Translating Political Satire and Interpersonal Meaning in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: A Study of the Arabic Translation

Afaf Alwan; Baleid Taha Shamsan

doi:10.5281/zenodo.23956517

Translating Political Satire and Interpersonal Meaning in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: A Study of the Arabic Translation

Afaf Alwan Department of English, Faculty of Languages, Taiz University, Yemen ORCID
Baleid Taha Shamsan Department of English, Faculty of Languages, Taiz University, Yemen ORCID

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23956517

Published: 2026-11-04

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Abstract

Political satire depends on speakers’ positioning, authority, and discrepancies between public justification and private calculation. This article examines these interpersonal relations in Abdulwahab Al-Maqaleh’s Arabic translation of Paul Torday’s Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Using House’s (2015) Translation Quality Assessment model, it adopts a qualitative, descriptive-comparative approach, prioritizing Tenor alongside mood, modality, evaluation, and participation. The analysis distinguishes denotative errors from contextual mismatches and examines altered and preserved satirical cues. Selected passages show increased epistemic commitment, redistributed evaluative intensity, formalized political insider speech, and selectively reduced institutional deference. Nevertheless, negative interrogatives, parallel imperatives, persuasive repetition, and indirect pressure survive in several selected passages, preserving substantial characterization and satire. An omitted proposition about religious opposition alters the ideological context, although the reference to radical Wahhabi schools remains. The findings indicate that the Arabic text retains recognizable documentary voices but unevenly reconstructs the interpersonal contrasts sustaining satire. Local target-oriented adjustments do not establish a globally covert translation. The article recommends assessing stance, authority, and inferential distance rather than treating literal correspondence, fluency, or explicitation as sufficient evidence of satirical fidelity.

Keywords: political satire nterpersonal meaning translation quality assessment Tenor English–Arabic literary translation

How to Cite

Alwan, A., & Taha Shamsan , B. (2026). Translating Political Satire and Interpersonal Meaning in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: A Study of the Arabic Translation. European Journal of Humanistic Studies and Social Dynamics, 2(2), 72-86. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23956517

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Volume 2, No. 2, 2026

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Articles

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