third translations by Pickthall and Hilali are rendering source metaphor into “report” and “mention”. However, these translations are also clear
enough. All the translators render source metaphor into ground or sense. Asad comes with a different style of translation, although he uses
the same technique with the others, where he translates source metaphor into ground or sense. In this verse, his translation is seemed to create a
deep explanation, but t he idea of asking the “good mention” is absent in
this translation. The idea of asking good mention is substituted with the idea of asking power to convey the truth.
b. Chapter Ibrahim 4
1 Translations
a Yusuf Ali: We sent not an apostle except to teach in the language of his
own people. In order to make things clear to them. Now God leaves straying those whom He pleases: and He is exalted in power, full of
wisdom. p. 620. b
Pickthall: And We never sent a messenger save with the language of his folk, that he might make the message clear for them. Then Allah
sendeth whom He will astray, and guideth whom He will. He is the Mighty, the Wise. p. 187.
c Hilali and Khan: And We sent not a Messenger except with the language
of his people, in order that he might make the Message clear for them. Then Allah misleads whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He
is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. p. 328. d
Asad: And never have We sent forth any apostle otherwise than [with a message] in his own peoples tongue, so that he might make [the truth]
clear unto them; but God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], and
guides him that wills [to be guided] for He alone is almighty, truly wise. p. 370.
2 Context of the Verse
Allah sent every prophet and its book with the language of the people to bring an easy understanding to them.
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3 Types of Metaphor
The literal meaning of lisan is tongue, but the intended meaning of it in this verse is a language. This can be considered as a lexicalized stock
metaphor, and it shared between two languages. The topic of this metaphor is the language, where the ground is the tool of speaking. This
word can be metonymically if it stands as the tool of speaking and separated from the word
4 Translation Analysis
The first three English translators seem to convey source metaphor meaning with the same technique and word. They render metaphor into
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Al Muntakhab fi Tafsiri al - Qur’an 1968, op.cit. p. 363
ground or sense with the same word “language”. These translations do
not create any problem of understanding source metaphor in the target language TL.
The last translator produces a different translation in this verse; he renders source metaphor with the same vehicle in TL. However, this type
of translation also does not create any problem, because the meaning of “tongue” as “a language” is available in English language.
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In this verse, the translation of Asad is better than the other three translators, because
the term of tongue is shared between Arabic and English language, then translation with the same vehicle will keep the term of meaning and the
beatifull structure of metaphor of the source language.
c. Chapter Aal-Imraan 7
