Ekrema Shehab

Laughter, gossip, and cruelty: face-work and pragmatic meaning in Le Gassick’s translation of Mahfouz’s Midaq Alley

Humour and cruelty in Zuqāq al-Midaqq circulate beyond explicit authorial judgement through gossip, irony, and calibrated face-threatening acts. We examine how conversational implicature, allusive insult, and playful mockery are translated in Midaq Alley, and how these choices re...