Najjar, S A (2012) Metaphors in translation : an investigation of a sample of Quran metaphors with reference to three English versions of the Quran. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool John Moores University.

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Abstract

This study aims to investigate the challenges of translating metaphors of the Quran. It examines English speakers' understanding of a number of Quran metaphors which are selected from three well known English versions of the Quran translations. In addition, the study highlights the root causes which may be deemed to be a source of misunderstanding Quran metaphors. The study also aims to find out to what extant metaphors of the Quran can maintain their sense in today's context. Translation in today's globalised world is gaining relevance as a means to enhance communication among multicultural nations. Translation studies have contributed significantly in bridging the linguistic and the cultural gap among languages. However, the key literature of this study suggests that, translating metaphors and translating metaphors of the Quran in particular have been under researched as they are very often overlooked in translation studies. The conclusion that can be drawn from the predominant literature related to translation studies is that the on-going debates over the faithful, loyal approaches of translating vs. the free and dynamic methods have generated in parts insightful explanations and interesting and useful, but they have fallen short of providing a general consensus. This study takes the view that there is no master plan for translating and that a word for word approach often leads to stilted translation particularly when dealing with metaphors. Given the nature of the topic under consideration, this study combines both qualitative and quantitative methods. The advantage of the use of both methods for collecting data is highly considered and recommended. Utilization of this combination enhances the trustworthiness of findings as well as reduces limitations. The qualitative method in this study represents scholars' interpretations and views and a questionnaire as a data collection instrument is adopted to enhance the result of this study. The findings suggest that the three selected English versions of the Quran have fallen short of conveying the meaning of Quran metaphors. The findings also indicate that the meaning is often mistranslated or misleading or misunderstood by English readers.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BP Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc L Education > L Education (General) P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0441 Literary History
Divisions:	Humanities & Social Science
Date Deposited:	04 Apr 2017 09:54
Last Modified:	03 Sep 2021 23:31
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/6184

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