Translating selected poysemous words in the Holy Quran into English: An analysis of strategies and procedures

Polysemy refers to those words that have multiple related meanings. In the Qurān, there
are numerous polysemous words; therefore, in translating this holy book, the translator will encounter problems in identifying and rendering the intended meaning of the polysemous words. Previous literature has revealed that limited studies have been done to examine how polysemy is translated in the Qurān, namely into English. To bridge this gap, the current study seeks to clarify the governing factors, which help to identify the intended meaning of the polysemous words, in order to propose a logical procedure to transfer the polysemous words in the Qurān. Drawing upon Nida's and Newmark's
theories in translation, the study examines the translations of 24 ambiguous senses from 12 selected polysemous words in the Qurān. The samples were selected from four selected translation of the Qurān. Descriptive, interpretive and comparative analyses were carried out in order to achieve its aims. The study reveals that understanding the context, reasons for revelation, perception of the verses surrounding the polysemy, consultation of numerous authentic commentaries and comprehension of the syntactic and grammatical features of the verse are crucial factors in identifying the intended meaning of the polysemous words in the Qurān Polysemy refers to those words that have multiple related meanings. In the Qurān, there are numerous polysemous words; therefore, in translating this holy book, the translator will encounter problems in identifying and rendering the intended meaning of the polysemous words. Previous literature has revealed that limited studies have been done to examine how polysemy is translated in the Qurān, namely into English. To bridge this gap, the current study seeks to clarify the governing factors, which help to identify the intended meaning of the polysemous words, in order to propose a logical procedure to transfer the polysemous words in the Qurān. Drawing upon Nida's and Newmark's
theories in translation, the study examines the translations of 24 ambiguous senses from
12 selected polysemous words in the Qurān. The samples were selected from four selected translation of the Qurān. Descriptive, interpretive and comparative analyses were carried out in order to achieve its aims. The study reveals that understanding the context, reasons for revelation, perception of the verses surrounding the polysemy, consultation of numerous authentic commentaries and comprehension of the syntactic and grammatical features of the verse are crucial factors in identifying the intended meaning of the polysemous words in the Qurān. Through the analysis, the study found that the selected translators employed literal and semantic renditions; paraphrasing, descriptive information, communicative translation and transliteration strategies to transfer the meaning of the polysemy. Moreover, the results revealed that the explication, communicative and interpretive strategies are appropriate to convey the intended meaning of the polysemous words in the Qurān. The current study enhances the field of Qurānic translation by proposing concrete procedures to overcome the difficulties in rendering the deep sense of the polysemy in the Holy Qurān. Through the analysis, the study found that the selected translators employed literal and semantic renditions; paraphrasing, descriptive information, communicative translation and transliteration strategies to transfer the meaning of the polysemy. Moreover, the results revealed that the explication, communicative and interpretive strategies are appropriate to convey the intended meaning of the polysemous words in the Qurān. The current study enhances the field of Qurānic translation by proposing concrete procedures to overcome the difficulties in rendering the deep sense of the polysemy in the Holy Qurān.