saudi context tended to prioritise adequacy and cultural specificity whereas others favoured target text acceptability and communicative clarity. Dynamic equivalence predominated for secular pragmatic proverbs while formal correspondence was preferred for religious and morally solemn items. Baker's pragmatic model proved to be useful in the analysis of translators' choices regarding implied meanings and translation shifts. Toury’s framework explained how initial, preliminary and operational norms guided translators’ choices. The study findings are valuable to translators, linguists, educationists, and cultural studies scholars.