Idiom Translation and the Limits of Literal Fidelity
In a translation practice, the teacher gives this Arabic sentence: كَانَ فِي الْقَرْيَةِ رَجُلٌ يَدُهُ طُولَى، فَكَانَ يُعِينُ الْفُقَرَاءَ. The key gives: 'In the village there was a generous man, so he used to help the poor.' Three students submit: A: 'In the village was a man whose hand was long, so he helped the poor.' B: 'In the village there was a man with a long hand; he helped the poor (i.e., he was generous).' C: 'In the village there was a man whose generosity was great, so he helped the poor.' The teacher must mark the item out of 4 (2 for fidelity, 2 for naturalness), decide whether B's bracketed gloss rescues a literal rendering, and advise on Assamese versions, where a word-for-word equivalent of the idiom may not exist.
1. Award A, B and C out of 4 and justify the differences.
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C: 4/4. Fidelity 2: the idiom is rendered by its sense (generosity), and the second clause is accurate. Naturalness 2: the English is idiomatic and needs no gloss.
B: 3/4. Fidelity 2: the main text is literal, but the bracketed gloss makes the intended meaning recoverable; without the gloss it would be 1. Naturalness 1: a translation that needs a parenthesis is less natural, though the strategy is defensible in a learner's script.
A: 1/4. Fidelity 1: the words are translated, but the idiom's meaning is wrong, and the reader would infer a physical description. Naturalness 0 or 1: the sentence is grammatical but semantically misleading; award 1 for grammar, 0 for sense. Total 1.
Rank: C > B > A. B's gloss helps, but it does not turn a literal main text into a fully natural translation.
2. A argues that 'whose hand was long' is faithful because it is literal. Respond with a principle the class can use.
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Fidelity is to the meaning of the utterance, not to the number of words. An idiom is a single semantic unit; يَدُهُ طُولَى means 'he is generous', not 'his hand is physically long'. A literal rendering that makes the target reader picture a long hand is unfaithful in the sense that matters. If the literal form is kept for cultural colour, it needs a gloss; the gloss should not be used to hide the fact that the main text is misleading.
3. How would you present acceptable Assamese renderings without pretending there is one unique answer?
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Accept any rendering that conveys generosity and help to the poor, e.g. a phrase meaning 'a generous man' or 'a man with a giving hand'; do not demand a word-for-word match with the Arabic body-part image. Mark for sense and naturalness. In class, put two acceptable versions on the board and ask which sounds more natural in Assamese, so students see that translation has a range of valid solutions. If a student keeps the literal image, require a clarifying phrase.