Evaluating the Accuracy and Consistency in Rendering Qurʾanic Terms with Overlapping Meanings into English
The Holy Qurʾan has many terms that exhibit a great similarity in meaning and may not be easily rendered into another language. The present study attempts to explore the accuracy of the lexical choices used to render the Arabic near-synonyms ʿfawa, ṣafaḥa, and ġafara into English in three Translatio...
| Published in: | Al-Bayān |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
[2020]
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| In: |
Al-Bayān
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| Further subjects: | B
Translation
B Semantics B Consistency B Qurʾan B near synonymy |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The Holy Qurʾan has many terms that exhibit a great similarity in meaning and may not be easily rendered into another language. The present study attempts to explore the accuracy of the lexical choices used to render the Arabic near-synonyms ʿfawa, ṣafaḥa, and ġafara into English in three Translations of the Holy Qurʾan; namely, Pickthall (1999), Ali (2001), and Al-Hilali and Khan (2018). The researchers carried out a componential analysis for the Arabic words under study and their English equivalents based on their explanation in different Arabic and English dictionaries and exegeses. The study also investigates whether the translators maintain consistency in translating these words when they occur within the same verse and elsewhere. The findings show that the translators tended to use different English equivalents to the three Arabic words especially when they occur within the same verse, and sometimes failed to reflect the slight differences between them in their translations that they use them interchangeably. With regard to consistency, the study found that the three translators used various English equivalents to refer to the same Arabic word, but Al-Hilali & Khan and Ali were more consistent than Pickthall. |
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| ISSN: | 2232-1969 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Al-Bayān
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/22321969-12340083 |