بهمن گرجیان

This study aimed to explore the role of context in the selection of equivalents by translators with diverse worldviews, following the framework of Lotfi Gaskaree et al. (2023). A qualitative research design was employed, and verses were selected using purposive sampling. Five widely known English translations of the Holy Qur’ān were analyzed. The data encompassed nine Surahs, which were semantically analyzed to investigate the variation in lexical equivalents across the selected versions. The study focused on understanding the translators’ perspectives in selecting English equivalents for Qur’ānic vocabulary. Specifically, translations of Surah Al-Baqarah were examined, as rendered by Arberry, Shakir, Pickthall, and Yusuf Ali. Selected excerpts from each version were analyzed to explore differences in the Arabic-to-English lexical choices. Findings revealed notable differences in the translators’ degrees of familiarity and intimacy with Islamic and religious concepts. Translators influenced by Western worldviews tended to favor literal translations at the morphemic level, while those with Eastern perspectives leaned toward more meaningful or communicative translations. These variations highlight that English lexical choices in Qur’ānic translations are heavily context-bound and influenced by the translators’ cultural and ideological affiliations. The study acknowledges a limitation in the sample size, noting that a broader dataset exceeding nine Surahs could yield more comprehensive insights. Nonetheless, the findings offer valuable implications for cross-cultural translation theory, demonstrating that translators from different cultural backgrounds select lexical equivalents based on their worldviews. This study serves as a preliminary contribution to further semantic and contextual research in Qur’ānic translation.

This research explores metaphors of temporal concepts within the novel "The Fig Tree of Temples," utilizing cognitive semantics regarding time. This concept manifests in concrete representations of places and objects in literature and poetry, rendering temporal concepts objective and comprehensible. The study employed a qualitative approach to examine metaphors associated with temporal concepts, dividing the analysis into primary and secondary temporal concepts understood through cognitive semantics. The novel was authored by Mahmoud in 1979. The investigation focused on identifying source and target terms within the metaphors of temporal concepts, assessing their frequency, and analyzing the sentences that featured these temporal concept mappings. Ultimately, a total of 1137 mappings were identified and categorized into 12 domains of source and target metaphorical concepts related to temporal concepts, following the theoretical framework established by Evans and Green (2006). The findings indicated that temporal concepts-motion mappings, particularly those related to temporal concepts sequence, exhibited the highest frequency, while observer-motion temporal mappings were the least frequent. Additionally, the occurrence of primary temporal concepts was found to be lower than that of secondary temporal concepts. The implications of findings are expected to enhance readers' comprehension of novels that incorporate metaphorical representations of temporal concepts, thereby fostering a semantic understanding of narrative coherence.