De la traduction à l’adaptation : la résilience culturelle arabe face à l’altérité occidentale

Naïma Rachdi

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Title

From translation to adaptation: The resilience of Arab culture in the face of Western otherness

Abstract

Using the word “resilience” with regard to the translation, adaptation and reception of European literature for an Arab audience during the Nahda (Arabic cultural renaissance) implies that for the Arab population, the encounter between East and West was a “trauma” they had to endure and overcome in order to build a new cultural identity.

Indeed, that clash between cultures has been mitigated as traditional Arab culture has been modernized and renewed, thanks to the grafting of foreign elements. Nevertheless, adopting Western literature has led to a great deal of disloyalty towards the original texts, which have systematically been Arabized in translation and adaptation. However, this unfaithfulness has eased the acceptance of Western otherness, which was once perceived as a threat to the Arab Muslim socio-cultural identity.

Keywords

Resilience, arabization, otherness, adaptation, translation