An Arabic interpreter is needed when you have to submit a document drawn up in Arabic in Georgia, or when you are preparing a Georgian paper for an Arabic-speaking country. Arabic is the official language of more than twenty countries, so the first question is always which country exactly the paper comes from.
Working with an Arabic document raises several specific technical issues: writing from right to left, several possible Latin spellings of a name, two parallel calendars and two systems of numerals. Each of them is described below in the order in which they come up in practice.
The Arabic script and writing from right to left
Arabic is written from right to left, and the letters join one another. Each letter takes four forms depending on where it stands in the word - at the beginning, in the middle, at the end or on its own. That is why the same letter can look completely different.
The practical consequence is that cutting out part of an Arabic text or taking a single word out of context often distorts the entry. Even if you need only one field of a document translated, we still need to see the whole page.
Another important feature is that short vowels are usually not written in Arabic at all. The text consists of consonants and long vowels, and the reader restores the rest from the context.
This is exactly what creates the main difficulty in reading names: the same sequence of letters can correspond to several different names, and from the text alone it cannot be established unambiguously which one is correct.
Why one name has several Latin spellings
This is the most frequent practical problem with Arabic documents. Since short vowels are not written and Arabic sounds have no direct equivalents in the Latin alphabet, the same name is rendered differently in different documents.
The difference often depends on which European language's spelling tradition the issuing country follows. In countries with French influence a sound is written one way, and in countries with English influence another way. As a result, members of the same family may have different surnames written in their passports.
A separate issue is the definite article that precedes many surnames. In some places it is attached to the surname with a hyphen, in others it is written separately, and in others it is left out altogether. All three variants denote the same surname.
An Arabic name also contains components indicating the paternal line, which are not a surname in the European sense. The full name may include four or more parts, while only two appear in the passport.
In the translation we do not create a new Latin variant. If a passport or another official paper exists, the form of the name must match it, and any difference between documents has to be noted in advance.
Two calendars and two numeral systems
In documents from Arabic-speaking countries two calendars often coexist: the Gregorian calendar and the Hijri lunar calendar. The Hijri year is shorter than the Gregorian one, so the difference between the two systems is not constant and cannot be calculated by simple subtraction.
Many papers give both dates at the same time. If there is only one, it is important to state in the translation which calendar it belongs to - otherwise the receiving party will read the date incorrectly.
There are also two systems for numerals. Besides European numerals, Arabic text uses Eastern numeral signs, which look completely different. Both often occur in the same document - for example, the form number in one system and the date in the other.
This creates a practical difficulty when carrying over personal numbers and series, where an error in a digit makes the document unusable. That is why the numbers must be especially clearly visible in the scan.
Documents that differ from country to country
Arabic is the official language of many countries, but documents are not drawn up in a uniform way. This is a case where knowing the language is not enough - you also need to know the specific country's form.
In the countries of North Africa - Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia - civil status records are often bilingual: the Arabic text is accompanied by a parallel French part. In such a document both parts must be compared, because the spelling of the name may differ between them.
In the Gulf countries many forms are accompanied by English text, especially in employment and educational documentation.
In Egypt and the Levant countries documentation is more often in Arabic only.
So the assessment of a translation starts by establishing which authority issued the paper and in which country. This determines both the volume and how the name of the institution will be rendered.
Personal status records
In Arabic-speaking countries family status is often registered in a separate system, and the data of several family members are gathered in a single document.
Such a paper takes the form of a table and contains many fields. In the translation the structure of the table must be preserved so that the receiving party can link the fields to one another and read the family relationships correctly.
These documents often contain handwritten fields and annotations, and reading them is a task in itself. If an entry is unclear, we note this and ask for a clearer copy rather than guess the meaning.
Seals, signatures and additional notations
In Arabic documents the seal is often the main element of the document's authenticity. The text of the seal contains the full name of the institution and sometimes the name of the city or region.
The text of the seal is part of the translation and must be rendered. That is why the seal must be fully and clearly visible in the photo - cutting part of it off is a frequent reason why a translation is considered incomplete.
Many documents also have additional stamps, registration numbers or certification notations that were added at different stages. They too are an integral part of the document and are recorded in the translation.
Educational and professional documents
In the educational papers of Arabic-speaking countries the grading system is not uniform: some countries use a percentage scale, others grades expressed in letters, and others both at the same time.
Diplomas and transcripts often state an overall grade notation that expresses the result in words. This notation is part of the document and is carried over into the translation in words as well, without automatic conversion.
The name of the institution requires separate attention. Universities and ministries often also have an official English name, which is not a direct translation of the Arabic. If such an official form exists, it is the one used in the translation.
Professional documents - employment certificates, contracts and licences - often contain job titles that have no direct equivalent in Georgian. In such a case the translation renders the function descriptively and does not replace it with an approximate Georgian term.
Translation from Georgian into Arabic
The opposite direction is a separate task, and its difficulties are different.
When a Georgian first name and surname are written in Arabic, sounds come up that have no direct equivalent in Arabic. As a result, one Georgian surname may be rendered with several possible Arabic spellings.
That is why it is important to clarify in advance whether an established Arabic spelling already exists - for example, in an earlier visa, work permit or other document. If it does, exactly that spelling must be repeated in the new translation.
The same principle applies to the names of Georgian institutions: if an organization has an official foreign-language name, it is used in the translation and no new variant is created.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my surname written differently in different papers?
Short vowels are not written in Arabic, and Arabic sounds have no direct equivalents in the Latin alphabet. On top of that, different countries follow different spelling traditions. In the translation the form in the passport is used as the reference point, and the difference is noted.
There are two dates in my document - which one is correct?
Most likely one is in the Gregorian calendar and the other in the Hijri lunar calendar. Both are genuine and denote the same day. The translation states which date belongs to which system.
My paper is also in French - does the Arabic part need to be translated?
In bilingual North African documents both parts must be compared, because the spelling of the name often differs between them. Which part is rendered in the translation is clarified when we see the document.
Is it necessary to translate the seal?
Yes. In Arabic documents the seal is an important element of authenticity and bears the full name of the institution. That is why the seal must be fully visible in the scan.
Can only one field be translated?
Arabic text is cursive and the letters join one another, so taking a single fragment out of context often distorts the entry. For a correct assessment we need to see the whole page.
How is a Georgian surname written in Arabic?
Georgian sounds do not always have a direct equivalent in Arabic, so several possible spellings exist. If your name already has an established Arabic form in an earlier document, exactly that form is repeated in the translation.