Translation Strategies for Reference Switching ( Iltif Ā T ) in S Ū Rah Al-Baqarah

Reference switching (Iltifāt) is a unique style found in the holy Qur’ān. It is a rhetorical device in Arabic language. Nonetheless, it is used in an extensive and complex manner in Qur’ān. Reference switching is defined as the change of speech from one mode to another. However, reference switching constitutes a problem for translators while transferring reference switches from one language to another, particularly in the Qur’ānic discourse. This paper looks at the translation of reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah specifically focusing on the translation strategies employed by the translator Yūsuf Ali to transfer reference switching that is obvious in the Qur’ān to English language. Personal reference switching has been classified into five categories: namely the switch from third to first person pronoun; the switch from first to third person pronoun; the switch from third to second person pronoun; the switch from second to third person pronoun and the switch from first to second person pronoun. Newmark’s translation strategies are used as a basis to explore the translation strategies applied by Yūsuf Ali. The study reveals that Yūsuf Ali opted for five strategies in translating reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah. They are literal, expansion, free translation, compensation and a dual strategy of transposition and footnote. However, the study reveals that these translation strategies are inapplicable in conveying the meaning of iltifāt. The findings of this study will hopefully pave the way for more investigations into the translatability of reference switching in other sūrahs of the holy Qur’ān. Additionally, the findings of this study will be a step forward toward improving reference switching translation in future interpretations of meanings in the holy Qur’ān.


Introduction
Translators of the Qur'ān face plenty of challenges, impediments, and obstacles in translating the Holy Qur'ān.The first problem with translating the Qur'ān is transforming the speech of Allah in Arabic to the speech of human being in another language.In this way, the beauty and miraculous nature of the Qur'ān is completely lost.The perfect choice of words, the syntax of the verse, the powerful rhythm of the passages, and the manner of eloquence displayed by the Arabic all are impacted and destroyed.All Qur'ān scholars confirm that much is lost when the Qur'ān is translated.For instance, Akbar (1978) in Nassimi (2008) observes that no translation can ever take the place of the original Qur'ān which is in Arabic language; for it is impossible to reproduce its matchless and enchanting style, highly emotive and fiery language, and forceful rhetoric.For him, it is difficult to transfer into English every shade of meaning that is contained in the Arabic word of the Qur'ān.
Furthermore, the Arabic of the Qur'ān is a very rich language wherein many of its words have numerous shades of meaning that cannot be easily found in other languages including English.While the classical Arabic of the Qur'ān is a living language, more study is required in order to fully appreciate and understand the depth of meanings.Moreover, English and Arabic belong to different language families.The Arabic language originates from the Semitic language family in contrast to the Germanic language family for English.Consequently, it is natural for the two language systems to differ.This could cause problems in translation.Reference switching is considered to be problematic in translation.This stylistic feature poses certain problems for the translator and the receiver of the message (Ahmed, 2004).Hatim and Mason (1997) indicate that in the rhetoric of a number of languages, including Arabic, reference switching involves a sudden and unexpected shift from the use of one form (a particular tense or pronominal reference) to another form within the same set.He mentioned that "In the area of pronominal reference, this may be illustrated by the switch from the first person, which may be the norm and therefore the expected option in a given co-text, to the second person, which in that co-text constitutes a departure from the norm."(Hatim & Mason, 1997, p. 112).Shifts of reference can also occur in the area of tenses (e.g. from an unexpected past tense to an unexpected present tense or vice-versa), in number (e.g., singular instead of plural), and/or gender (e.g., masculine to feminine).In addition to shifts in the addressee, shifts in the case marker are mentioned by Abdel Haleem (1992).Abdel Haleem (1999) states that the finer points of certain types of Iltifāt may not appear in the translation of the Qur'ān into a European language such as English that differs from Arabic in certain aspects of styles.The target readers, especially those who are not familiar with the Arabic language, will have problems comprehending the Message of the holy Qur'ān.For the most part, in literature on reference switching, there is a gap in the analysis of the translation of reference switching and the strategies used by Yūsuf Ali in translating reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah.
The significance of reference switching lies in the fact that it is a textual phenomenon well known in the rhetoric of a number of languages (Hatim & Mason, 1997).According to Abdul-Raof (2001) shift or reference switching is defined as the most common feature of Qur'ānic discourse.It's worth mentioning that familiarity with the style of the Arabic text of the Qur'ān is needed in the translation so the English readers can understand the Qur'ānic translation.Abdel Haleem (1999) says: 'a grasp of certain features of the Qur'ānic style is essential for proper understanding".It means that an English reader must be familiar with the common stylistic features of the Qur'ān, for instance, ellipsis, repetition.One of these instances that need to be familiar with by English readers is the subject matter of this study which is reference switching (digression or iltifāt) to avoid confusion and misinterpretation of the Message.The translation of reference switches, especially in the area of pronominal reference, will be particularly elaborated upon in this paper.This makes reference switching worth investigating in this study.

Literature Review
Although there are a number of studies in which Arab linguists discuss Iltifāt or reference switching, these works look at reference switching or Iltifāt as a rhetorical device in Arabic rhetoric and as one of the unique styles extensively used in the holy Qur'ān in comparison with prose and poetry.Furthermore, these studies do not focus on the translation of reference switching and the strategies used by the translator Yūsuf Ali in translating reference switches in sūrah al-Baqarah, the first chapter of the holy Qur'ān and the second sūrah after al-Fatihah.
There are a number of studies that deal with Iltifāt in the holy Qur'ān related to translation.Hatim and Mason's (1997) concept of reference switching is adopted for this study.Iltifāt goes by different names according to various contemporary scholars.Ahmed (2004) calls it digression.Abdul-Raof (2001) refers to it as a shift.Hatim and Mason (1997) slightly touched upon the problems of comprehension of Qur'ānic translations, particularly with reference to the style of the original text of the Qur'ān that causes confusion for the receptor of the message.The authors refer to reference switching in a number of languages like Arabic in comparison to other languages such as English where reference switching does not exist.In their study, Hatim and Mason commented on a few translated examples taken from sacred books such as the holy Qura'n and the Bible.Other studies such as the one conducted by Al-Quran and Al-Azzam (2009) seem closer to the current study.However, this study differs in the following points: First, the adopted name of Iltifāt is Hatim and Mason's term of reference switching and not apostrophe used by Al-Quran and Azzam.Second, this study focuses only on Chapter al-Baqarah compared to Al-Quran and Azzam's study with data that consists of nine examples taken from the entire holy Qur'ān randomly selected.Third, Yūsuf Ali's translation (1998) is selected to be the target text to be compared with the source text while in Al-Quran and Azzam's study; three translations are selected for comparison.Fourth, in this study only three exegeses are selected: Al-Zamakhshari (1143), Abū-Su c ūd (1544), and Al-Alūsi (1853) in contrast with four exegeses selected in Al-Qur'ān and Al-Azzam's study of apostrophe.
Moreover, in another study conducted in Arabic language, Bushaqoor (2008) makes a translation of Iltifāt into French.Bushaqoor selected three cases in which the translation of Iltifāt was studied: that of Abu Bakr Hamza, an Arab Muslim, Mohammed Hamidullah, a non-Arab Muslim, and Denise Masson, a non-Arab and non-Muslim.In his study, Bushaqoor devoted each of two types of Iltifāt mentioned by Hassan Al-Tabl (1998) to each translation.The study found that all of the translators failed more than they succeeded in translating Iltifāt into French because a typical equivalent of Iltifāt does not exist in French.There is however, a bit of a closer phenomenon to Iltifāt in the French language called enalage that represents only one aspect of the Arabic phenomenon.Abu Bakr Hamza's translation focuses on the meaning of the Qur'ānic verse but neglects its style and structure.This attempt succeeded in translating the sense but not the phenomenon in question nor the shades of meaning Iltifāt serves.In Hamidullah's translation of Iltifāt in pronouns and prepositions, Bushaqoor noticed that the translator's instruction in French and Arabic is weak.Additionally, Hamidullah is very careful in rendering the original text literally which led to a formal existence of Iltifāt but that is empty of its semantic side.Denise Masson's translation for Iltifāt, did not perfectly serve shades of meaning contained in the original text.Ibraheem and Al-Bagoa (2010) investigated Iltifāt in a number of translations, namely Hilali and Khan (1997), Arberry (2003) and Dawood (1981).Six verses covering different types of grammatical shifts or Iltifāt were chosen to evaluate the strategies adopted by the translators.These six verses were taken from different chapters of the holy Qur'ān namely Yunis (two verses), Al-A'raf, Al-Imran, Al-Maidah and Al-A'adiyat.It is pointed out that identifying the proper reference of pronouns posed serious problems to translators.Therefore, what is suggested is that translators of the Qur'ān need not only a linguistic knowledge in both Arabic and English, but also an advanced knowledge in Arab rhetoric to be able to translate Iltifāt.Ibraheem and Al-Bagoa (2010) proposed that the application of Nida's (1964) dynamic equivalence as a more effective procedure in the translation of Iltifāt.Ibraheem and Al-Bagoa's (2010) study differs from the current study in a number of ways.First, this study analyzes the translation of reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah with the highest number of reference switching.Ibraheem and Al-Bagoa (2010) investigated six examples randomly selected from the holy Qur'ān.Secondly, Ibraheem and Al-Bagoa ( 2010) is a comparative study of three selected translations.However, this study will solely investigate the translation of reference switching in Yūsuf Ali's translation and the strategies employed in translating Iltifāt.

Theoretical Framework
Halliday and Hasan's framework of cohesion will be used in this study to identify references that occur in the source text and its translated version.Halliday's and Hasan's model of cohesion focuses on identifying references in reference switching.
There are many strategies of translation proposed by translation scholars.For this study, Newmark's strategies of translation (1988) are selected.Newmark is a translation theorist who in his works combines practical examples of linguistic theories and applications for translation.Various translation strategies have been developed in order to achieve the most appropriate and useful translation in terms of accurate conveyance of message, faithfulness to the intended meaning by the original speaker/author, and positive interaction by the receptors in the TL.As a solution of the translation problems and debates such as literal versus free, faithful, exact and natural translation, Newmark, (1981, pp. 38-39) adopted what he termed 'communicative translation' and 'semantic translation'.He defines the two strategies as follows: communicative translation attempts to produce on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original, while semantic translation attempts to render, as closely as possible what the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language would allow for the exact contextual meaning of the original.Newmark (1988)  Newmark (1991) also suggests a list of other translation procedures such as: compensation, expansion, contraction, transposition, paraphrase, modulation, definition, translation label, rearrangement, recasting sentences, translation couplet, over translation, under translation, cultural equivalence, componential analysis, through-translation, one to one translation, transcription and notes.
On the other hand, Levy (1969) cited in Fawcett (1997) asserts that "compensation does occur where a linguistic subsystem is richly developed in one language but absent or poorly developed in another, the second language will have other systems to compensate" (p.32).This clearly explains that reference switching can occur in one language but not in the other.Hervey and Higgins (1992, pp. 35-40) identify four categories of compensation: 1) Compensation in kind where different linguistic devices are employed to recreate an effect similar to that of the source.
2) Compensation in place where the effect is achieved at a place different from that in the source.
3) Compensation in merging where text features are condensed in the translation.4) Compensation in splitting where source meanings are expanded to ensure the transfer of subtle effects.This paper analyzes the strategies Yūsuf Ali uses in his translation for reference switching.

Data Collection
The data analyzed in this paper consists of the source text and the target text.For the source text, sūrah al-Baqarah is chosen to be the corpus of this study because searching the entire Qur'ān is a formidable task.This sūrah also has the highest number of reference switching's compared to other sūrahs of the holy Qur'ān.Based on Abdel Haleem's work (1999) comparing the total number of all the sūrahs of the entire holy Qur'ān, what was shown that chapter al-Baqarah has the highest number of reference switches at 55. Therefore, this chapter was selected as the source text for this study.From the 55 examples, only reference switching in personal pronouns are chosen because they are more consistent and the most commonly known.This study will make use of Abdel Haleem (1999) and Al-Banānī (1993) as far as number of reference switches is concerned in order to suit the main purpose of this study, that of analyzing these switches linguistically and in their translations.In short, all reference switching after scrutinizing, crosschecking, comparing and crossing the repeated and shared numbers by Abdel Haleem (1999), andAl-Banānī (1993), resulted in a total number of reference switchings in sūrah al-Baqarah at 51 examples used for this study.
The selected target text is Yūsuf Ali's translation (1998).While there are other well-known English translations of the Qur'ān, Yūsuf Ali's translation is the most widely read translation in English.Yūsuf Ali's work was selected because of a number of considerations: Firstly, his translation was selected by a committee of scholars and specialists formed by Amana Corporation USA in cooperation with the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), to represent the most recognized and authentic available English translation of the Qur'ān.The committee's decision was in favor of Abdullah Yūsuf Ali's translation (Khan, 1997).Secondly, it is the translation best known to scholars for its relative accuracy (Kidwai, 1998;Saab, 2002).Thirdly, Kidwai (1998) reviewed Yūsuf Ali's translation and concluded that it represents a sense of the original.Finally, Pickthall commented that Yūsuf Ali's translation was written in better English than any previous English translations by an Indian (Khan, 1997).
There are other references that are also used for this study.In this study, there is a need to use exegesis or Tafasir in order to comprehend the context and the meaning of the verses containing reference switching.There are three exegeses of the Qur'ān that will be consulted in this study namely, Tafsir Al-Zamakhashari (1143), Abū-Su c ūd (1544) and Al-Alūsi (1853).The three selected exegeses (tafasīr) are among the most widely used exegeses as far as reference switching (Iltifāt) is concerned.

Data Analysis
This paper examines the strategies used by Yūsuf Ali in his translation, for the five categories of reference switching, namely, switch from third to first person pronoun, switch from first to third person pronoun, switch from third to second person pronoun, switch from second to third person pronoun and switch from first to second person pronoun.
There are two major phases that follow in order to analyze the data of this study.In the first phase, the researcher will read the target text (the translated version of sūrah al-Baqarah by Yūsuf Ali) and identify reference switches using Halliday and Hasan's model of cohesion while also referring to reference switching identified in the source text by Abdel Haleem (1999) and Al-Banānī (1993).
In the second phase the reference switches that have been identified in the source text in the first phase will be compared with their renditions in the translation of Yūsuf Ali (1998) in order to show how Yūsuf Ali translates reference switching.This step of analysis requires the researcher to show the references in the target text and how the switch from one pronoun into another is reflected and conveyed in Yūsuf Ali's translation.In this phase, the researcher will also point out the strategies used by Yūsuf Ali to compensate any loss of meaning with reference to Newmark's strategies (1988).Hervey and Higgin's (1992) compensation strategies are important to look at since the translation of the Qur'ān like all other acts of translation will inevitably involve loss of meaning (Abdul-Raof, 2001).It is important here to point out that this study does not aim to criticize Yūsuf Ali's translation, but to investigate the extent to which the translator succeeds in transferring reference-switching in the Qur'ān to the target language and to relate that outcome to the translation strategies used.

Findings
Through the analysis of Yūsuf Ali's translation for 51 reference switches represented in five categories of reference switching mentioned above, it is noted that Yūsuf Ali appeared to have used five different translation strategies as follows: 1) Literal translation.
3) Free translation.4) Compensation in splitting.5) A dual strategy of transposition and footnote.

Literal Translation
This study shows that literal translation is the strategy that Yūsuf Ali used most frequently in translating reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah.The following table illustrates the frequency of the occurrences of literal translation in Yūsuf Ali's translation in the five types of reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah.Gloss: lightening almost snatches away/their sight/every time it lights for them/they walk therein/but when it darks /for them/they stand still/and if Allah had willed/He could have taken their hearing/and their sight/Indeed Allah/is over all things competent (20) you people/worship your Lord/the One/who created you/and/those who came before you/you may/be righteousness.

Translation: Yūsuf Ali [2:20-21]
The lightning all but snatches away their sight; every time the light (helps) them, they walk therein, and when the darkness grows on them, they stand still.And if Allah willed, He could take away their faculty of hearing and seeing; for Allah hath power over all things.O you people!Adore your Guardian-Lord, who created you and those who came before you, that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness.
In the verse above, Iltifāt is manifested in the shift from the third person pronoun that exists in verse 20 to the second person pronoun in verse 21 that appears in the form of an imperative (calling).The third person plural pronouns exist in ‫أﺑﺼﺎرهﻢ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﺑﺴﻤﻌﻬﻢ‬ ‫ﻣﺸﻮا،ﻋ‬ ‫،ﻟﻬﻢ،‬ ‫ﻠﻴﻬﻢ‬ ‫أﺑﺼﺎرهﻢ‬ (their sight, them, they stand still, on them, their faculty of hearing and seeing) switch into second person plural pronoun as in ، ‫ﻟﻌﻠﻜﻢ‬ ‫ﻗﺒﻠﻜﻢ،‬ ‫ﺧﻠﻘﻜﻢ،‬ ‫رﺑﻜﻢ،‬ ، ‫اﻋﺒﺪوا‬ ‫اﻟﻨﺎس،‬ ‫أﻳﻬﺎ‬ ‫ﻳﺎ‬ ‫ﺗﺘﻘﻮن‬ (O you people, [you] adore, your guardian, created you, before you, you may have the chance to learn righteousness).
The switch of pronouns that exists in the original is also transferred into the translated version.Reference switching has a great effect and a great significance in the verses that deserves a look through the exegesis.However, the verse is translated literally, ignoring that there is a resulting loss of meaning.Literal translation of the verse can convey its semantics but would not relay the fact of reference switching that lies within the verse.Consequently, this linguistic feature that can hardly be understood in the source text would not be understood in the target text.In other words, reading the translation will not reflect the meaning of the source text.Yūsuf Ali has not made reference to the switch as a rhetorical device in the holy Qur'ān as he is either unaware of this switch in references (Iltifāt) or he may have consulted exegeses that have not referred to this reference switching.Preserving the source text would be futile unless the functions that the form is intended to serve were relayed at the same time (Hatim & Mason, 1997, p. 114).
In an attempt to maintain the flow of the translation, the translator could make use of footnotes to draw the attention of the reader to the actual wording of the original.In this way, the translator would then minimize the effect of the form of the original on the translation.Yūsuf Ali never uses footnotes in his translation for reference switching that according to Mohaghegh & Pirnajuddin (2013, p. 63), may lead readers to have many questions and mis-interpretations as the Qur'ān is a text with subtle points and cryptic references.

Expansion
Expansion is one of the translation procedures suggested by Newmark (1981).Expansion, which is sometimes referred to as addition, is a translation strategy that makes the translation longer than the original (Dastjerdi & Rahekhoda, 2010, p. 8).While analyzing the data and the use of expansion in the translation of Yūsuf Ali, the researchers came to the idea that explication is the main reason for bringing about expansion in Yūsuf Ali's translation for reference switching.
Based on the data collected, the following reference switches were translated by Yūsuf Ali using the expansion strategy.These switches are presented in Table 2 below in order to show their frequency.Table 2 shows the distribution of the use of expansion strategy in translating reference switching by Yūsuf Ali.
What can be inferred from the table is that expansion strategy is used by Yūsuf Ali in only three types of reference switching out of five types.Five instances out of nine are translated using expansion strategy.From the above-mentioned table, it is shown that the most frequently used types that Yūsuf Ali employs via expansion strategy to translate reference switching, are in the switch from first to second and second to third.In these types, there are two instances with 40% for each of the total number of reference switches.The least frequently type in which Yūsuf Ali uses expansion strategy is the switch from third to second.In this type, expansion strategy is used in one rare instance or 20% of the total.The strategy of expansion and its usage by Yūsuf Ali in his translation of reference switching is illustrated in the first switch from first to second as illustrated in the following example: Reference switching or Iltifāt in this verse occurs in the switch from the first person plural pronoun to the second person plural pronoun.It shifts from speaking (We) to addressing (you) directly.The pronoun "We" at the beginning of the verse that refers to Allah the Almighty is translated literally.At the beginning of the verse, Allah the almighty speaks as in ‫أﺧﺬﻧﺎ"‬ ‫"وإذ‬ "And remembers we took".Then in the middle of the verse, the speaking changes to addressing from Allah, the Almighty " " ْ ‫ُوا‬ ‫ُﺬ‬ ‫ﺧ‬ (Hold firmly).In the source text, the switch into the second person pronoun occurs directly as Al-Zamakhshari (1143) points out, since the direct address has a great effect on the addressee and the listener, Allah, the Almighty prefers it in the narrative style and the verb of "saying" is omitted.In the source text, the word "saying" does not occur and if it occurs, a great loss of meaning is the result.
However, before the switch, the translator makes the switch explicit by adding the word "saying" as in, "Saying: Hold firmly to what we have given you".The researchers infer that the translator expands the text and adds the word "saying" in the target text perhaps for explication, or to reduce the surprise of the readers towards switching from one pronoun to another.In other words, the use of expansion in this verse may be due to grammatical and syntactical differences between the two languages where reference switching occurs in Arabic but does not occur in English.However, the translator does not refer to reference switching and the usage of expansion strategy adds something to the target text that is made implicit in the source text for a purpose that may result in a mistranslation.It appears that the translator goes back to exegesis for this addition.However, using expansion strategy is not enough in the translation of reference switching.References in reference switching are clarified further by going through exegeses to indicate these inter-textual references.Therefore, translating references in reference switching literally in this verse and using expansion strategy is not enough to attain transference and convey the phenomenon of reference switching.The use of an explanatory note is indispensible to provide target readers with the required information and conveys the intended meaning of reference switching.

Free Translation
Free translation is another strategy that is less frequently used by Yūsuf Ali in translating reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah.This strategy is mentioned by Newmark (1988), as one of the translation strategies that focuses on the content rather than the form.Newmark explains that the same content is expressed in the target text but with very different grammatical structures and that the use of free translation produces the TL text without the style, form or content of the original.Based on the data collected the following reference switches are translated by Yūsuf Ali using free translation.These switches are presented in Table 3 below in order to show their frequency.Table 3 shows the distribution of the use of free strategy in translating reference switching for sūrah al-Baqarah.
What can be inferred from the table is that free strategy is used by Yūsuf Ali in only two out of five types of reference switching.In 2 instances, reference switches are translated using free strategy.From the table above, it is shown that both types have the same frequency with 50% of the total number of reference switching.
In terms of using free translation to translate the first type, namely the switch from third to second, the verse can be used for illustration: ... Gloss: and when/you( plural) are in peaceful condition/if anyone/wishes/to continue the Umra/to/the Hajj/he must make an offering/such as he can afford/but if he cannot afford it/he should fast three days/during the hajj/and seven/when you (plural) have returned (home)/making ten days in all/this is/for those /whose household is not in (the precincts of) the Sacred Mosque/And fear (plural)Allah/and know(plural) /that Allah is strict in punishment/ Translation: [Yūsuf Ali 2:196] …And when you are in peaceful conditions (again), if any one wishes to continue the 'umra on to the hajj, He must make an offering, such as he can afford, but if he cannot afford it, He should fast three days during the hajj and seven days on his return, Making ten days in all.This is for those whose household is not in (the precincts of) the Sacred Mosque.And fear Allah, and know that Allah is strict in punishment.
In this verse Iltifāt occurs in the switch from the third person singular pronoun as in " ‫ﺗﻤﺘﻊ‬ ‫ﻓﻤﻦ‬ ‫ﺑﺎﻟﻌﻤﺮة‬ " "if anyone wishes to continue the Umra", into the second person plural pronoun as in " ‫إذا‬ ‫رﺟﻌﺘﻢ‬ " "on his return" (Abū-Su c ūd, 1544) & Al-Alūsi (1853).This reference switching into addressing contradicts the absence form in plurality and person (Al-Alūsī, 1270 H/1853).
In the translation, the switch is not indicated.Yūsuf Ali makes a pronoun consistency and translates the plural that is obvious in the original text as singular.In the second part of the switch, the second person plural pronoun (you) in " ‫إذا‬ ‫رﺟﻌﺘﻢ‬ " "on your (plural) return" is changed into the third person singular pronoun "on his return" which can be translated as ‫رﺟﻊ"‬ ‫."إذا‬ Yūsuf Ali has translated the verse freely.It is obvious that right from the middle of the verse, the third person pronoun is used starting from "if any one wishes to continue; He must make; and if he cannot afford it; He should fast.The switch occurs after this part starting with ‫رﺟﻌﺘﻢ"‬ ‫"إذا‬ (when you (plural) have returned) that is transparent as existing in the second person plural pronoun.However, in Yūsuf Ali's translation, it is used in the third person singular as "on his return" which can be translated as ‫رﺟﻊ"‬ ‫."اذا‬ Yūsuf Ali makes a pronoun consistency, unaware of the loss of meaning created.Allah, the Almighty has shifted from the absence form to addressing all the pilgrims.This switch does not occur randomly but with an intention and a purpose.However, the translator does not point out this switch.In comparison with other verses where reference switching is translated literally, target readers notice a switch in pronoun and may inquire about such a switch.However, in this verse neither form nor content of reference switching is conveyed.Yūsuf Ali's translation is not precise as far as reference switching is concerned.
It appears to the researchers that the reason other than using free translation in this case, is due to the differences in Arabic and English grammars and structures, so that it is quite natural that these differences pose great difficulties and challenges for a translator especially in Qur'ānic discourse.Reference switching is a common style in Arabic but not in the English language.Yūsuf Ali focuses on the content rather than on the form.Yūsuf Ali focuses primarily on the conformity of the target text content in attempting to make pronoun consistency in the target text, perhaps thinking that correct pronoun reference can be achieved by ensuring agreement between pronoun and its antecedent in terms of person, number and gender.However, this does not work in the instances of reference switching where one pronoun suddenly switches into another for a function and a particular significance.So the researcher discovers that through free translation, the switch that is crystal clear in the source text is not reflected to the target readers in form nor in function.

Compensation
Compensation is another strategy used by Yūsuf Ali in translating reference switching in sūrah al- Baqarat. Both Newmark (1981;1988) and Hervy and Higgins (1992) refer to this strategy as a very effective strategy in translation.It makes up for the loss of something in the source text by adding something else in the target text.Newmark (1991) adds that, "compensation is the procedure which in the last resort ensures that translation is possible", cited in (Motallebzadeh & Tousi, 2011, p. 4).Here, compensation in splitting is used by Yūsuf Ali in one rare instance of reference switching (third person pronoun to first person pronoun).Compensation by splitting according to Hervey and Higgins (1992, pp. 34-40) occurs where the meaning of the source text word has to be expanded into a longer stretch of the target text.This strategy is manifested in the following example (2: 252):

(
Gloss: These are /the signs/of Allah/we/rehearse them/to you/in truth/and you are/one of /the messengers Translation: Yūsuf Ali [2:252] These are the Signs of Allah: We rehearse them to thee in truth: verily Thou art they would not follow your Qibla; nor are you going to follow their Qibla; nor indeed will they follow each other's Qibla.If you after the knowledge hath reached you, Were to follow their (vain) desires, then were you Indeed (clearly) in the wrong (145) The people of the Book know this as they know their own sons; but some of them conceal the truth which they themselves know (146).
In this verse, the occurrence of Iltifāt is in the word "Ya'arifūnahu", "they know this", which refers to the prophet Mohammed (Note 1).It comes in the absence form or third person singular pronoun.This absence form occurs after addressing him in the previous verse No ( 145 ", "Even if You were to bring to the people of the Book all the signs (together), they would not follow your Qibla".It could have happened that the context continues this address and the word "they know you" instead of "they know this", then this benefit would have been lost and Allah, the Almighty, uses the absence form for a purpose.
To illustrate the first strategy of transposition, Yūsuf Ali translates the following verse: " َ ‫َﺎب‬ ‫ِﺘ‬ ‫ْﻜ‬ ‫ٱﻟ‬ ُ ‫ُﻢ‬ ‫َﺎه‬ ‫ْﻨ‬ ‫َﻴ‬ ‫ﺁﺗ‬ َ ‫ِﻳﻦ‬ ‫ﱠﺬ‬ ‫ٱﻟ‬ ‫َﻪ‬ ‫ُﻮﻧ‬ ‫ِﻓ‬ ‫ْﺮ‬ ‫َﻌ‬ ‫ﻳ‬ " as "The people of the Book know this".In this part, the reference switch occurs in the word ‫َﻪ"‬ ‫ُﻮﻧ‬ ‫ِﻓ‬ ‫ْﺮ‬ ‫َﻌ‬ ‫,"ﻳ‬ literally "they know him".The switch occurs from the second person pronoun to the third person pronoun.The third person pronoun refers to the prophet Mohammed (Al-Zamakhshari, 1143; Al-Qurtubi, 1272; Al-Alūsi, 1853; Abū-Su c ūd, 1544).Yūsuf Ali translates the third person pronoun (him) that refers to the prophet Muhammad as a demonstrative pronoun "this".The demonstrative pronoun, "this", does not show that the reference refers to the prophet.Understandably, the target readers may comprehend that the demonstrative "this" can refer to the scripture and not the prophet.Yūsuf Ali tries to avoid this problem by writing an explanatory note explaining the translation of the verse and highlighting the demonstrative pronoun "this", as in the following: The people of the Book should have known all this as well as "they knew their own sons", as their past traditions and teaching should have made them receptive of the new message.Some commentators construe the demonstrative pronoun 'this' to refer to the prophet.In that case the interpretation would be: the People of the Book know Muhammad as well as they knows their own sons: they know him to be true and upright.They know him to be in the line of Abraham: they know him to correspond to the description of the prophet foretold among themselves, but selfishness induces some of them to act against their own knowledge and conceal the truth.Cited in (Ali, 1998).
The researchers believe that in his translation, Yūsuf Ali could have translated the verse using the pronoun "him" instead of "this".And instead of translating the pronoun "him" as "this" using transposition strategy as explained in his footnote, Yūsuf Ali could have instead illustrated the switch from the second person singular pronoun (you) that refers to the prophet in verse 145 to the third person singular pronoun (him) that again refers to the prophet Muhammad and its meaning according to commentators and exegetes.The researchers could not find a reason for translating the object pronoun "him", obvious in the source text as a demonstrative pronoun "this".This may be due to some commentators mentioning that the pronoun in ‫"ﻳﻌﺮﻓﻮﻧﻪ"‬ could refer back to either Al-Qibla or Qur'ān.However, this is a weak reason as it is crystal clear in the rest of the verse that it refers back to the prophet Muhammad.In addition, the majority of exegeses (Al-Alusi, 1853) & (Abū-Su c ūd, 1544) mention that the pronoun refers back to the prophet Muhammad and that the translator himself previously made obvious in his footnote.
The research finds that neither transposition nor footnote in the case illustrated above proved to be helpful in the transference of reference switching.Although a footnote is one of the best strategies for displaying the meaning of reference switching to the target readers, Yūsuf Ali in the above-mentioned example uses a footnote to refer to one of the references, but not to reference switching.Yūsuf Ali could have used a footnote to refer to reference switching and its implied meaning according to the exegeses and commentators.
The examples studied herein bring out some of the difficulties encountered when translating the holy Qur'ān.This study is, therefore, another example for the argument that there can never be a perfect translation of the Qur'ān no matter how great the skills of the translators, and that the sacredness of the Qur'ān is lost when it is translated.

Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding reference switching or Iltifāt is a complicated task such that its translation is more complicated not just for the target readers but also for translators.The analysis of a specific text example shows that reference switching is totally ignored in Yūsuf Ali's translation.The translation was carried out either literally or using other strategies that appear to be inapplicable in conveying the meaning of reference switching.
The translator Yūsuf Ali has opted for five strategies in translating reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah.These strategies are among the strategies proposed by Newmark: literal, expansion, free translation, compensation and a dual strategy of transposition and footnote.However, none of these strategies could have transferred the meaning of reference switching.Thus, the researchers discovered that from all the five strategies used by the well-known translator Yūsuf Ali, two could reflect reference switching for the target readers which are a literal translation for exposing the form of reference switching, and a footnote for explicating its meaning with reference to intersexual texts as exegeses.In rendering reference switching more appropriately, intersexual texts as exegeses that refer to the phenomenon (Iltifāt) should be consulted by the translator.Without such commentary the translation is not understandable at all.The translator may have to intervene by inserting footnotes, providing translator's notes, or creating explanatory paraphrases.Therefore, the researchers suggest correcting the translated text of Yūsuf Ali with regard to the translation of reference switching.

Table 1 .
The frequency of literal translation in all types of reference switching in Yūsuf Ali's translation

Table 1
shows the distribution of frequency for literal translations in all types of reference switching for sūrah al-Baqarah.The highest frequency of literal translation occurs in the switch from first to third that constitutes 16 examples that are translated literally, approximately 38.1% of 42 reference switches.The next most frequently used literal translation by Yūsuf Ali is the switch from second to third.This type constitutes 10 instances translated literally by Yūsuf Ali with 23.8% of the total number of reference switches.The third frequently used literal translation is the switch from third to first which represents eight instances with 19.1% of the total number of literal translations used in other types of reference switching.The fourth literal translation used by Yūsuf Ali constitutes six instances or 14.28% under the switch from third to second.The least frequently occurring literal translation is the switch from first to second and appears in two rare instances with 4.76% of the total number of reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah.Literal translation is one of the strategies that Newmark (1988) has referred to.According toNewmark (1988), literal translation at the lexical level is similar to word-for-word translation while at the grammatical level the nearest TL equivalent is to be found.In other words, the SL grammatical constructions are converted to the nearest TL equivalents.The following example illustrates the literal translation of the switch from third to second: ‫ُﻮن‬ ‫ﱠﻘ‬ ‫َﺘ‬ ‫ﺗ‬ ْ ‫ُﻢ‬ ‫ﱠﻜ‬ ‫َﻠ‬ ‫َﻌ‬ ‫ﻟ‬ ْ ‫ُﻢ‬ ‫ِﻜ‬ ‫ْﻠ‬ ‫َﺒ‬ ‫ﻗ‬ ْ ‫ِﻦ‬ ‫ﻣ‬ َ ‫ِﻳﻦ‬ ‫ﱠﺬ‬ ‫َاﻟ‬ ‫و‬ ْ ‫ُﻢ‬ ‫َﻜ‬ ‫َﻘ‬ ‫َﻠ‬ ‫ﺧ‬ ‫ِي‬ ‫ﱠﺬ‬ ‫اﻟ‬ ُ ‫ُﻢ‬ ‫ﱠﻜ‬ ‫َﺑ‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ُوا‬ ‫ﺪ‬ 21 (

Table 2 .
The use of expansion strategy in Yūsuf Ali's translation for reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah