Combating the Misrepresentation of Women in Quran Translations: Translational Interventions

The discourse concerning Islam, and in particular the translation of the Quran, has had a profound impact on Western views of Muslim women. Most Quran translations are stained with mistranslations, resulting from translators adopting the literal approach for religious reasons that we will explore. This has an impact on many aspects of meaning, but especially the representation of women. It should be noted that this article is not influenced by the views of feminist groups who focus on seeking new interpretations of the Quran. Instead, it pinpoints the genuine interpretation lost in translation. This article endeavors to identify the translational mistakes, and their influence on the image of women, through a comparison with the original text in terms of linguistic and paralinguistic features found in the Quran. The article adopts the interpretive approach in the form of a multiple-case study to clarify the mistranslated cases and to provide genuine interpretation as understood within the original context, without either addition or omission. The article concludes that many Quran translations instantiate a fertile ground, contributing to the creation of a negative image of Muslim women in the eyes of the West. This is attributed to the translator’s lack of knowledge of Quranic scholarship, i.e., the paralinguistic issues and the excessive use of the literal approach that fails to capture the intended meaning of the original text

Young Immigrants Acting as Interpreters and Communication Facilitators

This investigation delves into the position of youthful migrants who step up as interpreters in their linguistically eclectic surroundings to help their parents navigate life. The focus is on the Gypsy minority located in Jordan, known for being disregarded by authorities in their response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The research seeks to gather information through a qualitative examination that institutes an ethnographic approach. The interviewees were 63 youngsters aged between 11-17 years old who provided profound insights during the semi-structured interviews. Gypsies, who live in tents on the outskirts of Zarqa, were the participants of the study. The study aims to show that Gypsies possess an oral tradition and face challenges in communicating with authorities. Additionally, the study aims to highlight the critical role that young immigrants play in improving the lives of their elders. Amidst the results, it surfaced that the Jordanian Gypsies were often disregarded. This is primarily due to the fact that their language, Domari, is not one that the country's translation services accommodate. Furthermore, the community's lack of education and high rates of adult illiteracy meant that the younger generation, who have received mandatory schooling, had to step in as intermediaries between the Gypsies and authority figures.

A Statistical Approach to Designing and Conducting Studies in Translation Studies (TS)

Within Translation Studies (TS), the prevalent research method is qualitative. However, investigating the translation process and outcome has seen an increase in the importance of quantitative methods. This poses a challenge as many TS scholars lack familiarity with these techniques. This article suggests a solution by outlining an effective approach to quantitative research and emphasizing key aspects of such research to address this issue. The critical component of quantitative studies is explicit research designs, which can be created through several steps to ensure thorough and accurate results. Consideration must be given to defining the sample and population under study, as well as signaling the scope of the variables involved, and stating the research hypotheses and questions. In order to ascertain the comprehensibility and significance of the resulting data, one should keep in mind which outcomes would either affirm or disprove hypotheses, as well as what types of results are significant. While quantitative research is often the focus, it is worthwhile to integrate qualitative analyses and regard the resulting product

Standardizing the Measures of Assessment in Legal Translation Profession

Practicing legal translations may lead to shortcomings that need to be assessed and addressed. Therefore, to respond to such shortcomings and specificities emerging during the legal translation process, the paper proposes a comprehensive model to evaluate translation quality. The proposed model is built on a functionalist perspective that links legal, contextual, macro-textual, and microtextual criteria to outline an appropriate translation strategy that drives endeavors to overcome issues throughout the translation process. The same criteria persistently appear from the translation brief through to the final translation product crossing intermediate stages – reception, revision, delivery assessment. In identifying predictable evaluation criteria and competence needs for translators and quality controllers, they serve as the standard. The approach presents implications for both quality assessment and management practices, including those in training contexts. By reducing subjectivity and enhancing predictability based on specific legal translation methodologies, the model ultimately demonstrates the potential benefits. Legal Translation Studies can greatly enhance professional standards, underscored by the importance of having legal translation experts evaluate quality. This demonstrates the fundamental role of legal translation expertise