The paper titled "Probing the Meaning Loss in the Translation of Arabic Qur’ānic Connotative Words Into English: A Linguistic Semantic Perspective" explores the challenges of translating connotative words from the Qur'an into English, focusing on the inherent difficulties due to linguistic and cultural differences. The study examines three well-known English translations of the Qur'an by Abdel Haleem (2004), Al-Hilali and Khan (1996), and Pickthall (1930), utilizing Nord's (2005) model of text analysis in translation.
The research highlights that translating connotative meanings from Arabic to English is particularly challenging because of the lack of equivalent expressions in English that can fully capture the nuances and cultural implications of the original Arabic words. The study found that literal or word-for-word translations often fail to convey the intended connotations, resulting in a loss of meaning. Instead, the research suggests that a semantic translation approach may be more effective in preserving the connotations of the Qur'anic text.
The study concludes that while no translation can fully capture the richness and depth of the original Arabic text, employing more nuanced translation strategies, such as semantic translation, can help minimize meaning loss. The research underscores the importance of understanding the cultural and linguistic context of the source text to produce more accurate and meaningful translations. The study calls for further research to assess and improve the translation of Qur'anic texts, particularly in preserving their connotative meanings.