The polysemic expressions in Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes and its translation into Arabic Analysis applied to the versions of ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Badawī and Sulaymān al-‘Aṭṭār

Abstract

Polysemic expressions are a prominent feature of Don Quixote, which produce ambiguous statements and, consequently, translational problems. This article aims to analyse the use of polysemy in the above-mentioned novel, the translational problems it encompasses and the treatment such polysemy receives in the Arabic versions of Sulaymān al-‘Aṭṭār and ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Badawī. Cervantes uses these expressions to create certain semantic-pragmatic functions on two different levels: microtextual and macrotextual. At the microtextual level, the aesthetic value is limited to the passage where the double entendre appears, potentially affecting both form (capturing the reader's attention) and content (enriching the semantic value). At the macrotextual level, polysemy shapes the characters, outlining their relationships. Due to their nature, some stylistic devices (humor or irony, for example) straddle both levels. For the translation of amphibology, the ideal would be, in addition to conveying the conceptual meaning, to transmit also the derived semantic-pragmatic functions (the aesthetic values). However, this objective is not always easy. The resolution of the problem will depend on the contextual conditions and circumstances of the case. The analysis reveals that when there is contrast at the textual level between the different amphibological interpretations, the translation problems are reduced. In cases without contrast, detecting the wordplay is usually more difficult, thus increasing the likelihood that the amphibology will disappear completely from the target text. Comparing the two Arabic versions of our novel, we come to the conclusion that al-‘Aṭṭār tries to find some creative solution to the translational problems (with compensation or transposition of the amphibology), while Badawī prefers the use of the footnote.