The Hindrances in Translating Specific Cultural Concepts from Arabic into English

This paper investigates problems faced by undergraduate students in Sudan majoring in English language when translating specific cultural concepts from Arabic language into English language. To attain this aim, the researcher randomlyselected 100 undergraduate students who were registered for the B.A program inthe Department of English at Al Imam AlMahdi University in Sudan during the 2012/2013 academic year. The researchers carried out a translation test that consisted of 18 sentences which the learners were then required to translate from Arabic into English. Each sentence comprised of specific cultural concepts based on Newmark’s (1988) classification of cultural terms. The researchers also carried out interviews with lecturers who specialize in translation to get further data from their point of view concerning these difficulties, the reasons and their proposed solution. The findings show that the undergraduate learners faced various types of complications when translating specific cultural concepts. These difficulties are frequently associated with; 1) translating specific cultural concepts, 2) unsuccessful attempts to attain the sameness in English language, and 3) lack of knowledge of translation techniques and translation strategies. Based on this result, this research work proposes a solution to narrow the gap between specific cultural concepts such as figuring out programs that deals with specificcultural conceptsthat suit translators.