This is elaboration on the part of the translator who may depend on pragmatic inference to supplement the text with information that does not exist in the original text. The author of the original text depends on the shared cultural knowledge with his target readers. But the translated text is prepared for a different group of readers who do not share the same cultural background. Therefore, elaboration is required on the part of the translator. Note that in the following extract, the cultural word is translated and is then subjected to elaboration:

وكان حسين يبكى ولسانه يتلو بطريقة آلية بعض السور الصغيرة استنزالا للرحمة، بداية ونهاية، 7

Hussein was weeping, mechanically reciting short verses (from the Koran) asking for God's mercy to fall on his dead father. The Beginning and the End, p.17.

Another example with religious reference can be seen in the following excerpt, where a religious phrase is translated and elaborated to help foreign readers understand the significance of the event referred to:

وجاء عيد الأضحى فجذب أفكار الأسرة وعواطفها إلى واد واحد تلتقى فيه ذكريات الأمس واليوم، بداية ونهاية،.ص111

The arrival of the great feast day of the year, the Bairam, celebrating God's intervention in the sacrifice of Abraham's son, focused the family's thoughts and sentiments on their shared memories. The Beginning and the End, p.128

Elaboration can be employed without being necessarily accompanied by a translation. In the following excerpts, when the 'Al-fatihat' is first mentioned in the original text, the translator has to explain the meaning of the word without translating or transliterating it:

البركة فى عينيك أنت.بداية ونهاية،.ص119

then let us depend on your eyes, The Beginning and the End, p.136

فلنقرأ الفاتحة، بداية ونهاية، ص53

--Let's recite the opening Exordium of the Koran, The Beginning and the End, p. 53.

But when the same word recurs elsewhere, the translator transliterates it:

وقرأوا الفاتحة جميعا، بداية ونهاية، ص40

They all recited AL-Fatihat, The Beginning and the End, p. 53.

In the translation of Palace of Desire by Huchins, et al, the word الفاتحة, which occurs several times, is never transliterated. A phrase is often provided: opening prayer of the Qu'an.

Some famous Arab musicians or leaders are sometimes mentioned in a novel. The translator must keep in mind that these figures are unknown to foreign leaders. Therefore, additional information is needed about them, as in:

..وهو ما كان يفعله سلامة حجازى، بداية ونهاية، ص43

It is what the greatest singer Salama Hijazi used to do, The Beginning and the End, p.56.

Note that Mahfouz did not need to identify Salama Hijazi, for he knows that his Arab readers know him very well.

Illegitimate elaboration

The translator has managed by adding information that does not exist in the original text: there is nothing in the SL text that indicates it was Hassan who first saw the two persons wearing peasant clothes.

وعند الضحى أقبل عليهم رجل وأمراة فى ثياب ريفية فعرفوا خالتهم وزوجها عم فرج سليمان، بداية ونهاية، ص 11

Hassan broke off his thoughts as he saw a man and a woman approaching in peasant clothes, the brothers recognized them as their aunt and her husband Amm Farag Soliman. The Beginning and the End, p. 21

`

Sometimes the translator relies on conventional implication in order to insert additional information:

ولست طماعا فما تريد إلا اللقمة والسترة وكم كأسا من الكونياك، وكم نفسا من الحشيش، وكم امرأة من النساء،بداية ونهاية، ص39.

…and you're not greedy, all that you need are some morsels of bread, clothing, a few glasses of cognac, some hashish to smoke, and a few women to sleep with. The Beginning and the End, p. 53

The items listed have conventional meanings associated with them. Any reader can figure out how these items are used. However, the translator has opted to provide additional information as to their use. He has relied on their conventional or associative meanings

Sometimes the translator unnecessarily elaborates on SL words which already have TL equivalents, as in

--وإذا كان الانسان من غير مؤاخذة سكران أو مسطولا؟ بداية ونهاية،ص43

Excuse me. But if one is under the effect of alcohol or hashish, The Beginning and the End, p.56.

The word 'intoxicated' can be used to refer to a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The use of the word hashish to convey the meaning of the SL word مسطولا is not adequate, for there are other drugs that can cause the same effect.

Elaboration is not often associated with a single word. A phrase or a sentence can be elaborated. For example, elaboration occurs if implicit performative acts in the SL are turned into explicit acts in the TL:

--ونارجيلة... بداية ونهاية، ص.40

"And bring a nargileh, too, The Beginning and the End, p.54

--حلاوة طحينية بقرش، بداية ونهاية، ص75

"Give me one piaster's worth of Tahinia sweets, The Beginning and the End, p. 91

Failure to elaborate

The translator is expected to interfere by elaborating and explaining the part of text that has been transliterated. Transliteration is a tool available to translators whenever they encounter cultural or religious entities that resist translation. Since transliteration is not adequate in reflecting the meaning intended by the author of the SL text, the translator should use elaboration as a strategy that explains the intended meaning. Otherwise, the reader is left in a dilemma, not knowing what to do with the transliterated part of the text, as in:

سبق أن جربتنى كسنيد، أظننى أنفع "سنيدا"، بدايو ونهاية، ص122

You tried me out as a Sannid, chanting refrains for you, and I think I'm the right man for the job. The Beginning and the End, p.139

To transliterate without elaborating is quite useless. The word Sannid, which is a transliterated word, is unintelligible to any native speaker of English for this word is not available in any English dictionary. The translator has overcome this problem by putting a few words that explain the meaning of this word.

Unfortunately, the translator does not adhere to this strategy throughout the translating process: he starts using transliteration without elaboration.

The word "Amm", which has been translated, could be taken as part of the name, whereas it is often used as a term of respect.

The same thing can be said about the following:

فريد أفندى محمد، بداية ونهاية، ص12

Farid Effendi Mohammed, The Beginning and the End, p. 22

Effendi is a titled that is used in reference to educated people. Such a transliteration gives a false impression that it is a middle name.

هذه البدلة التى تجعل منك أفنديا...من نقوده رحمه الله علية، بداية ونهاية، ص39

Even this suit you're wearing, which makes you look not too bad an Effendi, comes with his money. The Beginning and the End, p.52

Arabic has a word for a father's brother and a completely different word for a mother's brother. Since English has only one word which covers both meanings, any translator finds himself/herself at a loss, as in:

....فعرفوا فيهما خالتهم وزوجها. بداية ونهاية،ص11

The brothers recognized them as their aunt and her husband. The Beginning and the End, p. 21.

The translator should have pointed out whether the word aunt refers to a father's sister or a mother's sister. The two Arabic words occur in the SL text as in:

لا أعمام ولا أخوال!..بداية ونهاية، ص32

No uncles on either side! The Beginning and the End, p. 44

The translator has used the phrase "on either side" This attempt does not convey the intended meaning. This can be considered an example of miselaboration. The translator of Palace of Desire has appropriately dealt with these terms, which have no exact counterparts in English:

سل أخوالك يا روح أمك، قصر الشوق، ص85

Ask your maternal uncles about that, love child, Palace of Desire, p. 622.

Some cultural words cannot stand transliteration without elaboration and explanation; the non-Arab reader of the translated text cannot understand the denotative and connotative nuances of the word:

كل المصروف؟! ولا مليم، بداية ونهاية،ص20

All our pocket money! Not a millieme? The Beginning and the End, p. 32.

--لا أدفع مليما واحدا أكثر من ثلاث جنيهات، بداية ونهاية، ص44

I will not pay one millieme more than three pounds, The Beginning and the End, p. 58

The religious words used by a novelist might be familiar only to those who believe in it. Followers of other religions might find the religious words strange and unintelligible. Again, the novelist who composed the original text might decide that such words, which are common, need not be explained or elaborated. The translator, who aims at a different group of readers, should attempt to explain such religious terms. The translator of the novel, to whom these words are familiar, has probably thought such words are not in need of elaboration or explanation:

--المهم الأذان نفسه فى هذه الساعة المبكرة، بداية ونهاية، ص43

What matters is AL Azz'n itself. The Beginning and the End, p.56.

Some famous names to Arabs might be unknown to foreign readers. Such names need further elaboration in a translated text; the translator failed to do so:

..ولو كانت المحطة ترعى وجه الفن وحده لكنت المذيع الأول بعد أم كلثوم وعبد الوهاب

بداية ونهاية، ص 42

If the stations were really aware of art, I should stand next to Um Kalthum and Abdul Wahab. The Beginning and the End, p. 55.

Note that this part of the TL text refers to these names for the first time. These names are quite familiar to Arabs for they are famous musicians and singers. The translator, being a member of the Arab society, did not pay attention to this fact. Hence he failed to say a few words about these figures. The result is that the reader of the translated text is left dumbfounded and perplexed, for s/he has no idea who these people are.

In contrast, the translators of Palace of Desire often give extra information concerning musicians, dancers or politicians who are unfamiliar or unknown to foreign readers:

ثم اشترك حسين وإسماعيل وحسن فى حديث عن منيرة وسيد درويش وصالح وعبد اللطيف البنا، قصر الشوق، ص20

Husayn, Ismail and Hasan all got involved in a conversation about the outstanding musicians of the day: Munira al-Mahdiya, Sayyid Darwish, Salih Abde al-Hayy and Abd al-Latif al-Bana, Palace of Desire, p.554.

Sometimes, the novelist may use the name of a woman artist in order to convey an implication. The implication is available to the translator who pays attention to the cultural background. Thus in the following excerpt, the conventional implication associated with Bamba Kashar is quite familiar to the readers of the native culture; therefore, Mahfouz did not need to elaborate on the name. The translator has to dig out the implicit meaning:

--أشكرك يا بمبة كشر، قصر الشوق، ص45

Thank you, Miss Bamba Khashar, you seductive songstress. Palace of Desire, p. 580.

The political figures and events are not adequately elaborated upon by the translator of The Beginning and the End. The last names of the famous politicians remain intact in translation:

لولا الطلبة ما ائتلف الزعماء من كان يتصور أن يجلس صدقى مع النحاس على مائدة واحدة، البداية والنهاية، ص198.

But for the students, the leaders (of the country) would never have united. Who would ever have imagined that Sidki would agree to meet with Nahhas? The Palace and the Wafidists at the same table, TheBeginning and End, p. 224.

By way of contrast, the following extract shows that the translator is not satisfied with the words given by the original author, especially as far as politicians are concerned. Mahfouz in his novel Palace of Desire uses only the last name to refer to a famous politician of the day. The translators provide extra information, including full names:

--هلا قنعت بأن يكونا مثل عدلى أو ثروت؟ قصر الشوق ص45

"Wouldn't you be satisfied if they were as important as the politicians Adli Yeken Pasha and Abdel Khaliq Sarwat Pasha. Palace of Desire, p. 580.

Words referring to special forms of poetry are not transliterated but remain unexplained by the translator of Palace Walk, thus leaving the reader confused:

--مواويل وأدوار وطقاطيق، بداية ونهاية، ص122

Yes, mawawil, songs, and takatiqs, The Beginning and the End, p.139.

In contrast, the translators of Palace of Desire do not hesitate to supplement the transliteration with further elaboration and explanation so that the reader can grasp the meaning of the word:

...مقالات أدبية، واجتماعية ودينية، وملحمة عنتر، وألف ليلة والحماسة والمنفلوطى، قصر الشوق، 54

There had been literary and social essays, religious ones, the folk epic about Antar-that heroic black poet of ancient Arabia, The Thousand and One Nights, a medieval anthology of Arabic poetry called Hamasa, Palace of Desire, p. 589.

Note that the translators have elaborated on cultural elements mentioned in the original text. Without such an elaboration, the average reader of the translated work would be in limbo, not knowing what to do with such expressions or names as Antar and Hamasa.

Each culture has its own cuisine and food types that might not be familiar to people of other cultures. The novels of Mahfouz contain references to special Egyptian dishes and foods. The translators should exercise care in handling such cultural items. The translator of The Beginning and the End does not often explain or adequately translate food types:

--المخدرات دم الغناء، وما من مغن يستحق هذا الاسم إلا وقد تعاطى من المخدرات مثلما التهم من الملوخية والفول المدمس، بداية ونهاية، ص124

Narcotics are the lifeblood of vocalizing. Any singer worthy of the name is as much addicted to drugs as he is to such basic foods as molokhiva and fool mudammis, The Beginning and the End, p. 141.

Note that the translator has transliterated فول مدمس as fool mudammis and the word ملوخية as molokhiva. (1) In contrast, the translators of Palace of Desire have translated the word ملوخية as mallow greens as in

البطاطس الحشو، الملوخية، الأرز المفلفل بالكبد والقوانص...قصر الشوق، 31

The stuffed potatoes, the mallow greens, the fried rice with giblets. Palace of Desire, p. 566.

Omission

Sometimes a translator can manage by ignoring certain parts of the original text. This avoidance technique is used for different reasons: (a) the item might be untranslatable for lack of equivalence in the target language. (b) the item/phrase might be ideologically or morally unacceptable by the target readers. (c) the translator might be in disagreement with the meaning which conveys a bad impression about the source culture

راح يخاطب نفسه قائلا: "يا أبا على، مات الوالد رحمه الله ففقدت الركن الذى كنت تأوى إليه

بداية ونهاية، ص.39

He kept talking to himself, your father (God be merciful to him) is dead now, you've lost your shelter. The Beginning and the End, p. 52

Note that the translator has ignored the nickname Aba Ali. In the following, a word is avoided for there is no equivalence for it in Arabic:

كيف يمضى العيد دون أن نشبع من المشوى والمسلوق والمحمر والكفتة والكستليتة والممبار والموزة،بداية ونهاية، ص113

How is it possible for the feast to pass without filling our bellies with all sorts of meat, with roasted meat, boiled meat, fried meat, cutlets, sausages, and shin? The Beginning and the End, p.130.

Notes

1

translators of Palace Walk translated these words as cooked-beans:1

وبائع الفول، بين القصرين، ص30

The cooked-beans vendor, Palace Walk, p.32.