TRANSLATION FROM ARABIC INTO SPANISH: BACK AND FORTH NEOLOGISMS AND OTHER PECULIARITIES THROUGH THE POLITICAL DIARY OF MUHAMMAD IBN AZZUZ HAKIM

Abstract

Despite the extensive bibliographic material published in Spanish on colonial Moroccan history, the contribution of Moroccan authors remains limited due to their preference for expressing themselves in French and even English. Moreover, there is a paucity of translations of academic works and of biographies and testimonies from the period published in Arabic. The work of Arabists has primarily concentrated on the translation of literary texts, with the Ediciones del Oriente y del Mediterráneo collection representing a notable example.

Considering the aforementioned considerations, the present proposal represents a novel approach to the topic of Spanish colonialism, focusing on the work of Muhammad Ibn Azzuz Hakim (1924-2014), a pivotal figure in this field. Hakim published his own diary in Arabic in 1999, offering unique insights into this historical period.

The following lines provide an overview of the process of translating the political diary of this Tetouan historian, who collaborated closely with the nationalist movement while employed by the Spanish colonial administration. Furthermore, the content of the diary is of significant interest, as it addresses pivotal moments of the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, particularly the interactions between the Spanish colonial administration, Moroccan nationalists, and the French colonial authorities. The following aspects of the text are examined: its formal peculiarities, the transliteration system used for the rendering of proper names, the use of neologisms and the translation options for specific administrative terms and expressions of a cultural and religious nature.