Rendering of metaphor in Yasin Surat (Chapter 36)‎ of the Holy Quran

Abstract EN

Metaphor is an eloquent figure of speech that exists in Arabic and English languages.

It is related to rhetorical knowledge.

It originally comes from a Latin word that means “carrying over”, since it carries over characteristics of something to give it to another thing.

In Arabic metaphor الاستعارة comes from “borrowing” (a loan).

Metaphor has different kinds in Arabic & English: the main ones in both languages are the explicit and the implicit metaphors.

As metaphor is considered an important figure of speech, so it offers a challenge in translation.

Thus, there are kinds of metaphor in terms of translation field.

These are lexicalized, non-lexicalized, and phrasal metaphors.

In addition, let alone that Quran’s language is above human beings’ conceivable minds, it has a unique language that is untranslatable.

However, translators in general tried to render meanings of the Holy Quran’s words, and metaphor is one of these figurative devices to express meanings.

The translator could be able to translate a metaphor in the source language (the Arabic) into a metaphor into the target language (the English), but sometimes he could not do that.

However, the translated metaphor in English language is not as beautiful and effective as in its original Quranic language.

All in all, the researcher has concluded that is to translate metaphor is something possible when relying on meaning-based translation, but to render it as the same as the original is something impossible.

The reason behind this is that when translating metaphor the translator is not rendering a picture from one language to another only, but he/she carries an idea from one culture to a different one.