Sharjah 24: As part of Sharjah’s Market Focus programme at the 49th edition of London Book Fair (LBF), the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) organised a discussion to shine light on ways the global health crisis has impacted the translations industry, English–Arabic and vice versa, in particular, and ways it can be revived through the collaborative efforts of writers, illustrators, publishers and translators.
The session titled ‘Arabic and English Translation: Trends and Possibilities’, was led by a distinguished panel featuring Cairo-born, London-based translator Nariman Youssef, who manages a translation team at the British Library; and Marilyn Booth, who holds the Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud Chair for the Study of the Contemporary Arab World, Oriental Institute and Magdalen College, Oxford.
Booth emphasised that the global translations sector was witnessing a remarkable growth owing to surge in reader demand for diverse literature developed by cultures different from their own. She also pointed at the growing number of translation professionals and entities dedicated to the field, highlighting that several publishing houses, particularly in Europe, the US and the UK, are showing keen interest in Arabic literature.
“The promotion of the translations movement is a collective responsibility, and there are great opportunities to develop the sector globally. More importantly, it is not only the bestsellers that publishers should be considering, but also look at translating quality contemporary works in order to present readers with diverse content. There are several such contemporary novels, which have enjoyed tremendous success after being translated from Arabic into other languages. Moreover, it is vital to research the history of Arabic literature as there are many valuable works that can contribute to nurturing foreign cultures, western culture in particular,” she added.
For her part, Nariman Youssef said: “The realities of the global translations sector, which has witnessed good growth particularly in the past ten years, are changing. The number of specialised entities and freelance professionals in the field has increased, thanks to the development of the digital communication ecosystem. Today, writers, translators and publishers can communicate and strike deals, sign contracts and discuss finer details without having to travel and meet in person.”
On authors’ role in supporting the translations and publishing movement, she added: “Writers should diversify the topics they present, and research new methods that make their writings more acceptable and appealing to new generations. Today’s global issues are boundless, and we need writers who can address, discuss and analyse them in Arabic, so that the Arabic content becomes more acceptable to a broader segment of readers and at the same time more global.”
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