E-Thesis 179 views 140 downloads
Traces of Ideologies in Four English Translations of the Qur’ān: A Comparative Study of Authorised and Unauthorised Versions / NAJLAA ALDEEB
Swansea University Author: NAJLAA ALDEEB
DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.65162
Abstract
Throughout history, the Qur’ān has been translated for religious and political reasons resulting in more than 150 English translations with significant differences among them. However, not enough critical consideration has been paid to those translations in the academic world (Manzoor Dar, 2020). De...
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Swansea, Wales, UK
2023
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | El-Awa, M. S. A. and Stringer, Martin D. |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65162 |
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| Abstract: |
Throughout history, the Qur’ān has been translated for religious and political reasons resulting in more than 150 English translations with significant differences among them. However, not enough critical consideration has been paid to those translations in the academic world (Manzoor Dar, 2020). Despite the multifarious studies examining the lexical, semantic, and syntactic equivalence in Qur’ān translations (QTs), very few have investigated the influence of the translators’ beliefs on their translation choices. This thesis aims to identify the nature of the ideologies expressed in contemporary QTs and measure the frequency and percentages of the verses whose translations reflect the translators’ views in the selected versions. To achieve this goal, the study analytically compares four English translations of the Qur’ān, two authorised and two unauthorised, to explore the impact of authorisation on the translators’ interference in their QTs. It hypothesises that translators express their convictions in their translations (Hatim & Mason, 2005) and that authorisation might reduce the effect of the translators’ ideologies on their lexical and syntactic rendition (Halimah, 2014). This thesis applies a mixed-methods design, a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The underpinning theoretical framework is Lefevere’s ideological turn (1992), which states that the translation system is controlled by either the patrons (publishers/authorising institutions) or professionals (translators). The main finding is that the dominant ideologies in the selected QTs are those of the patrons due to the power of money and status. Furthermore, the translators’ cultural hybridity results in their application of hybrid approaches to Qur’ānic exegesis, which increases the demonstration of diverse theological stances and sociocultural perspectives. Moreover, the utilisation of al-bāṭin [esoteric] method, a non-mainstream approach, results in the production of more radical QTs. The significance of this thesis resides in its contribution to designing a conceptual model for describing and comparing QTs to facilitate the inspection of QTs on the textual, paratextual, and contextual levels. With minor modifications, this model can be used in future to examine not only QTs but also a wide range of translated sacred texts because in an era of cultural hybridisation there can never be a model that is universally applicable. |
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| Keywords: |
Authorised Qur’ān Translation, Ideologies, Patronage, Theological views, Unauthorised Qur’ān Translation |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |