Translating Semantic Cases from Qur’anic Arabic into English

Abstract

ABSTRACT Semantic relationships between the predicators and referring expressions in real or unreal universes of discourse designate deep semantic cases that serve conceptually and functionally central roles in text interpretation and translation across languages and cultures. Starting from the assumption that case roles are not easy to translate interlingually, this study examines a limited but self-contained number of Qur’anic verses in which semantic cases inherent in referring expressions figure prominently but fetter Qur’an interpreters (exegetists) and translators. The findings showed that referring expressions with intrinsic case roles have baffled and shackled the Qur’an translators in focus and their conceptual roles have gone unrendered into English. Their semantic scope and referential range have also been narrowed down through the procedures of analytic explicitation and synthetic implicitation.