The Effects of Canonity and the Authorial Weight in Translating Dickens’ Oliver Twist into Arabic Language

This research investigates whether ‘canonity and authorial weight' affect the translation product of Charles dickens' Oliver Twist, and whether the source text (English) aesthetic features are maintained in the target text (Arabic). It aims to link aesthetic features with the figurative elements that are used in the translation which may express the role the authorial weight plays in the translation process. The importance of preserving the author's intended meaning of the source text (SL) in the target language is crucial. Consequently, this research uses a comparative qualitative research analysis that compares two randomly Arabic translations (TT1 and TT2) with the source text (ST) according to canonity and authorial weight features. The features of figurative language are located in the source text (ST) then compared to their counterparts in the target text (TTs). The random sample discussed thoroughly of whether it is equivalents to ST. This study is based on Nida's (1975 & 1964) dynamic or formal equivalence backgrounds. It concludes that figurative elements in translation play a major role in the fluency of the translator taking into the translators' authorial weight in the target language. It also concludes that the translation is affected by the canonity and aesthetic features used.