Improving Equivalence: Strategies for Handling Non-Standard Arabic Expressions in Translation Dictionaries

This study responds to the call for reliable equivalents in translation dictionaries of non-standard Arabic expressions. Such expressions, including dialectal, colloquial and culture-bound vocabulary, are common across the Arab world but are often overlooked or inadequately covered by dominant dictionaries focused on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). This study aims at addressing this imbalance by proposing an approach that enriches the coverage of non-standard Arabic expressions to attain linguistic and cultural equivalence. Based on Fillmore’s (2006) Frame Semantics as the underpinning theoretical framework, this study applies qualitative approach to assess the effectiveness with which semantic frames can capture the contextual and functional meanings of such expressions. A set of ten commonly used expressions from across a range of Arabic dialects was selected through purposive sampling against these predetermined criteria: frame identification, cultural setting, lexical mapping and equivalence analysis. The findings indicate noteworthy lexicographical gaps with respect to the handling of non-standard Arabic expressions. It is shown, based on the evidence in the present study, that the lexicographical entries in the future should include aspects of semantic framing, corpus evidence, cross-dialectal references and multimedia features. The inclusion of these aspects would improve the comprehensiveness and contextual depth of translation dictionaries, and thus meet the needs of translators, language learners and researchers conducting studies on Arabic and intercultural communication.