Semantic Loss in Some Selected Verses of Sūrat Yā-Sīn: A Comparative Study of Three Trustworthy English Translations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1501.24Keywords:
semantic loss, Sūrat Yā-Sīn, comparative study, Qur’anic English translationAbstract
The current study aims to explore semantic loss in three English translations of Sūrat Yā-sīn: one by Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan (1996), one by Muhammad A. S. Abdel Haleem (2004), and one by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (1930), and the causes of these losses. The descriptive qualitative approach is utilized due to its adequacy and convenience for examining semantic loss in the Holy Qur’an translation in general and Sūrat Yā-Sīn in particular. Moreover, the qualitative data-gathering method includes textual analysis, comparisons, and contrasts, to mention just a few. The findings of this study reveal that the exegetic and semantic rendering procedures can decrease semantic loss with the utilization of translation strategies such as footnotes, explanations, and so on. The study also shows that literal rendering is not an adequate translation procedure for conveying the semantic meaning or relational connotation of the Qur'anic Arabic abstract words in Sūrat Yā-Sīn into English and leads to semantic loss. This study concludes that the translator must decide on how to reduce semantic loss by approximating the original meaning of Qur’anic Arabic expressions or words in the Holy Qur’an in general and Sūrat Yā-Sīn in particular. The study also concludes that translators encounter the dilemma of finding equivalents to English expressions for Islamic discourse terms and must have full acquaintance with the Arabic language to be capable of fathoming Qur'anic discourse and approximating its meaning in the translated language (English).
References
Abdalati, A. (2019). The Role of Free Translation in Rendering the Collocational Phrases of The Qu’ranic Text into English (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis). University of Chester, Chester, United Kingdom.
Abdelaal, N. M., & Md Rashid, S. M. (2016). Grammar-related semantic losses in the translation of the Holy Quran, with special reference to Surah Al A’araf (the heights). SAGE Open, 6(3), 1-11. doi:10.1177/2158244016661750.
Abdelaal, N. (2019). Translating denotative meaning in the Holy Quran: Problems and solutions. Pertanika: Journal of Social Science & Humanities, 27(1), 13 – 33.
Abdelaal, N. M., & Md Rashid, S. M. (2015). Semantic loss in the holy Qur’an translation with special reference to surah Al-WaqiAAa (Chapter of the event inevitable). SAGE Open, 5(4), 1-10. doi:10.1177/2158244015605880.
Abdel-Haleem, M. A. (2004). The Qur’an, A New Translation, Oxford University Press. New York.
Abdelkarim, M. B., & Alhaj, A. A. (2023). Probing the meaning loss in the translation of Arabic Qur’ānic connotative words into English: A linguistic semantic perspective. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 13(10), 2644-2651.
Abdelkarim, M. B., & Alhaj, A. A. M. (2024). A study of the translatability and untranslatability of Qur’ānic Arabic particle laʿalla لَعَلَّ in some selected surahs: A linguistic perspective. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 15(2), 579-587.
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.
Abdul-Raof, H. (2001). Qur'an Translation, Discourse, Texture, and Exegesis. Richmond: Curzon Press.
Al-Amri, W. B. (2010). Qur'an translation and commentary: An uncharted relationship? Islamic Sciences, 8(2), 81-110.
Al-Ananzeh, M. S. (2015). Problems encountered in translating conversational implicatures in the Holy Qurʾān into English. International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies, 3(3), 39-47.
Aldebyan, Q. A. (2008). Strategies for Translating Arabic Cultural Markers into English: A Foreignizing Approach. University of Arkansas.
Alhaj, A. A. M., & Alwadai, M. A. M. (2024). A study of gain and loss in the translation of the Qurʾānic Arabic words of glad tidings known as Al-Bush'rā (البُشْرَى) into English: An Islamic professional ethical perspective. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 14(1), 233-240.
Al-Hassan, A. (2013). The importance of culture in translation: Should culture be translated? International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 2(2), 96-100.
Al-Masri, H. (2009). Translation and cultural equivalence: A study of translation losses in Arabic. Journal of Language and Translation, 1, 7-44.
Al-Smadi, H. M. (2022). Challenges in translating rhetorical questions in the Holy Qur’an: A comparative study. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 12(3), 583-590.
Al-Tabari, M. (1981). Jami’ al-Bayan fi Tawil al-Qur’an, [The commentary on the Quran] Dar al-Ma’arif, Cairo.
Alvi, A. (2013). Concealment and revealment: The Muslim veil in context. Current Anthropology, 54(2), 177-199.
Awad, A. K. (2005). Translating Arabic into English with Special Reference to Qur'anic Discourse. The University of Manchester (United Kingdom).
Azizah, U., Kusmana, K., Matin, U., & Rahman, Y. (2022, February). Study The Qur'an and its interpretation department of religion. In Proceedings of the 4th International Colloquium on Interdisciplinary Islamic Studies in conjunction with the 1st International Conference on Education, Science, Technology, Indonesian and Islamic Studies, ICIIS and ICESTIIS 2021, 20-21 October 2021, Jambi, Indonesia.
Baker, M., & Saldanha, G. (2019). Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. Routledge.
Boussalem, H., & Mahiou, I. (2016). Semantic Loss at Word Level in Quran Translation Case of Two Translated Versions of Surat El-Baqara (The Cow) by AJ Arberry & AY Ali (Doctoral dissertation). Kasdi Merbah University - Ouargla - Faculty of Letters and Languages.
Catford, J. C. (1965). A Linguistic Theory of Translation. London: Oxford University Press.
Chagour, A., & Kaouache, S. (2021). Aspects of the Inimitability (I3jaz) of the Holy Qur’an (Doctoral dissertation, Université Frères Mentouri-Constantine 1).
Deeb, Z. A. (2005). A Taxonomy of Translation Problems in Translating from English to Arabic (Doctoral dissertation, Newcastle University).
Dickins, J. (2010). Junction in English and Arabic: Syntactic, discoursal, and denotative features. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(4), 1076-1136.
Dupriez, B. M. (1991). A Dictionary of Literary Devices: Gradus, AZ. University of Toronto Press.
El-Haj Ahmed, M. S., & El Halabi, H. N. (2022). Impact of semantic loss in the Holy Quran concerning Yusuf Ali's and Marmaduke Pickthall's translations of Al-Nur Surah. IUG Journal of Humanitarian Research, 30(2), 315-331.
El-Magazy, R. (2004). An Analytical Study of Translating The Quran: Comparative Analysis of Nine English Translations of Surah Al-An’Am, (Doctoral thesis, University of Portsmouth).
Fatani, A. (2006). Translation and the Qur’an. In The Qur’an: An Encyclopedia. (pp. 657–669). Great Britain: Routledge.
Hashemi, B. (2023). Challenges of translating the Arabic Qur’an into English: A comparative study of eight leading translations. Journal of World Religions and Interfaith Harmony, 2(1), 45-119.
Hassanein, H. S. (2017). Translating aspects of lexical-semantic opposition from Qur’anic Arabic into English: A cross-linguistic perspective. Perspectives, 25(1), 137-156.
Hilali, M. T., & Khan, M. M. (1996). The Noble Qur’an: English Translation of the Meanings and Commentary, Madinah.
Howard, T. A. (2021). The Faiths of Others: A History of Interreligious Dialogue. Yale University Press.
Ibn Abbas, A. (1992). Tanwir al-Miqbas Min Tafsir Ibn Abbas [The Illumination of the Light from Exegesis of Ibn Abbas]. Beirut. Dar Al-Kotob AlIlmiyah.
Islam, S. (2018). Semantic loss in two English translations of Surah Yā-Sīn by two translators (Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Arthur John Arberry). IJLLT, 1(4), 18-34.
Jumeh, M. S. (2006). The Loss of Meaning in Translation: Its Types and Factors Concerning Ten English Translations of the Meaning of the Qur'an (Doctoral dissertation, University of Wales Trinity Saint David).
Muhammad, A. G. (2017). Translating Metonymy in the Holy Qur'an: Surat an-Nisa as a Case Study (Doctoral dissertation, American University of Sharjah).
Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. Prentice Hall. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, and Tokyo.
Pickthall, M. (1930). The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an: An Explanatory Translation. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.
Pym, A. (1992). Translation and Text Transfer (p. 52). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Smith, K. (2006). Rhetorical figures and the translation of advertising headlines. Language and Literature, 15(2), 159-182.
Ünal, A. (2006). The Qurʼan with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English. Tughra Books.
Yunus, M. R. (1994). Modern Approaches to the Study of I'jaz Al-Qur'an (Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan).
Zammit, M. (2020). A Comparative Lexical Study of Qur'ānic Arabic (Vol. 61). Brill.
