Applying House’s (2015) Translation Quality Assessment Model to Two English Translations of Mahfouz’s Midaq Alley with Reference to the Shift Theory | ||||
| المجلة العلمیة لکلیة الآداب-جامعة أسیوط | ||||
| Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 10 April 2025 | ||||
| Document Type: بحوث علمية محکمة | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/aakj.2025.362966.1989 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
afnan Abdelgawad T. Mahmoud  1; Shaker Rizk Taky El Din2; Walaa A. Hassan1
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| 1Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Assiut University | ||||
| 2Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Suez University | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| This study aims to assess and evaluate the quality of two English translations of the Arabic novel, Midaq Alley,by the Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz (1947), employing House’s (2015) translation quality assessment model with reference to the shift theory. The first translation is released by Trevor Le Gassick (1975), while the second is conducted by Humphery Davies (2011). The study incorporates a mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative method involves a comparative analysis between the source text and the two translations in order to identify the cases of mismatches, which are classified into covert errors and overt errors. The overt errors are further categorized into six categories, namely omission, slight change in meaning, significant change in meaning, distortion of meaning, cultural filtering and unnecessary addition. The quantitative method is employed to quantify overt errors and determine whether the differences between the two translations regarding these errors are statistically significant. The findings reveal that both translations exhibit a number of mismatches, particularly at the register parameter, which impact the textual function (i.e., ideational and interpersonal functions). The findings also reveal statistically significant differences between the two translations with regard to the frequency of overt errors. Le Gassick’s translation exhibits a remarkably higher number of such errors compared to Davies’s, primarily associated with the categories: slight change in meaning and omission. The study concludes that Davies’s translation is more adequate than Le Gassicks’s, highlighting the role of the shift theory to avoid such errors. In addition, some modifications to House’s categorization of errors have been proposed for further refinement of the model. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Translation quality assessment; House’s model; literary translation; Midaq Alley; the shift theory | ||||
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