Jul 2026· Journal of Arabic Sciences and Humanities· Vol 5, pp. 75-93· 0 citations
Abstract
Metaphor, or istiʿāra in Arabic, is one of the most prevalent rhetorical devices used in Qur'anic discourse. The Qur'an employed metaphor to convey meanings not immediately apparent on the surface of the text, yet significant. Thus, translating these metaphors into English was extremely difficult due to linguistic and cultural differences. Three well-known English translations of the Qur'an by Ali, Pickthall, and Abdel-Haleem were examined in this study. The study adopted a theoretical approach depending on metaphor translation and Newmark’s conceptual metaphor theory. To achieve its goals, the study was based on 40 Qur'anic verses in Arabic, as only 13 metaphors were selected for analysis. The study adopted a qualitative approach, using content analysis to analyze the data. The findings indicated that literal translation was the most common strategy for rendering metaphorical meaning and religious concepts in Qur'anic discourse. It was also discovered that many translation attempts employed general literary strategies to systematically achieve meaning and impact. Lastly, the study recommends that translation be carried out carefully to guarantee that English-speaking readers can understand it well. The accurate translation of Qur'anic metaphors was essential for proper understanding.
Folk discourse, which includes proverbs, folktales, and traditional sayings, is an important source of cultural knowledge. This paper is concerned with a comparative analysis of the metaphorical expressions in Bangladeshi folk language in comparison to their counterparts in Chinese in the cognitive linguistics framework. The study is based on two theoretical frameworks, namely, Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) and Cultural Conceptualization Theory (Sharifian, 2011), which are used to explore the conceptualization of abstract concepts of life, morality, emotions, and fate within both cultures. Stratified random sampling resulted in 200 folk texts (100 per culture); a mixed-methods approach was used to compare metaphorical patterns, and Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS (Version 26.0). The MIPVU procedure was used in a systematic manner to identify the metaphors. Results show universal cognitive patterns, as well as culture-specific patterns, which are a reflection of different culture-based philosophies, religions, and social systems. Chinese folk discourse is an expression of the Confucian and Taoist values, which focus on the harmony of society and moral development, and uses metaphors based on social hierarchy and nature images. Bangladeshi folk discourse is a mixture of the influence of Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic beliefs with a main emphasis on spirituality, karmic aspects, the divine will, and the practice of the individual. The study highlighted a framework of cross-cultural metaphor analysis called Cognitive-Cultural Mapping. The implication of the findings is of great importance to translation studies, language pedagogy, and intercultural communication.
Md. Fasiur Rahman, Xue Chen· International journal of res...· 0 citations
Metaphor, as a highly condensed and aesthetically rich mode of expression in language, carries abundant imagery, emotion and cultural connotations in literary texts. The translation of metaphor is not merely a transformation of meaning, but a process of aesthetic re-creation. For a long time, research on metaphor translation has mainly been conducted from the perspectives of cognitive linguistics or functional equivalence, while systematic exploration of its aesthetic value remains relatively insufficient. Taking translation aesthetics as its theoretical framework and integrating conceptual metaphor theory, this study conducts a comparative analysis of English metaphors and their Chinese translations in literary texts, with a particular focus on the reproduction of imagistic beauty, formal beauty and emotional beauty in the process of metaphor translation. The findings suggest that, on the basis of fidelity to the original meaning, translators should give full play to their subjectivity and achieve aesthetic reconstruction in the target text through strategies such as image retention, image transformation and aesthetic adjustment. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the aesthetic dimension of metaphor translation and offers valuable implications for literary translation practice and translation pedagogy.
Rong-Xiang Sun· Humanities and Social Scienc...· 0 citations
The study concludes that, in postcolonial Arabic literary translation, human mediation remains essential for preserving figurative meaning and narrative positioning, while AI tools may serve only as preliminary support rather than as a replacement for human judgment.
Haitham M. K. AlYousef· International Journal of Tra...· 0 citations
The translation of religious texts poses unique and intricate challenges. This is particularly more apparent when it pertains to capturing the subtle meaning by using suitable equivalence, since one lexical term has various meanings based on its particular context. This study examines the difficulties and consequences of translating these polysemous words from Arabic to English. The data of this study were collected from the Quran, where four verses that contain the terms Fitnah, Ummah, and Huda were chosen because they have different meanings. Employing a qualitative and comparative approach, the research examines the terms Fitnah, Ummah, and Huda within three prominent translations: Marmaduke Pickthall (1930), Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1934), and M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (2004). The results indicate that dependence on "formal equivalence" or literal translation frequently results in "semantic thinning," causing the theological richness and logical consistency of the original text to be diminished. In contrast, contemporary "functional" methods that emphasize contextual interpretation are better at maintaining and conveying the original message. The research finds that although no English term can entirely capture the complex essence of Quranic polysemy, employing explanatory descriptors and exegetical footnotes is crucial to avoid theological misinterpretation and provide a clearer understanding for non-Arabic speakers.
Soad Altaher, Ahmed Mohammed· Comprehensive Journal of Sci...· 0 citations
Metaphors are not just a stylistic trick, they are a reflection of how people and societies think about the world in terms of language. The purpose of the present study is to examine the role of conceptual metaphor in English in terms of a cross-cultural approach by analyzing the role of metaphoric expressions in revealing and shaping cultural values, beliefs and patterns of thought. Based on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), the research aims at investigating the interaction between language, cognition and culture by examining metaphorical constructs in different settings of the English language and selected examples of non-native English discourse. The research design is qualitative comparative research where data is obtained from literary texts, media discourse, public speeches and everyday communication. The study examines common conceptual domains in terms of the universal patterns of metaphor and culturally distinct patterns of variation, including emotion, time, power, journey, nature and human body. The results show that there are conceptual metaphors that are common across human experiences but that are also affected by the historical tradition, social norms, and cultural worldviews of the interpretants and users of the metaphor. The study also underscores the importance of the use of metaphors in the formation of identity, in intercultural communication and in the transmission of collective cultural knowledge. The study demonstrates the relationship between cognition and culture, and reflects the current research in cognitive linguistics, semantics, discourse analysis and intercultural communication. The findings give valuable insights for language educators, translators, researchers and communication professionals to understand the cultural dimension of metaphorical language. Overall, the study confirms that conceptual metaphors serve as cultural mirrors, and that they give a glimpse into the various ways societies view, understand and express their human experiences, while also enriching the understanding of the cross-cultural in the modern globalized world.
Mr. K Mallikarjuna, R. Scholar, Dr. Bss Bhagvan et al.· Scriptora International Jour...· 0 citations
In this study, the translation of repetition, which is a crucial rhetorical and stylistic aspect of the Qur’an, is analyzed in four major English translations of the Qur’an that span three centuries: Sale (1734), Rodwell (1861), Khan (1905), and Qaribullah and Darwish (2001). Qur’anic repetition has various purposes, such as emphasis, cohesion, or rhythmic prose, but when translated into English, where translation tends to favor lexical variety, specific challenges are posed. Using Vinay and Darbelnet, Nida and Taber, Baker, and Venuti as frameworks, this study utilizes a range of methodologies that are both descriptive, qualitative, and comparative in nature to analyze thirteen Qur’anic verses that involve repetition on three levels of hierarchy: word-level repetition, verse-level repetition, or non-verse repetition. This paper argues that while early translations tend to be more paraphrastic, reducing repetition, more recent approaches tend to be more literal, effectively conveying the oral nature of the Qur’an. Literal translation is found to be an effective translation technique in carrying the semantic, pedagogical, and aesthetic roles of repetition. This study contributes to the development of an analytical framework for the function of repetition as an indicator of rhetorical translation in sacred texts, resolving the conflict between linguistic equivalence and theological meaning. It also shifts the focus from repetition being an unnecessary stylistic device to an intentional rhetorical device in the Qur’an.
Yousef Albudairi, Zakaryia Almahasees· Theory and Practice in Langu...· 0 citations
