A comparative investigation of the interpretation of colour terms in the Quran

Abstract

The present study attempts to focus on the interpretation of colour terms in the Ever-Glorious Quran. The study examines whether it is possible to observe any consistency in the strategies used for the interpretation of colour-terms in the Ever-Glorious Quran. The validity of the notion of foreignisation as brought to the fore of translation studies and advocated by Venuti (1995) is explored. Paraphrase as a strategy adopted by some interpreters of the Ever-Glorious Quran is also investigated. The study, moreover, explores the idiomacity of some colour terms in the Ever-Glorious Quran, and investigates the strategies employed in interpreting such idiomatic expressions. This is attempted under the foreignisation strategy proposed by Venuti (1995) and the framework of Berlin with Kay studies on colours (1969). The present study is a comparative analysis of three authentic interpretations of the Ever-Glorious Quran, namely Pickthall (1938), M. Asad (1980) and Yusuf Ali (1992). The paper describes already-existing interpretations in order to make generalization about translation methods.