Translating Sufism from Azerbaijani into English

Abstract

This article presents a case study of the translation of Gulshan Aliyeva-Kangarli’s Sufism from Azerbaijani into English. It examines the principal linguistic, terminological, cultural, and literary challenges encountered during the translation process, including Sufi and Islamic terminology, Arabic and Persian borrowings, quotations mediated through Russian, proper names and transliteration, and medieval Azerbaijani poetry. The study is based on a qualitative analysis of representative examples from the source text and the translator’s solutions in the target text. Particular attention is paid to the need for terminological research, consultation of multilingual reference materials, and the preservation of culturally specific concepts where no fully equivalent English form is available. The analysis shows that translating a scholarly work on Sufism requires not only linguistic competence but also familiarity with Islamic philosophy, literary history, classical poetry, and the conventions of transliteration. The article argues that a combination of direct translation, selective retention of established Arabic terms, explanatory translation, and contextual research can help preserve both conceptual accuracy and readability for English-language readers. Keywords: Sufism; Azerbaijani-English translation; translation strategies; religious terminology; cultural terminology; classical Azerbaijani literature; literary translation