found in translation – aflevering 13

25/05/2025 — Om te vieren dat mijn werk (ook de komende jaren) in zoveel talen vertaald wordt, heb ik besloten al mijn vertalers te interviewen. Omdat hun werk al te vaak onderbelicht blijft en zij meestal buiten beeld,  terwijl een boek in het buitenland maar zo goed is als zijn vertaler. Hun métier, koppigheid, taalgevoel, creativiteit en precisie zorgen ervoor dat een boek zijn ziel behoudt, dat het ritme klopt, het proza zingt, de betekenis niet verschuift en de spitsvondigheden niet afvlakken. In het beste geval wordt je boek er zelfs beter van dan het was. Omdat ik zelf ook weleens iets vertaal weet ik het maar al te goed: het is een (vaak onderbetaald) vak dat engelengeduld vraagt, vaak aartsmoeilijk en soms frustrerend is, maar dat ook intense voldoening kan schenken. En dat meer aandacht verdient.

Dus ziehier — een hommage aan de vertaler. In aflevering 13:

Hoda Fadl, die Trofee naar het Arabisch vertaalde.
Het boek verschijnt binnenkort bij Al Arabi!

13 possible questions

How do you start working at a translation?

I read the full text first to take note of the names, places, events, etc. anything that needs to be taken care of from the start. For example, if there’s an aunt from the father’s side, in Arabic, we differentiate between her and an aunt from the mother’s side, and so on.

After reading, I start translating of course, but while translating, I stop after two or three pages, then reread what I translated to make sure it’s coherent and that nothing is amiss.

When some parts are particularly difficult, I translate them as best as possible, then highlight them and leave a comment for myself to get back to later.

Usually, when I leave it for 2 to 3 days and then read it again, I do from a fresh perspective, and I’m able to make it better.

Do you work together closely with the author, or not?
(Why? What’s the (dis)advantages?)

Working closely with the author is always helpful, who else would know and understand the text better.

For me, I prefer to go to the author after I’ve finished translation to ask about anything that I’m not sure I understand correctly.

I don’t think there are any disadvantages to working with the author closely on the text, especially if it’s a challenging text, so it would be much better to ask for the author’s help.

For me, translation feels like reading from the inside, where you try to look inside the author’s head and thus look at a text analytically. Can you still enjoy a book if you translate it? Does translating change your way of reading?

Yes, I still enjoy a book I’m translating. Actually, translating the book is what makes it more enjoyable, because I get to think about how to say a certain expression or sentence in my language, and if others would perceive it the same way I do when they read it in Arabic or not.

A very distinguished Egyptian translation once wrote that a translator is an author from a linguistic point of view, and therefore, from the intellectual point of view; translation is essentially a reformulation of the thought of a particular author in another language. His name is Mohamed Anani, and he was one of the most famous Egyptian translators.

This is how it feels sometimes when translating, that I’m making something new in my language, because I get to choose which words to use, and how to express a certain thing, and so on and so forth.

Yes, it changes my way of reading, I often myself thinking of how a certain word or phrase can be translated to give the intended meaning, or if the text is already translated, I sometimes see the original text underlying the translation, and I think to myself that it is too literal it could’ve been so and so.

What kind of work do you usually translate? Which authors do you (like to) translate?
How did my text come to you?

I usually translate realist literary works that are rich with political, social, and historical themes. I also prefer to translate books that are told from an individual perspective, that the said themes are discussed or analysed through the main character’s perspective.

I’m always up to a challenge, so when I was offered to translate Trophy, I read it quickly and found it to my liking. I’m the senior editor at Al Arabi Publishing and Distributing, which has the rights of the Arabic edition, and my manager thought that it was for me, that I was the one who would be able to translate it as perfectly as possible.

What did you like about translating my work, and what just bothered you?

I loved Hunter White’s (I laughed at the intended pun) Interior monologues, the way he was always trying to justify his colonial perspective to himself and to us of course. Allowing himself to be manipulated by Van Heeren, even though, deep down, he knows it’s all but a big farce.

I enjoyed this going back and forth between his memories and the present and linking both things with threads of his opinions and thoughts.

At some point I almost, almost, felt sorry for him, until I took myself out to see him more clearly.

Even though the themes are clear, but you weaved them and played with them in such an amazing way, and the used metaphors are on point.

I also like that I’m now almost an expert on terms used in Trophy Hunting.

At the beginning, I was bothered by the long paragraphs, as they are not usual in Arabic, and we tend to cut one long paragraph into two or three. However, when I got used to them and understood their importance, I wasn’t annoyed anymore and actually liked how they got longer towards the end before they became too short after the final events in the novel.

Does secondary translation make it different?
If you mean translating from an intermediate language, then yes. When English is the intermediate language, most of the time (99%) it’s a very good translation and it helps a lot.

Where were the challenges, the difficulties, the opportunities?
As I mentioned before, the long paragraphs were a challenge, but once I got used them, I wasn’t bothered anymore.

The difficulty was finding the exact used name of a certain animal or place in Arabic, ex: the Kudu has a very difficult name in Arabic (AlMourameri), also the ravine (Efghigh), etc.

I spent a lot of time searching in specialized dictionaries and sometimes reading articles to make sure I used the correct Arabic meaning of the different animals, places, and of course some of the names used by the natives, and also, specialized terms used with Trophy Hunting in Arabic. I love that Arabic has an equivalent for everything, even if it’s become unusual for the modern Arabic speakers.

As for the opportunities, I got to translate a text that allowed me to read and search some of my favourite topics: Colonialism, the White Man Dilemma, and Resistance. 

Which passage did you curse?

I did not curse it per se, but it was towards the end when Hunter and Dawid were surrounded by Hyenas and lions. It was a little bit confusing, the whole part, and I re-read it a couple of times to be able to visualize it in my head before I actually started translating it.

However, and I know this is something so specific, but it is the part when Hunter stood extending his arms sideways and thinking to himself that he was the first man to ever step on this land (the ravine) and that it should be his.

Honestly, I stopped for sometime and actually said aloud, and what about Dawid, the ‘man’ who knows this place and is guiding you, it is his before it is yours?

Despite all his lies to himself, he doesn’t actually consider Dawid, or any of his people to be humans at all.

He made me realize even more and more why Colonialism and the doctrine of the White Man are so hateful.

What difficult choices did you encounter and how did you deal with them?

They had to do with the equivalent Arabic names of the animals, places, and plants. Most of them have simple names in English, but in Arabic, while poetic and beautiful, they are difficult to pronounce and would put an abrupt stop for the reader immersed in his/her reading.

I found some ways to go around this, but it was challenging, nonetheless.

Does rhythm and colour or precision and meaning prevail for you?
It depends on the text, and the properties of the target language. I believe they all matter, and all are used equally while translating.

It is very important when translating literature to maintain that.

Which find were you particularly proud of?

If you mean in the translation process, I love how translating such challenging texts make me more open to different possibilities and shows how much a person can be determined and up to the challenge, and this is something I’m proud of.

What is the most beautiful thing you ever translated (from anyone) and what would you never want to translate?

Since I did not translate many books, Trophy is my fourth, I must say that all four hold a special place in my heart. Trophy handles themes that I love reading and that I find important in today’s world and all the hectic situations we’re witnessing. It is absolutely relatable, seeing that our part of the world is still suffering from the impacts of Imperialism to this day.

The Rapture by Jan Carson is also a favourite, because I love reading Irish literature (Northern Ireland,) and I always feel it is similar to our own here in Egypt, especially that both countries were occupied by Britain, and suffer the consequences of its imperialism until now. I love this novel, because it is from a little girl’s perspective and the writing technique is so unique when the omniscient narrator is intertwined with the first-person narrator.

What is the most beautiful translated sentence you ever wrote?

“It’s a sin to wish yourself dead.

I know this now. I won’t be saying such a bold thing again. So many people are depending on me.”

This from The Rapture by Jan Carson.

In Arabic, it translates;

“ليست خطيئة أن أتمنَّى الموت.

أعرف هذا الآن، لكنني لن أقول شيئًا جريئًا كهذا مجددًا، فكثيرون يعتمدون عليَّ”.

 

And this is one of my favourite parts in Trophy;

“He aims and hits one – his first true success. In his memories, which ambush him with the vivacity of dreams, he sees his quarries appear, close by, within hand-reach. The images fill him with longing and propel him onwards, beyond his weariness and the burning sensation in his body. That last moment, just before the shot. The final silent stalking. Taking aim, finger already on the trigger. The moment in which he, the hunter, has the power of life and death. That’s what he yearns for. That is what’s driving him forward. He walks faster, ever faster, ever further ahead of Dawid. The course of the ravine, meandering through the dry plain like an emerald-coloured snake, is so compelling it feels as if it’s drawing him in. Further and further into this deep green ravine, into the heart of darkness,” (P.121)

In Arabic, it translates;

” يصوِّب ويصيب واحدة، صيده الناجح الأول. في ذاكرته التي تتربص به مستخدمة أحلامٍ شديدة الواقعية، يرى طرائده أمامه، قريبة، على بعد ذراع منه. تملؤه الصور بالحنين وتدفعه للأمام متجاهلًا إرهاقه وذلك الشعور الحارق الذي يسري في جسده. تلك اللحظة الأخيرة، تمامًا قبل انطلاق الرصاصة. المطاردة الصامتة النهائية. يصوِّب، إصبعه مستعد على الزناد. اللحظة التي خلالها يصبح هو، الصيَّاد، متحكمًا في الحياة والموت. هذا هو ما يرنو إليه، هذا هو ما يدفعه للأمام. يسرع من خطوته، أسرع، أسرع، سابقًا “دافيد”. مسار الإفجِيج المتعرج عبر الأرض الجافة كثعبان أخضر كالزمرد، يجبره على النظر إليه والاستمرار في السير به متقدمًا إلى الأمام، أكثر وأكثر داخل الإفجِيج الأخضر العميق، إلى قلب الظلام”.

 

To what extent do you take current (language) sensitivities into account when translating?
Is that explicitly requested? Have you already worked with sensitivity readers?

It is very important to consider the sensitivity of the target language.

In Arabic, we must be aware of certain things, starting from intense sexual scenes, and how to translate them in a way with which we do not abbreviate anything and at the same time, when it is read, the reader does not feel offended by it. From a cultural perspective, most readers accept that since this translated text is from a different culture, then it is normal to read about different topics with the mention of different practices, but they still don’t like reading about such topics explicitly.

There is also how politics is perceived, for example, in Egypt, the events of June 30^th are officially considered a revolution, while all the foreign texts that mention it, they consider it a military coup.

This is another type of language sensitivity, because we find ourselves forced to translate it into ‘revolution,’ instead of ‘military coup,’ since people can actually go to prison for something like that.

 

Is translation an art (and a matter of inspiration) or rather a profession (and therefore a craft)?

Of course it is an art, especially when the translator enjoys it and considers it as an art form not only a job to be done.

It needs someone who is a master of both languages, someone who enjoys reading, and always loves challenges.

It is also fun to translate, because it entails lots of advantages; in-depth reading, searching for new information, learning new things, and dealing with new challenges and learning how to deal with them in future translations.

 

Why did you become a literary translator?

I love reading, and I read some translations when I was younger that I never liked.

I wanted to change that, and at the same time, I wanted to translate works from places people would never read from on their own, and to let them see that the world is so vast and colourful and that we don’t live alone in this world.

One way or the other, we’re all the same.

 

What are the qualities of a good literary translator?

 

A good literary translator must be a very good reader. I always advice new translators to read a lot, in both languages, in Arabic of course, and the other language they’re translating from. It is important to get acquainted to different styles of writings in order to easily grasp the meaning and to be able to transfer the feelings and the spirit of the original text to the target language.

Anyone can translate, but not anyone can give the reader a text that reads as if it were written originally in the Target language, and that’s where the challenge lies.

 

Do you have a metaphor or an expression you like to use to describe translation?

A good translated text is one that when read feels as if it were originally written in the target language.

 

When / where / how do you translate (don’t feel obliged to answer, I’m just always curious about workplaces, habits, work rhythms, etc.)?

When I translate: I don’t have a preferable time, as I can translate whenever I can, or want, but if I had to choose, then it would be late at night.

Where I translate: I prefer to translate in my bedroom, sitting at my desk, completely alone, without any disturbances. Sometimes, I listen to music but when I encounter parts that are particularly difficult and need concentration, I don’t play any music. I always have this urgency that I need to dedicate my whole mental capacity and focus on the text.

However, lighting fairy lights while drinking a cup of iced coffee/cocoa always balances this sometimes-intense experience.

How I translate, I open the two files (Arabic on the right, English on the left) and translate, when I find a word or an expression that I don’t know or don’t understand, I use different tools, but the most effective one so far, is to write the word, expression, etc., and then add the word ‘Arabic’ – “عربي” next to it, this brings me all the search results explaining all the possible meanings of the phrase or the expression or the word that I don’t know, and then I can choose the most suitable one to the text.

If an expression or a word doesn’t have a direct meaning in Arabic, especially with ones that are more culturally specific, then it depends on the nature of the text itself. I can either translate the meaning or add a footnote (which is not preferable unless there’s no other alternative,) or just think of suitable alternatives.

 

A short biography of Hoda Fadl: 

I graduated in 2015 from Faculty of al-Alsun (languages), majoring in English Linguistics and Literature.
I started working that same year in Al Arabi Publishing and Distributing.

I’ve been an editor and a translator ever since. I did not start translating full literary texts until 2019, when I felt I was ready and had enough experience from editing and reviewing translated texts. I learned to recognize some patterns that are to be avoided while translating.

I edited and reviewed more than 200 books.

Most Notably are:
Nile: The River of History by Terje Tvedt, The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, Peter Handke’s The Weight of the World, A Sorrow Beyond Dreams, Slow Home Coming, and On a Dark Night I Left My Silent House, Elena Knows by Claudia Piniero, Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar, Forgetful Mirror by Gürsel Korat, The White Lioness by Henning Mankell, etc.

Translated into Arabic:
Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuiper, Tea in Zamalek by Boris Miljković, and The Raptures by Jan Carson.

 

Thanks !