Study of Pragmatic Losses in the English Translation of Surah Al Ikhlas: A Comparative Pragma-Linguistic Analysis
| Journal | Al-Basirah |
| Title | Study of Pragmatic Losses in the English Translation of Surah Al Ikhlas: A Comparative Pragma-Linguistic Analysis |
| Author(s) | Abdullah, Muhammad, Jamil Asgher |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year | 2017 |
| Pages | 01-14 |
| Full Text |  |
| Keywords | pragmatic losses, translation, comparative, pragma-linguistic, analysis |
| Chicago 16th | Abdullah, Muhammad, Jamil Asgher. "Study of Pragmatic Losses in the English Translation of Surah Al Ikhlas: A Comparative Pragma-Linguistic Analysis." Al-Basirah 6, no. 2 (2017). |
| APA 6th | Abdullah, M., Asgher, J. (2017). Study of Pragmatic Losses in the English Translation of Surah Al Ikhlas: A Comparative Pragma-Linguistic Analysis. Al-Basirah, 6(2). |
| MHRA | Abdullah, Muhammad, Jamil Asgher. 2017. 'Study of Pragmatic Losses in the English Translation of Surah Al Ikhlas: A Comparative Pragma-Linguistic Analysis', Al-Basirah, 6. |
| MLA | Abdullah, Muhammad, Jamil Asgher. "Study of Pragmatic Losses in the English Translation of Surah Al Ikhlas: A Comparative Pragma-Linguistic Analysis." Al-Basirah 6.2 (2017). Print. |
| Harvard | ABDULLAH, M., ASGHER, J. 2017. Study of Pragmatic Losses in the English Translation of Surah Al Ikhlas: A Comparative Pragma-Linguistic Analysis. Al-Basirah, 6. |
Abstract
The comprehension of the message of the Holy Qur’ān is obligatory for the whole of humanity which is revealed in the Arabic language. Scholars all over the world, Muslims as well as non-Muslims have devoted their best efforts to translate the word of Allah Almighty in different languages of the world, although absolute translation is not possible. These translations from Arabic to other languages of the world result into pragmatic losses. Small wonder, these pragmatic losses cause problems in the process of understanding the actual message of the Holy Qur’ān enshrined in the source text. This study was conducted to analyze the pragmatic losses in the English translations of Sūrah Ikhlāṣ (chapter 112) through a comparative pragma-linguistic analysis. Three different translations have been selected for the study. A comparative and critical study of these translations has established the presence of certain pragmatic losses which are likely to bear upon the comprehension of the reader in more than one way. To the researchers, the presence of these losses calls for the greater sensitivity towards and understanding of the pragmatic aspects of interlingual translation, specifically for a text which in its primordial form was intended to be a Speech (Kalām) . To retain the pragmatic value and meaning of the source text become all the more paramount when the text translated is sacred one with its own canonical conventions and discursive norms.