Exploring Some Morpho-Syntactic, Lexical and Semotactic Errors in three Western and Eastern Translations of the Meanings of Surat Al-Baqara into the English Language: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The current study aims at exploring some morphosyntactic, lexical and semotactic errors in three Western and Eastern Translations of the meanings of Surat Al-Baqara into English; that is in translations of George Sale, and Arthur John Arberry and Khan and Mohammed Taj Al-Din Al-Hilai. Also, the study aims at investigating how the three translators deal with the morphosyntactic, lexical and semotactic difficulties in their translating of. the meanings of Surat Al-Baqara into English. Four Ayahs of Surat AlBaqara were purposefully selected to address the research questions and categorized into lexical errors, morphological errors, syntactic Errors and semantic errors. The study shows that there are some syntactic, morphological, lexical and semantic errors in the translation of the meaning of Surat Al-Baqara into English rendered by George Sale, and Arthur John Arberry. Moreover, the syntactic, morphological, lexical and semantic errors occurred due to many factors such as lack of equivalence and the translation strategies employed. The study also suggests some solutions for the identified morphosyntactic, lexical and semotactic difficulties and gives correct translations for the incorrect translation of the purposive Ayahs. The study also recommends that translators must employ footnotes (see example 1 and other translation strategies to avoid a probable loss of the intended meaning.