Reframing the semantic and pragmatic aspects of pun words in the Holy Quran from Arabic into English

Abstract

The Holy Quran is the central point of Islam and is the link, which connects humanity (the creation) with Allah (the creator). Translation of the Qur'an is still a problematic issue for each translator in Islamic theology due to the Quran has numerous Islamic terms/words that hold multiple or double meanings, which causes problems in translation. These problems are due to the contradictory translations of puns (tawriyah) and the misinterpretations of the intended meanings of puns with their inherent notions, which could result in a certain amount of ambiguity. Translators and interpreters of the Qur’an face numerous difficulties that make their translation an impossible task to cater to this fact in their translations, consequently; they end up translating the superficial sense, which leads to tremendous loss of semantic, and rhetorical features. Therefore, this research deals with the challenges of translating the meanings of puns (tawriyah) from the Quran into English. The study examines eight selected verses from the Quran and its two widespread English translations by Yusuf Ali (2014) and Shakir (2011). The research employs Delabastita᾿s (1996) typology of horizontal puns and Newmark’s (1998) translation methods to identify the types of puns produced by the two translators and the translation methods employed in the Quranic text, also to determine the governed factors for mistranslating the meanings of puns in the Holy Quran from Arabic into English.