Difficulties of Literary Translation between Hebrew and Arabic(An Analytical Study)

Abstract

Literary translation is considered one of the most important means of communication and cultural interaction between different peoples around the world. It is essential for all world literatures, as it explores aspects of communication and relationships between various literary traditions and examines the extent of influence and interrelation, thereby reinforcing cultural dialogue among the peoples of the world. Jewish translators have focused on a primary goal in their translation of Arabic literary works, which is achieving an equivalent and adequate translation. This equivalence serves as a quantitative criterion for measuring the level of translational performance in terms of quality or deficiency. The difficulties of literary translation between Arabic and Hebrew stem from the differing nature of the two languages, as each language possesses its own distinctive features in semantics, structure, and style. Jewish interest in Arabic cultural heritage across different historical periods was driven by the aim of fostering intercultural communication. Literature, for the Jewish community, is regarded as one of the vital fields of knowledge that formed a fundamental pillar of translation activity, especially given their presence on Arab soil.