Commented translation of an excerpt from Hunayn Ibn Ishaq's epistle to his patron 'Ali ibn Yahya on the translations of Galen.
This thesis consists of a commented translation of an excerpt from a ninth century C.E. letter by the celebrated Arabic translator Hunayn Ibn Ishaq. The epistle is addressed to one of his patrons, 'Ali ibn Yahya, and gives an account of the works of the Greek physician Galen as well as their translations. The thesis is divided into three parts. Part One provides a historical background to the translation, and is subdivided into two sections: (1) Hunayn Ibn Ishaq (his life, his achievements); (2) Hunayn's fellow translators and patrons mentioned in the epistle. Part Two comprises the Arabic text (Source Text), about 5,000 words, and its English translation (Target Text). Part Three consists of a theoretical discussion of the problems of translating this letter. In the first section of that part, we explain the purpose and style of our translation. We also analyze some of the main differences between Arabic and English textuality (e.g. cohesion), and discuss translation difficulties of different types, namely interpretive (e.g. polysemy) and terminological (e.g. synonymy). In Section Two, we expound Hunayn's own method of research and views on translation. Finally, we summarize the main conclusions that we draw from the epistle, and from its translation. For the convenience of the reader, a glossary of proper names is provided at the beginning of the thesis. We include as appendices three samples from various translations of the letter. Given the different nature of the three parts of this thesis, the bibliographical references are arranged under three headings, each corresponding to a part. An index of names and subjects appears at the very end.
Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 34-05, page: 1755.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations