TEHRAN -- Researcher and translator Reza Seyyed-Hosseini was honored during a ceremony held on Wednesday at Tehran’s Ibn Sina Cultural Center.

Speaking at the ceremony, a friend and colleague of Seyyed-Hosseini, translator Musa Asvar, said that the works of Seyyed-Hosseini display three elements – attunement, good taste, and common sense.
Asvar continued by saying “the work of translation must be undertaken in a particular way in order possess attunement. The correct meaning of the original words must be ascertained and the best synonyms found in the target language. In addition, due attention should be paid to the rhythm of each word which is to be translated, together with the structure and atmosphere of the original story. Lastly, it is necessary for the translator to be familiar with modern literary theories.”
Asvar then praised the refinement of Seyyed-Hosseini’s literary style, commenting that “His prose both in translation and compilation is rich, simple, and smooth. His texts accord with the styles of contemporary languages and are free from mistakes and negligence. Moreover, his style is flexible and adjusts to whatever piece he is translating.”
Author Bahaeddin Khorramshahi also paid tribute to Seyyed-Hosseini giving a brief explanation of his two major works “Literary Schools” and “A Bibliography of Literary Works”. He added that these books are indispensable reading for all those engaged in the field of literature.
“Turkish authors, including Yashar Kamal and Nazim Hekmat, were introduced to Persian novels by Seyyed-Hosseini. In addition, Iranian people were familiarized with French literature by means of the works he translated from French into Persian and these, in turn, influenced Persian literature,” Khorramshahi added.
Researcher and editor Ahmad Samiei Gilani also made a speech endorsing the role of translation in the literature of Iran and said, “The generation which has introduced different cultures through literary translation should be shown greater appreciation.
“The translation of the world’s literature into various languages creates windows through which people can observe each other’s culture. It has been through the translation of the world’s literary works into Persian that we have become acquainted with the world, and it was also in this way that the history of literature was introduced to Iran. Translators have both augmented our literature and fed it with new ideas.”
He continued that the richness of contemporary Persian language is indebted to translation and cultural barter with the world, adding, “Literary translation is an innovative work but it has received less attention than has the work of compilation.”
Samiei referred to Seyyed-Hosseini as a translator who has kept both common readers and specialists satisfied by his own particular brand of high quality work.
The ceremony ended with a tribute paid by Seyyed-Hosseini to all the participants and a speech in which he talked about his memories of past times.
Seyyed-Hosseini was born in 1926 in Ardebil. He studied long-range telecommunication at Tehran’s College of Post and Telegraph. Seyyed-Hosseini continued his higher education in Paris. He is proficient in French, English and Turkish