Connotations of Fewness and Muchness in Arabic: A Semantic and Translational Perspective

Abstract

This study attempts to explore the reflection of the connotative meanings in the translation of the Arabic lexical items qalil (few or little) and kathir (much or many) and their derivations from Arabic into English and Spanish. In order to conduct the study, some Qur’anic verses containing the two items are chosen, and two translations of the verses, English and Spanish, are selected to evaluate the portrayal of the connotative meanings of the two items in the translation. The study shows that the verses containing qalil and its derivations hold positive and favorable connotations and overtones, while the verses containing kathir and its derivations hold negative ones. It shows that the translation challenge of the antonymous lexical items qalil and kathir does not lie in their denotative meaning, but rather in the connotative one. It further reveals that lexical items can be concurrently antonymous at the denotative and connotative levels, a semantic fact that should be given enough attention in translation. The study concludes that since literal translation does not convey the various implications of lexical items, exegetic translation is suggested as an appropriate translation strategy to transfer these implications.