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Title: Beyond the covers: Understanding Arab translator (in)visibility in Jordanian publishing houses.

Vol. 12(3), 2024, pp. 75-98.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46687/IXJR2934.

 

Author: Abdullah Thalji

About the author: Abdullah Thalji is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Isra University in Jordan, and a guest faculty member at Chandigarh University in Punjab, India. He earned his Ph.D. in Linguistics from Essex University in the UK and his MA in Translation with Interpreting from Salford University, UK. His main research interests include lexical semantics, computational linguistics, lexicography, machine translation, and translation studies.

e-mail: abdullah.thalji@iu.edu.jo                 

ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5401-1707

 

Author: Bilal Alderbashi

About the author: Bilal Alderbashi is an Assistant Professor of Translation in the Department of English Language and Translation at Isra University, Jordan. He received his Ph.D. in Translation from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia. His areas of interest include translation, literary translation, translation studies, and discourse analysis.

e-mail: bilal.aderbashi@iu.edu.jo                

ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5489-5135

 

Author: Bassam Al Saideen

About the author: Bassam Al Saideen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English Language and Translation at Isra University, Jordan. He received his PhD in Translation Studies from Binghamton, NY, USA. His main areas of interest include translation studies, translating taboos, intertextuality, translator's ideology and agency, Arabic translation tradition, Judeo-Arabic studies, and Arabic and global prison literature.

e-mail: bassam.alsaideen@iu.edu.jo            

ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6049-1911

 

Link: http://silc.fhn-shu.com/issues/2024-3/SILC_2024_Vol_12_Issue_3_075-098_24.pdf

Citation (APA): Thalji, A., Alderbashi, B., & Al Saideen, B. (2024). Beyond the covers: Understanding Arab translator (in)visibility in Jordanian publishing houses. Studies in Linguistics, Culture, and FLT,12(3), 75-98. https://doi.org/10.46687/IXJR2934. 

 

Abstract: This article examines the concept of translator (in)visibility within the context of Jordanian publishing houses, with a keen focus on the interrelationship between paratextual material and translator (in)visibility. Adopting a data-driven methodology, the study analyzes book covers of translated works originating from 29 Jordanian publishing houses. By examining the paratextual elements on the front covers of over 600 translated works, including the appearance of translator names and related details, the research aims to address a notable lacuna in the existing literature concerning the (in)visibility of Arab translators. To address this gap, the study establishes a point-based system and builds a visibility index to comprehend the scope of translator visibility and its ramifications within Jordanian publishing practices. Findings indicate variations in publishing practices among Jordanian publishers. Equally important, there appears to be a noticeable difference between Jordanian and other countries’ publishing practices, as documented in the literature of the study. This research extends beyond mere statistical observation, aiming to have broader implications for empirical translation studies, especially in relation to Venuti’s theory of invisibility. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of the complexities of visibility and invisibility, making a substantive contribution to the ongoing discussions in this field.

Keywords: corpus analysis, Jordanian publishing houses, paratext, peritext, (in)visibility index

 

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