Translating Denial Rhetorical Questions in the Holy Quran: Reiss’ Text Typology Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes.v23i2.452Keywords:
denial rhetorical question, Quran translationAbstract
This paper aims to analyze the informative, operative, and expressive functions of the Quranic denial rhetorical question following Reiss’ (1981) text typology. It also aims at investigating the extent to which three English translations of the meanings of the Quran can reflect these functions. The sample consists of ten denial questions randomly selected from five suras according to a list of admissibility conditions. The translations of each question were examined lexically, grammatically, and stylistically to determine the extent to which they conform to the functions expressed in the source text. The analysis revealed that the English translations vary in their fidelity in rendering the Quranic functions primarily because of inappropriate grammatical and lexical choices that may be ascribed to linguistic differences between English and the Quranic language.
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