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Notes on Presentation and Translation Following the scheme articulated in the Introduction, the tales are divided into groups, each of which is followed by an afterword. This commentary follows rather than precedes the selections in order not to interfere with the reader's individual response to the tales. Likewise, we hope that the enjoyment of a first reading will not be interrupted by the footnotes . Notes have been provided to explain or explore many of the terms and concepts found in the tales. Extensive cross-referencing should allow readers to pursue particular topics, and the Footnote Index provides even more comprehensive surveys. A translation must sound natural in the target language while still remaining faithful to the original. In translating these tales, several basic issues had to be considered. The first is the language of the original, which is the Palestinian dialect. In rendering colloquial Arabic into English , the translator must decide on the linguistic level, or tone, that best conveys the spirit of the original. A too-formal translation distorts that spirit, and a heavily colloquial one is equally deleterious. In addition to purely linguistic considerations, there are also stylistic ones. Many stylistic features of oral performance cannot be duplicated in print without destroying the fluency of the narrative. Among these, for example, are comments reflecting the teller's own viewpoint (included in parentheses) in the midst of speech uttered by one of the characters. Literary oral narrative, when translated for print into another language, obviously undergoes in reality a process of double translation: the first is from one language to another, and the second is from one medium into another. Fortunately, linguistic practice in English is helpful to the translator in both cases. The division in English between formal and informal language is not quite as important as it is in Arabic, where standard speech is used mostly on formal occasions and in writing. Thus, the solution to both problems (linguistic level and stylistic propriety) lies in steering a middle course between standard and informal speech, avoiding intrusive colloquialisms on the one hand and expressly "literary" diction on the other. The translation, in short, must sound good to native ears when read out loud. In every case the translation follows the original very closely, attempting where possible to duplicate its narrative rhythm and its grammatical structure. The philosophy of translation articulated here assumes that the tellers must tell their own tales, with as few interpretive intrusions as 51 52 Notes on Presentation and Translation possible. No liberties are taken with the text by adding invented material or by censoring scatological references through euphemistic substitution or excision. Necessary departures from the literal intent of the text are either included in square brackets in the body of the tale or footnoted—or both. Although the translations remain faithful to the literal meaning of the originals, they are not word-for-word translations. All dialogue in the tales, for example, is introduced in the originals by the word qdl, "to say." Qdl is translated in a variety of ways (as "said," "spoke," "answered ," "replied," "called"), depending on the context. We feel that following the text too literally here will yield a turgid translation that is not faithful to the original either in letter or in spirit. In rhythms, gestures , and intonations oral narration holds the attention of the listener; the verbal text, seen on the printed page, does not by itself (so to speak) tell the whole story. ...

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