Traduction de presse et perceptions entre l'Occident et le Monde arabe post 9/11

Abstract

Press Translation and perceptions between the West and the Arab world post 9/11

There is a striking difference between perceptions of Arabs by Westerners and vice versa, which can be attributed to differences in representation in the media, which can cause bias on one side or the other. Media translation became particularly important after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and since it is generally an element of dissemination that can sometimes have a positive and sometimes a negative impact, I would like to examine the perspectives on media translations and the resulting cultural perceptions.
Our study focuses on a selection of translated Arabic-language press articles. Our goal is to shed light on the differences between the perspective of media translation and the resulting perceptions.
We have come to deduce that what is presented in the Western press nuances what is presented in the Arabic-speaking press. This does not concern all the Western press, of course, because we are now aware that it bends to the visions and editorial lines of its owners.
The translation theorists quoted in our study speak of the transfer of meaning, of conveying a message, or replacing a text with another equivalent text, but the founding element of the act of translation is communication. Also, and although error is human, the professional translator cannot use it to justify a deviation from the meaning produced in the target text unless he clearly specifies it. The reader does not distinguish between the original author and the translator. Indeed, the author fades, leaving his place to the translator, who has the task of rendering the authenticity of the original text in the target language. For that, he will have to solve the problems, if they exist, and look for the meaning in the background, and in the inability to do both, he will have to inform the reader. Without wanting to exaggerate the importance of translation in the modern world, but also without forgetting that it is indispensable in many fields other than literature: commercial, political, legal, military, etc. where the interests at stake are often conflicting and where incomprehension and misunderstanding are likely to have considerable repercussions, we cannot insist on the role that translation can play, depending on whether it transmits or hides the message. Understanding between peoples can only arise from dialogue; however, with rare exceptions where people master several languages and express themselves on their themes in these languages, dialogue today passes through translation.