The Translation of Reporting Verbs in English and Persian 125Babel 48:2 125–134 © Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT) Revue Babel

The Translation of Reporting Verbsin English and Persian

M.A. Mokhtari Ardekani

The reporting verbs can be divided into 4 groups with some degree offuzziness: (1) those concerned with the content of the reported speech like:argue, define, classify, narrate, persuade, threaten, warn, caution, etc. (2)those related to the mode of utterance, such as: whisper, bark, bleat, shout,chant, gasp, mutter, mumble, stutter, ejaculate, etc. (3) those pertaining to thenature of the report e.g. say, tell, answer, ask, question, enquire, order, retort,command, interrupt and (4) implicit reporting verbs like: He nodded “Yes”,She frowned “No”,1 etc.

Reporting verbs provide a culture-bound area in English and Persian andperhaps in some other languages. It is probably here that we might join thechorus of Sapir-Worf and Lotman that “No language can exist unless it issteeped in the context of culture and no culture can exist which does not haveat its center the structure of natural languages” (Macguire 1991:14).

While Persian and Arabic use the blanket term of ghoft and ghala (hesaid) and leave the rest to the imagination and deduction of the reader/hearer,English and some other European languages specify the content of the report,the mode of utterance, the nature of the report, etc. Persian runs counter to itso much so that it uses goft (he said) for “asked” and “answered”. The archaicPersian texts are alive with ghofts despite Persian’s abhorrence of repetition.Sometimes, it is true, they use reporting verbs like (he called) (he shouted) (he related), but they are so scarcely used that we canregard their use as an exception rather than a rule.

The exploitation of varied, explanatory reporting verbs in English mightseem a virtue to foreigners, whereas English style manuals often warn against it:

Do not explain too much.It is seldom advisable to tell all. Be sparing, for instance, in the use ofadverbs after “he said”, “she replied”, and the like: (he said consolingly; she

126 M.A. Mokhtari Ardekani

replied grumblingly). Let the conversation itself disclose the speaker’smanner of condition. Dialogue heavily weighted with adverbs after theattributive verb is cluttery and annoying. Inexperienced writers not onlyoverwork their adverbs, they load their attributives with explanatory verbs,sometimes even with transitive verbs used intransitively: he consoled, shecongratulated. They do this, apparently, in the belief that the word “said” isalways in need of support, or because they have been told to do it by expertsin the art of bad writing (Strunk and White 1972 : 68).

Unlike English, which is a bold, outright, compliment-free language, Persianis very polite or rather too polite like some other oriental languages, e.g.Chinese, Japanese… . Even the illiterate and ill-educated people in Iran use avery courteous and complimentary tongue which has astounded foreigners.Our written and oral discourse is interspersed with (arzkards) and (farmuds):2 an assumption of humility on the partof the addresser and paying homage to the addressee. When neither isconcerned the neutral term of ghoft (he said) is resorted to.

This sham or genuine politeness is not only reflected in reporting verbs butalso in the piling-up of titles and impersonality, the effacement or abasementof self. Sometimes, in old official texts, half a dozen titles are piled up beforethe name of the addressee and we have a dozen humbling terms for the singleEnglish “I” ( ).3

While the English addresser, if ever employed, has to have recourse to thefrequent use of “it”, passive construction, “we” or “the present writer” (Bell1991: 186-7). To talk in discourse terms, we can conclude that tenor in Persianis more formal, more polite and less personal.

In my survey of the translated texts both from and into English, the literaland faithful rendering of the reporting verbs has been the dominant procedureon the part of naive and less experienced translators while the more experi-enced and abler ones, both Iranian and foreign, whether consciously orunconsciously, have translated them more freely and tactfully.

H. Darke has literally translated as many as half a dozen saids in oneparagraph (Darke 1978: 73), while J. Ross has literally rendered only tworeporting verbs out of a total of nine in three paragraphs (Ross: 175-6). Again,Mirza Habib of Isphahan, who is known as the earliest and ablest translator inIran, has eliminated 15 reporting verbs and changed another three in one pageand a half of the famous J. Morier’s Hajji Baba of Isphahan (Mirza Habib1976: 77-80). Conversely, notice two odd, if not awkward, literal translationsby S. Tahbaz from J. Steinbeck’s The Red Pony.

The Translation of Reporting Verbs in English and Persian 127

“Jody’s father moved over toward the one-box stall. ‘Come here’ he or-dered.” (Steinbeck 1976:10)

“ ‘ ”

(Tahbaz 1976: 111)

“‘He’s getting to be almost a trick pony’ he complained. ‘I don’t like trickhorses’.” (Steinbeck 1976:6)4

“ ”

(Tahbaz 1976:121)

Some literal-oriented translators might argue for it on the grounds of convey-ing style, counterbalanced by natural-oriented translators. When there is acultural gap, literal translation should be avoided. P. Newmark writes “…theonly valid argument against what I might find an acceptable literal translationof an ordinary language unit is that you find it unnatural” (Newmark 1988:75).Or “ ... in translating any type of text you have to sense naturalness, usually forthe purpose of reproducing, sometimes for the purpose of deviating fromnaturalness” (Newmark 1988:25). The general procedure is that there must bea balance between their faithful, literal translation and their omission. If you erron the side of their entire literal rendering you will produce an odd, artificialtranslation. If you ignore them altogether and translate them into a blanketterm, you have not done justice to the source culture and style.

Now, let’s speculate about ways for their translation:1. When translating from English into Persian we can resort to one of

the following procedures according to the context1.1 Omit the reporting verb. This procedure can be compensated for in

two ways:1.1.1 By using dashes, or mere quotation marks especially when we have an

extended dual dialogue (Hemingway’s novels, for instance).1.1.2 By using the names of the dialogue participants, especially in a multiple

dialogue as in a play. This procedure Mirza Habib innovates in his translationof Hajji Baba.

’

128 M.A. Mokhtari Ardekani

(Mirza Habib 1976:77-8)

“‘Who and what are you?’ Said Arsalan Sultan,‘I’, said the prisoner in a very subdued voice. ‘I beg to state, for the good ofyour service, that I am nothing --- I am a poor man.’‘What’s your business?’‘I am a poet, at your service. What can I do more?’‘A poet!’ cried one of the roughest of the Turcomans; ‘What is that goodfor?’” (Morier 1974:38-9).

1.2 Translate them literally.1.2.1 He asked

1.2.2 He asked softly

1.2.3 He called

1.2.4 He asked shyly

1.2.5 He said disparagingly(Tahbaz 1976:105-113)

1.3 Translate them into the neutral “said”.1.3.1 “‘That won’t hurt you’”, Billy explained “‘That’s only a sign the rooster leaves.’”(Tabbaz 1970:105)“

1.4 “Translate them by adding “said”, “asked” etc. when they are impliedand we have a zero structure.”14.1 “Billy understood his feeling: ‘It is too long. Why don’t you call it Gabilan?’”

(Tahbaz 1976:113)1.4.2 Jody’s Mother put her head in the door. ‘What time do you think to be back Carl?”(Tahbaz 1976:105)

1.4.3 “He frowned ‘No’.

This is one of the procedures for translating group-4 reporting verbs.

”

“ ”

The Translation of Reporting Verbs in English and Persian 129

1.5 Translate them by adding an adverb.1.5.1 He whispered (lit. He said whisperingly)

1.5.2 He confided (lit. He said confidentially)

1.5.3 He protested (lit. He said protestingly)

1.5.4 He improvised (lit. He said extemporarily)

1.5.5 He articulated (lit. He said articulately)

1.6 Translate them by an adverbial phrase.1.6.1 He assured (lit. He said with confidence)

1.7 Translate them by a descriptive phrase.1.7.1 He retorted (lit. He said in retort)

1.7.2 He compared (lit. He said in comparison)

1.8 Translate them by an adverbial clause.1.8.1 He shook his head ‘No’ (lit. while shaking his head, he said ‘No’)

This procedure is most alien to Persian and I would advise that it be avoidedwhen possible.

2. When translating from Persian into English, the general procedure isto translate the Persian blanket term ghoft individually and contextually intoone of the four categories of the English reporting verbs, retaining someevident ones for stylistic flavour. In an English translation of a Persian text,each neutral ghoft, should be interpreted, deciphered, and accordingly trans-lated into one of the appropriate categories:

2.1 (Phorughi 1985:147)“I asked him ‘How do you now find yourself?’ He replied ‘What shall I say?’” (Ross:175-176)2.2 Some translators of archaic Persian texts have taken the trouble to translate literally atthe expense of redundancy.2.2.1 “Darab made answer in anger and unkindness, saying … (Southgate 1978:12)instead of “Darab raged”.2.2.2 Darab’s wife wrote a letter to king Darab, saying … (Southgate 1978:12) instead of:“Darab’s wife wrote”.2.2.3 They rebuked him saying (Darke 1978:72) instead of “They rebuked”.2.2.4 “She approached Sultan Mahmud and made her complaint saying ...(Darke 1978:72)instead of “She petitioned Sultan Mahmud”.2.2.5 I answered him and said … (Darke 1988:75) instead of “I answered …”

130 M.A. Mokhtari Ardekani

In conclusion, I would like to draw attention to the position of reporting verbsin Persian. While the reporting verbs in English have three positions —initial, mid and final — the Persian ones are restricted to the initial position. Itis also worthy of note that although Persian archaic texts paraded a beautiful,pictorial design and calligraphy, we had no punctuation marks and paragraphform until the beginning of the present century, when we adopted them underwestern influence.

Notes

1. I have provided a fairly complete list of the reporting verbs in English as an appendix tothe article, which might prove useful for translators.

2. arzkard is used when an inferior in rank or post speaks to a superior and farmud viceversa. They can respectively be rendered into ‘He humbly said’ and ‘His Excellencyremarked’.

3. All roughly meaning ‘your obedient or humble servant’.

4. Of course there are other mistranslations which do not concern us here.

References

Bell, Roger T. 1991. Translation and Translating. Singapore, Longman Singapore Pub-lishers. xx+298pp.

Darke, Hubert. 1978. tr. The Book of Government or Rules for Kings, The Siyar al-Molukor Siyasat- nama of Nizam al-Mulk. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul. xxiv+264pp.

McGuire, S.B. 1991. Translation Studies. Rev. Ed. London, Routledge. xxi + 168pp.Mirza Habib of Isphahan. 1354/1976 tr. Sargozasht-i Hajj baba-yi Isphahani. Tabriz,

Intisharat-i Haghighat. xi+866pp.Morier, J. 1974. Hajjibaba of Isphahan. England, Oxford University Press. xxiii+456pp.Newmark, Peter. 1988. A Textbook of Translation. U.K. Prentice Hall International.

xii+292pp.Phorughi, M.A. 1365/1985. ed. Gulistan-i Sa’di. Teheran, Amir Kabir Pub. Co. xviii+

193pp.Ross, James, s.d. tr. Sa’di’s Gulistan or Flower-garden. Shiraz, Marifat Booksellers and

Publishers. 251pp.Southgate, Minoo. 1978. tr. Iskandarnamah. New York, Columbia Univ. Press. xiii+

264pp.Steinbeck, John. 1976. The Red Pony. New York, Bantam Book. 120pp.Strunk Jr, W. and E.B. White. 1972. The Elements of Style. N.Y. Macmillan Publishing

Co. xiii+78pp.Tahbaz, Sirous. 1354/1976. Asb-i Sorkh. Teheran, Gibi Books Co. 320pp.

The Translation of Reporting Verbs in English and Persian 131

Appendix

English Reporting Verbs

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

stipulate stammer reply frownsuspect stutter say smileprotest bleat answer weepconfide ejaculate continue chuckleagree shout inquire sniggerexplicate cackle question laughexplain neigh begin titterdefine growl conclude scowlargue snarl address cryurge chirp order mournenumerate howl command whimperclassify purr bid lamentcompare groan remark beamreason shriek observe assentexemplify whine tell gigglenarrate bark quote guffawpersuade babble liedissuade grate adddemand wail retortcaution huff thinkwarn sob meditatethreaten pant museassure bellow interruptswear whisper remindoffer moopray neighcurse crowdoubt baapromise blubber

bugle

132 M.A. Mokhtari Ardekani

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

suggest howlsneer snortbeg cawappeal exclaimclaim rumbleassert moanchide gaspreproach roaradmit quaverreassure cryconfirm whimpergreet brayconfess snap-upwonder thundercomfort hisscondole sighchallenge crooncongratulate humannounce intoneproclaim bemoanassert mewdeclare whistleaccuse hootcomplain buzzpraise beebsoothe croakinsist yellinvite snuffle

nasalisemurmurgruntcoolow

The Translation of Reporting Verbs in English and Persian 133

About the Author

M.A. MOKHTARI ARDEKANI received his B.A. from Mashad University in Englishlanguage and Literature in 1966 and his M.A. from Tehran University in the same field in1969. He has been teaching English language and Literature at Shahid Bahonar Univ. ofKerman for almost 30 years, concentrating upon teaching translation theories, literary andIslamic translations into and from English and specialised lexicography in recent years.He has published six books including a Discourse Glossary and an Islamic Dictionary.

Address: Dept. of Eng.Lit., Shahid Bahonar Univ. of Kerman, Kerman, Iran.

Abstract

The reporting verbs in English can be divided into 4 groups:(1) those concerned with the content, like: argue, define, explain, agree, protest,

stipulate, confide, confirm, enumerate, classify, narrate, persuade, threaten, warn, caution,retort, etc. (2) those related to the mode of utterance, such as: whisper, bark, bleat, shout,chant, gasp, mutter, mumble, stutter, ejaculate, etc. (3) those pertaining to the nature of thereport, e.g., say, tell, answer, ask, question, enquire, order, command, interrupt, etc. and(4) non-reporting verbs which imply reporting like : He nodded “Yes”, She smiled “Yes,please”, He frowned “No”.

By contrast, in Persian and perhaps Arabic, the reporting verbs are not that varied.The Holy Quran is filled with ghol (tell, say), ghala, etc. They usually use the blanket termghoft or ghala (he said) and leave the rest to the imagination of the reader/hearer.

My experience tells me that there must be a balance between their faithful translationand their omission. If you err on the side of the entire transference of them, you willproduce an odd, artificial translation. If you ignore them altogether and translate them intoa blanket term, you have not done justice to the source text.

The paper devotes itself to the speculation of the ways of their translation, citingexamples from diverse sources both English and Persian.

Résumé

Les verbes de communication en langue anglaise peuvent se diviser en quatre groupes:(1) ceux concernés par le contenu, comme: argue (argumenter), define (définir),

explain (expliquer), agree (être d’accord), protest (contester),stipulate (stipuler), confide(confier), confirm (confirmer), enumerate (énumérer), classify (classifier), narrate (nar-rer), persuade (persuader), threaten (menacer), warn (prévenir), caution (avertir), retort(riposter), etc. (2) ceux relatifs au mode d’expression comme: whisper (chuchoter), bark(hurler), bleat (chevroter), shout (crier), chant (chanter), gasp (soupirer), mutter (marmon-ner), mumble (ânonner), stutter (bégayer), ejaculate (s’écrier), etc. (3) ceux appartenant augenre de communication, par exemple, say (dire), tell (raconter), answer (répondre), ask(demander), question (questionner), enquire (s’enquérir), order (ordonner), command(commander), interrupt (interrompre), etc. et (4) les verbes noncommunicatifs qui laissent

134 M.A. Mokhtari Ardekani

entendre une communication comme: Il a fait signe de la tête “Yes” “en acquiescant” ; “Yes,please” elle a souri “en guise de remerciement”; il a froncé les sourcils “No” pour “marquerson désaccord”.

Par contraste, dans les langues perse et arabe, les verbes de communication ne sontpas aussi variés. Le Livre du Coran contient beaucoup d’expressions verbales ‘ghol’(raconter, dire) ‘ghala’, etc. D’habitude, on utilise 1’expression verbale générale ‘ghoft’ou ‘ghala’ (il a déclaré) et le reste est laissé à 1’imagination du lecteur ou de 1’auditeur.

Mon expérience me dit qu’il doit y avoir un équilibre entre leur traduction fidèle etleur omission. Si on erre du côté de leur transmission intégrale, on obtient une traductionbizarre, artificielle. Si on les ignore complètement et si on les traduit par un terme général,le texte source n’aura pas été respecté.

L’article se consacre à la recherche des diverses manières de traduire, en citant desexemples de diverses sources, tant de la langue anglaise que de la langue perse.