Rendering the Ecological Element in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies into Arabic: An Ecotranslational Study of Al-Jammal's Translation

Abdellatif, Esraa Khaled; Hassan, Bahaa-eddin A.; Abu-hassoub, Ahmed Mahmoud

doi:10.21608/ejlt.2025.365209.1104

Rendering the Ecological Element in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies into Arabic: An Ecotranslational Study of Al-Jammal's Translation

Document Type : Research in linguistic and literary studies

Authors

¹ Department of English, Faculty of Al-Alsun, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt

² English Department, Faculty of Arts, Sohag University

³ Department of English. Faculty of Languages. Sohag University. Sohag. Egypt

10.21608/ejlt.2025.365209.1104

Abstract

This study explores the difficulties encountered in the translation of the ecological element of William Golding's Lord of the Flies into Arabic, using the Arabic translation by Abdelhamid Al-Jammal (2004) as a case study. The paper investigates the translation of ecological content through the theoretical frameworks of Ecolinguistics Ecotranslation, and Schema Theory, adopting a qualitative, analytical approach. Taking up linguistic/micro/representation contexts as well as larger macro/culture/institution contexts, the analysis investigates the conditions that support and limit how effective ecological representations can be in the translated work. These challenges include the lack of direct equivalents for ecological terms, the contextualization encountered when trying to retain ecological depth, as well as the need to adapt to different contexts. For example, it offers real-life translation strategies, like using translation by addition technique for metaphorical descriptions, and a hybrid approach for terms that have no direct equivalents, and contextual adaptation for ecological symbols. Additionally, the study emphasizes that a translator’s understanding of both ecological issues and cultural nuances is paramount. These findings highlight that translation is not a task of simply cross-linguistic transfer but a critical instrument of cross-cultural ecological awareness. This study contributes to the area of Ecotranslation, explaining the ways translation can bridge cognitive gaps and engender a higher level of ecological awareness across languages and cultures.

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