Mohammad Reza Farsian; Nasrin Esmaeili
Abstract
1. IntroductionOne of the ways through which the holy Quran attempts to convey various messages is repetition; this may hold true for a single word, a phrase, or a sentence. The holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet gradually during 23 years. Consequently, it was necessary for a number of phrases and ...
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1. IntroductionOne of the ways through which the holy Quran attempts to convey various messages is repetition; this may hold true for a single word, a phrase, or a sentence. The holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet gradually during 23 years. Consequently, it was necessary for a number of phrases and anecdotes to be repeated in order to guide and nurture people. This demonstrates the fact that Quran is not merely a history book in which an event is described only once and then neglected for the rest of the book, but it is a book of education and humanization; as it is perfectly known that certain events ought to be repeated again and again, given the educational conditions, by looking at subjects through various dimensions and reaching conclusions in every direction. In other words, education sometimes requires reliance on an important matter for a number of times in order to induce a profound impact on the readers’ minds and orient the minds towards more subjects.Of the highly repeated phrases in Quran, “بسمالله الرحمن الرحیم” has been mentioned over 114 times. It has been repeated 113 times at the beginning of 113 surahs, and once in “Naml” surah at the beginning of Solomon’s letter to Belcais. Given the similar appearance of this phrase throughout Quran, one may consider a same meaning and interpretation for the phrase; however, it can also be interpreted according to where it is used in Quran as well as its subsequent verses.2. Methodology Following the analysis of the phrase in Quran in this study, 10 accessible translations of the phrase were examined using the descriptive-analytical method with reference to valid interpretations in order to identify the suitable translation. Ultimately, several recommendations were provided for the correct translation of the phrase.3. Discussion In fact, “بسمالله الرحمن الرحیم” is a part of each surah and is in compliance with its contents. As each surah includes a theme different with others, “بسمالله الرحمن الرحیم” then conveys a different meaning in each of the surahs. Undoubtedly, the purpose of each surah is different from the others, and the purpose remains the same to the end of that surah. As a result, this phrase in each surah denotes the very single intention that is followed in such a surah. Taking into account the significance of the phrase as well as the fact that it contains the Almighty’s name, we should translate the Quran through proper means so as to convey its true meaning to the reader. In this study, 10 French translations of this phrase were analyzed. It was revealed that the translators had only transferred the formal meaning of the words and failed to transfer their true meanings. Consequently, it is essential to examine the meaning of the words in this phrase in order to provide a proper platform for a profound understanding of its true meaning, so that a suitable equivalent could be found in French.4. ConclusionBased on the results of the current study, the researchers have proposed the following recommendations for translating this phrase:Though the phrase consists of only four words, its translation to another language is considerably difficult; in this regard, none of the ten selected translators had been able to offer a correct translation and failed to correctly convey its meaning. These translators could have referred to interpretation books so as to decode such Quranic words and then attempted to transfer their meanings to French. This could have resulted in fewer mistakes in transferring Quranic notions, at least by specifying the semantic difference between the two adjectives, “raḥmān” and “raḥīm”.A sole fluency over Arabic and French is not a sufficient qualification for translation as the translators have to fully comprehend Quranic words and phrases prior to any attempt for translation; doing so requires translators’ complete familiarity with the Quranic language along with using Hadith and narratives in cases where the words are vague or ambiguous.In these ten translations of the phrase, “بسمالله الرحمن الرحیم”, it was observed that the translators had only paid attention to the formal meaning of the words, selecting equivalents that failed to transfer the true meaning of the verse. Subsequently, it would have been better if they had considered such words through a more scrupulous perspective, searching for their hidden meanings as well. Nonetheless, this requires a collective attempt for translation.A more suitable and uniform translation of the phrase could have been provided if there were unvarying, proper dictionaries in the area of translating Islamic texts, specially the holly Quran. The absence of such books has led to the emergence of various translations of a single phrase, as the majority of translators act according to their ideological orientations. Such ideological perspectives of translators could easily be identified through a closer look at their chosen equivalents. For instance, Chouraqui had attempted to use equivalent terms with Hebrew origins in order to translate the words of the phrase. As the Hebrew language belongs to the Jewish community, it can be inferred that he was unable to disregard his ideologies which had affected his selection of words.
Nasrin Esmaeili; Mohammad reza Farsian; Hamid reza Shairi
Abstract
1. IntroductionSemio-semantics is the study of language that begins with a sign but focuses on the meaning often based on the relationship between two language plans (i.e. the forms of expression and content). Accordingly, neither sign nor meaning can be effective without each other. As the sign justifies ...
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1. IntroductionSemio-semantics is the study of language that begins with a sign but focuses on the meaning often based on the relationship between two language plans (i.e. the forms of expression and content). Accordingly, neither sign nor meaning can be effective without each other. As the sign justifies the presence of meaning, meaning also makes the presence of the sign efficient, effective, and necessary, and the sign, by being in the process-system, produces meaning, a meaning that is not frozen or static because the process in which signs are located are dynamic and inexhaustible.One of the concepts in linguistics and in the semantic investigations is polysemy which refers to multiple meanings of a word. It is believed that there is a relationship between multiple meanings of a word. Linguistic signs are rarely monosemous. Except for scientific terms, many terms have multiple meanings which are determined according to the context they appear in. Polysemy is a concept introduced at the end of the previous century by Bréal (1897) to describe words that kept their old meaning besides a new meaning. To understand the correct meaning of a polysemy, context should be used. Context is a network of relationships that exist between form (grammar and lexis) and the outside world, and forms the referential meaning of the language. Besides context, paying attention to the adjacent units (co-text) may also help the recipient to understand the meaning better, especially in cases in which a word has multiple meanings or its meaning is not clear. 2. MethodologyIn the Holy Qur'an, the semantic topic is also of great importance because most of the Quran's words have several meanings, indicating the aesthetic richness of this sacred text. The presence of several meanings in the Qur'an leads to a variety of discursive dimensions, which means that this phenomenon changes the path of discourse and causes three types of discourse with functional, cognitive, and emotional-existential characteristics. Moreover, this phenomenon causes ambiguity for the reader and especially for the translator of the Quran. Each verse has been revealed due to a particular situation and a specific purpose. The Holy Qur'an is a narration devoted to a particular discourse system, based on which the sender drives the process of the discourse. The course of narration goes as well along with the goals of that system. In this study, after mentioning the dominant discourse of Qur'an, the two words "Zikr" (verse 9 of Surah Al-Jumu'a) and "Khayr" (verse 30 of Surah An-Nahl), which are two words of the Quran with multiple meanings, were analyzed semiotically according to the context and co-texts to understand the exact meanings of the words in the verses. Afterwards, the equivalents chosen by seven French translators including Masson, Savary, Chouraqui, Berque, Grosjean, Blachère, and Kasimirski were analysed, and then, a new translation was presented. In the end, the study tried to find an answer to the question how the Qur'an’s translator can transfer the verbal content to the audience in the same relative allegiance to the source text. 3. DiscussionIn this study, it was found that the seven French translators mentioned above did not succeed in translating the words "Zikr" and "Khayr" because they only sufficed to the form of the words and did not seek the their inner meaning. To understand the Qur'an and its vocabulary as a sacred text without any distortion, one must consider two factors of context and co-text simultaneously, because the examination of the text of the Qur'an and the determination of the Quran's vocabulary items are very difficult due to the abundance of vocabulary.4. ConclusionTherefore, it was better for the translators to understand the text of the verse by referring to the interpretative books first and, then, they could communicate the bunch of meanings in a word, using the adjacent words. The most appropriate way of translating the Qur'an is group translation where one translates the Qur'an, and the result of his efforts is evaluated by a group specialized in various sciences, including Arabic literature, Qur'anic sciences, linguistics, etc. The possible errors that result from the translator's monograph would be eliminated, thus allowing the transmission of the implicatures to the audience since less common mistakes usually occur in group work.
