How Three Different Translators of The Holy Qur’an Render Anthroponyms from Arabic into English

Mahmoud Afrouz

doi:10.5195/names.2021.2255

Abstract

The present paper examines anthroponyms in the Holy Qur'an in three different English translations to shed light on how procedures used by translators can help target-language (TL) readers understand the implied meaning of anthroponyms. In order to conduct the research, the anthroponyms in the Holy Qur'an were isolated and English equivalents were identified. Then Vermes’s (2003) model was applied to the collected data to find answers to the following research questions: (1) What strategies are used most frequently by the translators examined to render the Qur’anic anthroponyms into the target-language (TL)?; (2) How consistent are the translators in using particular strategies when translating the anthroponyms?; (3) Does the type of translator affect their choice of translation strategy?; (4) Does the model suggested by Vermes (2003) cover all of the strategies employed by the three translators?; and (5) Which procedures are source-language-oriented, TL-oriented, or deep-reader oriented? Overall, the findings indicated that the procedures most frequently used by the translators were “substitution” and “transference.” It was found that the native speaker of neither Arabic nor English foreignized 96.80% of the Qur’anic anthroponyms by using “transference,” while the native translators of either the target-language or the source-language domesticated 71.00% of the anthroponyms by using “substitution.” “Substitution” was used when an exact Biblical equivalent for the Qur’anic anthroponym existed. Otherwise, “transference” was used along with notes to transport the meaning and form while remaining faithful to the intended meaning of the sacred text.

Highlights

IntroductionTranslating is the act of converting a written text from a source-language (i.e., the original language of the text) to a target-language (TL)
Translating is the act of converting a written text from a source-language to a target-language (TL)
The study seeks to provide answers for the following questions: (1) What strategies are used most frequently by the translators examined to render the Qur’anic anthroponyms into the TL?; (2) How consistent are the translators in using particular strategies when translating the anthroponyms?; (3) Does the type of translator affect their choice of translation strategy?; (4) Does the model suggested by Vermes (2003) cover all of the strategies employed by the three translators?; and (5) Which procedures are SL-oriented, TL-oriented or deep-reader oriented? On the basis of the answers gathered for these research questions, this paper will discuss the feasibility of devising a specialized taxonomy of translation strategies for rendering anthroponyms in sacred texts

Summary

Introduction

Translating is the act of converting a written text from a source-language (i.e., the original language of the text) to a target-language (TL). When translators produce a text which closely follows the grammatical and/or morphological rules of the source-language (SL) rather than those of the target-language, their final product may appear foreign to readers of the target-text. A challenge commonly faced by literary translators is how to deal appropriately with the implicit information embedded in the original text and accurately convey it to the target-text with a minimal loss of effect. This challenge is often posed by proper names (PNs). The term PN is used to refer to the name of a particular or “individual person,” “thing”, or “place” and is normally spelt with a “capital letter” (Richards et al 1985, 68; Crystal 2008, 392)

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