Generalization and specification in translating prophetic hadith: A componential analysis of cultural items in the Malay translation of Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī

CULTURAL NON-EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATING HAMKA’S DI BAWAH LINDUNGAN KAʿBAH: AN ANALYSIS OF MEANING AND CROSS-CULTURAL CONTEXTS

This study demonstrates that the primary challenge in translating Indonesian literary works into Arabic lies in the cultural elements embedded in metaphors, proverbs, and local expressions. Employing a qualitative textual analysis of Hamka’s Di Bawah Lindungan Kaʿbah, the research reveals that differences in worldview between Indonesian and Arab societies influence lexical choices and stylistic expressions, making literal translation insufficient. The findings highlight the necessity for translators to grasp the cultural context of the source text to ensure comprehensive meaning transfer. The study contributes to translation studies by formulating strategies that integrate semantic and stylistic approaches, including transliteration with explanatory notes, functional equivalence in the target culture, and the preservation of social metaphors. These strategies prove effective in maintaining cultural authenticity while ensuring readability for Arabic audiences. Overall, the research reinforces the view that literary translation is an act of intercultural mediation, synthesizing linguistic, semantic, and cultural dimensions to preserve meaning, aesthetic nuance, and cultural resonance in the target language.

Challenges and Methodologies in Qurʾānic Translation: a Case Study of the Malay Language

Translating the Qurʾān from Classical Arabic into Malay presents profound linguistic, cultural, and theological challenges. Classical Arabic’s intricate morphology, polysemy, and rhetorical structures often lack direct Malay equivalents, while culturally specific metaphors and symbolic expressions risk semantic distortion when rendered literally. While previous studies have largely neglected the theological implications of rendering mutashābihāt (ambiguous) verses, as well as the linguistic, idiomatic, and figurative challenges involved, this study addresses that gap by examining a range of representative terms that pose linguistic, idiomatic, figurative, cultural, and theological challenges. Employing a qualitative semantic-thematic methodology grounded in classical tafsīr (exegesis) by authorities like al-Zamakhsharī and al-Rāzī, the research analyzes specific Malay translations, including the official Terjemahan Al-Qurʾān Bahasa Melayu . The verses subjected to case study were selected purposively according to two criteria: (a) the presence of polysemous mutashābihāt with significant theological or symbolic weight, and (b) terms that illustrate distinct types of translation challenges (linguistic, idiomatic, figurative, cultural, theological). The analysis reveals that structural disparities – like Arabic’s inflectional morphology versus Malay’s analytic structure – and literal renderings of idiomatic expressions frequently fail to preserve the Qurʾān’s theological coherence. In contrast, interpretive strategies rooted in tafsīr and semantic adaptation offer more accurate, culturally meaningful alternatives. The study concludes that an integrated exegetical-linguistic approach is essential for preserving the Qurʾān’s holistic meaning and theological integrity, demonstrating how this method resolves the tension between textual fidelity and accessibility for Malay-speaking audiences.

Translating Ghazala’s Al-Mutalazimāt Al-Majāzīyah into Malay: A Case Study of Naguib Mahfouz’s Aulād Ḥāratinā

Literary translation between Arabic and Malay presents unique linguistic and cultural challenges, particularly concerning idiomatic collocations (al-Mutalazimāt al-Majāzīyah). This study investigates the translation of figurative expressions in Naguib Mahfouz's allegorical novel Aulād Ḥāratinā (Children of the Alley) into Malay. Grounded in Ghazala's (2007) classification of al-Mutalazimāt al-Majāzīyah and Newmark's (1988) translation procedures, this qualitative content analysis evaluates five selected samples from the novel. The study reveals that the existing Malay translation frequently employs normalization, free translation, and rhetorical omission, leading to a significant loss of the source text's aesthetic and cultural imagery. By proposing alternative translations utilizing dynamic and semantic equivalence, this paper demonstrates that the rich figurative repertoire of the Malay language can adequately capture Mahfouz's complex idiomatic, proverbs, and similes. The findings emphasize the necessity for literary translators to balance semantic accuracy with cultural resonance to preserve the pragmatic force of the original Arabic text.

NEGOTIATING THEOLOGICAL ACCURACY AND READABILITY IN THE ARABIC-INDONESIAN TRANSLATION OF ISLAMIC TEXTS AT PUSTAKA YASIN

The translation of Islamic texts requires careful negotiation between theological accuracy and readability. This study examines how that negotiation is realized in the Arabic-Indonesian translation practices of Pustaka Yasin. Using a descriptive qualitative approach with a single-case study design, this research analyzes translated Islamic texts supported by in-depth interviews with the main translator. The data focus on ambiguous terms, culture-bound expressions, and Islamic terminologies, as well as the use of paratextual elements such as footnotes, glosses, and interpolations. The findings show that Pustaka Yasin consistently balances doctrinal precision and reader accessibility through a combination of micro-level translation techniques, selective retention of Arabic terms, and systematic use of paratexts. This pattern indicates a managed foreignization strategy in which foreign elements are preserved while readability is maintained through guided explanation. The study contributes to Arabic-Indonesian translation studies by showing that paratext functions not merely as an editorial supplement but as a central mechanism for negotiating meaning in the translation of Islamic texts.

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Research on Hetero-Cultural Translation Strategies in the Spanish Version of The Three-Body Problem from the Perspective of Cultural Translation Theory

Literary translation involves more than linguistic conversion; it also entails the reconstruction and re-encoding of cultural meanings. From the perspective of cultural translation theory, this study takes Liu Cixin’s original Chinese novel The Three-Body Problem and its Spanish translation El problema de los tres cuerpos by Javier Altayó as the objects of analysis. Drawing on Nida’s framework of cultural classification, culturally embedded elements in the source text are grouped into five categories: ecological, material, social, religious-philosophical, and linguistic. Through a comparative reading of the Chinese and Spanish versions, the paper examines the translator’s shifting strategies among foreignization, domestication, and cultural negotiation. The analysis suggests that the translation does not rely on a single or fixed strategy. When dealing with culture-specific elements that carry strong historical or regional specificity, the translator is more likely to preserve foreignness through transliteration, literal translation, or brief explanatory additions. In contrast, for expressions that may hinder comprehension or lead to cultural misinterpretation, freer rendering, generalization, or contextual adjustment tend to be adopted in order to reduce the cognitive burden on target readers. Overall, the Spanish translation of The Three-Body Problem reveals a flexible negotiation process, in which cultural difference is retained to varying degrees while comprehension is facilitated and narrative flow is maintained. This case offers a useful reference for the Spanish dissemination of Chinese science fiction and more broadly for the cross-cultural transmission of heterogenous cultural elements.