Imran Ho Abdullah

The English Translation of 'wa' in Quranic Text: the Semantic Function of Arabic 'wa' in Quranic Text Imran Ho Abdullah

This study investigates the Arabic conjunction ?wa? and how it is translated into English. Firstly, it aims to examine the conjunctive relations posed by each ?wa? found in surah Yasin and how they are translated in the surah. It then tries to assess the semantic functions of these ?wa? and whether the English translations match with the meaning in the source text. It was found that the semantic function of ?wa? when translated to English is not always direct (one-to- one or ?wa? = ?and?) rather ?wa? can translates into nothing/ zero, or it may be replaced by other conjunctions and prepositions such as ?by?, however?, while etc. The study also reveals two additional semantic functions of ?wa? which have not been stated before, namely; denying ?wa? (wa + ma, or wa + la), and conditional ?wa? (wa + Law).