Abstract

The aim of this study is twofold. First, it aims to clarify the meaning of the Arabic term llm al-kalām with reference to modern scholarship of the field of Islamic Studies. The second one is to examine the translation of this term into English. The study strives to show that the translation of this term is influenced by dominant interpretations in the target language and culture, making it clear that translators do more than establishing linguistic equivalence between two terms. Translators, it is argued, negotiate not only two languages and two cultures, but also different and competing interpretations (ideas, values, interests) of the translated term in the target language. This study argues that the various translations of this term in English highlight specific features of the source term including its philosophical, scholastic, and prestigious nature. All these features should be explained, it is argued, by specific ideas and values in the receiving language. The study draws on a range of concepts and tools in the Field of Translation Studies, including the work of Lawrence Venuti (1995, 2000, 2013, 2019).