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Translation theory and practice in the Abbasid era
textThis paper explores the theoretical approaches to translation and the dynamics of language politics during the 驶Abba虅sid-era translation movement through the lens of three prominent figures of the 士Abba虅sid era, H蹋unayn ibn Is使ha虅q, Matta虅 bin Yu虅nus and al-Ja虅h蹋iz蹋. In conversation with Emily Apter's concept of untranslatability and current concerns about translation into and out of Arabic, this paper examines the cultural implications of claims to translatability and untranslatability. The 士Abba虅sid era presents a particularly useful comparison to the present because rather than being marginal, Arabic was the language of an expanding empire, and also because the 士Abba虅sid era was a kind of 'Golden Age' of translation. The 士Abba虅sid era was an enormously productive period, with translators rendering nearly the entirely corpus of available Greek manuscripts into Arabic. This outpouring of translation activity not only provided an influx of new ideas but provoked a wide-ranging debate among the literati of the time about the possibilities and problems of translation. Examining the figures of al-Ja虅h蹋iz蹋, Matta虅 bin Yu虅nus and H蹋unayn ibn Is'ha虅q provides a window into this theoretical conversation. Al-Ja虅h蹋iz蹋, as one of the foremost authorities on Arabic rhetoric, gave voice to more than one view of translation, in part defining Arabic writing as too unique to be translated while elsewhere claiming translations from other languages as the inheritance of the Arab culture. The Aristotelian translator Matta虅 bin Yu虅nus provides an example of backlash against translation in which foreign ideas were seen as a threat to Arab identity. H蹋unayn ibn Is'ha虅q, one of most highly regarded translators of his day, reveals a pragmatic approach to translation which integrated Greek works into Arab society. These three figures reorient the poles of translatability and untranslatability, revealing the potential of both to strengthen hegemony, and show the positive and negative aspects of an Arabocentric and Islamocentric universalism.Middle Eastern Studie