Thematic structure of the translated rhetorical questions in the Quranic text into English

Abstract

Translating rhetorical questions from one language into another requires the translator’s attention, since rhetorical questions are interrogative in form yet do not expect answers but rather are used to deliver rhetorical functions such as assertion, negation, exclamation and showing abundance. Further, the sustenance of the thematic structure of rhetorical questions is important to maintain their functions. As such, the present study analysed the thematic structure (theme-rheme) of the Quranic rhetorical questions translated into English by Arberry (1996) to determine whether the functions of such questions are reflected accurately. To achieve this purpose, the study employed Halliday’s (1994) textual metafunction. The analysis revealed that the translator made some differences and changes in the thematic structure of the target text, mainly playing on the theme of the rhetorical questions of the source text. The rheme also shows some changes and differences, especially the grammatical categories. Accordingly, the functions of the Quranic rhetorical questions were not accurately reflected.