Unveiling the Marginalized: Translation to and from Kurdish in Iran during the Pahlavi Era (1925–1979)
Abstract
Translation into and from Persian, the official language of Iran, has been the main focus of translation history in Iranian academia, neglecting other existing languages in the country. However, to provide a comprehensive account of translation history in Iran as a multilingual country, it is crucial to acknowledge multiple translation "histories" rather than a singular one. This study was designed to investigate the history of Kurdish translation in Iran during the First and Second Pahlavi eras (1925–1979). Employing a historical research method, primary and secondary sources were analyzed to address two key questions: what translated works to/from Kurdish were published during this period, and how the Pahlavi regime policies influenced Kurdish translation dynamics. The study used the Macro-polysystem theory to analyze the effect of ideological, political, linguistic, and economic polysystems on Kurdish translation during the era. The findings indicated that in the First Pahlavi era only one Kurdish translation was published in Iran, while in the Second Pahlavi era, five translations into Kurdish and eight translations from Kurdish were published. The results revealed the marginalized status of Kurdish translation during the Pahlavi era under the direct influence of the regime's ideological, political, and linguistic initiatives promoting nationalism, centralization, and Persianization.
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