Aristotle's Rhetoric in the East : the Syriac and Arabic translation and commentary tradition / / by Uwe Vagelpohl.

• Superior document: Islamic philosophy, theology, and science, v. 76
• Author: Vagelpohl, Uwe.
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Islamic philosophy, theology, and science ; v. 76.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (357 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

The two centuries following the rise of the Abbasid caliphate in 750 witnessed a wave of translations from Greek into Syriac and Arabic. The translation and reception of Aristotle's Rhetoric is a prime example for the resulting transformation of antique learning in the Islamic world and beyond. On the basis of a close textual analysis of the Rhetoric, this study develops elements of a comparative “translation grammar” of Greek-Arabic translations. Contextualizing the analysis with an account of the textual history and the Syriac and Arabic philosophical tradition drawing on the Rhetoric , it throws new light on the inner workings of the “translation movement” and its impact on Islamic culture.

Table of Contents

Introduction -- "Greek into Arabic" -- Problems of translation history -- The history of Greek-Arabic translations -- Translation history -- The Arabic version -- Manuscript and dating -- The Syriac translation tradition -- Comparing Greek and Arabic -- Some qualifications -- Text comparison and analysis -- Findings -- Sources for structural mismatches -- The use of connectors and particles -- Morophology and terminology -- Transcription of proper names -- The terminology -- The reception of the Arabic translation -- The ninth century : arst encounters -- The tenth century : laying the foundation -- The eleventh century : elaboration and extension -- The twelfth century : the return to Aristotle -- Beyond the twelfth century -- The Latin afterlife -- Conclusions.