History of Translations

History of Translations

Where Persian Language Meets Translation

By: Mahzad Sadat Heydarian

This paper is a journey to the history of Persian language and the presence of translation into/from Persian in different historical eras. Translation has been influenced by many social and intercultural factors throughout history; in this paper, its functions from ancient Persia to the contemporary era will be surveyed.

Key Words: Translation history, Persian language, Arabic influence, Medieval era

Persian Language, known as the language of great literary works by Hafez, Khayyam, Rumi and many other classical and modern poets and writers, has always been an interesting subject to study. Looking for its roots and origins and how it is changing and developing has been the interest of many linguists around the world. Like other important languages, Persian has developed and gradually changed in different eras in history. It seems that writings on translation history suffer from severe shortcomings. What is overlooked by the researchers of Persian translation history is to clarify the distinction between oral and written translation. These two have proved to be completely different subjects while they have been mixed when the writers judge its ups and downs in a specific period of time. Moreover, in the relatively limited knowledge of Persian translation history, the thematic classification of translations (e.g. literary, scientific, etc.) have not been considered.