A cognitive linguistic study of a sample of translated metaphors in the Qur'anic text

Abstract EN

This paper is an attempt to consider the translation of metaphor from a cognitive perspective in the Qur'anic text.

Metaphor exists abundantly in the Qur'anic discourse and needs to be tackled from a different perspective other than its traditional one.

In this respect, the present paper focuses on this alternate idea of metaphor through investigating samples of metaphor from a cognitive perspective and how this contributes to enriching the language of the Qur'an.

The paper attempts to analyze certain schemas in which concrete entities are used to explain otherwise purely interpretations such as death-life, darkness-light and blindness-sight dichotomies.

The paper examines how the aspects of metaphors are adequately transferred into translators' English versions.

The paper reveals that metaphor is used widely as a cognitive linguistic device that pinpoints the universality of the Qur'an.

It also concludes that overlooking the cognitive aspects of metaphor in translation may lead to incomprehensibility of the intended message and may also result in affecting the whole meaning.