Translating Word Order Variations in the Qurʾan: A Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment

Ahmed Saleh Elimam

doi:10.46809/jcsll.v1i4.37

Abstract

Marked, unconventional word order is one of the most pertinent stylistic features of the Qurʾan, and is employed to realise certain discursive functions. This article identifies the verses which foreground a lexical item to (or towards) sentence-initial position, resulting in a marked word order, as well as the functions realised thereby, drawing on classical commentaries on the Qurʾan. Two of the most important English translations of the Qurʾan by Abdel Haleem (2004/2005) and Arberry (1955/1998) are selected for closer examination of the strategies they use to deal with the corpus of verses. The discussion is carried out against the backdrop of the translators’ stated aims and reviews of their output. Furthermore, the potential influences of the translators’ motivations, target readers’ expectations, and the historical context of their work on their respective output are also discussed.

Highlights

The literature on al-balāgha and tafsīrs emphasise that the style of the Quran is “beautiful” (Guillaume, 1956/1990, pp.73-74), “eloquent” and “inimitable” (Ayoub, 1984, p.2)
Drawing on Elimam (2009 and 2013), who expounds the issue of word order variations in Arabic poetry and the Quran, this section defines, and illustrates with examples, the functions realised by the marked word orders of the corpus verses
Abdel Haleem: This is the Scripture in which there is no doubt, containing guidance for those who are mindful of God, (3) who believe in the unseen, and keep up the prayer, and give out of what We have provided for them; (2004/2005, pp.4-5)

Summary

Introduction

The literature on al-balāgha (the art of Arabic eloquence) and tafsīrs (commentaries or exegesis of the Quran) emphasise that the style of the Quran is “beautiful” (Guillaume, 1956/1990, pp.73-74), “eloquent” (al-Bāqillānī, as cited in Vasalou, 2002, p.34; al-Jurjānī, as cited in Vasalou, 2002, p.39; Ayoub, 1984, p.2) and “inimitable” (Ayoub, 1984, p.2). 1078 or 1081 CE) argues that sentence construction, which he calls “na ” and defines as the arrangement of words in a sentence in light of their syntactical relationships with each other, is the basis and primary requirement for other types of Quranic balāgha features These include a) simile “tashbīh,” which includes analogy “ta thīl,” b) figurative speech or allegory “ a āz,” which includes metaphor “isti āra” and hypallage “ a āz mursal,” and c) allusion or implication “ ināya.”. Each word has its regular position in the linear order of the Arabic sentence, meaning that there are canonical, default structures, VSO and SP, which are assumed to be followed unless the writer or speaker wishes to foreground some element/s of the sentence for a particular purpose (see al-Lāwindī, 2001; Lāshīn, 1978) This stylistic feature, called (‫“ )التقديم والتأخير‬al-taqdīm wa al-takhīr” (“foregrounding and backgrounding”), is used primarily to highlight specific elements in the sentence. Lexical foregrounding is a language-specific device: it sets up relations which are conducive to the semantic cohesiveness of the text, and it is often difficult for two languages with different basic word orders and typologies (analytic versus synthetic), like Arabic and English, to achieve similar foregrounding effects through the same means in translation

Verses and Their Respective English Translations

The Discursive Functions of Verses and Translation Strategies

Contextual Factors behind the Translator’s Preferred Strategies

Findings

Conclusion