Translation of Nominal Relative Clauses in News Texts: A Contrastive Analysis between Arabic and English

Abstract

This study investigates the difficulties encountered by third-year English language students at Al-Aqsa University in translating nominal relative clauses in news texts between Arabic and English. Nominal relative clauses, introduced by forms such as whoever and whatever, present significant translational challenges due to structural and functional differences between the two languages. Adopting a qualitative approach, the study analyzed students’ translations of authentic-like news sentences using Skopos Theory and Newmark’s semantic and communicative translation framework. The findings revealed recurrent difficulties related to structural transfer, grammatical accuracy, lexical choice, and communicative appropriateness. Students frequently relied on literal translation, resulting in unnatural or inaccurate renderings. The study highlights the importance of functional translation strategies and contrastive linguistic awareness in improving the translation of complex grammatical structures in news discourse.