Translation by Evidence: A Form-based Approach to the Translation of Sacred Texts

Abstract

This study suggests a form-based approach to the translation of sacred texts, particularly the Holy Qur'an. This approach is referred to as Translation by Evidence (TE). Drawing upon Sperber and Wilson's Relevance Theory (1986, 2002), TE suggests that any translation of the Holy Quran should be faithful to the source text (ST) in two ways: It should transfer all pieces of evidence that serve a particular function (1), and keep ST and TT receptors' processing efforts comparable (2). The study applied TE to the polar interrogatives in the translation of the Qur’an initiated with the particle [hal] (roughly translated as is or is there). The pieces of evidence in the Ayas were found to be suggestive of three speech acts, namely assertives, expressives and directives. The study argued that TE is a more adequate translation strategy as it producea a more faithful translation in terms of the cognitive effect of the translated Ayas processing effort by the TT receivers.