Paul et Virginie was written by Bernardin de Saint Pierre and first published in French in 1788. Below are found a passage in French, a translation into English in 1792 and a translation made in Egypt in the early 20th century.
The original from the Bibliothèque électronique du Québec
Dès que le chant du coq annonçait le retour de l’aurore, Virginie se levait, allait puiser de l’eau à la source voisine, et rentrait dans la maison pour préparer le déjeuner. Bientôt après, quand le soleil dorait les pitons de cette enceinte, Marguerite et son fils se rendaient chez madame de la Tour : alors ils commençaient tous ensemble une prière suivie du premier repas ; souvent ils le prenaient devant la porte, assis sur l’herbe sous un berceau de bananiers, qui leur fournissait à la fois des mets tout préparés dans leurs fruits substantiels, et du linge de table dans leurs feuilles larges, longues, et lustrées.
Here is the English translation made in 1792 by Helen Maria Williams, found in full text at Project Gutenberg:
As soon as the cry of the wakeful cock announced the first beam of the morning, Virginia arose, and hastened to draw water from a neighbouring spring; then returning to the house, she prepared the breakfast. When the rising sun lighted up the points of those rocks which overhang this enclosure, Margaret and her child went to the dwelling of Madame de la Tour, and they offered up together their morning prayer. This sacrifice of thanksgiving always preceded their first repast, which they often partook before the door of the cottage, seated upon the grass, under a canopy of plantain; and while the branches of that delightful tree afforded a grateful shade, its solid fruit furnished food ready prepared by nature; and its long glossy leaves, spread upon the table, supplied the want of linen.
Arabic translation made by Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfaluti الفضيلة او بول وفرجيني in 1920.
Thought questions:
-Follow the embedded links and read the biographies of the writer and the two translators. Do they give us any clues about why the work was written, or why they chose to translate it?
-What are some of the differences between the ST and TT in the two acts of translation? What criteria that we have studied thus far helps you categorize those changes?
-Butros Hallaq, professor at University of Paris III, has written: “La finalité de l’adab [chez Manfaluti] est clairement définie comme étant le service de la société destinataire, service qui ne peut s’accommoder d’aucune recherche d’intérêt personnel, qu’il soit d’ordre moral (la renommée, par exemple) ou matériel (“Je n’écrivais point pour plaire aux gens mais pour leur être utile”).” Can you explain what he is getting at from what you observed in Manfaluti’s translation?