Lexical Gaps in Arabic -to¬-English Translation

Abstract

The present paper addresses itself to study how lexical gaps constitute a thorny area for Arabic- to -English translators to encounter and to overcome. It is based on the hypothesis that lexical gaps in religious translation seem to be rather problematic to get around. Due to space necessity, the paper is limited to the investigation of morpho- lexical and semantico-lexical gaps. First of all, the treatment of lexical gaps from a linguistic point of view has been introduced. Then, the realization of such gaps in religious texts has been investigated. Translation data for analysis is taken from three published renditions of the Glorious Qurân where ayahs involving morpho-lexical and semantico-lexical gaps have been discussed along with alternative translations for the inadequately translated ayahs. The assessment of the translations of Quranic ayahs under study has yielded that lexical gaps are too thorny in religious translation to overcome unless appropriate translation techniques are utilized to process them