Tag Archives: Arabic-English

Arabic Poetry Note: A. J. Arberry (1905-1969)

Posted on March 17, 2023 by JMN

Given the exiguous outbound appeal I muster, I work hard at not being longwinded. I revel, though, in venting puffs of comment on my adventure with Arabic and its poetry. A.J. Arberry’s essential anthology of 31 poets spans a period … Continue reading →

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Constrained to Endure Despite?

Posted on January 4, 2023 by JMN

For studying Arabic, Congruent (1) translations can be invaluable for working out particulars of the language’s behavior. Freewheeling translations are more pleasing to read, but can be “noisy” in a such a way as to create their own problems. Does … Continue reading →

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Uh, You, Hey, I’m Talking Here!

Posted on December 15, 2022 by JMN

ḥarfu-n-nidā’ — “the particle of calling out,” (exclaiming, direct address). It establishes a “vocative dependency” with the noun that follows. That noun, according to certain rules, will have either a nominative or an accusative case ending. I like to think … Continue reading →

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‘We Were Limpid, So We Were Not Turbid’

Posted on December 5, 2022 by JMN

A verse of classical Arabic can be tightly packed. Besides immersion in grammar, what’s most useful to this student of the language is a highly Congruent (1) translation. It amounts to what’s called a “trot,” and is the least likely … Continue reading →

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On Saying and Meaningness

Posted on November 28, 2022 by JMN

I painted it all tried to paint my thoughts / And caught so little / The world still grows it grows relentlessly / And yet there is always less of it(From “The Old Painter on a Walk” by Adam Zagajewski, … Continue reading →

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‘O Thou There, Who Barkest at the Bènū ‘s Sīd’

Posted on November 5, 2022 by JMN

Below is jargon improvised for gauging how a translation navigates its source text. Note how the verbiage is strewn with hedging adverbials, conceding a priori that the labels are judgments, which by definition are subjective, privative, compromised, blinkered and fallible. … Continue reading →

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When Is a Viper Just a Snake?

Posted on October 21, 2022 by JMN

I share my neck of the world with rattlesnakes, water moccasins, copperheads, coral snakes (red-on-yellow, kill a fellow) and cottonmouths. I can’t tell a moccasin from a cottonmouth — they frequent water, and I don’t. When I see one of … Continue reading →

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Translating Winds and Currents

Posted on October 12, 2022 by JMN

(Continued from https://ethicaldative.com/2022/10/08/assaying-a-translation-strange-dawn/ ) An interesting feature of a translation is how “faithful” it is to the source text. Faithfulness (a slippery term) tends to be a matter of degree, to fluctuate as the translation goes forward. The translator, sailing … Continue reading →

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Assaying a Translation: ‘Strange Dawn’

Posted on October 8, 2022 by JMN

I shove off in the El Toro dinghy of my dreams to navigate Gilgamesh’s Snake (1), sailing on a sea of Arabic towards a far shore, which is the poem’s end. Ghareeb Iskander’s poem has 5 parts: I. SongII. The … Continue reading →

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