Translating Irony: A Four-Dimensional Analysis of Arabic-English Translation in al-Māzīnī's 'Mīdū wa Shurakāh' and Hutchins' 'Mīdū and His Accomplices'

Abstract

This study examines the translation of irony from Arabic into English in Ibrāhīm al-Māzīnī’s novella Mīdū wa Shurakāh (1943) and its English translation, Mīdū and His Accomplices (2006), by William Hutchins. Using a four-dimensional framework, it integrates Chakhachiro’s discourse model, Halliday’s functional theory, Grice’s cooperative principle, and Austin’s speech act theory. It analyses how register shifts, maxim violations, and rhetorical devices affect irony translation. The study explores challenges in rendering ironic registers, titles, overstatements, and the narrator’s voice, emphasizing verbal and situational irony. A mixed-method analysis, combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches, reveals Hutchins’ reliance on adaptation strategies to bridge cultural gaps while maintaining fidelity and readability. The findings underscore the translator’s role in reducing temporal and cultural distances, enhancing accessibility for English-speaking readers. More broadly, this study contributes to translation studies by demonstrating how adaptation strategies shape cross-cultural literary reception while balancing fidelity and readability. 

Highlights:

1- The study examines the translation of irony from Arabic into English in al-Māzīnī’s Mīdū wa Shurakāh and Hutchins’ Mīdū and His Accomplices.
2- It proposes a four-dimensional framework combining Chakhachiro’s discourse model, Halliday’s register analysis, Grice’s cooperative principle, and Austin’s speech act theory.
3- The paper analyzes how register shifts, colloquialism, titles, honorifics, overstatement, and narrator intervention contribute to ironic meaning.
4- The findings show that Hutchins frequently uses adaptation strategies to bridge cultural, linguistic, and temporal gaps for English-speaking readers.
5- The study contributes to Arabic–English literary translation studies by showing how irony can be rendered while balancing fidelity, readability, and cultural accessibility.