The Qur'an's Language Through Translation: An Inquiry into the Manner of Reflection, in Translation, of Qur'anic References & Its Relationship with the Qur'an-specific Language

Abstract

This study was undertaken as a probe into the occurrence, in translation, of the explicitation of the referential system of the Qur’an and into the way the Qur’an’s specific language is related to this event. Thus, the extent of explicitation in English translations was calculated, followed by the determination of the relationship of this event with the basic differences between the SL and the TL. To this end, a story in Surah Al-Kahf was selected, contrasted to five TTs. Following the analysis of the sample data, the manner of the reflection of Qur’an-specific cohesion was investigated. The findings demonstrated that the extent of the event of explicitation in the TTs exceeds that of Implicitation. Moreover, the most distinct case of cohesive shifts belonged to ‘reference to lexical cohesion.’ Finally, suggestions were provided regarding future studies to enable an objective verification of the hypotheses proposed in this research. This study was a preliminary step towards acquisition of more comprehensive knowledge of the Qur’an-specific language and the way translation phenomena are influenced by this.