The complex system of Arabic syntax and orthography which is dependent on multi-layered semantics and derivatives has rendered Arabic translation a difficult task. Meanwhile, translation into Arabic, due to aesthetic features of the Arabic language concerning morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics that underpin different semantic functions in deep and surface structures, is more difficult. Accordingly, examining these subtle yet important particularities cannot be traced Among ignored by the hackneyed translation studies frameworks. Ideational meta-functions, where the interplay between syntax and semantics brings about a text’s semantic constructs, are relatively understudied in translation studies in general and Arabic translation in particular. As translators mainly adopt linear, form-based, and/or meaning-based approaches, these meta-functions are left understudied. This study adopts an innovative approach based on Halliday’s systemic functional grammar to address the potential linguistic losses in the Arabic translation of The Prophet. It is observed that, although almost all of the meta-functions are adequately transferred into Arabic, some of them are not conveyed properly due to the improper selection of syntactic structure verbs.
