Open AccessTranslating for children in the Arab world: an exercise in child political socialization
Author(s) -
Sabeur Mdallel
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
translation matters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2184-4585
DOI - 10.21747/21844585/tm2_2a10
Subject(s) - censorship , dictatorship , politics , ideology , context (archaeology) , expression (computer science) , beauty , arabic , task (project management) , socialization , political science , sociology , literature , media studies , history , gender studies , aesthetics , law , social science , linguistics , art , philosophy , democracy , computer science , engineering , archaeology , systems engineering , programming language
Translating under the Arab dictatorships is a perilous task, as censorship bodies control all means and forms of expression. This is particularly true for children’s literature, which is a powerful tool of political socialisation. Al-Hajji’s Guide to Arab children's literature, translated in the Arab world from 1950 to 1998, shows that no book that undermines the dominant ideology has ever been translated in this geographical context. However, if a book chosen for translation contains some elements that might be viewed as subversive, strategies are adopted that automatically annihilate any threat. This paper focuses on the Arabic translation of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty, published in Syria in 1991, to which elements have been added that were never envisaged by the original author.