Translating translation from an intermediate language: bridges of communication between languages, or betrayals of the original texts?

There are many praises for translation and translators, and the great efforts that made it easy to view and enjoy the literature and sciences of writers of other languages, as there were always complaints about translations that could not do anything but waste the effort and capabilities of publishing houses and readers.

The share of translation from an intermediate language has had many discussions, and a book translated from its original language is usually viewed with caution, as well as the question of why the book was translated from an intermediate language, with the presence of translators from the original language.

At a time when many translators produced works from intermediate languages ​​and were very competent, the question seemed naive to make all translations of intermediate languages ​​poor translations.

And is the issue, in the quality of those translations, related to the name of the translator?

Or is it related to the language of the original book?

Why do translators have to translate works from intermediate languages ​​and not from their original languages, and what are the disadvantages of that?

These are questions that open the doors to other questions, but the reality of intermediate translation was not so bad.

There are readers who trust the translator's name regardless of the language from which it was translated, whether it was from the original language or from an intermediate language.

There are many examples one can cite;

Among them are the translations of the late Lebanese poet Bassam Hajjar, who translated a lot of Japanese literature from the French language, or the translations of the Syrian translator Sami Al-Droubi, by Russian writers Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, from French, and his fellow translator Mamdouh Adwan, by the Greek poet Kazantzakis, from English.

In this report, we try to answer these questions by hosting two young translators, who are both poets and first-rate readers as well.

gross errors

The poet and translator Nour Talal Nasra (born in 1987) finds that translation is a cultural mediator between peoples, and from this close concept she sees that this “mediation” has been present for thousands of years, and was an introduction to other cultures, and a useful solution to a dilemma that spanned ages between civilizations.

Nour tells Al Jazeera Net that after that, "the intermediate translation, meaning the translation of translation, came as a solid bridge between the cultures of peoples. Many may not know that the scholar Ibn al-Muqaffa, for example, was translated in the Abbasid era into Arabic (Tales of Kalila and Dimna) originally written in Hindi, through Persian".

The Syrian translator and poet Nour Talal Nasra believes that translating translation is a solid bridge between the cultures of peoples (Jordanian Press)

And the translator of the book "Italian Literature" continues that this translation "no one can deny its importance and influence in the Arab culture. Therefore, the reader has no right to underestimate the translator's effort on the pretext that he translated this work from an intermediate language, sometimes the translation from an intermediate language for a skilled translator is much better than the translation from an intermediate language for a skilled translator." Translating the same work from his mother tongue.

When asked about the existence of catastrophes in translation from intermediate languages, Nour evokes the saying that "the grave errors that I read in translations were mostly from a translation from an original language."

The owner of the poetry collection "Soundproof Walls" explains that this is due to "the translator's inability to understand the original text and his inability to remedy the gaps."

translator skill

So, in Nour's opinion, the problem is not in translating from an original or intermediate language, but rather in the translator's skill and honesty.

“I do not mean to put the word honesty in a box opposite to the word treason, so as not to fall into the classic accusation of betrayal of the translation, but I mean the translator’s honesty in his investigation of the dimensions of the text; his research and making the necessary revisions; making the required effort and comparing the intermediate translation in the original language if possible.” .

And about the merit of the intermediate translation for her and for the readers, Nour says that without the intermediate translations, we would have been deprived of great works in the modern era, “such as Sami Al-Droubi’s translation of Dostoevsky’s works from French, which came in 18 volumes, or as Muhammad Eid Ibrahim’s translation of the novel “Justine” by Marquis de Sade, There are many, no less important examples in this regard.

But why are there translations from an intermediate language in our time?

Why don't we have translators of all languages?

And where did we arrive in our cultural walk between nations?

Nour says that we have to acknowledge "the Arab role's failure to keep pace with the cultural movement, the translation line in this regard, and the focus on basic languages ​​(English and French) and neglecting other important languages."

And she adds, "This is what has led to translators being lax about other languages, and a lack of enthusiasm and a desire for competition. For example, in the Arab world, we have specific names for translators who translate from Italian or Russian, as opposed to hundreds of translators from English, for example, and the reason is that publishing houses focus on a specific geographic spot without Other than it."

key partner

For his part, the Egyptian poet and translator Maysara Salah El-Din (born in 1979) finds that since the invention of language, man has not stopped trying to communicate with, understand and interact with the other.

However, "just as language came as a bridge of communication, the difference of languages ​​caused an impenetrable barrier between people of different cultures. Hence the importance and inevitability of translation as a key to understanding and communication."

The translator of "Letters of Stefan Zweig" believes that translation was an essential partner in transferring expertise and experiences between peoples in all areas of professional, scientific and industrial life, as well as literary and creative fields in all its forms.

The Egyptian poet and translator Maysara Salah El-Din believes that translation was an essential partner in transferring expertise and experiences between peoples (communication sites)

Translators have played a role "no less important throughout history than missionaries, conquerors and missionaries, in linking the threads of different human societies to each other, transferring knowledge and spreading art and beauty."

Maysara continues to Al Jazeera Net that with the diversity of human groups and the increase in modern means of communication, "there has become an urgent need and growing curiosity, to read literary works and communicate with poetic and narrative texts by writers and artists from all over the world and in various languages."

The novel "Shoji Bean" by Scottish-American writer Douglas Stewart, translated by Maysara Salah al-Din (Al Jazeera)

loss of meaning

Maysarah refers to the increasing importance of intermediate translation and making it an indispensable option, “because of the scarcity of many languages, and the difficulty of finding translators with an artistic and literary sense and the appropriate skill to address translation from and to these languages.”

Regarding the dangers of translating from an intermediate language, the author of the play “Wlad Adam” finds that it is undeniable that “the entire translation process is fraught with risks, and the meaning is often lost between the original language and the language from which it was translated, whether the translation is from an intermediate language or even from the original language in a way. Live".

Maisarah continues that in many cases these problems are due to "individual differences between translators, and the inability of some of them to understand the texts and delve into their depths."

The novel "The Bell Bell" by American writer and poet Sylvia Plath, translated by Maysara Salah al-Din (Al Jazeera)

He believes that these problems increase "when there is an additional intermediate link between the language of the original text and the language to which it will be translated, which makes the possibility of loss of meaning and the occurrence of errors more likely."

And about his experience with intermediate translation, the owner of the “Secret Numbers” office says: “I do not deny that I, as a translator, have gone through the experience of translating from an intermediate language, and I admit that I was feeling very terrified, forcing me to make a double effort to review, scrutinize and research the original culture from which I translate, and I was more Strictness in adding notes and explanations.

Salah al-Din goes on to dedicate extra time to reading about the writer, his style and biography, and reading about the work itself and its importance to the writer.

He continues, "I try to get press interviews, or television interviews, in which the writer talks about his own philosophy and the philosophy of work. In a frantic attempt to ensure interaction with the work and dive into its depths."

However, Salah El-Din finds that all this effort "does not guarantee that the result of the work will be perfect and agreed upon by all."

The reason for this is attributed to the translation process itself, "because translation, as a creative process of a unique nature, is a gamble in any case, the results are not guaranteed. The translator is armed with determination, honesty and hard work."

The translator of Fiji Campilan's "All My Lonely Islands" finds it perhaps the only consolation that "the distinct creative and artistic texts readers differ over their meanings, connotations, and implications, even if they read them in their original language, or they hold the same nationality as the author and speak his mother tongue. True literature and art is a matter A polemic opens the gates of astonishment and questioning, and the discussion around it is not without contradictions and differing opinions.