Comparative translation analysis (English, Arabic): case study “love letters between Gibran Kahlil Gibran and May Ziadeh”

Abstract

The 19th Century witnessed a new era in Arabic Literature. After a long period of mental stagnation, a great desire for learning emerged. The West started to gain interest in Eastern Literature, which triggered closer relations between the Arab countries and other European nations. This approach paved the way for the Renaissance, which intended to achieve a drastic positive change. The East also started to appreciate Western Literature; this led to a reform in hope to limit ignorance. This openness to other civilizations sparked authors’ desires to bridge the gap between East and West. Gibran Kahlil Gibran is one of those authors was who tried to deal with several philosophical themes such as existence, the power of the triad bundle, past, present, future, faith, doubt, certainty, death etc. Also, Gibran openly discusses with his loved one several issues like the afterlife and death, the importance of freedom, and whether one’s life should get attached to external appearances or the genuine truth. Gibran was on an ongoing search to one’s true meaning of existence. In other words, he encouraged his readers to discover what is it they are truly living for. The meaning of existence may vary between financial reasons, glory, service to the country, ultimate self-satisfaction, finding a partner etc. As Georges Steiner once said: “Without translation, we would be living in provinces bordering on silence.” To avoid such difficulty in communication between East and West, The love letters between Gibran and May Ziadeh had to be translated to reach the Arab world. In the process of translating, translators faced difficulties which my paper will tackle. My comparative analysis will discuss The love letters between Gibran and May Ziadeh focusing entirely on the major adopted theories of translation, and whether the translator was able to exert the same impact on the reader when it comes to letters praising the role of women be it in the choice of terms or the use of language. Furthermore, it was fundamental to thoroughly research whether the translator assimilated Gibran’s tendency to advocate for women’s rights from a feminist point of view. In addition, the role of translation in transferring the Eastern mindset to the West should not be looked upon indifferently. Thus, the book entails cultural connotations. This is where the debate between choosing Domestication, Foreignization or other major theories of translation arises. My paper will highlight the hurdles faced by the translator when it comes to which method is most appropriate. I will also show the motives behind choosing one method over another through specific examples from the book. Moreover, I will include my personal suggested version of each translation. Finally, my paper will shed light on some cases in which other translators were not capable to completely understand the linguistic and cultural spirit of the target language.