Hidden Meaning and Translation: A Pragmatic View

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70036/cltls.v3i1.12

Keywords:

Translation, Pragmatics, Hidden Meaning, Implicature, Presupposition, Indirect Speech Acts, Cultural Adaptation

Abstract

Translation requires more than replacement of words between source and target languages; it needs the honest transferring of sense, even those invisible, implicit, or affected by situations. This paper investigates the impact of pragmatics, the study of speaker's meaning, serious contributions to rendering hidden sense, like implicatures, presuppositions, irony, and indirect speech acts. Depending on many references, the paper tests the difficulties and techniques for interpreting hidden meaning from one language into another. Examining a number of daily life translation samples from a pragmatic standpoint, this paper notices the seriousness of contextual circumstances and pragmatic competence in realizing faithful interpretation.

References

Abdel Haleem, M. A. S. (2004). The Qur'an: A New Translation. Oxford University Press.

Alshargabi, S. A., Kamil, D. F., & Hazem, A. H. (2022). A linguistic study of English double negation and its realization in Arabic. Studies in English Language and Education, 9(3), 1148-1169. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v9i3.24267

Austin, J. L. (1962). How to Do Things with Words. Oxford University Press.

Baker, M. (1992). In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. Routledge.

Bassnett, S. (2002). Translation Studies. Routledge.

Blum-Kulka, S. (1986). Shifts of cohesion and coherence in translation. In J. House & S. Blum-Kulka (Eds.), Interlingual and Intercultural Communication (pp. 17-35). Gunter Narr Verlag.

Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge University Press.

Cao, D. (2007). Translating Law. Multilingual Matters.

Clark, H. H., & Gerrig, R. J. (1984). On the Pretense Theory of Irony. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 113(1), 121-126.

Diaz-Cintas, J., & Remael, A. (2007). Audiovisual Translation: Subtitling. Routledge.

Estaifo, R. Q., Meteab, W. Y., & Hazem, A. H. (2023). A Pragmatic Study of Connectives in Mosuli Dialect with Reference to English. World Journal of English Language, 13(6), 491. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v13n6p491

Estaifo, R. Q. and Meteab, W. Y. (2025). Investigating Deictic Words in English and Arabic. Asian Journal of Human Services,1 (28), 80-95. https://doi.org/10.14391/ajhs.28.80

Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and Conversation. In P. Cole & J. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and Semantics (Vol. 3, pp. 41-58). Academic Press.

Gutt, E.-A. (1991). Translation and Relevance: Cognition and Context. Blackwell.

Hatim, B., & Mason, I. (1990). Discourse and the Translator. Longman.

Hazem, A.H., & Meteab, W.Y. (2019). Nominal Constructions in Modern Standard Arabic With Reference to English. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature 8(2), 97-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.8n.2p.97

Hazem, A. H., & Kamil, D. F. (2022). A Morph-o-Semantic Study of Evidentially in Arabic with Reference to Translation. Arta Journal of Translation and Languages: Interdisciplinary Studies, 1(1), 23-32.

Kamil, D. F. & Hazem, A.H. (2019a). A Syntactic O-Semantic Study of Negative Particles in Arabic Literary Discourse With Reference to Translation. Arab Journal for Arts and Human Studies, 3(10), 327–341. http://dx.doi.org/10.33850/ajahs. v.3n.10p.327

Kamil, D. F.& Hazem, A. H. (2019 b). Problems Encountered in Translating Alternative Questions From Arabic into English. Journal of Language Studies, 2(4),76–90. https://doi.org/10.25130/jls.2.4.5

House, J. (2015). Translation Quality Assessment: Past and Present. Routledge.

Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge University Press.

Meteab, W. Y., & Hazem, A. H. (2020a). A Morpho-Syntactic Approach to Translating English Verb Phrases in Literary Texts into Arabic. Journal of Adab Al- Kufa, 1(44), 805–814. https://doi.org/10.36317/kaj/2020/v1.i44.1560.

Meteab, W. Y., & Hazem, A. H. (2020b). Demonstratives in English with Reference to Arabic: A Syntactico-Pragmatic Study. In Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on Language, Literature and Culture Researches, Sami Baskin (eds.), 404-421. HİTİT University: Saybilder Publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3881909

Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. Prentice Hall.

Nida, E. A. (1964). Toward a Science of Translating. E.J. Brill.

Searle, J. R. (1969). Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge University Press.

Sperber, D., & Wilson, D. (1995). Relevance: Communication and Cognition (2nd ed.). Blackwell.

Venuti, L. (2012). The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation. Routledge.

Yule, G. (2010). The Study of Language,Cambridge,Cambridge University Press

Downloads

Published

2026-02-20

How to Cite

Meteab, W. Y. (2026). Hidden Meaning and Translation: A Pragmatic View. Comparative Linguistics Translation and Literary Studies, 3(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.70036/cltls.v3i1.12

Issue

Section

Articles

Citation Check

Similar Articles

1 2 3 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.