THE USE of EUPHEMISM in ENGLISH TRANSLATION of HOLY QURAN by SAHEEH INTERNATIONAL THESIS Submitted by LALA BARZANZIA HARLEY NIM

THE USE OF EUPHEMISM IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF HOLY QURAN BY SAHEEH INTERNATIONAL

THESIS

Submitted by

LALA BARZANZIA HARLEY NIM. 140203042

Student of Fakultas Tarbiyah dan Keguruan Department of English Language Education

FAKULTAS TARBIYAH DAN KEGURUAN UNIVERSITAS ISLAM NEGERI AR-RANIRY BANDA ACEH 2020 M / 1441 H

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Alhamdulillahirabbil’alamin, all praises to Allah SWT, the Almighty, the

Most gracious, and the Most Merciful for always giving me health, strengths, knowledge, ease, and blessing to accomplish this thesis. Peace and salutation to

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, together with his family and companions who have brought the enlightenment into human life.

I express my sincere respect, deepest appreciation, and gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. phil. Saiful Akmal, M.A and Fera Busfina Zalha, M.A. I am extremely grateful and indebted to them for their valuable guidance, sincere, advise, encouragement, and suggestion. My great appreciation is also addressed to all English Language Education lecturers and staff who have inspired, guided, and helped me during my study in this department.

A special gratitude goes to my beloved parents, Taharman and Nurlelawati

Idris, for being the most inspiring persons in my life and my best mates who treat me so dearly, always believe in me, and convince me to not be afraid of challenges in life. My special gratitude is also extended to my sister and brothers,

Westy Ace Harley, Alkindi Harley, Alfarabi Harley, and Abidzar Algiffary

Harley. Their existences encourage me to be a better person. May Allah grant my family Jannah for their great kindness, patience, endless love, everlasting financial, moral, and emotional support.

iii

Thanks go to all my mates, Raida, Devi, Fitri, Lili, who supported me during doing this thesis and for being my positive social support systems and encouragement at all times. Moreover, thanks for everyone who took apart in my life journey that I cannot mention one by one.

Finally, I realize that there are still many limitations of ability and knowledge, therefore I highly expect suggestions and constructive criticism from readers to perfect this study. Hopefully, I hope this thesis give valuable contribution for students and lecturers in Department of English Language

Education of UIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh and the literature enthusiasts.

Banda Aceh, July 24th, 2020

The Writer,

Lala Barzanzia Harley

ABSTRACT

Name : Lala Barzanzia Harley NIM : 140203042 Faculty : Fakultas Tarbiyah dan Keguruan Major : Department of English Language Education Thesis working title : The Use of Euphemism in English Translation of Holy Quran by Saheeh International Main Supervisor : Dr. phil. Saiful Akmal, M. A. Co-Supervisor : Fera Busfina Zalha, M. A. Keywords : Euphemism; Referent; Saheeh International’s Translation; Surah Yusuf

In communicating, people tend to use euphemisms to hide unpleasant or embarrassing ideas which need to be understood. Al-Qur’an is one of the most important messages need to be understood well since it is an important and crucial book for Muslims. This study was aimed for identifying the types of euphemism proposed by Kaosa-Ad (Shortening; Circumlocution; Remodeling; Semantic Change; Borrowing) which were used in English Translation of Holy Qur’an by Saheeh International in Surah (chapter) Yusuf and describing the referents of each euphemism. This study was conducted by using descriptive qualitative research. The data analyzed were all verses of Surah Yusuf which consists of 111 verses. The result showed that there were three of five types of euphemisms used in Surah Yusuf which were semantic change, borrowing, and circumlocution. There were 26 euphemistic terms and their referents in total. Specifically, 20 data found in semantic change, 4 data in borrowing, and 2 data in circumlocution. The dominant type of those three types of euphemisms used was semantic change. It means that readers of Saheeh International’s translation have to understand and comprehend the meaning deeply. The result of study can be used as additional material in the courses of literature, discourse, and English for Islamic Studies (EFIS) in Islamic College.

TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY…………………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………….. iii ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………… v TABLE OF CONTENT………………………………………………….. vi LIST OF TABLES………………………………………....…………….. viii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………… viii LIST OF APPENDICES…………………………………………………. x

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………… 1 A. Background of Study…………………………... 1 B. Research Question …………………………….. 5 C. Research Aims ………………………………… 5 D. Significance of the Study.……………………… 5 1. Theoritical Benefits.……………………… 5 2. Practical Benefits…………………………. 6 E. Terminologies …………………………………. 6 1. Euphemism………………………………. 6 2. Saheeh International’s Translation………. 7

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW...……………………………... 9 A. Theory of Euphemisms..……………………….. 9 1. Definition of Euphemisms.………………. 9 2. Areas of Euphemisms……………………. 10 3. Types of Euphemisms……………………. 17 B. Theory of Referent…………………………….. 25 C. Al-Quran………………………………………. 28 1. Translation of the Quran………………… 29 2. Overview of Surah Yusuf………………... 32

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……………………… 34 A. Research Design………………………………. 34 B. Materials of Analysis………………………….. 35 C. Procedure of Analysis…………………………. 35

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.……………………… 37 A. Findings………………………………………… 37 B. Discussion.……………………………………... 39 1. Semantic Change………………………… 40 2. Borrowing………………………………... 54 3. Circumlocution…………………………… 56

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS……… 59 A. Conclusions…………………………………… 59 B. Recommendations……………………………. 60

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………... 61 APPENDICES

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Result of Analysis ………………………………………… 37

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Types of Euphemisms……………………………………… 18

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A Appointment Letter of Supervisor Appendix B Transliteration Appendix C English Translation of Holy Qur’an Surah (Chapter) Yusuf

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter aims at providing an overview of the study by highlighting the background of study, research questions, research aims, significance of the study, and terminologies.

A. Background of Study

In using language as an interactive tool in both spoken and written

communication, people have to consider not only about what they want to

convey but also about how to do it. Concerning with how to deliver a message,

sometimes people have trouble to express unpleasant or embarrassing ideas. As

Fuller and Wardhaugh (2015) state that people prefer to sort thing that should not

be discussed, not because people do not want to talk about this thing, but they

talk about it in a roundabout way. It means that people are still possible to

discuss about something forbidden delicately. In this case, people use certain

strategies which can make them keep saying certain things that are possibly

avoided by their partners. Regarding to this, it relates to one of figurative

language types, which is euphemism.

According to Wilson (2003), euphemisms are words with meaning or sounds that are considered better, clearer, or higher and are used to replace the words which are considered ugly, rude, or unpleasant in meaning or sound. People tend to use euphemism to minimize discourteous discourses, to hide disrespectful

ideas, to camouflage unpleasant thoughts, and especially to replace taboo words

(Fan, 2006). Euphemism consists in lieu of original signifier perceived as being offensive or unpleasant. It is often referred to as a veil or a shroud thrown over the signified, as if to conceal it (Jamet, 2012). Moreover, Gomez (2009, p.727) states that “The euphemism consists of the substitution of an unpleasant word by another, pleasant one when the first is to be avoided for reasons of religious fear, moral scruples or courtesy”. Also, Gomaa and Shi (2012) state that euphemism is a linguistic tool that is universal in almost all languages in both spoken and written discourses.

Since euphemism is used in both spoken and written expressions, Hughes

(2006) conducted a study of euphemism in linguistic orientation in written text.

He found some euphemistic words which are related to taboo language in the holy scripture of Bible such as Jeez, Jeepers, and Gee for replacing the word Jesus.

Also, Antoni (2008) discussed the use of euphemisms in some Islamic texts written by Indonesian native speakers. In his research, he found some texts using the phrase “hardliner Muslim groups” as a more sophisticated expression of “the actor of bad breaks in Indonesian Moslem” or “radicalism”. Another study working on euphemism was conducted by Munfaati (2008), he found nine types, four styles, and five functions of euphemism which are used in political articles in

Reuteurs.com.

Similar to the previous studies above, this study also carried out the euphemism in linguistic orientation which discussed the use of euphemism in written text. This study focuses on investigating the types of euphemism that are

possibly used in Muslim’s Holy Book, that is Al-Quran. Even though Al-Qur’an is revealed in Arab State and scripted originally in Arabic, it is not only used and read by Arabic speakers but also almost all people in the world. Consequently, it has been translated into many languages, mostly in English. Regarding to this, many researchers also conduct studies of euphemisms in Al-Qur’an which has been translated into English.

Khadra and Hadjer (2017) conducted a study about translatability of euphemism from Arabic into English in The Holy Qur’an. They investigated the

English translation of Holy Qur’an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Arthur John Arberry, and Al-Qurtubi. The data analyzed were taken from surah Al-Baqara, Al -'Imran,

An-Nisa', Fussilat, Al-Mursalat, and Al-Talaq. Their study focused on the challenges encountered in the process of translation from different perspectives and kind of strategies and techniques adopted by the translators for translating the euphemism. In other words, the study did not concern on the use of euphemism itself.

Similar with them, Al-Hamad and Salman (2013) also conducted a study of euphemism in the English translation of Al-Qur’an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali,

Muhammad Taqiuddin Al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Marmaduke

Pickthall, and Arthur John Arberry. They cited the euphemism in surah Al-

Baqarah, Ali-‘Imran, An-Nisa’, Yusuf, Fussilat, and At-Talaaq. They only investigated the incongruities in the translation of Quranic euphemisms in particular without discussing any other elements or aspects of meaning.

To continue the previous studies in Al-Qur’an, this study used the translation by Saheeh International which has not been studied yet. It is one of the best, most faithful, and objective translations of Al-Qur’an. “Simple language and attention to detail make this become one of the most widely read translations of

Al-Qur'an in English” (Omar, 2015). In addition, widely aclaimed and respected for accurately reflecting Arabic meanings, it has received recommendations by numerous well-known scholars, including Sheikh Muhammad bin Saleh al-

Munajjid, Dr. Zakir Naik, Sheikh Yusuf Estes, Dr. Bilal Philips, and Dr. Jamal

Badawi.

Based on the reasons explained above, I was interested in doing the research on “The Use of Euphemism in English Translation of Holy Quran”. This study used the English translation of Al-Qur’an by “Saheeh International” as the object of the study. It exposed the types of euphemisms used in the translation. In addition, this study also examined the referents of euphemisms used in the surah.

I selected Surah (chapter) Yusuf as the object of the analysis. Surah Yusuf is the twelfth surah in Al-Qur’an which tells about the story of Prophet Yusuf.

Unlike the other chapters in the Quran, Surah Yusuf consists only the story of

Prophet Yusuf from beginning to ending of the surah without any other stories in it. The surah tells about Prophet Yusuf’s interaction with his brothers, father, a king, the wife of the king, women in the city, and companions of prison. It identifies that the interaction occurs in various circles, ranging from the lower stratum to higher stratum. Therefore, this study tried to investigate the style of

language used in the translation in connection with euphemism possibly used in different status of interlocutors and other aspects.

B. Research Questions

Based on the background of the study above, this research is focused on the following questions:

1. What types of euphemisms are found in the English translation of Holy

Quran in Surah Yusuf?

2. What are the referents of euphemisms used in the text?

C. Research Aims

Based on the problems mentioned above, this study is intended to present the description of research questions. The aims of research are as follow:

1. To identify the types of euphemisms found in the English translation

of Holy Quran Surah Yusuf

2. To describe the referents of euphemisms used in the text

D. Significance of the Study

This research on Euphemisms used in English translation of Holy Quran is hoped to contribute both theoretically and practically. Below are the benefits of the study:

1. Theoretical Benefits

a. This research is used to be a reference by other researcher to conduct

further research dealing with euphemisms

b. This research is able to enrich the study of linguistic especially on

Euphemisms in English translation of Holy Qur’an and its contribution for

English department student

2. Practical Benefits

a. English teacher can use the research as material in classroom in the case of

figurative language (euphemism) especially for Islamic students in Islamic

Boarding School, and it can be used in English For Islamic Studies (EFIS)

course in Islamic College, especially in UIN Ar-Raniry itself

b. The readers of the English translation of Holy Qur’an by Saheeh

International know referents of some words which use euphemisms

c. Future researchers can do further research on this study to make it better

and perfect.

E. Terminologies

Since the study is about euphemism used in the translation of Qur’an by

Saheeh International, it is necessary to include the definitions of the components along with other definitions which come in handy for the readers.

1. Euphemism

The word 'euphemism' comes from the Greek word “euphĕmĕ” (eu:

“good”or “well” and phĕmĕ: “speech” or “saying”); thus, literally “euphemism” means “speaking with good words or in a pleasant manner” (Enright, 2004), and can be defined as "substituting an offensive or unpleasant term for a more explicit, offensive one, thereby veneering the truth by using kind words” (Neaman &

Silver, 1990, p.5 as cited in Mahmood, 2017). Similar meanings for euphemisms are found in Arabic. They come from Arabic root luʈf and its derivative laʈa:fah which mean kind, friendly, thin, fine, delicate, dainty, graceful, elegant, nice, amiable, etc. The English term “euphemism” is also translated into Arabic luʈf atta’bi:r which means “kind expression” and husun atta’bi:r which means “nice expression” (Wehr & Cowan, 1994, as cited in Gomaa & Shi, 2012).

The discussion in this study was focused on five main types of euphemisms proposed by Kaosa-Ad (2009). He summarized theories classified by

Williams (1975); Shipley (1977); Rawson (1983); Neaman & Silver (1983); Allan

& Burridge (1991) which are shortening, circumlocution, remodeling, semantic change, and borrowing. The choice of the theory is based on the types which are frequently found in written expression. Therefore, the specified types deal with the context of euphemism in this study.

2. Saheeh International’s Translation

Saheeh International’s Translation is an English translation of Holy

Qur’an with the name “The Qur’an: Arabic Text with Corresponding English

Meanings”. This study used the first edition of the translation which was published in 1997 by the Dar Abul Qasim Publishing House, Saudi Arabia. It is translated by a group of Muslim women those are Emily Assami, Mary Kennedy, and Amatullah Bantley.

Emily Assami (known as Umm Muhammad) was born in Southern

California in 1940 and embraced Islam in 1974 in Syria. In 1981, she moved to

Saudi Arabia and since 1991 she taught classes in tafseer and basic fiqh at Islamic

center in Jeddah. She has authored and revised more than 80 Islamic books in

English. Mary Kennedy and Amatullah Bantley were previously catholic and converted to Islam in 1986 and moved to Saudi Arabia (“Translation: Sahih

International,” n.d.). The three of them worked as a team to write the translation of Qur’an by adapting the moniker “Saheeh International” (means “authentic”).

Their work became one of the most influential and widely read English-language

Qur’anic translations in the world (Zavadski, 2017). Besides its popularity, however, many Muslims have incorrectly understood the words and meaning, mostly they whose mother tongue is Arabic and they misunderstand English terminologies. This matter comes from the choice of words or the use of euphemism in the translation which make readers confused the exact meaning of the words as this translation is properly recommended for English speaker rather than Arabic.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter deals with theories related to the study. In the first part, it discusses the theory of euphemisms which includes the definition, areas, and types of euphemisms. The second part provides the theory related to referents.

The last part discusses about Al-Qur’an which includes the translation of the

Qur’an and an overview of Surah Yusuf.

A. Theory of Euphemisms

1. Definition of Euphemisms

Euphemisms are expressions used to avoid the words which are considered to be taboo (prohibited words) which can be unpleasant, hateful, or sad words and expressions. Euphemisms substitute these expressions with more pleasant words depending on meanings. Murphy and Koskela (2010) state that euphemism is defined as an alternative way of describing something which makes it sound more pleasant than it really is. Similar to this definition, Aik and Hui (2009, p. 195) define euphemism as “A pleasant expression for something that is not pleasant”.

Moreover, Gomez (2009) asserts that the euphemism consists of pleasant words as the substitution of an unpleasant one which is avoided in scope of religion, fear, ethics, or decency. All the definitions do not differ very much, as a whole, euphemisms are described as the replacement of unpleasant words with more pleasant words that language speakers use in order to avoid embarrassment in certain situation, or to avoid mentioning names or words considered taboos.

The use of euphemisms has variety of purposes, as Khanfar (2012) states that euphemism is used to disguise the reality of things that people say to listener or reader and to convey the tabuism at some instinctual level which holds us at a safe distance from the taboo itself. Another purpose is to elevate the status of something (e.g., using educator for teacher, attorney for lawyer). Moreover, euphemism is often used to hide unpleasant or disturbing ideas, even when the literal meaning for it is not necessarily offensive, and sometimes used to hide or blur the truth e.g., in politics.

2. Areas of Euphemisms

Areas of euphemisms in English are classified into different categories. As summarized by Khadra and Hadjer (2017), the areas can be described as below.

2.1 Euphemism connected with Religion

Religion is a set of beliefs held firmly by a group of people which is reflected in the expected beliefs and actions. All the topics and beliefs connected to religion should be handled carefully to avoid the misunderstanding and the misinterpretation of sacred concepts and beliefs. As Khadra and Hadjer (2017) states that Muslim should show reverence, politeness, and glorification of God, prophets, and religious symbols and issues. Therefore, to hide negative things related to that, people use euphemism as the replacement. To convey something which sounds taboo, it is better to hide it by using more abstract words. For instance, “no man has touched Maryam”. The word “touched” relates to sexual intercourse which is taboo in Islam. Therefore, the euphemism relates to area of

sex and also religion which is intended to hide the taboo word for Maryam, one of glorified women in Islam.

Euphemism connected with religion is also described as a religious term that used by worshippers when they are in temple by using only appropriate words

(Bryant, 1948, as cited in Alahj & Omer, 2017). In terms of religion, it is prohibited to mention the name of God carelessly. Consequently, many euphemistic expressions have been evolved for the sake of the sacred name, especially in the doctrine of Christian and Buddhist. As the sign of courtesy to the holy name, Christian use euphemism for God and Jesus as Gosh and Gee, while

Buddhist call God as the Majesty, The Holy One, The Strong One, The Rock, The

Heaven, or The Stone.

In contrast with Christian and Buddhist, Muslims do not consider the other names of God as euphemism since calling Allah directly is not considered taboo in Muslim society. Therefore, among religions, the use of euphemism can be different depends on doctrine, beliefs, or culture in their societies.

2.2 Euphemism connected with Death

Death is a condition in which all biological functions that support living organisms cease permanently. It is one of the most taboo things in all societies, for that reason people do not talk about it directly. This is also the reason why many euphemisms exist on this area. Allan and Burridge (1991) said that the topic of death is taboo for people because they have always been scared of dying. So far, the fear of people is caused by worries losing relatives or close friends after death.

There are some euphemistic expressions for death taken from Samoskaite

(2011): Bite the dust, breath one’s last,casket, early departed, kick the bucket, pass away, remains, journey’s end , big D, memorial house, room of mediation, and one-way trip are amongst the examples of the euphemistic expression for death.

2.3 Euphemism connected with Sex

Sex refers to the biological characteristics of women and men which are manifest in their different roles in reproduction that relates to intimate relation between them. Euphemisms are frequently used in the area related to sex. This area is considered taboo in most society in the world especially in Eastern countries. Because of that, many euphemistic terms related to sex have been created to hide the taboo. Al-Hamad and Salman (2013) classified euphemism in

Al-Quran into general topics, one of them is about sex. Euphemism for this area is divided by three aspects which are sexual acts, sexual organs, and menstruation.

a. Sexual Acts

From religious point of view, having sex is a taboo thing which is

sinful and prohibited act for unmarried couple, as in Christian and Islamic

religion. Therefore, it should be hidden. In English, terms for copulation

are considered as taboos. Hence, many euphemistic expressions have been

developed in English to refer to sexual acts and relations. Some of

expressions are act of love, bed time business, have sexual intercourse

with, have union with, sleep together, and match with (Gura, 2005).

b. Sexual Organs

In all societies, to mention certain sexual parts directly is forbidden

because they are considered taboos and filthy words. Because of that, there

have been 2.200 terms which refer to male and female sex organs (Allan

and Burridge, 1991, as cited in Fernandez, 2015). Some examples of the

expressions are cherry (virginity), pussy (vulva), clit (clitoris), cock, prick,

and ball (Allan & Burridge, 2006). This huge number of synonyms help

people talk about sex organs easily with others without name them directly

c. Menstruation

In some cultures, the menstruating woman is viewed as a source of

danger and insult. For instance, people of rural area in Nepal still believe

that a menstruating woman who stay at house is bad luck which can make

the house catch fire, the family members become ill, or a wild animal

attack (Chrisler & Gorman, 2020). For that reason, the people use

euphemistic expressions related to menstruation. The following

expressions are used to help people talk of period easily: Be sick, come

around, come on, unwell, domestic affairs, female physiology, female

hygiene, have a visitor, monthly blues, stomach cramp, under the weather,

have stomachache, my time, women’s things, and the wrong time of the

month.

2.4 Euphemism connected with Health

Health refers to the mental or physical condition of a person not merely about disease or infirmity. Euphemisms related to health are very helpful to

speakers to avoid unspeakable topics which may hurt someone’s feeling. As health sometimes refers to sensitive or offensive issue. This area of euphemism is divided into two specific areas which are serious disease and disability.

a. Serious Disease

These are some examples of serious diseases which are difficult to

discuss openly. One of the most serious diseases that should be hidden is

cancer. Allan and Burridge (2006) mention some euphemistic expressions

to replace the word “cancer”. Doctors avoid to use the word cancer when

mention it to their patients because of reluctance, but they use “mitotic

disease”, “the Big C”, or “CA” instead of cancer, while patients refer to

use “growth” and “tumor” instead of “cancer”. Another serious disease

that should not be mentioned directly is AIDS (Acquired Immune-

Deficiency Syndrome). Because of that, it is expressed by using various

abbreviations like: PWA (Person with AIDS) and PLA/PLWA (person

living with AIDS).

b. Disability

Similar to Arab society, English has also treated the people who

suffer from physical and mental disabilities in a sensitive way in order to

improve their ability and power. According to the American Heritage

Book of English Usage (1996, as cited in Salih, 2013), calling people as

disabled or handicapped is being too negative, thus, using the word

“challenged” to substitute them gives a positive attitude to depict people

with disabilities. The psychotic or mad person should be also called

euphemistically, Allan and Brridge (1991) give some euphemisms for

insanity or madness: Mentally challenged, mentally deficient, cracked-

brain, unbalanced, out of lunch, and unhinged.

2.5 Euphemism connected with Human Body

Human body is frequently used as the object to be humiliated and some parts of it are also taboo to be mentioned directly. Because of that, the euphemisms for this area have been developed. Euphemism related to human body parts and body excretions is discussed in this field.

a. Body Parts

There are some parts of body that should not be mentioned without

having euphemism. Body parts like breast, groins, and the backside should

be expressed indirectly to avoid embarrassment because they are the most

sensitive human body parts (Salih, 2013). “Breasts” or “mammary glands”

are still taboo to mention directly. They are euphemized by using words

like blossom, chest, or front. “Buttocks” (the backside of human body) are

also euphemistically replaced as behind, bottom, rear, seat, or end.

b. Body Excretions

Allan and Burridge (2006) believe that people feel embarrassed

when expressing and talking about human body excretions like “urination”

and “defecation” because it will lead to verbal insult. These are some

euphemistic expressions referred to urination given by Allan and Burridge:

Ease yourself, pay a visit, go to bathroom, and wash your hands. Whereas

euphemistic expressions referred to “defecate” taken from Allan and

Burridge (1991) are discharge, go to bathroom, have a bowel movement or

have BM, and eliminate. Gabay (2005) also believe that places where

urination and defecation occur should be euphemized too. He gives some

euphemistic expressions to denote these places, they are bathroom,

comfort station, hygiene facilities, and house of commons.

2.6 Euphemism connected with Aging

Aging refers to physical changes that slow down the body's functions during old age. It is a taboo matter in western country, especially in modern area.

According to Burridge (2012), aging is underestimated from the point of view of the burden placed on society. It is an ironic that increasing life expectancy with modern medicine to old people adds to negative perceptions about old age.

Longer life means more exposure to disease and poor health and this means a greater burden on their relatives. The presence of anti-aging creams adds to the impression that aging is something unexpected. For that reasons, Westerners avoid talking of getting older and its weaknesses even though it is inevitable. In western culture, calling someone as an old man is not respectable, because of that reason, people should be called euphemistically “senior citizen” (Pinsker, 2020).

Other euphemistic terms related to aging are “grey hairs” and “white hairs” for old age, “greying” for aging, “go grey” and “turn white” for to age, and

“greybeard” for old man.

2.7 Euphemism connected with Business

Business refers to the organized efforts and activities of individuals to gain a profit. Euphemism connected with business is discussed in the area of

employment and financing. Expressions referred to jobs have been developed to avoid insulting people who are working in low position (Hunter & Ross, 2013).

For example, “Exterminating engineer”, it is used to refer to “ratcatcher”.

Expression like reduction, in force, relieve, redundant, to reduce the head count, to be selected out, and to seek fresh denote the unemployment. Another area dealing with business is financial problems. For instance, “economically disadvantaged” as replacement of “poor”.

3. Types of Euphemisms

There are many linguists proposing the types of euphemism. Li-na (2015) divides euphemism into three formations, they are phonetic means, semantic means, and grammatical means. In phonetic means, euphemism is created by using unstressed and phonetic distortion, while in semantic means, it is created depending on meaning change. Furthermore, in grammatical means, the use of grammar can determine whether it is a euphemism or not.

Different from the previous theory, Rawson (1981, as cited in Jdetawy,

2019) divided euphemism into two types: Positive euphemism and negative euphemism. These two types of euphemism are determined by the impact and value of politeness. Thus, positive euphemism consists of a pleasant feeling and make the euphemistic items seem more important than they actually are.

Meanwhile, negative euphemism is deflated and diminishes the meaning of euphemistic item; make them less pleasant or neutral.

For this study, I used the types of euphemisms proposed by Kaosa-Ad

(2009). As summarized by Kaosa-Ad, there are five main types of euphemisms which can be described in the figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 Types of Euphemisms

3.1 Shortening

When people find words that they do not dare to mention, they replace them with shortened words. This type is divided into five processes, they are abbreviation, backformation, diminutive, omission, and apocopation.

a. Abbreviation

According to Meyer (2009) abbreviation is a kind of shortening

which is formed by combining the first letters of two or more words to

form a single word. Unlike acronyms which are can be pronounced as a

single word, the letters of the abbreviations have to be spelled out and are

typed or written by using capital letters. For example, “LGBT” is an

abbreviation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. It is used to

diminish negative impression of the words. b. Backformation

According to Meyer (2009), Fromkin, Hyams, and Rodman

(2003), backformation can be regarded as words which are formed by

deleting affixes or parts assumed as affixes. For example, the word

“burgle” which is an example of a backformation derived from the word

burglar, can also be used as a euphemism for the word rob. Other

examples are “euthanize” (euthanasia), “liaise” (liaison), and “laze” (lazy). c. Diminutive

Diminutive can be defined as the shortening of a word done by

adding a suffix which indicates affection or smallness (Kaosa-Ad, 2009).

In English, the suffixes forming diminutive are -let, -kins, -ie, -y, etc. For

example, as mentioned by Kaosa-Ad, the word “hienie”, which is a

diminutive of the expression hind end, can be used as a euphemism to

mean buttock. d. Omission

This type of shortening is done by deleting some letters of a word,

usually by replacing them with dashes (Allan & Burridge, 1991 as cited in

Kaosa-Ad, 2009), for instance, “f---" for having sex. However, it is also

common to replace the words with asterisk. For instance, “s***” instead of

shit.

e. Clipping

Clipping can be described as the shortening by deleting some parts

of a word to produce a shorter word with the same meaning, for instance

the word of “nation” for damnation.

f. Apocopation

Apocopation is a process of shortening a word by deleting or

omitting the last syllable of a word. For instances, brassiere becomes

“bra”, Vampire becomes “Vamp”, and homosexual becomes “homo”

(Rawson, 1981, as cited in Jdetawy, 2019).

3.2 Circumlocution

This type of euphemism can be explained as a phonological modification which uses many words to explain an expression by widening its meaning (Allan

& Burridge, 2006). For instances, “Middle Eastern dancing” sounds better than belly dance, “little girl’s room” means toilet, and “postconsumer secondary material” is used instead of garbage. Sometimes, the word urine is replaced by

“Excrementitiously human kidney” and feces is replaced by “solid human waste”.

3.3 Remodeling

This type is divided into three types, namely:

a. Phonological distortion

This type is done by intentionally distorting the original

pronunciation of words (Allan & Burridge, 2006). For instance,

expressions for Christ are “pronounced cripes”, “crust”, “crumbs”, and

“crockery”. Also, hell is euphemized by “heck” or “shit”.

b. Blending

This type of remodeling is done by combining two or more words

to cause a phonological and orthographical change (Williams, 1975, as

cited in Kaosa-Ad, 2009). In the process of creating blends, there are

deletions of some parts of the words and the parts left are combined to

form new words. For instance, “gezunda” (a chamber pot), which is

derived from the fact that this object goes under the bed. Allan and

Burridge (1991) propose that most blending involves portmanteau words,

such as “strewth” (God’s truth), “zounds” (God’s wounds), and “drat”

(God’s rot).

c. Reduplication.

According to Booij (2012, p.35), reduplication is “the attachment

of a complete or partial copy of the base as a prefix or a suffix”. For

instances, “jeepers creeper” (Jesus Christ), “pee-pee” (piss), “twiddle-

diddles” (testicles), “tuzzy muzzy” (vagina), and “rantum-scantum”

(copulate).

3.4 Semantic Change

Semantic change typically focuses on outcomes of meaning change

(Traugott, 2017). As Akmal, Yusny, and Risdaneva (2017) assert that the main

concern of semantics is conventional or conceptual studies of the meaning of a language. This type is categorized into seven types, namely semantic shift, metaphorical transfer, widening, litotes, understatement, indirection, and abstraction.

a. Semantic shift

This subtype is divided into two: general-for-specific and part-for-

whole (Allan & Burridge, 1991). General-for-specific euphemism is a

euphemism which uses a general expression related to the specific

meaning such as the use of “go to bed” instead of having sex. Meanwhile,

part-for-whole euphemism is described as a euphemism which uses a part

of an expression to indirectly state the whole expression. For example,

“spend a penny” is a part-for-whole euphemism for the expression go to

the lavatory that we spend a penny (Kaosa-Ad, 2009).

b. Metaphorical transfer

Prayogi (2008, p.8) states in his research, metaphorical transfer

“refers to the using of an expression which is used to euphemize

something by metaphorically comparing with something else which has a

(or some) similar characteristic(s)”. Furthermore, according to Neaman

and Silver (1990), the original words are needed to romanticize, poeticize,

and soften. For instance, the word “blossom” is euphemistic for the word

pimple. Further examples are the “cavalry’s come” which means I have

got my period, and “go to the happy hunting grounds” is a euphemism for

die.

c. Widening

According to Martin (2015), widening can be described as the

process of changing the meaning of an expression into a more general or

abstract meaning. The euphemistic term can be too general which does not

relate closely to the actual meaning. For instances, the use of “growth” for

cancer and “foundation” for girdle. d. Litotes

Litotes is an expression used to state something by using its

negative form to underline a positive meaning. This type of euphemism is

created by replacing a negative word with the other negative expressions

which use negative prefixes (in-, un-, non-, de-, dis-, a-, anti-, im-, il-, ir-).

Thus, it is better to use “untidy” or “unclean” instead of dirty, “not bad”

for fair, “untruthful” for lying, “unwise” for foolish (Brook, 1981, as cited

in Gomaa & Shi, 2012). e. Understatement

According to Mudau (2016, p.67), “Understatement is instance

where the conventional meaning of a word fits the favoured contextual

referent, provided that the degree to which some feature of meaning

applies is made stronger”. This type is used to degrade the real meaning of

the expression being euphemized. For example, “(drug) habit”is used for

drug addiction, “sleep” (die), and “deed” (act of murder/rape). This type of

euphemism is often in ironic contrast to what is expected. For example,

people say “It’s a bit cold” to describe an extreme weather.

f. Indirection

Indirection is described as the using of another word referring to

the same object or thing with the euphemized word. By using indirection

form, a very sensitive topic or term can be alluded to in various ways by

mentioning one part of the subject, a circumstance involving it, a related

subject, or even by saying what it is not (Rawson, 1995, as cited in Jubran,

2019). For instance, an indirect euphemism for prison is “assembly

center”. Furthermore, in American culture, the act of breaking off contact

is interpreted as a sign indicating a withdrawal. For instance, “Soldiers

stop fighting when they break off contact with the enemy” means they

retreat.

g. Abstraction

As described by Kaosa-Ad (2009), abstraction more specifically

refers to the use of pronouns and words such as it, problem, situation, or

thing as the expressions that may contextually refer to issues such as

disaster, economic crisis, etc. On other word, people avoid to directly and

clearly state what matter really is. For instance, “an economic thing” might

refer to the state of slump, recession, or depression.

3. 5. Borrowing

Borrowing is the process of using words borrowed from foreign languages to function as euphemisms There are two types of borrowing, namely:

a. Internal borrowing

This type of euphemism can be done by substituting an expression

with sub languages, such as jargons and technical terms. For instance, a

disease such as syphilis can be made less offensive by using technical

jargon as “treponemal disease”, “luetic disease”, or “spirochetal disease”

(Burridge, 2012).

b. External borrowing

According to Rawson (1995, as cited in Sari & Refaldi, 2013),

most taboo words are usually rendered in French or Latin. For example,

the words of “personnel”, “sortie”, “triage” for war and “brassiere”,

“chemise”, “lingerie” for women’s underwear. Furthermore, Kaosa-Ad

(2009) describes that external-borrowing euphemism can be done by using

loan words to replace the negative local words since these have less

negative connotational meaning, it commonly comes from other

languages. For example, “halitosis” from the Latin halitus means bad

breath.

B. Theory of Referent

The term “referent” comes from the Latin referentem which is the present participle form of the verb referre (means carry back). Meyer (2009) briefly defines referent as what a word refers to. It is also defined in the Merriam-

Webster Dictionary as "one that refers or is referred to; especially: the thing that a symbol (as a word or sign) stands for”. A symbol is used to represent another thing through a picture, a letter, a spoken, or written word, while according to

Kisno (2012), the thing that the symbol identifies is the referent. It can be anything, from concrete objects to abstractions, such as an actual person or entity, or a set of actions (Nordquist, 2020).

In fields such as semantics, semiotics, and reference theory, a referent is different from a reference. Peplau (2004) states that reference is a relationship in which a symbol or sign (e.g. a word) means something, while the referent is the thing signified. It can be illustrated as follows:

“Princess Diana is one of most beautiful women in the world. The Rose of

England became a fashion icon in 80s”.

From the sentence, the referent of the Rose of England is Princess Diana, while the reference is the relationship between Princess Diana and Rose of England.

Engaged in the study of syntax, to identify a referent can be complex and need more attention. It can be illustrated by the following pair of sentences:

1) Before she dried off, Westy was wet.

2) She dried off because Westy was wet.

In the first sentence, “she” and “Westy” have the same referent because she refers to Westy and vice versa (same person), but in the second sentence, they normally have different referent.

Talking about euphemism, it is always related to a referent since every euphemistic expression has its actual meaning (called referent) which it refers to.

The referent related to euphemism is always a negative sense or the truth which speakers hide. Therefore, the referent can be harsh, blunt, unpleasant, or offensive

words which sound taboo. The examples of the use of euphemism and its referent exist in chapter Maryam verse 20 and An-Nisa verse 13 as follow:

1) “She said: "How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me,

and I am not unchaste?” (Maryam: 20)

2) “….That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those

whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the

membrane of a date seed” (An-Nisa: 13)

The word “touched” in Chapter Maryam has referent “husband-wife relationship (sexual intercourse)”. The referent sounds taboo since it refers to intimate act which people avoid to say directly. The type of euphemisms used is a semantic change which is semantic shift. Meanwhile, the term “the membrane of a date seed” used in Chapter An-Nisa refers to “complete poverty” which sounds denouncing to say directly. This kind of euphemism is also a semantic change which is metaphorical transfer.

To find a referent in euphemism and semantic or syntax can be slightly different. In semantic or syntax, a referent can be found directly in the text or the speech of speaker, while to find the referents in euphemisms requires experience and deeper understanding of the terms used. consequently, it can cause different understanding among communicators because of different experience or understanding.

According to Hirtle (2015, p. 107-108), “Every sentence has a referent: as the outcome of an act of language, a sentence refers to the speaker's experience.

Therefore, the referent of a sentence is part of the speaker's experience”.

Furthermore, he asserts that the task of linguists is just to understand and describe the nature of language in order to explain how it represents and expresses people’s experience and commutes it into something said, while their professional competence based on the ways of observation and analysis, does not extend beyond the frontiers of language.

C. Al-Quran

Al-Qur’an is the holy book of Islam which is the guidance of Muslim around the world. Deneffer (1989, p.9 as cited in Al-Qahtani, 2017) defines Al-

Quran as “The speech of Allah, sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, through the Angel Gabriel, in its precise meaning and precise wording, transmitted to us by numerous persons (tawatur), both verbally and in writing”.

Al-Qur’an has 30 juz (parts) with 114 surat (chapters). Each chapter is divided into ayat (verses), and the total number of them is 6236 verses.

According to Ibrahim (2016), the verses in Al-Qur’an are divided into two types based on the period of revelation. Those are Surah Makiyyah and Surah

Madaniyah. Surah Makiyyah was revealed before Prophet Muhammad hijrah

(migrate) to Madinah. It has short verses which mostly contains about faith, refutation of Pagonistic belief, day of judgement, reward, science, moral, etc.

Surah Madaniyyah was revealed after Prophet Muhammad hijrah to Madinah. It has longer verses which mostly contain the information about sharia law (Islamic law) and the code of life (Rizvi, 2018).

1. Translation of the Quran

Generally, translation is defined as a process of conveying a message from a language to another. There are many definitions of translation given by linguists.

According to Nugraha, Nugroho, and Rahman (2017), “Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text”. This definition stresses on rendering meaning of the Source Language (SL) text into the Target Language (TL) text as what is intended by the author.

Meanwhile, according to Kashgary (2011), the central idea of translation is finding out the equivalent words of SL in TL, so that the TL text contains the closest natural and accurate message to the SL text.

Talking about Al-Quran, it was revealed in Arabic language as mentioned in the second verse of Yusuf “Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an that you might understand”. This verse indicates that the original script of Al-

Quran is in Arabic (Al-Kabi, Wahsheh, Abuata, & Alsmadi, 2013). Even though the Quran is revealed in Arabic language, it is not only read by Arabians but all nations of the world. This Holy book is not only to be read, but also to be studied, understood, and applied in daily life. To understand the content of Al-Qur’an, therefore it is translated into many languages.

Najim (2010, p. 32-33) conveys that “Translation of Al-Qur’an is a translation that represents an interpretation of the meaning of a text in a SL to produce a text in a TL without distorting the source message”. This means that in translating the text’s meaning to the TL must be the same with that in the SL.

Therefore, every translator of Al-Qur’an should be able to convey the message of

the original transcript accurately in the TL by mastering the materials and understanding everything related to the two languages.

According to Deneffer (2009), Salman Farsi is the first translator of Quran who rendered the first chapter into Farsi in 7th century when new Persian converts asked him to translate some of the Quranic verses. The completed translation of

Al-Quran was first done in 884 in Alwar, India which is now is Pakistan. That translation was done by the command of Abdullah bin Umar bin Abdul Aziz.

The first Latin language translation was made by Robert of Ketton’s in

1143. Then, in 1647, it was rendered into French by Andre du Ryer entitled

Alcoran of Mahomet.In 1649, the first English language translation was made by

Alexander Ross (Matar, 2007). It was a non-direct translation based on a French version while the first direct translation was rendered in 1734 by George sale who directly produced a translation of the meaning of Quran from Arabic into English

(Al-Shabab, 2012).

According to Al-Jarf (2014), there are 62 translations of Quran in English which are spread over the world. Some of them are “The Qur’an” translated by

Mirza Abul Fazl in 1910, “The English Translation of the Holy Qur’an with

Commentary” translated by Maulana Muhammad Ali in 1917, “The Meaning of

The Glorious Koran” translated by Marmaduke Pickthall in 1930, “The Holy

Qur’an: Translation and Commentary” translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali in 1934,

“The Qur’an: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meanings” translated by

Umm Muhammad in 1997 under the pseudonym of Saheeh International,

“Interpretation of the Meaning of the Noble Qur’an” translated by Muhammad

Muhsin Khan and Muhammad Taqiuddin al-Hilali in 1999, and “The Magnificent

Qur’an: A 21th Century English Translation” translated by Ali Salami. There are many other translations of Al-Qur’an in different countries which are used by either the Muslims or non-Muslims to understand the content of the holy Quran.

In translating the Quran, some translators favored archaic English words and constructions, e.g. Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall who use the plural and singular "ye" and "thou" instead of the more common

"you" (Al-Jarf, 2014). In other hand, other translators use simple modern English,

E.g. Umm Muhammad (in Saheeh International) who choose contemporary wording and carefully place them to resemble the original Arabic (Hassen, 2011).

Some translators also add commentary of the verses, translated the meaning of the verses, while others give a word-for-word translation. These are the techniques used by the translators which make translations of Quran vary in style and accuracy.

In matter of accuracy, Umm Muhammad paid attention to authentic sources of hadith and interpretation, made comparisons with previous classic

English translations, and reviewed every verse of Al-Quran in Arabic with reference to several Arabic interpretation and grammar works. In addition, she added footnotes where deemed necessary for explanation or when more than one meaning is acceptable. The result is a highly accessible and reliable work that can be used by anyone who wants to learn the authentic meaning of the Qur'an.

2. Overview of Surah Yusuf

The chapter of Yusuf describes the story of the Prophet Yusuf (Joseph in

English) the son of Yaʿqub (Jacob in English). It is the twelfth surah of the Qur’an which consists of 111 verses and it is Surah Makiyyah. The story of Yusuf has a well-developed theme, and is considered as one of the most interesting and much- adored stories in the Qur'an (Sidani, 2015). It is because of the lessons and advice, and the way things change from one condition to another. For example, from insults to almighty strengths, from weaknesses to power, and from separation to unity. Moreover, Narongraksakhet (2018) believes that:

The story of the Prophet Yusuf is one of the most detailed and fascinating stories revealed as the twelfth surah of the holy Quran. It involves both human weaknesses such as jealousy, hatred, pride, passion, and deception, as well as noble qualities such as patience, loyalty, bravery, nobility, and compassion.

Abdul-Rahman (2012) told that the story of the Prophet Joseph began with a dream where the Prophet Joseph saw eleven stars, the sun, and moon prostrated before him. When he mentioned the dream to his father, Ya’qub, he knew that his son would become someone great, so he asked Yusuf to keep the dream to himself as a secret and not tell anyone about it. Yaʿqub was worried about Joseph's safety if any of his brothers knew about his dream and the feelings behind it. Yusuf's brothers envied him because they knew that he held a special position in their father's heart. Even though they did not know about the dream, they decided to get rid of Yusuf. They believe that, as long as Yusuf was present, no one would receive a fair care of their father. Finally, the brothers planned to get rid of it.

Time by time, many problems began to occur in the prophet Yusuf ‘s life in

different phases as they are narrated in the verses of Surah Yusuf in chronological order. At the end of the story, the dream of Yusuf came true. All eleven of his brothers bow and humble themselves for Yusuf. It represents the stars in his dreams, and his father and mother who finally unite with him represent the sun and the moon.

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the description of research methodology used in this study. It includes research design, materials of analysis, and procedure of the analysis.

A. Research Design

This study applied qualitative research. According to Creswell (2012), qualitative research is used to discover and explore the variables which are not identified yet. Furthermore, Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014) state that qualitative research uses the data which is in the form of words rather than numbers. Specifically, this study used descriptive qualitative research as research design. Isaac and Michael (1995, p. 50, as cited in Inayatillah, 2018, p. 27) state

“The purpose of descriptive research is to describe systematically the facts and characteristic of a given population or area of interest, factually and accurately”.

This study is a qualitative because it discussed the research problem in which the variables were unknown and required exploration (Rizki & Golubovic,

2020). Moreover, it employed descriptive research in order to figure out the types of euphemisms used and their referents. As McCombes (2020) believe that

“Descriptive research is an appropriate choice when the research aim is to identify characteristics, frequencies, trends, and categories”. In addition, it was implemented because the data analysis was discussed descriptively.

This study attempted to discover the types of euphemisms used in Saheeh

International’s translation of Al-Qur’an which is in the form of text through deep understanding. It was carried out by collecting the data, reading the data, classifying the data, and analyzing the data. This study also pointed out the referents related to those euphemisms in the verses by identifying actual meanings which were supported by Hans Wehr’s dictionary of Arabic to English by (1976) and Ibn Katsir’s interpretation of Al-Qur’an by Abdul-Rahman (2012). Even though this study is qualitative, it used numbers to support the finding in order to know the total number of occurrences and dominant aspect, not the main focus.

B. Materials of Analysis

The material of analysis of the study is the English Translation of Al-

Qur’an “The Qur’an: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meanings” by

Saheeh International. This study analyzed the twelfth chapter of Al-Qur’an which is Surah Yusuf that consists of 111 verses. This surah is in page of 308 to 325 of the translation of the holy Al-Qur’an.

C. Procedure of Analysis

In collecting the data, I used document analysis method. As Bowen (2009) states that document analysis is a method of qualitative research in which the researcher interprets documents to give meaning to the subject of evaluation. In analyzing the data, I employed qualitative content analysis method. It is a method to describe the meaning of qualitative data systematically (Schreier, 2014), or defined as “a research method for subjective interpretation of the content of text data through the systematic classification of coding and identifying themes or

patterns” (Hsieh, Hsiu-Fang, Shannon, & Sarah, 2005, p.1278). Furthermore, in order to ease the research, I used codes or labels in all types of euphemisms. As

Gibbs (2007) believes that coding is used to establish a framework of ideas to be analyzed.

The data of this study are collected and analyzed through steps as follow:

1. Reading and understanding the whole text of Surah Yusuf in English

translation of Al-Quran by Saheeh International which consists of 111

verses.

2. Checking the translation of the verses by using the Hans Wehr’s dictionary

of Arabic to English.

3. Finding the verses that are indicated euphemisms in the form of words,

phrases, or sentences based on the areas of euphemisms by reading Ibn

Katsir’s interpretation of Al-Qur’an and previous studies of euphemisms

conducted in Al-Qur’an.

4. Sorting them into the different types of euphemism by Kaosa-Ad

(Shortening, circumlocution, remodeling, semantic change, borrowing).

5. Determining the referents of the euphemisms.

6. Interpreting the data.

7. Making conclusion.

CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the research findings and discussion of the types of euphemisms and their referents used in Saheeh International’s translation of Al-

Qur’an within Surah Yusuf. The findings are the answers of research questions found from the analysis which are presented in a table, while the discussion is the elaboration about the result of analysis and the explanation of the euphemisms and their referents.

A. Findings

In this study, I only focused on five types of euphemism proposed by

Kaosa-Ad (2009) which are abbreviation, circumlocution, remodeling, semantic change, and borrowing. After analyzing the data, I found some types of euphemism and their referents used in the Surah Yusuf. Table 4.1 presents the result of analysis which answers both the research questions (types of euphemism and referents).

Table 4.1 Result of Analysis

Types of Euphemisms Euphemistic Term Verse Referent Freq. Semantic Change 20 Litotes The unaware 3 Negligent Unaware 13 Careless Immorality 24 Adultery Disbelievers 37 Infidel Not learned 44 Stupid Widening Plan 28 Deception Plan 33 Deception Plan 34 Deception

Plan 50 Deception Understatement Punishment 25 Torment Error 28 Astray Error 30 Astray Error 95 Astray Semantic Shift Intended Evil 25 Desired to rape Wrongdoers 23 Oppressor The wrongdoers 75 Oppressor Metaphorical Became white 84 Blind Transfer The end 109 Destruction Abstraction It 77 Exasperation Indirection Come, you! 23 Let us have sex!

Borrowing 4 External Satan 5 Devil Borrowing Satan 42 Devil Satan 100 Devil Bedouin life 100 Wild life

Circumlocution 2 A mixture of false 44 A pipe dream dreams Weakened in mind 94 Senile

Total 26 Note. Freq. = Frequency

Table 4.1 shows the lists of the euphemisms and their referents found in

Surah Yusuf in Saheeh International’s translation of Al-Qur’an. I found three of the five types of euphemisms used in this surah which are semantic change, borrowing, and circumlocution. There were 26 euphemistic terms and their referents in total. Specifically, there were 20 data in semantic change. As shown in the table, all sub-types of semantic change appeared in the surah. Furthermore, there were four data found in borrowing type. This type has two sub-types, but it only existed in form of external borrowing without any internal borrowing term.

In addition, form of circumlocution occurred two times in the surah.

B. Discussion

As shown in the table 4.1, it can be seen that the most dominant type of euphemism appeared in surah Yusuf was semantic change. This occurrence indicated that readers of Saheeh International’s translation have to understand and comprehend the meaning of euphemisms deeply since the type of semantic change deal with the change of meanings which might cause different understanding to the readers. Meanwhile, there were no euphemistic terms in the types of abbreviation and remodeling found in the surah. It caused by the reason that Burridge (2012) proposes this kind of remodeling as phonological remodeling which more likely to appear in oral or spoken form rather than in written text.

Furthermore, since Al-Quran is a crucial book for Muslims which cannot be translated at will, the term of shortening did not appear in this study likely due to the formality of Al-Qur’an which uses formal and raw language for avoiding misunderstanding because of lack information.

Comparing with previous studies, there are some similarities and differences between this study and the study conducted by other researchers.

Novianti, Sari, and Marlina (2018) analyzed types of euphemism used in celebrity news which was published in People.com website and found that there are four types of euphemism used which are Shortening (abbreviation, apocopation, omission, clipping), circumlocution, semantic change (semantic shift,

Metaphorical Transfer, widening, overstatement), and borrowing (external).

Similar with this research, the most dominant type of euphemism found is semantic change. In addition, they also found only the form of external borrowing

of euphemism used in the website. In contrast to this study, they found the shortening type which did not appear in English Translation by Saheeh

International. Besides, there is no term of abbreviation type appeared in their result. Moreover, Sari, Refnaldi, and Rosa (2013) also conducted a research about euphemism in written text. They identified the euphemism used in language of politic in Padang Express newspaper and only found two types of euphemism which are semantic change (semantic shift, metaphorical transfer, understatement, indirection, abstraction) and borrowing (external borrowing and internal borrowing). Different with the result of this study, they found both internal and external borrowing terms. However, they did not discover the type of shortening, circumlocution, and remodeling.

As there were 26 euphemistic terms found in the surah, the total of referents equaled to the occurrences. The euphemistic terms and their referents were discussed based on the three types of euphemisms (semantic change; borrowing; circumlocution) found in the surah.

1. Semantic Change

Below are the verses which contain euphemism of semantic change which are litotes, widening, understatement, semantic shift, metaphorical transfer, abstraction, and indirection.

1.1 Litotes

Litotes is a type of euphemisms which is created commonly by using a word with negative prefixes (in-, un-, non-, de-, dis-, a-, anti-, im-, il-, ir-). There

are five data of litotes found in Surah Yusuf which occur in the 3rd verse, 13th verse, 24th verse, 37th verse, and 44th verse.

1. Verse: 3

لحم حنُ قح بْلهُ م ْنُ كنْ حتُ حوإ ُْن الْ قْرآ حنُ َٰحهحذا إلحيْ حكُ أحْوحيْ نحا ِبحا الْحق حص صُ أح ْح حس حنُ عحلحيْ حكُ ن ُح ق صُ حَنْ نُ

الْغحافل حيُ

“We relate to you, [O Muhammad], the best of stories in what We have

revealed to you of this Qur'an although you were, before it, among the

unaware”

The euphemistic term mentioned in the third verse of Surah Yusuf is the word “the unaware”. It is translated in Wehr’s dictionary as “negligent, careless, heedless, inadvertent”. According to Ibn Katsir’s Interpretation, this term referred to Prophet Muhammad and shahabat who asked Allah to narrate a great story.

Then, Allah revealed this verse and replied them that Al-Quran was enough for what they asking for. In the last of the verse, Allah emphasized that Prophet

Muhammad was one of them who was negligent about it. Therefore, the referent for the word “unaware” was “negligent”.

This term of euphemism is considered as litotes because the word still has negative sense but it is less offensive than the real meaning. It also uses negative prefix which is the main characteristic of litotes (Ying & Yuan, 2017).

Furthermore, since the euphemism intends to give respectful terms for the

prophethood, thus, this euphemism connects with the area of religion which keeps the Prophet’s entity in safe line.

2. Verse: 24

ۡ ۡ ۡ ۡ ڪ ٲ ....حوٱلحفح حشآءُح ٱل سٓوءُح عحنهُ لنحص ر حفُ ذُح ل حكُ ....

“…., And thus [it was] that We should avert from him evil and

immorality,…”

The word “immorality” is a euphemism used in the verse 24. This term is translated from Arabic word, “faḥsyā”. In Wehr’s dictionary, the word is translated as “monstrosity, abomination, atrocity, adultery, vile deed, fornication, whoredom”. This verse told that Yusuf and Aziz’s wife would have inclined to each other, but Allah turned him away from all types of evils and immoral sins.

From the context of the ayah, Ibn Katsir interprets the word “faḥsyā” as illegal sexual activity or adultery. Therefore, the referent of the euphemism is “adultery”.

As the replacement of the actual meaning, the term “immorality” covers the unpleasant expression for Prophet Yusuf since adultery is a taboo thing in

Islam and prohibited for unmarried couple (Bello, 2009). In addition, it means that this expression connected with the area of sexual act.

3. Verse: 37

ۡ ۡ .... ۡ ۡ َّ ۡ َّ حك َٰف روحُن همُ بٱۡلحخحرةُ حو هم بٱ َُّّلل ي ؤمن وحُن ّلُ قح ومُ ملةُح تح حرك تُ إ ّنُ

“…., Indeed, I have left the religion of a people who do not believe in

Allah, and they, in the Hereafter, are disbelievers”

The word “disbelievers” in verse 37 is categorized as a euphemism. It referred to people who have no faith in God. According to Wehr, “kāfirụn” means

“irreligious, infidel”. From the statement “I have left the religion of a people who do not believe in Allah”, it meant that the people had religion but did not believe in Allah. Thus, the word “irreligious” is not the referent of the euphemism, but, the word “infidel” is more appropriate for the context of the ayah.

The word “infidel” sounds more offensive because it is a sensitive issue in

Islamic society (Herrag, 2012). Thus, the word “disbelievers” covers the offensive one without diminish the real meaning. Since the term relates to faith, it is clear that the use of the euphemism connects with the area of religion.

4. Verse: 44

بعحالم حيُ اْۡلح ْححَلمُ بُتحأْ وي لُ حَنْ نُ حوحما ُۖ أح ْححَلمُ أح ْضغحا ثُ قحال وا

“They said, "[It is but] a mixture of false dreams, and we are not learned

in the interpretation of dreams””

The euphemistic term used in the verse 44 is the word “not learned”.

According to Ibn Katsir’s interpretation, this verse told that the king who had a dream asked the priests, chief of state, and princes to interpret the dream for him, but they did have no knowledge and skill in interpretation of dreams. Thus, the term “not learned” is negation form for the word “stupid”. It is regarded taboo

evoked by the reasons that calling someone stupid directly refers to disadvantage things and deals with slowness, short-minded, and simple-minded (Sari, 2008).

Therefore, the use of euphemistic term tends to avoid judging the capability and weakness of a person.

This euphemism is considered as litotes since it negates the opposite of stupid. It also covers the negative intended interpretation. The use of the euphemism comes from its original word “ālimīn” (means learn) that there is no change in its real translation. Therefore, this euphemistic expression comes from the original transcript of Al-Quran.

1.2 Widening

Widening is a euphemism created by changing the meaning of an expression into a more general or abstract meaning. The euphemistic term can be too general which does not relate closely to the actual meaning. There are four euphemistic terms of widening used in Surah Yusuf. They exist in the 28th verse,

33rd verse, 34th verse, and 50th verse.

1. Verse: 33

…. ا ْْلحاهل حيُ م حنُ حوأح ك ْنُ إلحيْه َّنُ أح ْص بُ عحنّي حكيْحد ه َّنُ تح ْص ر ْفُ حوإَّّلُ

“…., And if You do not avert from me their plan, I might incline toward

them and [thus] be of the ignorant.”

2. Verse: 34

ۡ ۡ ۡ .… حكيحد ه َّنُ عحنُهُ فح حصحر حفُ ۥ حرب هُ ۥ لحهُ فحٱستح حجا حبُ

“So his Lord responded to him and averted from him their plan,….”

The euphemistic term used in 33rd verse and 34th verse is the word

“plan”. This term is translated from Arabic “kaidun”. According to Wehr’s dictionary, “kaidun” means “ruse, artifice, stratagem, craftiness, cunning, subtlety, slyness, deception, deceit, artful plot, trick, dodge”.

In the verse 33 and 34, Allah told that Yusuf (Peace be upon him) was immune from error by His will, and He saved him from accepting the advances of the Aziz’s wife. Yusuf preferred prison rather than accept her illicit call. Because of that, in this verse, Yusuf thanked to Allah because if Allah did not help him, he would have been deceived by woman's deception and included those who were ignorant. Therefore, the word “plan” in this verse referred to women’s

“deception”.

Mahon (2015) defined deception as to intentionally cause someone to have false beliefs that are known or believed to be wrong. This word was frequently used to describe Satan’s effort to plunges man into error as Taqiuddin Al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan used the word “deception” in their translation book of Al-Qur’an in Surah An-Nisa verse 120. The term is in accordance with the action of the women who make accusations or false statements about Yusuf which is one of Satan’s bad characteristic.

This euphemistic term is considered widening because of the reason that it uses a very general term to represent the actual meaning. This term may cause different understanding among readers because the word “plan” sounds neutral which can be positive or negative sense.

1.3 Understatement

Understatement is a euphemism which degrade the real meaning of the expression being euphemized. The euphemisms of understatement found in Surah

Yusuf exist in four verses which are 25th verse, 8th verse, 30th verse, 95th verse.

1. Verse: 25

ۡ ۡ ۡ ۡ ۡ ....أحلي مُ عححذا بُ أحوُ ي س حج حنُ أحنُ إَّّلُٓ سٓوءًُا ِبحهل حكُ أححراحدُ حمنُ حجحزآءُ حما قحالحتُ

“…., She said, "What is the recompense of one who intended evil for your

wife but that he be imprisoned or a painful punishment?”

The euphemistic term used in the verse 25 is “punishment”. This term is translated from Arabic “’ażābun”. According to Wehr’s dictionary, the word

“’ażābun” means “torment, suffering, agony, torture”. The verse 25 of Surah

Yusuf told about Aziz’s wife who suggested her husband for judging Yusuf whom she accused would rape her. He would be imprisoned or beaten by hard and painful blows. From the story, the choice of word “punishment” referred to the moment of judgement, not to the eternal state. Therefore, the referent of the euphemism “punishment” is “torment”. As Ibn Katsir prefer the word “torment”

instead of “punishment” for the translation of the word in his book of interpretation.

The word “torment” was considered taboo because it referred to extreme physic or mental suffering which was too cruel to express directly (Reyes, 2007).

Thus, the use of word “punishment” degraded the sense of action which sounded offensive. Ironically, the euphemism contained a meaning that was stronger than what was stated. Therefore, this kind of euphemism is classified as an understatement.

2. Verse: 30

…. مب ُي حضلح َٰ لُ فُ لحنح حرٮَٰ حها إَّّنُ

“…., Indeed, we see her [to be] in clear error.”

The euphemistic term used in the 30th verse was the word “error”. This term was translated from Arabic “ḍalāl”. According to Wehr’s dictionary,

“ḍalālun” means “a straying from the right path or from truth”. It is clear that the referent for the word “error” is “astray”.

The word “ḍalāl”is considered taboo since it leads to negative issue. For example, the word “ḍalāl”which is in the seventh verse of Surah Al-Fatihah refers to people who are astray and deviate from the truth (Siddiqui, 2014). Moreover, astray is related to the aim of Satan in deceiving human (Yahya, 2020). The euphemism sounds more neutral and less offensive, but it underestimates the

actual meaning which one of great issue in Islam. Therefore, this euphemism is considered as an understatement.

1.4 Semantic Shift

This kind of euphemism is created by using terms which relate to the actual meaning or a part of them. There are three data related to semantic shift which are found in Surah Yusuf. They are in the verse 25, 23, and 75.

1. Verse: 25

ۡ ۡ ۡ ۡ ۡ ,... أحلي مُ عححذا بُ أحوُ ي س حج حنُ أحنُ إَّّلُٓ سٓوءًُا ِبحهل حكُ أححراحدُ حمنُ حجحزآءُ حما قحالحتُ

“…, She said, "What is the recompense of one who intended evil for your

wife but that he be imprisoned or a painful punishment?”

According to Ibn Katsir’s interpretation, this verse told that Yusuf and the wife of Aziz competed to reach door because she tried to seduced Yusuf to commit zina (adultery). Yusuf was running away from her, while she caught him to bring him back to the room. Unfortunately, the wife pulled him from his back until his shirt was torn. Suddenly, they saw the Aziz who stood at the door. Then, she responded by plotting an evil idea. She distorted the fact that she was the victim and accused Yusuf intended to rape her.

The euphemism of the verse is the word “intended evil”. From the story, it is clear that the referent for the word “intended evil” is “desired to rape”. It sounds less repulsive than the intended meaning. Rape is something taboo to be discussed because it is sinful and prohibited in most of religions and countries, especially

Islam (Azam, 2013). For that reasons, it should be hidden. In this verse, Al-Quran uses more pleasant words for the sake of this issue. The use of this euphemistic term is considered as a general-for-specific euphemism because it uses a more general expression that rape is one of evil acts. As Allan and Burridge (1991) stated that general-for-specific euphemism uses a general expression related to the specific meaning.

2. Verse:23

ۡ ,.… ٱلظَّ َٰل موحنُ ي فل حُ حّلُ ۥ إنَّهُ

“…., Indeed, wrongdoers will not succeed”

Umm Muhammad uses a euphemistic term in the 23th verse of Surah

Yusuf which is the term “wrongdoers”. It is translated from the Arabic word

“ẓālimụn/ẓālimīn”. According to Wehr’s dictionary, the word “ẓālimụn/ẓālimīn” means “unjust, iniquitous, tyrant, oppressor, offender, sinner”.

“Zālimụn/ẓālimīn” refers to a person who violates other people’s right. It is also used to symbolize the characteristic of a person who is cruel, harsh, inhumane, and likes to see people in suffering and misery, commits munkar

(sleaze), persecution, destruction of property, injustice and many other terms that can be drawn from this term which is basically very contrary to human morals and nature (Aisha, 2020). Because of that, the appropriate word to describe all the characteristic is the “oppressor”. Thus, the referent of the euphemism is

“oppressor”.

The word “ẓālimụn/ẓālimīn” sounds rude. While, the term “wrongdoers” sounds less offensive. The use of this term is considered appropriate for non-

Muslim readers, but it may cause rejection from hardliner Muslim group. This term is considered as a general-for-specific euphemism because it uses a more general expression to substitute an expression having a more specific meaning where the “oppressor” is one of examples of the “wrongdoer”.

1.5 Metaphorical Transfer

Metaphorical transfer is an expression euphemized by comparing with something else which has a (or some) similar characteristic (s), In this sub-type of semantic change, there are two data found which are in the verse 84 and verse

109.

1. Verse:84

َّ حكظي ُم فح هحوُ ا ْْل ْزُن م حنُ عحيْ نحاهُ حوابْ يح َّض ْتُ ي و س حفُ عحلح َٰىُ أح حسحف َٰىُ حيُ حوقحاحُل عحنْ هْمُ حوتح حو َّٰلُ

“And he turned away from them and said, "Oh, my sorrow over Joseph,"

and his eyes became white from grief, for he was [of that] a suppressor”

The euphemistic term used in the 84th verse of Surah Yusuf is the word

“became white”. According to Ibn Katsir’s Interpretation, this verse told that

Ya’qub got new grief of losing his sons, Binyamin and Rubin, which renew

Ya’qub’s old sadness of losing his beloved son, Yusuf. He suppressed his sorrow and did not complain to Allah about it. But, he spent his days with tears until he lost his sight because of the sorrow.

From the explanation above, the statement “his eyes became white” means

“he was blind”. Therefore, the referent for “became white” is “blind”. This word is considered as metaphorical transfer because it is metaphorically compared with colour which has similar characteristic with blind eyes which is indicated by white color. As Burridge (2012) also metaphorically compared “to age” with the term

“turn white”.

Calling someone as blind man sounds negative and offensive

(Gernsbacher, Raimond, Balinghasay, & Boston, 2016). Thus, using the word

“white” to substitute it gives a positive sense to depict someone’s condition with this disability. Furthermore, this term connected with the area of health because it relates to someone’s disability.

2. Verse: 109

ۡ ۡ ۡ َّ ۡ ۡ ۡ ....قح بلهُُم من ٱلذي حنُ عح َٰقبحةُ حكا حُن حكي حفُ فح يحنظ رواُْ ٱۡلحر ضُ فُ يحسُري واُْ أحفح لحمُ....

“…., so have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was

the end of those before them?,….”

According Ibn Katsir’s interpretation, this verse was addressed to people who rejected Prophet Muhammad as a messenger. It told them to take the lesson from the past incidents held in a nation which is destroyed by Allah because of rejection of the messengers before Prophet Muhammad. Thus, the word “the end” in the verse means “destruction”. It sounds softer than it really is. It is also considered metaphoric since it has similar characteristic with “destruction” that both of the words refer to the closing or finishing of something (Kershaw, 2011).

In addition, the use of this euphemism may cause ambiguity for readers since they need further information. To overcome this obstacle the readers can get an interpretation book from many scholars.

1.4 Abstraction

This type of euphemism refers to the use of pronouns and words such as

“it, problem, situation, thing” as the expressions that may contextually refer to the issue concerned. There is only one euphemistic term of abstraction in Surah Yusuf which was found in the 77th verse.

1. Verse: 77

حش ُر أحنْ ت ْمُ قحاحلُ ُۖ حَل ْمُ ي بْدحها ن حْفسهحوحلُْ فُ ي و س فُ فحأح حسَّرحها ُۖ قح بْلُ م ْنُ لحهُ أح خُ حسحرحقُ فح حق ُْد يح ْسرْقُ إ ُْن قحال وا

تحص فوحنُ ِبحا أحْعلح مُ حوا َّّللُ ُۖ حم حكاًّنُ

“They said, "If he steals - a brother of his has stolen before." But Joseph

kept it within himself and did not reveal it to them. He said, “You are

worse in position, and Allah is most knowing of what you describe””

The 77th verse of Surah Yusuf told that Yusuf’s brother accused him as a thief after saw that the king’s bowl was taken out of Binyamin’s bag. They tried to show themselves as innocent by saying that Binyamin did just like his brother

(Yusuf) did before. Yusuf who heard it was angry and irritated, but he kept this feeling in himself. Then he said afterward “You are worse in position, and Allah is most knowing of what you describe”. Yusuf said this to himself and did not

utter it aloud. He tended to hide what he wanted to say to himself even before he said it (Abdul-Rahman, 2012).

The euphemism used in the verse is the word “it”. From the story above, it referred to Yusuf’s feeling of angry and irritation that he kept in himself. The word which suits this expression is “exasperation”. As Ljung (2011) states that exasperation is a feeling of extreme annoyance or irritation. Therefore, the referent of “it” is “exasperation”. It sounds offensive to express the prophet’s feeling of intense irritation or annoyance directly. Thus, the use of this type of euphemisms tends to use appropriate word to hide the offensive thing in prophethood. In addition, since it relates to prophet’s sake, this euphemism connected with the area of religion.

1.7 Indirection

Indirection is a euphemism which uses an indirect expression to allude the taboo or offensive things. There is only one datum of indirection which was found in the 23th verse of Surah Yusuf.

1. Verse: 23

ۡ ۡ ۡ ُۖ ۡ ۡ ۡ ٲ َّ ۡ َّ ٲ .… لح حكُ حهي حتُ حوقحالحتُ ٱۡلحب حوُ حبُ حوغحلحقتُ ن َّفسهۦ عحن ب حيتحها فُ هحوُ ٱل تُ حوحرُ حوحدتهُ

“And she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him. She closed the

doors and said, "Come, you.",….”

In the 23th verse, Allah told the story of Aziz's wife who gave Yusuf a place to live in her house in Egypt. One day, Aziz’s wife seduced Yusuf and

tempted him to commit a pervert. She loved Yusuf very much because Yusuf had become a very handsome and wise man. This was what drove her to beautify herself for Yusuf, then she closed all the doors of the house where Yusuf lived.

Then she persuaded Yusuf to do pervert by saying “haita lak”.

“Haitalak” (translated as “Come, you”) is considered as the euphemism in the 23th verse of Surah Yusuf. According to Ibn katsir’s interpretation, most

Muslim scholars such as Ibn Abbas and Mujahid argued that the meaning of

“haita lak” was the invitation of the woman to do illegal sexual intercourse. From the explanation, the phrase “haita lak” was an indirect expression to have sex.

Therefore, the type of euphemism used in the verse is categorized as an indirection and the referent of it is “let us have sex”. In addition, since the term referred to sexual act, it is clear that the euphemism connected with the area of sex.

2. Borrowing

Borrowing is the process of using words borrowed from foreign languages to function as euphemisms. The use of this type of euphemism occurred in four verses which only adopted the external borrowing. Below are the verses which use this type of euphemisms.

External Borrowing

There are four data of external borrowing found in Surah Yusuf. They are in verse 5, 42, and 100. Especially in verse 100, the euphemism occurred two times in different terms.

1. Verse: 5

ۡ .… ۡ مب ُي عح د وُ لۡلن حس َٰ نُ ٱل َّشيطح َٰ حنُ إ َُّن

“…., Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy”

The use of euphemistic term “Satan” occurs in the 5th verse, 42th verse, and 100th verse. Abdullah (2012) asserts that the word “Satan” comes from

Arabic root “syayaṭa” that according to Wehr’s dictionary means “to burn, singe, scorch, sear” and its derivative “syaiṭānun” means “devil”. Thus, the euphemism stands for “Devil” which is a negative term in area of religion particularly in

Islam. Since the euphemism comes from other language, it is clear that the type of euphemism used is an external borrowing.

Devil refers to forces of evil that causes mischief. It is also linked to human characteristic who follow the evil suggestions of Iblis (Cremonini, 2020).

Furthermore, Devil, in many ways, is a symbol of spiritual impurity and representing humans’ own deficits which are in contrast to a true Muslim who is free from anger, lust, and other devilish desires (Gauvain, 2013).

2. Verse: 100

ۡ .… ۡ ۡ ۡ .… ٱلبحد وُ ّم حنُ ب كم حوحجآءُح ٱل ّسج نُ م حنُ أحخحرحج نُ

“…., He took me out of prison and brought you [here] from bedouin life,

….”

“Bedouin life” is the euphemistic term used in the 100th verse of Surah

Yusuf. This word comes from Arabic “badw” which means “desert” and its derivative “badawī” which means “desert dweller” (Darwish, 2015). Meanwhile, according to Wehr, this word means “nomadic, rural, wilderness”. This referred to

Yusuf’s brother and father who lived in a bedouin life and raised cattle, according to Ibn Jurayj and others in Ibn Katsir’s interpretation. Therefore, the referent of

“Bedouin life” is “wild life”.

The words “wild life” and “dessert dweller” are considered unpleasant because they refer to low-social class and people who live in close proximity to deserts or other wilderness areas (Losleben, 2003). Therefore, the use of the euphemism tends to avoid denouncing someone’s life. It also means that it connected with the area of business which relates to status of someone’s life.

3. Circumlocution

Circumlocution is a phonological modification which uses many words to explain an expression by widening its meaning (Allan & Burridge, 2006). This type of euphemisms occurred in two verses of Surah Yusuf which are verse 44 and verse 94.

3.1 Verse: 44

بعحالم حيُ اْۡلح ْححَلمُ بتحأْ وي لُ حَنْ نُ حوحما ُۖ أح ْححَلمُ أح ْضغحا ثُ قحال وا

“They said, “[It is but] a mixture of false dreams, and we are not learned in

the interpretation of dreams.””

The euphemistic term used in the verse 44 is “a mixture of false dreams”.

Ibn Katsir said that this verse told about a king who had a dream. The king asked the priests, chief of state, and princes to interpret the dream for him, but they were unable to interpret it by saying that the dream was only an illusion imagined by the king, called “a pipe dream”. Thus, the term “a mixture of false dreams” refers

“a pipe dream” experienced by the king. In addition, this term is considered as circumlocution since it uses many words to explain the intended meaning.

The “pipe dream” is a term for an unrealistic hope, fantasy, and story

(Martin, 2020). This term is regarded taboo evoked by the reasons that the term was used in late 19th century for an allusion to the dreams experienced by smokers of opium pipes. Thus, it has still a negative connotation because of its origin. However, the use of the euphemistic term sounds more neutral.

3.2 Verse:94

…. ت حفنّ دوُن أح ُْن لحْوحّلُ ُۖ ي و س حفُ ري حُ حۡلحج ُد إ ّنُ أحب و هْمُ قحاحلُ الْعريُ فح حصلحتُ حولحَّما

“…., heir father said, "Indeed, I find the smell of Joseph [and would say

that he was alive] if you did not think me weakened in mind.”

According to Ibn katsir’s interpretation, when the caravan carrying

Yusuf’s robe left Egypt, strong winds blew until the wind reached the Prophet

Ya’qub so that he could smell Yusuf’s scent. As Abdur Razzaq said that the

Prophet Ya’qub could smell Yusuf from a distance of eight days. This opinion is confirmed from the statement of Ya’qub, “…, if you did not think me weakened in

mind “. According to Mujahid and Al-Hasan in Ibn Katsir book, the term

“weakened in mind” referred to “senile”.

The word “senile” is considered taboo evoked by some reasons as

Palmore, Branch, and Harris (2013) said in their book, encyclopedia of ageism, the word “senile” which was first recorded in the 16th century initially had neutral senses, but it started to deteriorate and became pejorative. Moreover, it carried a denotation precisely like people who affected by Alzheimer or dementia. For that reasons, the word “senile” should be avoided and replaced by more pleasant words, in this case is “weakened in mind”.

The taboo word in this verse is replaced by expanding its meaning with more many words. Therefore, it is considered as circumlocution as Allan (2012) explained in his theory of the type of euphemisms that circumlocution is the use of a large number of words to express an idea. Since the term described Prophet

Ya’qub’s mental disability, it connected with the area of health. In addition, the characteristic of senile was also related to the age of Prophet Ya’qub, therefore the use of the euphemism also connected with the area of aging.

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter is divided into two sections which are conclusions and recommendations. The first section concludes the research findings which are then followed by recommendations.

A. Conclusions

The aim of this study is to identify the types of euphemisms found in the

English translation of Holy Quran in Surah Yusuf by Saheeh International and to identify the referents of euphemisms found. After doing analysis of five types of euphemism proposed by Kaosa-Ad (2009) which are abbreviation, circumlocution, remodeling, semantic change, and borrowing, I concluded that there are three types of euphemisms used in the Surah Yusuf which are semantic change, borrowing, and circumlocution. Meanwhile, there are no euphemistic terms in the types of shortening and remodeling. Each of euphemism has its own referent which was identified based on the context and the actual meaning.

The total of euphemistic terms used is 26 terms which consists of 20 semantic change, 4 borrowing, and 2 circumlocution. It indicates that the most dominant type used in this surah is semantic change. It means that readers of

Saheeh International’s translation have to understand and comprehend the meaning of euphemisms deeply. The absence of the types of shortening and remodeling due to the formality of language used in Al-Qur’an which avoids using phonological remodeling and shortened words in written text which may

cause misunderstanding for readers. The three types (semantic change, borrowing, circumlocution) of euphemisms used in the translation connected to taboo area such as sexual act, disability, and aging. Some of them also connected to the area of business.

B. Recommendations

Since this study only focused on five types of euphemisms proposed by

Kaosa-Ad (2009) in Surah Yusuf of Saheeh International’s translation of Al-

Qur’an, I suggest for future researchers to analyze the other types of euphemisms that may be used in this chapter. Other than that, future researchers can also analyze the euphemism in other chapters of Al-Qur’an. They can also use other

English translations of Al-Qur’an as the data to be analyzed to identify the types of euphemisms used in the translation of Al-Qur’an.

Moreover, the result of the analysis is expected to give theoretical and practical contribution for readers. I hope this study can be a supporting reference in analyzing works of discourse through euphemism frame work. In addition, I suggest teachers or lecturers to involve the Islamic values in classroom by using the English translation of Al-Qur’an, especially for Islamic students in Islamic

Boarding School, and use it as additional material in course of literature, discourse, and English for Islamic Studies (EFIS) in Islamic College.

Furthermore, the students and literature enthusiasts can widen their knowledge and insight about euphemisms. Finally, I expect the study of euphemisms to be concerned by the whole students of UIN especially students of English and also by linguistics or discourse lecturers.

REFERENCES

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Transliteration

A. Consonant

Arabic Latin Arabic Latin ṭ ط a ا ẓ ظ b ب ’ ع t ت gh غ ts ث f ف j ج q ق ḥ ح k ك kh خ l ل d د m م ż ذ n ﻥ r ر w ﻭ z ﺯ h ه s س ‘ ء sy ش y ي sh ص ḍ ض

B. Long vowel and Diphthong

Arabic Latin Arabic Latin au اَ و (ā (long a آ ai ا ي (ī (long i ا ي (ụ (long u اُ و

English Translation of Holy Qur’an Surah (Chapter) Yusuf

1. Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the clear Book. 2. Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an that you might understand. 3. We relate to you, [O Muhammad], the best of stories in what We have revealed to you of this Qur’an although you were, before it, among the unaware. 4. [Of these stories mention] when Joseph said to his father, “O my father, indeed I have seen [in a dream] eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me.” 5. He said, “O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers or they will contrive against you a plan”. Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy. 6. And thus will your Lord choose you and teach you the interpretation of narratives [i.e., events or dreams] and complete His favor upon you and upon the family of Jacob, as He completed it upon your fathers before, Abraham and Isaac. Indeed, your Lord is Knowing and Wise. 7. Certainly were there in Joseph and his brothers signs for those who ask, [such as] 8. When they said, “Joseph and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear error.” 9. Kill Joseph or cast him out to [another] land; the countenance [i.e., attention] of your father will [then] be only for you, and you will be after that a righteous people. 10. Said a speaker among them, “Do not kill Joseph but throw him into the bottom of the well; some travelers will pick him up – if you would do [something].” 11. They said, “O our father, why do you not entrust us with Joseph while indeed, we are to him sincere counselors?”

12. Send him with us tomorrow that he may eat well and play. And indeed, we will be his guardians. 13. [Jacob] said, “Indeed, it saddens me that you should take him, and I fear that a wolf would eat him while you are of him unaware.” 14. They said, “If a wolf should eat him while we are a [strong] clan, indeed, we would then be losers.” 15. So when they took him [out] and agreed to put him into the bottom of the well...But We inspired to him, “You will surely inform them [someday] about this affair of theirs while they do not perceive [your identity].” 16. And they came to their father at night, weeping. 17. They said, “O our father, indeed we went racing each other and left Joseph with our possessions, and a wolf ate him. But you would not believe us, even if we were truthful.” 18. And they brought upon his shirt false blood. [Jacob] said, “Rather, your souls have enticed you to something, so patience is most fitting. And Allah is the one sought for help against that which you describe.” 19. And there came a company of travelers; then they sent their water drawer, and he let down his bucket. He said, “Good news! Here is a boy.” And they concealed him, [taking him] as merchandise; and Allah was Knowing of what they did. 20. And they sold him for a reduced price – a few dirhams – and they were, concerning him, of those content with little. 21. And the one from Egypt who bought him said to his wife, “Make his residence comfortable. Perhaps he will benefit us, or we will adopt him as a son.” And thus, We established Joseph in the land that We might teach him the interpretation of events [i.e., dreams]. And Allah is predominant over His affair, but most of the people do not know. 22. And when he [i.e., Joseph] reached maturity, We gave him judgement and knowledge. And thus We reward the doers of good. 23. And she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him. She closed the doors and said, “Come, you.” He said, “[I seek] the refuge of Allah. Indeed, he is

my master, who has made good my residence. Indeed, wrongdoers will not succeed.” 24. And she certainly determined [to seduce] him, and he would have inclined to her had he not seen the proof [i.e., sign] of his Lord. And thus [it was] that We should avert from him evil and immorality. Indeed, he was of Our chosen servants. 25. And they both raced to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back, and they found her husband at the door. She said, “What is the recompense of one who intended evil for your wife but that he be imprisoned or a painful punishment?” 26. [Joseph] said, “It was she who sought to seduce me.” And a witness from her family testified, “If his shirt is torn from the front, then she has told the truth, and he is of the liars.” 27. “But if his shirt is torn from the back, then she has lied, and he is of the truthful.” 28. So when he [i.e., her husband] saw his shirt torn from the back, he said, “Indeed, it is of your [i.e., women’s] plan. Indeed, your plan is great [i.e., vehement]. 29. Joseph, ignore this. And, [my wife], ask forgiveness for your sin. “Indeed, you were of the sinful.” 30. And women in the city said, “The wife of al-‘Azeez is seeking to seduce her slave boy; he has impassioned her with love. Indeed, we see her [to be] in clear error.” 31. So when she heard of their scheming, she sent for them and prepared for them a banquet and gave each one of them a knife and said [to Joseph], “Come out before them.” And when they saw him, they greatly admired him and cut their hands and said, “Perfect is Allah! This is not a man; this is none but a noble angel.” 32. She said, “That is the one about whom you blamed me. And I certainly sought to seduce him, but he firmly refused; and if he will not do what I order him, he will surely be imprisoned and will be of those debased.”

33. He said, “My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me. And if You do not avert from me their plan, I might incline toward them and [thus] be of the ignorant.” 34. So his Lord responded to him and averted from him their plan. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing. 35. Then it appeared to them after they had seen the signs that he [i.e., al- ‘Azeez] should surely imprison him for a time. 36. And there entered the prison with him two young men. One of them said, “Indeed, I have seen myself [in a dream] pressing wine.” The other said, “Indeed, I have seen myself carrying upon my head [some] bread, from which the birds were eating. Inform us of its interpretation; indeed, we see you to be of those who do good.” 37. He said, “You will not receive food that is provided to you except that I will inform you of its interpretation before it comes to you. That is from what my Lord has taught me. Indeed, I have left the religion of a people who do not believe in Allah, and they, in the Hereafter, are disbelievers.” 38. And I have followed the religion of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And it was not for us to associate anything with Allah. That is from the favor of Allah upon us and upon the people, but most of the people are not grateful. 39. O [my] two companions of prison, are separate lords better or Allah, the One, the Prevailing? 40. You worship not besides Him except [mere] names you have named them, you and your fathers, for which Allah has sent down no authority. Legislation is not but for Allah. He has commanded that you worship not except Him. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know. 41. “O two companions of prison, as for one of you, he will give drink to his master of wine; but as for the other, he will be crucified, and the birds will eat from his head. The matter has been decreed about which you both inquire.”

42. And he said to the one whom he knew would go free, “Mention me before your master.” But Satan made him forget the mention [to] his master, and he [i.e., Joseph] remained in prison several years. 43. And [subsequently] the king said, “Indeed, I have seen [in a dream] seven fat cows being eaten by seven [that were] lean, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry. O eminent ones, explain to me my vision, if you should interpret visions.” 44. They said, “[It is but] a mixture of false dreams, and we are not learned in the interpretation of dreams.” 45. But the one who was freed and remembered after a time said, “I will inform you of its interpretation, so send me forth.” 46. [He said], “Joseph, O man of truth, explain to us about seven fat cows eaten by seven [that were] lean, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry – that I may return to the people [i.e., the king and his court]; perhaps they will know [about you].” 47. [Joseph] said, “You will plant for seven years consecutively; and what you harvest leave in its spikes, except a little from which you will eat.” 48. Then will come after that seven difficult [years] which will consume what you advanced [i.e., saved] for them, except a little from which you will store. 49. “Then will come after that a year in which the people will be given rain and in which they will press [olives and grapes].” 50. And the king said, “Bring him to me. “But when the messenger came to him, [Joseph] said, “Return to your master and ask him what is the case of the women who cut their hands. Indeed, my Lord is Knowing of their plan.” 51. Said [the king to the women], “What was your condition when you sought to seduce Joseph?” They said, "Perfect is Allah! We know about him no evil.” The wife of al-‘Azeez said, “Now the truth has become evident. It was I who sought to seduce him, and indeed, he is of the truthful.” 52. That is so he [i.e., al-‘Azeez] will know that I did not betray him in [his] absence and that Allah does not guide the plan of betrayers.

53. “And I do not acquit myself. Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my Lord has mercy. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful.” 54. And the king said, “Bring him to me; I will appoint him exclusively for myself.” And when he spoke to him, he said, “Indeed, you are today established [in position] and trusted.” 55. [Joseph] said, “Appoint me over the storehouses of the land. Indeed, I will be a knowing guardian.” 56. And thus We established Joseph in the land to settle therein wherever he willed. We touch with Our mercy whom We will, and We do not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good. 57. And the reward of the Hereafter is better for those who believed and were fearing Allah. 58. And the brothers of Joseph came [seeking food], and they entered upon him; and he recognized them, but he was to them unknown. 59. And when he had furnished them with their supplies, he said, “Bring me a brother of yours from your father. Do you not see that I give full measure and that I am the best of accommodators?” 60. “But if you do not bring him to me, no measure will there be [hereafter] for you from me, nor will you approach me.” 61. They said, “We will attempt to dissuade his father from [keeping] him, and indeed, we will do [it].” 62. And [Joseph] said to his servants, “Put their merchandise into their saddlebags so they might recognize it when they have gone back to their people that perhaps they will [again] return.” 63. So when they returned to their father, they said, “O our father, [further] measure has been denied to us, so send with us our brother [that] we will be given measure. And indeed, we will be his guardians.” 64. He said, “Should I entrust you with him except [under coercion] as I entrusted you with his brother before? But Allah is the best guardian, and He is the most merciful of the merciful.”

65. And when they opened their baggage, they found their merchandise returned to them. They said, “O our father, what [more] could we desire? This is our merchandise returned to us. And we will obtain supplies [i.e., food] for our family and protect our brother and obtain an increase of a camel’s load; that is an easy measurement.” 66. [Jacob] said, “Never will I send him with you until you give me a promise [i.e., oath] by Allah that you will bring him [back] to me, unless you should be surrounded [i.e., overcome by enemies].” And when they had given their promise, he said, “Allah, over what we say, is Witness.” 67. And he said, “O my sons, do not enter from one gate but enter from different gates; and I cannot avail you against [the decree of] Allah at all. The decision is only for Allah; upon Him I have relied, and upon Him let those who would rely [indeed] rely.” 68. And when they entered from where their father had ordered them, it did not avail them against Allah at all except [it was] a need [i.e., concern] within the soul of Jacob, which he satisfied. And indeed, he was a possessor of knowledge because of what We had taught him, but most of the people do not know. 69. And when they entered upon Joseph, he took his brother to himself; he said, “Indeed, I am your brother, so do not despair over what they used to do [to me].” 70. So when he had furnished them with their supplies, he put the [gold measuring] bowl into the bag of his brother. Then an announcer called out, “O caravan, indeed you are thieves.” 71. They said while approaching them, “What is it you are missing?” 72. They said, “We are missing the measure of the king. And for he who produces it is [the reward of] a camel’s load, and I am responsible for it.” 73. They said, “By Allah, you have certainly known that we did not come to cause corruption in the land, and we have not been thieves.” 74. They [the accusers] said, “Then what would be its recompense if you should be liars?”

75. [The brothers] said, “Its recompense is that he in whose bag it is found – he [himself] will be its recompense. Thus do we recompense the wrongdoers.” 76. So he began [the search] with their bags before the bag of his brother; then he extracted it from the bag of his brother. Thus did We plan for Joseph. He could not have taken his brother within the religion [i.e., law] of the king except that Allah willed. We raise in degrees whom We will, but over every possessor of knowledge is one [more] knowing. 77. They said, “If he steals – a brother of his has stolen before.” But Joseph kept it within himself and did not reveal it to them. He said, “You are worse in position, and Allah is most knowing of what you describe.” 78. They said, “O Allah, indeed he has a father [who is] an old man, so take one of us in place of him. Indeed, we see you as a doer of good.” 79. He said, “[I seek] the refuge of Allah [to prevent] that we take except him with whom we found our possession. Indeed, we would then be unjust.” 80. So when they had despaired of him, they secluded themselves in private consultation. The eldest of them said, “Do you not know that your father has taken upon you an oath by Allah and [that] before you failed in [your duty to] Joseph? So I will never leave [this] land until my father permits me or Allah decides for me, and He is the best of judges.” 81. Return to your father and say, ‘O our father, indeed your son has stolen, and we did not testify except to what we knew. And we were not witnesses of the unseen. 82. And ask the city in which we were and the caravan in which we came – and indeed, we are truthful.’ ” 83. [Jacob] said, “Rather, your souls have enticed you to something, so patience is most fitting. Perhaps Allah will bring them to me all together. Indeed, it is He who is the Knowing, the Wise.” 84. And he turned away from them and said, “Oh, my sorrow over Joseph,” and his eyes became white from grief, for he was [of that] a suppressor. 85. They said, “By Allah, you will not cease remembering Joseph until you become fatally ill or become of those who perish.”

86. He said, “I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah, and I know from Allah that which you do not know. 87. O my sons, go and find out about Joseph and his brother and despair not of relief from Allah. Indeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people.” 88. So when they entered upon him [i.e., Joseph], they said, “O ‘Azeez, adversity has touched us and our family, and we have come with goods poor in quality, but give us full measure and be charitable to us. Indeed, Allah rewards the charitable.” 89. He said, “Do you know what you did with Joseph and his brother when you were ignorant?” 90. They said, “Are you indeed Joseph?” He said, “I am Joseph, and this is my brother. Allah has certainly favored us. Indeed, he who fears Allah and is patient, then indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good.” 91. They said, “By Allah, certainly has Allah preferred you over us, and indeed, we have been sinners.” 92. He said, “No blame will there be upon you today. Allah will forgive you; and He is the most merciful of the merciful. 93. Take this, my shirt, and cast it over the face of my father; he will become seeing. And bring me your family, all together.” 94. And when the caravan departed [from Egypt], their father said, “Indeed, I find the smell of Joseph [and would say that he was alive] if you did not think me weakened in mind.” 95. They said, “By Allah, indeed you are in your [same] old error.” 96. And when the bearer of good tidings arrived, he cast it over his face, and he returned [once again] seeing. He said, “Did I not tell you that I know from Allah that which you do not know?” 97. They said, “O our father, ask for us forgiveness of our sins; indeed, we have been sinners.”

98. He said, “I will ask forgiveness for you from my Lord. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” 99. And when they entered upon Joseph, he took his parents to himself [i.e., embraced them] and said, “Enter Egypt, Allah willing, safe [and secure].” 100. And he raised his parents upon the throne, and they bowed to him in prostration. And he said, “O my father, this is the explanation of my vision of before. My Lord has made it reality. And He was certainly good to me when He took me out of prison and brought you [here] from bedouin life after Satan had induced [estrangement] between me and my brothers. Indeed, my Lord is Subtle in what He wills. Indeed, it is He who is the Knowing, the Wise. 101. My Lord, You have given me [something] of sovereignty and taught me of the interpretation of dreams. Creator of the heavens and earth, You are my protector in this world and the Hereafter. Cause me to die a Muslim and join me with the righteous.” 102. That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal, [O Muhammad], to you. And you were not with them when they put together their plan while they conspired. 103. And most of the people, although you strive [for it], are not believers. 104. And you do not ask of them for it any payment. It is not except a reminder to the worlds. 105. And how many a sign within the heavens and earth do they pass over while they, therefrom, are turning away. 106. And most of them believe not in Allah except while they associate others with Him. 107. Then do they feel secure that there will not come to them an overwhelming [aspect] of the punishment of Allah or that the Hour will not come upon them suddenly while they do not perceive? 108. Say, “This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him.”

109. And We sent not before you [as messengers] except men to whom We revealed from among the people of cities. So have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah; then will you not reason? 110. [They continued] until, when the messengers despaired and were certain that they had been denied, there came to them Our victory, and whoever We willed was saved. And Our punishment cannot be repelled from the people who are criminals. 111. There was certainly in their stories a lesson for those of understanding. Never was it [i.e., the Qur’an] a narration invented, but a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of all things and guidance and mercy for a people who believe.