Narrating Arabic Translation Online: Another Perspective on the Motivations Behind Volunteerism in the Translation Sector

Alonayq, Abdulmohsen

This chapter takes a socionarrative approach to examine the recurrent narratives on translation in the Arabic linguistic context to further understand how Arabic translation occurs in public discourse. This study analyzes a corpus of digital texts sourced from leading translation organizations in the Arab world. The corpus also comprises texts written about the organizations themselves. These organizations include Kalima, the Arab Organization for Translation, Taghreedat, and the Translation Challenge. The chapter shows that Arabic discourse about translation occurs under three main narratives: the Golden Era of Translation, the Bridge to Knowledge, and the dearth of Arabic content online. The popularity of these narratives shows the important role they play to motivate volunteers (e.g., to join translation projects) in addition to intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.