History of Translation in the Arab World -1- History of Translation in the Arab World

What is translation? Translation is the transmittal of written text from one language into another. Although the terms translation and interpretation are often used interchangeably, by strict definition, translation Refers to the written language, and interpretation to the spoken word.

Important point to consider: Translation must take into account constraints that include context, the rules of grammar of the two languages, their writing conventions, and their idioms. A common misconception is that there exists a simple word-for-word correspondence between any two languages, and that translation is a straightforward mechanical process. A word-for-word translation does not take into account context, grammar, conventions, and idioms.

Who uses translation services? Translation services is been used world wide on a daily basis in both governmental / private sectors as well as formal and informal situations like: medical records, political conferences and letters, legal fields, educational conferences, and conversation with a foreign friend etc..

2 ND CENTURY The early translations used in Arabic are dated back to the time of the Syrians. According to Addidaoui, Jarjas was one of the best Syrian translators. He translated Aristotle’s book into Arabic. The time of Prophet Mohamed is of importance for translation history.

2 nd Century One of the most famous translators of the time is Zaid Ibnu Thabet. Another era that knew significant changes in Arabic translation was related to the translation of the Koran. Despite the rapid increase of the Koran translations, this matter was and is still the point of many debates and conflicts in the Arab world.

2 nd Century The core of the conflicts that existed and still exist in the translation of Koran is related to the reason behind translation itself, whether to use the translation as a way to teach the principles of Islam or to use it in praying and legislation was the difficult choice that faced translators.

1 st Abbasid period Translation knew an enhancement with the Caliph Al- Mansour, who built the city of Baghdad. It was also developed in the time of the Caliph Al-Ma’moun, who built ‘Bait Al Hikma’, which was the greatest institute of translation at that time.

Al-Jahid One of the greatest theorists in translation “The translator should know the structure of the speech, habits of the people and their ways of understanding each other.” Stressed the importance of revision after translation

Contemporary Time The proliferation of studies in the domain helps in the development of translation and the birth of new theorists. Translation in the Arab world also benefits from the use of computers, digital materials and the spread of databases of terminologies that offer translators a considerable amount of dictionaries.