محمد یزدانی

This study aimed to assess the quality of English translations of Imam Khamenei’s (D. Ẓ. A.) letters addressing the youth in the West based on House’s revised (1997) model of translation quality assessment. Such texts are considered political and/ or religious, and their translations require meticulous quality assessment. Yet, rarely did the researchers find any study addressing this important area of translation. Therefore, the current study, which employed a qualitative type of research, focused on the translation of such type of texts. The assessment revealed dimensional mismatches between the original and the translated versions in the areas of field, tenor, and mode. The findings of the current study can help improve the quality of the translation of the speech.

In reciting the verses of the Holy Qur’ān, making pauses at appropriate places is one of the important issues of Tajwid, neglecting which can potentially distort the meanings of the verses and reverse their intended purpose. The present study seeks to analyze how translators have dealt with the concept of inappropriate pause by investigating four English translations of the Holy Qur’ān through answering the following questions: Has the concept of inappropriate or impermissible pause been observed in the English translations of the Holy Qur’ān? Is it possible to express the concept of inappropriate pause using English punctuation? If yes, is it possible to achieve a standard to convey the concept of inappropriate pause? If not, how can this gap be filled? Through a comparative analysis of all 68 cases of inappropriate pause in the Holy Qur’ān and their corresponding translations into English, it seems that English lacks equivalent punctuation to convey the concept of inappropriate pause. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that colon is the most appropriate punctuation in English to convey the concept of inappropriate pause. However, the findings of this research show that the translators used commas in 43.7% of the verses with impermissible pauses. The authors presented a “standards table” by examining the function of English punctuation marks, and by observing the approach taken by the translators when facing an inappropriate pause, a “descriptive table” was also presented to illustrate these observations. Then, considering the relationship between these two tables, the closest English punctuation mark for conveying the concept of inappropriate pause was introduced.

The present study centered around the problem of functional equivalence in source-text-target-text pairs. In fact, this study was an attempt to investigate patterns of professional translators’ main approaches to the production of functionally equivalent Qur’ānic translations. The ultimate objective was to investigate the practicality of Reiss’s theoretical functionalist text-oriented model of translation. Hence, five selected English translations were descriptively and linguistically analyzed and compared with their corresponding Qur’ānic surahs. The analysis included content-specific and formal features of the texts to discover common and frequent translation strategies applied in the production of each target text. The descriptive findings were then calculated using frequency and percentage. The findings on the translations of the informative and expressive texts revealed that Reiss’s relevant prediction was right. However, in contrast to Reiss’s view, the operative text was mostly translated literally rather than adaptively by most of the translators.

The extensive training data of ChatGPT has facilitated theorizing in the field of Translation Studies, particularly during the cultural turn. Following this theorizing, a standardization framework was proposed. This study employed a qualitative and interdisciplinary approach, utilizing a descriptive method to interpret the data. The validated questions were based on the works of theorists associated with the cultural turn. Two scholars participated in structured and semi-structured interviews, employing a three-point Likert scale to capture their opinions on the proposed theory. Data analysis focused on the accuracy of ChatGPT-4’s responses in relation to the scholars’ opinions and references. The findings associated with the Likert scale were linked to task-oriented benchmarks, including factual/contextual understanding, coherence, and resolution of ambiguity. The results indicated a 29.3% weakness in ChatGPT-4’s data analysis. The resolution of ambiguity resulted in a total of neutral responses at 44.8%. Scholars unanimously endorsed the cultural interaction theory, demonstrating a 100% capacity for theorizing by ChatGPT-4. In terms of coherence and summarization, the data suggested a stronger correlation with prompt engineering. The potential for theorizing concerning existing theory was found to be 77.7%, while the standard of theorizing by ChatGPT-4 was assessed at 68.9%. Surah Al-Fatiha was selected to exemplify cultural translation according to CIT, illustrating the theory’s effectiveness in translating cultural-ideological texts. A comparison of ChatGPT-4’s translations with those of six Quranic translators underscored its synthesizing abilities, with the incorporation of cultural interaction theory into prompts significantly enhancing its translation skills.

The language of the Qur’ān is highly eloquent and rich in rhetoric. Transferring features of languages from different origins is tricky. Although throughout history, scholars have made significant contributions to understanding Qur’ānic idioms, we still face challenges in conveying their meanings. There are language-specific idioms in Qur’ānic Arabic, reflecting Arab culture and environment. The fact that different cultures conceptualize reality in varying ways causes idioms to be shaped by cultural factors. This is why some translations of Qur’ānic idioms fail to convey their full depth of meaning. This article aims to investigate various interpretations and English translations of the idioms in the selected verses of Surahs Al-Isra and Al-Ma’idah. To this end, the translations of twelve prominent translators were compared. Considering the descriptive nature of the work, the researchers analyzed the methods used by the selected translators. The theoretical framework underpinning this study is the translation methods of Schleiermacher. Furthermore, the translations were analyzed and ranked based on Waddington’s holistic model of translation quality assessment. Analysis reveals a spectrum of translational strategies, defying strict categorization within Schleiermacher’s binary framework of ‘naturalizing’ and ‘alienating’ translation. A significant number of translations exhibit hybrid characteristics, displaying a preponderance towards either naturalization or alienation, yet failing to conform exclusively to either pole.