The common assumption among translators of Arabic proverbs into English is that methods of literal translation should be avoided because Arabic and English proverbs are always culture-specific. This paper, however, contends that formal translation methods can be effectively applied because the thematic content of Arabic and English proverbs does not always diverge; in fact, the content converges in many cases. Methodologically, the English translations of observational and truthful Arabic proverbs, which make use of tautology, metaphor, and irony in their phraseologies, were examined. The study samples were drawn from two internationally renowned novels Zuqaq al-Midaq (Mahfouz, 1947) and Awlad Haretna (Mahfouz, 1959), written by Naguib Mahfouz, a renowned Egyptian novelist and Noble Prize winner. The study also examined Stewart’s translation of Mahfouz’s Awlad Haretna as the Children of Gebelawi (Mahfouz, 1959/1981) and Le Gassick’s translation of Mahfouz’s Zuqa al-Midaq as Midaq Alley (Mahfouz, 1947/1975). The paper argues that Arabic proverbs that encapsulate shared themes in English and Arabic culture lend themselves to literal translation, whereas those that are culturally specific can be translated through the use of various translation strategies, ranging from those capturing the function to those independently capturing the communicative sense in the text.
