Alex. April 2010
THE CHALLENGE OF
TRANSLATING SCIENTIFIC
TERMINOLOGY IN DDC
4/27/2010
Prof. Rifaat H. Hilal
National Library and Archives of Egypt
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Content
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History of Scientific Translation.
Efforts of Arabic Language Council
Dewey Decimal Classification.
Scientific Terminology.
Future Challenges.
Conclusions.
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History of Scientific Translation into
arabic
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Hunayn ibn Ishaq (also Hunain or
Hunein)
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Famous and influential scientist, known for
his work in translating scientific and medical
works in Greek into Arabic and Syriac
during the glory years of the Abbasid
Caliphate.
Most productive translator of Greek
medical and scientific treatises.
He was originally from southern Iraq but he
spent his working life in Baghdad, the
center of the great ninth-century Greekinto-Arabic/Syriac translation movement.
His translations did not require corrections
at all. This perfection possibly came about
because he mastered four languages:
Arabic, Syriac, Greek and Persian.
He became known among the Arabs as the
"Sheikh of the translators.
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Evolution of methodology for Scientific
Terminology
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Daoud Al-Antaki
( 10th century ) in his AlTazkira. Derived
expressions explained
them by different ways.
Mfateh Al-uloum: The
first Arabic
encyclopedia for
scientific expressions
by: Al-Khaurizmi ( 11th
century).
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Transmission of Arabic Science to
Europe
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Eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
Transmission of knowledge from one culture to the
other through Spain, southern Italy and Sicily.
The greatest of all translators was Gerard of
Cremona (1114?-1187).
Arabic expressions were mostly adopted
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Scientific translation in Modern
Egyptian History
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Muhammad Ali Pasha
Missions to Europe.
Compulsury translations.
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Refa'ah Rafie' Al Tahtawi
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Together with his colleagues
started the modern wave of
scientific translations.
In 1841, Tahtawi established
the Translation Department as
a specialized institution mainly
dealing with four branches of
knowledge: mathematics,
medicine and physics, social
sciences and Turkish writing.
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Arabic Language Council
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Efforts of
Arabic Language Council
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Efforts started at the end of the 19th century.
The main goal was to standardize the construction
of Scientific expressions.
Efforts to clearly define
The Science of terminology
The science of terminography
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Moulding of Scientific Terms
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Borrowing by Arabization.
hydrogen...hydrogenation (‫ هدرجه‬-‫(هيدروجين‬
Borrowing by translation
car , journal , magazine ( ‫ مجله‬- ‫(سياره – جريدة‬
Derivation new words with new meanings
Superscription ( sculpturing ) ‫ نحت‬new word from
two old familiar words. ( amphoteric=‫( حمضلي‬
al-kaloid , electrostatic )‫ ( كهراكدة‬-)‫شبقلي( شبه قلوي‬
‫كهرباء ساكنه‬
Not very successful
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Composition by mixing
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A + chromic
‫ للوني‬+ ‫ال‬
Anti-biotic
‫ حيوي‬+ ‫مضاد‬
Non + inorganic
‫ عضوي‬+ ‫ال‬
In + organic
‫ عضوي‬+ ‫غير‬
Un + certainty
‫ تأكد‬+ ‫عدم‬
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More Mixing
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Hyper + sensitivity
‫ الحساسية‬+ ‫فرط‬
Sub + soil
‫ التربة‬+ ‫تحت‬
Inter + node
‫ العقد‬+ ‫بين‬
Semi + desert
‫ صحراء‬+ ‫شبه‬
Uni + axial
‫ المحور‬+ ‫أحادي‬
Ultra + violet
‫ البنفسجي‬+ ‫فوق‬
Super + sonic
‫ سمعي‬+ ‫فوق‬
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Dewey Decimal Classification
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The DDC is the most widely used classification
system.
DDC is used to organize and provide access to
libraries collections.
editors detect trends in the literature that must be
incorporated into the Classification.
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DDC is
a general knowledge organization tool
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universally recognized
Arabic numerals, welldefined categories,
well-developed
hierarchies, and
a rich network of
relationships among
topics.
Ten main classes, which
together cover the entire
world of knowledge.
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000
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Computer science,
information .
Philosophy &
psychology
Religion
Social sciences
Language
Science
Technology
Arts & recreation
Literature
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History & geography
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500
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Science
The hundreds Division
The Thousand Sections
510
520
530
540
550
560
570
580
590
Mathematics
Astronomy
Physics
Chemistry
Earth sciences & geology
Fossils & prehistoric life
Life sciences; biology
Plants (Botany)
Animals (Zoology)
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540 Chemistry & allied
sciences
541 Physical chemistry
542 Techniques,
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
equipment & materials
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Analytical chemistry
[Unassigned]
[Unassigned]
Inorganic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Crystallography
Mineralogy
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Scientific terms of overlapping
meanings
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Ligands
Isomers
Supramolecular
Stoichiometry
radiochemistry
Chemiluminescence
Colligative
chelates
tautomers
macromolecular
radiation chemistry
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Difficult very specialized Terms
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extrameridional instruments
‫األجهزة الزوالية‬
Including astrolabes, quadrants, reflecting circles ,
sextants, zenith and equatorial telescope
‫ تحتوي على األسترالب والرباعية و الدائرة العاكسة و آلة السدس‬
‫والمنظار السمتي والمنظار األستوائي‬
Quasars
‫ اشباة النجوم‬
Cosmogony
‫ ديناميكا النجوم‬
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Terms may be widely used , popular and move
from science to culture
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Nanotechnology
‫تقنية النانو‬
Femtosecond
‫فيمتو ثانيه‬
Quark
‫كوارك‬
NMR , x-ray , CAT scan
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Future Challenges.
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DDC is now deep into science.
Translation into Arabic is just a beginning.
Libraries may play a role in broadcasting scientific
culture.
DDC 5xx translation group will arrange periodic
meeting to consolidate the terminology and ensure
its adaptation.
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Conclusions
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DDC 5xx translation is difficult than ever.
New terms has been introduced into Arabic based
on the criteria put down by the Arab language
Council.
Translators of DDC 5xx should not only masters the
two languages but also the science being
translated.
The use and wide spread broadcasting of a
scientific term is the only guaranty of its prevalence.
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DD5xx translation Team
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Professor Ahmed M. Abou-Khadra
Professor M. Magdi Abdel-Wahab
Professor Ead Dohaa
Professor Rifaat H. Hilal
To be supported by specialists in Zoology and
Botany
Alex. April 2010
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Alex. April 2010
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