batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l463-l497
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg-l463-l497
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
passage_locator:
label: OF THE / LIFE OF GEORGE SALE. / R. A. DAVENPORT. / INTRODUCTION; lines 463-497
start: '463'
end: '497'
translation: The Koran (Al-Qur'an)
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: '"through the labyrinth of oriental dialects."'
summary: The passage describes George Sale's Arabic instruction, his work correcting
an Arabic New Testament, the later English translation of the Koran, and issues
of transliterating Arabic names into Roman letters in Sale's era and later scholarship.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Dadichi, described as the King's Interpreter and a learned Greek of Aleppo,
guided Sale in Arabic or oriental dialects.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: On August 30, 1726, Sale offered his services as one of the correctors of
the Arabic New Testament and later became the chief worker on it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Sale also served as the Society's solicitor and held other honorary offices.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Arabic New Testament translation was followed by Sale's translation of
the Koran into English.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The edition mostly leaves proper names as in the original, while noting wide
variation in oriental orthography in Sale's day.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Examples are given of variant spellings for names including Al-Qor'n, Muhammad,
Al-Baidhwi, Muttalib, Jall ud-Dn, Anas, and Khalfa.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The passage says recent scholars attempted to render each Arabic letter by
an equivalent distinct Roman letter, though no single system had been universally
adopted.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The stated advantage of transliteration systems is that they distinguish certain
Arabic consonants and indicate the letter 'ayn.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The section is attributed to E. Denison Ross, Sir Edward Denison Ross, and
is noted as apparently written sometime after 1877.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: George Sale
description: Translator and scholar described as having a gift of languages, working
on an Arabic New Testament and later translating the Koran into English.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Dadichi
description: The King's Interpreter, a learned Greek of Aleppo, said to have guided
Sale through oriental dialects.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: the Society
description: Institution whose records mention Sale's offer to correct the Arabic
New Testament and for which Sale served as solicitor.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: contemporary Anglo-Indian scholars
description: Scholars criticized for distorting Muhammadan names and Indian place
names through their transliteration practices.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: European orientalists
description: Scholars said not to have universally adopted one transliteration system,
though each writer had some system.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: E. Denison Ross / Sir Edward Denison Ross
description: Named writer or attributed author of the introductory note, identified
with titles C.I.E., Ph.D., etc.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: translator and Arabic New Testament corrector
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sale offered to be a corrector of the Arabic New Testament, became its chief
worker, and the Arabic New Testament translation was followed by the Koran translation
into English.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: language guide
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Dadichi is said to have guided Sale through oriental dialects.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: linguistically gifted scholar
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage says Sale had the gift of languages.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: institutional record-holder and employer/affiliation
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Society's records are cited, and Sale served as its solicitor and held
honorary offices.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: criticized transliterators
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage says contemporary Anglo-Indian scholars distorted Muhammadan
names and place names through spelling choices.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: transliteration-system users
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: European orientalists are described as using systems for turning Romanized
names back into Arabic script.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: attributed writer of introduction note
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage ends with the signature E. Denison Ross and the identification
Sir Edward Denison Ross.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Sale's linguistic guidance
summary: Dadichi is reported to have guided Sale in oriental dialects, using the
image of a labyrinth for linguistic complexity.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Work on Arabic New Testament and English Koran
summary: Sale offers to correct the Arabic New Testament, becomes its chief worker,
holds Society offices, and later produces an English translation of the Koran.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Discussion of spelling variations
summary: The passage explains that proper names are mostly retained as in the original
and gives examples of varied spellings caused by earlier orthographic freedom.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Discussion of modern transliteration systems
summary: The passage describes recent efforts to map Arabic letters to distinct
Roman equivalents and notes the practical benefit of such systems.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs: []
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 463-465
quote_or_summary: Dadichi, the King's Interpreter and a learned Greek of Aleppo,
guided Sale "through the labyrinth of oriental dialects."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 466-472
quote_or_summary: The passage states that Sale had the gift of languages, offered
on August 30, 1726 to be a corrector of the Arabic New Testament, became its chief
worker, served the Society, and that this translation was followed by the English
Koran.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 473-484
quote_or_summary: The passage discusses Sale's retention of proper names, the lack
of scientific oriental orthography in his day, contemporary Anglo-Indian distortions,
and examples of variant spellings of Arabic names.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 485-493
quote_or_summary: The passage explains recent scholarly attempts to map Arabic alphabet
letters to distinct Roman equivalents, the lack of a universal system, and the
value of distinguishing Arabic consonants and indicating 'ayn.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:5
type: citation
locator: lines 494-497
quote_or_summary: The section is signed E. Denison Ross, identifies Sir Edward Denison
Ross, and notes it was apparently written sometime after 1877.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamic/project-gutenberg/koran-sale.md
rights_note: Public domain source; citation evidence.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is introductory, biographical, and philological rather than mythic
narrative. No candidate mythological motifs or comparison claims are extracted.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
The metaphorical phrase about a labyrinth is recorded only in the canonical quote and scene summary; it is not treated as a mythological labyrinth motif because the passage uses it for linguistic difficulty rather than a narrative initiation pattern.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamic-koran-sale-gutenberg__l463-l497
passage_sha256=ff79a1f734fad33e87f79b7a4b832b42d7776f7fabd653ab4927471fab09a5a4