Problems in Translating Islamic Text from Arabic into English

[Project as partial fulfillment of BA (English) Degree Program]

Project Participant Asma Abd-Allah Halahla Palestine Project uide !r" #haldoon $ugha%er Department of English Al &uds 'pen (ni)ersit% Palestine

Index *" Abstract +" Preface to Project ," -ranslation as a .ommunication Process 4. /elationship bet0een Arabic 1 2slam ($3 1 $-) 5. 3inguistic 4ariation bet0een Arabic and English ($3 1 -3) 6. 2slamic Arabic -e5t -ranslation in English ($- in -3) 7. .onclusions for Arabic-English 2slamic -ranslation 6" /eferences

1. Abstract Project Title: Problems in -ranslating 2slamic -e5t from Arabic into English Overview: -his project aims to focus on problems faced b% translators during their translation of 2slamic /eligious te5ts and 0ould be based on e5isting religious te5ts in Arabic and ho0 it has been translated into English as a case stud%" -his problem can be better understood focusing on the associated meaning of a 0ord and its accurate or nearest meaning e5isting in target language" 2n this case English lac7s the e8ui)alents and hence force translators to interpreting rather than translating and perhaps ris7ing or ma7ing compromise 0ith the original spirit or beaut% of the original te5t or e)en the accurac% of this translation and this create a sort of misunderstanding and raising post-translation issues o)er authenticit% of the translation 0or7" Project Requirements: Present project re8uires linguistic 7no0ledge of 2slamic /eligious te5ts in proper conte5t" 2t also re8uires a person to be familiar 0ith present tools used b% translators" Results: $tud% should lead to0ards listing the problems9 reasons and ho0 to o)ercome them possibl% in the best manner" Practical usefulness of the roject: A project 0ebsite 0ould be made 0ith project output to benefit 0eb communit% on free 0eb-hosting"

!. Preface to Project -he Project 0as originall% aimed to be titled as :Problems 0hile -ranslating /eligious -e5t; to co)er problems of translators 0hen the% translate an% religious te5t but later it 0as decided to limit its stud% area up to 2slamic te5t onl%" Another significant change 0as made to focus on Arabic 1 English rather than generali<ing on all languages 0hich is not possible unless it is done b% group of linguists ha)ing s7ills in major 0orld languages9 major 0orld religions9 and major socio-cultural setups" -he reason behind narro0ing project focus area 0as lac7 of re8uired time9 resources9 and opportunities" Ho0e)er9 current project is no0 aimed to stud% process of 2slamic translation from Arabic to English and its prere8uisites" 2t starts 0ith gi)ing o)er)ie0 of -ranslation as a .ommunication Process and sho0s relationship bet0een Arabic 1 2slam as this understanding helps us ho0 2slamic translation is challenging tas7 or 0h% it is not encouraged 0hen it comes to translation of &uran" Project then pa%s attention to0ards ho0 3inguistic 4ariations bet0een Arabic 1 English influence the process of translation" 3ater9 the focus is on 4ariations bet0een Arabic 2slamic -e5t and English $pea7ing =on-2slamic >orld 0hich influence the process of 2slamic translation" 2t concludes 0ith certain tips for the 2slamic translators in the end" -he present project is published online on 000"8ou"uco<"net for further discussion for follo0ing groups" -his 0ebsite 0ould publish student projects as 0ell as create student intellectual and academic forum9 2nsha Allah"

Arabic English -ranslators eneral People 0ith linguistic s7ills in both Arabic 1 English and familiarit% 0ith 2slamic and =on-2slamic culture $tudents 1 $cholars in rele)ant field or 0ith interest in 2slamic 3anguages9 .ulture 1 /eligion

-his project 0ebsite is created to spread Arabic but people are 0elcome to create blogs and pro)ide feedbac7 to benefit from its open discussion" >ebsite 0ould pro)ide )arious translation tools and lin7s to translation related resources as soon as possible" An effort has been made to gi)e due credit?references to all sources 0hich helped in stud% of this project" Ho0e)er9 an% omission if occurs is regretted" At last9 2 must than7 the college to pro)ide such a 0onderful opportunit% to engage students in such creati)e projects" 2 also than7 to m% all teachers for their cooperation" $u7ran9 @a<a7allahu #ah%ran Asma Abd-Allah Halahla9 Palestine

". Translation as a #ommunication Process The Role of #ommunication in $lobal #oo eration -he stead% de)elopment of human societ% re8uires their A.o-e5istence in Peace and Harmon%B" -his9 in turn9 re8uires A2ntellectual .ooperationB among them and again it needs AEffecti)e .ommunicationB" Human beings9 throughout the histor%9 ha)e made an effort to ta7e ad)antage of )arious methods of communication 0ith the intention of utili<ing the 7no0ledge of other nations9 sharing their 7no0ledge and preser)ing it for the coming generations" -his desire or need to communicate across the border and culture led to an 2nformation Age or age of Digital /e)olution 0here e)er%thing is almost one clic7 of mouse a0a%" As the most effecti)e methods of communication9 language has been emplo%ed to satisf% the )er% need of communication" -he dissimilarit% of languages and culture throughout the 0orld ho0e)er is an obstacle unless 0e ha)e uniformit% in culture9 religion9 or language" (ntil and unless that happens9 communication bet0een different nations 0ith different languages is feasible through translation" Translation % An &ffective Tool to #ommunicate across the culture ' border -hroughout histor%9 translation has made inter-linguistic communication bet0een peoples possible" -heoreticall%9 one can consider translation a scienceC practicall%9 it seems rational to consider it an art" Ho0e)er9 regardless of 0hether one considers translation as a science9 art9 or craft9 one should bear in mind that a good translation should fulfil the same function in the -3 as the original did in the $3" $eneral (eanin) of Translation -ranslation is the comprehension of the meaning of a te5t and the subse8uent production of an e8ui)alent te5t in other language" 2t is supposed that translation process should result into successful communication of the same message in another language" *e+ ,ords &x lanation

1. -he te5t that is translated is called -the source text. or $-B" 2. -he 3anguage of the source te5t is called Athe /ource 0an)ua)e.
or $3 3. -he resulting te5t at the end of translation tas7 is sometimes called -the Tar)et Text. or -4. -he language that it is translated into is called -the Tar)et 0an)ua)e. or -3

-here are countless definition of -ranslation and none of them can co)er all linguistic and socio-cultural aspects in)ol)ed in a comple5 process of communicating A$ource -e5tB (content such as piece of 0riting e5pressing idea9 thought9 feeling etc") from A$ource 3anguageB (e"g" Arabic) and produce A-arget -e5tB (closest natural e8ui)alent te5tual material) in A-arget 3anguageB (e"g" English)" -his process should not cause an% significant loss in terms of Aform9 meaning9 and beaut% of source te5tB and end up as passing same understanding or producing same feeling in target te5t as found in case of source te5t" 2n brief9 translation should pass same information and should create same effect in target te5t as in case of source te5t" 1ifferences between /0 ' T0

*" 0exical 2ariation: e"g" >ord?phrase?idiom?pro)erb una)ailabilit% +" ," D" 5.

in -arget 3anguage compared to source language /emantics 2ariation: e"g" 4ariation of meanings of single 0ord in $3 compared to una)ailabilit% of e)en single 0ord to represent $3 concept or idea in -3 /+ntax 2ariation: e"g" 4ariation in structure of sentence in $3 and -3 such as Arabic has (4$') and English ($4') 3orm 2ariation: 3iterar% de)ice and implemented sentence patterns b% author in $3 such as )erse resulting in -3 as prose /ocio4cultural 2ariation: )ariation bet0een spea7ers of $3 compared to spea7ers of -3

5. Relationshi

between Arabic ' Islam 6/0 ' /T7

/tatus of Arabic in Present ,orld *" -he Arab >orld9 ++ countries 0ith some ,EE million people9 is but a small part of the !uslim >orld9 appro5imatel% 6EE million" +" [Arabic script remains the second most 0idel% used alphabet in the 0orld follo0ing the 3atin script" 2n addition to Arabic9 o)er ten languages still retain the Arabic script - the most important being #urdish9 Persian9 Pashto9 and $indhi in Pa7istan (rdu" ," Arabic is one of the si5 languages used in the (nited =ations and it is a 0or7ing language in the 'rgani<ation of African (nit%" !oreo)er9 it is the second official language in 2srael and it has recentl% been reinstated as a second tongue in some !uslim countries such as 2ran9 Pa7istan and the southern part of the Philippines" Im ortance of Arabic in Islam Arabic and 2slam canFt be separated and 7no0ledge of Arabic ma7es it eas% to understand 2slam" 3etBs see 0ho sa%s 0hat about 0h% 7no0ledge of Arabic is important in order to 7no0 2slam and later 0e 0ould see 0h% translation should be done 0ith great care in detail" 8uran 2erses about Arabic:

1. "Verily we have sent it down as an Arabic Qurn in order that you

may understand [&uran - *+G +]

2. 'And thus have We sent it (the Qur'an) down to be a jud ment o!

authority in A"A#$%' (*,G,H) &' 'And thus We have sent it down as a Qur'an in A"A#$% and have e()lained therein warnin s* in order that they may !ear Allah* or that it may cause them to have a lesson !rom it'

4. 'An A"A#$% Qur'an without any croo+edness'''F(,IG+6) 5. 'A #oo+ whereo! the Verses are e()lained in detail a Qur'an in
A"A#$% !or )eo)le who +now' ((D*G,)

6. 'And thus We have revealed to you a Qur'an in A"A#$%''''' (D+GH)

7. 'We verily* have made it a Qur'an in A"A#$% that you may be able
to understand' (D,G,)

8. And thus We have ins)ired unto you (, -uhammad) an Arabic

Qurn that you may warn the mother o! the towns (-a++ah) and all around it [$oorah ash-$huraG H]

9. "And truly this (the Qurn) is a revelation !rom the .ord o! the

'Alamin (man+ind* jinns and all that e(ists)* which the trustworthy "uh (/ibreel) has brou ht down u)on your heart (, -uhammad) that you may be (one) o! the warners* in the )lain Arabic lan ua e[$oorah ash-$huraG *I+-*IJ]

9arration about Arabic:

10. 2t is reported that A(mar ibn Ka<eed 0rote to Abu !oosa al-AshBari
(ma% Allaah be pleased 0ith him) and saidG 0.earn the 1unnah and learn Arabic2 learn the Quraan in Arabic !or it is Arabic'

11. According to another hadeeth narrated from A(mar (ma% Allaah be

pleased 0ith him)9 he saidG 0.earn Arabic !or it is )art o! your reli ion* and learn how the estate o! the deceased should be divided (!araaid) !or these are )art o! your reli ion'

12. -he Prophet(peace be upon his) as also said3 "'''''the Qur'an is

Arabic and the ton ue o! the 4eo)le o! 4aradise is Arabic"

13. (mar radi Allahu anhu 0as once circumambulating the #aBbah 0hen

he heard t0o men spea7ing in a language other than Arabic behind him" He turned to them and said* "5ind some way to learn Arabic' [AAbd Al-/a<<L8 Al-$anBLnM9 Al-!usannaf 4ol"J pDIN] 4er% earl% on in the histor% of 2slam 0e find such e5amples of encouraging the master% of Arabic" -here are man% such e5amples as mentioned belo0" father had died and his brother had ta7en all the inheritance unla0full%9 but made a grammatical mista7e in his complaint" Oi%ad replied* "6he loss you have caused your soul is reater than what you have lost in your wealth' of the (ma%%ad d%nast% in the Hth .entur% ."E"9 solecisms became 0idespread such that the% e)en afflicted the caliphs and leaders such as AAbd al-!ali7 ibn !ar0an and al-Hajjaj ibn Kusuf al--ha8afi" 3anguage became a measure of status such that a manBs social standing 0ould drop 0ere he found to commit solecisms9 to the e5tent that AAbd al-!ali7 ibn !ar0an 0as once told that his hair had become gra% )er% earl%9 to 0hich he replied9 "$t is due to my !ear

*D"

15. A man 0ent to Oi%ad ibn Abeehi and complained to him that his

16. -his trend continued throughout the ages9 and 0ith the e5pansions

o! ascendin the )ul)it and commitin a solecism durin my sermon7" He used to )ie0 solecisms in speech to be 0orse than ripping apart an e5pensi)e and precious garment"

17. !en 0ere often re0arded greatl% for merel% being able to spea7
fluentl% 0ithout mista7es9 e)en if the% 0ere undeser)ing of the re0ard" Por e5ample9 the .aliph A(mar ibn AAbd al-BA<ee< used to sa%* "A man may come to me as+in me !or somethin he deserves* but i! he commits a rammatical error while as+in $ deny him it* !or it ma+es me !eel as thou h $ am nibblin at a )eice o! sour )ome ranate due to my an er at hearin his mista+e' 1imilarly* a man may come to me as+in !or somethin he does not deserve* but i! he says it with correct s)eech $ rant him it* due to my deli htin at the s)eech $ hear !rom him'"

18. 2bn -a%mi%%aah (rahimahu Allaah) commented9 "#e!ore one can

inter)ret and understand the Qur'an and the 8adith* he must +now the denotations and connotations intended by the words o! Allaah and 8is -essen er (sallaa Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam)' 8ow can their words be understood9 :nowled e o! the Arabic lan ua e in which we were addressed will hel) us to understand what Allaah and 8is -essen er (sallaa Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) intended throu h their words* as will understandin the semantics behind the words and )hrases' 6ruly* most o! the mis uidance o! the $nnovators occurred due to this reason ; they be an to misinter)ret the words o! Allaah and 8is -essen er (sallaa Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) claimin that they meant one thin * when really they meant another'"

19. #no0 that $hei7h Abdal8adir al-!urabit sa%s in his at--arbi%at

al2slami%%at al-Asli%%aG "''''!or someone a))roachin $slamic education there would be a )rimary re<uirement which we would not even list it =it would be the ' iven'* ''''it is !ran+ly* and there is no esca)in it* a clear ras) o! the Arabic lan ua e' And $ would say !or the ajami who does not s)ea+ Arabic* it is necessary !or him to ta+e it on and et it by the most traditional means )ossible in order to arrive at an Arabic which is in itsel! more related to !usaha* more connect you to the Qur'an and $slamic 'ilm'" -o the English-spea7ing Ffa8ihF 0ho insist upon FjudgingF b% 0a% of the &urFan onl%""""that the realit% is that %ou actuall% rel% on the FtranslatorsF of the &urFan in %our o0n FjudgmentsFQ E)er% time the non-Arabic reader?Ffa8ihF of the &urFan ma7es the claim that RAllah has saidR the more accurate description is that the Rtranslator has interpreted that Allah the !ost High means b% this statementR QQQ -his is an accurate description of the process of 0hat %ou read in the translations" 'f course9 0e are on a medium 0here English language must be used""""and English translations of the &urFan are )er% importantQ >e can and should gi)e inspiration9 ad)ice and e5hortations to do good9 and things li7e this""""ho0e)er9 the anti-scholar 0ants more than this"""""he 0ants to issue fat0a and condemn the ulema9 and con)ince people that his F2=-E/P/E-A-2'=F of

the &urFan b% 0a% of the English medium is the actual 0ord of Allah as a commandment and judgmentQ -herefore it is not surprising that the antihadith and anti-scholar 0ho ma7es these fi8h judgments can not and does not discern this difference bet0een the actual &urFanic te5t and the translation 0hich he relies uponQQQ -he anti-scholar ignorance is deep9 he does not e)en reali<e that the translators of the &urFan that he relies so hea)il% upon""""the% themsel)es rel% on the FmufassirsF or the ulema (scholars) 0ho ha)e 0ritten commentaries on the &urFanQQQ As the% attac7 reliance on the ulema9 the% can not name one !uslim translator 0ho does not refer to the )er% same ulema to aid the translation of the Boo7 of AllahQ $cholars li7e 2bn #atheer9 &urtabi9 Pa7hr ud-din al-/a<i9 $ha07ani9 Ba%da0i9-abari9 and others" -here is not one translator of the &urFan that does not utili<e $ahih Bu7hari and $ahih !uslim and the hadith-te5tQQQQ >h% is thisS >hat is often not apparent to the non-Arabic reader is that man% a%ats in the &urFan can contain more than one meaning" -aF0il is a process in Arabic language 0here a shift in the meaning of 0ord can occur 0ith the a)ailabliit% of a proof that indicates that the 0ord has another meaning 0hich is plausible in the te5t" 2n man% instances the translator chooses a meaning according to his understanding and reflectionsQ A proof of this is ob)ious b% simpl% pic7ing up a &urBan and e5amines some of the different renderings of the same Arabic te5tQ 3earning and stud%ing Arabic frees one from being constrained to 0hat the translator has chosen for the non-Arabic reader" -he serious student of 2slam cannot be constrained b% translations of othersQ He?she must learn Arabic to e5pand his?her 7no0ledgeQ 2f a student stri)ing to struggle and learn the deen has to learn Arabic""""0hat does this sa% for the Ffa8ihF 0ho 0ill e5pose9 pontificate9 and elucidate the meanings of the &urFan for us"""""0ithout 7no0ing the language of the &urFanQQQQ 2 sa% again"""""be0are of the anti-scholar?hadithQQQ Kou can rest assure the% ha)e no 7no0ledge of Arabic languageQ 3earn the language of the &urFan and defend %our deen against the corruption of the corrupters 0ho desire to influence the hearts of people 0ith their o0n )ain desiresQQQQQQ (#halil !uhsin in =ecessit% of Arabic) :se of 9on4Arabic 0an)ua)es in Islam 2slam has incidents from histor% 0hich sho0s prophet encouraged learning of other languages to ease to routine communication problems 0ith non-Arabic 0orld but ne)er find e5amples 0here he could ha)e encouraged translating &uran in English" -here is difference bet0een communicating o)erall message of &uran in another language and translating &uran in in another language 0hich is almost impossible and not e)en encouraged"

;istorical &xam le of <a+d ibn Thabit % 6#om anion of the Pro het7 ' ;is 0an)ua)e 0earnin) -he Prophet9 peace be on him9 listened to Oa%d ibn -habit (.ompanions of the prophet in his tender age) reciting some surahs he had memori<ed" His recitation 0as clear and beautiful and his stops and pauses indicated clearl% that he understood 0ell 0hat he recited" -he Prophet 0as pleased" -he Prophet then set him a tas7 0hich re8uired intelligence9 s7ill and persistence" ROa%d9 learn the 0riting of the @e0s for me9R instructed the Prophet" RAt %our command9 !essenger of Allah9R replied Oa%d 0ho set about learning Hebre0 0ith enthusiasm" He became 8uite proficient in the language and 0rote it for the Prophet 0hen he 0anted to communicate 0ith the @e0s" Oa%d also read and translated from Hebre0 0hen the @e0s 0rote to the Prophet" -he Prophet instructed him to learn $%riac also and this he did" Oa%d thus came to perform the important function of an interpreter for the Prophet in his dealings 0ith non-Arabic spea7ing peoples" Oa%dFs enthusiasm and s7ill 0ere ob)ious" >hen the Prophet felt confident of his faithfulness in the discharge of duties and the care9 precision and understanding 0ith 0hich he carried out tas7s9 he entrusted Oa%d 0ith the 0eight% responsibilit% of recording the Di)ine re)elation" >hen an% part of the &uran 0as re)ealed to the Prophet9 he often sent for Oa%d and instructed him to bring the 0riting materials9 Rthe parchment9 the in7-pot and the scapulaR9 and 0rite the re)elation" Oa%d 0as not the onl% one 0ho acted as a scribe for the Prophet" 'ne source has listed fort%-eight persons 0ho used to 0rite for him" Oa%d 0as )er% prominent among them" He did not onl% 0rite but during the ProphetFs time he collected portions of the &uran that 0ere 0ritten do0n b% others and arranged these under the super)ision of the Prophet" He is reported to ha)e saidG R>e used to compile the &uran from small manuscripts in the presence of the Prophet"R 2n this 0a%9 Oa%d e5perienced the &uran directl% from the Prophet himself" 2t could be said that he gre0 up 0ith the )erses of the &uran9 understanding 0ell the circumstances surrounding each re)elation" He thus became 0ell-)ersed in the secrets of the $hariah and at an earl% age gained the 0ell-deser)ed reputation as a leading scholar among the companions of the Prophet" After the death of the Prophet9 ma% Allah bless him and grant him peace9 the tas7 fell on this fortunate %oung man 0ho speciali<ed in the &uran to authenticate the first and most important reference for the ummah of !uhammad" -his became an urgent tas7 after the 0ars of apostas% and the Battle of Kamamah in particular in 0hich a large number of those 0ho had committed the &uran to memor% perished"

(mar con)inced the #halifah Abu Ba7r that unless the &uran 0as collected in one manuscript9 a large part of it 0as in danger of being lost" Abu Ba7r summoned Oa%d ibn -habit and said to himG RKou are an intelligent %oung man and 0e do not suspect %ou (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and %ou used to 0rite the Di)ine re)elation for AllahFs !essenger" -herefore loo7 for (all parts of) the &uran and collect it in one manuscript"R Oa%d 0as immediatel% a0are of the 0eight% responsibilit%" He later saidG RB% Allah9 if he (Abu Ba7r) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains from its place9 it 0ould not ha)e been harder for me than 0hat he had ordered me concerning the collection of the &uran"R Oa%d finall% accepted the tas7 and9 according to him9 Rstarted locating the &uranic material and collecting it from parchments9 scapula9 leafstal7s of date palms and from the memories of men (0ho 7ne0 it b% heart)R" 2t 0as a painsta7ing tas7 and Oa%d 0as careful that not a single error9 ho0e)er slight or unintentional9 should creep into the 0or7" >hen Oa%d had completed his tas79 he left the prepared suhuf or sheets 0ith Abu Ba7r" Before he died9 Abu Ba7r left the suhuf 0ith (mar 0ho in turn left it 0ith his daughter Hafsah" Hafsah9 (mm $alamah and Aishah 0ere 0i)es of the Prophet9 ma% Allah be pleased 0ith them9 0ho memori<ed the &uran" During the time of (thman9 b% 0hich time 2slam had spread far and 0ide9 differences in reading the &uran became ob)ious" A group of companions of the Prophet9 headed b% Hudha%fah ibn al-Kaman9 0ho 0as then stationed in 2ra89 came to (thman and urged him to Rsa)e the !uslim ummah before the% differ about the &uranR" (thman obtained the manuscript of the &uran from Hafsah and again summoned the leading authorit%9 Oa%d ibn -habit9 and some other competent companions to ma7e accurate copies of it" Oa%d 0as put in charge of the operation" He completed the tas7 0ith the same meticulousness 0ith 0hich he compiled the original suhuf during the time of Abu Ba7r" Oa%d and his assistants 0rote man% copies" 'ne of these (thman sent to e)er% !uslim pro)ince 0ith the order that all other &uranic materials 0hether 0ritten in fragmentar% manuscripts or 0hole copies be burnt" -his 0as important in order to eliminate an% )ariations or differences from the standard te5t of the &uran" (thman 7ept a cop% for himself and returned the original manuscript to Hafsah" Oa%d ibn -habit thus became one of the foremost authorities on the &uran" (mar ibn al-#hattab once addressed the !uslims and saidG R' people9 0hoe)er 0ants to as7 about the &uran9 let him go to Oa%d ibn -habit"R

And so it 0as that see7ers of 7no0ledge from among the companions of the Prophet and the generation 0ho succeeded them9 7no0n as the R-abiunR9 came from far and 0ide to benefit from his 7no0ledge" >hen Oa%d died9 Abu Hura%rah saidG R-oda%9 the scholar of this ummah has died"R >hen a !uslim holds the &uran and reads it or hears it being recited9 surah after surah9 a%ah after a%ah9 he should 7no0 that he o0es a tremendous debt of gratitude and recognition to a trul% great companion of the Prophet9 Oa%d ibn -habit9 for helping to preser)e for all time to come the Boo7 of Eternal >isdom" -rul% did Allah9 the Blessed and E5alted9 sa%G R$urel% >e ha)e re)ealed the Boo7 of /emembrance and >e shall certainl% preser)e it"R (-he &uran9 $urah al-Hijr9 *JGI) =oteG Abo)e incidents sho0s that no0here 0e find prophet gi)ing an% tas7 to Oa%d or an%one else to translate &uran in Hebre0 or an% other foreign languages as Oa%d or other companions li7e him could ha)e done that if prophet had commanded" -his sho0s that prophet 7ne0 about inabilit% of other languages to communicate the message of &uran the 0a% Arabic does" Ho0e)er9 instruction to learn foreign language 0as to support general communication 0ith =on-Arabic foreigners and to communicate about message of 2slam" 2n another earlier e5ample9 (mar radi Allahu anhu 0as once circumambulating the #aBbah and 0hen he heard t0o men spea7ing in a language other than Arabic behind him" He turned to them and said9 RPind some 0a% to learn Arabic"; -his sho0s that e)en non-arabic muslims 0ere e5pected to learn Arabic"

=. 0in)uistic 2ariation between Arabic and &n)lish 6/0 ' T07

Arabic4&n)lish 2ariation Both Arabic and English languages belong to different settings and different language families" Arabic is classified as a member of the $emitic famil% of languages9 English as a member of the 2ndo-European language famil%" Arabic is defined here as the official language spo7en in more than *J countries in the !iddle East" English is an 2ndo-European language and the official language of Britain9 the (nited $tates9 and most of the common0ealth countries" $%ntacticall%9 Arabic and English e5hibit different 0ord orders" Arabic is9 for the most part9 a s%nthetic language" Por instance9 nouns are inflected for case and )erbs are inflected for mood" Each of the t0o languages has its o0n 0a%s of )ersification and phonologicall% Arabic and English ha)e different phonemic in)entories" 2n addition9 if one 0ants to assess the real hindrances of translation9 one cannot ignore the geographical distance bet0een Arabic and English settings9 0hich resulted in a distance bet0een Arabic culture and English culture" #haracteristics of Arabic 0an)ua)e and how it differs from &n)lish To ic >1? (or holo)+ 6word formation related7 >!? /+ntax 6sentence order related7 >"? 0exicon Related 6,ord Related7 /ource Text 6Arabic7 ' Tar)et Text 6&n)lish7 l-0as0Tsi l-7hanTsi the 0hisperer9 the one 0ho 0ithdra0s 1ayaj'alu $=laahu bad a usrin yusraa A!ter di!!iculty* >od will soon grant relie! 'As=samad ! " Eternal or almight% 2ariations Econom% of >ords is remar7able in Arabic compared to English 0hich has to use more 0ords here to con)e% same message" English follo0 $ubject4erb-'bject 'rder in sentence compared to 4erb $ubject 'bject in Arabic" -he name of Allah Assamad represents the total perfection of might9 po0er9 0isdom9 7no0ledge9 and honor in Arabic" -his collecti)e representation of )arious attributes is lost in English translation as AeternalB 0ith just onl% one

particular attribute referred or signified" # $ % Siddah A period during 0hich a !uslim 0oman usuall% sta%s at home and does not use ma7e-up or perfume to beautif% herself" *,E da%s for the 0oman 0hose husband passed a0a% and about IE da%s for the di)orcee " -a%ammum &" ' -o stri7e %our hands on the earth and pass the palm of each hand on the bac7 of the other and then blo0 off the dust from them and pass-rub-them on %our face" 2t is a 7ind of ablution that is adopted 0hen someone is spirituall% unclean and there is no 0ater" =o e8ui)alents in English" .oncepts is absent in 0estern non-2slamic culture"

>5? /emantics 6meanin) related7

ab%aD (0hite) ) *#+, 0hite re)olution

$ome ( &urFanic items are loaded 0ith specific emoti)e o)ertones9 0hich in turn create le5ical )oids in translation" -his le5ical compression of &urFanic e5pressions can onl% be tac7led through componential anal%sisG the translatorFs nightmare can be alle)iated b% the semantic decomposition of the 0ords" -he &urFanic le5ical and morphological core senses are impenetrable" -he le5ical item ab%aD (0hite) is denotati)el% used as in 8amiisun ab%aD (0hite shirt) 0hile connotati)el% or emoti)el% as in thauratun ba%Da (0hite re)olution)9 0hich connotes (peaceful9 bloodless re)olution)" -he former is9 generall% spea7ing9 e8ui)alent to the referential9 or dictionar% meaning9 0hereas the latter is e8ui)alent to an e5pressi)e or emoti)e meaning" 2t is to be noted that nati)e spea7ers of a language ha)e a 7een appreciation of the emoti)e meanings of 0ords" -he anal%sis of the

Hisaan -!. % 9 faras / 9 ja0aad 01 Horse

7habarun %uthlij a$-$adir ne0s that free<es the chest

emoti)e meaning is b% no means as eas% as that of a referential meaning" Although these 0ords can be used interchangeabl% in most conte5ts (since the% all refer to the 0ord horse)9 the% are not interchangeable in all conte5ts" -he plural form of an% of these forms is 7ha%l (horses)9 though (*) and (+) can ha)e their distinct plurals as hisaan?ahsina and faras as furus?afraas9 respecti)el%" -he abo)e s%non%mous 0ords ha)e more than one semantic component in common" All of them ha)e the component horse and male and female components" 'nl% (*) has the component male alone9 0hile (+) and (D) share the component male or female" >e can also find that (*) and (+) ha)e no distincti)e 8ualities as horses9 other than the components mentioned" Ho0e)er9 (,) is characteri<ed b% agile mo)ement and fastness and (D) b% a special 0hite patch on the forehead9 0hich naturall% contrasts 0ith the o)erall dar7 color of the horse" the translator cant render these 0ords in translation 0ith their shared meanings into other language9 0ithout an% loss or gain of meaning" 2n fact9 it is happ% ne0s 0hereas the ecological e8ui)alent in English e5pressions that ha)e positi)e connotations are usuall% associated 0ith 0armth rather than cold

$a%f 2 9 muhannad 34 9 husaam 5. 6 s0ord

78 9: ;>= </ fal%a8ol 7ha%ran a0 li%asmot -o sa% good things9 or else 7eep silent

@?5A@ 7alaam 7beer Big tal7 $erious?responsible tal7

such asG FHe 0as gi)en a 0arm 0elcomeF and FHe is a 0arm-hearted9 i"e" 7ind9 person -he 0ord sa%f is a neutral 0ord9 denoting the English 0ord s0ord" Although the 0ords muhannad and husaam share all the characteristics 0ith the 0ord s0ord9 the% connote additional characteristics" Por e5ample9 the 0ord muhannad refers to a s0ord in its sheath or scabbard9 case9 indicating that the s0ord has not been used %et" -he 0ord husaam refers to a s0ord that is pointed or sharp" 2t also suggests meanings of straightfor0ardness or uprightness" -he neutral Arabic 0ord sa%f does not allude to such connotations" -his sa%ing does not recommend absolute9 e)erlasting silence" -heir main message is to prefer silence to tal7ing9 listening to spea7ing9 to be e5tra careful 0hen sa%ing something9 and to remain 8uiet in critical situations and moments in the compan% of certain people" -he English translations of this e5pression lean hea)il% on the transference of their literal meaning as closel% and faithfull% as possible" -here is some ambiguit% in FbigF 0hich is mostl% positi)e in man% collocations" Here it seems to be positi)e as an adjecti)e describing FspeechF9 %et it is not so in its connotations -he difficult% lies in the

B4 bomah o0l

fact that9 in English9 it stands for or carries positi)e connotations (0isdom and grace)9 but in Arabic it is a s%mbol of pessimism and has other negati)e associations" -he translator in such a case has either to incorporate additional material in his -3 )ersion in order to ma7e such implicit connotations e5plicit in the -39 or resort to e5planator% footnotes to ma7e up for the missing connotations in his -3 )ersion" 0hen the translator comes across the hindrance of not finding a corresponding -3 e8ui)alent for the $3 item9 the translator usuall% resorts to a noncorresponding e8ui)alent item9 0hich ma% ha)e an e8ui)alent function in the -3 culture 2t could be literall% rendered asG Ra man of t0o professions is a liarR" -his rendering offers insufficient sense to the English reader" Ho0e)er9 it has an e8ui)alent in the English (functional e8ui)alence)9 0hich isG Ra @ac7 of all trades is a master of none"R >hen translating Pro)erbial e5pressions from Arabic into English9 much attention should be paid to pro)erbial e5pressions not onl% because of their 0isdom but also because the% also 0ell reflect the do0n-toearth philosoph%9 humor9 and character of Arabs"

>=? /ocio4 lin)uistics

#$% "! $aaHib $inSatein 7aththaab a man of t0o professions is a liar

& C D* ) . EF Fitha HaDara al-maa ba-ala at-ta%%ammum 2f 0ater is present for ablution9 the use of earth is discontinued

GH4 od forgi)e %ouQ & @I4 Be tolerantQ J1& K !% condolences92 am sorr% for %our loss" & @-*4+ $orr%92 cant offer %ou an%thing(because of /amadan)" ) L -F 2 hope so

-he rendering of & atta%%ammum as Rthe use of earthR is considered odd and less emoti)e in the English )ersion" & is a religious term 0hich means 0ashing 0ith clean sand for ablution because of the una)ailabilit% of 0ater in some places" -his le5ical item has emoti)e associations that connote the dr% conditions of Arabia9 0here 2slam 0as originated9 a man 0ho cannot 0al7 far to get 0ater9 a man suffering in a long journe% and 0ho has no full control o)er his supplies" -he abo)e emoti)e e5ample reflects ho0 such linguistic e5pressions 0ould arouse the feelings of the Arabs and9 0hen translated9 the% 0ould not ha)e the same influence on the -3 recei)ers due to the differences in culture and degree of emoti)eness" -his can justif% this pro)erb being more emoti)e to Arabs than its English translation on English-spea7ing people 2t is difficult to translate some e5pressions 0hich is called clishes these e5pressions are closel% related to 0ith culture and the most difficult to translate"0hen translating clishes 0e ha)e to concentrate on their meanings and tr% to find the most appropriate functional e8ui)alent irrespecti)e of the 0ording of this e8ui)alent" $ome Arabic pro)erbs

MN '! O + Eagles catch no flies" P4 -F @o% and sorro0 are sisters"

ha)e no e8ui)alent pro)erbs in the -39and ha)e 9therefore9to be either translated literall% or paraphrased"

@. Islamic Arabic Text Translation in &n)lish 6/T in T07 #haracteristics of Arabic 0an)ua)e in Islamic Text ' resultin) loss while translation 9o . *" Arabic Islamic Text and &n)lish Translation 3a ilaha illallah OF QF O -here is no god e5cept Allah" 3a ilaha ill Allah OF QF O =one 0orth% e5cept Allah" Observation 2ntroductor% :-here; of English remo)es the effect of $ource -e5t that begins 0ith :3a emphatic negation" 2t is st%listic loss" 3ac7 of introductor% -here here sho0s sentence beginning 8uite odd and ma7e it loo7 li7e unEnglish and unnatural" -he 0ord 0orth% has less fre8uenc% as it is not common 0ord compared to common 0ord ilah as for !uslims" >ord 0orth% also does not indicate all attributes of Allah as 0ord ilah contain" 2t is more of st%listic loss for English and $emantic 3oss for Arabic" Beneficent and merciful donBt gi)e the e5act meaning of Al-/ahmaan and al-/aheem" Al-/ahmaan refers to the )astness of AllaahFs merc%9 and al-/aheem refers to its effect on His creation" $o al/ahmaan is the '0ner of )ast !erc%9 and al-/aheem is the '0ner of !erc% that encompasses His creation" Here translation changed sentence order as in source te5t it start 0ith )erb but 0hen translated )erb came at the end and English sentence ne)er start 0ith the )erb"

&. R .& 2n the name of Allaah9 the !ost Beneficent9 the !ost !erciful

1ayaj'alu $=laahu bad a usrin yusraa A!ter di!!iculty* >od will soon rant relie!

=a<<alaFala%7a-l-7ittaba bilHa88i mu$addi8an limma ba%na %ada%hi 0aFan<ala tta0raata 0al-injiiil STU:9 Q R V " !4 WH MC8 G >ST "U 'O9 X+Y 2t is He 0ho sent do0n to %ou (step b% step) in truth9 the Boo79 confirming 0hat 0ent before it9 and He sent do0n the 3a0 (of !oses) and the ospel (of @esus)

hu0al-ladhi jaFla sh-shamsa Di%aaFan 0al-8amara nurran ;+U = 9 ) ; Z [ \ 1 ]N^ $t is 8e who made the sun to be shinin lory and the moon to be a li ht

&ualFudFuul-ladhiina <aFamtum min duuni l-laahi -90 R4 &C _RN 0: V 1ay3 A))eal to those whom you claim to instead o! >od

-he 0ord Fna<<alaF ( )creates a semantic challenge as it signifies the piecemeal re)elation of the &uran that lasted +, %ears" -his )erb form denotes repetiti)eness in the action" B% contrast9 the )erb form Fan<alaF( ) means Fto re)eal in one go and at once" -hus9 a distinction is made bet0een the t0o 7inds of re)elationC the piecemeal re)elation of the &urFan and the singular re)elation of the -orah and the ospel" -o appreciate the nuances of &urFanic discourse on the le5ical le)el9 consider the follo0ing aa%a in 0hich the semantic subtleties are )i)idl% e5pressed through t0o le5ical items 0hich ma% loo7 similar to the reader but 0hose componential features are drasticall% distinct Although the 0ords FDi%aaFanF ( ) and F=uuranF ( ) seem to be s%non%mous9 the t0o signif% distinct semantic properties in this &uraFnic statement" Di%%aFan is not captured b% the translation Fshining glor%F because its meaning--the generation of heat-is not echoedC hence the re8uirement for an informati)e periphrastic translation" -he 0ord F=uranF ho0e)er9 is appropriatel% rendered as Rlight9R perhaps b% coincidence9 signif%ing9 no generation of heat but light onl%" -he 0ord FDi%%aFanF also suggests that the sun radiates 0ith its o0n light9 but R=uranR suggests that the moonlight is a reflection of the RsunlightR -hat interpretation falls short of the semantic comple5it% of the 0ord FdunniF" -he 0ord Duuni signifies dignit%9 might and monotheism9 meaning there is nothingF abo)eF od or e8ual to him" -here should be e5planator% notes to con)e% these aspects of meaning"

'-aw<uudah #EV4 an% animal that recei)es a )iolent blo09 is left to die9 and then eaten 0ithout being slaughtered according to 2slamic la0

*E

Al-0as0as ( ) and %u0as0is() 9 deri)ed from the root )erb 0as0asa ) 9 ) and translated respecti)el% as Fthe 0hisperF and F0hisperethF in Pic7hallFs and most other English )ersions of the &urFan Ffrom the e)il of the snea7ing 0hisperer 0ho 0hispereth in the hearts of man7ind *"of the de)il-to tal7 e)il 0ords to someone +"of the self ([`U ) to tal7 e)il to oneself ,"of a man-to tal7 repetiti)el% in secret a" >hispering sounds of hunting dogs b" -he clan7 of je0elr% or light metal c" E)er% e)il thought that comes to the heart 0a man Fa<hlamu mi-mman manaFa masaajidal-lahaahi 14 P4 R" 4 &>a: R49 Who is more unjust than he who !orbids !rom any o! his houses o! worshi)

$ome &urFanic items are pregnant 0ith specific emoti)e o)ertones9 0hich in turn create le5ical )oids in translation" -his le5ical compression of &urFanic e5pressions can onl% be tac7led through componential anal%sisG the translatorFs nightmare can be alle)iated b% the semantic decomposition of the 0ords" -he &urFanic le5ical and morphological core senses are impenetrable" Part of the difficult% in translating the &urFan is the presence of huge number of difficult and archaic 0ords 0ith a 0ide range of conte5tual meanings

Alliteration is the occurrence of identical sounds sentence-initiall% that add up melodic sounds and enhances cadence" -his achie)ed b% the letter m in the follo0ing aa%a9 and is lost in the translation

**

0a la tajFal %ada7a maglulatan ilaa unigi7a 0a la tabsutha 7ullal-basti fa tagFuda maluuman mahsuura " @ 3D '?O9 G= bF B>c4 J ' O9 +H4 4>4 =C/ d? And let not your hand be tied to your nec+ (li+e a miser) nor stretch it !orth to its utmost reach (li+e a s)endthri!t) so that you become blame= worthy and de)rived (li+e a )oor) >a minF aa%aatihiFanna7a taral-arDa 7haashiFatan faFidhaa Fan<alnaaFal%halmaaFa Fihta<<at 0a rabat 3 >TU: Ee/ BL <f+g h 'GU " : Q'i R49 7+9 jT " C^ ) Amon his si ns* you see how desolate the earth is2 yet whenever we send water down u)on it* it sti rs and s)routs

rhetorical feature of metaphor 0hich is almost hard to render in another language

*+

.onsider the semantic comple5it% of the 0ord F7haashiFtan -he use of the 0ord RdesolateF in English as e8ui)alent to 7hashiFtan in Arabic does not con)e% the sense of humilit%9 piet%9 genuine lo)e and fear of the 3ord9 implied in the 0ord" -he earth and hea)en are treated in the &urFanic sense as li)ing beings" -he% ha)e feelings and 0eep for those 0ho are pious and do good on earth9 but not for disbelie)ers -he translator ma% not be able to translate the 0ording of #ufr b% onl% one e8ui)alent 0ord for e5ample 9 unbelief infidelit% or irreligion " in this case 0e ha)e to interpret and gi)e more than one 0ord to support the meaning of the term" -he translatabilit% of this sa%ing (or Hadith) into English as a oneto-one e8ui)alent is comparati)el% lo0 for t0o main reasonsG the religious base and bias of the original might onl% be partiall% recei)ed b% -3 readersC and the image ma% not be understood or agreed upon completel% b% them

*,

2ngratitude to Allah and manifest disbelief in Him and His religion

*D

"! #$ as-saa7ituFani l-ha88i sha%taanon a7hras 3it"G RHe 0ho 7eeps his mouth shut on the right is a dumb $atanRG R-o refrain from sa%ing the truth is satanicR -his is a traditional sa%ing b% the Prophet !uhammad (peace be upon him)" A person 0ho 7eeps his mouth shut and refuses to spea7 the truth is li7ened to a dumb $atan (0ith all its bad connotations)9 0hich is an ugl% image of man9

especiall% a !uslim

?@

') ( hadeethon shareef 3it"G RHonourable sa%ing (b% the Prophet !uhammad)RG RA ProphetFs tradition?sa%ingR"

?A

?B

0ahal d7ubbu n-naasa alaa 0ujoohihem fi- n-naari illa hasaaedu alsinatihem -his is a part of a tradition b% the Prophet !uhammad (peace be upon him)" 2t roughl% meansG R-he people of Hellfire are thro0n there mostl% because of their 0ic7ed tongues" at-ta%%ammum Rthe use of earthR is considered odd and less emoti)e in the English )ersion" & is a religious term 0hich means 0ashing 0ith clean sand for ablution because of the una)ailabilit% of 0ater in some places"

(suall% a sa%ing is not described as honourable9 onl% people are" But here 0e ha)e a special 7ind of sa%ing b% the !essenger of Allah9 !uhammad (peace be upon him)" $o this metaphor is borro0ed to ele)ate and )enerate an% sa%ing b% him" 2t has a 8uite affectionate9 positi)e effect on all !uslims" 2t is one of a number of phrases used to describe the Prophet9 0ith FshareefF FhonourableF being a common denominator among themG FHis honourable9 face?head?handF9 etc"9 all of 0hich are special metaphors aimed at glorif%ing the Prophet9 his sa%ings9 possessions and deeds" $t is a stron warnin o! the dire conse<uences o! sins such as bac+bitin * tellin lies* abusin someone* s)ea+in in vain etc' and the word wic+ed ton ue does not indicate to such thin s'

-his le5ical item has emoti)e associations that connote the dr% conditions of Arabia9 0here 2slam 0as originated9 a man 0ho cannot 0al7 far to get 0ater9 a man suffering in a long journe% and 0ho has no full control o)er his supplies" -he abo)e emoti)e e5ample reflects ho0 such linguistic e5pressions 0ould arouse the feelings of the Arabs and9 0hen translated9 the% 0ould not ha)e the same influence on the -3 recei)ers due to the differences in culture and degree of

emoti)eness"

*6

*+ saHuur a meal eaten before the da0n for fasting 7hal0ah unmarried man and 0oman found in a place 0here there is nobod% else ,--. Sa8ii8ah a goat to slaughter and distribute its flesh to the poor on the occasion for ha)ing ne0 bab% -0 +1 / salaat al-Fistis8aa the pra%er as7ing it rain

-here are certain le5ical items in Arabic ha)ing no e8ui)alents in English because the concepts the% refer to do not e5ist in the Englishspea7ing culture" $uch items are normall% culture-bound terms" -he difficult% in translating these 0ords is due to le5ical gaps resulting from the cultural differences bet0een the t0o languages"

od to ma7e

*I

2 +1 / sallat al-Fisti7haarah the pra%er as7ing odFs guidance to ma7e a good choice al-7alimatu l-7habeethah Disagreeable?malicious tal7 RDirt%?bad tal7R al-7alaamu l-7habeeth 2t is used to mean bad9 e)il9 dirt%9 0ic7ed9 )icious9 obno5ious9 de)ilish9 indecent and taboo language in general

English has no perfect e8ui)alent for such e5pressions"

A. #onclusions for Arabic4&n)lish Islamic Translators -ranslators should be a0are of and 0ell ac8uainted 0ith the cultural dimensions of the en)ironment from 0hich the $3 te5t is ta7en" -he relationship bet0een culture and translation is strong and durable 0hereas translation is an essential means through 0hich people can get access to the cultures of the other nations" -ranslation therefore deals 0ith the transfer b% the translator of concepts 0hich belong to one culture and 0hich are communicated b% the linguistic s%stem of that culture into another culture using the latterFs linguistic s%stem" #haracteristics of $ood Translation [*] A)oid the tendenc% to translate 0ord for 0ord since 0ord for 0ord translation misinterprets the original content and spoils the beaut% of its form" [+] -he st%le and 0a% of the e5position should be the same as in the original" [,] Produce the same effect on the minds of our readers as nearl% as possible as 0as produced b% the original on its readers" [D] A good translation must possess the potential of being e)aluated Rli7e a first-class nati)e thing;" He maintains that translation must Rconsciousl% attempt the spirit of the original at the e5pense of the letter" [J] -ranslation should ha)e 8ualit% that it is read 0ith the same interest and enjo%ment 0hich a reading of the original 0ould ha)e afforded" [N] -ranslation should fulfil the same purpose in the ne0 language as the original did in the language in 0hich it 0as 0ritten" [H] -ranslation should be literal9 rendering as closel% as the associati)e and s%ntactical capacities of another language allo09 the e5act conte5tual meaning of the original" [6] -he resulting form of the message in the receptor language should represent the closest natural e8ui)alent of the source-language te5t"

[I] Ho0e)er9 in some cases9 the concept of literal translation seems to be impossible and non-e5istent and so it is better considered as a good or bad translation" [*E] A successful translation should attempts to preser)e Rthe appropriate st%listic resources of the target language"R [**] -he issue of translatabilit% is belie)ed to be translator-dependent" (sing his s7ill and e5perience9 the competent translator can translate the untranslatable and creati)el% offer some0hat meaningful -3 )ersions out of the most obscure te5ts" Translator.s /Bills Requirement [*] Bac7ground #no0ledge of $ource -e5t (.ontent) e"g" -echnical9 /eligious9 3iterar% etc" [+] 3inguistic $7ills in $3 1 -3 [,] Bac7ground #no0ledge of 3iterar% PormsG e"g" prose9 )erse9 formal language9 informal language

Ti s for Arabic &n)lish Translator of Islamic Text *" 'ne should not translate unless he or she has sound 7no0ledge of religion" Por this9 one has to refer to &uran9 Hadith9 3ife of Prophet9 $tories of .ompanions9 popular -afseer of &uran9 Boo7s on 2slamic $haria9 and )arious dictionaries of 2slamic terms" -his understanding help to understand conte5t of source te5t before it is translated into target te5t in English" 2. After understanding $ource -e5t9 a translator has to ma7e sure that one is able to understand Arabic 0ith all its semantic aspects" Being nati)e Arabic spea7er ma% not be enough as Arabic is rich language and has man% senses of each 0ord that ma% re8uire understanding 0ord in proper conte5t" 3. A translator needs to ha)e 7no0ledge of 3iterar% Porm such as prose or )erse to understand beaut% and st%le in an% form of e5pression" #no0ledge of Porm is re8uired for both $ource 3anguage 1 -arget 3anguage as literar% beaut% of form should be captured and possibl% should be e5pressed in the same 0a% utili<ing artistic and careful usage of )arious 0ord or phrases 0ithout bringing )ariation in meaning" D" 2n case of una)ailabilit% of 0ord or concept in -arget 3anguage9 translator should use footnotes and 0rite details on from )arious authentic sources" /ocio4#ultural As ects in Arabic &n)lish Translation

.ulture is a collecti)e e5perience 0hich includes 7no0ledge9 belief9 morals9 art9 traditions9 and an% habits ac8uired b% a group of people in a societ%" .ulture also includes the total s%stem of habits and beha)ior of 0hich language is an essential subset" -he )ocabular% of a language e5presses the culturall% important areas of a group of people in a particular setting 0hether religious9 aesthetic9 social9 and en)ironmental9 among others" Arabic for instance9 has a )ariet% of names for dates9 camels9 s0ords9 horses9 rain9 0inds9 etc" English9 on the other hand9 has a )ariet% of linguistic signs associated 0ith the sea as English-spea7ing people are continuousl% e5posed to it in their en)ironment" -he fact that 0hat is considered culturall% acceptable to one group of people can be regarded as totall% strange and m%sterious to another" Por instance9 R2n the 2slamic .ulture9 it is la0ful for a man to marr% up to four 0i)es if he can treat them e8uall% and fairl%9 0hereas in the .hristian >est9 pol%gam% is prohibited" Pol%gam%9 thus9 is strange and unacceptable to the people of the >est because normall% it ne)er happens in their societ% and it is b% no means part of their culture" !uch the same 0a%9 ha)ing girlfriend (non-marital relationship) is sinful and punishable tas7 in 2slamic culture but it is not a big thing (in case it has mutual concern) in =on-2slamic $ocieties9 particularl% .hristian >est" And 0est culture goes be%ond this to )alidating ga%s?lesbians9 something unthin7able for !uslim culture" As for translation9 these differences among cultures represent an area of difficult%9 the degree of 0hich depends on 0hether the languages in)ol)ed are close or remote culturall%" -his implies that translation bet0een languages of totall% different or seemingl% opposite cultures is more difficult than carr%ing out translation bet0een languages that are culturall% related or similar" -his does not impl%9 ho0e)er9 that translation bet0een languages that are culturall% related or similar is a straightfor0ard acti)it%"

:ntranslatabilit+ (ntranslatabilit% reflects the area 0here intercultural e8ui)alence does not e5ist" 2ntercultural non-e8ui)alence 0hich can cause untranslatabilit% arises 0hen a situational feature is functionall% rele)ant to the $3 te5t9 but full% absent from the -3 te5t in 0hich the -3 culture is rooted" -he more disagreement there is bet0een the concepts of the source culture or its linguistic s%stem and those of the -3 culture or its linguistic s%stem9 the more these )ariables hinder intercultural translation" -his ma% lead to untranslatabilit% such as in cases o)er0helmed b% tension bet0een form and meaning" -his can ma7e obtaining full e8ui)alence difficult9 or e)en impossible"

2t is true that in some cases9 the Arab translator ma% find certain le5ical items in Arabic ha)ing no e8ui)alents in English because the concepts the% refer to do not e5ist in the English-spea7ing culture" $uch items are normall% culture-bound terms" Prom Arabic-English intercultural translation perspecti)e9 e5amples can elucidate the issue of translatable )ersus untranslatable terms"

&motiveness Emoti)eness is the other cultural hindrance related to the spea7erFs emoti)e intention embedded in the te5t" .omprehension often in)ol)es much more than understanding 0hat the 0ords 0hich ma7e up the te5t point to in realit%" -here are other implicit matters such as thoughts and feelings to consider" $ome t%pes of te5t intend to e5press or arouse emotional responses to a special topic" 'ther t%pes of te5t aim onl% to denote" -hat is to sa%9 some te5t-producers use a neutral?objecti)e )ocabular%9 0hereas others use emoti)e?subjecti)e )ocabular%" An emoti)e meaning has a function of responses to 0ords i"e" certain 0ords tend to produce emoti)e meaning to achie)e their function of bringing about certain emoti)e responses b% language users" -his function is determined b% the purpose for 0hich the te5t is 0ritten or said" He supports $te)enson 0ho gi)es the follo0ing definition of emoti)enessG -he emoti)e meaning of a 0ord or phrase is a strong and persistent tendenc%9 built up in the course of linguistic histor%9 to gi)e direct e5pression to certain of the spea7erFs feelings or emotions or attitudesC and it is also a tendenc% to e)o7e corresponding feelings9 emotions or attitudes in those to 0hom the spea7erFs remar7s are addressed" -ranslators sometimes must gi)e precedence to the emoti)e and affecti)e elements in the $3 o)er the informati)e or content elements if the conte5t re8uires that" An Arab translator 0ho renders emoti)e le5ical items into English should pa% due attention to this suggestion as 0ell as to the conte5t9 particularl% cultural one9 0hich can also become )er% helpful in anal%<ing the emoti)e meaning and render it properl% in the -3" 2n Arabic 0e ha)e numerous e5amples of le5ical items or e5pressions9 0hich pose a difficult% 0hen translating into English and their translation9 seem incongruent despite the efforts made b% translators and that9 in most cases9 translators fail to con)e% their emoti)e connotati)e meanings9 managing onl% to con)e% the denotati)e meanings" Pro)erbial e5pressions are no e5ception in the sense that the% are linguistic structures9 0hich are deepl% rooted in and emoti)el% colored b% culture from 0hich the% are ta7en" >hen translating from Arabic into English9 much attention should be paid to pro)erbial e5pressions not onl% because of their 0isdom but also because the% also 0ell reflect the do0nto-earth philosoph%9 humor9 and character of Arabs" #ulture4/ ecific &x ressions

Another hindrance is manifested in culture-specific e5pressions" >ith regard to translating from Arabic into English9 the translator must sometimes deal 0ith te5ts containing pro)erbs9 )erses9 historical incidents long forgotten9 legendar% personages9 names of places9 animals9 plants9 etc that are peculiar onl% to a specific culture" 2n addition9 0e must consider the normal difficulties in interpreting cultural conte5ts of 0orlds 0ith completel% different tastes and con)entions such as the Arab 0orld to the English-spea7ing 0orld" >hen translating9 a translator must bear in mind the fact that s?he should con)e% messages9 not merel% 0ords" -a7ing this into consideration9 the translator should be familiar 0ith and sensiti)e to cultures9 the one 0hich the te5t is translated from and the one the te5t is translated into" As part of culture9 translators should consider the ecological conditions because Arabic belongs to an area of hot and dr% climate9 0hereas English belongs to an area of cold and 0et climate" -o conclude this point9 one can notice ho0 contro)ersial it is to translate culture-specific e5pressions" Por us9 the degree of simplicit% and possibilit% of translating such e5pressions bet0een languages of different cultures depends in the first place onG 0ho the translator is9 his bac7ground9 and the 0a% he decodes and re-encodes the source te5t" -he translator as the decisi)e factor 0ill be d0elled on belo0" Pro osed use or develo ment of Tools ' Resources for Islamic Translators [*] >orld Pamous -afseer of &uran 1 Hadith [+] Enc%clopedia of 2slam [,] Enc%clopedia of >orld /eligions [D] Arabic English Dictionar% of 2slamic -erms [J] Arabic English Dictionar% of /are >ords [N] Arabic English -ranslatorBs Dictionar% PeaturesG

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References .8 >i7ipedia 'nline Enc%clopedia httpG??accurapid"com?journal Allegor% in Arabic E5pressions of $peech and $ilence A $t%listic--ranslational Perspecti)e) b% Hasan ha<ala .ultural Hindrances in Arabic-English -ranslation b% A$ Bahameed -ranslating Arabic Allegor% b% 4 AlbUn -he -ranslatorFs DilemmaV 2mplications and the role of the translator9 b% Antar $olh% Abdellah 000"corpus"8uran"com W >ebsite b% 3eeds (ni)ersit% &uran /esearch roup eneral 2slamic >ebsites 1 Porums

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