2024-04-25 12:24:38
In an interview given to MAP on the occasion of the inauguration of this year’s scientific program of the Higher Academic Body of Translation, under the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mr. Lahjomri said that “the Academy is convinced of the scientific importance of translation, insofar as it contributes to deepening acculturation and broadening intellectual interaction between languages and societies.”
Mr. Lahjomri underlined, in this interview carried out on the sidelines of the inaugural conference of this program, hosted by the French orientalist Denis Gril on the theme “Ibn Arabi or how to become a translator of the translator”, that “it is undeniable that the Translation plays a crucial role in overcoming intellectual barriers between cultures, as has been unanimously emphasized by numerous works of theoretical and applied research on the reflection and establishment of the theory and science of translation.
Hence the need to “build an ethno-sociological approach to translation which is interested in linguistic and cultural adaptations”, he advocated, noting that “when we translate, we do not only move from one language to another, but also from one culture to another.
The Authority invited Mr. Gril, a researcher specializing in the translation of Sufi texts, in order to learn about his experience in the translation of complex texts mixing poetry, prose and wisdom, said Mr. Lahjomri, explaining that “the language of Sufism, as we know, carries meanings and secrets with a reference, connotation and objective that transcend the norm.
Asked about the overall project of the Higher Academic Translation Authority this year, Mr. Lahjomri indicated that the Authority effectively developed this program on the guidance of the perpetual secretary of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, Professor Abdeljalil Lahjomri, taking into consideration the importance of encouraging scientific research in the field of translation studies and its applications, in coordination with specialized national and international scientific bodies and institutions.
“This is reflected in the annual project which includes translation issues in relation to various fields of knowledge and sciences, such as philosophy, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, science of religions, cultural studies, artificial intelligence and many others”, he continued, adding that on this basis, the Authority titled its annual project “Translation: interaction and reunion of cultural identities”.
In this sense, he stressed that it is undeniable that such an axis raises numerous questions justifying this connection between the act of translation and the representation of cultural identity(ies), which ultimately constitute a set intellectual heritages, value systems and artistic systems of a particular society.
“This is clear from the history of translation in terms of the importance of language as a means of transmitting identity, the importance of culture given its role in linguistic interaction , and the roles of technology in the development of the act of translation,” he argued.
Added to this is the importance of cultural understanding in translation as one of the biggest challenges the translator faces in understanding cultural differences and how to overcome them accurately and effectively, continued Mr. Lahjomri.
The director of the Arabization Coordination Office also revealed that among the next meetings of the Authority, there will be an international conference on “The gateways of knowledge: interpretation of otherness in thought and translation” which will be organized on February 14 and 15, as well as seminars on “establishing a design for the creation of a Hebrew-Arabic dictionary of the medieval period”, under the supervision of Professor Ahmed Chahlane.
It is also a round table on “Amazigh and translation: questions of culture and society” in addition to the holding of a session, the first of its kind, by virtue of one of the skills of said body relating to the creation of laboratories specializing in research in the field of applications of translation studies and communication between languages.
Regarding the cultural dimension of translation on which this project mainly focuses, Mr. Lahjomri indicated that the history of this discipline is constructed through permanent cultural communication between societies, noting that it results from an interaction between languages, not primarily being a simple technical transfer, but rather an intellectual transition, thus becoming a necessary link establishing common human knowledge.
“This is why we have placed the emphasis, in this annual axis, on translation studies in relation to several disciplines and knowledge such as philosophy, sociological linguistics, anthropology, linguistics, science of religions, cultural studies, and others,” he added.
He concluded that the act of translation ultimately focuses on examining the new dimensions of translation as a cultural bridge between the singularity of the text and the multiplicity of cultural representations that it appropriates during its transition from one social context to another.
Regarding the priorities of the Authority, given its role in highlighting the contribution of Moroccan thought to knowledge and its contributions to humanity as a whole, Mr. Lahjomri indicated that under the new law relating to the reorganization of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Authority is responsible for promoting translation work inside and outside the Kingdom, between Arabic and Amazigh and other global languages, while working to support, encourage and expand their scope.
To this end, it carries out numerous missions, including the translation of works, studies and authentic scientific research in various fields such as science, thought, culture, heritage and civilization, he stressed, noting that this work is carried out directly by the Authority or under its supervision.
Mr. Lahjomri further added that the Authority encourages research on the issues of translation science and its applications from two different angles, the first of which is linked to the discipline of translation in the fields of science. human, social and technical.
According to him, this is necessary today in a globalized context increasingly open to the need to domicile academic knowledge within the framework of development projects in the fields of economics, engineering, medicine, philosophy , history, literature and digital encyclopedias, for example.
The second angle concerns the encouragement of publication, he continued, specifying that the Higher Academic Translation Authority is currently examining several proposals and developing appropriate approaches to launch this scientific project in the near future.
2024-04-25 12:24:38