(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
QNA
Doha: The media team of the sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding organized an online symposium via Zoom, on the occasion of International Translation Day, which is celebrated on Sept. 30 every year, in which five male and female translators from different languages participated.
During the symposium, entitled "Challenges of Translation in a Changing World," participants presented their visions on the role of Translation as a civilized act in bridging between nations, cultures, and peoples.
They discussed the reality of the Translation movement based on their personal experiences in this field, and touched on the difficulties and challenges they face during their work.
For her part, Kuwaiti writer Saadia Mufarreh, during her moderation of the symposium, explained the role of the Award in honoring translators and appreciating their contribution to strengthening the bonds of friendship rewarding excellence, encouraging creativity, consolidating high values and promoting diversity, pluralism and openness.
The award seeks to root in a culture of knowledge and dialogue, spread Arab and Islamic culture, develop international understanding and encourage mature cultural processes between Arabic and the rest of the world's languages through Translation and Arabic events, she added.
For his part, the Algerian translator Dr. Al Hawari Ghazali spoke about translating Arabic poetry in light of technological progress and artificial intelligence, introducing the Master of Translation Department at the University of Paris, where he works as a lecturer, and the systematic method of working to train translators who focus on a common set of lessons and options for enhancing academic specialization.
Dr. Ghazali explained that students can acquire these skills in other languages available within the program, thanks to optional courses such as Translation courses in Arabic, which is of great benefit to students who wish to maintain a second or even third language.
He pointed out that the list of languages approved in the field of translator training includes German, English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Russian, in addition to French, which is the central language in the program.
He pointed out that the entry of artificial intelligence into the field of work is one of the most prominent difficulties they face, which later prompted them to adopt different methodological options that made students position themselves within Translation as linguistic correctors who provide interpretations of one linguistic option rather than another.
Therefore, most of the texts they propose are texts translated by artificial intelligence, but they are subject to the arbitration of students who specialize in Translation science and not in Translation itself.
For her part, the Syrian translator Buthaina Al Ibrahim spoke about the adventures that translators go through in Translation, specifically her adventure in one of the last works she translated, and said that she is keen on linguistic integrity and ensuring that the text is free of linguistic and grammatical errors, but she decided to abandon this caution in her Translation of the novel "The Girl with the Loud Voice" published in 2023.
Translator Al Ibrahim said that she deliberately broke down the language, as no one who reads the novel will find a page free of errors, because the heroine speaks in broken English and is full of errors, even if she tries to be clear in using some big words, noting that this adventure is one of the challenges that the translator faces in order to convey the writer's voice and style as he chose.
During the virtual symposium held on the occasion of the International Translation Day, Jordanian translator Dr. Bassem Al Zoubi said that Translation serves as an important gateway through which nations and peoples meet one another, leading them to better understand their fellow human, and indirectly better understand themselves.
Dr. Al Zoubi said that literary Translation shares the difficulties of general Translation in the Arab world, notably among them is the limited number of professional translators translating from global languages, with English and French being a relative exception. He added that the general public has little awareness of the importance of Translation and its role in disseminating and transferring knowledge, as well as fostering cultural exchange.
He continued that a translator's lack of proficiency in the source and target languages can lead to unfaithful Translations that may harm the reader culturally and intellectually, adding that translators must have a good understanding of the author's milieu on all levels, be it natural, cultural, social, or political, in addition to being well-versed in the historical period in which the literary work was produced.
Dr. Al Zoubi explained that literary Translation cannot be literal, thus, requiring the translator to posse extensive knowledge of thought, culture, politics, history, sociology, and psychology.
For her part, Kuwaiti translator Dalal Nasrallah touched on metaphors in the context of literary Translation, explaining that literary Translation requires linguistic mastery of both the source and target languages, as well as extensive knowledge of idiomatic usages in both languages.
She added that literary Translation differs from other types of Translation because it aims to achieve aesthetic goals that require possessing a broad imagination, precise wording, and the ability to manipulate language with its varying syntactic structures, while making the reader feel they are facing an original text rather than a Translation.
Nasrallah named some essential skills specific to literary translators, including having a command of writing skills, a deep knowledge of both peoples and their cultures, the ability to articulate and express ideas accurately, a love for literature, the capacity to embody the writer's persona to capture their thinking, and extensive familiarity with idiomatic usages and the ability to deconstruct the original discourse and convey it effectively.
In turn, Syrian translator residing in Paris, Reem Al Sayed spoke about translating poetry in light of advancements in technology and artificial intelligence. She noted that translating Arabic poetry represents a unique challenge due to the characteristics inherent in poetry.
Al Sayed said that understanding the culture and the context of a given text is among the most prominent challenges faced by translators, with Arabic poetry being deeply rooted in Arab culture and historical references, thus, requiring translators to be well-versed to be able to provide an accurate Translation. She added that translators might need to offer additional explanations or footnotes to clarify these references for non-Arabic-speaking readers.
Al Sayed added that challenges also include rhetoric, with Arabic poetry being full of rhetorical elements such as imagery, similes, metaphors, and alliteration, which contribute to the text's aesthetic, however, may lose some of their expressive power when translated, as words in Arabic carry multiple and varied meanings, often laden with emotions and connotations different from those in foreign languages, making it difficult to convey these meanings accurately without losing the poetic essence.
She emphasized that Translation requires effective rephrasing to convey linguistic beauty in a way that preserves its impact, which cannot be achieved artificially without a skilled translator who has a sufficient vocabulary to translate the text faithfully into other languages.
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