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Problems of Translating Oil Contracts of Multinational Companies from English into Arabic

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Abstract

This study investigated challenges that Saudi undergraduate learners face in translating oil contracts from English into Arabic. The study used a quantitative approach of data collection. The sample of this study consisted of 18 Saudi undergraduate learners of transaction departments at some Saudi universities. To achieve the objectives of this study, a test was designed and administered. Additionally, the relevant theoretical framework of legal translation and features of oil contracts were analysed to pinpoint the problematic areas and the gaps. The results of the study indicated that undergraduate learners provided unacceptable translation based on lexical and textual features. On the other hand, they provided poor translation based on syntactic features. The study suggests some practical solutions to overcome the difficulties of legal texts for translators.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Deanship of Scientific Research at Najran University for funding this work under the Research Groups Funding program grant code (NU/RG/SEHRC/12/7).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Translation Studies, Department of Translation, University of Science and Technology, Hodeida, Yemen

    Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Moneus

  2. College of Languages and Translation, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia

    Fatima Abdullah Yahya Al-Inbari

  3. English Department, Faculty of Education, Hodeida University, Hodeida, Yemen

    Hassan Saleh Mahdi

Authors
  1. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Moneus
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  2. Fatima Abdullah Yahya Al-Inbari
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  3. Hassan Saleh Mahdi
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Correspondence to Hassan Saleh Mahdi.

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The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee at Najran University, Saudi Arabia (Reference No. 444-30-46926-DS).

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Moneus, A.M.A., Al-Inbari, F.A.Y. & Mahdi, H.S. Problems of Translating Oil Contracts of Multinational Companies from English into Arabic. J Psycholinguist Res 52, 2429–2451 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-023-10011-2

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