This study investigates the application of Jean-René Ladmiral’s theory in analyzing Seyyed Mostafa Tabatabai’s Persian translation of Al-Ajnḥaʾ al-Mutakassira (Broken Wings) by Khalil Gibran. The original work, written in a poetic style, explores themes such as unfulfilled love, freedom, and the tension between love and social conventions. Tabatabai’s translation, through preserving the poetic tone and carefully selecting vocabulary, successfully conveys the complex meanings of the original text. Ladmiral’s theory, which emphasizes reconstructing meaning and adopting a target-oriented approach, provides an effective framework for evaluating translation quality. The findings indicate that the translator’s lexical choices and syntactic structures effectively transfer the semantic intentions of Gibran’s text.IntroductionThroughout history, translation has attracted the attention of both specialists and the general public, serving as one of the fundamental tools of human communication. In translating from Arabic to Persian, both the source language (Arabic) and the target language (Persian) play crucial roles. Merely understanding the general meaning of the source text is not sufficient; the translator must also grasp precise concepts, implicit meanings, and emotional nuances, as well as the subtleties of the author’s style.Mastery of the target language is often even more critical than full knowledge of the source language, because translation involves two primary skills: comprehension and expression. Comprehension requires thorough familiarity with the source language and the ability to extract multiple layers of meaning, while expression entails rewriting this meaning according to the linguistic and cultural norms of the target language. Familiarity with the subject matter of the original text further contributes to producing an accurate and fluent translation.In descriptive texts, language functions as a tool for evoking emotions, scenes, or specific events. Their purpose is to stir particular feelings in the reader. Literary works are the most prominent examples of descriptive texts, distinguished from informational texts by their stylistic organization and expressive function. In this regard, Ladmiral’s theory emphasizes the importance of conveying meaning at all costs.Jean-René Ladmiral, in his book Traduire: Théorèmes pour la traduction and related works, presents key principles of translation, including translation choice, compensation, minimal distortion, heterogeneity, addition, interpretation, readability, idiomaticity, and adequacy. His aim is to operationalize translation theory by developing a coherent methodological system encompassing these components. This approach allows translators to bridge linguistic and cultural gaps between source and target texts through flexible strategies, highlighting the inseparable connection between theory and practice.This theoretical framework is particularly relevant to descriptive texts that aim to evoke emotions and create strong emotional resonance. In the case of Broken Wings, Seyyed Mostafa Tabatabai strives to preserve Gibran’s poetic and critical tone while conveying themes of social inequality, unfulfilled love, and resistance to convention to Persian-speaking audiences.This study applies Ladmiral’s framework to Tabatabai’s Persian translation of Broken Wings and seeks to address the following questions:To what extent has the translator succeeded in recreating the poetic and social atmosphere of Khalil Gibran’s work?How has the translator, through syntactic adjustments and careful vocabulary choices, conveyed Gibran’s central message fluently and unambiguously in Persian? Literature ReviewAlthough numerous studies have addressed the application of translation theories to Arabic–Persian texts, few have focused specifically on Ladmiral’s model. A selection of relevant research includes the following:Delshad, Masbough, and Abdi (2016): Reexamining Abdol Latif Tasouji’s Translation of the Foundational Story of One Thousand and One Nights Based on Jean-René Ladmiral’s Model. Their findings indicate that the translator produced a work that is both aesthetically effective and culturally appropriate in Persian.Sayadani and Asgharpour (2017): Evaluation of the Vocabulary Translation Process in Nahj al-Balagha Based on Jean-René Ladmiral’s Theory. Their study concludes that the translator alternated between source-oriented and target-oriented approaches, balancing fidelity to vocabulary with the need to convey meaning. In some cases, interpretive strategies ensured clarity and removed ambiguity.Compared to these works, the present study distinguishes itself by focusing specifically on Khalil Gibran’s Broken Wings and analyzing the Persian translation through the lens of Ladmiral’s components such as transposition, translator’s choice, omission, and addition. This research not only identifies the translator’s strengths but also highlights minor weaknesses in word choice and meaning transfer, offering suggestions for improvement.Research MethodologyThis study employs a descriptive–analytical method grounded in Jean-René Ladmiral’s theoretical framework. Data were collected from two primary sources:Al-Ajnḥaʾ al-Mutakassira (compiled by Juliana Abdullah, research by Mikhail Masoud, first edition, 143 pages).The Persian translation in The Complete Works of Khalil Gibran (translated by Seyyed Mostafa Tabatabai, 256 pages).These texts were systematically compared using Ladmiral’s principles. Cultural and linguistic elements were extracted, and the translator’s strategies for equivalence, compensation, omission, and addition were analyzed to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of meaning transfer.ConclusionThe comparative analysis of Khalil Gibran’s Broken Wings and Seyyed Mostafa Tabatabai’s Persian translation yields several key findings.First, through careful lexical selection, syntactic adjustments, and strategic additions—such as reordering verbs, omitting redundant elements, and offering implicit interpretations—Tabatabai has successfully conveyed messages that resonate with Persian-speaking audiences. These strategies help preserve the poetic and social tone of Gibran’s text and foster a strong connection between the reader and the original.Second, by aligning sentence structures with Persian grammatical norms while maintaining semantic fidelity, the translator achieves a balance between accuracy and readability. This balance reduces distortion and ambiguity, facilitating smoother comprehension. In many cases, Tabatabai avoids literal translations by opting for more contextually appropriate equivalents, enhancing cohesion and fluency.Third, the selective omission of semantically light words and the addition of explanatory adjectives or clarifying details improve readability and help reconstruct the emotional impact of the original text. These strategies demonstrate the translator’s sensitivity to both linguistic nuance and reader reception.Overall, the study concludes that Tabatabai’s translation of Broken Wings, when assessed through Ladmiral’s model, adopts a target-oriented and audience-centered approach. The translation not only preserves the poetic and social atmosphere of Gibran’s work but also successfully adapts it to Persian literary and cultural norms, enabling readers to experience the richness and depth of the original text.