A Study of Nuances among Qur’ānic Near-synonyms and their Reflection in English and French translations
Abstract
The current study investigated the nuances among Qur’ānic near-synonyms and the reflection of such semantic differences in English and French translations. Initially, it aimed to highlight the contextual meanings of the selected sets of Qur’ānic near-synonyms in the light of the exegeses of the Holy Qur’ān. Moreover, it explicated the nuances which exist in the selected sets of Qur’ānic near-synonyms in terms of denotative and connotative meanings and how these nuances are reflected in the selected English and French translations of the Holy Qur’ān. The present study adopted the Relation by Contrast Approach to Synonyms by Murphy (2003) as a theoretical framework for the analysis of the selected data. Moreover, it adopted the qualitative approach for selecting and analyzing the data of the study. The findings of the study revealed that there exist some nuances among the selected sets of Qur’ānic near-synonyms and that the nuances among some Qur’ānic near-synonyms are not reflected in the English and French translations. Based on the obtained findings, the study recommends that the translators of the Holy Qur’ān must pinpoint the nuances among the Qur’ānic near-synonyms and then reflect such nuances in their translation. The present study provides recommendations which could be useful for readers as well as translators of the Qur’ān.
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