Welcome to Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (ANTH 2000) at the University of Wyoming this fall semester of 2016. Please come back to check on updates from our students.
Recently in our class we discussed how we often translate words from other languages into English. We recognized that on occasion, we run into a word from another language that does not smoothly translate into English. This happens when we attempt to translate a word into English that we do not already have a word for. Regardless of a words translatability into English, we still try our best to put meaning to the foreign word.
Trouble with translating a foreign word can happen when the foreign word does not have a specific use in our language. For example, the word jihad. What first comes to your mind when we see this word? Arabic, Muslims, terrorists, extremism, holy war? The word jihad has been transliterated into English, and during this translation the meaning of the word has been distorted.
According to Martin Kramer (2002) in his article "The Real Meaning of Jihad", the word jihad in English has been removed from its actual cultural and religious meaning and replaced with the meaning of military action with the goal to spread Islam. He refers to the use of the word jihad in Osama bin Ladin’s terror campaign, and how after the 9/11 attacks America took a strong interest in finding out the “true” meaning of jihad.
Kramer (2002) discusses the statements made by Barbara Stowasser, a professor of Arabic at Georgetown University. Stowasser states that in its own cultural and religious context, the word jihad refers to a person’s commitment to the Islamic faith. She also mentions that the word refers to the struggle a person faces against evil intentions. The word is only ever mentioned in the Quran (Islam’s holy text) as an armed struggle or violence in the case of defensive actions (Kramer, 2002). Kramer (2002) states that many Islamic scholars agree that terrorist groups who use the word jihad to justify their actions are mistakenly misusing the word and distorting it’s true meaning.
It is clear that meaning for the word jihad is contested by many; including Arabic speakers, Muslims, and Americans. The word has been forcefully transliterated into English, and unfortunately the real meaning of jihad has been lost in the process.
References: Kramer, M. (2002). The real meaning of Jihad [Electronic Version]. The Wilson Quarterly, 26(3), 99.
Recently in our class we discussed how we often translate words from other languages into English. We recognized that on occasion, we run into a word from another language that does not smoothly translate into English. This happens when we attempt to translate a word into English that we do not already have a word for. Regardless of a words translatability into English, we still try our best to put meaning to the foreign word.
ReplyDeleteTrouble with translating a foreign word can happen when the foreign word does not have a specific use in our language. For example, the word jihad. What first comes to your mind when we see this word? Arabic, Muslims, terrorists, extremism, holy war? The word jihad has been transliterated into English, and during this translation the meaning of the word has been distorted.
According to Martin Kramer (2002) in his article "The Real Meaning of Jihad", the word jihad in English has been removed from its actual cultural and religious meaning and replaced with the meaning of military action with the goal to spread Islam. He refers to the use of the word jihad in Osama bin Ladin’s terror campaign, and how after the 9/11 attacks America took a strong interest in finding out the “true” meaning of jihad.
Kramer (2002) discusses the statements made by Barbara Stowasser, a professor of Arabic at Georgetown University. Stowasser states that in its own cultural and religious context, the word jihad refers to a person’s commitment to the Islamic faith. She also mentions that the word refers to the struggle a person faces against evil intentions. The word is only ever mentioned in the Quran (Islam’s holy text) as an armed struggle or violence in the case of defensive actions (Kramer, 2002). Kramer (2002) states that many Islamic scholars agree that terrorist groups who use the word jihad to justify their actions are mistakenly misusing the word and distorting it’s true meaning.
It is clear that meaning for the word jihad is contested by many; including Arabic speakers, Muslims, and Americans. The word has been forcefully transliterated into English, and unfortunately the real meaning of jihad has been lost in the process.
References: Kramer, M. (2002). The real meaning of Jihad [Electronic Version]. The Wilson Quarterly, 26(3), 99.