Translating idioms and fixed expressions
Arabic · Key Stage 3 · The School
Spotting an idiom
A phrase is likely an IDIOM when a word-for-word translation sounds odd. Maybe it sounds illogical. Maybe it just does not fit the situation. If a literal translation makes you stop and think "that cannot be what they mean", the phrase is probably fixed, and not meant literally at all.
Why word-for-word fails here
An idiom's meaning belongs to the WHOLE phrase. It does not belong to the separate words inside it. You can translate each word correctly and still get the wrong meaning overall. That is because no single word was carrying the meaning on its own. The fixed group of words was.
Finding an equivalent expression
When you translate an idiom, the goal is not exact, literal accuracy. The goal is EQUIVALENT MEANING. English has its own idioms for many of the same feelings and situations. A good translation reaches for the matching English idiom. It does not reach for a literal version that matches the words but misses the meaning.
طَارَ مِنَ الفَرَحِ means, word for word, "he flew from joy". It really means he was overjoyed. In English: "he was over the moon." يَدُهُ طَوِيلَةٌ means, word for word, "his hand is long". It describes someone generous. In English, closer to "he is generous", or, informally, "he is free with his money." أَكَلَ الدَّهْرَ عَلَيْهِ وَشَرِبَ means, word for word, "time ate and drank upon him". It describes something very old. In English: "it is ancient", or "it has seen better days." قَلْبُهُ مِنْ حَجَرٍ means, word for word, "his heart is of stone". It describes someone unfeeling. Here, unusually, the English idiom "he has a heart of stone" matches almost exactly. Four idioms. Four different gaps between the literal words and the real meaning. Only the last one survives a literal translation intact.