Thesis (M.A.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Arts - Department of English

The focus of this MA thesis is the analysis of the problems encountered over a span of five centuries by five translators rendering the meanings of Qur{u2019}anic verses with scientific allusions. The translations under analysis are those by Talal Itani (2012), M. H. Shakir (1999), E.H. Palmer (1880), george sale (1734) and Alexander Ross (1649). The research tackles the crucial role played by translators' assumptions about the universe and its effect on the choices during the translation process. It examines the repercussions of making translation decisions founded upon old exegeses that could confine the meaning of some of the verses to only exegetists' understanding. Furthermore, the study explores how scientific illiteracy may lead to faulty assumptions, and consequently flawed translations contradicting facts. The selected samples are analyzed in light of relevance theory (RT), the cognitive approach, as well as componential analysis (CA), the lexical approach. In addition, a multilevel hermeneutic translation approach (MHTA) is proposed for rendering ambiguous terms. As such, the main research question is: To what extent can translators' cognitive environments influence the decisions made about Qur{u2019}anic verses with scientific allusions, and how accurate and appropriate are RT, CA and the MHTA in rendering and analyzing verses alluding to scientific facts? The study demonstrates the superiority of CA over RT in objectivity, accuracy, absolute account and of its provision of practical tools aiding the translator. It also contends that MHTA preserves the richness of the text by preventing the imposition of a certain interpretation on the target readership

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