Culture-based text analysis in translation.

A vision for comprehension

Mutahar Qassem (Najran) and Vijayasarathi Gurindapalli (Mysore)

Abstract
Comprehension can be described as the ability to construct the meaning of a text, spoken or
written. Such ability requires a complex mix of linguistic and world knowledge acquired
through interactions with the global environment, transcending language, and cultural transla-
tion barriers. In addition, translation schools propose various models to address the difficulties
inherent in comprehending the source text (ST) by using analysis from the linguistic, sociolin-
guistic, or cognitive perspectives. On the basis of translation schools’ models of text analysis,
this study similarly attempts to provide a corpus-based analysis of culture-based texts from
authentic sources (i. e. British online news). Results corroborate that the comprehension of cul-
ture-based texts can be attained through textual and lexical analyses. Further, the cultural, lin-
guistic, sociolinguistic, and cognitive perspectives of translation can be employed to create a
positive interaction between the internal and external components of a ST text on the one hand,
and a translator on the other hand. Drawing on the multimodality of text analysis, this study
attempts to offer a practical model for culture-based text analysis that can be applied at a trans-
lation class or course level.

1 Introduction
In recent years, interest in translation has grown to satisfy the need to initiate communication
and achieve a good understanding among nations. Such communication (i. e., among people of
different languages) cannot be achieved unless linguistic and cultural gaps are somehow
bridged (Newmark 1988; Baker 1995; Nord 1997). Sapir (1949 cited in Mansouri 2004: 27)
argues that “translation is an essential means through which access to the cultures of different
nations is possible”. Moreover, "globalization increases the need for human ability to mediate
and account for the implicit, cultural distance, and all other factors that are involved in commu-
nication" (Lobina 2018: 96). Thus, the translator's role is to ensure the possibility of communi-
cation among nations of different languages and cultures, considering all such variables of the
communication process.
Language is viewed as a window into culture. Through language, viewing the culture of differ-
ent communities is possible. Halliday and Hasan (1985) corroborate that the theory of context
precedes the theory of text, meaning that context is necessary for the adequate understanding
of text. Moreover, numerous models are proposed to examine the culture embedded in lan-
guages, such as linguistic content analysis (Roberts, 1989), discourse analysis (Bernstein
1972;

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Geerts 1973; Hymes 1972; Garlick 1987), and text analysis, (Hatim/Mason 1997). Each model
has its own methodology to analyze general and culture-based texts. The common methodology
used in written translations is text analysis, which is taken from Applied Linguistics to facilitate
the understanding of the texts. Further, content analysis is a traditional textual analysis method
for examining culture. For the present, however, the rich and varied literature on ‘content anal-
ysis makes proceeding on the basis of a homogeneous understanding of the method fairly dif-
ficult (cf. Titscher et al. 2000:55).
In text analysis, the text should be the center of attention. Texts can be analyzed at all linguistic
levels (words, phrases, and sentences), sociolinguistic (target audience or individual reader),
cognitive (working memory capacity), and general world knowledge. In addition, text analysis
is a means to explore the text and identify its features, writer, and audience. It can be used to
examine the interplay between cognition and human factor and locate the similarities and dif-
ferences across cultures and changes within cultures.

1.1 Aim of the study

Drawing upon text analysis models, this study aims to present a perspective of the text analysis
of culture-based texts. Translation schools’ models of text analysis and comprehension in trans-
lation are examined to create a framework for culture-based text analysis to achieve such ob-
jective. In light of such framework, authentic culture-based texts that cover various topics of
culture, namely, religious and political culture, are analyzed to explore their features and deter-
mine the problem that needs solutions. In addition, the study aims to provide a comprehensive
text analysis to maintain the interaction between the textual and lexical levels, thereby enabling
comprehension. This comprehensive analysis requires drawing upon linguistic, sociolinguistic,
and cognitive models of text analysis to provide translators with sufficient knowledge and skills
to understand a text.

1.2 Culture-based texts

Gonzalez and Scott-Tennen (2005: 166) define cultural references as "expressions that denote
any material, ecological, social, religious, political, linguistic, or emotional manifestation that
can be attributed to a community". Moreover, they receive different nominations in the field of
translation: "cultural foreign words'', ''culturemes'', ''cultural elements'', ''culture-specific items'',
''cultural references'', and ''cultural loaded words'' (Olk 2013; Nida 1954; Newmark 1981; Baker
1995, 2009) among others. Katan (2009: 71) defines cultural expressions as “formalized, so-
cially and juridically embedded phenomena that exist in a particular form or function in only
one of the two cultures being compared”. He contends that cultural expressions manifest dif-
ferences in form and function in the compared cultures. Ultimately, Aixelas (1996: 58) defines
cultural references more explicitly and comprehensively, saying that they are:
textually actualized items whose function and connotations in a source text involve a
translation problem in their transference to a target text, whenever this problem is a
product of the non-existence of the reported item or of its different intertextual status
in the cultural system of the readers of the target text.
Aixelas (1996: 58)

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The abovementioned definition determines features that characterize the cultural references of
intertextuality, connotation, and (un)translatability, and such features should be explained to
show their meaning and how they complicate the translation process.

1.2.1 Intertextuality, connotation, and (un)translatability

Intertextuality, connotation, and (un)translatability work together or partially to influence the
comprehension of the ST and its production to the target language (TL). The source language
(SL) signs draw on the SL culture, which may evoke different reactions to TL readers. In addi-
tion, such cultural signs may not exist in the TL system, which may be due to the absence of
the same cultural sign in the TL. These three factors complicate the process of understanding
the text and its subsequent production to the TL (Gonzalez/Scott-Tennen 2005; Hatim/Mason
1997; Shunnaq 1993; Thawbteh 2007).

1.2.1.1 Intertextuality
Intertextuality is a rhetorical device used by writers to solidify and increase the persuasiveness
of an argument based on the previous knowledge of other texts, historical incidents, proverbs,
films, and other sources (Hatim/Mason 1997; Thawbteh 2007). To achieve successful commu-
nication, the text producer and the text receiver should share the same relevant background.
The lack of this background between a translator and a text receiver would threaten the whole
communication, resulting in a great loss of information (Kashoob 1995).
Fairclough (2003) explains intertextuality as texts that draw upon incorporate and decontextu-
alized dialogues with other texts. It is also partly a matter of human assumptions and presuppo-
sitions upon speaking or writing. In addition, Titscher et al. (cf. 2000: 23) classify intertextuality
into what relates to precedent, simultaneously occurring discourse and genres and text varieties.
Intertextuality works at textual and lexical levels in a sense that textual intertextuality refers to
the classification of texts (such as religious, political, or social, among others), whereas lexical
intertextuality refers to culturally specific elements in a text (such as religious, political, or
social, among others). Accordingly, the task of a translator is to identify the intertextual sign in
a text as well as comprehend its meaning and connotation. Otherwise, deviation will occur in
the rendition of meaning (Newmark 1981).

1.2.1.2 Connotation
Connotation refers to “people's strong, weak, affirmative, negative or emotional reaction to
words” (cf. Thawbteh 2007: 30). Societal norms and conventions influence language uses and
ways of communications. Therefore, translators should address such norms and conventions
when translating connotative expressions from one language to another. Cultural differences
between languages play a crucial role in delivering the connotative meaning, which constitutes
difficulties in perceiving the meaning from one language to another. Further, words of conno-
tative meanings in one language may not be the same in another. Mouakket (1988: 209) argues
that “different languages frequently reflect different connotations and associations of feeling
because of differences in different cultural roots”. For instance, the Arabic lexis ‘maharem’
means people who are legally forbidden to marry a woman because of the blood relationship
extant from sharing of the breast milk, as the law likens it to her father, brother, and other kin.

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However, this concept does not exist in English (cf. Thawbteh 2007: 76). Moreover, the term
‘unmarried couple’ (i. e., a man and a woman living together outside of marriage) does not exist
in Arabic, which constitutes a comprehension problem for a translator in deciphering its mean-
ing.

1.3 Translation process and comprehension

Translation studies devote considerable attention to the importance of comprehension in the
translation process, resulting in numerous translation models. Nida and Taber (1974) present a
model with three stages of translation process: analysis, transfer, and restructuring. Since then,
Nida and Taber have set analysis as the first stage of the translation process, showing their focus
on ST comprehension. Similarly, Wills (1996) proposes a model with three stages but influ-
enced by language processing: decoding, transfer, and encoding. Decoding here means the in-
terpretation of ST to target its comprehension. In addition, Bell (1991) proposes a three stage-
model in which he categorizes translation into ST interpretations and analysis, translation pro-
cess, and text reforms. Further, Bell focuses on the interpretation and text analysis although
they overlap because of their roles in achieving ST comprehension.
Hatim and Mason (1991) suggest a typical three-stage yet comprehensive and sophisticated
model: text comprehension, transfer of meaning, and target text assessment. They cite compre-
hension directly as the first stage of the translation process, unlike the previous models that cite
the processes leading to comprehension. Meanwhile, Al-Shabab (1996) presents a five-stage
model that includes ST editing, ST interpretation, ST interpretation in a new language, TT for-
mulation, and TT editing. In his model, three stages are devoted to the source text comprehen-
sion, namely, ST editing, ST interpretation during the translator's understanding, and the trans-
lators’ perception of the ST during the transfer to TT.
As an extension to mental models, Seleskovitch and Lederer (2003) provide a model for the
translation process, stating that translation is an overlapping three-stage process (i. e. reading
and understanding, deverbalization, and re-expressions). They emphasize the importance of
linguistic competence and ‘world knowledge’ to read and understand a ST and view sense as a
non-verbal synthesis resulting from understanding (Albir/Alves 2009). Similarly, Carl et al.
(2011), Angelone (2010), and Jakobsen (2011) present a three-stage empirical computational
model for translation: (a) initial orientation (i. e. reading through the text before translation);
(b) translation drafting (i. e., actual translation); and (c) post-editing. Further, they confirm that
professional and student translators exhibit different behaviors during the translation process
and explore that according to a translator’s competence, these three stages will vary in terms of
time and type of the activity involved.

1.4 Intercultural competence and text analysis

For the analysis of texts, cultural competence is required to detect the cultural background im-
bedded in a culture-based text. PICT (2012:36) operationalized intercultural competency as
follows:
a) a thorough knowledge of source and target cultures;
b) the ability to perceive elements of foreign culture and the knowledge to deal with them;
c) the ability to integrate into cultures;

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d) the ability to communicate successfully with other cultures;

e) understanding interactions between different cultures and demonstrating tolerance;
f) understanding and curiosity toward foreign cultures;
g) knowledge of the theory of cultural differences and their impact on the translation and
communication;
h) knowledge of discourse features; and
i) the ability to adapt or localize the elements of foreign culture for the target audience.
PICT (2012: 38) shows that the types of materials from where intercultural competence should
be acquired include newspaper articles, multimedia texts, web pages, adverts, literary texts,
tourism publicity, and technical manuals. Material development for the teaching of the inter-
cultural competence of translation students should concentrate on the following types of activ-
ities in priority order: (1) practical group exercises, (2) textual and contrastive analysis, and (3)
presentation of theory. Accordingly, material development should focus on the provision of
appropriate texts of the following, again in priority order: (1) newspaper articles, (2) multimedia
texts, (3) web pages, (4) adverts, (5) literary texts, (6) tourism publicity, and (7) technical man-
uals( PICT 2012:40).

1.5 Models of text analysis in translation

This section is devoted to scholars’ models that adopt various methods of text analysis. These
models reflect their origin theories and focus on a significant area of text analysis. Thus, these
models could complement each other.
Text analysis is a term taken from Applied Linguistics to deal with the study of the linguistic
and extralinguistic features of texts to simplify comprehension. Scholars in translation studies
have employed this term to deal with the translation process (William/Chesterman 2002; New-
mark 1988; Mailhac 1996). Through text analysis, the ST is sufficiently read to determine the
central idea of the text, TL readership, similarities, and differences between the ST and TT, as
well as its other features.
Reiss’ model (1971/2000 cited in Munday 2008) of text analysis is based on the Skopos theory
(functional approach). She determines the main functions of texts (i. e., informative, expressive,
and operative texts), which she asserts requires consideration by translators in the rendition
process. Moreover, informative texts require explicit statements, while expressive texts neces-
sitate adherence to the SL author perspective, and aesthetics should be considered during ren-
dition. Further, operative texts require an appropriate translation according to the way the in-
tended audience is assumed to respond to the text. Reiss (2000: 48–88 cited in Munday 2008)
also lists a series of intralinguistic and extralinguistic instruction criteria (instruction by which
the adequacy of a TT may be assessed), which are listed as follows:
1. linguistic components: semantic equivalence, lexical equivalence, grammatical, and
stylistic features
2. non-linguistic determinants: situation, subject field or domain time place (characteristics
of country and culture), receiver, sender, and affective implications (humor, irony, and
emotion).

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Wills (1983) elucidates that text analysis involves the text theme, function, stylistic dimension,
and semiotic terminology. Further, Wills focuses on the internal features of the text, ignoring
external features such as the SL writer and TL audience. Newmark (1988) verifies that ST
analysis aims to check cultural issues, elaborate on textual ambiguities, clarify the intention of
the writer from the point of view of the recipient, and determine how far readers perceive texts
similarly or differently. His model for text analysis compares the ST and TT in terms of SL
writers and TL readership, SL and TL norms, as well as SL and TL cultures. In addition, a
general objection to Newmark’s approach is that it is at once a method of tackling a translation
text (reading the text, last reading) and a set of criteria for text evaluation, but pedagogically,
distinguishing how to tackle theoretical and practical issues is desirable.
House (1981) believes that text analysis is conducted to state precisely the equivalence between
ST and TT with a view to evaluating the functional correspondence. She emphasizes on text
function and the role of situational dimensions in achieving such function and constructs a
model for situational-functional text analysis and assessment of translation by eclectically
adapting and modifying Crystal and Davy’s (1969) scheme, which is as follows:

Dimensions of language user (A) Dimensions of language use (B)

a Geographical origin a Medium
b Social class b Participation: simple/complex

c Time c Social role relationship

d Social attitude
e Province
Table (1) Crystal and Davy’s Model (1969)

Emery (1991:573) provides an integrated approach for text analysis, drawing on the models of
House (1981), Newmark (1988), and Wilss (1983) and argues that using text analysis should
be flexible and include the following dimensions on Table (2) below.
Macro dimension Micro dimension
Situational dimention Syntactic
Medium Semantic
Formality Lexical
Addressee/addresser relations Textual
Profiles
Style (froze, intimates)
Domain (form, specific features)
Text pragmatics (function of text, text type, purpose,
speech acts, illocutionary force), text structure (coher-
ence, cohesion), text tone
Text semiotics: culture-loaded signs, intertextuality
Table (2) Emery Model of Text Analysis (1991)

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Hatim and Mason (1997) present a sociolinguistic model for text analysis: who is translating
what, for whom, when, where, why, and in what circumstances. The answers to these wh-ques-
tions are key factors to establish the priorities of each individual translation and hence guide
the translator’s choice. An accurate assessment of the situation is, therefore, as necessary as a
source of solutions to translation problems (Hatim/Mason 1997).
Moreover, Nord (2005) builds her model of text analysis on intratextual and extratextual fac-
tors. Through intratextual factors, the grammatical, semantic, and stylistic features of the text
are analyzed to grasp the ST denotative and connotative meanings. In extratextual analysis, the
translator considers what is not stated directly in the text (such as author’s identity, intention,
audience, medium, place, motivation of communication, and effect) and their functions (Nord
2005). Further, Nord's model is clearly built on previous models, as it includes analysis of the
internal and external features of the ST. Unlike other functionalists, Nord (2005) does not in-
clude how translators arrive at intratextual and extratextual factors, and rather emphasizes on
the ST. This focus enables problematic features to be identified and classified. However, it
would be complex to think that all phenomena can be so easily categorized.
Carl et al. (2011) follow a computational model of human translation by using Translog and
eye tracking and focusing on the importance of the reading process in translation. In this stage,
translators should solve comprehension problems by employing various available resources,
ranging from mental activities to online assistance via online dictionaries and search engines.
In addition, they use the Translog software and an eye-tracking device to explore students’
behaviors in different stages of translation. In using such methods, uncovering the mapping of
the translation process is possible, starting with text analysis via eye movements (gazes and
fixations) and translog (keystrokes, pauses, and mouse clicks). Such model adds a new horizon
to students’ reading behaviors in different stages of translation, which can be viewed as a pos-
itive interaction between a translator, a text, and a computer.

1.5.1 Approaches to text analysis

The question of how to read a text is answered only by applied linguists who significantly
contribute to reading approaches, either in theory or in practice. Top-down and bottom-up ap-
proaches have been given due consideration in second language research, and text analysis in
translation should draw on such approaches that present systematic techniques to deal with the
reading process.
Top-down and bottom-up reading approaches can be the start for text analysis because they
could enable the comprehension of SL and TL features. These approaches are important for a
translator to progress from a language to a meaning or from a meaning to a language. Further,
top-down reading skills require a translator to use schematic and contextual knowledge as well
as specific topics to arrive at comprehension. Conversely, bottom-up processing skills require
translators to derive meaning by decoding single words and expression in a passage (Nunan
1998). Generally, the combination of these processes requires the translator to decipher the
meaning of individual lexical items and have clear ideas about the overall rhetorical organiza-
tion of the text (cf. McDonough/Shaw 1997: 119).

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Recent empirical studies approach the processing of ST from a cognitive point of view. A study
by Jakobsen/Jensen (2008) contrasts different reading purposes by using eye tracking: reading
for comprehension vs. reading during several translation tasks. They discuss different reading
patterns for professional vs. student translators, which suggests that the cognitive effort neces-
sary to understand the ST differs according to the degree of expertise and the purpose of read-
ing.

1.5.2 Internal and external translation strategies

Process-oriented researchers classify translation strategies into internal and external translation
strategies. Internal translation strategies or techniques are used to overcome a comprehension
problem, such as problem identification, search memory, guess and context, re-read, and revi-
sion. When these strategies cannot be employed to overcome the comprehension problem, ex-
ternal translation should take place to obtain a solution, namely, through online or offline dic-
tionaries, search engines, or encyclopedias. In addition, external translation strategies should
be employed in consideration of internal translation strategies; otherwise, comprehension devi-
ation may occur. Ultimately, the use of context and problem identification should be conducted
to ensure the appropriate use of external strategies for the text (Qassem 2016).

2 Literature review and research questions

A review of the factors that influence the complexity of understanding culture-based texts as
well as translation and text analysis models has deduced that scholars concentrate on text anal-
ysis from their field of research. However, practical text analysis entails multiple models that
deal with all aspects of the text. Further, focusing on a certain model is a barrier against com-
prehensive text analysis. To bridge this gap, this study attempts to answer the following ques-
tion.
How can culture-based text analysis draw on the models of text analysis to achieve ST compre-
hension?
Numerous models are proposed to analyze general and culture-based texts and therefore over-
come comprehension and production problems. Each model looks at text analysis from its own
perspective, such as linguistic, sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic, and cultural. In addition, text
analysis should not be restricted to a certain theory or perspective; instead, the nature of the SL
and TL texts and the translator and the targeted audience are the factors that determine which
model to follow. Therefore, a comprehensive text analysis should draw on the relevant logical
models that assist translators to attain a comprehensive understanding of the SL text considering
the translation process and product, translators, and clients.

2.1 Research methods

In selecting the texts for analysis, the main criterion was that they exhibit as many varied cul-
tural translation problems as possible. The texts were selected on the basis of the classifications
of culture, such as social, political, and religious. The second criterion was that they were au-
thentic texts, as these best represent English culture. Moreover, authentic texts were chosen
from different sources, such as online British newspapers, namely, The Guardian and other

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websites assumed to reflect English culture. In addition, the classification of cultural translation
problems was considered in the selection of authentic texts.
Several translation theorists’ classifications of texts (into religious, social, and political) were
too complex or impractical and were therefore excluded from this study. Generalizing previous
classification to most texts is complex due to their overlaps, and classifying texts as strictly
social or political is generally difficult. Therefore, choosing texts according to their topic and
lexes of relevance is appropriate (Emiry 1991). Ultimately, purposive sampling was used in the
selection of culture-based texts to achieve the aim of this study.
General texts were chosen, whereas highly specialized and literary texts were excluded. The
readership of texts is general, and the texts are parts of newspaper articles directed to their
audience (Gabriela/O' Brien 2015; Bowker/Pearson 2002; Sinclair 2003). In addition, docu-
mentary annotations were considered in the texts in terms of author, source, date of publications
for transparency and replicability, as well as contextualization and interpretation of results (cf.
Gabriela/Obrien 2015:76).

2.2 Data analysis and discussion

In an attempt to provide an integrated model for text analysis, while drawing on translation
scholars’ and linguists’ models of text analysis, this section presents a practical analysis of
culture-based texts of different topics, such as religion, social traditions, and politics. The texts
have been analyzed at textual and lexical levels, showing how such analysis assists in overcom-
ing cultural comprehension problems inherent in the texts. Table (3) shows the selected texts.
Text Topic Main idea
Text 1 Religious Catholic infant baptism
Text 2 Political Shadow cabinet
Table (3) Classification of Selected Texts

Text (1)
Text (1) deals with a criticism of the Catholic ritual of infant baptism. The first step in the
translation process is to read the text to reveal its nature and determine the problem areas that
require accounting for. See Text (1) below.
Fundamentalists often criticize the Catholic Church’s practice of baptizing infants. According to
them, baptism is for adults and older children, because it is to be administered only after one has
undergone a “born-again” experience—that is, after one has “accepted Jesus Christ as his personal
Lord and Savior.” At the instant of acceptance, when he is "born again," the adult becomes a
Christian, and his salvation is assured forever.
Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004
Analysis at textual level
According to Nord (2005), Reiss (2000), Hatim/Mason (1991), House (1981), and Emery
(1991), the analysis should start with extratextual information, which can be attained through
top-down reading approaches (McDonough/Shaw 1997). In such reading, the translator detects
the main idea of the text, the writer’s intention, the audience, the medium, and the place. This

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information will help a translator approach the text with sufficient background that assists in
the text comprehension. For details, see Table (4) below.

Text 1
Topic Baptism
Function Informative
Medium Website article
Audience Christians
Lexes Baptizing, Born Again, Jesus, Salvation, and Personal Lord
Approach Top-down approach
Table (4) Model of Textual Analysis of Text (1)

On the basis of such reading, the text above is part of an article entitled, ‘Infant Baptism,’
published in a website pertaining to defending and explaining the Catholic practice of baptism.
The text is a general introduction to principles of baptism in Christianity, namely, Catholic. On
the basis of the Reiss (1971) classification of texts, the text is informative, with the author’s
intention to inform the reader about the Catholic ritual of baptism. The writer’s readership is
composed of Christians because the website aims to post Christian issues. In this type of text,
the translator should comprehend the purpose of the text’s writer and reflect this comprehension
in his or her translation. Such types of texts should ensure explicitation for TL readers that can
only be attained through text comprehension (Reiss 2000).
This extratextual information is crucial for translators because they reveal the context of the
text and its audience, which in turn facilitates the comprehension process. Hence, obtaining
such information of the ST is the systematic means to recognize the background knowledge of
the ST and interpret its expressions and lexes.

Lexical analysis
The second stage is a lexical analysis of the ST, which covers the meaning of cultural refer-
ences, their comprehension problems, and the corresponding translation strategies for such
problems. See Table (5) below.
No. Cultural Meaning Translation prob- Translation
references lem strategies
1. Baptizing To christen through certain ritu- Intertextuality Internal com-
als (Meriam Webster) prehension
2. Born A person who has become an Idiomatic struc- Strategies2 Ex-
Again evangelical Christian as a result ture, intertextuality ternal compre-
of a religious experience (Col- and implicit mean- hension Strate-
lins Dictionary1) ing gies
3. Salvation Deliverance from sin and its Intertextuality and
consequences implicit meaning

1 Problem identification, search memory, re-reading, using context, and guessing.

2 Monolingual dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, and search engines.

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4. Personal To accept his teachings and fol-Literal meaning

Lord low his example denotes polythe-
ism for Arabic
readers
5. Savior The person who brings salvation Intertextuality and
(Jesus) implicit meaning
Table (5) Model of Lexical Analysis in Text (1)

Reading the text at a lexical level (bottom-up) reveals that the text above has six religious signs,
namely, ‘Baptizing’, ‘Born Again’, ‘Jesus’, ‘Salvation’, ‘Personal Lord’, and ‘Savior.’ These
are unique to Christianity (they are viewed differently by protestants and Catholics) and are
embedded in religious background. In the text above, the comprehension problems are due to
their intertextual signs, implicit meanings, idiomatic structure, and connotative meanings. The
first step toward adequate translation is detecting the problematic literal translation of cultural
signs. During translation, the translator should employ comprehension strategies such as inter-
nal strategies (i. e., problem identification, search memory, re-reading, using context, and
guessing) and external comprehension strategies (by using monolingual dictionaries, bilingual
dictionaries, and search engines) (Qassem 2016). The translator should first employ internal
strategies to attain comprehension. If such strategies are insufficient to achieve comprehension
of cultural references due to the translators’ limited knowledge or highly implicit nature of the
culturally loaded references, then external comprehension strategies may be employed. Ulti-
mately, using external strategies according to interpretation by using internal comprehension
strategies is important.
The bottom-up reading approach shows that the items ‘Baptizing,’ ‘Born Again,’ ‘Salvation,’
and ‘Personal Lord’ constitute comprehension problems for translators. ‘Baptizing’ has a cul-
tural background rooted in rituals of Christianity, which does not exist in Arabic. The available
literal translation of such word into Arabic is inappropriate due to the cultural gap between
Arabic and English. Therefore, the translator should have a deep understanding of such reli-
gious signs, depending on accredited resources (encyclopedias, Oxford and Meriam Webster
dictionaries, and similar sources) and then render it into the TL considering the SL meaning
and TL readership understanding. In addition, the translator should simplify the meaning for
TL readers, and this simplification can only be attained by clarifying the concept ‘baptize’ (ad-
mission into church by ritual of water; identification by a name chosen by parents; christening)
for a translator. The intertextual sign ‘baptise’ a rite of admission/adoption into the Christian
Church with the use of water by immersion or by sprinkling/applying water on the child’s head.
Further, it is a sacrament, a visible symbol of inward grace believed to have been instituted by
Jesus Christ to symbolize conferring grace, which the pastor now does on His behalf, by repre-
senting Him while blessing and identifying the child by a name chosen by the parents. This
background knowledge is important for a translator to comprehend the religious sign and use
the right translation process.
“Born Again” is a religious term peculiar to Christianity, which means the sanctification of self
by inviting the Holy Spirit to dwell in oneself for spiritual growth and achieving a life according
to the example set by Jesus Christ. The literal meaning of the term is completely different from

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its contextual meaning. Making good use of the context can clarify the meaning for translators.
If the translation uses dictionaries, then they should be in the light of the context; otherwise a
deviant interpretation of the text may occur. In the text, Jesus is described as a ‘Lord’, which
has different interpretations and connotations for English and Arabic readers. Therefore, trans-
lators’ understanding of the SL and TL cultures enables them to choose the appropriate rendi-
tion. In Arabic, describing Jesus as “Lord” is a blasphemous implication to Muslim readers
(Miller-Naudé/Naudé 2016).
The literal meaning of salvation is similarly different from its contextual meaning. In the text,
the term has a deeper meaning of deliverance from sin and its consequences (Oxford Diction-
aries 2010). Without such cultural background, the comprehension of such term will be lost,
and a translator may run the risk of literal translation. Therefore, a background of such terms is
required to avoid a comprehension failure.
Text 2

Textual analysis
Text (2) is a political topic, published online in The Guardian, directed to English news reader-
ship. It is a part of a news article with the main idea ‘members of opposition party in the British
parliament.’ See the text below.
Members of the shadow cabinet have repaid a further £25,000 in response to demands from the
Commons auditor, Sir Thomas Legg, the Conservative party said today. The sum represents the
amount paid back by 13 shadow ministers in response to final letters recently sent by Legg, which
said how much money ought to be repaid by individual MPs.
The Guardian.Co.UK, Friday December 18, 2009
The text is informative because the writer is informing the readers about an issue that occurs in
the parliament. The translator should have a background of the texts because the political sys-
tems and its concepts in Britain differ from those in the Arab world. This issue may be solved
by consulting lexes in encyclopedias and accredited dictionaries to comprehend the text. De-
pending on the literal meaning of the political terms commonly results in misinterpretation, and
rendering informative texts needs a deep understanding so that such understanding is reflected
in clear and adequate translation (Reiss 2000). The extratextual features of the text alert the
translator to initiate an understanding of the political topic. The translator can judge the ade-
quacy of his or her knowledge of the English political culture. Being in different political set-
ting, he or she should acquire background knowledge of the ruling and opposition parties in the
British society. Further, reading at the textual level can guide the translator to establish a context
that can assist comprehension at the lexical level. See the textual information extracted from
Text (4) in Table (8) below.
Text 1
Topic Money paid by MPs
Function Informative
Medium Newspaper article
Audience General readers

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Lexis Shadow cabinet, commons auditor, conservative party, shadow minister,

MPs
Approach Top-down approach
Table (6) Model of Lexical Analysis in Text (2)

Lexical analysis
As for reading at the lexical level (i. e., bottom-up reading approach), the translator should read
the text, drawing on sociolinguistic information obtained during textual reading. Four cultural
signs in the text, namely, ‘shadow minister’ and ‘shadow cabinet,’ ‘conservative party,’ ‘Com-
mons auditors,’ and ‘MPs’ may stop the translator’s fluent reading as these concepts do not
exist or are expressed differently in Arabic. If the translator feels the differences between the
SL and TL political setting in the text, then he or she will use the right strategy that would lead
him or her to comprehend such terms. Comprehension starts with detecting the problem and
progresses by searching through memory, guessing, context, and re-reading. Further, if such
strategies are insufficient to achieve comprehension, then the translator can employ external
comprehension strategies such as consulting dictionaries and search engines. See Table (7) be-
low.
No. Cultural Meaning Translation problem Translation
term strategies
1. Shadow Group of the leaders of a Intertextuality and im- 1. Internal
cabinet parliamentary opposition plicit meaning comprehen-
who constitute the prob- sion strategies
able membership of the 2. External
cabinet when their party comprehen-
is returned to power sion strategies
(Meriam Webster)
2. “Shadow A member of the main Intertextuality and im-
minister” opposition party in Par- plicit meaning
liament who would hold
ministerial office if their
party were in power
(Collins Dictionary)
3. Conserva- The main Right-of-Cen- Intertextuality and im-
tive party tre party in Britain plicit meaning
4. Commons Auditor of house of Intertextuality and im-
auditor commons (Parliament) plicit meaning
5. MPs Members of Parliament Abbreviation
Table (7) Model of Lexical Analysis in Text (2)

The comprehension problems are due to their intertextual signs and abbreviation. The political
terms ‘shadow cabinet’ and ‘shadow minister’ refer to distinctiveness of the British political
system. Arab readers may be unfamiliar with and unaware of the idea that the ‘shadow minister’
(opposition party) may become the head of state if his or her party wins the governmental

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election (Kashoob 1995). Therefore, when a translator reads political texTS, he or she should
be aware of intertextual signs that have highly different literal meanings. Meanwhile, Qassem
(2014) inferred that one of the major problems of translating political terminologies or expres-
sions is comprehension due to the differences between the SL and TL situations.
The ‘conservative party’ and ‘commons auditor’ are two prominent terms in the British political
system. The former refers to a name of a British party, while the latter refers to the British
parliament (House of commons). Such background information is essential for a translator to
understand political signs and reflect such comprehension into the rendition by employing the
appropriate translation strategies (Carl et al. 2011).

3 Recommendations
On the basis of the conceptual literature and data analysis, translation textbooks should provide
an integrated account of the theoretical and practical analyses of general and culture-based texts.
Textbooks should draw on the multimodality of text analysis, namely, linguistic, sociolinguis-
tic, and cognitive perspectives, to achieve such objective. Simply put, the theory of communi-
cation and social semiotics should be adopted. In addition, the importance of linguistic analysis
lies on studying the text at the textual (text-types and text topics), lexical, semantic, and prag-
matic levels, which determine the accurate meaning of the words or phrases and understand
their functions in a text. The sociolinguistic analysis determines the context of a text and its
readership, which has an important function in the translation brief. Further, the cognitive per-
spectives are expected to guide translators to overcome comprehension and production prob-
lems by using internal and external translation strategies. To date, no single translation textbook
provides an integrated analysis of texts. Most translation courses focus on either linguistic
(Baker 1992), sociolinguistic (Hatim 1997), or cognitive analysis.
The analysis of different culture-based texts revealed the necessity of employing multiple mod-
els to achieve comprehension (Reiss 1971/2000; Newmark1991; Mason/Hatim 1991; Nord
1995; Jakobsen 2011; Carl et al. 2011). Newmark (1991) and Mailhac’s (1989) functional text
analyses are crucial because they link the texts and their lexes. Moreover, Mason/Hatim’s
(1991) sociolinguistic model of text analysis establishes the context in the text to be translated,
and Nord's model integration between intratextual and extratextual analyses provides a com-
prehensive view of text analysis. Further, process-oriented translation from Jakobsen (2011)
and Carl et al. (2011) focuses on mental activities that translators should follow during text
analysis, and such mental activities include internal and external comprehension strategies. Bot-
tom-up and top-down reading are efficient approaches for translation because they enable the
analysis of intratextual and extratextual features. Thus, using multiple text analysis models is
an effective approach for text analysis in translation.
The selection of appropriate authentic texts that are rich in cultural signs is the first step in text
analysis. In addition, the selection of texts should cover various types of authentic texts of dif-
ferent sources (online or offline, visual, or written) that reflect English culture. These sources
present a good environment to train student translators in appropriate text analysis. In applying
such method, the students can look for and analyze such authentic texts by themselves. Accord-
ingly, a translation course should consider text analysis in theory and practice, covering differ-
ent cultural topics and presenting applicable methodologies that could deal with text analysis.

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Ultimately, the analysis of texts takes a cyclic form; the translator can begin with textual reading
and end with a lexical one, or vice versa.
The classification of culture should be represented in translation courses by providing sufficient
cultural input, and clear methods should be presented to appropriately render the cultural input
into the TL. The model presented by this study can be employed at the translation class or
course level despite its underdeveloped stage, and further development and studies could then
increase its comprehensiveness to cater to all students’ needs in text analysis.
Intercultural competence is one of the main factors assisting a translator in creating an efficient
interaction with the text. Text analysis cannot be adequately made without preparing the trans-
lator to be bicultural as he or she is bilingual, which cannot be achieved unless translation pro-
grams include intercultural competence at the core of translation curricula. Meanwhile, PICT
(2012) determines the areas that could develop intercultural competence, which includes a thor-
ough knowledge of source and target cultures, culture integration, communication across cul-
tures, understanding interactions between different cultures, knowledge of theories of cultural
differences and their impact on translation and communication, as well as knowledge of dis-
course features.

4 Conclusion
In theoretical and empirical studies, scholars have seemed to unanimously agree that texts anal-
ysis is crucial in translation. However, each model views text analysis from its own perspective.
On the basis of the selected texts in this study, culture-based text analysis requires employing
multiple models to deal with different aspects of the texts and create positive interaction be-
tween translators, texts, as well as the available offline and online sources. Specifically, extra-
textual or sociolinguistic information is required to interpret what is not stated in the text. Con-
versely, intratextual information offers the denotative and connotative meaning of ST expres-
sions and words, and such types of information can be obtained by employing bottom-up and
top-down reading approaches. Employing external comprehension strategies, such as consult-
ing online dictionaries and search engines, is the last step if contextual information is insuffi-
cient to solve the comprehension problem. Thus, employing multiple methods to text analysis
in either translation class or course may attain sound training in text analysis.

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