Translating Trauma and Displacement: A Comparative Analysis of the Arabic Translation of The Beekeeper of Aleppo

Abstract

This​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ research work was derived from the Arabic version of The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri that principally treated aspects like emotional and cultural elements and also the experience of refugees in the Arabic language. The novel is a gentle encounter of the traumatic experience of the couple forcibly displaced; the research work, through its examination of the translation process, has been able to identify the emotional and cultural aspects of the text that have been preserved, changed, or even amplified. The comparative descriptive research has been used in this study along with the translation studies and narrative theory to look into the effects of language choices on the depiction of trauma, loss, and ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌resilience. Major sections of the English original and Mahdi A. AlSoliman's Arabic translation (نحَّال حلب) are contrasted to find differences in meaning, emotional intensity, and cultural translation. The translation nearly aligns with the original ideas of the novel but deviates in terms of everyday terms and wording such that there is a considerable difference in the strength of emotion as well as the cultural meaning of the novel. This study highlights the necessity for additional research on how translation shapes narratives of displacement and the degree to which it conveys the emotional veracity of refugee experiences in literature.