Imam Ali ΄s Studies

A Study of Intertextuality in Religious Texts: An English Translation of Nahj al-Balaghah

Document Type : .

Authors

Leila Niknasab 1
Ensieh Asgari 2
Amireh Niknam Pirzadeh 3

1 Faculty of Foreign Languages. Department of Humanities and Art. Hazrat-e Masoumeh Univiersity.Qom. Iran

2 Faculty of Quran and tradition studies. Department of Humanities and Art. Hazrat-e Masoumeh Univiersity.Qom. Iran

3 M.A. degree. Faculty of Quran and tradition studies. Department of Humanities and Art. Hazrat-e Masoumeh Univiersity.Qom. Iran

10.30465/alavi.2025.50049.2675
Abstract
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Abstract
The present study aims to investigate the translation of intertextuality in an English version of Nahj al-Balagheh with a descriptive-comparative-analytical method based on Leppihalme's (1997) model. For this purpose, allusions - as a sub-branch of intertextuality - were extracted from sermons, letters and wisdoms and 41 samples were randomly selected and analyzed. The strategies for PN and KP allusions used by the English translator - Seyyed Ali Reza (1987) – were found and the transfer of the concepts behind these  intertextual relations was examined. The results showed that, in most cases, the translator did not try to disambiguate the existing intertextuality for the translation of KP allusions, so he only provided a literal translation. The frequency of other strategies was low or zero. Regarding the translation of PN allusions, the two “literal strategy” and "additional information in the footnote" were equally used, and other strategies were ignored. This English translation has not conveyed the implicit concepts in many cases and tried to convey the beauty of literary words and meanings as they are in the original text, therefore no clarification has been made and the reader is required to discover and grasp these underlying concepts

Keywords

Intertextuality
Key-phrase Allusion
Leppihalme’s model
Nahj al-Balaghah
Proper Noun Allusion
Translation Strategies

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