درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The ability to read fluently is a critical skill for language learners in foreign language contexts. Learning to read Arabic texts for Persian language learners is not an exception. The importance of this reading is more recognized when these learners are faced with religious texts including the holy Quran. Iranian readers of the Quran have many difficulties in uttering and pronouncing Arabic words and letters which blocks their fluency. Traditional approaches toward reading fluency such as teacher model have not been very successful. Therefore, the current research has investigated the effect of dynamic assessment on promoting learning fluency of Iranian learners of Arabic. Deeply rooted in mediated interaction and learning in zone of proximal development (ZPD), dynamic intervention is a new instructional strategy toward language learning. The current research has adopted an inventory of mediational strategies (Aljaafreh and Lantolf, 1994) of interventionist dynamic assessment to intervene learning hotspots and promote fluency of intermediate Quranic learners of teacher training centers in Qum. To this aim 20 students were selected through convenience sampling and their scores were compared in a quasi-experimental design. These students were assigned to two experimental groups where one of them underwent dynamic intervention while the other was recruited in a traditional teacher modeling course. Their scores in the post-test were analyzed through t-test. The findings showed that dynamic intervention promoted reading fluency of Iranian Quranic readers more than traditional approaches. Dynamic intervention can be replaced with traditional instructional methods by Iranian Quranic teachers and promote reading fluency significantly.

Due to the fact that the Arabic language abounds in words with similar meanings, eloquence in speech or writing calls for the accurate choice of words. The Holy Quran is characterized by the use of words and morphemes in absolute precision, which accounts for part of its beauty and elegance.  This study addresses the proper use of Fe’l, Amal, and Son’ in the Quran, as three semantically close concepts all of which lie in the area of meaning of the verb ‘do’. The study is conducted through a descriptive-analytic method. First, with reference to Arabic dictionaries, the meanings of these words and their nuances are presented. Then, a number of representative verses are extracted from the Quran to show the elegant application as well as the verbal secret of those individual words.  According to the results, the word Amal is used in contexts where something is regularly done by preplanning and with pain. The word Fe’l refers to an action for getting something done or made typically for a short time, but it is on no regular basis, either planned or unplanned. The word Son’, however, is reserved for cases that are done with skill, care, and consciousness of consequences. The word also involves a degree of secrecy. As it is found, since Amal refers to an action which involves toil and trouble, it is never used for God in the Quran. What the Book uses in this regard are the words Fe’l and Son’. This verbal token can be taken as one of the linguistic miracles of the Holy Quran.

This paper aimed to study four translations of the Holly Quran using a comprehensive Appraisal theory approach by Martin and White (2005). In so doing, the Chapter Al-Munafequn (The Hypocrites) was considered as the source text and four English translations of the Holly Quran (Arberry, 1955; Irving, 1985; Shakir, 1999; Yusuf Ali, 1934) were considered as the target texts. The study used a corpus-based qualitative translation assessment design. The data collection was based on purposive sampling, and the data analysis was based on all the three sub-systems of Appraisal theory (Attitude, Engagement, and Gradation) based on a three point assessment scale namely ‘+’ meaning acceptable, ‘-’ meaning unacceptable and ‘≈’ meaning relatively acceptable. The study comprised two research questions: (1) What are the choices made by the four translations of the Al-Munafequn Chapter and how can the translations be evaluated individually? (2) Which of the four translations is most qualified in terms of Appraisal theory sub-systems? To answer the first question, data were collected from each source independently and then evaluated and tabulated based on the appraisal theory. Regarding the second research question the following results were obtained: TT1 (Arberry’s version) suggested acceptable translations in terms of the three aspects of Attitude, Engagement, and Gradation. TT2 (Irving’s version) showed a fairly acceptable translation quality by fulfilling most of the Appraisal features of the original verse with several shortcomings. TT3 (Shakir’s version) represented an acceptable translation as it dealt with many aspects of Appraisal in ST. Finally, TT4 (Yusuf Ali’s version) showed a highly acceptable transfer of Appraisals in its translation. As a result, from among the four translations, TT4 (Yusuf Ali’s translation) could be deemed as the most accurate version in translating the Appraisal sub-systems.