Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literature Vol.11, No. 3, 2019, pp 297-319 297 JJMLL A Contrastive Study of English Quantifiers and their Equivalents in French and Arabic Mahmoud Saada French Department, An-Najah University, Palestine Received on: 17-3-2019 Accepted on: 15-10-2019 Abstract In this contrastive study, we compare English quantifiers with their equivalents in French and Arabic, based on a corpus that includes English scholarly articles and their translations in the two other languages. We first present the English quantifiers in sub-categories. Then we study, analyze and comment on them and their French and Arabic equivalents in a set of examples. In conclusion, we formulate generalizations that will help learners and translators of these languages to foster their understanding of the quantifiers and to find good equivalents in different contexts. Keywords: contrastive study, equivalent, (in)definite, noun phrase, quantifier, translation The corpus of the study We chose as a corpus for our study a set of texts in critical thought. Founded in 1993 and based in Paris, France, Transeuropéennes is an on-line international Journal which is published in French, English, Turkish and Arabic. Compared with literary texts, this kind of texts needs a rather professional translation. Therefore, the equivalents of the terms that we study here are almost direct ones. The other reason of our choice is the fact that working with soft copies makes it easier to find the necessary examples. Website of the journal: www.transeuropeennes.eu Hereinafter are the selected articles, from which we extracted our examples. Our choice of these articles is based on two factors. First, they are written in English and translated at least into Arabic and French. Second, they contain enough examples that cover all the functions and values of the English determiners. The total number of words of the three articles is 20 670. -Balibar, Etienne. (2009). Speaking The Universal. http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. (9700 words) -Bamyeh, Mohammed. (2011), AL-QAHIRA, THE CITY VICTORIOUS, FEBRUARY 11, 2011. http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. (3390 words) -Fraser, Nancy. (2010). Who Counts. http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. (7580 words) Introduction The choice of the studied languages is based on the fact that English and French are the most learned languages by Arabs, and also for their wide use by most Arab translators. In fact, English, French and, to some extent, Arabic are official languages of many international organizations. Therefore, we will 2019JJMLL Puplishers/Yarmouk University. All Rights Reserved.
23
Embed
Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literature JJMLLjournals.yu.edu.jo/jjmll/Issues/vol11no32019/Nom3.pdf · and translators to better understand them in the language they learn
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literature Vol.11, No. 3, 2019, pp 297-319
297
JJMLL
A Contrastive Study of English Quantifiers and their Equivalents in French and Arabic
Mahmoud Saada French Department, An-Najah University, Palestine
Received on: 17-3-2019 Accepted on: 15-10-2019
Abstract In this contrastive study, we compare English quantifiers with their equivalents in French and Arabic, based on
a corpus that includes English scholarly articles and their translations in the two other languages. We first present the
English quantifiers in sub-categories. Then we study, analyze and comment on them and their French and Arabic
equivalents in a set of examples. In conclusion, we formulate generalizations that will help learners and translators of
these languages to foster their understanding of the quantifiers and to find good equivalents in different contexts.
Except for the quantifier all, which can be used with or without the definite article the or a
possessive determiner, the rest of the English quantifiers do not accompany any other determiners. While
French quantifiers quelque, chaque, différents, divers and maint are used alone, quelques, tout, aucun,
nul, plusieurs, certain and certains can be accompanied with other determiners. In Arabic, the equivalents
are divided as follows: kaṯīr (min) (من) كثير , ’aġlab أغلب, ġālibiyyaẗغالبية, mu‘ẓam معظم and ğull جل are
used with a definite noun; bi‘ḍ are used with an ما اإلبهامية and mā al-’ibhāmiyyaẗ [vague] عدةiddaẗ‘ , بضع
indefinite noun; and ba‘ḍ بعض , adīd عديد, muta‘addid متعدد, kull كل and ’ayy أي + a negative word can
be used with both.
The equivalents of the English quantifiers are not always French quantifiers, and vice-versa not all
the French quantifiers are equivalents of the English quantifiers. In Arabic, quantifiers, as a category or a
sub-category, does not exist.
All, tout and kull كل
The English quantifier all is used for totality and when followed by the or a possessive determiner, it
refers to the totality of an item. In French, tout is, for both cases, accompanied by another determiner. The
difference is that in plural form it refers to totality, while in singular form it refers to the totality of an
item.
In Arabic, the function of kull depends on the noun it determines. If the latter is definite, kull
indicates the totality of an item; the noun is plural in the first case and singular in the second one. If the
determined noun is indefinite, which should be singular, kull has a distributive value. In this case, its
equivalents in English and French are every and the singular form of tout (without a definite article) when
the members of a group are considered collectively, and each and chaque when they are considered
separately and individually.
A Contrastive Study of English Quantifiers and their Equivalents in French and Arabic
313
Polysemic determiners in Arabic
In addition to kull كل seen above, we have more two important polysemic words in Arabic. The first
one is ba‘ḍ which could indicate a part of a being or thing. The equivalent is a little or some, used بعض
with an uncountable noun, in English and quelque in the singular form in French. It could also mean part
of a number of people or items. In this case, the equivalent is some, used with a countable plural noun, in
English and certains in the plural form in French.
The other polysemic word is ’ayy أي. Just like kull كل, it could have a distributive value, but only
when it is followed by an indefinite noun. Its equivalent is every in English and tout in French. When
followed by a definite noun, the equivalent is either in English and n'importe quell in French.
If ’ayy is accompanied with a negative word and followed by a definite noun, its equivalent is أي
neither or any + a negation particle in English, and aucun in French.
Saada
314
دراسة تقابلية لمحددات األسماء ومقابالتها في الفرنسية والعربية
محمود سعادة جامعة النجاح، فلسطين قسم اللغة الفرنسية،
الملخص
استندنا في هذه الدراسة التقابلية إلى متن يتكون من بضع أوراق بحث باللغة اإلنجليزية وترجمتها إلى كل من اللغتين
يقابلها في العربية والفرنسية. فقارنا الكلمات التي تعبر عن الكمية غير المحددة في اللغة اإلنجليزية، أي محددات األسماء، بما
اللغتين األخريين. بداية، صنفنا محددات األسماء اإلنجليزية في فئات. ثم تناولناها بالدرس ومقابالتها العربية والفرنسية
وحللناها وعقبنا عليها ضمن مجموعة من األمثلة. وفي النهاية، وضعنا عموميات يمكن أن تساعد متعلمي هذه اللغات
هم لمحددات األسماء وإيجاد المقابالت في مختلف السياقات.والمترجمين في تعميق فهم
ترجمة، دراسة تقابلية/مقارنة، جملة اسمية، محددات األسماء، معرفة، مقابل، نكرة. الكلمات المفتاحية:
A Contrastive Study of English Quantifiers and their Equivalents in French and Arabic
315
Endnotes
1Bamyeh, Mohammed. 2011. AL-QAHIRA, THE CITY VICTORIOUS, FEBRUARY 11, 2011.
http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. 2Ibid. 3Ibid. 4 Balibar, Etienne. 2009. Speaking The Universal. http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. 5Ibid. 6 Bamyeh, Mohammed. 2011. Al-Qahira, the City Victorious. February 11, 2011.
http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. 7Balibar, Etienne. 2009. Speaking The Universal. http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. 8Ibid. 9Ibid. 10Ibid. 11Ibid. 12Ibid. 13Ibid. 14« Il s’agit le plus souvent d’une quantité ou d’un degré non élevés, mais non négligeables ». Grevisse et
Goosse. (2007: 811). 15Balibar, Etienne. 2009. Speaking The Universal. http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. 16Ibid. 17Ibid. 18Ibid. 19Bamyeh, Mohammed. 2011. Al-Qahira, the City Victorious. February 11, 2011.
http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. 20Ibid. 21Ibid. 22Ibid. 23Balibar, Etienne. 2009. Speaking The Universal. http://www.transeuropeennes.eu. 24Fraser, Nancy. 2010, Who Counts. http://www.transeuropeennes.eu.
Saada
316
References Balibar, Etienne. 2009. Speaking The Universal. http://www.transeuropeennes.eu.
Bamyeh, Mohammed. 2011, AL-QAHIRA, THE CITY VICTORIOUS, FEBRUARY 11, 2011.
Grevisse, Maurice et Goosse André. 2007. Le Bon Usage, Grammaire Française. 14ème édition. Ed. de
Boeck Université. Bruxelles.
IbnManẓūr, Lisān al-‘arab.
Jawad, Maysaa. 2015. A Contrastive Study of Quantifiers in English And Arabic. International Journal
of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE). Online publishing organization:
www.arcjournals.org.
Riegel, Martin - Pellat, et Jean-Christophe - Rioul, René. 1994. Grammaire Méthodique du Français.
Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
Robert, Paul. 1991. Robert Le petit Robert 1 : Dictionnaire Alphabétique et Analogique de La Langue
Française. Paris: Dictionnaire Le Robert.
Wagner, Robert Léon. 1991. Grammaire du Français Classique et Moderne. Paris: Hachette supérieur.
A Contrastive Study of English Quantifiers and their Equivalents in French and Arabic
317
Table 1: english quantifiers and their equivalents in french and arabic
English quantifier French equivalent(s) Arabic equivalent(s) a few quelques biḍ‘/biḍ‘aẗ بضعة /بضعfew rare adad qalīl عدد قليل
a little quelque ba‘ḍ بعضlittle peu the adjective ḍa‘īf ضعيف
a bit of (informal) = a little a lot of (less formal) =
many/much
lots of (less formal) = many/much
many nombreux ‘adīd عديدmuch beaucoup de kaṯīrmin كثيرمن
too much trop de kaṯīrğiddan min منجدا كثير
or ’akṯar-u mim-mā yanbaġī min أكثر مما ينبغي من
all (totalization)
tous / toutesfollowed by a definite article
Kull كل followed by the definite article al-ال
all the/possessive determiner(totality of an item
and means "whole") tout / toute
kullكل followed by the definite article al-ال
most la plupart du/ de la/ de l' /des ġālibiyyaẗ غالبية, ’aġlab أغلب
orğull جل
both deux preceded by a definite article
the dual form of the determined noun or kilā كال / kiltā كتا
either n'importe quel / n'importe quelle
’ayy أي followed by a definite noun
neither aucun / aucune accompanied by ne
’ayy أيwith a negative word
every (the group is considered collectively)
tout without being followed by a definite article
Kull كل or ’ayy أيdetermining an indefinite singular noun
every(refers to a regular and repeated event) tous / toutes
kullكل / ’ayy أي or time circumstantial
each chaque kullكلdetermining an indefinite
singular noun some (with a countable plural
noun) certains / certaines ba‘ḍ بعض
some (with a singular countable noun)
indefinite article (followed and reinforced by quelconque)
orquelque
mā al-’ibhāmiyyaẗ [vague] ما اإلبهامية
some (with an uncountable noun) a partitive article or un peu de ba‘ḍبعض
any (accompanied with the negative preposition without) sans aucun(e) bi-lā بال or (bi-)dūn (بـ)دون’ayyأي
any (accompanied with an adverb, ex. hardly) Quasiment aucun(e)
Yakādu د يكا lam followed لمby ’ayy أي
any (used in an interrogative context) partitive article (’ayy أي)
no ne + pas (followed by de/d') or ne + aucun(e)
(’ayy أي accompanied with a) negation particle
Saada
318
Table2: phonetic transcription24
Consonants
Arabic letter Symbol Keyboard shortcuts ALT + CRTL + 0 ’ أ b ب t ت ẗ24 ALT + t ة ṯ CTRL + t ث ğ ALT + g ج ḥ ALT + h ح ẖ CTRL + h خ d د ḏ ALT + d ذ r ر z ز s س š ALT + s ش ṣ ALT + CRTL + s ص ḍ ALT + CTRL + d ض ṭ ALT + CRTL + t ط ẓ ALT + CRTL + z ظ ALT + CRTL + a ‘ ع ġ CTRL + g غ F ف q ق k ك l ل m م n ن h ه w و y ي
Long vowels
ā ALT + a ا ū ALT + u و ī ALT + i ي
A Contrastive Study of English Quantifiers and their Equivalents in French and Arabic
319
Short vowels
a u i
Tanwīn
an un in
Abbreviation List
ACC accusative ADJ adjective
ADJcomp comparative adjective CIRtmp time circumstantial CIRlieu place circumstantial
Cp prefix conjugation Cs suffix conjugation
DEF definite DEM demonstrative GEN genitive IMP imperative
N tanwīn N noun
NOM nominative PART particle
pl. plural PREP preposition PRO pronoun sing. singular