PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATING SYNONYMS AND HOMONYMS IN THE HOLY QURAN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TWO QURANIC TRANSLATIONS BY YUSUF ALI AND AHMED ALI

Abstract

The semantic phenomena of synonymy and homonymy are considered a problem in translation since the translators have to choose between more than one equivalents taking into consideration the exact nuances in meaning. Regarding the translation of the Holy Quran, synonymy and homonymy also remains a controversial issue among Arab scholars who did not agree about the existence of these two semantic phenomena in the Holy Quran, therefore, translators most of the time fail in translating synonyms and homonyms in The Holy Quran. This study focused on the problems that faced the two translators Yusuf Ali and Ahmed Ali during their translations of some synonymous and homonymous words in The Holy Quran. The main problem was that the two translators depended on the literal translation method to translate synonymous and homonymous words in many cases. The second problem that this study focused on that the two translators ignored the similarity in pronunciation between Arabic language and English language. It focused on one of the main reasons behind these difficulties, which is the translator's ignorance of the exegeses of The Holy Quran.