Article,
Translating Modern Arabic Literature into Spanish
Middle Eastern Literatures, 16 (1): 88--101 (April 2013)
DOI: 10.1080/1475262X.2013.775858
Abstract
AbstractThe interest for Modern Arabic literature has been bound in Spain to translation since its inception more than half a century ago, when Ṭāhā Ḥusayn's Al-Ayyām was translated in 1954. Since then, many Arab poets and novelists have been translated into Spanish, first mainly with the support of institutions and more recently under the troublesome forces of the markets.Translation was born out of a sociological, rather than a literary, interest. Arabic literature was perceived as a means to better understand customs and manners of Arabs and Muslims. The sociological and political capitalization on literature often marked the election of original texts as well as characterized the translated texts from Arabic. Footnotes, transliterations, Spanish vocabulary of Arabic origin and other textual devices ended up establishing an authentic typology of translated Arabic texts into Spanish that might have hampered the reception of modern Arabic literature.
