Translating Euphemism Related to Marital Sex in the Noble Quran

Authors

  • Mohammad Anwar Al-Taher

    Department of English Language and Translation, Applied Science Private University, Amman 11937, Jordan
  • Zakaryia Almahasees

    Translation Department, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i11.11335
Received: 28 July 2025 | Revised: 8 August 2025 | Accepted: 28 August 2025 | Published Online: 22 October 2025

Abstract

This research surveys the English translations of euphemistic terms for marital sexual intercourse in the Noble Quran, with a focus on how translators deal with the Quran’s rhetorical modesty and moral sensitivity. Euphemism is adopted in the Noble Quran to handle sensitive issues such as death, marital relations, bodily functions, disabilities, and socio-political topics. Intimate marital relations, in particular, are phrased so politely as to serve numerous purposes, including protection and mutual comfort, taking into consideration the purity and respect of both parties, especially women. Drawing on nine separate verses that employ metaphorical and indirect language to refer to lawful sexual activity within marriage, the study compares a corpus of twenty English translations selected for their theological, linguistic, and stylistic diversity. Each translation was examined through close comparative analysis, corroborated by English lexical resources (Collins and Merriam-Webster dictionaries) to determine semantic proximity to the SL euphemisms. Drawing on the findings, the study proposes a five-strategy model — literal translation, substitution, generalization, explicitation, and addition — for categorizing the various translational strategies. The findings reveal a considerable disparity in the rendering of euphemisms, indicating varied priorities among translators for fidelity, clarity, and cultural acceptability. This study makes important contributions to Quranic translation studies, euphemism research, and intercultural pragmatics.

Keywords:

Culture; Euphemism; Marriage; Quran Translation; Sex

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How to Cite

Al-Taher, M. A., & Almahasees, Z. (2025). Translating Euphemism Related to Marital Sex in the Noble Quran. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(11), 867–881. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i11.11335

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 11 (November 2025): In progress

Article Type

Article

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Copyright © 2025 Mohammad Anwar Al-Taher, Zakaryia Almahasees

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.