Babel: Features: Text, Gender and English in Arabic Translation by Dr. Aboudi Jawad Hassan, Part Two; January 2002

This section of the work will be devoted to the analysis of the three texts. Here all the problematic sentences in the texts will be analyzed first.

Secondly, to show the urgent need for a disambiguating sentence, one gender-free sentence from each text will be analyzed. By a gender-free sentence is meant a sentence, which offers no clue whatsoever to help the translator select a definitive Arabic translation of the ambiguous English sentence. Thirdly the disambiguating sentence will be analyzed here along with the above two types of sentence.

In the second stage of the analysis the disambiguating sentence will be further analyzed in order to show its primary role in disambiguating the text in terms of gender. It will be translated into Arabic first. Then the clue will be specified and further examined.

During the analysis, it is supposed that all the elements of the context remain unchanged (the speaker, the address, and the location and temporal settings). Because initials and symbols are going to be used in this section a table containing them is given below.

Symbol	Meaning
F	Female
M	Male
ANW	Assumed Normality of the World
MES	Mutually Exclusive sex
Ling	Linguistics
Exling	Extralinguistics
Sent	Sentence
Interp	Interpretation
No PATs	Number of Possible Arabic Translation

Let us start with text (A), which is, as mentioned earlier, a letter to the editor. The very first sentence of this text is ambiguous in terms of gender. Let us analyze this sentence on its own.

Sent	1- I am a Jew from the Soviet Union who wanted to enjoy greater freedom and higher standards of living in the West. F/M
No PATs	1- أنا يهودي من الاتحاد السوفيتي أردت التمتع بقدر أكبر من الحرية ومستوى عيش أفضل في الغرب) ( M 2- أنا يهودية من الاتحاد السوفيتي أردت التمتع بقدر أكبر من الحرية ومستوى عيش أفضل في الغرب (F )
Ambiguity	No clues to be guided by
ANW	Humans (from both sexes) can be members of any one faith (by birth or conversation)
MES	F/M

For the reasons mentioned earlier, translation beginners like my first year students will go for the first translation. It will never occur to them (unless instructed) that the speaker is feminine. Let us take any other sentence in the same text. Let us take sentence (2) and analyze it in the same way.

Sent	1- I applied to go to the USA but when my papers were completed and I was given an exit permit, I was told the Jewish organization that had arranged for my departure insisted that I go to Israel.
No PATs	3- تقدمت بطلب للذهاب إلى الولايات المتحدة ولكن عندما اكتملت أوراقي وحصلت على سمة الخروج أبلغت أن المنظمة اليهودية التي رتبت مسألة مغادرتي أصرت على ذهابي إلى إسرائيل .
Ambiguity	Unambiguous
ANW	Traveling aboard needs some formalities to be done by both sexes.
MES	Undetermined

This sentence is ambiguous in terms of gender and is absolutely unhelpful to the translation beginner in order to determine the gender of the speaker of the first sentence. That is because the sentence is neutral of gender.

Let us go to the end of the text. Here the signature will provide the translator with compelling evidence that the speaker is female.

Sent	(signed by) Rebecca Nudelman
No PATs	توقيع ربيكا نيودلمان
Ambiguity	Unambiguous
ANW	English first names signal a biological difference
MES	Male

This sentence is highly important for Arab translator, particularly professional ones, because translators in general take it for granted that every “I” in almost every sentence indicates a singular male speaker.

Unfortunately for the translation beginners, this is not the case in this text. They therefore usually come up with inconsistent translations in terms of gender when dealing with texts like the one above.

To avoid such inconsistency in translation, the translator is required to be guided by clues available in or through the context (like the proper name above).

Now let us turn to text (B). Like (A) this text opens with almost the same sentence. Here the translator is also in the dark concerning the gender of the speaker.

Sent	(1) I am a Jew. F/M
No PATs	(M) أنا يهودي (2) (F) أنا يهودية (1)
Ambiguity	No clues to be guided by
ANW	Humans (of both sexes) can be members of any one faith by birth or conversation.
MES	F/M

Definitely the translation beginners here will come up with cohesive and coherent Arabic translation for one obvious reason that he/she takes it for granted that every “I” in any sentence indicates a male speaker. No other sentence in this text will offer any other clue indicating otherwise. Let us take sentence (2) of this text and see whether it can change the mind of the translator.

Sent	I am 56 years old
No PATs	أبلغ من العمر ستا وخمسين سنة
Ambiguity	Unambiguous
ANW	It is a universal fact that any human (from both sexes) has a life span.
MES	Undetermined

Undoubtedly the signature of the letter will almost always resolve the ambiguity. Let us examine how this works.

Sent	(Signed by) Stanley Wallinets
No PATs	توقيع ستانلي والينتس
Ambiguity	Unambiguous
ANW	English first names indicate biological difference
MES	(F)

This sentence seems unimportant to translation beginners because as mentioned earlier they take it for granted that every “ I “ in any sentence represents a male speaker. Coincidentally this is the case here. They therefore unknowingly produce consistent translations in terms of gender.

For contrastive and comparative purposes let us focus our attention on texts (A) and (B) first and then deal individually with text (C). In text (A) because the translation beginners feel that every “I” represents a male singular speaker and because they are inattentive to the importance of the disambiguating clue, they come up with a translation inconsistent in terms of gender. In Text (B) because the beginners take every “I” to indicate a male singular speaker and because there is no clue indicating otherwise, they unknowingly produce consistent translation in terms of gender.

Now let us go to text (C) and analyze sentence (2), which is ambiguous in terms of gender.

Sent DHSS F/M	As you can appreciate, I am somewhat nervous about approaching the passport office or my local. DHSS
No PATs	(1) كما يمكنكم أن تقدروا ظروفي أنا متخوف من الاقتراب من مكتب جوازات السفر أو مكتب وزارة الصحة والضمان الاجتماعي في منطقتي. M (2) كما يمكنكم أن تقدروا ظروفي أنا متخوفة من الاقتراب من مكتب جوازات السفر ومكتب وزارة الصحة والضمان الاجتماعي في منطقتي. F
Ambiguity	No clues to be guided by
ANW	Passport or DHSS offices are open for both sexes
MES	F/M

As it is almost always the case the translation beginners will go for the first interpretation for the reasons mentioned earlier. Let us select another sentence in the same text. Let us take sentence (3).

Sent	I was born in Washington USA in January 1957
No PATs	ولدت في واشنطن في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في يناير/ كانون ثاني سنة 1957
Ambiguity	Unambiguous
ANW	Humans of both sexes have birth dates
MES	Undetermined

This sentence of course offers no help to the translation beginner in determining the gender of the speaker in this text. That is because speakers of both sexes can utter the sentence.

At this stage a gender specific sentence is needed in order to define the gender of speaker in this text. No other sentence can do that better than sentence (9)

Sent	I married an Englishman in February 1975 but sadly died in June 1977
No PATs	تزوجت رجلا انجليزيا في فبراير/ شباط سنة 1975 ولكنه لسوء الحظ مات في يونيو/ حزيران 1977
Ambiguity	Unambiguous
ANW	English common nouns signal a biological difference
MES	M

Like the disambiguating sentence of text (A) this one is highly significant to translation beginners because it will help them interpret the gender of other problematic sentences in this text. In this text however depending on the same disambiguating clue used in text (A) i.e. the signature surely will be of no help because the initials of the signed name are absolutely unhelpful. Instead there exists a clue of a different kind. Unlike disambiguating clue of text (A), the clue of text (C) comes in a full non-elliptical sentence occurring almost in the middle of the text.

From the above analysis, one can notice that in terms of gender, sentences in these three texts can be classified into:

Now let us move on to the second and last stage of the analysis which is the analysis of the gender specific sentences.

Sent	Signed by Rebecca Nudelman
Interpret	توقيــع ربيــكا نودلمــان
Clue	Rebecca
Ling/ Extrling	Linguistic
Type	Proper name

The disambiguating clue in this gender-specific sentence determines the sex of the speaker in the first sentence of text (A). This in turn necessitates formal changes in most cases in gender problematic sentences and perhaps in other sentences in the text.

In this instance as we have seen the translator clings to this linguistic clue. In case he/she is unable to find such a clue, he/she has to expand the context to find an extralinguistice one.

Sent	(1) Signed by Stanley Willinets
Interpret	توقــيــع ستـــانلـــي والنـيتــس
Clue	Stanley
Ling /Extrling	Linguistic
Type	Proper name

The appropriateness and consistency of these beginners’ spontaneous translations are supported by the change of sex signaled by the masculine expression “ Stanley” in this gender specific sentence and the absence of any other clue indicating otherwise. There is no need therefore to change formally any item in the gender problematic sentence because the beginners unknowingly come up with the proper translations.

Sent	I married an English-man in February 1975 but sadly died in June 1977
Interpret	تزوجت رجلا انجليزيا في فبراير/ شباط سنة 1975 ولكنه للأسف مات في يونيو/ حزيران 1977
Clue	Englishman
Ling/ Extrling	Linguistic
Type	Common noun

Generally what has been said about the disambiguating clue of the gender specific sentence of text (A) is applicable to the one in (C). It differs from text (A) in the following aspects.

text (A) (the signature), this clue is absolutely of no use. What has been analyzed here shows that in texts like the ones we have examined, the translator is required to probe the text in order to find clues clarifying the gender of the speaker. Moreover it has been noticed that any changes in the gender-specific expression results in a formal change in the gender-problematic sentence signaling a change in the gender of the speaker. As for the gender- free sentences, they have no influence whatsoever on determining the gender of the speaker.

Conclusion

If our approach is plausible and our choice of data is convincing, we may come up with the following concluding notes:

1. An unambiguous translation of a gender problematic sentence can be secured by expanding the context to the limit where a clue (linguistic or extralinguistic) can be spotted . This, at the text level, will in turn lead to a cohesive, coherent and sexually accurate translated text.

2. Any change in the gender – specific sentence results in a formal change in the gender- problematic sentence signaling a change in the gender of the speaker.

3. A gender – free sentence is unhelpful in securing an unambiguous translation of the gender- problematic sentence.

4. Linguistic clues are not the only one which enable the translator or the translation beginners to obtain an unambiguous translation. This implies that extralinguistic clues are as important as the linguistic ones in disambiguating the gender of the first person singular. Non-linguistic clues need separate and detailed investigation for consideration of time and space

I am a Jew from the Soviet Union who wanted to enjoy a greater degree of freedom and a higher standard of living in the West. I applied to go to the United Sates but when my papers were completed and I was given an exit permit I was told that the Jewish Organization that had arranged for my departure insisted that I go to Israel.

I was assigned to a flat in one of the Jewish settlements on the Occupied West Bank. It did not take me long to discover the burning hatred between the Jews and the Palestinian Arabs. At first I sided with my Jewish neighbors who resented the presence of Arabs, but then I learned there was an Arab side, too. The settlement I lived on was built on land taken from Arabs, whose ancestors had inhabited that land for generations. Jews in the settlement treated the Palestinian people like subhuman. They were referred to as two – legged animals and scum of the Earth. They were taunted and jeered at all the time. The Jewish settlers strutted around with powerful weapons while the Palestinians were not permitted to own any kind of weapon. If a teenager threw a stone at a soldier or an Israeli vehicle, he could be thrown in prison for months. I learned what Jewish racism is really like.

I was appalled at the hypocrisy of the Jewish settlers- talking so much about human rights violations in the Soviet Union but treating their own Arab population much worse than I or my friends were ever treated in the Soviet Union. The brutality of my fellow Jews sickened me.

When I would protest against these things, my neighbor would just laugh at me and say: “those dirty Arabs don’t deserve any better” I could no longer stand seeing people treating another group the way they were once treated themselves in Eastern Europe and I applied for permission to come to the United States. It took me six years to get out of Israel.

I can understand all too well why the Palestinians have been rioting. Jews in the West Bank are arrogant bullies and oppressors.

I am Jewish. I am 56 years old. I lived through Hitler war in England my schooldays with many Jewish children who were refugees from Germany, and shared the incredulous horror of the world as news came of the atrocities committed by the Nazis against our people.

I felt pride that Jews themselves had never sought wars and that after such experiences could never persecute other people as they had been persecuted. I enjoyed my teens in the Jewish Youth Movement. I recall how we rejoiced when at last our brethren fought for and gained the Promised Land.

In my innocent, I was unaware at that time that anyone else lived in Palestine except for the British who had no right and a handful of nomadic Arabs.

So as I read Eyeless in Gaza italic (Feb. 12) written by a young woman who is not by race a Jew, Arab or Briton, I wept literally. Now I wonder why I should remain a Jew?

How can I continue to claim or confess – membership of this once – proud race which has suffered so much yet given so much to mankind?

Above all, perhaps, how may I speak again of the wisdom and intelligence we Jews have been proud of?

I ask these question gravely , for on the conclusions , I reach I will decide whether I can go on calling myself a Jew.

As you can appreciate, I am somewhat nervous about approaching the passport office or my local DHSS office.

I was born in Washington, USA in January 1957. My father was also born in Washington (as were his parents). My mother, however, was British (as were her parents) being born in 1922. my parents were married in England in May 1954 and live in America.

In September 1964 my parents were divorced in America and I (aged 7) was brought to England by my mother. We have lived in England ever since.

(9) I married an Englishman in February 1975, but sadly he died in June 1977. I have one daughter, born in England in 1976, but sadly he died in June 1976.

I am currently employed in England, pay UK tax, have a National Insurance number.

(13) Am I entitled to a UK passport? Could I also claim US citizenship? What is the position with my daughter? Although I am resident in the UK, am I technically domiciled here. And is that the same as nationality/citizenship.

أنا يهودية من الاتحاد السوفيتي أردت التمتع بقدر أكبر من الحرية و مستوى عيش أفضل في الغرب (2) تقدمت بطلب الذهاب إلى الولايات المتحدة و لكن عندما اكتملت أوراقي و حصلت على سمة الخروج أبلغت أن المنظمة التي رتبت مسألة مغادرتي أصرت على الذهاب إلى إسرائيل .

وهناك خصصت لي إحدى الشقق في إحدى المستوطنات في الضفة الغربية. و لم يمر وقت طويل حتى اكتشفت الحقد المتأجج بين اليهود و الفلسطينيين العرب. في البداية انحزت إلى جانب جيراني اليهود الذين يمقتون وجود العرب بين ظهرانيهم و لكن بعدها علمت أن هناك طرفا عربيا أيضا. إذ أن المستوطنة التي كنت أعيش فيها بنيت على أرض أخذت من العرب وكان قد سكنها أجدادهم منذ عدة أجيال وكان اليهود في المستوطنة يعاملون الفلسطينيين و كأنهم أدنى من البشر وكان يشار إليهم على أنهم حيوانات ذات ساقين وحثالة الأرض وكانوا دائما عرضة للسخرية و الإهانة. وكان المستوطنون اليهود يتبخترون مدججين بالأسلحة الفتاكة فيما لم يسمح للفلسطينيين بامتلاك أي نوع من أنواع الأسلحة. و إذا ما رمى طفل حجارة على جندي أو عربة إسرائيلية يلقى به في غياهب السجن لعدة شهور. لقد عرفت حقيقة العنصرية اليهودية و ماهيتها. لقد أصابني الفزع من نفاق المستوطنين اليهود الذين يتحدثون عن انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان في الاتحاد السوفيتي كثيرا و لكنهم يعاملون السكان العرب عندهم معاملة أسوأ من المعاملة التي تلقيتها أنا أو أي من أصحابي في الاتحاد و السوفيتي . إن فظاعة إخواني اليهود قد أمرضتني.

و عندما كنت احتج على أعمالهم هذه يضحك علي جيراني و يقولون أن أولئك العرب القذرة لا يستحقون أفضل من ذلك. لم أعد أستطيع رؤية أناس آخرين بنفس المعاملة التي كانوا يعاملون بها في أوربا الشرقية يوما ما. و بقيت ست سنوات حتى استطعت مغادرة إسرائيل.

إنني أقدر جيدا الأسباب التي دفعت الفلسطينيين إلى الوقوف بوجه الإسرائيليين. إن اليهود في الضفة الغربية مستأسدون متغطرسون ومضطهدون.

المحنة التي يواجهها اليهود في كل مكان

أنا يهودي أبلغ من العمر ستا وخمسين سنة قضيت أيام دراستي خلال حرب هتلر مع العديد من الأطفال اليهود الذين كانوا لاجئين من المانيا و تشاركنا الرعب الفظيع الذي ساد العالم عندما وصلتنا أخبار الأعمال البشعة التي قام بها النازيون ضد أبناء شعبنا.

شعرت بالفخر لكون اليهود أنفسهم لا يريدون أبدا الحروب و أنهم بعد كل الذي مروا به لا يمكنهم ظلم شعب آخر مثلما ظلموا.

تمتعت بوجودي في حركة الشبيبة اليهودية و أنا في العقد الثاني من عمري و أتذكر كيف كانت بهجتنا عندما أخيرا قاتل إخواننا وحصلوا على أرض الميعاد ببر ائتي تلك كل ما كنت أعرفه في ذلك الوقت هو أنه لا أحد يعيش على أرض فلسطين سوى البريطانيين الذين لم يكن لهم الحق في ذلك و حفنة من العرب الرحل.

و لذا بكيت .. بكيت بكل معنى الكلمة و أنا أقرأ مقالة "دون عيون في غزة " المنشورة في عدد فبراير / شباط و التي كتبتها طبيبة شابة ليست في الأصل يهودية لا عربية و لا بريطانية. و الآن أتساءل لماذا يجب علي أن أكون يهوديا ؟

كيف يستطيع إخواني عمل مثل هذه الأشياء ضد شعب آخر؟

وقبل كل شيء كيف يمكنني الحديث مرة أخرى عن الحكمة و الذكاء الصفتين اللتين افتخرنا بهما نحن اليهود لفترة طويلة؟

أنا أطرح هذه الأسئلة بشكل جدي لأنه عند التوصل إلى إجابات واضحة سأقرر في مسألة مواصلة ادعائي بكوني يهوديا.

إلى أي من البلدين أنتمي

قد يبدو الأمر غريبا إنني لا أعرف جنسيتي و ليس لدي جواز سفر . وكما يمكنكم أن تقدروا ظروفي أنا متخوفة شيئا ما من الاقتراب من مكتب الجوازات أو المكتب المحلي لوزارة الصحة والضمان الاجتماعي في منطقتي.

ولدت في واشنطن في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في يناير / كانون ثان سنة 1975 كما ولد أبي في واشنطن وكذلك الحال مع أبويه. إلا أن أمي كانت بريطانية الجنسية وكذلك الحال مع أبويها وولدت في سنة 1922. وقد تزوج والدي في إنجلترا في مايو/ أيار 1934 وبعدها سافرا للعيش في أمريكا.

في سبتمبر/ أيلول سنة 1964 تطلق والدي في أمريكا وجلبتني أمي إلى إنجلترا و منذ ذلك الحين و نحن نعيش في إنجلترا تزوجت رجلا إنجليزيا في فبراير شباط سنة 1967 ولكن لسوء الحظ مات في يونيو/حزيران سنة 1977. اشتغل حاليا في إنجلترا وأدفع ضرائب في المملكة المتحدة وعندي رقم ضمان اجتماعي واستلم مخصصا الأرامل.

هل أنا مخولة لاستلام جواز سفر بريطاني ؟ و ما وضع ابنتي ؟ و بالرغم من إقامتي في المملكة المتحدة هل هذه الإقامة قانونية ؟ وهل هذا الأمر هو نفسه الجنسية ؟

I-Brown, G and Yule, G. Discourse Analysis, Cambridge University Press, 1983.

2- Canterino, V. Syntax of Modern Arabic Prose, Indiana University Press, 1975.

4- S. Lotfi, S. Context-Based Approach to Disambiguating the Gender of the First

Person Singular when translating into Arabic, Unpublished Research Paper Presented

5- Wright, W. A Grammar of Arabic Language, Cambridge University Press, 1967.

Sent

Sent

Sent

Sent

Type

Conclusion

المحنة التي يواجهها اليهود في كل مكان

إلى أي من البلدين أنتمي