Semantic Strategy: A Dominant Method in Translating Iltifat in Three English Translations of the Quran

Authors

Abstract

This essay is an investigation into the translation of reference switch “Iltifat” and its types, in three English translations of the Quran. The essay shows that semantic translation method is the most frequently used strategy with regard to the translation of different types of Iltifat. The study’s main concern is the challenges with which a translator may confront in translating Iltifat. An Iltifat has different kinds of which a shift in the use of pronouns is the most frequently used in the Quran. In order to present an analytical description of how different types of Iltifat are translated, the theoretical framework of the study or an introduction of translation methods is presented at first. Then, the main theories, especially, the two translation methods by Newmark (1988), namely, communicative and semantic translations, are defined. Third, data collection procedures are presented; the data has been extracted from a thorough examination of four verses in which Iltifat has been used. The verses were selected and analyzed from different suras of the three English Quran translations: Yusuf Ali (1934), Pickthall (1930) and Arberry (1955). Careful analysis of the selected translated verses indicates that all three translators have tried to make use of semantic translation method and its range as the most frequently used method to remain faithful to the original. Translators’ use of this translation method may account, on the one hand, for the importance of the original text, but it could also be an indicator of the translators’ partiality and ideology.

Keywords:

Quran, English translation, Semantic meaning, Strategy, Iltifat

Author Biography

Abolfazl Horri, Arak University

Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Foreign languages, Arak University, Arak, Iran;

References

حری، ابوالفضل (1390). بررسي شگرد قرآني التفات در پرتو ساختار اطلاعات گفتمان». ادبيات تطبيقي تربيت مدرس (جستارهای زبانی). د. 2، ش. 4 (پیاپی 8)صص.17-39.

دهخدا، علي اكبر (1377). لغت نامه. زير نظر دكتر محمد معين و دكتر سيد جعفر شهيدي. تهران: دانشگاه تهران (موسسة لغت نامة دهخدا).

حاجی خانی، علی و مونا امانی پور (1393). فن التفات و بررسی آن در برخی ترجمه‌های معاصر فارسی قرآن کریم. دوفصلنامه مطالعات قرآن و حدیث، دوره 1، ش. 2، صص. 25-56.

رادمرد، عبداله و هما رحمانی (1391). کاربرد التفات در بافت کلام الهی. فصلنامه مبین، دورۀ سوم، ش. هشتم، تابستان 1391، صص. 80-112

سجودی، فرزان و نادره ساداتسرکی (1393). گونه شناسی صنعت التفات در قرآن مجید با توجه به مولفه‌های گفته پردازی. جستارهای زبانی، دورۀ 5، ش. 1 (پیاپی 17)، صص. 297-310.

Abdel Haleem. M. A. S. (1992). "Grammatical Shift For The Rhetorical Purposes: Iltifât And Related Features in the Qur'ân". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 1992, Volume LV, pp. 407-432.

Abdel-Haleem, M. (2004/2008) The Quran: A New Translation. London: Oxford, OUP.

Abdul-Raof, H. (2001). Quran Translation: Discourse, Texture and Exegesis. In Richmond: Curzon

Abdul-Raof, H. (2004). The Qur‘an: Limits of translatability. In S. Faiq (Ed.), Cultural encounters in translation from Arabic (pp. 91–106). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters Ltd.

Al Farisi, Zika (2014). Speech act of iltifat and its Indonesian translation problems. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 4 No. 2, January 2015, pp. 78-90.

Al-Badani, N., N. Mat, I. Zainudin and A. Aladdin, (2014A). The implicature of reference switching (Iltifat) from second person to third person in the translation of Surat Al-Baqarah. Arab World English Journal. Special Issue on Translation, (3): 75-87.

Al-Badani, N., N. Mat, I. Zainudin and A. Aladdin (2014b). Reference switching (Iltifat) in Arabic and its translation into English: an intertextual analysis. International Journal of Asian Social Science, 2014, 4(6): 791-805.

Ali, A. Yusuf. (1934/1982). Preface. The Holy Qur’an: Translation and Commentary. By Ali. Jeddah,Arabia: Dar Al-Qiblah 1982. xvi pp.

Arberry, Arthur J. (1955). The koran Interpreted. London: George Allen & Unwin. xiii + 674 pp.

Baker, M. (1992). In other words: A course book on translation. London: Routledge

El-Zeiny, Iman (2011). Criteria for the translation and assessment of Qur’anic metaphor: A contrastive analytic approach. Babel 57: 3 (2011), 247–268.

Hatim, B. and Mason, I. (1990). Discourse and the Translator. London: Longman.

Khalifa, Mohammad (1983). The Sublime Quran and Orientalism. Longman. Chap. 5, pp.64-79

Kidwai, A. (1987) Translating the Untranslatable: a Survey of English Translations of the Quran. The Muslim World Book Review, 7 (4), pp. 66-71.

Mohammed, Khaleel. ( 2005). “Assessing English Translations of the Qur’an”. Middle East Quarterly. Vol.12 (2), p.59(13).

Mustapha, H. (2001). Qur‘an (Koran) translation. In M. Baker (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (pp. 200–204). London and NewYork: Routledge.

Newmark. P. (1988). A textbook of translation. London: Prentice Hall.

Newmark, P. (1988b). Approaches to Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall.

Nida, E. (1964) Toward A Science Of Translating: with Special Reference To Principles And Procedures Involved In Bible Translating. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Pickthall, M. (1930/1969). The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an: An Explanatory Translation. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

Pym, A. (2010). Exploring translation studies. London & New York: Routledge

Snell-Hornby, M. (1995). Translation Studies: an Integrated Approach. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Published

2019-08-30

How to Cite

Horri, A. (2019). Semantic Strategy: A Dominant Method in Translating Iltifat in Three English Translations of the Quran. Iranian Journal of Translation Studies, 17(66), 7–22. Retrieved from https://journal.translationstudies.ir/ts/article/view/693

Issue

Section

Academic Research Paper

Most read articles by the same author(s)

<< < 1 2