History of Translation in the Arab World: An Overview

2020

The Translation Movement of the Abbasid Period, which lasted for almost three hundred years, was a unique event in world history. During this period, much of the intellectual tradition of the Greeks, Persians, and Indians was translated into Arabic-a language with no prior history of translation or of science, medicine, or philosophy. This book investigates the cultural and political conflicts that translation brought into the new Abbasid state from a sociological perspective, treating translation as a process and a product. The opening chapters outline the factors involved in the initiation and cessation of translational activity in the Abbasid period before dealing in individual chapters with important events in the Translation Movement, such as the translation of Aristotle's Poetics into Arabic, Abdullah ibn al-Muqaffa's seminal translation of the Indian/Persian Kalilah wa Dimna into Arabic, and the translation of scientific texts. Other chapters address the question of whether the Abbasids had a theory of translation and why, despite three hundred years of translation, not a single poem was translated into Arabic. The final chapter deals with the influence of translation during this period on the Arabic language. Offering new readings of many issues that are associated with that period, informed by modern theories of translation, this is key reading for scholars and researchers in Translation Studies, Oriental and Arab Studies, Book History, and Cultural History.

Benjamins Translation Library, 2019

After synthesizing the notion of translation as reflected during the two major historical translation movements (medieval and (post)colonial), this chapter is conceived as a critical reflection on the contemporary intellectual and cultural developments of the Arab world as it unfolds within the dynamics of its historicity. While taking stock of the 9th –11th centuries’ glories when a wealth of the Greek was translated into Arabic and later transmitted to Europe through Latin, this chapter aims to tackle the contemporary effects of the (post)colonial period on today’s shaping of the notion of translation and its future perspectives as a probable key civilizational development factor in the positioning of the Arab culture in a globalized world dominated by English. The objective of this chapter is then to outline a more encompassing understanding of translation in the perspective of the relation to the Other, and the reasons behind the critical character of translation for the develop...

This research is a retrospective explanatory one. It traces back the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization starting from the pre-Islamic era until the end of the Umayyad caliphate in 750 A. D. The importance of translation in transferring knowledge from one nation to another and from one civilization to another is well-known to every scholar and researcher. This study has revealed that the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization has been performed by transferring knowledge and sciences from different resources, such as China, India in the East, and Greece, Roman empire in the west into the Islamic state in the Arab lands, and then they have participated in transferring that knowledge into Europe in the high medieval ages. Moreover, this research paper has provided evidence that the transfer was not limited to sciences such as chemistry, astronomy, botany among other branches of science. It has rather extended to include arts and literature; Arab translators have translated fiction and stories from India and East Asia to Europe and the West. This study has also affirmed that Arabs, before Islam, were mainly living, in the Arabian Peninsula, they have been divided and attracted into either one of the two biggest and strongest civilizations and powers at that time; the Romans in the west and Persians in the east. In other words, Arabs didn't have at that time an independent civilization, unified state or entity. When Islam came, the situation has dramatically been changed. This will be elaborated in details in this study. This research is composed of five sections. The first section is an introduction which discusses the significance of this study and definition of related terms. The second section reviews the related literature. The third section tackles the translation movement during different stages, this implies the pre-Islamic stage and Islamic stages including the translation movement during Prophet Muhammad's life (610-632 A. D), the ruling period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Al klhulafa Ar rashidun) (632-661) and the Umayyad ruling stage from 662 to 750 A.D. The fourth section discusses the results and findings. The final section summarizes the study and submits suggested recommendations.

Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Vol.6. No.4 December 2015 Pp.128-140 The Landscape of Translation Movement in the Arab World: From the 7th Century until the Beginning of the 21st Century Fadi Jaber School of Translation and Interpretation Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa, Canada Abstract According to the 3rd Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) (2003), contemporary translation movement in the Arab world is “weak and chaotic”. However, the Arab history witnessed astonishing eras of translation activities, productions, programs, and projects. This paper aims to trace translation movement in the Arab world and to investigate different aspects of this movement from the rise of Islam in the 7th century until the beginning of the 21st century. This study is divided into four main sections. First, it tackles the Arabic translation movement during the golden era and modern history. Second, it explores national and foreign translation programs and projects. Third, it investigates contemporary Arabic translation movement and current challenges. Finally, it looks at the Arabic machine translation (MT) systems and audiovisual translation. This paper closes with proposing general recommendations to enhance contemporary translation movement and translation activities in the Arab world for a knowledgeable Arab society in the globalized 21st century. The findings provide a better understanding of the changes that took place to the Arabic translation movement throughout different historical stages. As well, the findings uncover current shortcomings and challenges that encounter contemporary translation movement in the Arab world. Keywords: Arabic translation movement, audiovisual translation, machine translation, translation programs, translation projects

Throughout history, Arab scholars have produced a number of important works in different fields, which helped boost human civilization. This was achieved thanks to the utmost efforts made by a panel of prominent translators working in Bait Al-Hikma (Lit. House of Wisdom) in Baghdad. These translators transmitted Greek, Persian and Indian works into Arabic during the 'Golden Arabic Era of translation' which goes back to the Abbassid Caliphate (750 CE-1258 CE). Likewise, translation movement in Al-Andalus took its systematic and intensive shape at the beginning of 12th century CE with the establishment of Toledo School of Translators in the city of Toledo. However, translations produced in Al-Andalus were chiefly rendered from Arabic into Latin and Old Spanish, mainly by non-Arab translators. The present paper explores the schools of translation in Baghdad and Toledo and the main strategies or methods used by each of these schools. This overview will demonstrate the importance of taking into consideration Arabs' translation theorization in line with western theories of translation. The paper also reveals that Arab translators were not mere transmitters of Greek philosophy and ancient knowledge, but great thinkers who adapted Greek, Indian and Persian ideas to their own thought.