International Journal of Language & Linguistics

The Translatability of Metaphor in Political Speeches from English into Arabic Amal Ibraheem
Al-Zou'bi, Mahmoud Kanakri

Abstract
The study aims at investigating the problems and challenges of translating metaphors in political speech from English into Arabic. Five speeches of Presidents Barak Obama and Donald Trump were selected as a source of data in the study. A translational test was designed and administered in this study. It includes thirty excerpts of metaphors randomly selected from the aforementioned speeches. It was given to forty students enrolled in the M.A. program of translation at Yarmouk University in the academic year 2015/2016. Lakoff and Johnson's (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory was employed as a theoretical framework of this study. The findings of the study showed that there are a large number of inadequate and grotesque translations provided by the participants due to their absence of attention and unfamiliarity with political expressions. Due to this invidious picture, the researchers recommended amending the translation syllabus at Yarmouk University to add specialized courses in translating political speeches and metaphor for MA translation students. It also recommended conducting richer and deeper empirical studies about translating metaphors especially in political texts.

Full Text: PDF