Translation Strategies in English Renditions of End-Time Saviour Verses in the Qur’ān: The Influence of the Translator’s Religious Background

Document Type : Original Research

Author

Department of English, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the translation strategies used in the English renditions of the end-of-the-world saviourship verses of the Holy Qur’ān, from the perspective of the translators' religious backgrounds. For this purpose, the English translations by three translators, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish (namely, Saffarzadeh (2001), Arberry (1957), and Dawood (1956), respectively), on the topic of saviourship in the Holy Qur’ān were collected and examined. To identify the translation strategy or strategies and to support the analysis of the translations and the ideologies underlying them, Newmark’s (1988) translation strategies, as well as a revised model of Larson’s (1998) TQA proposed by Rahimi (2004) (including accuracy, clarity, and naturalness), were employed as theoretical frameworks. Additionally, two Qur’ānic exegeses by Gulam Malik Farid and Tafsir al-Mizan by Allameh Tabataba’I, alongside selected authentic traditions or Hadiths, were consulted to provide a deeper understanding of the Qur’ānic interpretations. The results of the study indicated that ideological factors played a significant role in the choice of translation procedures, the translator’s intentions, and the academic and exegetical references used in each translation. More specifically, the Muslim translator tended toward a more meaning-oriented approach, placing greater emphasis on conveying meaning than the Jewish and Christian translators. Saffarzadeh also made more deliberate efforts to avoid manipulation and distortion compared to the other two translators.

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©2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 01 January 2024
  • Revise Date: 07 March 2024
  • Accept Date: 09 April 2024
  • Publish Date: 01 July 2024

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