Maher Daoud

Skopos in Arabic-english Translation: the Adaptation of "Loose Women" As a Case Study Maher Daoud

This book tackles the justifiable adaptation strategy based on Skopos theory as an applicable means to overcome the cultural barriers in the translating process. The anti-adaptation voices argue that adaptation is rewriting, rather than being a true translation. Despite the contradicting views, whether for or against, still the translating process is governed by norms and conventions that regulate and govern the whole elements and factors. This includes the source text, the target text, the brief, the commissioner, cultural dimensions and the readers' expectations, and above all the role of the translator as a mediator. To argue for or against the adaptation approach, the study uses "Loose Women" TV talk show with its open and brave language that necessitates using the adaptation strategy, especially when it comes to Arabic and English languages with their different identities and cultural backgrounds. In this context, euphemism and covert translation are more preferable to overt translation in translating outrageous sexual practices and taboos objectionable in the Arab culture. The challenge was finding a cultural substitution that ensured the same ideas as the source text.