By means of an agreement between the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) and the 'Sharjah Book Authority', the Toledo School of Translators has rendered 58 works by contemporary Arabic authors mainly from the Emirates, into Spanish, headed by professor Luis Miguel Cañada. The initiative, which includes the joint edition of some works to promote their dissemination in Spain and Latin America, has been included within a set of proposals which promote the role of translation as an agent for disseminating Arabic language and culture. This has also been endorsed by the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
As professor Cañada explains, this translation project, spearheaded from the emirate of Sarja, aims to " help relieve the dearth in translations there are in the Arabic-Spanish language combination and to break down prejudices which hinder any understanding of the Arabic and Muslim world. It also " favours the circulation of rich Arabic intellectual output from the Arabian Gulf and intensifies contact between Arabic cultural stakeholders and the world of Spanish publishing".
In this respect, with a team made up of professional translators, Spanish natives trained in translation at the Toledo School of Translators, Álvaro Abella, Angelina Gutiérrez, Antonio Galán, Rita Oregui, Sergio Cordeiro, Beatriz Cámara and Ismael Profitós have coordinated the translation from Arabic from authors such as Sultán Alamimi, Nura Alnumán, Áhmad Isa Alásam, Fátima Almaameri, Talal Alyunaibi, Mizae Aljayyat, Yúsuf Abu Lauz, Hamad Muhammad ibn Saray, Abdulaziz Almusállam and Lulua Mansuri, among others.
The 58 translated works include poetry (23), novels (13), tales (9), essays on politics, history or religion (8), children´s stories (4) and plays (1). Also, to promote dissemination of these works in Spain and Latin America, the UCLM by means of the School of Translators has foreseen closing different publishing agreements. The first of these has given rise to the coedition of the ‘Encyclopaedia of Fantastic Creatures in the Emirati Cultural Tradition’, by Abdulaziz Almusállam, published this January by Verbum in the Arabic Arts collection headed by professor Cañada.
The translation project began in April 2020 on signing an agreement between the UCLM and the Sharjah Book Authority and will culminate with the presence of the Emirate as a guest country at the Guadalajara Book Fair, postponed to 2022 on account of the pandemic. "The first year of the pandemic was possibly one of the most fruitful in terms of the volume of translations of Arabic literature into Spanish the Toledo School of Translators has experienced since its founding in 1994", the professor states.
On creating the Sharjah Book Authority in 2014 to focus all public activity concerning the book (publishing, translation, participating in fairs, etc.), the Emirate of Sarja has followed in the footsteps of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which since 2005 and 2007, respectively have promoted different initiatives in translation as an agent for disseminating and promoting Arabic language and culture.
UCLM Communication Office Toledo, 17th of January 2022