The concept of specialized translation and its development
Dr. Amany Mahmoud Abdel Samad Ibrahim – Member of the Office of the Secretary General of the Islamic Research Academy
Translation is a language: it is the process of converting speech from one language to another language, “and the plural is translation, and the person is called the translator, and he is the one who interprets speech” [Lisan al-Arab, Ibn Manzur, (1/388)].
As for translation in terminology: its definitions have varied, but it revolves around transferring concepts from one language to another language, taking into account the rules of the language and semantics, and preserving the spirit of the text. Its most accurate definition is: “Transferring speech in its various types from one language to another, and what that means is expressing its meaning with another word in another language while fulfilling all its meanings and purposes” [Manahil al-Irfan fi Ulum al-Qur’an, by Muhammad Abd al-Azim al-Zurqani, (2/110)].
General translation science: “It is a science that seeks to transfer one language to another language. This transfer usually involves transferring the concepts of written texts or discourse from one language to another language. This type of translation is achieved in transferring books, letters, petitions, dialogues, or lectures from one language to another” [Memorandum on the Science of Arabic Interpretation, Abu Numan Muhammad Abdal-Mannan Khan, (p. 7)].
Specialized translation is: “that translation that the translator practices in an institution, department, office, etc., and belongs to a specific specialized field” [Educational Specialized Translation: International Relations Texts as a Model – A Comparative Analytical Study, by Qasimi Tawoos, (p. 23)].There are many specialized translation fields. Specialized translation includes all fields of science and human interests, except for the literary field, including: economic translation, financial legal translation, medical translation, and translation in Islamic studies, which we are about to talk about.
Through the study of history, it becomes clear that translation is an ancient activity found in ancient civilizations, and it has received great interest throughout the ages. Because of its importance in building bridges of human communication between nations in all fields, and maintaining calm human and social relations.
Scholars have differed in specifying a specific date for the beginnings of translation in human history, but “evidence of the antiquity of the practice of translation is still clearly visible in major international museums, including: The Amarna letters dating back to the fifteenth century BC… The practice of translation has been proven for at least 4,500 years, with the issuance of the first bilingual dictionary in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages. [Reading foreign books among postgraduate students, M. Mazen Muhammad Hussein et al., (p. 302)]
The Arabs also practiced it during their pre-Islamic era due to their contact with other nations, and Islam increased its activity. Translation into Arabic was carried out on the shoulders of Syriac translators in the Umayyad era, and translation reached its peak in the Abbasid era, especially the period during which Al-Ma’mun (d. 218 AH) ruled, He founded the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. In order to activate the translation process. At that time, the Baramkehs translated Persian culture. (Translation into Arabic, Issues and Opinions, Bashir Al-Issawi, (p. 76)], Then it moved from the level of Arabization of terms and literal translation to the precise translation of texts. [Educational Translation, Saeeda Kahl, (p. 29)].
Translation also flourished in the European Renaissance, from the beginning of the 14th century AD until the 19th century, after learning Latin spread and translating directly from it into national languages [Theoretical Issues in Translation, George Monan, (p. 76)].
One of the most famous translation schools is the Alexandria School in Egypt: a very ancient institution established in the third century BC that refers to certain trends in literature, philosophy, medicine, and science. It collected a lot of contemporary science. The Library of Alexandria developed until it reached its current image, as a comprehensive cultural complex.
The scientific efforts of the Egyptian universities and Al-Azhar Al-Sharif through specialized colleges and translation centers are not hidden, which have brought specialized translation to a great degree of mastery.
These and other serious attempts are considered the first building block for the modern science of specialized translation, which has come to occupy a large position within the human sciences.