A Seminar on the Arabic Translation of Shakespeare’s Works at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
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Alexandria — As part of the Cultural seminars organized by the BA to enrich Arab Culture with international literary works, the BA Dialogue Forum Center organized on Saturday, 3 June 2006 a seminar entitled Arabic Translation of Shakespeare’s Works and Its Discontents. A group of writers and intellectuals specialized in English literature especially Shakespeare"s works participated in the seminar, namely Dr. Mohamed Mostafa Badawy, Dr. Mohamed Anani, Dr. Fatma Moussa, and Dr. Gamal Abd El-Massoud. The seminar discussed literary problems facing the Arabic translation of Shakespeare’s works, as part of the Arabic translation movement of foreign literature. Dr. Gaber Asfour, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Culture, chaired the seminar. Ahmed Abdel Halim presented his personal experience in successfully directing King Lear play, one of the famous works of Shakespeare.
During the outset of the seminar, Dr. Asfour gave a brief on the development of the Arabic translation of Shakespeare"s works stating that the most important translations were from French and not English, such as the translation of Motran Khalil Motran and others.
Dr. Gamal Abdel Maussod stated that the problems facing Arabic translation of Shakespeare works are limited to the accuracy of translation and the degree of sticking to the original text. In the same context, Dr. Abdel Massoud referred to the fact that sound translation should not affect the structure of terms in the original text. Translation is a mirror reflecting the reality presented in the original work.
Dr. Anani started with a brief on the international translation movement in the eighties as a realm of independent research. Dr. Anani also explained his view on the mechanism of translation by presenting a number of theories including the German theory of types of texts.
Dr. Mostafa Badawy stated that the problems of Arabic translation of Shakespeare works are related to the features, characteristics, style and depth of the works of Shakespeare rather than the translator or the translation.
Dr. Fatma Moussa referred to her experience in dealing with Arabic translation of Shakespeare works, and the problems of terms, concepts, and the style of language used in the translation. She stated that the use of classical language solves some of these problems.
At the end of the seminar, Dr. Ahmed Abdel Halim, Theater Director, spoke about his personal experience with King Lear, one of the famous works of Shakespeare directed by himself and translated by Dr. Fatma Moussa. He added that translation is artistic creativity, where the translator goes into the depth of the original text and converts it into an acceptable drama or literary work.