← The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 11

English → Fr Preface Level 7/10

The manuscript from which it was printed was carefully collated and corrected by a very learned man, the sheykh 'Abd-Er-Raḥmán Eṣ-Ṣaftee Esh-Sharḳáwee, who also superintended the progress of the work through the press.

Le manuscrit à partir duquel il fut imprimé fut soigneusement colligé et corrigé par un homme très savant, le cheikh 'Abd-Er-Raḥmán Eṣ-Ṣaftee Esh-Sharḳáwee, qui surveilla également la progression de l'ouvrage sous presse.

But in addition to the value conferred upon it by the corrections of this sheykh, the copy from which the whole of my translation is made, except in a few instances, possesses an advantage which, I believe, renders it incomparably superior to any other now existing:

Mais outre la valeur que lui confèrent les corrections de ce cheikh, l'exemplaire à partir duquel l'intégralité de ma traduction est réalisée, sauf en quelques cas, possède un avantage qui, je le crois, le rend incomparablement supérieur à tout autre existant à ce jour :

it has been again revised and corrected, and illustrated with numerous manuscript notes, by a person whom I think I may safely pronounce the first philologist of the first Arab college of the present day, the sheykh Moḥammad 'Eiyád Eṭ-Ṭanṭáwee, or, more properly, Eṭ-Ṭanditáee.

il a été de nouveau révisé et corrigé, et enrichi de nombreuses notes manuscrites, par une personne que je crois pouvoir affirmer sans hésitation être le premier philologue du premier collège arabe de notre époque, le cheikh Moḥammad 'Eiyád Eṭ-Ṭanṭáwee, ou, plus précisément, Eṭ-Ṭanditáee.

His notes are chiefly philological, and explanatory of words which do not belong to the classical language; and many of them are of very great assistance to me; though most of them I find unnecessary, from the knowledge of the modern Arabic which I have acquired during my intercourse with the people who speak it.

Ses notes sont principalement philologiques et explicatives de mots qui n'appartiennent pas à la langue classique ; et beaucoup d'entre elles me sont d'une très grande aide ; bien que la plupart me semblent superflues, grâce à la connaissance de l'arabe moderne que j'ai acquise au cours de mes échanges avec les personnes qui le parlent.

His corrections of the text are numerous; and as they would interest very few persons, I have mentioned but few of them in the notes to my translation, notwithstanding a strong temptation that I felt to do otherwise in order that Arabic scholars might be assisted to judge of the fidelity of my version by comparing it with the text of the Cairo edition.

Ses corrections du texte sont nombreuses ; et comme elles n'intéresseraient que très peu de personnes, je n'en ai mentionné que quelques-unes dans les notes de ma traduction, malgré la forte tentation que j'ai ressentie d'agir autrement afin que les arabisants puissent être aidés à juger de la fidélité de ma version en la comparant au texte de l'édition du Caire.

Vocabulary

manuscrit
A handwritten or typed document or text.
partir
To leave or depart from a place.
duquel
Contraction of 'de lequel', meaning 'from which'.
fut
Past historic form of 'être', meaning 'was'.
imprimé
Printed; reproduced using a printing process.
soigneusement
Carefully and with great attention to detail.
colligé
Gathered or compiled from various sources.
corrigé
Corrected; having had errors fixed or amended.
savant
A learned or scholarly person with deep knowledge.
cheikh
An Arabic honorific title for a respected elder or scholar.
surveilla
Past historic of 'surveiller'; watched over or supervised.
également
Also; in addition; equally or likewise.
progression
The process of advancing or moving forward gradually.
ouvrage
A work, especially a literary or scholarly publication.
presse
A printing press; also refers to the press or media.
outre
Beyond; in addition to something already mentioned.
valeur
Value or worth attributed to something.
confèrent
Grant or bestow a quality upon something.
corrections
Fixes or amendments made to errors in a text.
exemplaire
A copy of a book or printed work.
intégralité
The entirety or wholeness of something.
traduction
The rendering of text from one language to another.
réalisée
Accomplished or carried out; completed successfully.
sauf
Except for; excluding certain cases or instances.
quelques
A few; some; a small number of things.
cas
A case or instance of a particular situation.
possède
Possesses or has something as a feature.
avantage
A benefit or favorable circumstance over others.
crois
First person singular of 'croire'; believe or think.
rend
Makes or renders something into a certain state.
incomparablement
To an incomparable degree; beyond all comparison.
supérieur
Higher in quality, rank, or degree than others.
existant
Existing; currently in existence or available.
révisé
Revised; reviewed and corrected for improvements.
enrichi
Enriched; made richer in content or detail.
nombreuses
Numerous; many in number.
notes
Written comments or annotations added to a text.
manuscrites
Handwritten notes or annotations added by hand.
pouvoir
To be able to; can; also means power or ability.
affirmer
To affirm or state something with confidence.
hésitation
Hesitation; a pause due to uncertainty or doubt.
philologue
A scholar specializing in language and literary texts.
collège
A college or institution of higher learning.
arabe
Arabic; relating to the Arab language or culture.
époque
An era or period of time in history.
précisément
Precisely; exactly or more accurately stated.
principalement
Mainly; chiefly; for the most part.
philologiques
Relating to philology, the study of language in texts.
explicatives
Explanatory; serving to clarify or explain something.
appartiennent
Belong to; are part of a particular group or category.
langue
Language; a system of communication used by people.
classique
Classical; relating to traditional or established standards.
aide
Help or assistance provided to someone.
plupart
Most; the greater part or majority of something.
semblent
Seem; appear to be in a certain way.
superflues
Superfluous; unnecessary; more than what is needed.
grâce
Thanks to; grace; used in 'grâce à' meaning thanks to.
connaissance
Knowledge or acquaintance with a subject or person.
moderne
Modern; relating to the present or recent times.
acquise
Acquired; obtained or gained through effort or experience.
cours
Course; in 'au cours de' meaning during or throughout.
échanges
Exchanges; conversations or interactions between people.
intéresseraient
Would interest; conditional of 'intéresser'.
mentionné
Mentioned; referred to or noted in passing.
quelques-unes
Some of them; a few among a larger group.
malgré
Despite; in spite of something.
forte
Strong; intense; used to describe intensity or strength.
tentation
Temptation; a strong urge to do something.
ressentie
Felt; experienced as an inner sensation or emotion.
agir
To act; to take action or behave in a certain way.
autrement
Otherwise; differently; in another way.
afin
In order to; so that; used to express purpose.
arabisants
Arabists; scholars specializing in Arabic language and culture.
puissent
Subjunctive of 'pouvoir'; may be able to do something.
aidés
Helped; assisted by someone or something.
juger
To judge or evaluate something critically.
fidélité
Fidelity; faithfulness or accuracy in reproduction.
version
A particular form or variant of a text or translation.
comparant
Comparing; examining similarities and differences.
édition
An edition; a particular version of a published work.
Caire
Cairo; the capital city of Egypt.
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