Translation of the Prophets’ Names in the Holy Quran: between Domestication and Foreignization

Abstract

The translation of sacred texts tends to attract much attention among researchers. This is evident in the number of studies available. The main aim of this paper is to explore the different procedures and methods applied by the translators selected for the purpose of this research, Abdel Haleem, Khan & Al-Hilali, Cleary, Saheeh International translation, and Pickthall. Harvey and Higgins' three procedures for translating proper nouns, and Venuti's notion of domestication and foreignization, are explored. The translation of proper nouns can result in a number of difficulties for translators since no exact equivalent can be found in dictionaries. Therefore, there is a need for research on the translation of proper nouns to identify the most suitable approach for translating them. The five translators selected in this pape, and their translations of the 24 prophets’ names were analyzed. The primary method used in this paper is textual analysis. The data was collected and analyzed qualitatively. The results show that both cultural transplantation and domestication were generally used by the five translators, resulting in a target-oriented translation. It is recommended that the translators identify their target readers are as this could help in applying the appropriate procedures and methods.