Aspects of “Cultural Literacy” Relevant to Bible Translation

Q1 Arts and Humanities SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation Pub Date : 2006-01-01 DOI:10.54395/jot-4nk8h
Ernst-August Gutt
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引用次数: 7

Abstract

In 1987 E.D. Hirsch published his bestseller Cultural literacy: What every American needs to know. The education system of the time seriously underestimated the importance of background knowledge needed to successfully function in literate American society. Drawing on two decades of experimental research, Hirsch showed that without the background information needed for a given text, readers are effectively illiterate with regard to that text. He argued that quantitatively, too, background knowledge plays a major role in comprehension: the information explicitly stated in any text is only “the tip of the iceberg” of the intended meaning, the bulk needs to be supplied by the reader. In the light of this, Hirsch argued that one of the central goals of the educational system must be to provide American children with an adequate body of knowledge that would enable them to understand all communications addressed to the general public. This body of knowledge he called “cultural literacy.” Based on three decades of experience in Bible translation, the author of this paper sees some striking parallels with regard to the dominant philosophy in Bible translation. While the provision of biblical background knowledge has been given more attention in some quarters in recent years, it is still far from being acknowledged and treated as a key factor in the planning and execution of Bible translation projects, essential to ensure optimal efficiency of the work and to maximise the impact of the products. Applying relevant insights gained by Hirsch, the author examines the extent and nature of biblical literacy, that is, the background knowledge, needed for the successful comprehension of a sample text (Lk 10:13–14). This is done with the help of conceptual tools provided by relevance theory, the currently most developed theory of inferential communication. It goes on to the task of systematically identifying mismatches in background knowledge between original and receptor audience. It draws attention to the importance of timing and processing effort in biblical literacy strategies designed to overcome such mismatches. One of the spin-offs of biblical literacy is the need for closer interdisciplinary cooperation between biblical studies, anthropology and translation.
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与圣经翻译相关的“文化素养”方面
1987年,E.D.赫希出版了他的畅销书《文化素养:每个美国人都需要知道的东西》。当时的教育体系严重低估了背景知识的重要性,而背景知识是在识字的美国社会成功运作所必需的。通过二十年的实验研究,赫希表明,如果没有给定文本所需的背景信息,读者实际上对该文本一无所知。他认为,从数量上讲,背景知识在理解中也起着重要作用:任何文本中明确陈述的信息只是预期意义的“冰山一角”,大部分需要读者提供。有鉴于此,赫希认为,教育体系的中心目标之一必须是为美国儿童提供足够的知识体系,使他们能够理解所有面向公众的交流。他把这种知识体系称为“文化素养”。笔者根据三十多年的圣经翻译经验,在圣经翻译中发现了一些显著的相似之处。虽然圣经背景知识的提供近年来在某些方面得到了更多的关注,但它仍然远远没有被承认和视为圣经翻译项目规划和执行的关键因素,这是确保工作效率最佳和产品影响最大化的必要因素。运用Hirsch获得的相关见解,作者考察了圣经素养的程度和性质,即成功理解样本文本所需的背景知识(路10:13-14)。这是在关联理论提供的概念工具的帮助下完成的,关联理论是目前最发达的推理交际理论。它继续系统地识别原始受众和受众之间背景知识的不匹配。它提请注意时间和处理努力在圣经扫盲策略旨在克服这种不匹配的重要性。圣经素养的一个副产品是圣经研究、人类学和翻译之间需要更密切的跨学科合作。
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来源期刊
SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation
SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation Arts and Humanities-Literature and Literary Theory
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0.70
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