Institution: PhD
Degree Date: 2025

Dissertation Title: Expression of Modality in English and Arabic: The Holy Quran, A Case Study

Linguistic Field(s): Semantics
Translation

Subject Language(s): Arabic (ara)
English (eng)

Dissertation Director(s): Prof. Olga Mattar- Prof. Marwa El Zouka

Dissertation Abstract:

The current research attempts to outline the expression of modality in English and Arabic. On the one hand, modality in English is relatively clearer while still struggling with dubious controversies related to the specific functions and usages of each modal verb or construction. On the other hand, Arabic faces much larger debate regarding the existence of the phenomenon altogether. The research attempts to unveil the phenomenon in Arabic, based on the corpus of the Quran translation. This is achieved through the examination of five translations of the Quran- all undertaken by native speakers of English (only one is excluded because it is the official translation used in Saudi Arabia). After examination, the specific verses in which there is agreement on the production of modals are examined and analyzed. The research is undertaken under the theoretical framework of Palmer’s (2014) “Modality and the English Modals.” The researcher concludes with the existence of modality in Arabic yet with different representations; even the usages are almost identical to those outlined in Palmer’s. The researcher finally proposes a model for translation of modal verbs in English to Arabic based on Quranic corpus. It is recommended by the researcher that the findings be applied on non-Quranic texts to examine efficiency; besides, it is equally recommended to examine the modal constructions other than modal verbs in both languages.