Derivation between English and Arabic with Reference to Translation: A Contrastive Analysis Study

Abstract

The current study aimed to explore derivation as a linguistic phenomenon between the English and Arabic languages and to identify its most prominent characteristics and divisions. It also sought to deduce the main similarities and differences between the two languages in this regard from both typological and contrastive perspectives. To achieve the main aim, this study adopted a descriptive analytical approach. In fact, the analysis of morphological phenomenon across disparate languages is of linguistic value, as it enriches the linguistic repertoire with some insights from comparative studies, which are considered scarce in this field. Findings of this study shows that the common features between the Arabic and English languages is that they derive new forms of words from a single root word with an association in meaning between the produced words. However, the derivation process in Arabic is more complex and diverse compared with English, in which derivation can mainly be archived through affixation. Additionally, this study revealed that the distinction between the two languages may result in some translation problems, as some derived words in Arabic have no equivalent in the English language. Accordingly, some solutions to this dilemma were suggested throughout this research, including the application of established translation techniques proposed by Newamark (1988) and other translation scholars, such as paraphrasing, transference, notes, and synonymy. Finally, it is worth noting that exploring the similarities and differences between languages has important pedagogical implications, as this might contribute to facilitating the learning and teaching process of a foreign language.