A Study of the Translation of Passive Voice in Persian Translations of the Holy Qur’an

Abstract

The present study investigates the factors that create diversity in translation of passive voice from Arabic into Persian in terms of structure as well as vocabulary. To this end, fifty Persian translations of the Holy Qur’an were examined. Various forms of words, different options in Persian grammatical tenses and translator's interpretation were found to be responsible for the observed diversity. Moreover, diachronic development of passive voice in Persian, context and the translator's interpretation were shown to be the major reasons why such diversity comes about. In this study, by controlling the variable of context, it was shown that translator’s interpretation was a factor involved in creating diversity. Controlling translator’s interpretation revealed that context of situation was also an important factor in creating diversity in translations. Furthermore, complex predicates with different light verbs as well as the simultaneous presence of Arabic words and their Persian equivalents were the other factors that contributed to the diversity of translations.