The Translations of the Qur'an: A Comparative Approach Based on a Computer-Aided Analysis (Case Study: Italian Translations)

Abstract

Recourse to the computer, like all other advanced forms of technology, inevitably brings with it the danger of being taken over by the instrument. On the other hand, however, the advantages offered by progress cannot be foregone. In the field of the study of translations, the most fertile approach would seem to be the comparative one as it is easier to evaluate the method followed by a given translator by comparing it with the choices made in the same cases by others. In addition, within one version it will always be through the comparison of various passages that the systematic method and coherence, if nothing else, of the work under examination can be appreciated. I became aware of and experienced this phenomenon when examining a number of translations of the Qur'an of which I had electronic versions. The aim of this paper is, therefore, both to briefly relate the results of this research, and also to discuss more general considerations relative to the translations of the Qur'an (especially into Italian).