Investigation of Arabic Translation of Phrases and Terms Used in Masnavi’s First Book

Abstract

Mystic poem is one of the most difficult type of literary text, in which the poet's intention is expressed in metaphoric language and terms. The duty of the translator is to translate mystic idioms and metaphoric concepts accurately in order to convey a mutual effect and the poet’s intention to the addressees in the best way. Molana’s Masnavi is the best sample of mystic poetry that has attracted the attention of literature fans and enthusiasts of mysticism in the world. This survey has been done on Molana’s work. The aim of this study has been to descriptive and analyse the first book of Masnavi, based on Mona Baker's equivalence theory at word level regarding the translation of idioms, proverbs and expressions; It has been discussed to what extent the translator has managed to transmit the meaninigs of these idiomatic expressions to the addressees. The results of this survey have displayed that the lack of the translator’s attention to the idiomatic expressions and their meanings led to a word by word translation from Persian into Arabic in the major part of the work.