Dialogue and voice
Each character speaks the way they speak, from the first page of the novel to the last.
quaintly (“with his odd wit”)بطرافته الغريبة
somehow (“for some reason”)لأمر ما
Books · Literature
Literary translation between English and Arabic: read a passage before you decide
For authors, translators and publishers who want Arab readers. Dialogue that reads as if it were written in Arabic, the author’s voice steady across the chapters, and every word under your hand. Arabic novels and stories go into English the same way.
Stevenson in Arabic
He was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintages; and though he enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years.
وكان يأخذ نفسه بالشدة: يشرب الجين إذا اختلى، إماتةً لهواه في الخمور المعتقة؛ ومع ما كان يجد في المسرح من متعة، لم يعبر بابًا من أبوابه منذ عشرين عامًا.
Literally: “And he was hard on himself: he drank gin when he was alone, to mortify his craving for aged wines; and for all the pleasure he found in the theater, he had not passed through one of its doors in twenty years.”
From Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, chapter one; the original is in the public domain. The Arabic keeps Stevenson’s door, and its word for “mortify” keeps the old religious sense of subduing a desire.
A story lives on when it crosses into another language
In the eighth century Ibn al-Muqaffa translated the fables of Kalila and Dimna into Arabic from Middle Persian, and from Arabic they traveled into many languages. A literary translation works when people read it in their own language as if it had been written for them.
What literature tests in translation
A character across the chapters
The name, the title and the way others address a character stay as you decided.
Uttersonأترسون
Mr. Hydeمستر هايد
Your hand on the text
Your edit stays and is saved to the memory, and the machine never writes over it.
Draft (“in some way”)على نحوٍ ما
Your edit (“for some reason”)لأمر ما
How a novel is translated on Tarjum
Getting to know the workWhat matters about the author, their world and earlier translations is gathered.
A sheet of voicesThe characters are listed, with the way each one speaks.
Translation and revisionA draft, then an edit, then work on rhythm and word choice.
A final readThe author or the editor reads the pages and decides.
NovelShort storyBiographyDramaPoetry
Questions about literary translation
Do I need permission to translate a novel?
If the work is still in copyright, yes: you need the rights holder’s permission before you publish. Works in the public domain need none.
Can a machine handle literature?
It writes a strong draft, but a text can read smoothly and still be wrong. That is why the decision stays with a person who reads it against the original.
Do you translate Arabic literature into English?
Yes. Both directions work the same way.
Try it on the hardest chapter of your book
One chapter is enough to judge for yourself.
The trial: 14 days and 10,000 words, about 40 pages, no card needed. Upload a file or a chapter within that limit, and we will agree on a longer book with you.