Translated books into Arabian
Thread poster: Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 13:28
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Jun 28, 2009

Somewhere I read that yearly only 300 books are translated INTO Arabic. I hope this cannot be true?
Any statistics about this?
Regards
Heinrich


 
Stephen Franke
Stephen Franke
United States
Local time: 04:28
English to Arabic
+ ...
That number of into-Arabic translated books is way low Jun 28, 2009

Greetings.

That purported cumulative number of English-to-Arabic translated books is way low.

For example, the Obeikan publishing house in Saudi Arabia selects and translates a considerable numbers of English-language books from various categories and genres. From what was displayed on the bookstore shelves in the regional outlets of the Obeikan and Jarir bookstore chains in Riyadh and Eastern Province, the amount of translated books was easily in the high tens, if not
... See more
Greetings.

That purported cumulative number of English-to-Arabic translated books is way low.

For example, the Obeikan publishing house in Saudi Arabia selects and translates a considerable numbers of English-language books from various categories and genres. From what was displayed on the bookstore shelves in the regional outlets of the Obeikan and Jarir bookstore chains in Riyadh and Eastern Province, the amount of translated books was easily in the high tens, if not low hundreds, in several fields and subjects.

Also, several of the major publishers in Lebanon translate and publish many books especially those about IT, commerce, medicine/healthcare/nutrition/wellness promotion, and technical subjects. A few (albeit smaller) publishers in Jordan and Syria -- depending on their expected markets for the translations -- also select, translate and publish English-language books into the Arabic, .

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
San Pedro, California
(Saudi Arabia and UAE, 2006-2007)

[Edited at 2009-06-28 20:04 GMT]
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Nesrin
Nesrin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:28
English to Arabic
+ ...
Per year... Jun 28, 2009

of course. It's something that's often discussed in the Arab world - the fact that the number of books translated into Arabic per year is only a tiny fraction of the number of books translated into other languages. I'm no expert, but I assume the reasons must be complex, including, but not limited to: 1)the fact that people in the Arab world that have received foreign language education prefer to read books in their original language. Just as an example, medicine is taught in English in almost a... See more
of course. It's something that's often discussed in the Arab world - the fact that the number of books translated into Arabic per year is only a tiny fraction of the number of books translated into other languages. I'm no expert, but I assume the reasons must be complex, including, but not limited to: 1)the fact that people in the Arab world that have received foreign language education prefer to read books in their original language. Just as an example, medicine is taught in English in almost all Arab countries, and so any student wanting to look into a specialised book will resort to English-language literature. 2) high illiteracy rates (and thus low number of people actually reading, let alone reading translated books) 3) possibly: cultural and religious reservations against foreign ideas and influences.
There are probably other reasons related to the practical process or selecting, translating and publishing translated books. But as I said, I'm no expert on the matter.

------
(PS: just read the word "yearly" in your posting now - eluded me the first time for some reason!!)

[Edited at 2009-06-28 20:20 GMT]
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Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 13:28
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I meant fiction Jun 29, 2009

The figure of 300 books is from Panella. So its sad but true. There are 280 million speakers of Arabic! They are satisfied with 300 books of fiction translated annually. Just wondering how our colleagues translating into Arabic can manage with this low level of work.

Regards
Heinrich


 
Nesrin
Nesrin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:28
English to Arabic
+ ...
The level of work is certainly not low Jun 29, 2009

Heinrich Pesch wrote:
Just wondering how our colleagues translating into Arabic can manage with this low level of work.


Into-Arabic translations have never been more in demand. But, well, not of fiction books, unfortunately...


 


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Translated books into Arabian







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