Student’s Pragmatic Shifts in Translating Islamic Expressions from Arabic into English

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to cast light on the pragmatic shifts in translating Islamic
expressions from Arabic into English. This study investigates presupposition and deixis shifts
in translating Islamic expressions. Qualitative and quantitative instruments were used in the
data collection. The study sample consisted of (30) senior students from the Department of
English Language and Literature at the School of Languages in the University of Jordan
/Aqaba. Participants were given (9) Islamic expressions to translate from Arabic into English.
The findings of the study revealed that participants resorted to pragmatic shifts when
employing the translation strategies of omission, addition, and substitution. Moreover, the
findings showed that pragmatic shifts such as presupposition and deixis shifts sometimes
change the intended meaning of the original text. Using pragmatic shifts by translators might
sometimes cause distortion in translating the intended meaning of the source text. This study
will explore the main causes of using pragmatic shifts amongst translation students when
translating Islamic expressions.