Publishers Discuss Translation of Emirati Stories for the World
UAE writers and publishers who participated in a panel discussion titled “Translating our Emirati Stories for the World” discussed challenges facing translation of Arabic books into other languages and its impact on spreading local creativity globally.
UAE Publishers Association organized the session, as part of New Delhi International Book Fair, which celebrates Sharjah as the guest of honor of its 27th edition.
The session was attended by writers and publishers, including Jamal Al Shehhi, Abdullah Al Kaabi and Eman Bin Sheiba. The session was headed by Majd Al Shehhi, Director of “1001Titles Initiative”.
Writer Eman Bin Sheiba said that challenges of translation are represented in the difficulty of translating some books from one language into another because they are not compatible with local cultures or because they provide readers with stories that are very specific to the place where they were released in local languages giving them their own beauty.
Eman Bin Sheiba considered that keeping the original context in translation is very difficult because translated text is different from the original.
Jamal Al Shehhi illustrated the role of translation in promoting links between peoples, and he considered it a quick and effective mechanism for understanding and assimilating other cultures, pointing out that weakness of translation from Arabic into foreign languages explains why many peoples of the world do not understand Arab culture.
Abdullah Al Kaabi stressed the role of translation in building bridges of acquaintance between peoples. He said that achieving the goal of rapprochement through translation requires that books, selected to be translated, should be a reflection of social reality of peoples, conveying their customs, values and traditions accurately and safely, especially in the presence of many books that do not portray reality of places where they were produced.
