The Effect of Translator's Socio-Cultural Background on Translating Quranic Rhetoric into English
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25130/Lang.10.2.P2.18Keywords:
: ترجمة القرآن الكريم، خلفية المترجم، التأثير الاجتماعي والثقافي، الروحAbstract
This paper examines the impact of translators’ educational, cultural, and theological backgrounds on rendering Qur’anic rhetoric into English. Focusing on key terms such as nafs (soul) and ruh (spirit), as well as verses addressing the People of the Household (Ahl al-Bayt), it employs qualitative comparative textual analysis across multiple translations. Findings show that classical and religiously trained translators prioritize doctrinal fidelity and literal accuracy, while modernist or philosophical translators favor conceptual clarity, ethical guidance, and universality. Contemporary interpreters often balance readability with moral and rhetorical nuance. The study demonstrates that translation is an interpretive act, where lexical choice, explanatory notes, and stylistic decisions are deeply shaped by the translator’s socio-cultural and educational context. Understanding these backgrounds is crucial for interpreting variations in meaning, rhetorical effect, and audience reception in English Qur’anic translations.
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