Study of Pragmatic Losses in the English Translation of Surah Al Ikhlas: A Comparative Pragma-Linguistic Analysis

The comprehension of the message of the Holy Qur’ān is obligatory for the whole of humanity which is revealed in the Arabic language. Scholars all over the world, Muslims as well as non-Muslims have devoted their best efforts to translate the word of Allah Almighty in different languages of the world, although absolute translation is not possible. These translations from Arabic to other languages of the world result into pragmatic losses. Small wonder, these pragmatic losses cause problems in the process of understanding the actual message of the Holy Qur’ān enshrined in the source text. This study was conducted to analyze the pragmatic losses in the English translations of Sūrah Ikhlāṣ (chapter 112) through a comparative pragma-linguistic analysis. Three different translations have been selected for the study. A comparative and critical study of these translations has established the presence of certain pragmatic losses which are likely to bear upon the comprehension of the reader in more than one way. To the researchers, the presence of these losses calls for the greater sensitivity towards and understanding of the pragmatic aspects of interlingual translation, specifically for a text which in its primordial form was intended to be a Speech (Kalām). To retain the pragmatic value and meaning of the source text become all the more paramount when the text translated is sacred one with its own canonical conventions and discursive norms.

Synthesis and Characterization of Lithium- Manganese Rich Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

In this study 0.5LiMn2O3.0.5LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2, a layered lithium-manganese rich nickel manganese cobalt (LMR-NMC) oxide, was a carefully selected composition for use as a cathode material in Li ion batteries. The effect of synthesis method and doping on this layered lithium-manganese rich, mixed metal oxides is presented. First part of this study deals with the effect of synthesis route on the electrochemical properties of the 0.5LiMn2O3.0.5LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 material. A comparison between Co-precipitation, low temperature (90°C) sol-gel synthesised and high temperature (120°C) sol-gel synthesised LMR composite materials is presented. The study demonstrated that synthesis procedure and conditions strongly influence the electrochemical properties of the synthesized material. Co-precipitation and sol-gel synthesised LMR composites revealed obvious differences in capacity and cycle life, which give the impression from X-ray photoelectron spectra to be strongly related to the particles‘ surface reactivity. In the second part of study, the LMR-NMC materials were doped with varying amounts of aluminium. Small amounts of Al doping to the sol-gel material were shown to improve the rate capability and cyclability, in addition to decreasing voltage fade. The results were interpreted in terms of charge discharge studies and supported by differential capacity plots, impedance measurements and cyclic voltammetry data. The electrochemistry of an aluminium doped material was revealed to be highly dependent on the degree of aluminium doping – with the behaviour of 1% doped material giving a maximum capacity of 201 mAhg-1 at 150 mAg-1 and a capacity retention of 88% after 200 cycles. An attempt has been made to study the effect of Cr doping as well on the electrochemical properties of the LMR-NMC materials. It results in an increase in the initial charge/discharge capacity of the material while decreasing the capacity retention. However, the Cr as a dopant could not be assigned as an improvement in the LMR mixed metal oxide material. The study established the comparative role of co-precipitation and sol-gel methods on the improvement of electrochemical properties of the LMR-NMC oxides. Additionally, controlled Al doped samples substantially improved the discharge capacity while maintaining capacity retention event at very high C-rate.