- Count View : 78
- آدرس کوتاه شده مقاله: https://bahareadab.com/article_id/2020
- کد IranDOI مقاله: IranDOI :10.irandoi.2002/bahareadab.2026 .19 .8189
volume Number : 19
number In Volume : 4
issue Number : 122
Journal of the stylistic of Persian poem and prose
volume Number 19،
number In Volume 4،
،
issue Number 122
“A Comparative Study of Syntactic Deviations in the Persian and English Translations of Juz’ 30 of the Holy Qur’an: A Linguistic Approach Based on Henry Widdowson’s Theoretical Framework.”
Soheila Mohammad pour , Zahra Abolhasani Chimeh (Author in Charge), Mahnaz Karbalai Sadegh
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The 30th Juzʾ of the Holy Qur’an is rich in foregrounded structures and various types of syntactic deviation that play a significant role in meaning construction, rhetorical effect, and the aesthetic formation of the text. The present study, drawing on Henry Widdowson’s stylistic approach,aims to examine and compare the representation of these deviations in two translations: the Persian translation by Fooladvand and the English translation by Arberry. The central question concerns the extent to which structural differences between the source and target languages, as well as the translators’ strategies, have influenced the transfer of the rhetorical and aesthetic values of this Juzʾ.
METHODOLOGY: This research adopts a descriptive–analytical approach. The data consist of ten types of syntactic deviation extracted from the 30th Juzʾof the Qur’an. The performance of the two translators was examined through quantitative frequency analysis and qualitative analysis of translation strategies. The study also considers the typological differences among Arabic, Persian, and English within the framework of Widdowson’s theoretical model.
FINDINGS: The results show that deviations not directly tied to word order, such as number disagreement in verbs, were fully transferred in both translations. By contrast, deviations rooted in the Arabic syntactic system, including tense shifts, were largely eliminated and normalized due to structural constraints in the target languages. Moreover, Arberry, with a source‑oriented approach, retained more syntactic defamiliarization features, including pronouns without antecedent.Fooladvand, however, adopting a target‑oriented strategy, adjusted many such deviations, such as object omission, to align with Persian norms and improve textual fluency.
CONCLUSION: The transfer of Qur’anic syntactic deviations is a multidimensional process influenced both by cross-linguistic structural differences and by translators’ strategic orientations. The findings suggest that Arberry’s translation is more successful in preserving stylistic and rhetorical functions, whereas Fooladvand’s translation proves more effective in producing a fluent and accessible text for Persian readers.
Keyword
syntactic deviation
, Quran Translation
, the 30th Juz
, Fooladvand
, Arberry
, Henry Widdowson
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