Aesthetic Poetry & Creative Translations

Activity: Talk or presentation typesOral presentation

Description

This paper investigates the hermeneutic processes involved in translating instances of imagery in Arabic poetry into English across a period ranging between 1789 and 1993. It examines ten translations of two verse lines from Labīd’s Mu’allaqa. The paper does not aim to determine whether a given translation is correct—its purpose is, rather, to use translational hermeneutics as a key analytical tool to identify which translation products may be considered acceptable within the scope of this theory. Translational hermeneutics conceives of translation as re-formulation and, hence, re-creation. The notion of identity is minimised, in translational hermeneutics as well as in this study, by investigating how a source text’s aesthetic message can assume a different form when translated. The assessment of different translations in this paper’s case study demonstrates that translating responsibly is, first and foremost, translating responsively.
PeriodApr 25 2024Apr 26 2024
Event titleTranslation Studies Network of Ireland: Translation and Creativity
Event typeConference
Conference number4
LocationGalway, IrelandShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

Keywords

  • Literary translation
  • Translational Hermeneutics
  • Translation quality assessment
  • Translating imagery
  • Poetic style
  • Pre-Islamic poetry
  • Mu‘allaqāt