Shahanshāh Koun and Mālik o Mukhtār Nabī

Discussion in 'Bibliophile's Corner' started by azizq, Dec 9, 2010.

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  1. azizq

    azizq Well-Known Member

    It is very frustrating and also confusing, the flow and rhythm of the text is lost. I was reading a selective translation of one of alahazrat's works and it totally ruined it.
     
  2. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    one recurring problem with alahazrat's books published lately, is that publishers and editors do not seem to understand the problem of intrusion; or how it affects texts, and after a hundred years when none of these editors are around to explain the phenomenon - people mistake this to be the author's own comments.

    alahazrat's books are damaged by inserting translations, comments, explanations running in line with the text. i find this practice extremely annoying and disorienting.

    the appropriate place for such comments, translations, explanations etc., is in the footnotes - so that no one confuses them to be the original comments of the author. in addition, it is unnecessary for those who can already understand those difficult words. and on top of it all, it destroys the flow and rhythm of the text.

    however, such a thing is excusable in translations; because the translation itself is not the author's original work. but the text in the original language should be maintained carefully and reproduced faithfully.

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    one brother protested that it is necessary to help understand the text - and my reply is that i am not against these comments or explanations; only that, these should be in the footnotes and the original text undisturbed.

    lengthy citations can have side-by-side translations, as is the common practice; but a mention should be made in the footnote if the translation was by the author himself.

    moreover, translations of even words of medium difficulty impairs the urdu reader to progress to a higher level. these inline translations are crutches, and they will never learn to walk. however, if the translation/explanation is moved to the hashiyah, one will tarry at least a few seconds (thus a faint impression of that word, phrase etc is made) before looking up the meaning.

    in time, they will acquire new vocabulary and thus improve their overall reading skill. this is similar to books with practice questions. the answers are not immediately available - and they make you think.

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    another small quirk is, some explanations are incorrect - and the astute reader will immediately know that it is not alahazrat's comment; the struggling reader (for whom this 'service' is supposed to help) may mistake this to be the right thing and thus the publisher/editor's mistake is entered in alahazrat's account.

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    i strongly suggest that those brothers who have relations with publishers impress on this fact, and insist on moving all translations and comments to the footnotes. and keep alahazrat's original text pristine.

    Allah ta'ala knows best.

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    PS: perhaps we should write a urdu publishing/writing style guide and call it: the bareilly manual of style. 12-minhu.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2010
  3. Noori

    Noori Senior Moderator

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