THE TRANSLATABILITY OF EUPHEMISM IN THE HOLY QURAN

Abstract

The analytical investigation of the translation of euphemistic expressions in the Holy Quran has long been a neglected topic of study where few researches have been conducted. It is therefore the purpose of the present study to examine through analysis and comparison, the incongruities in translating Quranic euphemistic expressions into English in the works of Ali, Hilali and Khan, Pickthal and Arberry. A number of 23 examples of euphemistic expressions were cited from different surahs of the Holy Quran. The collected data were classified according to the mechanisms of lexical euphemism: substitution and deletion, and to the topics that require euphemism. Assessment of the translations depended mainly on the two criteria of meaning and euphemism. The study has revealed that euphemism is an evident phenomenon in the Holy Quran and that the process of translating it into English is generally problematic for reasons such as linguistic and cultural diversity. Finally, the researchers suggested – where necessary – more appropriate translations of these Quranic euphemisms considering the criteria of meaning and euphemism.