Studia Filologiczne UJK

Summary

This paper is informed by feminist translation as theory and practice, in the sense of feminist translation as an extension of feminist writing. It is based on the assumption that the translator’s feminist position (or lack of it) influences the translation of a feminist text; and it attempts to answer several questions: What identifies a feminist discourse? What are the intersections between feminist theory and translation studies? Which translation strategies help preserve the feminism of a text? What are the feminist translation strategies that can be adopted in the translation of feminist texts into Arabic? What makes feminist translation a political act? This paper is, therefore, divided into three main parts. The first part discusses the issues related to the translation of feminist discourses and feminist translation strategies. In the second part, the paper addresses various issues related to feminist translation praxis, with particular reference to the intersections between feminist theory and translation studies, as manifested in the notions of visibility, foreignisation and simpatico/simpatica translation. The third part is based on a case study; namely the translation of feminist thought into the Arabic language. The example used here is that of a Reader in Feminist Literary Theory and Criticism published in Arabic, consisting of a selection of articles published in English on various aspects of feminist literary studies. The paper explores the strategies used in translating these articles into Arabic. The paper ends with concluding remarks on feminist translation praxis as knowledge-production and reflects on feminist translation as a political act, with particular reference to the Egyptian/Arab context.