Arabic Euphemism in English Translation

Abstract

The present study aims to address the translatibilty of Arabic euphemisms into English by investigating Arabic euphemizing strategies and their potential English counterparts. It establishes the construct that euphemism is a pragmatic feature with translational relevance that concerns the degree of politeness between SL and TL. Arabic and English are shown to largely operate comparable strategies including meataphorical expressions, circumlocutions, remodeling, ellipsis, and under-/overstatements, despite the fact that there are some register complications that must be taken into consideration when translating between the two languages. The paper also shows that some euphemistic Arabic expressions are doomed in English translation for lack of correspondence, leaving the translator with only the option to utilize some compensatory strategies..