Inimitability versus Translatability: The Structure of Literary Meaning in Arabo-Persian Poetics

The Translator 19 (1):81-104 (2013)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Building on the multivalent meanings of the Arabo- Persian tarjama (‘to interpret’, ‘to translate’, ‘to narrate’), this essay argues for the relevance of Qur’ānic inimitability (i'jāz) to contemporary translation theory. I examine how the translation of Arabic rhetorical theory ('ilm al-balāgha) into Persian inaugurated new trends within the study of literary meaning. Finally, I show how Islamic aesthetics conceptualizes the translatability of literary texts along lines kindred to Walter Benjamin.

Author's Profile

Rebecca Ruth Gould
School of Oriental and African Studies

Analytics

Added to PP
2014-01-29

Downloads
666 (#33,311)

6 months
110 (#47,526)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?