Analysis of Itamar Even-Zohar’s Strategies in Majedeh Anani’s Translation of Nun wa al-Qalam

Abstract

This article, drawing on Itamar Even-Zohar’s Polysystem Theory, examines the translation strategies employed in the Arabic rendering of Nun wa al-Qalam, a work by Jalal Al-e Ahmad. The study aims to investigate how the stylistic, cultural, and discursive elements of the source text are represented within the target literary system, and to explain the relationship of this representation with the concepts of “center” and “periphery” in the translation system. The research method is descriptive-analytical and based on qualitative data analysis. To this end, selected samples from the Persian text and their Arabic equivalents were extracted and analyzed according to strategies such as preservation or alteration of structure, controlled borrowing, cultural interpretation, rationalization, attenuation of emotional load, and omission of cultural layers. The findings indicate that the Arabic translation, in most cases, operates in accordance with the dominant norms of the target literary system and avoids fully reproducing the stylistic and emotional features of the source text. This has led the translation, rather than playing an innovative role, to function primarily as a stabilizing agent of the central norms of the target system. Rationalization of the narrative, neutralization of emotional and social discourse, and reduction of the cultural load of indigenous elements are among the most significant indicators of this orientation. The overall conclusion of the study shows that the Arabic translation of Nun wa al-Qalam, rather than conveying the stylistic and ideological challenges of the source text, serves to absorb and integrate the text into the established structure of the target literary system and, consequently, assumes a centralizing and conservative position within the translation polysystem.                                                                                  

Keywords: Polysystem Theory, Itamar Even-Zohar, translation strategies, Nun wa al-Qalam