Translating Thartharah fawq al-Nil (“Adrift on the Nile”)

Translation is an interdisciplinary activity in which translators must consider all aspects of the text being translated, including both psychology and ideology. They must also view translation as a complex process that spans linguistic, cultural, economic, and ideological factors, analysing intricate issues that usually lie at the boundaries of languages, cultures, and societies. This paper examines the challenges inherent in translating the sociolinguistic aspects of Thartharah fawq al-Nil (1966), published in English as “Adrift on the Nile” (1993) – challenges that include drug addicts’ slang and jargon, register, and figurative language. The specific objective is to identify error patterns produced by the translator and to analyse these errors quantitatively and qualitatively, assessing their negative impact on the reader and suggesting possible solutions. “Adrift on the Nile” is an important novel in an exceptional period of modern Egyptian history, and is regarded by many critics as “one of the richest essays on symbolism” (Allen 1982: 145). This paper calls for adopting a more sociolinguistic perspective when translating unique texts overloaded with cultural and socio-political meanings.