Evaluation of the Performance of KKU’s Students in Translating Untranslated Quranic Verses from Skopos Theory Perspective

Abstract

This study focuses on evaluating the techniques used by KKU students majoring in the English language, and they study a translation course about translating Islamic religious texts. Furthermore, it accentuates the notion of untranslatability, its causes, and its types. The study also explains the challenges of translating Islamic religious texts. Additionally, the study demonstrates translation strategies taught to the students throughout the course for the purpose of translating Islamic religious texts. The study is based on a qualitative approach entailing a critical interpretative translation case study design, and it employs purposive sampling without a statistical representation, focusing on the students’ implementation of translational strategies and techniques at a micro level and macro level regarding untranslated items in the Holy Quran and Hadith. The data was collected by skimming and scanning every verse that was possibly interposed by students’ translational work of a focus group. Moreover, the researchers use interviewing as a form of data collection, which involves asking participants open-ended questions. The study concludes that teaching the students strategies and techniques of translating Islamic religious texts, accompanied by immediate practice in terms of tasks, assists students in translating in high quality regarding accuracy and adequacy. The study recommends that students should be taught techniques of translating Islamic religious texts segmentally accompanying from both perspectives -theory and practice.