Clause-level foregrounding in the translation of the Quran into English : Patterns and motivations
This study examines word order variation in the QurĂ€n, the Holy Book of Islam, and ten of its translations into English, produced between 1920 and 2004. Word order in Arabic is flexible and is used as a linguistic resource for realising several discursive functions. Arabic literature on balĂ€ghah (Arabic art of eloquence) details a number of such functions, which can be realised by foregrounding an element (e. g. predicate, object, adjunct, adverbial) to or towards clause-initial position. The Arabic data consists of Ă€yahs identified in tafslrs (commentaries on the QurĂ€n), specifically those identified by al-BaydĂ€wi, a renowned commentator, as examples of foregrounding in the QurĂ€n. Al-BaydĂ€wi and other commentators also identify the functions realised by each instance of foregrounding. A corpus of (68) Ă€yahs, some of which feature 2 instances of foregrounding, thus constitutes the Arabic corpus. According to the commentators consulted in this study, the QurĂ€n uses foregrounding to fulfil the functions of specification, restriction, emphasis, glorification/amplifrcation and denial. The literature also identifies a number of Ă€yahs which fulfil more than one of these functions simultaneously. Ten English
Saleh Elimam, Ahmed Abdelmoneim
Clause-level foregrounding in the translation of the Quran into English : Patterns and motivations. This study examines word order variation in the QurĂ€n, the Holy Book of Islam, and ten of its translations into English, produced between 1920 and 2004. Word order in Arabic is flexible and is used as a linguistic resource for realising several discursive functions. Arabic literature on balĂ€ghah (Arabic art of eloquence) details a number of such functions, which can be realised by foregrounding an element (e. g. predicate, object, adjunct, adverbial) to or towards clause-initial position. The Arabic data consists of Ă€yahs identified in tafslrs (commentaries on the QurĂ€n), specifically those identified by al-BaydĂ€wi, a renowned commentator, as examples of foregrounding in the QurĂ€n. Al-BaydĂ€wi and other commentators also identify the functions realised by each instance of foregrounding. A corpus of (68) Ă€yahs, some of which feature 2 instances of foregrounding, thus constitutes the Arabic corpus. According to the commentators consulted in this study, the QurĂ€n uses foregrounding to fulfil the functions of specification, restriction, emphasis, glorification/amplifrcation and denial. The literature also identifies a number of Ă€yahs which fulfil more than one of these functions simultaneously. Ten English
clause level foreground translation quran english patterns motivation study_examines word_order variation holy book islam translation_english produce word_order arabic flexible use linguistic_resource realise several discursive function arabic_literature arabic art detail number function realise foregrounding element predicate object adjunct adverbial towards clause initial_position arabic data_consist identify commentary specifically identify renowned commentator examples foreground commentator also_identify function realise instance foregrounding corpus feature instance foreground thus_constitute arabic corpus according commentator consult study use foreground fulfil function specification restriction emphasis denial literature also_identify number fulfil function simultaneously english