Author:Dr. Dhikrullahi Ayofe Shafiyu, Dr. Abdussalam Aminu Atotileto, Dr. Yusuf Mikail & Dr. Jamiu Abdur-Rafiu
Date: 05/07/2026
This study explores the translation of textual cohesion devices in the poetry book Jannat al-Ashʿār. By applying the source-text analysis of lexical opposition used as cohesive devices, which is known as taḍād/taḍām in the Arabic rhetorical tradition, the current paper attempts to identify the means of the opposition‘s translation into English and analyze the shifts in cohesion observed in the target text. The study‘s point of departure is formed by the analysis of oppositional pairs of words used in the source text to create cohesion. After extracting ten translated lines from the book, the current study analyzes the degree of cohesion maintenance in the target text. With reference to the theoretical framework of Halliday and Hasan‘s cohesion-in-text theory applied to the translation studies by Mona Baker, this paper argues that cohesion based on lexical opposition is mostly retained in the target text of Jannat al-Ashʿār . However, the cohesion effect is achieved through different means in the English text as compared to the source text. The translation of cohesive lexical opposition in the analyzed poetry book was mostly successful due to the use of universal lexical categories as grounding for the oppositional pairs. In addition, it was found that the cohesion loss occurs mostly in the images or rare words that carry the opposition, while the opposition itself is mostly lexically cohesive in the target text. The current study contributes to the discussion of cohesion translation by asserting that it is not sufficient to rely only on the lexical level of analysis when translating cohesive devices in poetry. Instead, the translator should focus on maintaining the imagery of the original text. Further research into the translation of lexical cohesion devices in different genres and language pairs is required to build upon the findings of this study.
Keywords: Antonymic Cohesion, Translation Shifts, Textual Consistency, Cohesion Devices, Poetry Translation, Jannat al-Ashʿār, Arabic Poetic Discourse.
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