The Translatability of Qur’anic Onomatopoeic Words into English

Abstract

The present study tackles the problem of translating onomatopoeic words in the Qur’an from Arabic into English. The study examines the translations through analysis and comparison of three different avowed Qur’anic translations with a special reference to four Qur’anic exegeses. The collected data are classified into three types according to their onomatopoeic representations of the sounds they include. The study subjoins extra evidence for the untranslatability of most of the Qur'anic onomatopoetic words, which is mainly due to their unique phonological features. The study has offered some suggestions to deal with the problematic issue of finding an equivalence in translating onomatopoeic words, such as: the use of footnotes and/or transliteration, which might, if necessary, be followed by an explanation to keep their phonological value in the TL and to give a better indication of their value and significance, rather than translating them inadequately. Keywords: Translatability, Qur’anic, Onomatopoeic, Arabic, English.