Abstract
AbstractThe fundamental premise here is that linguistic equivalence at the microstructural level is not usually expected because languages are linguistically and semantically incongruous. Though this premise is basically correct the starting point of this article is that syntactic equivalence is possible and the translation process can involve a matching at the syntactic level even when some components or structures seems untranslatable. However, certain additional factors might affect the translator's choice. This article shows that the choices made by the Qurʼān's translators can usually be justified. On the other hand some inaccuracies arise from insufficient syntactic knowledge or sometimes the translator retains minimal similarity to the SL for no apparent reason. This may lead to misinterpretation of the intended meaning of the SL.
Highlights
When “average” individuals read one of the many Qurānic translations without comparing it to the original text they may consider them to be coherent and adequate works that render the message of the Qurān in a very eloquent way
When the original texts are assessed for equivalence by professional translators, academics or bilingual specialists, the shortcomings of the translations tend to come to the surface
This article focuses on linguistic equivalence,2 or more precisely on equivalence at the syntactic level, while discussing the factors and strategies that guide the actual translation process of syntactic units appearing in the Qurān
Summary
When “average” individuals read one of the many Qurānic translations without comparing it to the original text they may consider them to be coherent and adequate works that render the message of the Qurān in a very eloquent way. In the appendix to the translation, he first gives the background to the Qurān and notes some of the translation strategies he applied He states that he tried to preserve the Qurānic text as much as possible, but that there were cases where he had to depart from it to adapt the German translation and make it comprehensible. He could not always keep the same word order, even if in Arabic a specific word order was used for purposes of emphasis. Since equivalence is a key concept here, I turn first to some of the definitions proposed in the research literature
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