Grammatical and semantic losses in Abdel Haleem’s English translation of the Holy Quran

This study focused on grammatical and semantic losses in the translation of the Holy Quran, which refer to the mismatch between the source text and target text in terms of grammar or vocabulary that affect meaning. It specifically aimed to: 1) identify the grammatical and semantic losses in the t...

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Main Author: Abdelaal, Noureldin Mohamed
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2017
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Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/66050/1/FBMK%202017%2017%20UPM%20IR.pdf
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spelling my-upm-ir.660502018-12-12T02:40:08Z Grammatical and semantic losses in Abdel Haleem’s English translation of the Holy Quran 2017-02 Abdelaal, Noureldin Mohamed This study focused on grammatical and semantic losses in the translation of the Holy Quran, which refer to the mismatch between the source text and target text in terms of grammar or vocabulary that affect meaning. It specifically aimed to: 1) identify the grammatical and semantic losses in the translation of three selected Meccan Surahs, and the extent they lead to semantic losses, 2) identify the causes of the identified grammatical losses 3) identify other semantic losses, and 4) identify whether these semantic losses are partial or complete, and 5) determine the causes of such semantic losses. This study is situated within the qualitative interpretive paradigm. Data of the study comprised of Abdel-Haleem’s English translation of three Meccan Surahs, and their three Arabic source text (ST) Surahs. The Surahs included in the study are Al- Ana’am (6) (The Livestock), Al-A’raaf (7) (The Heights), and At-Tur (52) (The Mount). Examples from the selected Surahs were selected purposively to address the research questions. Content analysis of the translation of the identified ayahs in the selected Surahs was done, based on Baker’s typology of non-equivalence and Catford’s translation shifts. The findings of the study revealed various types of grammatical loss in Abdel Haleem’s translation of the three selected Meccan Surahs in the Holy Quran. Loss in translating conjunctions was the most frequent type of loss in the translation. The other common types of loss that were identified in the translation were of tense, syntactic order, loss in emphasis, duality and plurality. In addition, most of the identified grammatical losses found to led to partial semantic losses, and sometimes, to complete semantic losses. Other semantic losses in the translation of the Surahs include losses of the denotative and connotative meanings, overtranslation, loss in rhetorical devices and expressive meanings. These losses were the result of several main causes such as the difference in the grammatical system between the ST and the Target text, semantic complexity, culture and the translator’s failure of selecting appropriate equivalents. This study provides a typology of grammatical and semantic losses in the translation of the Holy Quran. The causes of such losses and how they can be reduced in the future are also suggested. The findings of the study have important implications on future translation of the Holy Quran. Qur'an - Translations Qur'an - English 2017-02 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/66050/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/66050/1/FBMK%202017%2017%20UPM%20IR.pdf text en public doctoral Universiti Putra Malaysia Qur'an - Translations Qur'an - English
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection PSAS Institutional Repository
language English
topic Qur'an - Translations
Qur'an - English

spellingShingle Qur'an - Translations
Qur'an - English

Abdelaal, Noureldin Mohamed
Grammatical and semantic losses in Abdel Haleem’s English translation of the Holy Quran
description This study focused on grammatical and semantic losses in the translation of the Holy Quran, which refer to the mismatch between the source text and target text in terms of grammar or vocabulary that affect meaning. It specifically aimed to: 1) identify the grammatical and semantic losses in the translation of three selected Meccan Surahs, and the extent they lead to semantic losses, 2) identify the causes of the identified grammatical losses 3) identify other semantic losses, and 4) identify whether these semantic losses are partial or complete, and 5) determine the causes of such semantic losses. This study is situated within the qualitative interpretive paradigm. Data of the study comprised of Abdel-Haleem’s English translation of three Meccan Surahs, and their three Arabic source text (ST) Surahs. The Surahs included in the study are Al- Ana’am (6) (The Livestock), Al-A’raaf (7) (The Heights), and At-Tur (52) (The Mount). Examples from the selected Surahs were selected purposively to address the research questions. Content analysis of the translation of the identified ayahs in the selected Surahs was done, based on Baker’s typology of non-equivalence and Catford’s translation shifts. The findings of the study revealed various types of grammatical loss in Abdel Haleem’s translation of the three selected Meccan Surahs in the Holy Quran. Loss in translating conjunctions was the most frequent type of loss in the translation. The other common types of loss that were identified in the translation were of tense, syntactic order, loss in emphasis, duality and plurality. In addition, most of the identified grammatical losses found to led to partial semantic losses, and sometimes, to complete semantic losses. Other semantic losses in the translation of the Surahs include losses of the denotative and connotative meanings, overtranslation, loss in rhetorical devices and expressive meanings. These losses were the result of several main causes such as the difference in the grammatical system between the ST and the Target text, semantic complexity, culture and the translator’s failure of selecting appropriate equivalents. This study provides a typology of grammatical and semantic losses in the translation of the Holy Quran. The causes of such losses and how they can be reduced in the future are also suggested. The findings of the study have important implications on future translation of the Holy Quran.
format Thesis
qualification_level Doctorate
author Abdelaal, Noureldin Mohamed
author_facet Abdelaal, Noureldin Mohamed
author_sort Abdelaal, Noureldin Mohamed
title Grammatical and semantic losses in Abdel Haleem’s English translation of the Holy Quran
title_short Grammatical and semantic losses in Abdel Haleem’s English translation of the Holy Quran
title_full Grammatical and semantic losses in Abdel Haleem’s English translation of the Holy Quran
title_fullStr Grammatical and semantic losses in Abdel Haleem’s English translation of the Holy Quran
title_full_unstemmed Grammatical and semantic losses in Abdel Haleem’s English translation of the Holy Quran
title_sort grammatical and semantic losses in abdel haleem’s english translation of the holy quran
granting_institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
publishDate 2017
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/66050/1/FBMK%202017%2017%20UPM%20IR.pdf
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