Investigating Translation Students’ Challenges in Rendering Arabic Idioms and Proverbs into English: Insights and Recommendations

This study investigates the challenges faced by 4th-year students majoring in Translation at Al-Buraimi University College in Oman when translating proverbs and idioms from Arabic into English. These expressions pose particular difficulties in translation due to their cultural and linguistic specificity, often requiring more than literal translation to convey their intended meaning accurately in the target language. Understanding these challenges is crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of translation education programs and improving students’ proficiency in handling idiomatic expressions. The findings showed that 4th-year translation students experienced three main difficulties in translating proverbs and idioms, ranging from the semantic and syntactic fields to cultural differences. First, semantically speaking, they struggled to grasp the meaning of the source text and find the closest equivalent proverb or idiom in the English language. Second, from the syntactic perspective, learners showed several deficiencies in making a correct structure in English. Third, the high percentage of wrong answers revealed a lack of cultural awareness regarding the target culture. This research employs qualitative methods to identify common difficulties that students encounter, offering insights into potential strategies and pedagogical approaches to address these challenges effectively. By focusing on idiomatic expressions and proverbs, this study contributes to the broader discourse on translation education and highlights the importance of cultural competence in achieving accurate and nuanced translations.