An Analysis of Qur'anic Ayas of Waw al-Thamaniya: A Corpus-Based Study of Arabic-English Translation

Abstract

This study investigates the Waw al-Thamaniya phenomenon in the Qur'anic text and its impact on Arabic-English translation. Waw al-Thamaniya, a stylistic feature in Arabic, is conventionally linked with carrying the meaning of enumeration and emphasizing the number eight within a sequence. This paper discusses how this subtle linguistic feature is carried out in English translations of the Qur'an, and to what degree the stylistic and semantic functions of Waw al-Thamaniya have been preserved or lost. Using a corpus-based approach, this research explores selected Qur'anic ayas containing Waw al-Thamaniya, presenting their translations into some major English versions of the Qur'an. This research paper will draw on translation theories, in particular those dealing with the issue of equivalence and functional shifts, to examine the practice followed by translators in handling such linguistic and cultural intricacy. It focuses on the challenges of presenting Waw al-Thamaniya in a target language with different syntactic and stylistic norms, and it provides insight into the strategies employed to meet these challenges. The paper is also a contribution to the broader field of Qur'anic translation studies, with an emphasis on the interplay between linguistic specificity and translation fidelity.