A semantic analysis of the english translation of Surah “Al-Mulk” by A. Yusuf Ali

Semantic deals with the meaning of language used by people in order to convey meaning of speaking, or messages of a language used. If people do not know the real meaning or the exact meaning, they would have difficult to understand what they want. Although it may relate to the some matters of which we possess to the scientific knowledge (according to the referential or denotational theory describes that the meaning of utterance is what it shows), ideational theory and also behaviourist theory that describes that the meaning of an expression is either the stimulus that cause it or response it cause. So we have to know more about what semantics itself is and what the content of it. In addition we will know what the writer means with his writing, which theory he used and how he expresses his mind in writing.

This study is intended to investigate: what kinds of lexical meanings are found in the English translation of Surah Al-Mulk by A. Yusuf Ali?

In analyzing this surah, the writer used a descriptive qualitative research as design because the data are in the form of words, and it does not need variable and the data are analyzed qualitatively without using both numbers and statistical formula. The writer used the English translation by A. Yusuf Ali as the relevant source of data. After reading and understanding the data obtained and also getting the data from internet, she arranged the data systematically which are accordance with the problem of the study. Having arranged the data systematically, she analyzed them in detail about lexical meaning of each category.

After analyzing the data, the researcher conclude that A. Yusuf Ali elicit lexical meaning on the English translation of surah AL-Mulk dominated by denotative meaning and synonym, and then they are followed by connotation, antonymy, and on the few number they are ambiguity, homonymy, and polysemy, and the fewest is figurative meaning which are elicit by repetition, symbolic, and hyperbole.

The writer suggest the reader, other researcher and English learners who want make this study as reference or for further researcher, they can analyze another style of English translation of the meaning on the holy Qur’an with semantic study or other branch of linguistic point of view. Finally, researcher hopes that this research will be able to help the next researchers who are conduct in the same field of study.