Translator style: an exploration of stylistic patterns in translations by Raymond Stock and Roger Allen of works of Naguib Mahfouz

Aldawsari, Hamad Abdullah H (2019). Translator style: an exploration of stylistic patterns in translations by Raymond Stock and Roger Allen of works of Naguib Mahfouz. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This research seeks to explore the stylistic features of translators, by examining Roger Allen’s and Raymond Stock’s English translations of Arabic Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz’s work. The methodology expands on that presented in Gabriela Saldanha’s Translator Style: Methodological Considerations (2011a). The data-driven research was conducted using two parallel corpora: The Corpus of Translations by Raymond Stock (CTRS), and The Corpus of Translation by Roger Allen (CTRA). A third corpus, the Collection of English Translated Mahfouz Novels (CETMN) (including 24 works), translated from Arabic to English by multiple translators was employed as a reference corpus. Register theory was suggested as a potential principle, unifying the differences that arise between translators. More specifically, the analysis reveals Raymond Stock’s translations to be more formal than those of Roger Allen. It is suggested that the differences between the two translators corresponds to Biber and Gray’s (2013) distinction between informational and imaginative written discourse. Possible explanations for the two translators’ stylistic differences include Stock’s translation and journalistic background and Allen’s academic and literary one.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

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