Political Discourse Analysis: An English/Arabic Translation Perspective

A Master of Arts thesis in Translation and Interpreting MATI (English/Arabic/English) by Norah S. Al Hamdy entitled, “Political Discourse Analysis: An English/Arabic Translation Perspective”, submitted in May 2014. Thesis advisor is Dr. Basil Hatim. Soft and hard copy available.

Abstract

Political events throughout history are linked to the development of political discourse which plays an essential role in shaping world political opinion. Tackling these issues linguistically has been largely successful since ancient times. In intercultural terms, however, these issues are far more complex and are not so straightforward. Translation and understanding political discourse has become a necessity not only for academic purposes but also for one’s knowledge as a member of a globalized world. This dissertation aims to study political discourse and how it is translated. It will seek to demonstrate that studying political discourse needs skills and strategies drawing not only on linguistics, but also rhetoric, anthropology, psychology and a diverse range of disciplines, in order to encompass the complexity of the issues involved, and do justice to them across linguistic and cultural boundaries.