اسلام آباد(صالح ظافر) وزیر اعظم نے ” آم ڈپلومیسی“ شروع کر دی ہے، آم کے تحائف خطے کے ممالک اور بالخصوص سارک ممالک کے رہنماؤں کو بھجوانے کا سلسلہ شروع کر دیا گیا ہے اور ان میں بھارتی وزیر اعظم منموہن سنگھ بھی شامل ہیں،اس سلسلے میں ملتان سے خصوصی قسم کے آموں کو چنا جارہا ہے، یہ خصوصی آم وزیر اعظم کے خاندان کی زیر ملکیت ایک باغ میں آگائے جارہے ہیں، شنید ہے کہ اس مرتبہ آم موسم سے پہلے پک گئے ہیں اور آئندہ ہفتے انہیں چننا شروع کر دیاجائیگا۔اس سلسلے کے پہلے قدم کے طو پر وزیر اعظم گیلانی نے کراچی میں بلوچ رہنما سردار عطاء اللہ مینگل سے ملاقات کے موقع پر انہیں آم پارٹی میں شرکت کی دعوت دی،اتفاق کی بات ہے کہ ملتان بلوچستان کے قریب ترین بڑی آبادی والا پنجاب کا پہلا شہر ہے۔وزیر اعظم آئندہ موسم میں اس قسم کی دعوتوں کا اہتمام باقاعدگی سے کیا کریں گے۔ اعلیٰ حیثیت کے حامل ذرائع نے دی نیوز کو بتایا ہے کہ ملک کے اندر تحائف کیلئے جن رہنماؤں کا انتخاب کیاگیا ہے ان میں مختلف سیاسی جماعتوں کے سربراہان اورسرکردہ ارکان پارلیمنٹ شامل ہیں عالمی رہنماؤں کو جوآم بھجوائے جائیں گے ان کا ملتانی آم ہونا ضروری نہیں ،اس مقصد کیلئے سندھ سے بھی اچھی نسل کے آم حاصل کئے جائیں گے۔دریں اثناء دفتر خارجہ نے بھی اہم دارالحکومتوں کے رہنماؤں کو آموں کے تحائف بھجوانے کا فیصلہ کیا ہے، وزارت خارجہ کے پروٹوکول ڈویژن کواس سلسلے میں ذمہ داریاں تفویض کر دی گئی ہیں، حتمی انتخاب کیلئے آموں کے نمونے بھجوائے جارہے ہیں ذرائع نے انکشاف کیا ہے کہ ان گرمیوں میں جنوبی پنجاب اور شمالی سندھ میں آم کی بھرپور فصل ہوگی۔............................... جنگ ویب سائٹ اتوار، 09 مئ، 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Jesus was son of an architect, book claims
Jesus was the son of a middle-class, highly educated architect, according to a new book, which claims the previous belief that Joseph worked as a carpenter has distorted the Bible's meaning.
The book- The Jesus Discovery- claims that Jesus rose to become the most senior Rabbi of his time, thus explaining how he was able to exert such influence and why his teachings became such a concern to the authorities.
Author Dr Adam Bradford, who works as a GP, drew his conclusions after studying and comparing the original Greek and Hebrew scriptures, as well as using human psychology to analyse the behaviour towards Jesus as depicted in the Bible.
Biblical scholar Dr Bradford said: "Jesus's high ranking position as a Jew seems to have been written out of history but in fact it makes more sense of the Bible.
'If Jesus was the son of a poor itinerant carpenter with some radical ideas nobody would have been that concerned about what he said.
'But, because Jesus was trained up to become the most educated Jew of his time it gave him the chance to exert extraordinary influence and let him get away with acts that normal Jews would have been imprisoned or chastised for.
'For example, when Jesus turned the money changers out of the temple there is no mention in the Bible of the police guards getting involved or there being a backlash. The money changers were an essential part of gaining revenue for the Temple so if Jesus was an ordinary Jew he would have been arrested or physically attacked.
'Christ enjoyed social privileges that would not have been available to an uneducated itinerant carpenter. Not only was he able to clear the official Temple market on two occasions without interference but he was also able to teach unhindered in the Temple courts and synagogues.
'Throughout the Bible he is addressed with formal titles of Rabbi and Doctor of the Law- the highest position in Jewish society, even by his enemies.'
To find out more about the life of Jesus as an historical figure, Dr Bradford- who runs an NHS practice in inner-city London - first decided to try and discover more about Christ's father, Joseph.
In the English translation of the Bible Joseph has always been described as a 'just man'. Dr Bradford discovered that the word 'man' has been added and is not in the original Greek text at all. He also found that the origins of the word translated into 'just' more accurately translates to describe Joseph's position in society- most likely as a scholar who helped teach the Torah and was involved in the judiciary.
Further to this, Dr Bradford re-examined Joseph's position as a carpenter. Again, he concluded there had been a mistranslation and that the Greek word 'tekton'- which describes Joseph's work- more accurately means master builder or architect.
Dr Bradford claims this would explain why Jesus, who would have been brought up in his father's trade, made so many references to building in his teachings.
Crucially, Dr Bradford says that it is Joseph's position as an architect that would have first Christ brought him into contact with the Temple authorities.
In about 22BC, King Herod ordered that a gigantic Jewish temple should be built in Jerusalem, the remains of which makes up the Wailing Wall. Because only Jewish priests could build the sacred parts of the building, Herod conscripted ten thousand skilled craftsmen to assist and instruct one thousand Jewish priests in the skills of master craftsmen.
Dr Bradford said: 'Statistically, given that ten thousand skilled craftsmen were employed there is every likelihood that Joseph, who was a devout Jew, was one of these 'tektons', skilled at working with large structures of stone and wood..
'Three times a year, Joseph would have taken Jesus to the major Jewish festivals in Jerusalem and pointed out various aspects of the Temple's construction that he had overseen.
'When Jesus got lost at the age of 12 during one of his family's visits to a festival and was found at the Temple he said to his parents: 'Didn't you know I had to be in my father's house. I believe this has a double meaning referring to the fact Joseph helped build the temple as well as to God.' The priests who Joseph had trained would have looked after the boy Jesus for the five days until his parents found him.
It is from this point, when Jesus was 12 years of age, that very little is known of his life until he was 30 years old.
But Dr Bradford believes that Christ's progression to become the highest ranking Rabbi explain these 'missing years'.
'When Christ sat with the Doctors of the Law in the Temple at age 12 he astonished them with his knowledge,' said Dr Bradford. 'These men lived for the Law of Moses and they would almost certainly have recruited Christ for later enrolment at their schools. It would be like a Premiership manager wanting to sign up a child who was incredibly gifted at football.
'As a child genius, Jesus would have become the 'Great Hope' for the Jewish religion and would have been ordained as a Rabbi and then as Doctor of the Law. He was still addressed by these titles, even by his enemies, until he was found guilty of blasphemy.
'Under the Jewish system Jesus would not have re-emerged into public life until he was 30 years of age when he had become a 'didaskalos'. This word is currently translated in the Bible as 'teacher' but in fact it has a much higher status and meaning.
'Because the Jewish authorities had invested so much hope and time into Jesus it explains why their behaviou became so vehement in their hatred for him after he went 'off message'. He was their great hope who deviated from the Jewish faith, and so betrayed what they stood for.
'I believe Jesus's progression to become the highest ranking Rabbi helps put the story of Christ into its proper context.'
First century historian Dr Mark Whitters, of Eastern Michigan University, believes that The Jesus Discovery gives a proper insight into how Jesus was able to become such an important figure.
He said: 'Bradford brings to bear his formal training in medicine and psychology on a topic that requires some 'outside the box' thinking.
'This is a fresh perspective on the life of Jesus based on first century sources.
'Bradford asks some common-sense questions that these sources provoke but are rarely asked by modern biblical commentators.
'The book is consistent and provoking for anyone who wants to understand why Jesus shook up the world of Palestine in the first-century.'
The book- The Jesus Discovery- claims that Jesus rose to become the most senior Rabbi of his time, thus explaining how he was able to exert such influence and why his teachings became such a concern to the authorities.
Author Dr Adam Bradford, who works as a GP, drew his conclusions after studying and comparing the original Greek and Hebrew scriptures, as well as using human psychology to analyse the behaviour towards Jesus as depicted in the Bible.
Biblical scholar Dr Bradford said: "Jesus's high ranking position as a Jew seems to have been written out of history but in fact it makes more sense of the Bible.
'If Jesus was the son of a poor itinerant carpenter with some radical ideas nobody would have been that concerned about what he said.
'But, because Jesus was trained up to become the most educated Jew of his time it gave him the chance to exert extraordinary influence and let him get away with acts that normal Jews would have been imprisoned or chastised for.
'For example, when Jesus turned the money changers out of the temple there is no mention in the Bible of the police guards getting involved or there being a backlash. The money changers were an essential part of gaining revenue for the Temple so if Jesus was an ordinary Jew he would have been arrested or physically attacked.
'Christ enjoyed social privileges that would not have been available to an uneducated itinerant carpenter. Not only was he able to clear the official Temple market on two occasions without interference but he was also able to teach unhindered in the Temple courts and synagogues.
'Throughout the Bible he is addressed with formal titles of Rabbi and Doctor of the Law- the highest position in Jewish society, even by his enemies.'
To find out more about the life of Jesus as an historical figure, Dr Bradford- who runs an NHS practice in inner-city London - first decided to try and discover more about Christ's father, Joseph.
In the English translation of the Bible Joseph has always been described as a 'just man'. Dr Bradford discovered that the word 'man' has been added and is not in the original Greek text at all. He also found that the origins of the word translated into 'just' more accurately translates to describe Joseph's position in society- most likely as a scholar who helped teach the Torah and was involved in the judiciary.
Further to this, Dr Bradford re-examined Joseph's position as a carpenter. Again, he concluded there had been a mistranslation and that the Greek word 'tekton'- which describes Joseph's work- more accurately means master builder or architect.
Dr Bradford claims this would explain why Jesus, who would have been brought up in his father's trade, made so many references to building in his teachings.
Crucially, Dr Bradford says that it is Joseph's position as an architect that would have first Christ brought him into contact with the Temple authorities.
In about 22BC, King Herod ordered that a gigantic Jewish temple should be built in Jerusalem, the remains of which makes up the Wailing Wall. Because only Jewish priests could build the sacred parts of the building, Herod conscripted ten thousand skilled craftsmen to assist and instruct one thousand Jewish priests in the skills of master craftsmen.
Dr Bradford said: 'Statistically, given that ten thousand skilled craftsmen were employed there is every likelihood that Joseph, who was a devout Jew, was one of these 'tektons', skilled at working with large structures of stone and wood..
'Three times a year, Joseph would have taken Jesus to the major Jewish festivals in Jerusalem and pointed out various aspects of the Temple's construction that he had overseen.
'When Jesus got lost at the age of 12 during one of his family's visits to a festival and was found at the Temple he said to his parents: 'Didn't you know I had to be in my father's house. I believe this has a double meaning referring to the fact Joseph helped build the temple as well as to God.' The priests who Joseph had trained would have looked after the boy Jesus for the five days until his parents found him.
It is from this point, when Jesus was 12 years of age, that very little is known of his life until he was 30 years old.
But Dr Bradford believes that Christ's progression to become the highest ranking Rabbi explain these 'missing years'.
'When Christ sat with the Doctors of the Law in the Temple at age 12 he astonished them with his knowledge,' said Dr Bradford. 'These men lived for the Law of Moses and they would almost certainly have recruited Christ for later enrolment at their schools. It would be like a Premiership manager wanting to sign up a child who was incredibly gifted at football.
'As a child genius, Jesus would have become the 'Great Hope' for the Jewish religion and would have been ordained as a Rabbi and then as Doctor of the Law. He was still addressed by these titles, even by his enemies, until he was found guilty of blasphemy.
'Under the Jewish system Jesus would not have re-emerged into public life until he was 30 years of age when he had become a 'didaskalos'. This word is currently translated in the Bible as 'teacher' but in fact it has a much higher status and meaning.
'Because the Jewish authorities had invested so much hope and time into Jesus it explains why their behaviou became so vehement in their hatred for him after he went 'off message'. He was their great hope who deviated from the Jewish faith, and so betrayed what they stood for.
'I believe Jesus's progression to become the highest ranking Rabbi helps put the story of Christ into its proper context.'
First century historian Dr Mark Whitters, of Eastern Michigan University, believes that The Jesus Discovery gives a proper insight into how Jesus was able to become such an important figure.
He said: 'Bradford brings to bear his formal training in medicine and psychology on a topic that requires some 'outside the box' thinking.
'This is a fresh perspective on the life of Jesus based on first century sources.
'Bradford asks some common-sense questions that these sources provoke but are rarely asked by modern biblical commentators.
'The book is consistent and provoking for anyone who wants to understand why Jesus shook up the world of Palestine in the first-century.'
Saturday, April 3, 2010
الترجمة إلى العربية
آخر تحديث: الجمعة 02 أبريل 2010 الساعة 08:56PM بتوقيت الإمارات
إسماعيل ديب
في ظل هذه الثورة المعرفية، وتأخرنا كعرب عن اللحاق بركب الثورة المعرفية والعلمية، تبرز أهمية الترجمة كضرورة حتمية، لمواكبة هذا التطور المعرفي (والتكنولوجي) فالترجمة إلى العربية انفتاح على الحضارات الأخرى، وتفاعل معها، وقد عني العرب قديماً في عصر ازدهار الحضارة العربية والإسلامية بالترجمة إلى العربية وترجم علماء العرب في العصر العباسي الكتب الكثيرة من السريانية وغيرها ووضعوا فيها المصنفات الجليلة وهُناك مؤلفات مترجمة ضخمة.
وعندما تُرجمت هذه المؤلفات للعربية أصبحت اللغة العربية في ذلك العصر هي اللغة العلمية والأدبية للشعوب الأخرى، فألفوا بها وكتبوا بها، فالعناية باللغة العربية من خلال ترجمة الكتب من اللغات الأخرى إلى العربية أذابت شخصية أولئك الأقوام في بوتقة العرب وجعلتهم يتأثرون بالعرب وثقافتهم وحضارتهم، وقد أثبتت اللغة العربية قدرتها على مسايرة ومواكبة التطور العلمي، وقد اقتحمت عالم الحواسيب والإلكترونيات، وترجمت إليها الكتب العلمية والأدبية، ونجحت نجاحاً كبيراً في ذلك.
إنّ دراسة مختلف التخصصات من طب، وهندسة، وعلوم طبيعية، وفلك، وعلوم أخرى باللغة الأم يفيد الدارس أكثر من الدراسة بلغة أجنبية، ولأهمية ذلك أوصت منظمة الصحة العالمية واليونيسكو بضرورة دراسة العلوم المختلفة باللغة الأم، لأن التعليم باللغة الأم أكثر فائدة من حيث الفهم والاستيعاب، في مختلف التخصصات العلمية والأدبية وغيرها.
وترجمة العلوم المختلفة من طب وهندسة وتكنولوجيا، إلى العربية ضرورة من ضرورات تطور العربية ذاتها وتطور أبنائها، واستمرار التواصل والانفتاح على الحضارات الأخرى، والابتعاد عن التقوقع. والاكتفاء بالوقوف على أطلال الماضي المشرق والمتقدم للحضارة العربية والإسلامية.
لقد دُرِّس الطب في جامعة القاهرة باللغة العربية 60 عاماً منذ 1827م إلى 1887م، وأوقف الاستعمار تدريسه باللغة العربية لخطورة ذلك، ولإدراكه خطورة تدريسه بالعربية، وما زالت جامعة دمشق وجامعات أخرى في سورية تدرس الطب والهندسة باللغة العربية.
ترجمة العلوم الطبيعية والرياضيات والطب والهندسة إلى العربية ومن ثم دراستها باللغة العربية يضيف إلى العربية ويغني مفرداتها بمفردات علمية جديدة ومفاهيم جديدة يستطيع أبناؤها استيعابها بأبعادها العلمية الحديثة.
وهنا لابد من الإشادة بمشروع كبير وهو ذو أهمية عظيمة جداً ويستحق الإشادة به، ومباركة جهود القائمين عليه، ألا وهو مشروع «كلمة» الذي تقوم به هيئة الثقافة والتراث في أبوظبي والذي ترجم ما يقارب ثلاثمائة مؤلف في مختلف العلوم ومن إحدى عشرة لغة عالمية، فأن تترجم من إحدى عشرة لغة فذلك انفتاح وتواصل مع حضارات أخرى متنوعة الثقافة. وما يقدمه هذا المشروع ستكون له نتائج إيجابية جداً حاضراً ومستقبلاً على اللغة العربية ذاتها، بإغنائها بالمفردات العلمية، وإثبات قدرتها على استيعاب مختلف أنواع العلوم، وعلى أبنائها بإطلاعهم على مستجدات التطور العلمي والحضاري وإنجازات مختلف الحضارات، ومن ثمّ دفعهم إلى مواكبة التطور.
«لا - لو - لي»
نصح أحدهم صاحبه الذي يلحن (يخطئ) في كلامه قائلاً:
- لو كنت إذا شككت في إعراب كلمة عبّرت عنها بكلمة أخرى لاسترحت، فإن الكلام واسع.
- فقال الرجل: أفعل.
- ثم لقي بعد ذلك رجلاً مشهوراً بالبلاغة، فأراد أن يسأله عن أخيه، فقال له: أخوك أخيك أخاك، ها هنا؟
- فقال له: لا.. لو.. لي.. ليس هنا!
Institute Targets To Translate 300 Titles A Year
MUAR, April 3 (Bernama)
The National Institute of Translation Malaysia has targeted to translate 300 books written by local writers and intellectuals into major international languages.
Its chairman Datuk Dr Shahruddin Mat Salleh said the move would not only introduce the books internationally but also help to market them.
"Among the books are those written by professors at local universities and by National Laureates which are many but have never been translated into foreign languages," he said when met at the Jorak assemblyman service centre near Bukit Pasir here on Saturday.
Dr Shahruddin who is the assemblyman for the area said among books which had been translated into foreign languages were those by cartoonist Lat, which were translated into six foreign languages.
The move had also introduced Malaysia in the eyes of the world, he said.
He also hoped that the move would encourage publishers and writers to come up with quality work which can be promoted internationally.
The National Institute of Translation Malaysia has targeted to translate 300 books written by local writers and intellectuals into major international languages.
Its chairman Datuk Dr Shahruddin Mat Salleh said the move would not only introduce the books internationally but also help to market them.
"Among the books are those written by professors at local universities and by National Laureates which are many but have never been translated into foreign languages," he said when met at the Jorak assemblyman service centre near Bukit Pasir here on Saturday.
Dr Shahruddin who is the assemblyman for the area said among books which had been translated into foreign languages were those by cartoonist Lat, which were translated into six foreign languages.
The move had also introduced Malaysia in the eyes of the world, he said.
He also hoped that the move would encourage publishers and writers to come up with quality work which can be promoted internationally.
Iraq visa requirements may push U.S. interpreters out the door
By Michael Gisick, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Friday, April 2, 2010
BAGHDAD — As the Iraqi government pushes for more control over the tens of thousands of American contractors still in the country, some high-level U.S. interpreters say new visa regulations are pushing them to leave.
The interpreters, Arab-Americans who work in sensitive areas such as intelligence or as liaisons between senior American officers and Iraqi officials, worry that submitting the details of their identities to the Iraqi government could endanger themselves or family members living in Iraq or elsewhere in the region.
“Working for four years doing intel, pretty much I know how corrupt things are,” said one former Iraqi-American interpreter who quit her job and returned to the U.S. last month after her company notified employees they would need to apply for a visa. Like other interpreters interviewed for this story, she spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Along with many other U.S. contractors, most interpreters travel to Iraq via military flight from an air base in Kuwait to one of several air bases in Iraq. Unlike at the commercial airport in Baghdad, there are no visa checks at the bases. But Douglas Ebner, a spokesman for DynCorp International, said the company was recently told its employees would need visas anyway.
“We have been informed by Iraqi government authorities that contractors, including interpreters, who use military transportation hubs to enter Iraq, as well as those individuals already in-country, must apply for the appropriate visa,” he said in an e-mailed statement. “We take very seriously our corporate obligation to comply with applicable local laws.”
It’s not clear how or whether the Iraqi government will enforce that requirement.
Qusai al-Kubaisi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said contractors entering via U.S. military bases have been required to apply for visas for more than a year, though that has never been enforced.
Still, the change could affect thousands of the nearly 100,000 U.S. contractors who remain in Iraq. And it comes amid continuing attempts by the Iraqi government to clamp down on those contractors — especially ones involved in security.
Angry over a U.S. judge’s dismissal of criminal charges against five security contractors accused in the September 2007 shooting deaths of 17 people in Baghdad, Iraqi officials in February ordered any contractors who ever worked for the former Blackwater Worldwide out of the country and threatened to arrest on visa violations any who failed to leave — an apparent acknowledgement that many contractors arrive without a visa.
The day after that threat was issued, a site manager for Global Linguist Solutions sent interpreters an e-mail telling them a visa was “now required to enter and exit Iraq” and asking them to submit personal information including their father’s name and their country of birth.
Global Linguist Solutions, a subsidiary of DynCorp and McNeil Technologies, was awarded a five-year, $4.6 billion contract in 2007 to provide translation services to the military in Iraq, including up to 1,000 Arabic-speaking U.S. citizens with security clearances.
And some of those interpreters say information like their father’s name and their birthplace — though standard lines on a visa application in the Arab world — would make their families easy to find.
“I was involved in a lot of things that weren’t pretty,” said one interpreter still in Baghdad, who said he wasn’t sure whether he would comply with the visa regulation. “I put a lot of people behind bars. So of course I’m worried about it.”
Interpreters have been given the option to quit their jobs and leave Iraq if they don’t want to submit the information. But that has left some feeling like they’re being cast aside. Some also say interpreters should have been given protections under the Status of Forces Agreement, and complain that the military has shown little interest in standing up for them now.
“We’re always being told how we’re essential to the mission and we are, because if not for us, nobody can understand each other,” said another interpreter in Baghdad. “We are proud Americans and we want to see this through, but now we feel like we’re being abandoned. It’s just, ‘Do this or get out.’”
This is not the first time interpreters’ identities have become a sensitive issue. Locally hired Iraqi interpreters long wore bandanas over their faces while on patrol with U.S. troops and resisted occasional attempts to have them unmask, which the military saw as a signal of a return to normalcy. Iraqi interpreters also complained about attempts by the Iraqi government to make them pay taxes — hardly ever paid by anyone in Iraq — which required them to declare their employer.
The interpreters hired from the U.S. essentially represent the top-level translators in the country, and few ever wore bandanas. But they still worry.
“I support the mission very much, but if it comes to putting myself or my family in danger then I have to draw the line and quit,” said the former translator. “We were hired by the U.S. Army, so I don’t see why we have to deal with the corrupt Iraqi government.”
Stars and Stripes online edition, Friday, April 2, 2010
BAGHDAD — As the Iraqi government pushes for more control over the tens of thousands of American contractors still in the country, some high-level U.S. interpreters say new visa regulations are pushing them to leave.
The interpreters, Arab-Americans who work in sensitive areas such as intelligence or as liaisons between senior American officers and Iraqi officials, worry that submitting the details of their identities to the Iraqi government could endanger themselves or family members living in Iraq or elsewhere in the region.
“Working for four years doing intel, pretty much I know how corrupt things are,” said one former Iraqi-American interpreter who quit her job and returned to the U.S. last month after her company notified employees they would need to apply for a visa. Like other interpreters interviewed for this story, she spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Along with many other U.S. contractors, most interpreters travel to Iraq via military flight from an air base in Kuwait to one of several air bases in Iraq. Unlike at the commercial airport in Baghdad, there are no visa checks at the bases. But Douglas Ebner, a spokesman for DynCorp International, said the company was recently told its employees would need visas anyway.
“We have been informed by Iraqi government authorities that contractors, including interpreters, who use military transportation hubs to enter Iraq, as well as those individuals already in-country, must apply for the appropriate visa,” he said in an e-mailed statement. “We take very seriously our corporate obligation to comply with applicable local laws.”
It’s not clear how or whether the Iraqi government will enforce that requirement.
Qusai al-Kubaisi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said contractors entering via U.S. military bases have been required to apply for visas for more than a year, though that has never been enforced.
Still, the change could affect thousands of the nearly 100,000 U.S. contractors who remain in Iraq. And it comes amid continuing attempts by the Iraqi government to clamp down on those contractors — especially ones involved in security.
Angry over a U.S. judge’s dismissal of criminal charges against five security contractors accused in the September 2007 shooting deaths of 17 people in Baghdad, Iraqi officials in February ordered any contractors who ever worked for the former Blackwater Worldwide out of the country and threatened to arrest on visa violations any who failed to leave — an apparent acknowledgement that many contractors arrive without a visa.
The day after that threat was issued, a site manager for Global Linguist Solutions sent interpreters an e-mail telling them a visa was “now required to enter and exit Iraq” and asking them to submit personal information including their father’s name and their country of birth.
Global Linguist Solutions, a subsidiary of DynCorp and McNeil Technologies, was awarded a five-year, $4.6 billion contract in 2007 to provide translation services to the military in Iraq, including up to 1,000 Arabic-speaking U.S. citizens with security clearances.
And some of those interpreters say information like their father’s name and their birthplace — though standard lines on a visa application in the Arab world — would make their families easy to find.
“I was involved in a lot of things that weren’t pretty,” said one interpreter still in Baghdad, who said he wasn’t sure whether he would comply with the visa regulation. “I put a lot of people behind bars. So of course I’m worried about it.”
Interpreters have been given the option to quit their jobs and leave Iraq if they don’t want to submit the information. But that has left some feeling like they’re being cast aside. Some also say interpreters should have been given protections under the Status of Forces Agreement, and complain that the military has shown little interest in standing up for them now.
“We’re always being told how we’re essential to the mission and we are, because if not for us, nobody can understand each other,” said another interpreter in Baghdad. “We are proud Americans and we want to see this through, but now we feel like we’re being abandoned. It’s just, ‘Do this or get out.’”
This is not the first time interpreters’ identities have become a sensitive issue. Locally hired Iraqi interpreters long wore bandanas over their faces while on patrol with U.S. troops and resisted occasional attempts to have them unmask, which the military saw as a signal of a return to normalcy. Iraqi interpreters also complained about attempts by the Iraqi government to make them pay taxes — hardly ever paid by anyone in Iraq — which required them to declare their employer.
The interpreters hired from the U.S. essentially represent the top-level translators in the country, and few ever wore bandanas. But they still worry.
“I support the mission very much, but if it comes to putting myself or my family in danger then I have to draw the line and quit,” said the former translator. “We were hired by the U.S. Army, so I don’t see why we have to deal with the corrupt Iraqi government.”
UN Interpreters Make Sure Nothing Is Lost In Translation
by Nikola Krastev
* Corrections appended
UNITED NATIONS -- When Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi delivered his notorious 96-minute speech before the UN General Assembly last autumn, no one may have been more aware of each passing minute than his personal translator, Fouad Zlitni, whom he had brought along for the occasion.
Nearly three-quarters of the way into Qaddafi's address, Zlitni collapsed, undone by the effort of translating the Libyan leader's rambling, at times angry, speech from Arabic into English for nearly 75 minutes straight.
Hossam Fahr, the Egyptian-born head of the UN's interpretation service, says Qaddafi's translator went far beyond the normal limits of what an interpreter can reasonably be expected to do.
Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi at the UN General Assembly in September
"It was a very unusual situation, because every member state has the right to bring its own interpreter. [Qaddafi] had his own interpreters; they were already installed in the booths. So we let them do the work, and then unfortunately, one of them just collapsed a good 75 minutes into the statement," Fahr said.
"I take my hat off to him -- he did a very good job under the circumstances."
The incident served to highlight the grueling nature of simultaneous interpretation, a profession which few ordinary people have occasion to observe.
But at the United Nations, which brings together 192 member states and a profusion of mother tongues in its day-to-day pursuit of international diplomacy, interpretation is at the very core of its operations.
The annual General Assembly -- which every autumn brings together the entire UN membership for a massive two-week series of speeches and policy reviews -- may represent the World Cup of professional interpretation.
But even on a day-to-day basis, the UN's councils, committees, and publications produce enough work to keep its language staff of nearly 460 people busy on a full-time basis.
Barry Olsen, who heads the conference interpretation program at California's highly respected Monterey Institute of International Studies -- from which a number of UN translators have graduated -- says UN language specialists are generally considered the best in the business.
"A translator or interpreter who works for the United Nations has reached what is very much one of the pinnacles of the profession. It is an organization that is respected and the linguistic work that goes on with the United Nations is of the highest order," Olsen says.
Iron Nerves And A Sense Of Style
Although the official working languages at the United Nations are English and French, the UN has six official languages into which the bulk of its official documents and publications are automatically translated -- English and French, plus Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. (In instances where other languages are needed, the UN will hire freelance interpreters or country delegations will bring in their own translators.)
UN interpreters, most typically, translate from their acquired languages into their native tongue. With language like Chinese and Arabic -- where accomplished translators are more difficult to find -- interpreters will translate both into their native language as well as their adopted ones.
It's an intense experience that can drain even the most accomplished interpreters. To avoid a Qaddafi-like marathon, in fact, the UN abides by a strict timetable in which interpreters work in teams of two, with one typically working no more than 20 minutes at a time before switching to his or her partner. (General Assembly speeches, moreover, are usually kept to 15 minutes or less.)
Mastering a language is only the start to being a good interpreter. In a UN guide for would-be language specialists, the job appears to be equal parts diplomat, rocket scientist, and traffic cop. "A good translator," it reads, "knows techniques for coping with a huge variety of difficult situations, has iron nerves, does not panic, has a sense of style, and can keep up with a rapid speakers."
Igor Shpiniov (left) of the UN's language-training divsion, Hossam Fahr, the chief of the UN Interpretation Service, and Stephen Sekel, the former chief of the UN English Translation Service.
Stiff Competition
Such people, it appears, are hard to find. Despite salaries that are among the highest in the profession -- top-rank UN interpreters can earn up to $210,000 a year -- the United Nations is suffering a severe shortage of qualified language personnel.
"We're looking for people with good comprehension skills. Sometimes people who translate from French or English into Russian do not necessarily speak fluently in English or French," says Igor Shpiniov, a Ukrainian-born translator who coordinates training and outreach programs in the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management.
"Sometimes, paradoxically, they can translate a text about atomic energy, but if you ask them to buy milk at a French supermarket, they'll be at a loss."
Competition for the jobs is stiff. Out of 1,800 applicants looking to work as Chinese interpreters last year, only 10 passed the UN examination. For Arabic, only two out of 400 made the cut.
Many UN language experts work as translators for the vast numbers of publications and documents that pass through the international body each year. But the most prestigious position is that of the simultaneous interpreters when language experts sit in soundproof booths and provide a running translation of often highly technical or politically charged speeches.
The Comma Affair
The profession was first developed during the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals in 1946. Now both the General Assembly and Security Council have eight translation booths -- one for each of the UN's official languages, and two for alternate language translations. (According to UN rules, the media is barred from sitting in on live interpretation sessions.)
When working at important events like Security Council meetings, interpreters are often allowed to prepare with advance information about the proceedings, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the concepts and terminology of the debate. The agenda for the General Assembly is often planned months in advance, allowing the translation team ample time to estimate how many interpreters will be needed for scheduled talks.
Still, no amount of advance planning can completely protect interpreters from anxiety when the time has come for them to translate. Some studies have shown that during intense debates, interpreters often experience an increase in blood pressure and heart rate as they struggle to translate different terms, nuances, and arguments into smooth, comprehensible phrases.
Movies like "The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman as a UN translator and filmed inside the United Nations compound, brought an aura of Hollywood glamour and intrigue to the role of interpreters. In reality, the job can be far more prosaic, although constant worries about involuntary bloopers and misinterpretations can keep tensions high.
In one instance, a firestorm was raised when a single comma was removed from the text of a UN resolution involving two unnamed former Soviet republics in the thick of a border dispute. One of the countries, angered by the omission, demanded it be replaced. But the UN translators, undaunted, said the comma had distorted the meaning of the text. Not everyone was happy, but in the end, the comma stayed out.
Mistakes And Applause
Interpretation head Fahr also recalls a mistake he made as an Arabic-English interpreter when the Egyptian diplomat Boutros Boutros-Ghali was sworn in as UN secretary-general in 1992.
"What comes out of my mouth is, 'I congratulate you upon your election as secretary-general of the United States.' And everybody in the General Assembly laughed," Fahr said.
"So the president of the General Assembly asked the then-secretary-general, [Peru's Javier] Perez de Cuellar, 'Why are they laughing?' and he said, 'The English interpreter made a mistake.' "
In the end, Fahr says, he received a forgiving round of applause.
Stephen Sekel, former chief of the UN's English translation service, says such mistakes are rare and that member states or senior managers only occasionally demand an interpreter be sanctioned for an error. Overall, he says, the skill and professionalism of the UN translation team ensures that they remain an indispensible, behind-the-scenes asset.
"We expect our language staff to bring a great deal of general knowledge to the job, a high level of education and a lot of intellectual curiosity," Sekel said.
"They are expected to be continuous learners. They wouldn't survive otherwise. Perhaps that explains why we don't have too many examples of terrible mistakes that brought us to the brink of a major international crisis."
* UN translators can earn up to $210,000 per year, not $79,000, as the article originally stated, "reflecting the high demand for the unique skills a UN interpreter should possess,” according to Stephen Sekel. Sekel was also misquoted in the article's original text. He said mistakes by translators are rare and that member states or senior UN managers only occasionally demand punishment for such errors.
* Corrections appended
UNITED NATIONS -- When Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi delivered his notorious 96-minute speech before the UN General Assembly last autumn, no one may have been more aware of each passing minute than his personal translator, Fouad Zlitni, whom he had brought along for the occasion.
Nearly three-quarters of the way into Qaddafi's address, Zlitni collapsed, undone by the effort of translating the Libyan leader's rambling, at times angry, speech from Arabic into English for nearly 75 minutes straight.
Hossam Fahr, the Egyptian-born head of the UN's interpretation service, says Qaddafi's translator went far beyond the normal limits of what an interpreter can reasonably be expected to do.
Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi at the UN General Assembly in September
"It was a very unusual situation, because every member state has the right to bring its own interpreter. [Qaddafi] had his own interpreters; they were already installed in the booths. So we let them do the work, and then unfortunately, one of them just collapsed a good 75 minutes into the statement," Fahr said.
"I take my hat off to him -- he did a very good job under the circumstances."
The incident served to highlight the grueling nature of simultaneous interpretation, a profession which few ordinary people have occasion to observe.
But at the United Nations, which brings together 192 member states and a profusion of mother tongues in its day-to-day pursuit of international diplomacy, interpretation is at the very core of its operations.
The annual General Assembly -- which every autumn brings together the entire UN membership for a massive two-week series of speeches and policy reviews -- may represent the World Cup of professional interpretation.
But even on a day-to-day basis, the UN's councils, committees, and publications produce enough work to keep its language staff of nearly 460 people busy on a full-time basis.
Barry Olsen, who heads the conference interpretation program at California's highly respected Monterey Institute of International Studies -- from which a number of UN translators have graduated -- says UN language specialists are generally considered the best in the business.
"A translator or interpreter who works for the United Nations has reached what is very much one of the pinnacles of the profession. It is an organization that is respected and the linguistic work that goes on with the United Nations is of the highest order," Olsen says.
Iron Nerves And A Sense Of Style
Although the official working languages at the United Nations are English and French, the UN has six official languages into which the bulk of its official documents and publications are automatically translated -- English and French, plus Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. (In instances where other languages are needed, the UN will hire freelance interpreters or country delegations will bring in their own translators.)
UN interpreters, most typically, translate from their acquired languages into their native tongue. With language like Chinese and Arabic -- where accomplished translators are more difficult to find -- interpreters will translate both into their native language as well as their adopted ones.
It's an intense experience that can drain even the most accomplished interpreters. To avoid a Qaddafi-like marathon, in fact, the UN abides by a strict timetable in which interpreters work in teams of two, with one typically working no more than 20 minutes at a time before switching to his or her partner. (General Assembly speeches, moreover, are usually kept to 15 minutes or less.)
Mastering a language is only the start to being a good interpreter. In a UN guide for would-be language specialists, the job appears to be equal parts diplomat, rocket scientist, and traffic cop. "A good translator," it reads, "knows techniques for coping with a huge variety of difficult situations, has iron nerves, does not panic, has a sense of style, and can keep up with a rapid speakers."
Igor Shpiniov (left) of the UN's language-training divsion, Hossam Fahr, the chief of the UN Interpretation Service, and Stephen Sekel, the former chief of the UN English Translation Service.
Stiff Competition
Such people, it appears, are hard to find. Despite salaries that are among the highest in the profession -- top-rank UN interpreters can earn up to $210,000 a year -- the United Nations is suffering a severe shortage of qualified language personnel.
"We're looking for people with good comprehension skills. Sometimes people who translate from French or English into Russian do not necessarily speak fluently in English or French," says Igor Shpiniov, a Ukrainian-born translator who coordinates training and outreach programs in the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management.
"Sometimes, paradoxically, they can translate a text about atomic energy, but if you ask them to buy milk at a French supermarket, they'll be at a loss."
Competition for the jobs is stiff. Out of 1,800 applicants looking to work as Chinese interpreters last year, only 10 passed the UN examination. For Arabic, only two out of 400 made the cut.
Many UN language experts work as translators for the vast numbers of publications and documents that pass through the international body each year. But the most prestigious position is that of the simultaneous interpreters when language experts sit in soundproof booths and provide a running translation of often highly technical or politically charged speeches.
The Comma Affair
The profession was first developed during the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals in 1946. Now both the General Assembly and Security Council have eight translation booths -- one for each of the UN's official languages, and two for alternate language translations. (According to UN rules, the media is barred from sitting in on live interpretation sessions.)
When working at important events like Security Council meetings, interpreters are often allowed to prepare with advance information about the proceedings, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the concepts and terminology of the debate. The agenda for the General Assembly is often planned months in advance, allowing the translation team ample time to estimate how many interpreters will be needed for scheduled talks.
Still, no amount of advance planning can completely protect interpreters from anxiety when the time has come for them to translate. Some studies have shown that during intense debates, interpreters often experience an increase in blood pressure and heart rate as they struggle to translate different terms, nuances, and arguments into smooth, comprehensible phrases.
Movies like "The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman as a UN translator and filmed inside the United Nations compound, brought an aura of Hollywood glamour and intrigue to the role of interpreters. In reality, the job can be far more prosaic, although constant worries about involuntary bloopers and misinterpretations can keep tensions high.
In one instance, a firestorm was raised when a single comma was removed from the text of a UN resolution involving two unnamed former Soviet republics in the thick of a border dispute. One of the countries, angered by the omission, demanded it be replaced. But the UN translators, undaunted, said the comma had distorted the meaning of the text. Not everyone was happy, but in the end, the comma stayed out.
Mistakes And Applause
Interpretation head Fahr also recalls a mistake he made as an Arabic-English interpreter when the Egyptian diplomat Boutros Boutros-Ghali was sworn in as UN secretary-general in 1992.
"What comes out of my mouth is, 'I congratulate you upon your election as secretary-general of the United States.' And everybody in the General Assembly laughed," Fahr said.
"So the president of the General Assembly asked the then-secretary-general, [Peru's Javier] Perez de Cuellar, 'Why are they laughing?' and he said, 'The English interpreter made a mistake.' "
In the end, Fahr says, he received a forgiving round of applause.
Stephen Sekel, former chief of the UN's English translation service, says such mistakes are rare and that member states or senior managers only occasionally demand an interpreter be sanctioned for an error. Overall, he says, the skill and professionalism of the UN translation team ensures that they remain an indispensible, behind-the-scenes asset.
"We expect our language staff to bring a great deal of general knowledge to the job, a high level of education and a lot of intellectual curiosity," Sekel said.
"They are expected to be continuous learners. They wouldn't survive otherwise. Perhaps that explains why we don't have too many examples of terrible mistakes that brought us to the brink of a major international crisis."
* UN translators can earn up to $210,000 per year, not $79,000, as the article originally stated, "reflecting the high demand for the unique skills a UN interpreter should possess,” according to Stephen Sekel. Sekel was also misquoted in the article's original text. He said mistakes by translators are rare and that member states or senior UN managers only occasionally demand punishment for such errors.
Station translator source of FM radio issues
Interference heard in downtown Salem for 2 days fixed, officials say
The pulsating static interrupting FM radio stations in downtown Salem is gone — and no, it wasn't just your radio.
After two days, the source of the problem was identified: a translator — a device used to re-broadcast another signal — on top of the Equitable Center at High and Center streets NE.
The Statesman Journal received nearly 100 e-mails and phone calls, with most reporting problems with stations in the 90 megahertz range — the stations with numbers in the 90s — and most problems being downtown.
The translator belongs to Bicoastal Media, and it is used to broadcast Albany country station KRKT on the 96.3 frequency to the Salem area.
The translator had "electronically drifted," Bicoastal officials said. Although it did not appear to be damaged, it was broadcasting into other stations as well as its own, known as "spurious emission."
City of Salem engineers contacted Bicoastal's Tiburon, Calif., headquarters about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Kevin Mostyn, the media company's vice president and director of technology.
It was the first he had heard of the problem, Mostyn said.
Eugene-based engineers were sent to fix the translator, and Mostyn said the problem was corrected by 1:10 p.m., although he was short on details.
"We were able to get somebody ... to go in and make an adjustment, so now everything appears to be OK," he said.
"It appears not to have been damaged, but it appears to have drifted slightly," he said. "It was an electrical drift."
It wasn't clear how long the problem had been going on, but those who contacted the Statesman Journal said it had been noticeably worse in the past few days.
Ken Lewetag, the general manager of Northwest Television, said that broken antennas can often cause "splatter," when instead of broadcasting on the correct frequency, small bits of the station spread across the spectrum and interfere with other stations.
Mike Gotterba, a spokesman for the city of Salem, said his radio engineers started investigating Tuesday morning after several complaints of pulsating interference.
Engineers used city equipment to detect the frequency that was causing the troubles and contacted Bicoastal Media, he said.
Although it is possible for the FCC to fine radio stations for broadcast interference, there's many mitigating factors, spokesperson Jessica Almond said.
"A lot of translators are not manned, so we don't hold the licenses to a very high standard of knowing something's gone wrong right away," she said, adding that weather is often the culprit. "They need to look at the totality of the circumstances — was it totally a mistake? Is it weather related? Is it something the station could have prevented?"
Mostyn said he's pleased the problem has been fixed, and wished that he had known about it earlier.
"Had anyone called us earlier, we would have fixed it right away, but we didn't know about it," he said.
And, most of the people who contacted the Statesman Journal spoke of being relieved, having thought it was just them.
"I was just about to call the dealership to see if I needed a new radio," wrote Sarah Nash.
The pulsating static interrupting FM radio stations in downtown Salem is gone — and no, it wasn't just your radio.
After two days, the source of the problem was identified: a translator — a device used to re-broadcast another signal — on top of the Equitable Center at High and Center streets NE.
The Statesman Journal received nearly 100 e-mails and phone calls, with most reporting problems with stations in the 90 megahertz range — the stations with numbers in the 90s — and most problems being downtown.
The translator belongs to Bicoastal Media, and it is used to broadcast Albany country station KRKT on the 96.3 frequency to the Salem area.
The translator had "electronically drifted," Bicoastal officials said. Although it did not appear to be damaged, it was broadcasting into other stations as well as its own, known as "spurious emission."
City of Salem engineers contacted Bicoastal's Tiburon, Calif., headquarters about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Kevin Mostyn, the media company's vice president and director of technology.
It was the first he had heard of the problem, Mostyn said.
Eugene-based engineers were sent to fix the translator, and Mostyn said the problem was corrected by 1:10 p.m., although he was short on details.
"We were able to get somebody ... to go in and make an adjustment, so now everything appears to be OK," he said.
"It appears not to have been damaged, but it appears to have drifted slightly," he said. "It was an electrical drift."
It wasn't clear how long the problem had been going on, but those who contacted the Statesman Journal said it had been noticeably worse in the past few days.
Ken Lewetag, the general manager of Northwest Television, said that broken antennas can often cause "splatter," when instead of broadcasting on the correct frequency, small bits of the station spread across the spectrum and interfere with other stations.
Mike Gotterba, a spokesman for the city of Salem, said his radio engineers started investigating Tuesday morning after several complaints of pulsating interference.
Engineers used city equipment to detect the frequency that was causing the troubles and contacted Bicoastal Media, he said.
Although it is possible for the FCC to fine radio stations for broadcast interference, there's many mitigating factors, spokesperson Jessica Almond said.
"A lot of translators are not manned, so we don't hold the licenses to a very high standard of knowing something's gone wrong right away," she said, adding that weather is often the culprit. "They need to look at the totality of the circumstances — was it totally a mistake? Is it weather related? Is it something the station could have prevented?"
Mostyn said he's pleased the problem has been fixed, and wished that he had known about it earlier.
"Had anyone called us earlier, we would have fixed it right away, but we didn't know about it," he said.
And, most of the people who contacted the Statesman Journal spoke of being relieved, having thought it was just them.
"I was just about to call the dealership to see if I needed a new radio," wrote Sarah Nash.
Friday, April 2, 2010
RELEASED IN TRANSLATION
Imprisoned for alleged errors in translation, the ‘Wayward Quran Translators’ have been released from an Afghani jail.
Three Afghanis have been released from an Afghani jail after serving short sentences for allegedly mistranslating the Quran, Islam’s holy scripture.
Journalist Ahmed Ghous Zalmai, publisher Mohammad Ateef Noori and community leader Mullah Qari Mushtaq, were released on March 20, the International PEN organization said.
Reporters Without Borders, which has been following the case, confirmed their release as part of a presidential pardon in honor of the Nowruz festival and the first day of spring.
Zalmai and Mullah Mushtaq were serving a twenty-year prison sentence and Noori a five-year prison sentence.
“Obviously we are delighted,” Cathy McCann, a researcher on Asia and the Middle East
for International PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee, told The Media Line. “Broadly speaking, this appears to be is a politicized case whereby the individuals concerned became caught up in a tension between secular political forces and the country's religious leadership.”
PEN has been involved in a joint diplomatic effort to secure the release of a number of writers in Afghanistan.
“This case was raised through diplomatic channels with the Afghan authorities alongside other high profile cases, notably Said Parvez Kambakhsh,” McCann said. “Ultimately, the release of Zalmai, Noori and Mullah Mushtaq is thought to have been the result of New Year pardons approved by religious leaders.”
According to International PEN’s information, the three were convicted in September 2008 under article 130 of the Afghan constitution for publishing the Quran in Dari, a Farsi dialect spoken in Afghanistan.
The translation was carried out by an Iranian living in the United States.
Zalmai said a copy of the translation was brought to the Tamim-e-Ansar Mosque in Kabul by an unknown individual in September 2007, and was very well received by those present.
He was asked to use his position as a well-known journalist and head of the publication department of the Attorney General's office to find a way to publish more copies of the translation.
Mosque leader Mullah Qari Mushtaq gave his authority as a religious scholar for the new translation and Zalmai found a publisher.
After it was published, however, fundamentalist groups, parliamentarians and clerics demanded an ‘exemplary punishment' for those involved in the publication.
A Kabul court sentenced the journalist Zalmai to 20 years in prison alongside Mullah Qari Mushtaq, leader of the Tamim-e-Ansar Mosque and a respected religious figure, in September 2008. Publisher Mohammad Ateef Noori was handed down a five-year sentence.
The conviction reportedly came about because they failed to print the Arabic original version of the Quran alongside the translation, as reportedly required by Islamic law in Afghanistan. There were also alleged errors and misunderstandings in the translation.
Critics of the sentence said that the original verdicts exemplified the tight clutch that conservatives and Taliban sympathizers have over the judiciary in Afghanistan.
“There are still a lot of things to do to improve the polity and independence of the judiciary,” Vincent Brossel, head of the Asia desk at Reporters Without Borders (RSF) told The Media Line. “Many religious people and conservatives have been influential in the judiciary at different levels and the case of Zalmai was very clearly instrumentalized and used by the conservatives sitting in the judicial system. The judiciary is abusing the blasphemy issue. They have trials where the defendant cannot oppose the accusations because it involves very risky issues.”
“When you talk about blasphemy, the courts never consider freedom of opinion,” he continued. “They just look at the religious angle. The sentences were very long so it shows how the judiciary is under the influence of the conservatives.”
A positive trend, he added, was that lawyers in Afghanistan are now better qualified to defend their clients than they were in the past.
“But the judges are the same,” he said. “So we don’t see much change.”
Karin Ask, an Afghanistan researcher with the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) told The Media Line that cases of this kind are not new to Afghanistan.
“The release follows previous patterns where Afghan civil rights activists and journalists who speak up, for example on an alternative interpretation of women's rights in Islam, are first convicted and only released after pressure from national and international activists,” she said.
Ask explained that the severity of the original verdict was due to the sensitivity of the issue, in that translations of the Quran are seen as “taboo and sacrilegious by many orthodox Muslims.”
“Making the text accessible in the vernacular is also a threat to the authoritative interpretation of the religious experts, the Ulema,” she added.
John Macleod, Senior Editor and Acting Program Director for Central Asia at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting said the case could be drawing on a general atmosphere among conservatives in the country.
“It may be less about specific political opponents hijacking the issue than about conservatives in general seizing upon almost anything they regard as wrong – Indian films on TV, allegedly blasphemous publications, whatever – in order to harness a general sense of public discontent and beat up a government that is susceptible,” he told The Media Line.
“The Western-backed government has to show it is committed to Islamic values in order to beef up its local credibility,” Macleod continued. “It isn’t that religion drives everything. It’s that it is a very potent force in identifying who one is and whom one is against. The Taliban base their claim to legitimacy by saying they are more religious than the government, which they argue is corrupted by Western influence. The government has to defend itself. It’s an explosive debate. The more you can prove you are holier than your enemies, the more you discredit them.”
Their release is believed to have been the result of diplomatic pressure.
“The Afghan authorities are being pressured from many sides,” Macleod said. “On the one side, there are the kind of conservative forces who pushed this case. On the other is the international community which is effectively keeping them in power through military might, but has been disconcerted by the general lack of governance and a sense that last year’s elections were deeply flawed... For the latter, it isn’t great to be seen to be backing a system that locks people up using the same kind of reasoning the Taliban employ.”
“The release is probably due to the embarrassment such convictions cause to the national government, which just doesn’t need accusations that it is implementing draconian religious laws at a time when its international credibility is already at stake.”
By Rachelle Kliger on Wednesday, March 31, 2010
English Translation of Korean Law Available Free
The English-version of Korean law is now accessible without charge on the Internet starting Thursday, making it possible for foreigners to efficiently research legal problems.
The Korea Legislation Research Institute said its Web site (www.klri.re.kr) has provided an English translation of the current Acts and Subordinate Statutes of the country.
It has also established databases used for offering online information services aimed at contributing to "enhancing worldwide understanding on the current Acts and Subordinate Statutes and facilitating external trade, and expanding the scope of foreign investment," the institute said in a press release.
Nearly 1,000 English versions of Korean Acts and Statutes, including the history of enactments and amendments, are available on the Web site. Users can search the content by name, field, government body, alphabetical order, promulgation date and table or form. It plans to add 600 more Acts and Statutes to the service by 2012.
The Korea Legislation Research Institute said its Web site (www.klri.re.kr) has provided an English translation of the current Acts and Subordinate Statutes of the country.
It has also established databases used for offering online information services aimed at contributing to "enhancing worldwide understanding on the current Acts and Subordinate Statutes and facilitating external trade, and expanding the scope of foreign investment," the institute said in a press release.
Nearly 1,000 English versions of Korean Acts and Statutes, including the history of enactments and amendments, are available on the Web site. Users can search the content by name, field, government body, alphabetical order, promulgation date and table or form. It plans to add 600 more Acts and Statutes to the service by 2012.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
العنانى: بعض أعمال محفوظ لا تستحق الترجم
الألفاظ الدينية بروايات نجيب محفوظ ضيعت قيمتها..
الأربعاء، 31 مارس 2010 - 21:47
كتب بلال رمضان
أكد الدكتور رشيد العنانى على أن الألفاظ الدينية التى استخدمها نجيب محفوظ فى رواياته تسببت فى ضياع قيمة هذه الروايات، فالترجمة الإنجليزية العلمانية لم تفهم دلالات الألفاظ الدينية كما أراد لها نجيب محفوظ، فقاموا بترجمتها ترجمة حرفية، وأضاف "برأيى أنه ليس كل ما ترجم عن نجيب محفوظ يستحق الترجمة، كما أن بعضًا من أعماله لن تصمد بفعل الزمن، حتى فى اللغة العربية، فهناك أعمال متوسطة القيمة وهذا ما سيكشف عنه الزمن".
جاء ذلك خلال الجلسة التى عقدت، مساء أمس الثلاثاء، بالمجلس الأعلى للثقافة ضمن فعليات المؤتمر الدولى للترجمة، وناقشت الجلسة ترجمات نجيب محفوظ فى الإنجليزية، وتحدث فيها د.رشيد العنانى والمستشرقة اليابانية ياما موتو، ود.ريشار جاكمون، ود.حسن حماد، وأدار الجلسة د.صبحى الحديدى.
وأوضح العنانى أن المترجمين خانوا نجيب محفوظ فى ترجمتهم وخاصة فى نقل الحوار من العربية إلى الإنجليزية، فالأسلوب اللغوى والحوارى ضعيف جدًا، مشيرًا إلى أنهم قاموا بترجمة الأسماء والأعلام والألفاظ الدينية ترجمةً حرفية، أفقدت هذه الترجمة الكثير من النصوص قيمتها، وهذا يرجع لأن نجيب محفوظ غالبًا ما كان يستخدم هذه الألفاظ بكثرة وبأكثر من دلالة واحدة فى صفحة واحدة، فمثلاً عندما يرى السيد أحمد عبد الجواد السيدة أمينة ويقول: "بسم الله ما شاء الله" "متعجبًا من جمالها" وتقول هى عندما تندهش من رؤيته فجأة "بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم" فإن المترجمين يقدمون لهذه الصورة ترجمة حرفية تفقدها قيمتها.
وأشار العنانى إلى أنه جارى ترجمة الأربعة روايات التى لم تترجم من أدب نجيب محفوظ، ونشرها قبل نهاية عام 2011 لتتزامن مع الذكرى المئوية لميلاد نجيب محفوظ. وأكد العنانى على أنه من المفارقات فى حياتنا أن الأحداث السياسية فى بعض الأحيان تؤدى إلى نتائج محمودة ومنها بعد أحداث 11 من سبتمبر، أصبح هناك اهتماما كبيرا باللغة العربية والثقافة العربية
مائة مترجم عربي وأجنبي يشاركون في مؤتمر «الترجمة وتحديات العصر» بالقاهرة
أقامه المركز القومي للترجمة في القاهرة ويستمر أربعة أيام
تاريخ النشر
29/03/2010 - 08:01 م
السبيل - وكالات
افتتح في دار الأوبرا المصرية أمس الأول مؤتمر "الترجمة وتحديات العصر" الذي نظمه المركز القومي للترجمة في القاهرة ويستمر أربعة أيام، بمشاركة نحو مائة باحث ومترجم عربي وأجنبي ويبحث قضايا متصلة بعملية الترجمة.
مدير المركز القومي للترجمة في القاهرة الدكتور جابر عصفور، أكد في كلمة بالافتتاح أنه فضلاً عن أن الترجمة تمثل قاطرة التقدم فهي وسيلة حتمية للتنمية، وعلى الرغم من تعدد مراكز الترجمة في العالم العربي إلا أن المحصلة العددية قليلة، وأن دولة مثل إسبانيا تترجم أكثر من الأقطار العربية مجتمعة، ذاهباً إلى أن ذلك يُدلل على أن العالم العربي يعيش في واقع متخلف -على حد وصفه-، مستدركاً: "إن الوحدة الثقافية تصلح ما تفسده السياسات العربية".
وكُرم على هامش المؤتمر مترجمون أجانب وعرباً أسهموا في إثراء حركة الترجمة وقضايا الحوار الثقافي وهم: الإسباني "بدرو مارتينيث مونتابيث" مؤسس الاستشراق الإسباني المعاصر، والأميركي "روجر آلن"، والبريطاني "دينيس جونسون ديفيز" (88 عاماً)، والليبي" خليفة التليسي" الذي توفي في كانون الثاني الماضي وتسلم درع التكريم ولده نزار، وأستاذ اللغة الإنجليزية بجامعة القاهرة "محمد عناني"، وأستاذ اللغة الألمانية بجامعة عين شمس "مصطفى ماهر"، والأستاذ بجامعة شيكاغو الأميركية "فاروق عبد الوهاب".
وقال التونسي عبد القادر المهيري -في كلمة له نيابة عن المشاركين العرب- إن لمصر دوراً مشهوداً في الريادة على طريق الانفتاح على الثقافات الأخرى، مضيفاً أنه ليس مصادفة أن تحمل جائزة الترجمة اسم رائد الترجمة والتعليم في مصر رفاعة الطهطاوي، الذي صار له أبناء وأحفاد من أبرزهم عميد الأدب العربي طه حسين.
إلى ذلك، شدد الأميركي روجر آلن -في كلمة له نيابة عن المشاركين الأجانب- على أن الترجمة هي أحسن وسائل تطوير التفاهم بين الشعوب، بينما أشار الإسباني بدرو مارتينيث مونتابيث في كلمة نيابة عن المكرمين إلى أن علاقته بمصر تمتد لأكثر من نصف قرن، إذ بدأت ترجماته لنصوص من الأدب العربي إلى الإسبانية منذ الخمسينيات.
ويتناول المؤتمر أحد عشر محوراً، منها "تحولات نظريات الترجمة" و"الترجمة والهوية الثقافية" و"الترجمة في عصر ما بعد الاستعمار"، و"الترجمة والعولمة وقضايا المصطلح" و"مشروعات الترجمة العربية ومؤسساتها"، و"معوقات التمويل والنشر والتوزيع" الخاصة بالكتاب المترجم في العالم العربي.
يذكر أن الترجمة في العصر العباسي كانت بعد الفتوحات العربيّة واتساع رقعة الدولة العربيّة نحو الشرق والغرب، واتصال العرب المباشر بغيرهم من الشعوب المجاورة وفي مقدمتهم الفرس واليونان لا سيما في العصر العباسي، إذ ازدادت الحاجة إلى الترجمة فقام العرب بترجمة علوم اليونان وبعض الأعمال الأدبية الفارسية، فترجموا عن اليونانية علوم الطب والفلك والرياضيات والموسيقى والفلسفة والنقد.
وبلغت حركة الترجمة مرحلة متطورة في عصر الخليفة هارون الرشيد وابنه المأمون، الذي يروى أنّه كان يمنح بعض المترجمين مثل "حنين بن إسحق" ما يساوي وزن كتبه إلى العربية ذهباً، ومن المعروف أنّ المأمون أسس دار الحكمة في بغداد بهدف تنشيط عمل الترجمة، ومن المعروف أن حنين بن اسحق ترجم وألف الكثير من الكتب وفي علوم متعددة وتابع ابنه اسحق بن حنين بن اسحق هذا العمل.
وفي القرن التاسع الميلادي، قام العرب بترجمة معظم مؤلفات أرسطو، وهناك مؤلفات كثيرة ترجمت عن اليونانية إلى العربيّة وضاع أصلها اليوناني فيما بعد، فأعيدت إلى اللغة اليونانية عن طريق اللغة العربية أي أنها فيما لو لم تترجم إلى اللغة العربيّة لضاعت نهائياً كما حدث في كتاب "كليلة ودمنة"
Friday, February 19, 2010
مترجم أمريكي يؤكد أهمية الترجمة من اللغة العربية
استضاف مؤخرا مركز دراسات الترجمة بالجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة، المترجم الأمريكي همفري ديفيز الحائز على جائزة الترجمة من العربية إلى الإنجليزية، في إطار سلسلة محاضرات المترجم. وألقى ديفيز الضوء على التغييرات الهامة التي طرأت على مجال الترجمة في العالم في فترة ما بعد 11 سبتمبر، وشارك رؤيته وذكرياته كمترجم للرواية العربية .وقال ديفيز: من الواضح أن الترجمة من اللغة العربية أصبحت مطلوبة أكثر الآن مما كانت عليه منذ عشرين عاما، وهناك أسباب متعددة لذلك بما في ذلك أحداث 11 سبتمبر، وكثافة الاتصالات الدولية بشكل عام.
وقام ديفيز بنشر أول ترجمة لعمل أدبي عربي حديث في بانيبال، وبعدها قام بترجمة سلسلة من الأعمال العربية لدار نشر الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة مثل كفاح طيبة لنجيب محفوظ، وعمارة يعقوبيان لعلاء الأسواني، وأن تكون عباس العبد لأحمد العايدى؛ ومتون الأهرام لجمال الغيطاني؛ وفوضى الحواس لأحلام مستغانمي .وترجم أيضا واحة الغروب للروائي المصري بهاء طاهر، الحاصلة على جائزة بوكر العربية. وقال ديفيز أمام الحضور بالقاعة الشرقية بالجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة، إن ترجمة أن تكون عباس العبد لأحمد العايدي كان لها تحد خاص للغاية، فقد وصف الرواية بأنها رائعة ولكنها مجنونة، بسبب استخدام الكاتب لمصطلحات وعبارات غير معروفة حتى بين الناطقين بالعربية.
شروق
وقام ديفيز بنشر أول ترجمة لعمل أدبي عربي حديث في بانيبال، وبعدها قام بترجمة سلسلة من الأعمال العربية لدار نشر الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة مثل كفاح طيبة لنجيب محفوظ، وعمارة يعقوبيان لعلاء الأسواني، وأن تكون عباس العبد لأحمد العايدى؛ ومتون الأهرام لجمال الغيطاني؛ وفوضى الحواس لأحلام مستغانمي .وترجم أيضا واحة الغروب للروائي المصري بهاء طاهر، الحاصلة على جائزة بوكر العربية. وقال ديفيز أمام الحضور بالقاعة الشرقية بالجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة، إن ترجمة أن تكون عباس العبد لأحمد العايدي كان لها تحد خاص للغاية، فقد وصف الرواية بأنها رائعة ولكنها مجنونة، بسبب استخدام الكاتب لمصطلحات وعبارات غير معروفة حتى بين الناطقين بالعربية.
شروق
