Modern Arabic Fiction in English: The Yacoubian Building; a Case in Point
Abstract This article considers translations of modern Arabic fiction to English in the context of contemporary translation theory as a critical approach. Translation theory provides a framework to analyze the cultural and sociological aspects involved in the process of literary translation that can influence the circulation of the final product. Specifically; the polysystem theory of Even-Zohar and the literary fields and social agents of Bourdieu are considered in an exploration of how and why translations from Arabic are undertaken; how and by whom. This paper takes the Yacoubian Building [Ar. ‘Amaret Yacoubian]; a contemporary novel by Alaa Al Aswani; under consideration for its cultural and literary importance. It is found that contemporary Arabic fiction has shown a slowly increasing presence in the English literary market.
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Sapiro, Gisèle. 2008. «Translation and the Field of Publishing: A Commentary on Pierre Bourdieu’s “A conservative revolution in publishing”». Translation Studies 1(2): 154-166.
Torresi, Ira. 2013. «The Polysystem and the Postcolonial: The Wondrous Adventures of James Joyce and his Ulysses across book markets». Translation Studies 6(2): 217-231.
Three Percent: A Resource for International Literature at the University of Rochester. http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent.
van Leeuwen, Richard. 2004. «The Cultural Context of Translating Arabic Literature». In Cultural Encounters in Translation from Arabic, ed. by Said Faiq. Clevedon, Buffalo & Toronto: Multilingual Matters LTD, 14-25.
Wolf, Michaela & Alexandra Fukari. 2007. Constructing a Sociology of Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing (Translation Library, 74).
Adil, Alev. 2007. «The yacoubian building, by Alaa Al Aswany, trans Humphrey Davies: home truths in Egypt’s multi-story saga». In The Independent (article). Accessed November 29, 2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/artsentertainment/books/reviews/the-yacoubian-building-by-alaa-al-aswany-trans-humphrey-davies-436484.html.
Al Aswani, Alaa. 2004. The Yacoubian Building. [orig. Amaret Yaqubian]. Translated by Humphrey Davis. New York: Harper Perennial.
Altoma, Salih J. 2005. Modern Arabic Literature in Translation: A Companion. London: Saqi Books.
Asfour, Nana. 2007. «The Yacoubian Building». In Words without Boarders (review). Accessed November 29, 2014. http://wordswithoutborders.org/book-review/theyacoubian-building.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 2008. «A Conservative Revolution in Publishing». Translation Studies 1 (2): 123-153.
Booth, Marilyn. 2008. «Translator v. Author (2007) Girls of Riyadh go to New York». Translation Studies 1(2): 197-211.
Booth, Marilyn. 2010. «“The Muslim Woman” as Celebrity Author and the Politics of Translating Arabic: Girls of Riyadh Go on the Road». Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies 6(3): 149-182.
Brownlie, Siobhan. 1999. «Investigating Norms». In Translation and The (Re)Location of Meaning–Selected Papers of the CETRA Research Seminars in Translation Studies, ed. by Jeroen Vandaele. Leuven, Belguim: CETRA, 7-21.
Büchler, Alexandra, Alice Guthrie, Barbora ?erná & Michal Karas. 2011. «Literary Translation from Arabic into English in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 1990-2010». Literature Across Frontier. Accessed September 12, 2014. http://www.lit-across frontiers.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Literary-Translation-from-Arabic-into English-in-the-United-Kingdom-and-Ireland-1990-2010-final.pdf.
Buzelin, Hélène. 2006. «Independent Publisher in the Networks of Translation». TTR: traduction, terminologie, rédaction 19(1): 135-173.
Casanova, Pascal. 2004. The World Republic of Letters. [orig. La République mondiale des lettres]. Translated by M. B. Debevoise. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Clark, Peter. 2000. «Arabic Literature Unveiled: Challenges of Translation». Durham Middle East Paper, 63 (Winter). Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Durham. 1-27.
Even-Zohar, Itmar. 1978/1990. «The Position of Translated Literature Within the Literary Polysystem». In The Translation Studies Reader 2002, ed. by Lawrence Venuti. London and NewYork: Routledge, 192-197.
Gentzler, Edwin. 2001. Contemporary Translation Theories. UK: Multilingual Matters (Topics in Translation, 21).
Heilbron, Johan & Gisèle Sapiro. 2007. «Outline for a Sociology of Translation» (Trans. by Susan Emanuel). Constructing a Sociology of Translation, ed. by Michaela Wolf. Amsterdam: John Benjamin, 93-107.
Hermans, Theo. 1999. Translation in Systems. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Kershaw, Angela. 2007. «Finding Irène Némirovsky». French Cultural Studies 18(1): 59-81.
Jabra, Jabra I. 1971. «Modern Arabic literature and the West». Journal of Arabic Literature 2: 76-91.
Jacquemond, Richard.1992. «Translation and Cultural Hegemony: The case of French-Arabic translation». In Rethinking Translation, ed. by Lawrence Venuti. London and New York: Routledge, 139-158.
Johnson-Davis, Dynes. 2006. Memories in Translations. New York: The American University in Cairo Press.
Munif, Abd al-Rahman. 1987. Cities of salt. [orig. Mudun Al Milh]. Translated by Peter Theroux. New York: Random House.
Nawotka, Edward. 2013. «Mark Linz: One Man We Can Thank for Opening Arabic Lit to the West». Publishing Perspective (article). Accessed November 29, 2014. http://publishingperspectives.com/2013/02/mark-linz-the-man-we-can-thank-for-opening-arabic-lit-to-the-west/.
Pierpont, Claudia R. 2010. «Found in Translation: The Contemporary Arabic Novel». The New Yorker (article). Accessed November 29, 2014. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/01/18/found-in-translation-2?printable=true¤tPage=all.
Qualey, M. Lynx. 2009. «The Humphrey Davies Interview». Quarterly Convention (interview). Accessed November 29, 2014. http://quarterlyconversation.com/the-humphrey-davies-interview.
Rooke, Tetz. 2004. «Autobiography, Modernity and Translation». In Cultural Encounters in Translation from Arabic, ed. by Said Faiq. Clevedon, Buffalo & Toronto: Multilingual Matters LTD, 40-50.
Said, Edward. 1978/1980. Orientalism. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Said, Edward. 1990. «Embargoed literature». The Nation 17(1): 278-280.
Salih, Tayeb. 2003. Season of Migration to the North. [orig. Mawsim al-Hig?ra ila¯ ash-Shama¯l]. Translated by Denys Johnson-Davis. New York: Penguin.
Sapiro, Gisèle. 2008. «Translation and the Field of Publishing: A Commentary on Pierre Bourdieu’s “A conservative revolution in publishing”». Translation Studies 1(2): 154-166.
Torresi, Ira. 2013. «The Polysystem and the Postcolonial: The Wondrous Adventures of James Joyce and his Ulysses across book markets». Translation Studies 6(2): 217-231.
Three Percent: A Resource for International Literature at the University of Rochester. http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent.
van Leeuwen, Richard. 2004. «The Cultural Context of Translating Arabic Literature». In Cultural Encounters in Translation from Arabic, ed. by Said Faiq. Clevedon, Buffalo & Toronto: Multilingual Matters LTD, 14-25.
Wolf, Michaela & Alexandra Fukari. 2007. Constructing a Sociology of Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing (Translation Library, 74).
Alkharashi, N. (2016). Modern Arabic Fiction in English: The Yacoubian Building; a Case in Point. CLINA Revista Interdisciplinaria De Traducción Interpretación Y Comunicación Intercultural, 2(1), 43–59. Retrieved from https://revistas.usal.es/dos/index.php/clina/article/view/14552
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