La Literary translation and the renewal of the Arabic language during the Nahḍa

Abstract

Aware of the literary heritage that was spreading and renewing itself on the northern shores of the Mediterranean, the Arab literary figures of the Nahḍa did everything possible to welcome this new literature that emanated from the European Enlightenment. Indeed, translation was the ideal instrument to address this new nineteenth-century literary reality. However, the sole translation of texts did not help to achieve the objectives pursued. In this article, the problem of Arab cultural identity is approached from a linguistic-literary perspective. Emphasis will be placed on issues related to paratextual phenomena, language and translation criticism, the translation pact, and comparative literature. Within this context, the translations of some prominent experts in the field of literary translation will be studied, such as al-Ṭahṭāwī, al-Manfalūṭī, Wadī‘ and Sulaymān al-Bustānī. Finally, the first Arabic version of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables will serve as a practical case through which the linguistic and cultural effects that literary translation had on contemporary Arabic language will be examined.