Bibliotheca Polyglotta

5 – كنّا نودّ أنْ نخصّص فصلاً مثل هذه الفصول لدرس لغة التأثّر والانفعال التي أخذ كتاب الناشئة الجديدة يستخدمونها في كتابتهم ،

5 – kunnā nawadd^u ʔan nuḫaṣṣiṣ^a faṣl^an miṯl^a hāḏihī ’l-fuṣūl li-dars luġaẗ al-taʔaṯṯur wa’l-infiʕāl allatī ʔaḫaḏa kuttāb al-nāšiʔaẗ al-ǧadīdaẗ yastaḫdimūna-hā fī kitābati-him,

5 | We would have liked to dedicate one chapter like this to the study of the language of affects and emotions that the writers of the emerging new generation have begun to employ in their writings,

AR: faṣl, dars, taʔaṯṯur (taʔṯīr), infiʕāl, kuttāb (kātib), nāšiʔaẗ (našʔaẗ, nušūʔ), ǧadīd, kitābaẗ
EN: 5…

تلك اللغة الحيّة المرنة الشغوفة باختيار الكلمات الفنّية وابتكار العبارات الجديدة التي تؤدّي المعنى بقوّة ودقّة ،

tilka ’l-luġaẗ al-ḥayawiyyaẗ al-marinaẗ al-šaġūfaẗ bi-’ḫtiyār al-kalimāt al-fanniyyaẗ wa-’btikār al-ʕibārāt al-ǧadīdaẗ allatī tuʔaddī al-maʕnà bi-quwwaẗ wa-diqqaẗ,

that vivid flexible language that is eager to make sophisticated use of the vocabulary (?)¹ and invent new expressions that render the intended meaning powerfully and exactly/precisely.

1. I am not sure whether this is what the author meant. Literally, he says: ‘the choice of artistic (or: technical?) words’ – iḫtiyār al-kalimāt al-fanniyyaẗ.

AR: luġaẗ, ḥayawī (ḥayawiyyaẗ, ḥayāẗ), marin (murūnaẗ), fannī (fann), ibtikār, ǧadīd, maʕnà, quwwaẗ, diqqaẗ
EN: vivid, flexible, sophisticated, powerfully, exactly, precisely

وآخر في تفسير معنى الفنّ وتعريف وظيفته الأدبية والأخلاقية والاجتماعية وشرح قواعده

wa-ʔāḫar^a fī tafsīr maʕnà ’l-fann wa-taʕrīf waẓīfati-hī ’l-ʔadabiyyaẗ wa’l-ʔaḫlāqiyyaẗ wa’l-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ wa-šarḥ qawāʕidi-h

And [I would also have liked to dedicate] another [chapter] to the interpretation of the meaning of art and the definition of its literary, moral and social mission as well as to the explanation of its rules;

AR: tafsīr, maʕnà, fann, taʕrīf, waẓīfaẗ, ʔadabī, ʔaḫlāqī, iǧtimāʕī, šarḥ, qawāʕid
EN: …

وآخر في درس صفة أدب اللغة ومستقبل الأنواع التي ابتدأت تدخل فيه –

wa-ʔāḫar^a fī dars ṣifaẗ ʔadab al-luġaẗ wa-mustaqbal al-ʔanwāʕ allatī ’btadaʔat tadḫul^u fī-h –

and yet another on the nature of philology (?)² and the future of th(os)e genres that have begun to invade the language.

2. I am not sure about the translation here – what is ṣifaẗ ʔadab al-luġaẗ?

AR: dars, ṣifaẗ, ʔadab, luġaẗ, mustaqbal, ʔanwāʕ (nawʕ)
EN: …

لولا أنّنا رأينا أنّ هذه المقدّمة أصبحت طويلة وكادت تكون مملّة

law-lā ʔanna-nā raʔaynā ʔanna hāḏihī ’l-muqaddimaẗ ʔaṣbaḥat ṭawīlaẗ wa-kādat takūn mumillaẗ

But, well, we feel this preface has already become too long and almost boring.

AR:…

ولذلك ستبقى تتمّة هذا الدرس لكتابنا "نظرات وملاحظات فنّية" الذي ننشره قريباً .

wa-li-ḏālika sa-tabqà tatimmaẗ hāḏā ’l-dars li-kitābi-nā "Naẓarāt wa-mulāḥaẓāt fanniyyaẗ" allaḏī nanšuru-hū qarīb^an.

We will therefore postpone the final parts of this study to our book Perspectives and Observations on Art / Aesthetic Contemplations, which we are about to publish.

AR: dars, naẓarāt, mulāḥaẓaẗ, fannī (fann)
EN: Observation

(س) وقد حذونا حذو "بلزاك" شيخ الروائيين الفرنسيين في مؤلّفاته الموسومة بالإنسانية الممثلة "La Comédie Humaine"

wa-qad ḥaḏawnā ḥaḏw^a "Balzāk" šayḫ al-riwāʔiyyīn al-faransiyyīn fī muʔallafāti-hī ’l-mawsūmaẗ bi’l-ʔinsāniyyaẗ al-mumaṯṯalaẗ "La Comédie Humaine"

[p. xv] We are following the example of Balzac, the master of French story-writers, in his writings, which are characterized by their humanism and all stage la comédie humaine.³

3. ʕUbayd gives the French expression here.

AR: Balzāk, ʔinsāniyyat (ʔinsānī, ʔinsān)
EN: Balzac, humanism, humane

بمعنى أنّنا قد نتتبّع في قصصنا المقبلة حياة الأشخاص الذين صوّرنا صفحة من حياتهم في هذه القصص ، أو نأتي على صفحة أخرى من حياتهم ،

bi-maʕnà ʔanna-nā qad natatabbaʕ^u fī qiṣaṣi-nā ’l-muqbilaẗ ḥayāẗ^a ’l-ʔašḫāṣ allaḏīn^a ṣawwarnā ṣafaḥaẗⁱⁿ min ḥayāti-him fī hāḏihī ’l-qiṣaṣ, ʔaw naʔtī ʕalà ṣafḥaẗ ʔuḫrà min ḥayāti-him,

That means that in the following stories,⁴ we may trace the life of the characters whose lives we had described in some snapshots in these stories,⁵ or we present some other page of their lives,

4. I.e., in the short stories included in the collection ʔIḥsān Hānim to which he is writing this preface. 5. allaḏīna ṣawwarnā ṣafḥaẗan min ḥayāti-him fī hāḏihī ’l-qiṣaṣ – the wording seems to be somehow repetitive here. Not being sure whether I got the author right, I leave that as is and try to render it as literally as possible.

AR: ḥayāẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, ṣawwara (taṣwīr)
EN: …

لأنّنا لحظنا أنّ هذه الطريقة تساعدنا كثيراً في تصوير حياتنا الاجتماعية .

li-ʔanna-nā laḥaẓnā ʔanna hāḏihī ’l-ṭarīqaẗ tusāʕidu-nā kaṯīr^an fī taṣwīr ḥayāti-nā ’l-iǧtimāʕiyyaẗ.

as we noticed that this method can help us greatly in describing our [national] social life.⁶

6. I have no idea what exactly ʕUbayd intended to say here. For me, it sounds like a redundant »either we portray one aspect of the life of these people, or we describe another one« – which would be rather banal…

AR: taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ, iǧtimāʕī
EN: …

ولمّا كان لا يتسنّى للكاتب أنْ يدرس النفوس البشرية إلا في القصص الطويلة فسنضع روايات مصرية تامّة تصوّر قطعة عامّة من الحياة المصرية ،

wa-lammā kāna lā yatasannà lil-kātib ʔan yadrus^a ’l-nufūs al-bašariyyaẗ ʔillā fī ’l-qiṣaṣ al-ṭawīlaẗ fa-sa-naḍiʕ^u riwāyātⁱⁿ miṣriyyaẗ^an tāmmaẗ^an tuṣawwir^u qiṭʕaẗ^an ʕāmmaẗ^an min al-ḥayāẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ,

Given that the only way for a writer to [really] study the human psyche is in novels,⁷ we will [try to] produce self-contained Egyptian (or: entirely Egyptian?) accounts⁸ that portray a general aspect of Egyptian life,

7. Lit., ‘long stories’. 8. riwāyāt miṣriyyaẗ tāmmaẗ – it is not clear whether tāmmaẗ should be read as an adj.-attribute or as an adv.

AR: kātib, darasa (dars / dirāsaẗ), nufūs (nafs), bašarī (bašar), waḍʕ, riwāyaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ
EN: study the human psyche

وقد ألّفنا فعلاً رواية من هذا النوع دعوناها "بين الحبّ والفنّ" حلّلنا فيها جزيئات مشاعر كاتب مصري طامح إلى المجد ، مع تصوير الوسط الفنّي المصري .

wa-qad ʔallafnā fiʕl^an riwāyaẗⁱⁿ min hāḏā ’l-nawʕ daʕawnā-hā "Bayna ’l-ḥubb wa’l-fann" ḥallalnā fī-hā ǧuzayʔāt mašāʕir kātib miṣrī ṭāmiḥ ʔilà ’l-maǧd, maʕa taṣwīr al-wasaṭ al-fannī al-miṣrī.

as we [also] have indeed written an account of this type that we called Between Love and Art⁹ in which we analyzed the finest nuances of the feelings of an Egyptian writer who is eager to become famous, including a description of the Egyptian art scene/milieu.

9. This novel seems to be lost – at least, it is not mentioned in any source about ʕUbayd that I was able to get hold of.

AR: riwāyaẗ, nawʕ, taḥlīl, ǧuzayʔāt, mašāʕir, kātib, taṣwīr, wasaṭ, fannī /fann, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ),
EN: …

وقد توخّينا تصوير الحياة الشرقية كما هي بلا تقصير أو مغالاة ،

wa-qad tawaḫḫaynā taṣwīr al-ḥayāẗ al-šarqiyyaẗ ka-mā hiya bi-lā taqṣīr ʔaw muġālāẗ,

We have also been eager to portray Eastern¹⁰ life as it is, without reduction or exaggeration,

10. My italics, S.G.

AR: taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ, šarqī, ka-mā huwa/hiya
EN: portray Eastern, life as it is, without reduction or exaggeration

معتمدين على كلمات التورية للتعبير عن مقاصدنا الخفيّة في المواقف الحرجة الدقيقة ،

muʕtamidīn^a ʕalà kalimāt al-tawriyaẗ lil-taʕbīr ʕan maqāṣidi-nā ’l-ḫafiyyaẗ fī ’l-mawāqif al-ḥariǧaẗ al-daqīqaẗ,

resorting, in delicate, sensitive situations, to double-entendre¹¹ to express our hidden message,

11. kalimāt al-tawriyaẗ ‘words of concealment’, a standard rhetorical figure in Classical Arabic, explained by Heinrichs as »a double entendre or pun in which the obvious meaning of a homonym is not the intended one, also called ʔīhām, ‘delusion’« – W. Heinrichs, art. »Rhetorical figures«, in EAL, ii: 656-62, in particular 660.

AR: tawriyaẗ, mawāqif ḥariǧaẗ, daqīq (diqqaẗ)
EN: …

وفي بعض الأحيان على ألفاظ ملهمة توحي إلى القارئ المعنى الذي نقصده ولم نجاهر به ،

wa-fī baʕḍ al-ʔaḥyān ʕalà ʔalfāẓ mulhimaẗ tūḥī ʔilà ’l-qāriʔ al-maʕnà allaḏī naqṣidu-hū wa-lam nuǧāhir bi-hī,

sometimes also to allusions¹² that let the reader feel the meaning we intended without making it explicit.

12. kalimāt mulhamaẗ ‘inspired words’, or probably rather mulhimaẗ ‘suggestive’.

AR: qāriʔ
EN: …

بحيث إنّنا جعلنا عباراتنا في حالة من الغموض يستعصي معناها على الفتيات الساذجات .

bi-ḥayṯ^u ʔinna-nā ǧaʕalnā ʕibārāti-nā fī ḥālaẗⁱⁿ min al-ġumūḍ yastaʕṣī maʕnā-hā ʕalà ’l-fatayāt al-sāḏiǧāt.

That is, we obscured our message in a way that makes it difficult for young naïve girls to grasp the real meaning.

AR: ġumūḍ, maʕnà, sāḏiǧ (saḏāǧaẗ)
EN: …

وهذه الطريقة هي التي يتّخذها كبار كتّاب فرنسا الذين ارتأوا وجوب تصویر الحياة كما هي لا كما يجب أن تكون

wa-hāḏihī ’l-ṭarīqaẗ hiya ’llatī yattaḫuḏu-hā kubār kuttāb Faransā allaḏīn^a ’rtaʔaw wuǧūb^a taṣwīr al-ḥayāẗ ka-mā hiya lā ka-mā yaǧibu ʔan takūn

This is also the method followed by the big French writers who think that life must be described as it is, not as it should be.

AR: kātib (kuttāb), Faransā, irtaʔà (raʔy), taṣwīr, ḥayāẗ, ka-mā huwa/hiya
EN: …

فإنّ "موبسان" مثلاً قد هبط إلى أسفل دركات المستنقعات الوبيئة القذرة ونجح في تصويرها بدون أن يهين الحقيقة .

fa-ʔinna "Mūbasān" maṯal^an qad habaṭa ʔilà ʔasfalⁱ darakātⁱ ’l-mustanqaʕātⁱ ’l-wabīʔaẗⁱ ’l-qaḏiraẗ wa-naǧaḥa fī taṣwīri-hā bi-dūnⁱ ʔan yuhīn^a ’l-ḥaqīqaẗ.

Maupassant, for instance, descended to the lowest levels of the most awful, dirty quagmires and succeeded in depicting them without betraying Truth.

AR: Mūbasān (Maupassant), naǧaḥa (naǧāḥ), taṣwīr, ḥaqīqaẗ
EN: Maupassant, without betraying Truth

ويجب أنْ أعترف أنّ مسألة اللغة التي يجب أنْ تكتب بها المحادثات الثنائية "Dialogue" قد أجهدت فكري وأتعبتني كثيراً قبل أن توصّلت إلى إيجاد حلّ لها –

wa-yaǧibu ʔan ʔaʕtarif^a ʔanna masʔalaẗ al-luġaẗ allatī yaǧibu ʔan tuktab^a bi-hā al-muḥādaṯāt al-ṯunāʔiyyaẗ "dialogue" qad ʔaǧhadat fikr-ī wa-ʔatʕabat-nī kaṯīr^an qabla ʔan tawaṣṣaltu ʔilà ʔīǧād ḥallⁱⁿ la-hā –

However, I have to confess that the question of the language in which the dialogues¹³ should be written has tired my mind and caused me much pain before I eventually found a solution for it.

13. ʕUbayd gives an Arabic expression and the French word here: al-muḥādaṯāt al-ṯunāʔiyyaẗ (dialogue).

AR: masʔalaẗ al-luġaẗ, muḥādaṯaẗ ṯunāʔiyyaẗ, ʔīǧād
EN: …

واللغة مشكلة عويصة تعترض الكاتب الفنّي ، لأنّ الفرق عظيم جداً بين (ع) اللغة التي نكتب بها واللغة التي نتكلمها ؛

wa’l-luġaẗ muškilaẗ^un ʕawīṣaẗ^un taʕtariḍ^u ’l-kātib al-fannī, li-ʔanna ’l-farq^a ʕaẓīm^un ǧidd^an bayna ’l-luġaẗ allatī naktub^u bi-hā wa’l-luġaẗ allatī natakallamu-hā;

Language, that is to say, is a tricky problem that any serious writer has to face, because there is such a big difference between [p. xvi] the language we write in and the language we speak.

AR: luġaẗ, kātib, fannī (fann)
EN: …

فإنْ استعملنا الأولى ظهرت متكلّفة متنافرة شاذّة بعيدة عن الفنّ الذي يتطلّب المسحة الحقيقية والدقّة في تصوير الألوان المحلّية ،

fa-ʔin istaʕmalnā ’l-ʔūlà ẓaharat mutakallifaẗ mutanāfiraẗ šāḏḏaẗ baʕīdaẗ ʕan il-fann allaḏī yataṭallab^u ’l-masḥaẗ al-ḥaqīqiyyaẗ wa’l-diqqaẗ fī taṣwīr al-ʔalwān al-maḥalliyyaẗ,

If we use the former it appears mannered, inadequate, unnatural, far from the type of art that demands that the description of local colour be marked by realism and precision.

AR: mutakallif (takalluf), šāḏḏ (šuḏūḏ), fann, ḥaqīqaẗ / ḥaqīqaẗ / ḥaqīqī, taṣwīr, ʔalwān, maḥallī
EN: local colour, realism, precision

وإنْ استعملنا الثانية قضينا على اللغة العربية وحكمنا على إخراج النوع القصصي أو المرسحي من آدابنا

wa-ʔin istaʕmalnā ’l-ṯāniyyaẗ qaḍaynā ʕalà ’l-luġaẗ al-ʕarabiyyaẗ wa-ḥakamnā ʕalà ʔiḫrāǧ al-nawʕ al-qiṣaṣī ʔaw al-marsaḥī min ʔādābi-nā

And if we use the latter we kill the Arabic Language¹⁴ and decide to ban the fictional and dramatic genres from our literature/ culture

14. I am capitalizing ‘Language’ here in order to mark the status of the ʕArabiyyaẗ as a cultural institution.

AR: luġaẗ, ʕarabī, ḥakama (ḥukm), nawʕ, marsaḥʔ, ādāb
EN: …

ونحن نريد أنْ يكون هذا النوع من أقوى وأعظم أركان الآداب المصرية كما هو في البلاد الغربية ،

wa-naḥnu nurīd^u ʔan yakūn^a hāḏā ’l-nawʕ min ʔaqwà wa-ʔaʕẓam ʔarkān al-ʔādāb al-miṣriyyaẗ ka-mā huwa fī ’l-bilād al-ġarbiyyaẗ,

while we [actually] want these to be the strongest and greatest pillars of Egyptian literature/culture, as is the case in the West,

AR: nawʕ, ʔādāb, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ka-mā huwa/hiya, ġarbī
EN: …

لأنّه أوقع أثراً في النفس ويساعد الكاتب على درس كلّ الموضوعات والمسائل من عملية وفلسفية واجتماعية وأخلاقية ونفسية .

li-ʔanna-hū ʔawqaʕ^u ʔaṯar^an fī ’l-nafs wa-yusāʕid^u ’l-kātib ʕalà darsⁱ kullⁱ ’l-mawḍūʕāt wa’l-masāʔil min ʕamaliyyaẗ wa-falsafiyyaẗ wa-’ǧtimāʕiyyaẗ wa-ʔaḫlāqiyyaẗ wa-nafsiyyaẗ.

because the effect they have on the mind is most profound and because they help the writer study all the givens and issues, whether practical or philosophical or social or moral or psychological.

AR: ʔaṯar, nafs / nafsī, kātib, dars, ʕamalī, falsafaẗ, iǧtimāʕī, ʔaḫlāq
EN: …

فكيف نوفّق إذن بين لغة الأشخاص التي يتكلّمون بها في الحياة وبين اللغة الأدبية الراقية التي يجب أن تدوّن في المؤلفات .

fa-kayf^a nuwaffiq^u ʔiḏan bayna luġaẗ al-ʔašḫāṣ allatī yatakallamūn^a bi-hā fī ’l-ḥayāẗ wa-bayna ’l-luġaẗ al-ʔadabiyyaẗ al-rāqiyaẗ allatī yaǧibu ʔan tudawwan^a fī ’l-muʔallafāt.

How then should we reconcile the language people speak in daily life with the high literary language that is to be used in written works?

AR: waffaqa (tawfīq), luġaẗ, ʔašḫāṣ, ḥayāẗ, luġaẗ, ʔadabī, rāqⁱⁿ
EN: reconcile the language

ونذكر هنا للدلالة على عظم هذا المشكل أنّ صديقنا المأسوف عليه محمّد بك تيمور الثوروي الفنّي ارتأى بعد إمعان التفكير وجوب وضع الروايات القصصية المرسحية باللغة العامّية

wa-naḏkur^u hunā lil-dalālaẗ ʕalà ʕaẓm hāḏā al-maškal ʔanna ṣadīqa-nā al-maʔsūf ʕalay-h Muḥammad Beğ Taymūr al-ṯawrawī al-fannī ’rtaʔà baʕd^a ʔimʕān al-tafkīr wuǧūb^a waḍʕⁱ ’l-riwāyātⁱ ’l-qiṣaṣiyyaẗ al-marsaḥiyyaẗ bi’l-luġaẗ al-ʕāmmiyyaẗ

To underline the importance of this problem, let us remind you here of the fact that our late friend, the revolutionary artist Muḥammad Bey Taymūr,¹⁵ had decided, after careful consideration, that theatrical plays¹⁶ should be composed in the vernacular/the language of the masses,

15. Egyptian dramatist and prose writer, 1892-1921. »His reading of realistic writers like De Maupassant and Zola prepared him to become a pioneer of the modern Arabic short story .... [... Around 1918, he was among the co-founders of] the literary circle Madrasat al-ādāb al-jadīda, later known as al-Madrasa al-ḥadītha (the ‘Modern School’) ...« – Ed C.M. De Moor, art. »Taymūr, Muḥammad (1892-1921)«, in EAL, ii: 762-3, in particular 762. 16. I do not know what (if anything at all) the double qualification of these riwāyāt as qiṣaṣiyyaẗ and marsaḥiyyaẗ possibly can mean.

AR: Muḥammad Taymūr, fannī (fann), irtaʔà (raʔy), waḍʕ, riwāyaẗ, marsaḥ, luġaẗ ʕāmmiyyaẗ
EN: Muḥammad Taymūr, vernacular, language of the masses

ليسم أدبنا بشخصيتنا المصرية ، ولتكون الروايات قريبة إلى الفنّ والحقيقة ، خالية من التكلّف والجمود .

li-yasima ʔadaba-nā bi-šaḫṣiyyati-nā al-miṣriyyaẗ, wa-li-takūn^a ’l-riwāyāt^u qarībaẗ^an ʔilà ’l-fann wa’l-ḥaqīqaẗ, ḫāliyaẗ^an min al-takalluf wa’l-ǧumūd.

in order to imprint our literature with the [typically] Egyptian character and to make the stories closer to art and Reality/Truth, devoid of mannerism and stiffness.

AR: ʔadab, šaḫṣiyyaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), riwāyaẗ, fann, ḥaqīqaẗ, takalluf, ǧumūd
EN: devoid of mannerism and stiffness

ونحن مع إعجابنا الشديد بفقيدنا العزيز ، لا يمكننا الموافقة على هذه الفكرة المتطرّفة الخطرة ،

wa-naḥnu maʕa ʔiʕǧābi-nā ’l-šadīd bi-faqīdi-nā ’l-ʕazīz, lā yumkinu-nā ’l-muwāfaqaẗ ʕalà hāḏihī ’l-fikraẗ al-mutaṭarrifaẗ al-ḫaṭiraẗ,

Yet, despite the strong admiration we have for the dear friend we have lost,¹⁷ we cannot agree with this radical and hazardous idea.

17. Muḥammad Taymūr had died shortly before ʕUbayd wrote his Preface.

AR:…

فنحن ممّن يتعصّبون للغة العربية ، ولا نرغب أنْ يستقلّ الأدب المصري عن الأدب العربي ،

fa-naḥnu mim-man yataʕaṣṣabūn^a lil-luġaẗ al-ʕarabiyyaẗ, wa-lā narġabu ʔan yastaqill^a ’l-ʔadab al-miṣrī ʕan il-ʔadab al-ʕarabī,

For we are of those who are strong partisans of the [classical] Arabic language. We do not want Egyptian literature to become independent from Arabic literature.

AR: luġaẗ, ʕarabī, istaqalla (istiqlāl), ʔadab, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ),
EN: …

ولكنْ يكون فقط للأول صفة خاصة به تميّزه عن الثاني ، ويطلق له حرّية التطوّر والرقي .

wa-lākin yakūn^a faqaṭ lil-ʔawwal ṣifaẗ^un ḫāṣṣaẗ^un bi-hī tumayyizu-hū ʕan il-ṯānī, wa-yuṭliq^a la-hū ḥurriyyaẗ al-taṭawwur wa’l-ruqiyy.

The former should just have a character of its own that distinguishes it from the latter and gives it the freedom to develop and progress.

AR: ṣifaẗ, ḫāṣṣ (ḫuṣūṣiyyaẗ), mayyaza (tamyīz), ḥurriyyaẗ, taṭawwur, ruqiyy
EN: …

وحتّى نوفّق بين الفنّ واللغة ارتأينا أنْ تكتب المحادثات الثنائية بلغة عربية متوسّطة خالية من التراكيب اللغوية ،

wa-ḥattà nuwaffiq^a bayna ’l-fann wa’l-luġaẗ irtaʔaynā ʔan tuktab^a ’l-muḥādaṯāt al-ṯunāʔiyyaẗ bi-luġaẗ ʕarabiyyaẗ mutawassiṭaẗ ḫāliyaẗ min al-tarākīb al-luġawiyyaẗ,

We are of the opinion that in order to reconcile art and language, the dialogues should be written in an intermediate Arabic that is free from complex linguistic structures

AR: waffaqa (tawfīq), fann, luġaẗ, irtaʔà (raʔy), muḥādaṯaẗ ṯunāʔiyyaẗ, luġaẗ ʕarabiyyaẗ mutawassiṭaẗ
EN: reconcile art and language, intermediate Arabic

وقد يتخللها أحيانا بعض ألفاظ عامّية حتّى لا يظهر عليها شيء من الجمود أو التكلّف ،

wa-qad yataḫallalu-hā ʔaḥyān^an baʕḍ ʔalfāẓ ʕāmmiyyaẗ ḥattà lā yaẓhar^a ʕalay-hā šayʔ^un min al-ǧumūd ʔaw al-takalluf,

and into which occasionally even some dialect words may be blended so that it does not give the feeling of stiffness and artificiality

AR: ʕāmmiyyaẗ, ǧumūd, takalluf
EN: …

ونطليها بالمسبحة المصرية والألوان (ف) المحلّية ،

wa-nuṭliya-hā bi’l-masḥaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ wa’l-ʔalwān al-maḥalliyyaẗ,

and we can give it the [typically] Egyptian touch and paint it with [p. xvii] local colours.

AR: masḥaẗ, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ʔalwān, maḥallī
EN: [typically] Egyptian touch, local colours

وقد تؤدّي كلمة عامّية معنى لا تؤدّيه جملة عربية برمّتها .

wa-qad tuʔaddī kalimaẗ ʕāmmiyyaẗ maʕn^an lā tuʔaddī-hi ǧumlaẗ ʕarabiyyaẗ bi-rummati-hā.

A dialect word may produce a meaning that a sentence written in classical Arabic in its entirety cannot express.

AR: ʕāmmiyyaẗ, maʕnà
EN: …

أما إذا كانت المحادثات قصيرة ومقتضبة ، فيحسن بنا أنْ ننقلها كما هي كما تصدر من الأشخاص المختلفي النحل والأجناس بألفاظهم العامّية ، ورطانتهم الأعجمية ،

ʔammā ʔiḏā kānat al-muḥādaṯāt qaṣīraẗ wa-muqtaḍabaẗ, fa-yaḥsun^u bi-nā ʔan nanqula-hā ka-mā hiya ka-mā taṣdur^u min al-ʔašḫāṣ al-maḫtalifī ’l-niḥal wa’l-ʔaǧnās bi-ʔalfāẓi-him al-ʕāmmiyyaẗ, wa-raṭānati-him al-ʔaʕǧamiyyaẗ,

If the dialogues are short and condensed¹⁸ then the best thing we can do is to render them as they are, just as they come out of [the mouth of] characters of different confessions and races with their vernacular expressions and foreign gibberish.

18. Or: ‘improvised’? – muqtaḍabaẗ.

AR: ka-mā huwa/hiya, ʔašḫāṣ, niḥal, ʔaǧnās (ǧins), ʕāmmiyyaẗ, raṭānaẗ, ʔaʕǧamiyyaẗ
EN: confessions and races

ولا نظنّ أنّه يقوم مَن يعترض علينا ،

wa-lā naẓunn^u ʔanna-hū yaqūm^u man yaʕtariḍ^u ʕalay-nā,

We do not think that anyone will stand up and disagree with us on that,

AR:…

فإنّ الكتّاب الفرنسيين أنفسهم الذين يعبدون لغتهم ويحافظون عليها أكثر من محافظتنا على لغتنا كثيراً ما يوردون في مؤلّفاتهم القيّمة التراكيب الأعجمية وألفاظ الألمان والإنجليز وعامّة الفرنسيين أنفسهم حال تكلّمهم لغتهم ،

fa-ʔinna ’l-kuttāb al-faransiyyīn^a ʔanfusa-hum allaḏīn yaʕbudūn^a luġata-hum wa-yuḥāfiẓūn^a ʕalay-hā ʔakṯar^a min muḥāfaẓati-nā ʕalà luġati-nā kaṯīr^an mā yūridūn^a fī muʔallafāti-him al-qayyimaẗ al-tarākīb al-ʔaʕǧamiyyaẗ wa-ʔalfāẓ al-ʔalmān wa’l-ʔinǧlīz wa-ʕāmmaẗ al-faransiyyīn^a ʔanfusi-him ḥāl^a takallumi-him luġata-hum,

as even the French writers themselves – who adore their language and are more eager to preserve it than we are to preserve ours – often insert into their valuable writings some foreign constructions, German or English words, as well as words used by the French masses themselves, exactly as they speak their language –

AR: kātib (kuttāb), luġaẗ, qayyim (qīmaẗ)
EN: …

ولم نر أحداً منهم قام يظهر فساد هذه الخطّة أو يدّعی إهانتها للغة .

wa-lam nara ʔaḥad^an min-hum qāma yuẓhir^u fasād^a hāḏihī ’l-ḫuṭwaẗ ʔaw yaddaʕī ʔihānata-hā lil-luġaẗ.

and we have never ever seen any of them stand up and claim that this strategy was a failure or an insult to their language.

AR: fasād, luġaẗ
EN: …

فغايتنا الوحيدة من تأليف القصص والروايات العصرية المصرية أنْ نساعد على إيجاد أدب عصري مصري خاصّ بنا وموسوم بطابع شخصيتنا وأخلاقنا يتّفق مع ما بلغناه من الرقي والنضوج المبكّر البدري .

fa-ġāyatu-nā al-waḥīdaẗ min taʔlīf al-qiṣaṣ wa’l-riwāyāt al-ʕaṣriyyaẗ al-miṣriyyaẗ ʔan nusāʕid^a ʕalà ʔīǧād ʔadab ʕaṣrī miṣrī ḫāṣṣ bi-nā wa-mawsūm bi-ṭābiʕ šaḫṣiyyati-nā wa-ʔaḫlāqi-nā yattafiq^u maʕa mā balaġnā-hu min al-ruqiyy wa’l-nuḍūǧ al-mubakkir al-badrī.

Our only aim with writing modern Egyptian stories and plays [or: novels?] is to contribute to the creation of a modern Egyptian literature of our own, bearing the stamp of our [national] character and specific identity and corresponding to the high level of progress and early maturity that we have reached.

AR: ġāyaẗ, taʔlīf, riwāyaẗ, ʕaṣrī (ʕaṣriyyaẗ), miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ʔīǧād, ʔadab, ḫāṣṣ (ḫuṣūṣiyyaẗ), ṭābiʕ, šaḫṣī / šaḫṣiyyaẗ, ʔaḫlāq, ruqiyy, nuḍūǧ, mubakkir, badrī
EN: literature of our own, stamp of our [national] character and specific identity, progress, maturity

فهل نحن محقّقون الغاية التي نرمي إليها ؟ هذا ما سيحكم به الجمهور المصري ونؤمل أن يكون حكمه منزّهاً ومشجّعاً .

fa-hal naḥnu muḥaqqiqūn^a ’l-ġāyaẗ^a ’llatī narmī ʔilay-hā? hāḏā mā sa-yaḥkum^u bi-hī ’l-ǧumhūr^u ’l-miṣrī wa-nuʔammil^u ʔan yakūn^a ḥukmu-hū munazzah^an wa-mušaǧǧiʕ^an.

So, have we reached this aim to which we have been aspiring? This is what the Egyptian [reading] public will have to decide – hopefully, their verdict will be unprejudiced/unbiased and encouraging.

AR: ġāyaẗ, ḥakama (ḥukm), ǧumhūr, miṣrī (Miṣr / Miṣriyyaẗ), ʔamal
EN: …

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