Browsing by Author "Ahonen, Tommi"

This thesis will aim to answer at least the following questions: How is the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa (Q 101) rendered in the Nordic translations of the Qurʾān? What are the similarities and differences between different translation? In what ways do the different translations relate to the source text? What aspects of the source text are prioritized by the translators? These questions are approached from the perspective of Translation Theory. The problem of equivalence is discussed in relation to the work of Eugene Nida in his Towards a Science of Translation (1964). I will argue that translating cannot be separated from hermeneutics, since "every translation is at the same time an interpretation" as Hans-Georg Gadamer has stated. The problem of hermeneutics and Translation Theory is discussed from the hermeneutical perspective of Hans-Georg Gadamer especially as developed in his monograph Truth and Method (1960). The Skopos Theory formulated by Katharina Reiß and Hans J. Vermeer will be discussed as a possible answer to these underlying problems. The method of research applied in this thesis will consist of various hermeneutical cycles of reading, interpretation, and re-reading. After analyzing the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa in Arabic, I will provide a comparative analysis of the translations juxtaposing the texts with each other and with the Arabic text. This section will discuss similarities and differences, the proximity between the original and the translation, some possible biblical intertextualities, and possible interpretative associations of the translations in their Nordic context. This thesis will point out many subtle similarities, differences and translational tendencies related to the translator's background that can illuminate, enrich and broaden our understanding of the Sūrat al-Qāriʿa and its reception in the Nordic countries, while also opening new perspectives on the complexities involved in translating ancient texts that are revered as sacred by many.