Intercultural translation. The reflection of the religious notions of qadar and rizq in Arabic paremiology and phraseology

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the reflection of cultural realities in linguistic facts by studying Arabic proverbs and expressions that refer explicitly to the religious concepts of qadar and rizq, two key words so deeply rooted in the Islamic Arab culture that they have given rise to a great abundance of paremiology. These questions are addressed while taking into account the translation of cultural references and their functional equivalents. For this purpose, the following methodology has been used: an example in Arabic is given, then a functional translation into Spanish by the authors is provided, and this is followed by an analysis-comment. The overall results obtained in this study have fulfilled the main objective, which was to demonstrate the existence of numerous social rituals, through paremiology and phraseology, that Arabs apply when facing different situations in their lives. In conclusion, this research confirms, once again, the interdependence between culture and language, emphasizing that the correct assimilation of the linguistic codes of any given society requires a thorough understanding of the cultural components underlying them.