Adaptation vs translation from Standard Arabic to a dialect
Thread poster: Bouchra Laghzali (X)
Bouchra Laghzali (X)
Bouchra Laghzali (X)
Morocco
Local time: 22:44
English to Arabic
+ ...
Oct 27, 2018

Hi,

I would like to ask you about the difference between adaptation and translation while dealing with a dialect. I think we can talk about adaptation, for example, from American English into British English.

I am asking this question because I was asked by a client to do proofreading/adaptation of a text in Moroccan Arabic. But when I received the document, I found that it is written in Modern Standard Arabic. When I asked about clarifications, I was told that I have
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Hi,

I would like to ask you about the difference between adaptation and translation while dealing with a dialect. I think we can talk about adaptation, for example, from American English into British English.

I am asking this question because I was asked by a client to do proofreading/adaptation of a text in Moroccan Arabic. But when I received the document, I found that it is written in Modern Standard Arabic. When I asked about clarifications, I was told that I have to change the text from Modern Standard Arabic into Moroccan Arabic. For me, this is translation. The text needs to be totally changed from a language to a dialect.
What do you think? Is this considered as an adaptation/proofreading?

Thank you,
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Barbara Faltas
 
Nesrin
Nesrin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:44
English to Arabic
+ ...
Make sure the client understands what they're asking for Oct 27, 2018

Hi Bouchra,
In the past, where I have received similar queries, I always made sure that the client actually understood that even if a translation is destined for a particular Arab country, you would still expect the text to be in Modern Standard Arabic. On every one of these occasions the client came back to me to say "Oh, thank you for the clarification!". It is very likely that in your case too, the end-client is indeed in Morocco, but the text still needs to be MSA.
If in fact the
... See more
Hi Bouchra,
In the past, where I have received similar queries, I always made sure that the client actually understood that even if a translation is destined for a particular Arab country, you would still expect the text to be in Modern Standard Arabic. On every one of these occasions the client came back to me to say "Oh, thank you for the clarification!". It is very likely that in your case too, the end-client is indeed in Morocco, but the text still needs to be MSA.
If in fact they want a written text in Moroccan Arabic then I suppose you could charge per hour for the job, depending on how long you think it will take you. I wouldn't think of it as a standard translation, but it's certainly not a straightforward proofreading job either.
Nesrin
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Saleh Dardeer
Randa Farhat
 
Bouchra Laghzali (X)
Bouchra Laghzali (X)
Morocco
Local time: 22:44
English to Arabic
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
the client insists it is not translation! Oct 28, 2018

Hi Nesrin,
I see that the client wants the text to be translated and does not want to utter the word 'translation' to pay a lower rate. First, she said she wants me to proofread and adapt the text. Next, she said she wants me to use Moroccan Arabic instead of MSA. Then, she said she needed me to edit the Arabic text to be Moroccan dialect. So the instructions were misleading and unclear, mainly that the text was not sent until we agreed on the price of the proofreading.
So the questi
... See more
Hi Nesrin,
I see that the client wants the text to be translated and does not want to utter the word 'translation' to pay a lower rate. First, she said she wants me to proofread and adapt the text. Next, she said she wants me to use Moroccan Arabic instead of MSA. Then, she said she needed me to edit the Arabic text to be Moroccan dialect. So the instructions were misleading and unclear, mainly that the text was not sent until we agreed on the price of the proofreading.
So the question raised here is what can we call the act of moving from Modern Standard Arabic into a dialect, be it Egyptian, Syrian, Moroccan... I don't think it is not proofreading.
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Fatine Echenique
 


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Adaptation vs translation from Standard Arabic to a dialect






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