Arabic Fiction in English Translation: A Translator-oriented perspective

تحميل المقال  

ملخص

الرواية  العربية المترجمة الى الانجليزية  من منظور المترجم

تهدف هذه المقالة الى ابرز اهم  التحديات التي تواجهها الرواية العربية  المترجمة الى الانجليزية . و تركز على المسيرة  المهنية لخمسة مترجمين غربيين معروفين ، و ذلك من خلال البحث في تجربتهم في هذا الميدان ، و كيف ساهم هؤلاء في تشكيل الذوق الادبي لدى القارئ الغربي و بالتالي خلق نموذج من الكتابة يمهد تسويقها. و تدخل هذه المقالة في اطار ما يسمى بسوسيولوجيا الترجمة، حيث تعتبر اداة من ادوات الهيمنة الثقافية ، و هي احدى اهم  الاستنتاجات التي تتمحور حولها هذه المقالة.

Abstract

The present article seeks to explore some of the major facets of and challenges in the area of Arabic fiction in English translation. It looks into the professional lives of some five well-established western translators, digs into their experience in the field, the interviews they gave, the debates they engaged in, all with a view to highlighting some of the key characteristics of Arabic literature in translation as they have shaped up in the last couple of decades or so. To this end, the paper operates within what has come to be labeled as ‘Translator Studies, an area of research that initially took shape in the 1990’s (within the framework of a sociology of translation), but is still burgeoning, though in some cases even lacking, especially with regards to research on Arabic literary production in English. The gist of the argument informing the paper is that individual translators, regardless of their intent behind their translations, are social agents that contribute, despite everything, to the upkeep of cultural hegemony and power structure.

Key words:  Culture, agency; sociology of translation; translator; Arabic fiction.