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01652516/11/02070107 Intl. J. Soc. Lang. 207 (2011), pp. 107125
WalterdeGruyter DOI10.1515/IJSL.2011.005
Translation and interpreting in the Arabic of theMiddle Ages: lessons in contextualization
GHADA OSMAN
Abstract
Between the seventh and the eighth centuries, a remarkable linguistic phenom-
enon took place: the Arabic language, which in the early seventh century had
been mainly the tongue of a few isolated tribes in Western Arabia, became the
spoken and written language of a vast region that spanned from the Oxus River
in the East to the Atlantic Ocean in the West. Virtually overnight, speakers of
other languages had to become conversant and literate in Arabic in order to
maintain their positions throughout the Arabic-speaking Muslim Empire.
Throughout this dramatic transition, translation of foreign texts into Arabic
and interpreting between Arabic and other languages such as Aramaic, Cop-
tic, Greek, and Persian became of tantamount importance. Despite the scale
and speed of these endeavors, they included some consistently common meth-
odological components. This article uses medieval Arabic sources to explore
the ways in which translation and interpreting were carried out in this context,
analyzing the accepted methodology in its role as a reection of the dominant
sociolinguistic environment of the time. The nal portion of the article dis-
cusses the relevance of this methodology and sociolinguistic environment with
regard to questions within the eld of Arabic translation and interpreting that
are raised today.
Keywords: Arabic; medieval Islam; translation movement; interpreting.
Introduction
TherapidspreadofIslamintheseventhcenturyacrossWesternAsiaandNorth
Africawasaremarkablephenomenonthathasfueledrichdiscussionformany
decades.InonebriefcenturytheMuslimswentfrombeingasmall,persecuted
minorityinMeccainWesternArabiatobecomingtherulersofasignicantEmpirespanningWestAsia,NorthAfrica,andmostofSpain.AstheseMuslim
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108 G. Osman
ArabsexpandedtheirpoliticalcontrolduringtheProphetMuhammadslife-
timeand,moresignicantly,afterhisdeathin632,theirlanguagealsoex-
plodedontotheworldstage.PriortotheadventofIslam,Arabichadbeena
minormemberofthesouthernbranchoftheSemiticlanguagefamily,usedbyafewtribesandcommunitiesintheArabianPeninsula,witharichoralbut
verypoorwrittentradition.Literacyatthetimewassorarethatthosewho
couldreadandwritewereviewedascuriosities.Withinonehundredyears,
however,Arabicdevelopedtobecomethespoken,written,andofciallan-
guageofanempirethatstretchedfromtheOxusRiverinCentralAsiatothe
AtlanticOcean.AsAnwarG.Chejne(1969:45)highlights,Arabic,which
wasoriginallyadialectofanomadicorsemi-nomadicpeople,emergedatthe
beginningoftheeighthcenturyasafull-edgedlanguageofempireandasan
instrumentofthoughtparexcellence.
Thelarge-scaleshiftfromadiversityof locallanguagestoanalmostuni-
formlyArabic-speaking realm isoften attributed to the Caliph (ruler)Abd
al-Malik(ruled685705),theinstitutorofmanyreformsacrosstheMuslim
Empire.Intheyear700,hedecreedthatArabicreplacelocaltonguesasthe
ofciallanguageofgovernment.Almostovernight,localbureaucraticofcials
hadtolearntocommunicateinArabic,andittooklittletimeforofcialdocu-
ments to bewritten in almost awlessArabic.Yetasextraordinaryasthis
shiftwas,itrepresentedonlyoneaspectoftheexceptionalholdthatArabic
cametoenjoy.EvenmorestrikingwasArabicsrapidascentastheliterary
languageofanempire,totheextentthatevennon-bureaucratictextsbynon-
Muslims(suchastheEgyptianChristiancommunitysreligiousmanuscripts,
forexample)cametobewritteninArabic.Furthermore,Arabicbecamethe
lingua francaand/oravernacularformuchofthepopulationoftheMuslim
Empire,Muslimandnon-Muslimindividualsalike.Theunprecedentednature
ofthistransformationatleastamongthelanguagesfoundintheMediter-
ranean Basinareacan beappreciated by comparisonswithpredecessor
religious/politicallanguages,suchasHebrew,Greek,andLatin,noneofwhich
wasabletogainthissortofwidescaleorlong-termprominence.
Throughoutthisdramatictransition,interpretingbetweenArabicandlocallanguagessuchasAramaic,Coptic,Greek,andPersianandtranslationoffor-
eigntextsintoArabicbecameoftantamountimportance.Initially,localArabs
learnedthetonguesoftheirneighborsinordertocommunicatewiththem.As
the power of theMuslims expanded, it was the inhabitants of the newly-
conqueredterritoriesthatactedasinterpreters,aswellasintimetranslatorsof
centraltexts.Throughoutthecenturies,theroleoftheinterpretersandtransla-
torsshifted,buttheycontinuedtobecentraltotheMuslimEmpire:without
theirefforts,theMuslimscommunicationswiththosearoundthemwouldnot
havebeenpossible,therebystiltingtheMuslimspolitical,social,andintel-lectualgrowth.
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Arabic of the Middle Ages 109
DespitethiscrucialruleoftranslationandinterpretingintheMuslimEm-
pire,verylittleresearchhasbeencarriedoutonthesubject.Theresearchthat
existsaboutoneaspectofit,thetranslationmovementofmanuscriptsfrom
GreektoArabicoftheninthtofourteenthcenturies,hasfocusedmainlyonwhathasbeentranslated,butnotonhowthiswasdone.Scholarshiphasother-
wisebeenremarkablysilentonthesubject.ThisarticleusesmedievalArabic
sourcestoexplorethewaysinwhichinterpretingandtranslationwerecarried
outduringtherstfewcenturiesofIslam.Itbeginsbydiscussingthedevelop-
mentofeachofinterpretingandtranslation,thenmovesontofocusonthe
translation movement in particular, examining who the central translators
were,thenlaunchingintoaninvestigationofthemethodologyoftheirtransla-
tion.Thenalsectionofthearticlediscussestherelevanceofthismethodol-
ogywithregardtoquestionswithintheeldofArabictranslationandinter-
pretingthatareraisedtoday.
1. The development of interpreting
BeforethespreadofIslamandArabic,theotherlanguagesintheregionsur-
roundingtheArabianPeninsulaincludedSyriacandAramaicdialects inthe
WesternArabianPeninsulaandtheformerSasanianPersianEmpire;Middle
Persian(Pahlavi)intheformerSasanianEmpire;CopticinEgypt;Berberdia-
lectsinNorthAfrica;SouthArabic,alanguagecloselyrelatedtoEthiopian,in
Yemen;andGreek,whichwasusedasaliteraryandofciallanguageinthe
provincesoftheByzantineEmpire.PointsofcontactexistedbetweenArabic
andthesurroundinglanguagesinpre-Islamictimes,aprecursortothemore
regular exchanges that occurred with the rise and spread of Islam. Inpre-
IslamicSyria,andtoalesserextentIraq,therewerealreadyArabs,bothsettled
andnomad.ManyofthetribestherehadconvertedtoChristianity,inparticular
thosetribeswhoformedthesmallstateofHira,whichtheSasanianPersian
kingsusedasabufferbetweenthemselvesandtheBedouintribesofArabia.
Similarly,inthecourseoftimetheBanuGhassantribe,whomtheByzantinesused as a buffer between themselves and the Bedouins ofArabia, became
ChristianizedandSyrianized,adoptingtheAramaiclanguageofSyriawithout,
however,abandoningtheirArabictongue.Thusallthesegroupswerebilin-
gual, speaking both Arabic and the local language, and they came to be
describedbyArabic sourcesasArabized(mustaribah), toconnect them to
butalsodifferentiatethemfromtherealArabs(arab).InHiratherewere
schoolsforlearningbothPersian(spokenandwritten)andArabic(Isfahani
2002:2:93).EventheSasanianrulershadArabscribeswhowroteinbothPer-
sianandArabic(Isfahani2002:2:94).Atthesametime,MeccaandMedinawerehometonon-ArabsaswellasafewArabswhohadbecomebilingualin
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110 G. Osman
SyriacandPersianfortradepurposes;onesuchexamplewasoneofMuham-
madsCompanionsAbdAllahibnAmr,whoused toreadSyriacfrequently
(IbnSad1978:4:266).
WiththeadventofIslamandtheearlyMuslimsseriesofmilitaryexpedi-tions,aimedatfortifyingtheirbordersandspreadingtheirreligiousmessage,
the need for interpreting and therebybilingualismgrew. Ina few decisive
battlesenormousareashadfallentotheMuslims.SyriaandIraqwerecon-
quered in636, andEgypt andPersiaby642.Between644and656further
campaigns in Iraq and North Africa expanded theMuslim empire, which
culminatedintheWestwiththeconquestofSouthernSpain(Andalusia)in
711,andintheEastwithforaysintotheIndiansubcontinentandTransoxania
beginningin664and706respectively.AlreadyfromthetimeofMuhammad,
theneedtobecomefamiliarwithotherlanguageshadbecomeapparent.I
receivelettersfrompeoplethatIdonotlike(just)anyonetoread,Muham-
mad told his Companion Zayd ibn Thabit, Can you learn the writing of
Syriac?ZaydthenreportslearningtheSyriacscriptin17nights(IbnSad
1978:2:358).
Zaydbecamewell-knownforhismultilingualism,andwasreportedtohave
hadaworkingknowledgeofHebrew,Aramaic,andPersian.Intime,hewas
dubbedanofcialinterpreterandwasdeemedsuperiorinhisskills.During
theconquestofPersia,MuhammadsCompanional-MughirahibnShubah,
whohadbeenlearningsomePersian,waspresentwhenaprisonerwastaken
in.TheCaliphatthetime,Umaribnal-Khattab(ruled634644),orderedhim
Askhim, fromwhat regionareyou?whereuponal-Mughirahutteredthe
question correctly,Az kudham ardii?However, as theykeptontalking,
Umaraddressedal-Mughirahsaying,I see thatyouarenotatallgoodat
speakingPersian.Noneofyouspeaksitwellenoughwithoutsimulating.
ThenZaydibnThabitarrivedandwasabletointerpreteffectivelybetween
UmarandthePersian(Tabari1989:13:140).
DuringtheMuslimsmilitaryconquests,whiletherewerematerialadvan-
tagesinconversiontoIslam,suchasexemptionfromthepoll-tax(jizya)and
thelossoftheminoritystatusasadhimmi,onthewholetherateofconversionwasslowandvaried(Bulliet1979).Yetinherentinthespreadofbothreligious
andpoliticalIslamwastheemphasisontheimportanceoftheArabiclanguage.
TheCaliphUmaribnal-Khattabreportedlyinstructedhisgovernorstospread
theknowledgeofArabicbecauseitrejuvenatesthemindandincreasesvirtue
(Yaqut:1999).AstheMuslimEmpireexpanded,theotherlanguagesbeganto
diminish, each becoming a substratal language (a language that inuences
anotheronewhilebeingsupplantedbyit).Asopposedtoduringthetimeof
early IslamwhenArabic-speakers learnedother languages such asPersian,
Hebrew,andAramaic,andtranslatedfortheProphetandUmaribnal-Khattab,nowtheArabswerenolongerinneedofbecomingbilingual.Incaseswhen
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Arabic of the Middle Ages 111
an individual in theEmpire had not yet learnedArabic, aninterpreterwas
brought in from the subjectpopulation instead.Already in the conquest of
Persiaweseethistransition:duringthesiegeonthecityofNihawand(641),
whentheleaderSimakibnUbaidal-AbsitookaprisonerwhoonlyspokePersian,hecalledsomeoneofthesubjectpopulation(maybeoftheArabtribes
whohadsettledinIraq)totranslatewhathesaid(Baladhuri1916:475,476).
EvenauthorsoflaterwrittenworksfortheChristianpopulationthatwerewrit-
teninSyriacwereclearlybilingualinArabicaswell:onesuchexampleisthe
authorofThe Chronicle of Zuqnin A.D. 488775,whousedArabismsinhis
SyriacwritingwherehecouldjustaswellhaveemployedfamiliarSyriaccog-
nates(1999:28,29).
Thebilingual subjectpopulations also found employment in thebureau-
cracyoftheMuslimEmpire.SinceGreekhadremainedcurrentinSyriaand
Palestineasthelingua francaofcommerceandbusiness,theUmayyadcentral
administrationinDamascusfollowedByzantinepracticesinusingGreekas
thelanguageofadministration,untiltheabovementionedreformsofAbdal-
Malik.Therefore,theUmayyadsemployedinthesepositionsthoseArabized
individualswhohadhadlongexperiencewithandinvolvementinByzantine
affairs:themembersoftheBanuGhassantribewhomtheByzantineshadused
asapoliticalbufferbetweenthemselvesandthepre-IslamicBedouintribes.It
wastheseindividualswhoalsoundertookoralinformaltransmissionofGreek
works.Evenaslateasthetenthcentury,thehistorianHamzaal-Isfahani(d.
after961)relatesthatwhenheneededinformationonGraeco-Romanhistory,
heaskedanoldGreek,whohadbeencapturedandservedasavalet,totrans-
lateforhimaGreekhistoricalworkorally.Thiswasaccomplishedwiththe
helpoftheGreeksson,Yumn,whowasauentArabic-speaker(Rosenthal
1968:74).Astimewentonandformaleducationendeavorsfortheteachingof
ArabiccametoexistalongsideonesforteachingChristianliturgicallanguages
suchasSyriacandGreek,theminoritygroupstookadvantageofthemtoim-
provetheirprofessionalstatus,therebygrowingtheirknowledgeofthesource
andtargetlanguagesaswell.
2. The development of translation
AstheMuslimEmpireexpanded,intime,Arabicbecamethedominantspoken
tongue.Bythetenthcentury,theCopticbishopSeverusofEshumneincom-
plainedthatmostoftheEgyptianCopticChristiansdespitenothavingcon-
vertedtoIslamnolongerunderstoodtheirliturgicallanguageofGreekor
theirpreviousmothertongueofCoptic,andwereonlyabletocommunicatein
Arabic.ItwastheArabiclanguagethatwasbecomingabindingfactorfortheMuslimEmpire.Itwasduringtherstcoupleofcenturiesafterthespreadof
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112 G. Osman
Islamthattranslationactivitiesreachedtheirpeak,underrsttheUmayyad
dynasty (ruled 661750) and then more signicantly under the Abbasid
dynasty(ruled7501258);theycontinuedatthisapogeeforanotherthreecen-
turies.Rulers spearheadedamovement toArabicizebureaucratic structuresandscientictextsthathadpreviouslyexistedinotherlanguages,andthusthe
translationmovementwasbegun.
The rst bureaucratic endeavor, mentioned above, was the shifting of
thebureaucracyawayfromGreekintheWestoftheEmpireandPersianin
the East remnants of the inherited pre-IslamicByzantine and Sasanian
structurestoArabicoverall.AbuThabitSulaymanibnSad,inchargeof
thecorrespondenceduringthedaysofAbdal-Malik,iscreditedwithhaving
translatedtherecordsoftheWestatthebehestoftheCaliph.Inthemeantime,
intheprovinceofIraq,underthegovernorshipofal-HajjajibnYusuf(d.714)
thePersianregistersweretranslatedintoArabicbySalihibnAbdal-Rahman,
whoservedasthescribeofal-Hajjajssecretary,writinginPersianandArabic
underhissupervision(Al-Nadim1970:583).
TheshiftofthebureaucracytotheuseofArabicwasamoveofmanifold
signicance.However,itwascarriedoutrelativelyrapidly;reportsindicateit
spanneda year fromstart tonish(Al-Nadim1970: 582,583).Therefore,
whileitwasthoroughinstructure,itwasnotaparticularlyanalyticalorself-
reectiveprocess.Rather,anawarenessofthetechniquesoftranslationcame
with thesecondstate-initiatedmovement: thegargantuantextual translation
endeavors that started from the time of the prince Khalid ibn Yazid ibn
Muawiyah(d.704),andreachedtheirpeakduringtheAbbasiddynasty.
DubbedtheWiseManoftheFamilyofMarwan,KhalidibnYazidibn
Muawiyahhad a deep interest inalchemy, commanding thetranslationof
relevantworksonthesubjectfromGreekandCopticintoArabic(Al-Nadim
1970:583).Then,withtheAbbasidrevolutionin750,thetransferoftheseat
ofthecaliphatetoIraq,andthefoundationofthecityofBaghdad,thecultural
orientationoftheMuslimEmpireshifted.IncontrasttotheUmayyadcapital
ofDamascuswithitsstrongByzantineinuence,Iraqandthenewcapitalof
Baghdadwerehometoacompletelydifferentdemographicpopulationmix.ThisincludedChristianandJewishAramaic-speakerswhoformedthemajor-
ityof thesettledpopulation;Persian-speakers,concentratedprimarilyinthe
cities;partlysedentarized,ChristianArabssuchasthoseofHira;partlyno-
madicArabsinthegrazinggroundsofnorthernIraq;and,ofcourse,theArab
MuslimsconcentratedespeciallyinBaghdad,thetradingcenterofMosuland
theoriginalgarrisoncitiesofKufaandBasra.TheclassicalIslamiccivilization
that came to be associatedwith theAbbasid era, including the translation
movement,was,asDimitriGutasexplains,theresultofthefermentationof
allthedivergent ingredientswhichtheirvariousbackgrounds,beliefs,prac-tices,andvaluesprovided(1998:19).Caliphsbegantofocusontranslationas
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114 G. Osman
AbuHamidal-Ghazalis(d.1111)well-knownNasihat al-Muluk(Advicefor
kings) cametobetranslated fromPersiantoArabicalmostas soonasthe
Persianoriginalappeared.
3. The translators
InhisFihrist,thePersianbibliographerAl-Nadim(d.995or998)presentsan
exhaustivelistof70maintranslatorsoftheMuslimEmpire,whoprovided
translations fromPersian,Greek,Syriac and even Indian languages.These
beginwithStephenal-Qadim,whotranslatedbooksonalchemyandothersub-
jectsfor theprinceKhalidibnYazidibnMuawiyah(d.704),andcontinue
untilal-Nadimsowntime.Someofthetranslatorsalsoservedasinterpreters,
as was the case with al-Hajjaj ibnMatar, who interpreted for the Caliph
al-MamunandalsotranslatedPtolemysAlmagestandworksbytheGreek
mathematicianEuclid(Al-Nadim1970:586).
Al-Nadims list of translatorsrevealssome strikingpatterns. Therstof
theseisthepreponderanceofentirefamiliesoftranslators.Thisoccurredeven
inthepre-Bayt al-Hikmaera,asinthecaseofal-Bitriqwhotranslatedsome
oftheancientbooksfortheAbbasidCaliphal-Mansur,andhisson,Abu
ZakariyaYahya ibn al-Bitriq (Al-Nadim1970: 588).On al-Nadims list is
mostof theabove-mentionedNawbakht familywhohadbecomeofcial
translatorsof the court under the caliphHarun al-Rashid (Al-Nadim1970:
651).AthirdinstanceisthatofthebrothersMusaandYusuf,the sonsof
Khalid,whotranslatedfromPersianintoArabic(Al-Nadim1970:589).
Thesecondnoteworthycharacteristicisthefrequentpresenceinal-Nadims
listofreligiousgures,whowereprobably intermediariesinthe translation
process.Forexample,amongtheTranslatorsofPersiawasBahramibnMar-
danShah,thepriestofthecityofNisabur(Al-Nadim1970:589).Intheearlier
erawhentherewerefewertranslators,Abbasidpatronsapproachedclericsin
theirofcialcapacitytoaidwithtranslationefforts,presumablyrequestingthat
theydelegatethetranslationtasktoappropriateindividuals.However,asthedemandforGraeco-Arabictranslationsgrewbecauseoftheneedsofscientists
andphilosophers,sodidthesupplyandcompetenceoftranslators.Bilinguals
fromreligiousminoritieswhohadknownlanguagesespeciallyGreekfor
liturgicalpurposes now setouttodeepen theirknowledgeof thelanguage.
These later translators fromGreek and Syriac themselves belonged to the
Christian churchesdominant intheFertileCrescent:Melkites orOrthodox,
likeal-BitriqandhissonYahya;Jacobites;andNestorians,likethefamilyof
Hunaynibn-Ishaq(formoreonthisseeGutas[1998:137]).
Thirdistherolethatscientistsingeneralplayedinthetranslationmove-ment. For example, Ibn Dahn al-Hindi, who administered the renowned
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Arabic of the Middle Ages 115
Baghdad Hospital (Bimaristan), translated from the Indian languages into
Arabic(Al-Nadim1970:590).Masarjis,aphysician,translatedfromSyriacto
Arabic(Al-Nadim1970:698).Practicingmedicineatthecourtwerefamilies
ofphysicianswithoriginsinJundishapurwhosemothertonguewasPersian,whoseliturgicalandscienticlanguagewasSyriac,andwhonaturallyspoke
the lingua francaofArabic.Theseindividualsengagedinmedicalresearch,
wrotemedicaltextbooks,andcommissionedtranslations.Ascaliphalphysi-
ciansofhighsocialstatus,theyhadastakeinmaintainingtheirscienticsupe-
riority,andthuswereeagertoamassasmuchmedicalexpertiseaspossible
(Gutas1998:118).
Families and professional groupswere two collectives in the translation
eld that naturally brought translators together. Also, translators were in
contactwith each other personally through visits, correspondence, ormore
signicantly,viacirclesoftranslators.Forexample,thefamousAbbasid-era
philosopher,al-Kindi(d.shortlyafter870),hadsuchacircle.Thesonofal-
Bitriq,AbuZakariyaYahyaibnal-Bitriq,belongedtothetranslationgroupof
al-Mamunschiefminister(vizier)al-HasanibnSahl(Al-Nadim1970:588).
Probablythemostwell-knowntranslatorinal-NadimslistisHunaynibn
Ishaq(JoannitiusinGreek,d.873),referredtoasthesheikhofthetransla-
torsandreportedbymedievalwriterstohavebeenthemostindustriousof
them.Hunayniscreditedwith animmensenumberof translations, ranging
frommedicine,philosophy,astronomy,andmathematicstomagicandoneiro-
mancy.InhisRisalat Hunayn ibn Ishaq ila Ali ibn Yahya dhikr ma turjima
min Kutub Jalinus bi-Ilmihi wa BaD ma lam yutarjam (HunaynibnIshaqs
lettertoAliibnYahyamentioningwhichofGalensbooksaccordingtohis
knowledgehavebeentranslatedandwhichhavenot;henceforthabbreviated
asRisala),Hunaynenumerates129titles,ofwhichhehimselftranslatedabout
100intoSyriacand/orArabic,andthislistisnotevenanexhaustiveoneofall
histranslations(Hunayn1966).
SonofaNestorianArabpharmacistofHira,Hunaynmasteredthefourmost
useful languages of his time,Greek, Syriac, Persian, and Arabic.Hunayn
mayhavebeentrilingualfromhisyouth,forArabicwasthevernacularofhisnativetown,Persiana frequently-usedtongueinhisregion,andSyriacthe
languageoftheliturgyandofhigherChristianeducation.Eagertomaintaina
sound knowledgeofArabic grammar,heisevensaid tohavestudied itat
Basra. Like other translators, he studied medicine at BaghdadsBayt al-
Hikma;subsequentlyhetraveledfortwoyearstothelandsoftheByzantines
(bilad al-Rum),andreturnedtoBaghdadauentGreekspeaker.Hebecame
chiefphysiciantotheCaliphal-Mutawakkil(ruled821861),whoissaidto
havesupportedatranslationinstituteunderhim,buthepreferredtoworkfor
independentpatrons, suchastheBanuMusabrothers.Both theCaliphandthe Banu Musa brothers often commissioned Hunayn to obtain works of
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116 G. Osman
scholarshipfor translationfromSyria,Palestine,Egypt,andevenByzantine
lands(Al-Nadim1970:693).
Truetothepatternofseveralfamilymemberssimultaneousworkastrans-
lators,Hunaynengagedinhistranslationeffortstwomembersofhisfamily,his son Ishaq and his nephewHubaysh ibn al-Hasan al-Asam, aswellas
severalotherdisciplessuchasThabitibnQurra.Sincesomeofthemdidnot
understandGreekwellenough,theymadeSyriactranslationsafterHunayns
Arabic,or,muchmoreoften,ArabictranslationsafterHunaynsSyriac(Al-
Nadim1970:699).Hunaynexercisedcontrolthroughouthiscareeroverthe
outputofhisdisciples,buttheirworkshouldnotbeunderrated.Hubaysh,for
example,wasanimportantmedicaltranslator,anditwasIshaq,Hubayshand
oneofHunaynsotherdiscipleswhotookprimaryresponsibilityfortranslat-
ingphilosophicandmathematicalmaterials,includingnearlyallofAristotles
works(Goodman1990:487).Al-NadimpointsoutthatIshaqsArabicwasin
factsuperiortohisfathers(1970:700).
Anotherverywell-knowngurewastheSyro-PalestinianGreek,Qustaibn
Luqa,orConstantinethesonofLoukas(d.912),oneofthefewtranslatorswho
wasanativeGreek-speaker.HelefthishomeofBalabakk(modern-dayLeba-
non)insearchoffameandfortuneasatranslatorinBaghdad.Inordertofur-
therhiscause,heeventookwithhimGreekmanuscriptsthathebelievedrich
patronsinBaghdadwouldwishtohavetranslated.EventuallyQustaundertook
sometranslationsand,duetohissuperiorliterarystyleinGreek,Syriac,and
Arabic, he also corrected many translations that others had carried out
(Al-Nadim1970:588).ProlictranslatorsfromPersiantoArabicincludedthe
pioneerof literaryprose translationIbnal-Muqaffa(d. c.756),translatorof
the IndianKalila wa Dimna (SanskritPanchatantra) fromMiddle Persian
toArabic,andMuhammadibnKhalafibnal-Marzuban(d.921),apoet,his-
torian,biographerandgenealogistfromthevillageofal-Muhawwal,westof
Baghdad,whotranslatedatleast50booksfromPersiantoArabic(Isfahani
2002:5:260,9:327).
4. Techniques of translation
Thetranslatorsofal-Nadimslistvarieddramaticallyintheirlanguageabilities
andtranslationcapabilities.Bythelate eighthcentury,however, translation
activitiesfollowedauniedpaththatincorporatedsevenmaincharacteristics,
allofwhichpointtotherecognitionoftranslationasacomplex,multi-faceted
task,anaspectthathadnotbeenappreciatedupuntilthatpoint.Theseare:(1)
arelianceonamulti-step/multi-languagetranslationprocess;(2)arelianceon
multiplecopiesofasourcelanguagetext;(3)arelianceonasystemofintra-translatorcorrectionstoensureaccuracyofthenishedproduct;(4)aconvic-
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Arabic of the Middle Ages 117
tionoftheimportanceofsoundtranslationmethodology;(5)ashiftfroma
moreliteralapproachtomoreofan ad sensumapproachtotranslation;(6)the
adoptionofnew terminology;and(7) theadoptionofnew alphabet forms.
Eachoftheseapproachesisexaminedinmoredetailbelow.
4.1. Reliance on a multi-step /multi-language translation process
Duringtheearliestphaseofthetranslationmovement,underthelateUmay-
yadsandtheveryearlyAbbasids,theArabsknewnoGreekandwerethereby
forcedtoadoptamulti-step/multi-languagetranslationprocess.Greekdocu-
mentswouldbetranslatedrstintoSyriac,andthenfromSyriactoArabic.
Evenduringlatertranslationeffortsthiswasthecase;forexample,sincefew
ofHunaynsdiscipleshadtheirteachersmasteryofGreek,Syriac,andArabic,
thetranslation of textswasoftenviaamulti-stepprocess.Thus,Aristotles
TopicawastranslatedrstintoSyriacbyIshaqibnHunaynandtheSophistici
byIbnNaimahandAbuBishrMatta,afterwhichYahyaibnAdirenderedboth
theseSyriacversionsintoArabic(Al-Nadim1970:600).
Inafewcases,booksweretranslatedfromGreektoArabic,thenfromAra-
bictoSyriac.ThiswasthecasewithGalensbookonchestandlungmove-
ment,whichStefanibnBasiltranslatedrstintoArabicforoneoftheMusa
brothers,afterwhichHubaysh translatedit fromArabic toSyriac (Hunayn
1966:2324).Similarly,anaccountofAristotlesAnalytica Priorawastrans-
latedfromGreekintoArabicbythewell-knownTheodoretheCommentator.
TheodoreshowedhistranslationtoHunayn,whocorrectedit,thentranslateda
portionintoSyriacwhilehissonIshaqtranslatedtheremainder(Al-Nadim
1970:599).SometimesHunaynhimselftranslatedfromGreekdirectlytoAra-
bic,ashedidwithGalenstreatiseonsound(Hunayn1966:24).
Occasionally,veryskilledtranslatorsalsorenderedtheGreekintoSyriac
andArabicsimultaneously.HunayndidthiswithanotherofGalenstreatises
thatwasalsocommissionedbyoneoftheMusabrothers(Hunayn1966:42).
Another translator, Theon, did the same with some of Aristotles works
(Al-Nadim1970:598).Suchamulti-stepprocessundoubtedlywidenedthegapbetweentheorigi-
nalGreekandthethirdgenerationtranslation(usuallyArabicbutsometimes
Syriac).Therefore,othertechniquessucharelianceonmultiplescopiesofa
testandarelianceonasystemofintra-translatorcorrectionswerecrucialin
ensuringanaccuraterenderingofthesourcetextintothetargetlanguage.
4.2. Reliance on multiple copies of a source language text
Whenmultiple copiesofa sourcelanguage textwere available, thesewerecomparedagainsteachotherbeforeatranslationwasundertaken.InhisRisala
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118 G. Osman
HunaynexplainsthatheusedtocollectasmanyGreekmanuscriptsaspossible
andtocollatetheminordertohaveasoundtextualbasisforthetranslation
(1996b:2).Hisson,IshaqibnHunayn,thirtyyearsafterhavingtranslatedthe
expositionofThemistiusintoArabicfromamanuscriptthatwasinpoorshape,foundamanuscriptthatwasinfarbetterconditionandcompareditwiththe
rsttranslation(Al-Nadim1970:605).
Whenmultiplecopiesofamanuscriptwereabsentbutcommentariesonan
originalwereavailable,faithfultranslatorscitedthesetobuttresstheirtransla-
tion.For example,Ibn Tibbon (d. 1230), frustratedatIbn al-Bitriqsweak
ArabicrenderingofAristotlesMeterology,continuouslyinterruptedhistrans-
lationoftheworkintoHebrewtoquoteavailablecommentariesontheGreek
originalwiththeprefacesoandsosayshere....Whennishedwiththe
relevantcommentaryquotation,hewouldfaithfullyexplain,Iwillreturnto
theplacefromwhichIleftoff(Fontaine1997:88).
4.3. Reliance on a system of intra-translator corrections
Itwasa frequentpracticefortranslatorstochecktheexactmeaningof their
documentinthesourcelanguagebeforetheyembarkedonitstranslation.For
example,whenYahyaibnKhalidibnBarmakdecidedtotranslatePtolemys
AlmagestintoArabic,hesoughtthehelpofthosearoundhimregardingsome
ambiguous phrases; dissatisedwith some of the results of this investiga-
tion,hecalleduponthedirectoroftheBayt al-Hikma.Thedirectorinturn
summoned the best translators and asked their opinions. OnceYahya had
completed the translation, this groupof translators tested the translation,
ensuringitsgoodliterarystyleandaccuracy(Al-Nadim1970:639).
Thismodelofcheckingthequalityofatranslationafteritscompletionwith
thosewhoweremoreknowledgeablewasaverycommonone.Earlytransla-
tionshad accordingly to be retouched and corrected stylistically (islah)by
speakersofcorrectArabic,likethephilosopheral-Kindi,whilelaterrender-
ings were checked immediately upon their completion. The Syriac-ArabictranslatorMidlaji (Marlahi), a contemporary of al-Nadimwhohad a good
knowledgeofSyriac,butstammeredinpronouncingArabic(i.e.wasnot
uentinthelanguage),usedalwaystohavehistranslationscheckedandat
timesimprovedbyhispatronAliibnIbrahimal-Dahaki(AlNadim1970:
588).Hunayns sonIshaq and hisnephewHubaysh consistently gave their
translationworktoHunaynforchecking.Othertranslatorsfrequentlymetwith
Hunaynsothathecouldcorrecttheirwork:oneexamplewouldbetheabove-
mentionedinstance(seeSection4.1)whenStefanibnBasildidsowithhis
translationfromGreektoArabicofGalensbookonchestandlungmovement(Hunayn1966:2324).
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Arabic of the Middle Ages 119
Hunaynrecountsoneinstanceinwhichatranslatorthoughtthathecould
getawaywithaneasiermethod.WhenthetranslatorSulamwayhiwishedto
improveonSergiussGreek-SyriactranslationofGalensworkonfevers
Sergiushadtranslatedtherstportionoftheworkwhilestillinexperiencedinthecraftoftranslation,accordingtoHunaynhemetwithHunayn,handing
himtheGreekoriginal.SulamwayhithenreadtoHunayntheSyriacandwhen-
everhereadsomethingthatwascontrarytotheGreekoriginal,Hunaynnoti-
edhimofthediscrepancyandhecorrectedit.Eventually,Sulamwayhicame
torealizehowtimeconsumingthisprocesswas,anditbecameapparentto
himthattranslatingfromthestartwasmorecomfortable,moreeloquent,and
moreorganized,soheaskedHunayntotranslatethesenalpiecesforhim
(Hunayn1966:18).HunaynclearlydisapprovedofSulamwayhisattemptata
shortcut.AlsointerestingintheaccountisHunaynsrecognitionoftherole
ofexperienceingeneratingmoreaccuratetranslations,anaspectthatwillbe
exploredfurtherbelow.
When the nal productwas deemed inappropriate after such labors, the
courtorotherpatronssometimescommissionedasecondversion.Suchwas
the case with theSynagoge of Anatolius, of whichYahya ibnKhalid ibn
BarmakcommissionedaGreek-Arabictranslationin795fromthePatriarch
ofAlexandra, thebishopofDamascus, and themonkEustathius.Unhappy
withtheresultingwork,Yahyaauthorizedasecondtranslation,thistimefrom
aSyriacrenderingofthework(Gutas1998:115).
Suchre-comissioningofaworkpointstotheimportanceofthequalityof
translations to the Abbasids. Because of this, serious translators such as
Hunaynspentmucheffortimprovinghisandotherstranslations,especially
whentheyhadbeencommissionedbyapersonofexceptionallearningand
culture.AtthebeginningofhisRisala,Hunaynstressedthatitisimportantto
knowforwhomaworkwastranslatedinordertoevaluateitsquality(1966:
2).AsRosenthal(1947:41)pointsout,ingeneral,forMuslimscholars,the
morescholarlyaworkwas,thegreatercarewasexercisedbyscholarsinthe
indicationandquotationoftheirsources.
4.4. From literal to adsensum translation
AtthestartoftheAbbasidera,translatorstendedtowardastrictlyliteraltrans-
lation,proceedingthroughasourcetextwordbyword.Whentheycouldnot
determineanexactequivalentforasourcelanguageword,theywouldoften
simplytransliterateit.Thisliteral,word-by-wordtechniquewasparticularly
commoninSyriactranslationsfromtheGreek,andinHebrewandLatintrans-
lationsfromtheArabic.FromthetimeofHunayn,however,translatorscametorecognizethesentenceastheunitofmeaningandtranslatedad sensum,and
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120 G. Osman
boththeoryandpracticecametobegreatlyinfavorofatranslationtechnique
thatconsidereditthemaintaskofthetranslatortorenderthemeaningofthe
translatedworkinanaccuratemanner.
AccordingtoHunaynsunderstanding,oneoftheprimaryqualitiesthatde-nedasourcetextwastheuseforwhichitwasconsulted,andtheobligation
ofthetargettext,therefore,wouldbetoreproducethoseparticularfeatures.
Thus,Hunaynponderedtheproblemsoftranslationandarrivedattheconclu-
sionthatatranslatorshouldtrytondexpressionswhichwereclosetothe
original,butatthesametimeshouldnotdoviolencetotheidiomaticusage
ofthelanguageintowhichhetranslated(1966:4,5,6;cf.Hugonnard-Roche
1990). Only in one respect didHunayn not focus on either a literal or an
ad sensum approach:likeotherChristiantranslatorshefelttheobligationto
eliminate all traces ofpaganism from the works of the ancients, replacing
anymentionofpagangodsbytheoneGodandHisangels(EI219542008:
579).
4.5. The adoption of new terminology
WhilemanyinitialwritingsinearlyIslamictimesincorporatedwordsfrom
otherlanguagesAbul-Farajal-Isfahani(d.967)oftenpointsoutwordsthat
areArabizedPersiansuchasqahramananddakhdar(2002:2:102,103)
fromtherstbureaucratic endeavorseffortsweremade tocoin appropriate
Arabicterms.WhenSalihibnAbdal-Rahmanundertookthetranslationofthe
registersfromPersiantoArabic,hehadtoconsiderhowhewouldrenderPer-
sianphrasesrelatedtotaxationsuchasdahwiyah(tithe)andshashwiya(a6%
taxorlevy),anddecidedtousetheArabicwordsushr(tenth)andnusf ushr
(halfofatenth)(Baladhuri1916:466;Al-Nadim1970:583).Thesecondwas
obviouslynot anexact rendering,butrepresentedaneffort towardsamore
thoroughArabicizationthatexcludedloanwordsasmuchaspossible.
Similarly,inpartduetotheincentiveprovidedbythemunicenceoftheir
sponsors, thetranslatorsof theAbbasid eraworkedtodevelopnewArabicterminology.Withtheshifttoanad sensumapproach,HunaynibnIshaqand
hisschoolnowavoidedmere transcriptionsandeven looseparaphraseand
summaryasmuchaspossible,insteadfocusingondevelopinganArabictech-
nicalvocabularyandstyleforscienticdiscourse.InhisearlywritingsHunayn
had pointed to the dearth of adequate nomenclature in Arabic, compared
to Syriac,Greek, and Persian (Goodman 1990: 488;Gutas 1998: 141;EI2
19542008: 578).Likewise, al-Kindis circleworkedat theformationofa
philosophicallanguageinArabic,anachievementoflinguisticandconceptual
transformationthatal-Kindisystematizedinaglossaryofphilosophicaltermsanddenitions(Endress1997:49).
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Arabic of the Middle Ages 121
4.6. The adoption of new alphabet forms
Handinhandwiththedevelopmentofnewscienticandphilosophicaltermi-
nologycametheadaptationoftheArabicscripttoallowfortheexpressionofforeignsounds.Apupilofal-Kindi,Ahmadibnal-Tayyibal-Sarahshi,invented
aspecialalphabetoffortycharactersthatheusedforthetranscriptionofPer-
sian,Syriac,andGreekwords.IbnKhaldun,confrontedwiththeproblemof
expressinginArabiccharactersBerbersoundsthathadnoArabicequivalent,
usedArabicletterswithextrapointsaboveorbelow(IbnKhaldun2005:34;
Rosenthal1947:25,26).
4.7. The need for translation skills
TheabovementionedaccountofSergiussgradualimprovementasatranslator
demonstratesHunaynsviewthatitisnotenoughtoknowthesourceandtarget
languages.Rather,Sergiuss translationof therstportionof theworkhad
beenweakbecausehewasstillanovice,whilehistranslationof theeight
remainingarticleswasafterhehadbecometrained,sohistranslationofitwas
moreaccuratethanhistranslationoftherstpart.PerhapsHunaynhadcome
tothisrealizationthroughhisownjourney:ashehadbecomemoreexperi-
enced,henotedthathisrstattemptsattranslatingtechnicalworkshadbeen
faulty,andhereturnedtoreworkthem(Hunayn1966:6,18).Whilethenotion
ofthenecessityofcarefultrainingforpersonswhowishedtodevotethem-
selvestothedifcultartoftranslationwasraisedearlyonbytheeighthcentury
Syriacwriter,PhocasofEdessa,whoselifetimecoincidedwiththebeginning
ofArabictranslationliterature(Rosenthal1947:29),thiswasaviewpointre-
gardingtranslationnotroutinelyavailableinothertranslationcontextssuchas
theChristianmonasterieswheremanyofthesetranslatorshadbeeneducated
inGreekand/orSyriac.Thisself-reectivelookatandrecognitionofthecom-
plexityofatranslatorsworkwasanewunderstandingthathadbeengenerated
bythetranslationmovementitself(Gutas1998:141).
5. Issues in contemporary translation: a brief comparison
WhiletheeldofcontemporaryArabicTranslationStudiesincludesnumerous
worksonwhatconstitutesaneffectivetranslation(e.g.ElZeini1994;Massoud
1998;Abdellah2002),thesubjectofthechallengesencounteredintranslating
toandfromArabicisstillrelativelyvirginterritorycomparedtoitscounter-
partsinotherlanguages.AspointedoutbyShehadehFarehinhisarticleSometextualproblemsintranslatingArabicintoEnglish(2006:100),whilesuch
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7/29/2019 Translation and interpreting in the Arabic of the Middle Ages: lessons in contextualization. GHADA OSMAN
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122 G. Osman
challengesappeartohavebeeninvestigatedbyseveralresearchers,manyof
these studieswerePh.D.orM.A. theses that focusedongeneral problems
encounteredintranslatingfromArabictoEnglish.OnesuchstudybyNajah
Shamma(1978),A linguistic analysis of some problems of Arabic to Englishtranslation,forexample,ismoreofanerroranalysisstudy.Therefore,more
studiesareneededtoanalyzetranslationmethodologycharacteristicsfromand
intoArabic,andinfact,theclassicalworksprovideagoodintroductioninthis
direction.
Asanaside,thestrikingpropensityformodernworksonArabictranslation
toengageinthetypeoferroranalysisdescribedaboveinShammasstudyisin
manywayssimilartothefocusofclassicalworksoncriticizingtranslators
poorArabicskills,asevidencedbyJahizs(d.869)andal-Nadimsmanifold
critiquesonthesubject(Jahiz1969:104,105;Al-Nadim1970).Theearliest
translationsinparticularshowedverypoorArabicstyle,astranslatorswere
ultimatelytranslatingintoasecondoreventhirdlanguage,thelevelofwhich
waslaggingbehindtheArabicstylesthattheircontemporarygrammariansand
stylistswereextollingasproperArabic.Al-BitriqandhissonYayha,bothwith
rootsintheHellenizedFertileCrescentandtwoofthemostprolictranslators
ofphilosophicalworks(Endress1997:55),hadareputationfortheirdefective
styles(Al-Nadim1970:603,605);Al-Nadimandotherwriterscriticizeseveral
othertranslatorsforthisfaultaswell(1970:588).
Thefewrecentstudiesfocusingonmethodologythatveerawayfromthe
erroranalysismodelhighlightcharacteristicsanawarenessofwhichwesawin
themedievaltextsabove.Forexample,Abdellah(2002)suggestsfourmajor
macro-skills that a translatorshouldpossessinorder to renderaneffective
translation. These are: reading comprehension, researching, analytical, and
composingskills.Themedievalworkspointtothethoroughnessofthetransla-
torsateachofthesestages.WehearofhowKhalidibnYahyamadesurethat
hethoroughlyunderstoodthecontentofAlmagest,evenresortingtoasecond
roundofconsultationwiththoseatBayt al-Hikmatoensurethathiscompre-
hension of the source text was correct. Translators searched for multiple
versionsofa source text,inordertomakesurethat theoriginal theyweretranslatingwascorrect.Particularlyimpressivearetheeffortsofthemedieval
translatorswhenitcametotheanalyticalandcomposingstages.Abdellahdi-
videstheanalyticalstageintotwo:analysis,duringwhichthetranslatorrefers
totheprototextinordertounderstanditasfullyaspossible,andsynthesis,
duringwhichtheprototextisprojectedontothereader,orrather,ontotheidea
thatthetranslatorformsofwhowillbethemostlikelyreaderofthemetatext.
Againwehaveseenhowmedievaltranslatorsmadesurethattheythoroughly
understoodthesourcetext;wehavealsowitnessedtheeffortsoftranslators
suchasHunaynibnIshaqtounderstandthepurposeofatext,andthereforethecharacteristics of its intended audience. Finally,Abdellah also divides the
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Arabic of the Middle Ages 123
compositionstageintotwoparts.Therstistoexternalizethesetofimpres-
sionscausedbythetextandtranslateintospeechelementstheimpressionsthe
mindproducedbycontactwiththeprototext,whilethesecondistomake
thisproductcoherentwithinitself,i.e.,transformthesetofspeechelementsinto a text (themetatext). The classical translators painstakingefforts to
rendertheirtextsad sensum,whileatthesametimeavoidingvagueandloose
translationsandinsteadresortingtotheinventionofanewterminologyand
evenanewalphabetstructure,areatestamenttotheirfocusonthiselement.
Fareh(2006:99)notesproblemsintranslationstoandfromArabicrelat-
ingtovagueness,ambiguity,wordiness,repetition,fragmentation,improper
punctuation, unparalleled structures, redundancy, referential versatility and
lackofconnectivityinArabictexts.Improperpunctuationaside,theseprob-
lemsareverysimilartoonesthatwereaddressedbyHunaynwhencorrecting
otherstranslations(1966:4,6).Hunaynandthosearoundhim,aswe saw
above,wereveryconcernedtorenderthesourcetextaccuratelywithoutgiving
intolooseinterpretationsoropaquerenderings.Farehhighlightstheneedfor
translatorstobefullycompetentinboththesourceandtargetlanguagesas
wellasintranslationmethodology,somethingthathebelievesislackingcur-
rently(2006:99).Likewise,medievaltranslatorssuchasHunaynemphasized
thatatranslatorhadtobeequallywell-versedintwolanguages,thatthetrans-
latorsknowledgeoftheauthorsbranchoflearninghadtomatchthatofthe
authorhimself,andthatthestylisticabilityofthetranslatorwasnottobeinfe-
riortothatoftheauthor(Hunayn1966:3).
6. Conclusion
M.G.Carter(2004:144)pointsoutthatLinguisticshasalwayshadapolitical
dimensionandthisismorethanevertruewithalanguageandareligionso
tightlyboundtogetherasIslamandArabic.Fromthestarttherapidspreadof
Islamwasimmediatelyconnectedto thegrowthofArabicandthedisplace-
mentandsettlementofnativeArabicspeakersintotheperipheriesoftheMus-limEmpire.Amongotherlinguisticconsequences,thisledtoanimmediate
needforinterpreters,andsubsequentlytranslators,whoatrstcarriedouttheir
work ina fairly informalmanner.After government-instigatedbureaucratic
andscientictranslationprojectsbroughtatranslationmovementintobeing,
muchmorethoughtwasgivenbyMuslimscholarstotheproblemoftransla-
tion.Itwasrealizedaworkintranslationnotonlysufferedagreataesthetic
loss,butalsoachangeinmeaning.Thereforethetranslationmovement,asit
becamemoresophisticatedbytheendoftheeighthcentury,cametoembodya
setofwell-denedcharacteristicsthatdemarcateditsmethodologyacrosstheMuslimEmpire.Thesecharacteristicsembodymuchofwhatrecentworksin
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7/29/2019 Translation and interpreting in the Arabic of the Middle Ages: lessons in contextualization. GHADA OSMAN
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124 G. Osman
theemergingeldofArabicTranslationStudieshasoutlined,andtheythere-
foreserveasanimportantlaunchingpadforthesestudies.
San Diego State University
Correspondenceaddress:osman@mail.sdsu.edu
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