ALC holds cultural session with University of London
ABU DHABI: The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) organised a cultural retreat themed “Translation: Literature and Technology”, in collaboration with the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London.
The session formed part of the ALC’S participation in the London Book Fair 2024, bringing together 30 experts and academics from various fields of translation.
Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, Chairman of the ALC, said, “Our approach to organising our retreats was inspired by the UAE Government’s administrative excellence, which we transferred to the field of culture, turning the cultural retreats organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre into an important tradition that we have hosted in major world capitals to great success.”
“The Centre recognises the important role translation plays in shedding light on cultures and the particular traits of various peoples,” he added. “We also acknowledge literature’s role as a bridge that combines thought, culture, knowledge, science, and human experiences into a blend of creative writing methods. With that in mind, we organised this year’s Cultural Retreat as part of our activities for the London Book Fair, in partnership with the University of London, to serve as an ideal plaform to foster meaningful cultural discussion about translation, one of the most significant means to connect all members of the human family. The retreat focuses on literary translation, in particular, as a vehicle for communicating intellectual heritage in a creative and aesthetically appealing mould.”
The retreat shed light on a number of subtopics in the Arabic language and the publishing industry through three sessions. The first session focused on the challenges facing literary translation, while the second discussed the challenges of translating content into Arabic. The third session focused on publishing Arabic translations and discussed translation and artificial intelligence.
In the first session, participants recommended that translators strive to understand a given text’s cultural and intellectual weight and familiarise themselves with its specific traits relating to space, time, and social characteristics. They advised translators to avoid confusion with terminology, which results from having multiple translations of a single term, urging them to pay atention to the fact that translating works for children requires them to take into account the linguistic aspects.
Meanwhile, participants in the second session discussed the challenges facing the publishing of Arabic translations from other languages. They cited the disproportionate focus placed on translating works from more popular languages, such as English and French, while overlooking other important international languages, like Chinese and Hindi. Most Arab translators earn lower wages, and there is a lack of a standardised process for negotiating with publishers about remunerations.
Additionally, the shortage of courses focusing on criticism of translation in Arab universities has led professional translators to shit towards work in other sectors, which, in turn, paves the way for artificial intelligence to replace them.
Participants developed a set of recommendations regarding this topic, including establishing a code of conduct for Arab translators to standardise legal contracts for rights, wages, and profit shares.