The Translation of Idioms in the Glorious Qur’ān into English

Abstract

This research investigates the translation of idioms in the Glorious Qur'ān into English. It attempts to show how translators deal with the verses in which idioms play a significant role in understanding verse meaning, and then, based on the accredited Qur'ānic interpretations, correcting the translations of the verses concerned. The research hypothesizes that idioms have not been given attention on the part of the translators of the Glorious Qur'ān, causing translation mistakes. Based on Larson’s model of literal vs. idiomatic translation and from analyzing five translations of the Glorious Qur'ān, it has been found that, in the most of their translations, the translators under study produced inaccurate translations through translating Qur’ānic idioms literally. In order to achieve better understanding on the part of the TL reader, revising these translations to be idiomatically oriented is recommended.