Translation and interpreting in the Arabic of the Middle Ages: lessons in contextualization. GHADA...

7/29/2019 Translation and interpreting in the Arabic of the Middle Ages: lessons in contextualization. GHADA OSMAN

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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124 G. Osman

theemergingeldofArabicTranslationStudieshasoutlined,andtheythere-

foreserveasanimportantlaunchingpadforthesestudies.

San Diego State University

Correspondenceaddress:[email protected]

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