“To Translate is To Betray”: Synonymous Word Translation Accuracy Analysis on the Qur'an and its Translation

Syihabuddin Syihabuddin; Budi Hermawan

doi:10.17509/alsuniyat.v7i1.67586

“To Translate is To Betray”: Synonymous Word Translation Accuracy Analysis on the Qur'an and its Translation

Syihabuddin Syihabuddin, Budi Hermawan

Abstract

This study examines the accuracy of the translation of synonymous words in the Qur’an and its translation to determine whether the translation is accurate or whether the translator commits a "betrayal" against the message of the source language. The examination of the accuracy is focused on the semantic equivalence between the source language and the target language, the effect of translation techniques on accuracy, and the accuracy of the translation of words that have been integrated into Indonesian. The accuracy identification results are presented in a table. Then, the book's meanings are analyzed comparatively according to the KBBI (Indonesian Official Dictionary published by the National Office for Languages). It was found that words translated using the transfer technique, integration words, and words with perfect synonyms have good accuracy. The translated words with a low level of accuracy are word families that are generalized as synonyms and then translated with the same word, words whose structure is changed when translated, synonymous words that contain gradations of meaning, and words that lose their context.

Keywords

Contextual meaning; Qur’an translation; Synonyous words; Translation accuracy; Translation techniques

Full Text:

PDF

References

Abdelaal, N. M., & Md Rashid, S. (2015). Semantic loss in the Holy Qur’an translation with special reference to Surah Al-W a qiAAa (Chapter of The Event Inevitable). SAGE Open, 5(4), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015605880

Abdelaal N. M., & Md Rashid S. M. (2016). Grammar-related semantic losses in the translation of the Holy Qur’an, with special reference to Surah Al A’araf (the heights). SAGE Open, 6(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016661750

Abdelaal N. M. (2019). Translating denotative meaning in the Holy Qur’an: Problems and solutions. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 27, 1-23.

Abdelaal N. M. (2018). Translating connotative meaning in the translation of the Holy Qur’an: Problems and solutions. Arab World English Journal for Translation and Literary Studies, 2, 76-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3127186

Abdul-Ghafour, A. Q. K. M., Awal, N. M., Zainudin, I. S., & Aladdin, A. (2019). The Interplay of Qur'ānic synonymy and polysemy with special reference to Al-asfār and Al-kutub (the books) and their English translations. 3L, Language, Linguistics,

Literature, 25(1), 129–143.

Abdul-Ghafour, A. Q. K. M., Awal, N. M., Zainudin, I. S., & Aladdin, A. (2020). Meanings of the Qur’anic Near-Synonyms: Al-Ṣirāṭ and Al-Sabīl (the Path) and Their English Translations (Maksud Sinonim Hampir dalam Al-Qur’ān: Al-ṣirāṭ dan Al-sabīl (Jalan) dan Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Inggeris). Akademika, 90(3), 63-73. https://doi.org/10.17576/akad-2020-9003-06

Abu ‘Udah, ‘U. K. (1985). At-Tathawwur ad-Dalali baina Lughatis Syi’ri al-Jahili Wa Lughatil Qur`anil Karimi. Al-Urdun: Mak tabah al-Manar

Ad-Dauri, M. Y. K. (2005). Daqa`iq al-furuq al-lughawiyah fi al-bayan al-qur`ani. Irak: Universitas Baghdad.

Bakhtiar, L. (2011). The sublime Quran: The misinterpretation of chapter 4 verse 34. European Journal of Women's Studies, 18(4), 431-439. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 1350506811415206

Boulaouali, T. (2021). Quran translation: A historical-theological exploration. International journal of islamic thought, 19(1), 120-132. https://doi.org/10.24035/ijit.19.2021.202

Burhani, A. N. (2015). Sectarian Translation of the Qur’an in Indonesia: The Case of the Ahmadiyya. Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, 53(2), 251-282. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2015.532.251-282.

Catford, J. C. (1965). A linguistic theory of translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dawud, M. M. (2020). Kalimat al-Qur`an wa ath-thawwur ad-dalaly. Cairo: Dar Nahdhah Mishr.

Dawud, M. M. (2008). Mu’jam al-Furuq ad-Dalaliyah fil Qur`anil Karimi. Cairo: Dar Gharib lit Thiba’ah wa an-Nasyri wa at-Tauzi’.

Farghal, M. (2023). English past progressive aspect in Arabic translation: Theoretical and textual considerations. Translation & Interpreting: The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research, 15(2), 43-59. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.321016108053711

Guo Y. (2009). Theorizing the politics of translation in a global era. The Translator, 15(2), 239–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2009.10799280

Hasan, T. (1979). Al-Lughah al-‘Arabiyyah ma’naha wa mabnaha. Cairo: Al-Hai`ah Al-Mishriyyah Al-‘Ammah Lilkitab.

Halverson, S. L. (1997). The Concept of Equivalence in Translation Studies: Much Ado About Something. Target, 9(2), 207–233. https://doi.org/10.1075/target.9.2.02hal.

Ikhwan, M. (2010). Western Studies of the Qur’anic Narrative: from the Historical Orientation into the Literary Analysis. Al-Jāmi‘ah: Journal of Islamic Studies. 48(2), https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2010.482.387-411.

Kashgary., A. D. (2010). The paradox of translating the untranslatable: Equivalence vs. non equivalence in translating from Arabic into English. Journal of King Saud University - Languages and Translation, 23(1), 45-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksult. 2010.03.001

Jakobson, R. (1959). 'On Linguistic Aspects of Translation', in R. A. Brower (ed.) On Translation, Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.

Larson, M. L. (1998). Meaning-based translation: A guide to cross-language equivalence (2nd ed.). Lanham: University Press of America.

Leonardi, V. (2000). Equivalence in translation: Between myth and reality. Translation journal, 4(4), 3-10. https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1613229

Mohaghegh, A., & Pirnajmuddin, H. (2013). The trace of translators’ ideology: A case study of English translations of the Qur’an. 3L, Language, Linguistics, Literature, 19(1). 51 – 64.

Newmark, P. (1988). A textbook of translation. London: Prentice Hall.

Nida, E. A., & Taber, C. R. (Eds.). (1974). The theory and practice of translation (Vol. 8). Brill Archive.https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315832906-22.

Pym A. (2018). Translation and text transfer. Berlin: Intercultural Studies Group.

Rohmana, J. A. (2015). Metrical verse as a rule of Quranic translation: Some reflections on RAA Wiranatakoesoema's soerat Al-Baqarah (1888-1965). Al-Jami'ah Journal of Islamic Studies, 53(2), 439-467.https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2015.532.439-467.

Shuttleworth, M., & Cowie, M. (2014). Dictionary of translation studies. New York: Routledge.

Susam-Sarajeva, Ş. (2009). The case study research method in translation studies. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 3(1), 37-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2009.10798780

Syihabuddin, S. (2017). Penerjemahan Teks Suci: Analisis Ketepatan Terjemahan Istilah Kecendekiaan Dalam Alquran dan Terjemahnya. Adabiyyāt: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, 15(1), 87-109. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajbs.2016.15105

Syihabuddin (2016). Penerjemahan Arab – Indonesia: Teori dan praktik. Bandung: UPI Press.

Syihabuddin, S. (2018). Transkulturasi Dalam Penerjemahan Pronomina Pada Terjemahan Alquran Bahasa Sunda. Arabiyat: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab dan Kebahasaaraban, 5(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.15408/a.v5i1.7794

Wahid, S. A. (2000). Taryamāt Ma'āni al-Qur'ān al-Karīm wa taṭwiruhā. Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, 38(2), 452-475. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2000.382. 452-475

Zabadi, M. I. (2023). Translation from the peripheries of world literature: The case of Khalid Khalifa's Madiḥ Alkarahiyya. Translation & Interpreting: The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research, 15(1), 253-274. http://doi.org/10.12807/ti.115201.2023.a13

Zitouni, M., Zemni, B., & Abdul-Ghafour, A. Q. K. (2023). A semantic review of qur’ānic near-synonyms, English and French translations. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 23(1), 82-91. https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v23i1.106

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/alsuniyat.v7i1.67586