The Role of Cultural and Linguistic Context in Lexical Equivalence: A Comparative Study of Five English Translations of the Holy Qur’an

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 PhD of Linguistics, Department of Foreign Languages, Arv.C., Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran

2 Associate professor in the Department of Foreign Languages, Arv.C., Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran

10.22081/ttais.2025.72135.1062

Abstract

Abstract
Introduction: The context of language is an effective element that cannot be overlooked in the English translations of the Holy Qur'an, as it may influence the translators' choices of equivalents in the target text (TT).
Methods: The current study aimed to explore the role of context in equivalent selection among translators with diverse worldviews, following Lotfi Gaskaree et al. (2023). The research design was qualitative, and the criteria for verse selection were based on the purposive sampling method. The equivalents were selected in five popular versions of the Holy Qur'an translation. The size data covered nine Surahs in the five versions. The problem focuses on examining their perspectives on finding lexical equivalents of the Holy Qur'an vocabulary in English. Translated versions of the Cow Surah in the Holy Qur'an that are available were selected based on the translators' contexts. The versions were translated by Arberry, Shakir, Pickthall, and Yusuf Ali. The translated excerpts of each version were chosen from the surah, and the differences in vocabulary equivalents in Arabic and English were explored.
Results: Results indicated differences in the degree of intimacy and familiarity of the translators with Islamic and religious concepts. In this regard, translators with Western worldviews tend to favor literal translation at the level of morpheme, whereas those with Eastern viewpoints tend to favor meaningful or communicative translation.
Discussion: The lexis context-bound English translation in the Holy Qur’an of the translated versions is not in line with each other due to translators’ context affiliation. This shows the effect of translators’ contextual and cultural affiliation on the word selection in the TT.
Conclusion: The limitations of the study addressed the sample size of data, which can be more than nine Surahs. The implications for cross-cultural translation theory can be fruitful since the translators in the East and West of the world showed that they suggested lexical equivalents based on their worldviews. This result can be introductory research for further semantic-contextual research.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 14 June 2025
  • Revise Date: 04 July 2025
  • Accept Date: 26 July 2025
  • Publish Date: 01 October 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics