Arabic translation 'remains chaotic' in Arab countries

Published by the United Nations Development Programme, the Arab Human Development Report says that the aggregate of translated books from the Al Ma'moon era to the present day numbers 10,000 books - equivalent to what Spain translates in a single year.

In terms of quantity, and notwithstanding the increase in the number of translated books from 175 per year during 1970-1975 to 330, the number of books translated in the Arab world is one-fifth of the number translated in Greece.

"The disparity was revealed in the first half of the 1980's when the average number of books translated per 1 million people in the Arab world during the five-year period was 4.4 (less than one book for every million Arabs), while in Hungary it was 519, and in Spain 920."

"Translation is a means of seeking knowledge, and it represents an interaction among civilisations through the transfer from one language to another, by humans or machines, (through) written or oral (words), with the goal of achieving scientific and cultural objectives. While more knowledge-hungry countries are paying attention to translation from sources other than English and efforts in this regard are not restricted to recent or contemporary knowledge, a marked shortage of translations of basic books on philosophy, literature, sociology and the natural sciences is quite evident in the Arab world," points out the report.

For example, Japan has concluded agreements with major international publishing houses to publish a Japanese edition of each scientific publication immediately after its publication in its original language. It is estimated that 1,700 titles are translated annually, and Japan translates 30 million pages a year.

According to the report, though there are no accurate statistical data regarding the academic level of translations in Arab countries, a crucial policy for the future should be to organise the selection of books for translation in order to fulfil Arab academic research needs. "Such a policy is required to make translation an effective force in advancing research and knowledge in the region," underlines the human development report.