Being a Saudi Before Becoming One: Al Biqā‘ī’s Capitalisation of Paratexts in His Translations of French Books About Arabia

This paper examines the paratexts of Muhammad Khair Al Biqā‘ī’s translations of French books about Saudi Arabia into Arabic as a socially-situated activity. Drawing on Bourdieu's theory of practice, it analyses Al Biqā‘ī's paratextual zone, with particular focus given to prefaces as a site of self-promotion in terms of capital. The Syrian-born translator has recently acquired Saudi citizenship and national prizes of high symbolic capital due to his individual efforts in the field of translation. Al Biqā‘ī stands out as one of the few eminent specialists from different fields who have been naturalised as a Saudi citizen by a royal decree in the first wave of such naturalisations in 2021, which offers a unique case for the study of the capitalisation of translation. It is argued here that Al Biqā‘ī successfully capitalised the paratexts of his translation products, namely French books about Saudi Arabia, to show how Saudi he is even before acquiring Saudi citizenship. Through an analysis of Al Biqā‘ī's paratextual elements (from 2001 to 2020), this study identifies and critically examines the mechanisms of capital through which the translator, then a Syrian national, attempted to promote and distinguish himself and his works. The findings illuminate how paratexts are used as a tool by translators to draw a certain image of themselves.