(Translation and Parallel Writing: Two Arabic Translations of Alfons Kar_s Sous Les Tilleuls)

Abstract: Al-Manfaluti knew no other language than Arabic, and learnt no other literature than Arabic literature. However, he arabicized four works of art in the form of novels which have made great incomparable successes throughout the Arab World. This arabicization upset many comparative literature scholars in general, as it raised a lot of controversy in translation studies. But what is the reason for this upset? The present research attempts to answer this question by making a comparison between Al-Manfaluti_s translation of Alfons Kar_s Sous Les Tilleuls (Under the Limes) and the French original on the one hand, and between the content of Al-Manfaluti_s text and Omar Abdel-Aziz Amin_s translation of the same novel on the other. The focus will be on the the content of Al-Manfaluti_s text so as to find out exactly what Al-Manfaluti retained of the original text and what he left out. At the end of the present research we discover the reason for this through comparing the moral and scientific composition of Al-Manfaluti and Alfons Kar.

This procedure explains the nature of Al-Manfaluti_s text after the numerous interventions which he exercised at the narrative description level and its reasons. What shall we call this type of translating foreign literature which retains the narration and makes changes and additions in the description? Shall we call it translation, composition or what? Through a two-fold treatment based on comprehension and interpretation, the present research will explain what Al-Manfaluti did with the original text and its cultural and moral content to introduce a text that is readable in the Arab world.