The modern Arabic novel: a literary and linguistic analysis of the genre of popular fiction, with special reference to translation from English.
Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to examine the notion of 'genre' in general as a basic
unit in linguistic, cultural and literary analysis. Chapter One is an introduction
to this study outlining my aims and objectives which are mainly related to
popular fiction in English and Arabic. Chapter Two discusses the theory of
genre both from a linguistic and a literary point of view, underlining crosscultural
differences and similarities. These critical insights should enable us to
form an overall picture of how the subject of my case study (Mills & Boon and
its translation into Arabic) is viewed in the languages and cultures concerned:
this particular genre has not been acceptable to the Western literary
establishment until recently, and is not acceptable to the Arabic critical
establishment even today.
Chapter Three historically deals with the first attempts in writing novels in
Arabic. This was influenced by translation, but an Arabic genre nevertheless
emerged. Chapter Four critically focuses on this aspect of the canonization of
the novel in Arabic. This has influenced the development of popular fiction in
this language. Chapter Five presents a detailed analysis of one particular
example of popular fiction in Arabic, one which was seen negatively by the
critics. Chapter Six discusses the tension between the canon and the periphery
as far as the novel is concerned. This is illustrated by an analysis of an Arabic
novel which we take to be a good example of popular fiction. Chapter Seven
deals with aspects of Eastern and Western translation theory relevant to my
analysis of genre. Chapter Eight presents a detailed analysis of a Mills & Boon
novel in English and its translation into Arabic. Finally, Chapter Nine briefly
summarizes the issues discussed and points us towards some general direction
and pedagogic implications.