Translating Quranic Texts: Towards A Multidimensional Textual Approach

The study explores the textual aspects of three different Qurānic translations of surat Yasin on the basis of a suggested text linguistic and a translation model. It aims to examine the problems that three professional translators namely, Yusuf Ali, Pickthall and T.B. Irving, encounter while translating a number of selected examples drawn from surat Yasin into English. With reference to a number of authoritative Qurānic translations, it has been possible to provide a solid linguistic-translational groundwork for textual verification of the selected examples. The study adopts an eclectic approach-which uses a combination of text-analysis and translation-oriented approaches; those used by Beaugrande and Dressler (1981), Neubert and Shreve (1992); Halliday and Hasan (1976); Abdul Raof (2001); Martin and Rose (2002-2007); Nida (1964); Beekman and Callow (1974) and Gutt (1991) have all contributed to our eclectic approach. The modal is primarily based on the seven standards of textuality as discussed by Beaugrande and Dressler's (1981) and Neubert and Shreve (1992). The study also attempts to focus on the strategies adopted by the translators to ensure interaction between the translated texts and the Arabic socio-cultural contexts and compensate for the loss of meaning, which seems inevitable in Quran translation.