A Comparative Analysis of Two Translations of One Thousand and One Nights

The book One Thousand and One Nights is among the most important ancient books of fable and parable which has been of interest for a long time and various translation of which exist. There are two main translations of the book to Persian, the first by Abdollatif Tasuji and the second by Ebrahim Eghlidi. Comparing the two translations reveals difference in the opening and closing of the book, story-telling techniques, orientation of though and faith, and the sequence and title of the stories. The choice of original principal texts the translators based their translations on can be considered as the most important reason for such differences. The original principal text for Tasuji was apparently Bulaq’s 1st ed., while Eghlidi based on his translation of Bualq’s 2nd ed., Calcutta’s ed., and Burslaw’s ed. Eghlidi also drew on the French and English translations of One Thousand and One Nights. Another reason for such a difference was the different approach of the translators towards the stories. Tasuji has tried to include the main plot of the stories and has not paid much attention to the setting in his translation, while Eghlidi has paid close attention to descriptions in his translation, resulting in lengthier stories and differences with Tasuji’s translation.