Seminar at FAH UIN Jakarta Discusses the Development and Challenges of Literary Translation
Abdul Ghani Theater, UIN News - Sixth-semester students of the Translation Program, Faculty of Adab and Humanities (FAH), UIN Jakarta, held a literary text translation seminar as one of the requirements for the final semester exam (UAS) in the Literary Translation course taught by Dr. Karlina Helmanita, M.Ag.
Prof. Darsita S, M.Hum, the Head of the Translation Program, highlighted Arabic as the official language of the United Nations (UN) and the connecting language for 24 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), including Indonesia. Prof. Darsita emphasized that the Translation Program actively supports the development of Arabic language translation, including in the field of literature.
"This seminar is expected to broaden knowledge related to Arabic literary wisdom," said Prof. Darsita during her address at Abdul Ghani Theater, Friday, July 12, 2024.
The first speaker, Prof. Dr. Sukron Kamil, M.Ag., who initiated the Literary Translation course in the Translation Program, conveyed that literature is an art that uses language as its medium.
"Literature contains an element of sentimentality, so Translation Program students need to understand the basic theoretical insights of literature," said Prof. Sukron.
Prof. Sukron presented Arabic literary works and their translations, along with the figures behind them. According to Prof. Sukron, literary translation aims to entertain readers, thus literal translation methods are not recommended.
Among the notable figures in Arabic children's literature are Kamil Kailani, Muhammad Athiyah Al-Abrasyi, Amin Salamah, Hoda al-Shaer, Yakub Al-Syaruni, and others.
The second speaker, Dr. Karlina Helmanita, M.Ag., mentioned that literary translation offers opportunities such as becoming the most popular genre in children's stories, the emergence of new workspaces as translation services, literary writers, and so forth.
After the speakers' presentations, there was a question-and-answer session with the students. The seminar also featured an exhibition of books translated by sixth-semester students and a reading of an Arabic poem titled "Al-Aduwwu" by Siti Zainab, a student of the Translation Program.
(Nala Zakina Zuhaida/Fauziah M./Raihan Lail Ramadhan)