Challenges and Strategies of Translating Nabati Poetry into English: Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani's Poetry

This thesis sets out to investigate the linguistic and cultural challenges of translating Sheikh Jassim Al Thani's poetry into English, which is an example of Nabati poetry. Therefore, a study is conducted on two groups of MA graduates in translation studies; Qataris and non-Qataris by applying the Think Aloud Protocol (TAP). The participants were then given a questionnaire to fill in immediately after completing the translation process to provide an insight of what was going on in their mind during the periods of silence. The approach used in this study is process-oriented, and therefore it illuminates the strategies that translators use to overcome challenges during the translation process. The analysis of the translation of selected expressions is based on Gerloff's (1986) model of coding translation strategies. Selecting different translation strategies by each group demonstrates the nature of the encountered challenges. These challenges vary as some are linguistic ,while others are cultural. Finally, the study concludes that the employment of TAP in the process of translation is effective and can guide translation specialists and help them to overcome any linguistic or cultural problems.