Family life in Quran and the Cultural Translation Barriers: An Analytical Study of two English Translations: Arberry and Hilali & Khan

Abstract

The research paper analyzed the translation barriers in the translations of culture-bound expressions in the
selected verse No. 34, chapter “Al-Nisa” (The Women) of the Holy Quran. The selected two translations
are; The Quran Interpreted (Arberry, 1955), and The Noble Quran: English Translation of the Meanings &
Commentary (Taqi-Ud-Deen Al-Hilali & Muhammad Muhsin Khan, 1998). The verse contains cultural
expressions regarding family matters, etiquettes, and responsibilities of wife and husband. The translators
translated the verse in various ways that may be understood differently in different cultures. The research
question is that to what extent the translators succeeded in rendering the cultural expressions to the English
community? The new insight in this research is that such critical issues are required to be discussed and
clarified in a translation perspective because their mistranslation leads the target readers towards
misunderstanding the cultural image of Islamic society. This study applied the strategies devised by Peter
Newmark (1988) for the translation of culture-bound words. It, further, described the types of strategies
adopted in these two translations to render the culture bound concepts. And finally, the selected translations
have been analyzed with findings, recommendations, and conclusions.