Analysing the Malay Translation of Arabic Prohibition Sentences in the Poetic Theater Majnun Layla by Ahmad Shawqi

It is difficult to translate literary works from Arabic into Malay. Choosing the proper structure of functional sentences in the target language is a crucial aspect of translation. Majnun Layla, a poetic theater by Ahmad Shawqi is considered as one of the outstanding works of contemporary Arabic literature. The work uses various kinds of Arabic functional sentences including prohibition sentences. Prohibition sentences fall within the verbal sentence category in Arabic. This differs with the Malay language, which bases itself on nominal sentences. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the structure of the Arabic prohibition sentences in the poetic theater Majnun Layla and the way these sentences were translated into Malay. Samples of this Malay translation related to prohibition sentences are examined and contrasted. The information of Arabic and Malay sentence structures as well as Vinay and Darbelnet translation procedures are utilised in this analysis. These prohibition sentences are found to be translated into Malay with structures that are suitable for the context and the target language grammar. It is hoped that this study can contribute to improving the accuracy of Arabic–Malay literary translation.