This anthology brings the key writings on translation in Arabic in the pre-modern era, extending ... more This anthology brings the key writings on translation in Arabic in the pre-modern era, extending from the earliest times (6th Century CE) until the end of World War I, to a global English-speaking audience. The texts are arranged chronologically and organized by two historical periods: the Classical Period, and the Nahda Period. Each text is preceded by an introduction about the selected text and author, placing the work in context, and discussing its significance.
The texts are complemented with a theoretical commentary, discussing the significance for the contemporary period and modern theory. A general introduction covers the historical context, main trends, research interests, and main findings and conclusions. The two appendices provide statistical data of the corpus on which the anthology is based, over 500 texts of varying lengths extending throughout the entire period of study. This collection contributes to the development of a more inclusive and global history of translation and interpreting.
يشتمل الكتاب على النصوص التي تتناول الترجمة بالتحليل والمناقشة في مصادرها كافة في التاريخ العربي.... more يشتمل الكتاب على النصوص التي تتناول الترجمة بالتحليل والمناقشة في مصادرها كافة في التاريخ العربي. ويمثّل عيّنة شاملة من فكر الترجمة في اللغة العربية، من أقدم عهودها إلى أوائل القرن العشرين، يتبدى من خلالها تأثير هذا الفكر في مختلف النواحي الفكرية والثقافية والسياسية للمجتمعات العربية في هذه الفترة. تناقش المقدمة العامة للكتاب المنطلقات النظرية للبحث ونتائجه وأهم اتجاهات الفكر الترجمي في الفترة التي تشملها الدراسة، إضافة إلى تعليقات مفصلة من المؤلفَين على كل النصوص المختارة تضعها في سياقها التاريخي والفكري وتربطها بنظريات الترجمة المعاصرة. ويتضمن الكتاب أيضًا مسحًا إحصائيًا شاملًا للمادة المجمعة التي اختيرت منها نصوص الأنثولوجيا؛ وهو متن يتجاوز 500 نص من مختلف الأحجام، تتناول الفكر الترجمي في مختلف المصادر في التاريخ العربي. يهدف كتاب أنثولوجيا الترجمة العربية إلى رصد خطاب الترجمة في التاريخ العربي، بأكبر قدر ممكن من الشمولية. فهو يستند إلى مشروع بحث امتد سنوات عدة، وعمل على رصد النصوص التاريخية العربية التي تتضمن النظر في الترجمة أو التأمل فيها أو التعليق عليها بأي شكل، سواء تعلق ذلك بالترجمة عمومًا منهجًا وممارسةً أم بنصوص بعينها، وفي أي سياق جرى فيه هذا النقاش، بغض النظر عن المجال العلمي أو الفكري الذي يتناوله، أو انتماء الكاتب الإثني أو العرقي، أو حتى موقعه الجغرافي، ثم جمع هذه النصوص، بأحجامها المختلفة، في متن نصي Corpus واحد.
I emphasize masculine reflection on female sexuality as the underlying theme of the Arabian Night... more I emphasize masculine reflection on female sexuality as the underlying theme of the Arabian Nights. The frame story relates a threat to the marriage institution, uniting the two elements subjugated by the sociopolitical system: women and slaves. The narrative thus exteriorizes repressed patriarchal fears about the oppressed. But because Shahraya¯r’s solution (marrying and killing a woman every night) is equally destructive to the community, a woman intervenes to curb his excesses. Shahraza¯d tells of powerful, promiscuous women but also of virtuous, loyal ones; as stated at the end of the tales, “Not all women are alike.” Hence the effect of the reading experience is one of catharsis: the worst masculine anxieties are expressed to be purged. The denouement is a reconciliation of the patriarchal fear of female sexual empowerment and family law, whereby the role of women is indispensable.
This chapter examines the intellectual background of translation during the classical age of Isla... more This chapter examines the intellectual background of translation during the classical age of Islam, as gleaned through the discourse on translation by littérateurs, philosophers, linguists, and theologians, starting with the eighth century CE. It is argued that the study of translation in that period was marked by tension between universalist and relativist views of language and culture, which underpinned, and often rationalized, positions on the translation of the works of other cultures-its methods, reception, social function, necessity, and very possibility.
The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Culture, 2018
Colonialism has been among the most debated and widely deployed terms in modern translation studi... more Colonialism has been among the most debated and widely deployed terms in modern translation studies. Under the general rubric of the ‘postcolonial’, the scope of anti-colonialist critique has been extended to social and political situations where no overt colonialism can be said to exist. On the other hand, the translation component of the paradigm has been no less versatile: translation has often become a metaphor for many types of intercultural communication beyond the most flexible textual practices to which translation scholars have typically applied the term. This chapter does not attempt an exhaustive catalogue of postcolonial perspectives on translation, so much as a critical analysis of their primary assumptions, emphases, later developments, and the various ways in which they have contributed to the theory and practice of translation.
This paper examines the transformative aspects of translation according to the Moroccan philosoph... more This paper examines the transformative aspects of translation according to the Moroccan philosopher Taha Abdurrahman (1944-), which he advanced within an intellectual project that aimed to transcend the eurocentrism dominating modern translation theories. Taha Abdurrahman criticized the translation methods employed during the Abbasid period, whose transfer of Greek philosophy did not heed the context of its reception, which resulted in the limitation of Islamic philosophy to transmission and dependency, from Greece in the ancient times to the West in the modern ones. In redress, he proposes a strategy of translation he calls ta ʾṣīliyya (literally "authentating"), a transformative process whereby the original is integrated into the receiving culture, based on its own needs, irrespective of the source. This translation practice, Abdurrahman maintains, is necessary for establishing an Arab/Islamic philosophy not subject to theoretical frameworks alien to its own historical and cultural context, even at the expense of dispensing with the criteria of accuracy and faithfulness. The paper provides a critical and analytical reading of the theoretical foundations and proposed practical applications of the legacy of translation in Arabic history and of modern theories of translation in Abdurrahman´s view. In the process, it examines the theoretical and methodological implications of abandoning the standards of faithfulness and accuracy, no matter how conventional and restrictive they are perceived to be.
What distinguishes postcolonial approaches to translation is that they examine intercultural enco... more What distinguishes postcolonial approaches to translation is that they examine intercultural encounters in contexts marked by unequal power relations. Herein lie their strengths as well as their weaknesses. Their major contribution has been to illuminate the role of power in the production and reception of translation. But it is not certain that the postcolonial framework can be applied to other interlingual exchanges with minimal inequality of power relations. Moreover, there is a general tendency to underrate the differences among (post)colonial contexts themselves. It is suggested that insufficient attention to the socio-political background of translation has been reflected in postcolonial formulations of resistance, which are typically purely textual. It is argued also that some postcolonial perspectives, rejecting reductive appropriations of other cultures, may have been led to some sort of reification of difference, reflected in a rather pessimistic insistence on the inaccessibility of the position of the Other.
This article analyses Bernardo Bertolucci's 1990 film The sheltering sky, an adaptation of a nove... more This article analyses Bernardo Bertolucci's 1990 film The sheltering sky, an adaptation of a novel of the same title by the American author Paul Bowles. The story revolves around the American couple, Port and Kit Moresby, who embark on an expedition into the Sahara Desert.
This anthology brings the key writings on translation in Arabic in the pre-modern era, extending ... more This anthology brings the key writings on translation in Arabic in the pre-modern era, extending from the earliest times (6th Century CE) until the end of World War I, to a global English-speaking audience. The texts are arranged chronologically and organized by two historical periods: the Classical Period, and the Nahda Period. Each text is preceded by an introduction about the selected text and author, placing the work in context, and discussing its significance.
The texts are complemented with a theoretical commentary, discussing the significance for the contemporary period and modern theory. A general introduction covers the historical context, main trends, research interests, and main findings and conclusions. The two appendices provide statistical data of the corpus on which the anthology is based, over 500 texts of varying lengths extending throughout the entire period of study. This collection contributes to the development of a more inclusive and global history of translation and interpreting.
يشتمل الكتاب على النصوص التي تتناول الترجمة بالتحليل والمناقشة في مصادرها كافة في التاريخ العربي.... more يشتمل الكتاب على النصوص التي تتناول الترجمة بالتحليل والمناقشة في مصادرها كافة في التاريخ العربي. ويمثّل عيّنة شاملة من فكر الترجمة في اللغة العربية، من أقدم عهودها إلى أوائل القرن العشرين، يتبدى من خلالها تأثير هذا الفكر في مختلف النواحي الفكرية والثقافية والسياسية للمجتمعات العربية في هذه الفترة. تناقش المقدمة العامة للكتاب المنطلقات النظرية للبحث ونتائجه وأهم اتجاهات الفكر الترجمي في الفترة التي تشملها الدراسة، إضافة إلى تعليقات مفصلة من المؤلفَين على كل النصوص المختارة تضعها في سياقها التاريخي والفكري وتربطها بنظريات الترجمة المعاصرة. ويتضمن الكتاب أيضًا مسحًا إحصائيًا شاملًا للمادة المجمعة التي اختيرت منها نصوص الأنثولوجيا؛ وهو متن يتجاوز 500 نص من مختلف الأحجام، تتناول الفكر الترجمي في مختلف المصادر في التاريخ العربي. يهدف كتاب أنثولوجيا الترجمة العربية إلى رصد خطاب الترجمة في التاريخ العربي، بأكبر قدر ممكن من الشمولية. فهو يستند إلى مشروع بحث امتد سنوات عدة، وعمل على رصد النصوص التاريخية العربية التي تتضمن النظر في الترجمة أو التأمل فيها أو التعليق عليها بأي شكل، سواء تعلق ذلك بالترجمة عمومًا منهجًا وممارسةً أم بنصوص بعينها، وفي أي سياق جرى فيه هذا النقاش، بغض النظر عن المجال العلمي أو الفكري الذي يتناوله، أو انتماء الكاتب الإثني أو العرقي، أو حتى موقعه الجغرافي، ثم جمع هذه النصوص، بأحجامها المختلفة، في متن نصي Corpus واحد.
I emphasize masculine reflection on female sexuality as the underlying theme of the Arabian Night... more I emphasize masculine reflection on female sexuality as the underlying theme of the Arabian Nights. The frame story relates a threat to the marriage institution, uniting the two elements subjugated by the sociopolitical system: women and slaves. The narrative thus exteriorizes repressed patriarchal fears about the oppressed. But because Shahraya¯r’s solution (marrying and killing a woman every night) is equally destructive to the community, a woman intervenes to curb his excesses. Shahraza¯d tells of powerful, promiscuous women but also of virtuous, loyal ones; as stated at the end of the tales, “Not all women are alike.” Hence the effect of the reading experience is one of catharsis: the worst masculine anxieties are expressed to be purged. The denouement is a reconciliation of the patriarchal fear of female sexual empowerment and family law, whereby the role of women is indispensable.
This chapter examines the intellectual background of translation during the classical age of Isla... more This chapter examines the intellectual background of translation during the classical age of Islam, as gleaned through the discourse on translation by littérateurs, philosophers, linguists, and theologians, starting with the eighth century CE. It is argued that the study of translation in that period was marked by tension between universalist and relativist views of language and culture, which underpinned, and often rationalized, positions on the translation of the works of other cultures-its methods, reception, social function, necessity, and very possibility.
The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Culture, 2018
Colonialism has been among the most debated and widely deployed terms in modern translation studi... more Colonialism has been among the most debated and widely deployed terms in modern translation studies. Under the general rubric of the ‘postcolonial’, the scope of anti-colonialist critique has been extended to social and political situations where no overt colonialism can be said to exist. On the other hand, the translation component of the paradigm has been no less versatile: translation has often become a metaphor for many types of intercultural communication beyond the most flexible textual practices to which translation scholars have typically applied the term. This chapter does not attempt an exhaustive catalogue of postcolonial perspectives on translation, so much as a critical analysis of their primary assumptions, emphases, later developments, and the various ways in which they have contributed to the theory and practice of translation.
This paper examines the transformative aspects of translation according to the Moroccan philosoph... more This paper examines the transformative aspects of translation according to the Moroccan philosopher Taha Abdurrahman (1944-), which he advanced within an intellectual project that aimed to transcend the eurocentrism dominating modern translation theories. Taha Abdurrahman criticized the translation methods employed during the Abbasid period, whose transfer of Greek philosophy did not heed the context of its reception, which resulted in the limitation of Islamic philosophy to transmission and dependency, from Greece in the ancient times to the West in the modern ones. In redress, he proposes a strategy of translation he calls ta ʾṣīliyya (literally "authentating"), a transformative process whereby the original is integrated into the receiving culture, based on its own needs, irrespective of the source. This translation practice, Abdurrahman maintains, is necessary for establishing an Arab/Islamic philosophy not subject to theoretical frameworks alien to its own historical and cultural context, even at the expense of dispensing with the criteria of accuracy and faithfulness. The paper provides a critical and analytical reading of the theoretical foundations and proposed practical applications of the legacy of translation in Arabic history and of modern theories of translation in Abdurrahman´s view. In the process, it examines the theoretical and methodological implications of abandoning the standards of faithfulness and accuracy, no matter how conventional and restrictive they are perceived to be.
What distinguishes postcolonial approaches to translation is that they examine intercultural enco... more What distinguishes postcolonial approaches to translation is that they examine intercultural encounters in contexts marked by unequal power relations. Herein lie their strengths as well as their weaknesses. Their major contribution has been to illuminate the role of power in the production and reception of translation. But it is not certain that the postcolonial framework can be applied to other interlingual exchanges with minimal inequality of power relations. Moreover, there is a general tendency to underrate the differences among (post)colonial contexts themselves. It is suggested that insufficient attention to the socio-political background of translation has been reflected in postcolonial formulations of resistance, which are typically purely textual. It is argued also that some postcolonial perspectives, rejecting reductive appropriations of other cultures, may have been led to some sort of reification of difference, reflected in a rather pessimistic insistence on the inaccessibility of the position of the Other.
This article analyses Bernardo Bertolucci's 1990 film The sheltering sky, an adaptation of a nove... more This article analyses Bernardo Bertolucci's 1990 film The sheltering sky, an adaptation of a novel of the same title by the American author Paul Bowles. The story revolves around the American couple, Port and Kit Moresby, who embark on an expedition into the Sahara Desert.
The Translator: Studies in Intercultural Communication, 2009
This paper examines the translation by ‘Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ (720–757 AD) of the Pahlavi vers... more This paper examines the translation by ‘Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ (720–757 AD) of the Pahlavi version of Kalila wa Dimna in the early Abbasid period (750–1258 AD). Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ contributed to the translation movement supported by al-Mansur, the second Abbasid caliph. The patronage of translation allowed the caliphs to expand their support base by integrating elements from the different cultures of the empire into one Islamic whole. That was the political context of the translation. Ibn al-Muqaffa‘, a recent convert of Persian descent, took part in an intellectual and literary movement which attempted to infuse Islamic culture with Persian elements. To introduce these influences in Islamic terms, the translation was decidedly ‘domesticating’. In analyzing the textual strategies that the translator employed, this paper calls for a reconsideration of the functions of domesticating translation, which in the case under study contributed to cultural diversity, contrary to arguments common in modern translation theory. It is further argued that attendant notions of ‘equivalence’ and ‘faithfulness’ are conditioned by modern constructs of authorship and the nation state that do not hold for Arabic translation during that period, nor, probably, for premodern translation in general.
England is to examine one of the most prominent and widely debated theories of translation in rec... more England is to examine one of the most prominent and widely debated theories of translation in recent years -Lawrence Venuti's advocacy of 'foreignizing' or 'estranging' translation. According to Venuti, this proposed practice, which does not try to minimize the difference of the foreign text, advances tolerance of the Other and attests to the courage to accept beliefs and cultural values different from one's own as they are, without 'domestication' or naturalization. This paper, however, argues that while Burton's translation was an example of all that Venuti recommends, it was not subversive, nor did it challenge ethnocentric or racist ideas. Indeed, its 'estrangement' of the Arabic text and culture only confirmed the stereotypes and Orientalist images that its readers had of the source culture, thereby acquiescing (often consciously) in the discourse of colonialism. It is suggested that the weakness of Venuti's and similar theoretical postulates lies in their neglect of the context of translation, and their confusion of the strategy of translation with its socio-political and cultural effects.
Translation throughout history has been a major channel for knowledge transfer, but in modern tim... more Translation throughout history has been a major channel for knowledge transfer, but in modern times modernization in the Global South has often taken the form of a unidirectional process—importing from or copying the West. This special issue of Encounters in translation – Rencontres en traduction seeks to explore the complex relationship between translation and the experience of modernity, often linked, but not limited to, the colonial experience. It also seeks to examine how translation has shaped and been shaped by the historical and ongoing processes of colonialism and its aftermath.
Timeline Deadline for submission of synopses (1000 words): 1 July 2025 Selected contributors notified of acceptance of abstracts: 1 August 2025 Deadline for submission of full contributions: 31 October 2025 Confirmation of provisional acceptance of contributions: 15 November 2025 Publication date: November 2026
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Books by Tarek Shamma
The texts are complemented with a theoretical commentary, discussing the significance for the contemporary period and modern theory. A general introduction covers the historical context, main trends, research interests, and main findings and conclusions. The two appendices provide statistical data of the corpus on which the anthology is based, over 500 texts of varying lengths extending throughout the entire period of study. This collection contributes to the development of a more inclusive and global history of translation and interpreting.
(Available for free download in Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Anthology-Arabic-Discourse-Translation-Studies/dp/0367139375)
يهدف كتاب أنثولوجيا الترجمة العربية إلى رصد خطاب الترجمة في التاريخ العربي، بأكبر قدر ممكن من الشمولية. فهو يستند إلى مشروع بحث امتد سنوات عدة، وعمل على رصد النصوص التاريخية العربية التي تتضمن النظر في الترجمة أو التأمل فيها أو التعليق عليها بأي شكل، سواء تعلق ذلك بالترجمة عمومًا منهجًا وممارسةً أم بنصوص بعينها، وفي أي سياق جرى فيه هذا النقاش، بغض النظر عن المجال العلمي أو الفكري الذي يتناوله، أو انتماء الكاتب الإثني أو العرقي، أو حتى موقعه الجغرافي، ثم جمع هذه النصوص، بأحجامها المختلفة، في متن نصي Corpus واحد.
Novel in Arabic - (The Beginnings)
Published by Hachette Antoine (Beirut)
https://www.antoineonline.com/intr/en/default/p/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%82%20%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7/9786140601833
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Papers by Tarek Shamma
The texts are complemented with a theoretical commentary, discussing the significance for the contemporary period and modern theory. A general introduction covers the historical context, main trends, research interests, and main findings and conclusions. The two appendices provide statistical data of the corpus on which the anthology is based, over 500 texts of varying lengths extending throughout the entire period of study. This collection contributes to the development of a more inclusive and global history of translation and interpreting.
(Available for free download in Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Anthology-Arabic-Discourse-Translation-Studies/dp/0367139375)
يهدف كتاب أنثولوجيا الترجمة العربية إلى رصد خطاب الترجمة في التاريخ العربي، بأكبر قدر ممكن من الشمولية. فهو يستند إلى مشروع بحث امتد سنوات عدة، وعمل على رصد النصوص التاريخية العربية التي تتضمن النظر في الترجمة أو التأمل فيها أو التعليق عليها بأي شكل، سواء تعلق ذلك بالترجمة عمومًا منهجًا وممارسةً أم بنصوص بعينها، وفي أي سياق جرى فيه هذا النقاش، بغض النظر عن المجال العلمي أو الفكري الذي يتناوله، أو انتماء الكاتب الإثني أو العرقي، أو حتى موقعه الجغرافي، ثم جمع هذه النصوص، بأحجامها المختلفة، في متن نصي Corpus واحد.
Novel in Arabic - (The Beginnings)
Published by Hachette Antoine (Beirut)
https://www.antoineonline.com/intr/en/default/p/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%82%20%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7/9786140601833
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205869510
Timeline
Deadline for submission of synopses (1000 words): 1 July 2025
Selected contributors notified of acceptance of abstracts: 1 August 2025
Deadline for submission of full contributions: 31 October 2025 Confirmation of provisional acceptance of contributions: 15 November 2025
Publication date: November 2026
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