Contextual Meanings of Qur’anic Near-Synonyms and Their English Translations with Special Reference to Huzn (Grief) and Its Near-Synonyms

ABSTRACT

The semantic differences among the synonyms of the Holy Qur’an are sometimes subtle and difficult to understand even for the Arabic speakers. This study examines the semantic differences between حزنhuzn (grief) and its near-synonyms in the Holy Qur’ān and then investigates how such nuances are reflected in the English translation. The study uses Relation by Contrast Approach to Synonyms as a theoretical framework for analysing the data. The findings showed that there exist some semantic differences among the chosen Qur’ānic near-synonyms and that these nuances are not all preserved in the English translations. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by showing the semantic differences among the selected Qur’anic near-synonyms which are not easy to understand even for non-specialist Arab readers.

KEYWORDS:

• Near-synonyms
• contextual meanings
• translation
• RC-S approach

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).