Arabic‐English translation of political speeches

The present article deals with repetitive and emotive expressions in Gamal Abdul Nasser's political speeches with reference to Arabic‐English translation. It argues that ‘repetition’ and ‘emotiveness’ are of paramount significance in translating Arabic political discourse and that successful translation must deal with these phenomena. This article draws on twenty authentic excerpts of Nasser's speeches translated from Arabic into English by the author. Further, the article categorizes examples involving ‘repetition’ into (i) functional repetitions of parallel structure and (ii) functional repetition created through semantic elaborations. It categorizes other examples involving ‘emotiveness’ into four levels: (i) phonological, (ii) morphological, (iii) lexical and (iv) semantic. The article stresses the importance of the translator's awareness of repetition and emotiveness, as well as other features such as hyperbole, humor, and metaphors.