Applying House’s (2015) Translation Quality Assessment Model on 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 | ||||
| Author | ||||
afnan abdelgawad 
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| كلية الاداب جامعة اسيوط | ||||
| 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. The first translation exhibits a remarkably higher number of such errors compared to the second one, primarily associated with the slight change in meaning category of errors. The study concludes that the second translation is more adequate than the first one, highlighting the role of the shift theory to avoid such errors. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Translation quality assessment; House’s model; literary translation; Midaq Alley; the shift theory | ||||
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