Regarded as untranslatable, sacred texts push translations toward extreme literalism

Evidence

The Spanish Muslim translators were taking this process of linguistic mimicry many stages further, making their “translation” mirror the original as closely as possible in every way. It might be objected that what they produced as a translation would not be readily comprehensible to a native speaker of Spanish, so that it was not a translation at all. To say that would be to miss the point. If one regards the Koran as untranslatable, and that is indeed the orthodox Muslim doctrine, then what an approximation to a translation (the best that one can hope for) into any other language must do, above all else, is to adhere as closely as possible to the original. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 670 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

In the first place, the extreme difficulty of the Young Man’s style must be stressed. I am not alone in finding it at times opaque. Any attempt at a nearliteral translation would have merely produced extremely rebarbative jargon. I have certainly aimed at faithfulness, and I hope accuracy, in my translation of him, but where I could understand him myself (and that was not everywhere), I have tried at all times to remain comprehensible and readable. That may not always have been the Young Man’s own intention, perhaps, so in that respect translator and original may not always be in harmony. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 831 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Any translation always involves a balance between a literal rendition of the original and producing something which both reads well in the target language and at the same time conveys the ideas and intentions of the author. We took the early decision that our prime task was to publish a text that was readily understandable by English-speaking readers, even if that meant failing to give every German word its literal translation. Even so, these two books present as formidable a challenge to readers in English as they do in German, and there is nothing that translators can or should do to reduce that challenge by trying to simplify the text. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 78 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Because the Koran is held untranslatable, translations must mimic Arabic structures literally. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 670; The Sacromonte forgers deliberately made their texts nearly untranslatable for Church authorities; Translators favor readable English over literal fidelity while refusing simplification — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 78 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Because the Koran is held untranslatable, translations must mimic Arabic structures literally. #exemplifies (0.96) — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 670
• Translators may deliberately sacrifice the opacity of a difficult original for readability #complicates (0.85) — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 831
• Translators favor readable English over literal fidelity while refusing simplification #complicates (0.80) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 78