Part two
Despite decades of sparse jobs, literary translators and authors see an encouraging path forward to build Arabic literature throughout the world. As explored in part one, Arabic translators and authors cite a lack of funding, cultural institutions, and professional connections as obstacles toward promoting Middle Eastern and North African literature worldwide.
But that’s only half the story. What about the challenges of Arabic literature inherent to the language itself? Indeed, with its numerous dialects, distinct syntactical and semantic conventions, and other factors, translating literature to and from Arabic presents complications of a different nature — particularly for speculative fiction genres like sci-fi and fantasy.
When translating between Arabic and English, Kent State University’s Department of Modern & Classical Language Studies identifies several key considerations. Much like other languages, Arabic and its many dialects are rich with idioms and colorful expressions that require cultural context to decipher. And given the close association between the Arabic language and associated cultural, religious, social conventions, familiarity with those institutions is also vital. Arabic sentences tend to be longer than its English equivalents, which can create translation headaches, and then there are the mechanical differences between the languages.
“In the Arabic language, verb-subject-object is the most common word order,” the Kent State University blog explains. “This is different from the English language, which tends to follow a subject-verb-object sentence structure. These different structures mean that many, if not all, sentences you will be translating will need to take on a different structural form to be successfully translated and understood, complicating the process.”
Finally, there’s the matter of Arabic’s many dialects, which can foster additional confusion depending on the targeted regionality.
“Under the three main versions of the Arabic language, commonly known as classical, Modern Standard, and colloquial, there are approximately 25 individual Arabic dialects, and each dialect includes different vocabulary and pronunciation for words and phrases,” the Kent State University blog reads.
Dialectal issues proved the biggest nemesis for author and translator J.D. Harlock while localizing Crestar and the Knight Stallion Volume One, a superhero graphic novel marketed to a dialectically diverse Arabic readership. In a blog for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, he detailed the headscratching problems he encountered and the solutions he ultimately settled upon.
“Readjusting my approach to that audience taught me valuable lessons on translating speculative fiction into languages where dialects should be factored into how certain words, phrases, interactions, and scenes should be communicated,” he wrote.
To best serve the greatest number of readers, Harlock tackled the dialect problem by favoring conventional Modern Standard Arabic guidelines as defined by authoritative institutions whenever he was in doubt. Furthermore, being transparent about those decisions was key to ensuring reader satisfaction. To that end, Harlock advocates for supplying a preface along with the translation explaining the methodologies and reasoning utilized while localizing the work.
“Not only will a preface clarify the intentions behind any significant liberties taken, but it will also provide the historical background necessary for readers to understand the socio-cultural nuances that were navigated,” Harlock wrote.
Likewise, annotations for particularly thorny sections can provide additional insights into the nature of the linguistic problems and the reasoning for the final approach. That kind of professional candor is particularly helpful for speculative fiction, which is often loaded with lore details and proper nouns informed by context and subtext.
No matter how rigorous the methodology and transparency might be, there’s no pleasing everyone. And accepting that is perhaps the most important factor to find satisfaction in the end product. Ultimately, the greater good of sharing ideas, stories, and artistic vibrancy across cultures is more than worth the effort.
“No translation can fully encapsulate the diversity of Arabic readers, but a thoughtful approach ensures that the original work’s essence resonates in any language,” Harlock wrote