In some places, it is not immediately clear whether the Hebrew demonstrative pronouns of the זֶה zeh paradigm refer backward (anaphoric) or forward (cataphoric). The translator cannot continue without deciding this. Standard resources do not discuss the problem satisfactorily. In this article, an exegetical “checklist” is presented as a guideline for determining the meaning of such pronouns. Then five debatable cases are discussed in detail, with reference to the pertinent literature and including the consequences for translation. The following four points emerge from the investigation: (1) The debatable cases are typically discourse deictic pronouns. These are an element of metadiscourse, and they link paragraphs. (2) General predictions are not possible. Context decides. (3) Nevertheless, there is a higher likelihood for backward-orientation. (4) The translation will guide the reader. Apart from choosing the right demonstrative pronoun, punctuation and layout need attention.
{"title":"The Demonstrative Pronouns זֶה Zeh / זאֹת Zōʾt / אֵלּהֶ Ēlleh: Referring Backward or Forward?","authors":"Peter Schmidt","doi":"10.54395/jot-6nf34","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-6nf34","url":null,"abstract":"In some places, it is not immediately clear whether the Hebrew demonstrative pronouns of the זֶה zeh paradigm refer backward (anaphoric) or forward (cataphoric). The translator cannot continue without deciding this. Standard resources do not discuss the problem satisfactorily. In this article, an exegetical “checklist” is presented as a guideline for determining the meaning of such pronouns. Then five debatable cases are discussed in detail, with reference to the pertinent literature and including the consequences for translation. The following four points emerge from the investigation: (1) The debatable cases are typically discourse deictic pronouns. These are an element of metadiscourse, and they link paragraphs. (2) General predictions are not possible. Context decides. (3) Nevertheless, there is a higher likelihood for backward-orientation. (4) The translation will guide the reader. Apart from choosing the right demonstrative pronoun, punctuation and layout need attention.","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81328048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Traditionally, the approach to translating metaphor in Scripture assumed that metaphors are descriptive literary devices with an underlying “literal meaning.” Research in cognitive linguistics has challenged this idea, and a new field of study, conceptual metaphor theory, has emerged. Conceptual metaphor theory draws a distinction between image metaphors, where a target is described in comparison to a source, and conceptual metaphors, where an abstract or complex conceptual domain is actually understood in terms of a more concrete or familiar conceptual domain drawn from embodied human experience. This paper examines the importance of identifying conceptual metaphors and analyzing their accessibility when translating Scripture. Translators who encounter figurative language derived from underlying conceptual metaphors that are not culturally conventional may try to convert the mapped elements of the source domain into a series of descriptive image metaphors. This skewing of meaning could be mitigated if translators were trained to identify conceptual metaphors licensing figurative language and consider making them explicit. As a case study, a translation of Ephesian 6:13–17 in Tlacoapa Meꞌphaa (tpl) produced by a translator guided by Paratext notes and trained in the traditional approach to the translation of metaphors (Larson 1984) is compared with a second translation produced after encouragement to make the underlying conceptual metaphor PREPARATION IS GETTING DRESSED explicit at the beginning of the passage.
{"title":"Dressing for Spiritual Battle and Other Challenges: Translating Passages with Underlying Conceptual Metaphors","authors":"C. Hemphill","doi":"10.54395/jot-6j9c9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-6j9c9","url":null,"abstract":"Traditionally, the approach to translating metaphor in Scripture assumed that metaphors are descriptive literary devices with an underlying “literal meaning.” Research in cognitive linguistics has challenged this idea, and a new field of study, conceptual metaphor theory, has emerged. Conceptual metaphor theory draws a distinction between image metaphors, where a target is described in comparison to a source, and conceptual metaphors, where an abstract or complex conceptual domain is actually understood in terms of a more concrete or familiar conceptual domain drawn from embodied human experience. This paper examines the importance of identifying conceptual metaphors and analyzing their accessibility when translating Scripture. Translators who encounter figurative language derived from underlying conceptual metaphors that are not culturally conventional may try to convert the mapped elements of the source domain into a series of descriptive image metaphors. This skewing of meaning could be mitigated if translators were trained to identify conceptual metaphors licensing figurative language and consider making them explicit. As a case study, a translation of Ephesian 6:13–17 in Tlacoapa Meꞌphaa (tpl) produced by a translator guided by Paratext notes and trained in the traditional approach to the translation of metaphors (Larson 1984) is compared with a second translation produced after encouragement to make the underlying conceptual metaphor PREPARATION IS GETTING DRESSED explicit at the beginning of the passage.","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74711794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Bible in India has been seen by some as an offshoot of the missionary movement in pre- and post-independence times. Such allegations belie a technical or stylistic reading of the translated scriptures into Hindi, which is the great unread aspect of the Bible. The Bible translated into Hindi is titled Dharmasastra. The present study aims to compare the Hindi version with another translation in a completely different part of the world, the Chichewa Bible. Chichewa is a Bantu language widely spoken in SE Africa. It turns out that the Hindi translation of the Bible is surprisingly close to the Chichewa Buku Loyera translation, a fact which might motivate further comparative research into these two languages and cultural domains.
在印度,圣经被一些人视为独立前后传教运动的一个分支。这样的指控不符合对翻译成印地语的经文的技术或风格阅读,这是圣经未读的重要方面。翻译成印地语的《圣经》名为《Dharmasastra》。本研究的目的是比较印地语版本和世界上另一个完全不同的地方的另一个译本——奇切瓦圣经。奇切瓦语是非洲东南部广泛使用的班图语。事实证明,《圣经》的印地语译本与Chichewa Buku Loyera译本惊人地接近,这一事实可能会激发对这两种语言和文化领域的进一步比较研究。
{"title":"Short Note: Chichewa and Hindi Back Translations of the Bible: A Comparative Check of Translation Techniques","authors":"S. Sharma","doi":"10.54395/jot-69624","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-69624","url":null,"abstract":"The Bible in India has been seen by some as an offshoot of the missionary movement in pre- and post-independence times. Such allegations belie a technical or stylistic reading of the translated scriptures into Hindi, which is the great unread aspect of the Bible. The Bible translated into Hindi is titled Dharmasastra. The present study aims to compare the Hindi version with another translation in a completely different part of the world, the Chichewa Bible. Chichewa is a Bantu language widely spoken in SE Africa. It turns out that the Hindi translation of the Bible is surprisingly close to the Chichewa Buku Loyera translation, a fact which might motivate further comparative research into these two languages and cultural domains.","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80845185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article will help translation teams to develop a best practice for dealing with explanatory notes that are made by the Biblical authors themselves. To my knowledge there is no standard resource for Bible translators that addresses in some detail the issue of explanatory (or: parenthetical) notes. However, every Bible translator will face numerous such notes and has to decide what to do with them. Some standard versions appear unsystematic in this and are of limited help. This article discusses what options a translator has in dealing with such notes. Special attention is given to explanatory notes that need explanation themselves for the modern reader. In order to explore translation problems and solutions regarding explanatory notes, I collected examples – partly when I encountered them incidentally, partly by reading through several Biblical books and looking for them. I discuss the options for translation on the basis of three types of examples. An annotated translation of Deuteronomy 3:8–17 shows how explanatory notes can be represented. I argue that each translation project should make two conscious choices: (1) whether or not to mark explanatory notes, and (2) if yes, in what way; this is largely a question of how punctuation and footnotes are used. The principles should be applied consistently. This is to achieve three goals: (1) doing justice to the Biblical text with its own history and different levels, (2) being systematic and transparent in the method of translation, and (3) having efficient ways of working within the translation team. A model guideline and a list of explanatory notes complete the article.
{"title":"Toward a Best Practice in Representing The Authors’ Explanatory Notes in Old Testament Translation","authors":"Peter Schmidt","doi":"10.54395/jot-8c3tv","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-8c3tv","url":null,"abstract":"This article will help translation teams to develop a best practice for dealing with explanatory notes that are made by the Biblical authors themselves. To my knowledge there is no standard resource for Bible translators that addresses in some detail the issue of explanatory (or: parenthetical) notes. However, every Bible translator will face numerous such notes and has to decide what to do with them. Some standard versions appear unsystematic in this and are of limited help. This article discusses what options a translator has in dealing with such notes. Special attention is given to explanatory notes that need explanation themselves for the modern reader. In order to explore translation problems and solutions regarding explanatory notes, I collected examples – partly when I encountered them incidentally, partly by reading through several Biblical books and looking for them. I discuss the options for translation on the basis of three types of examples. An annotated translation of Deuteronomy 3:8–17 shows how explanatory notes can be represented. I argue that each translation project should make two conscious choices: (1) whether or not to mark explanatory notes, and (2) if yes, in what way; this is largely a question of how punctuation and footnotes are used. The principles should be applied consistently. This is to achieve three goals: (1) doing justice to the Biblical text with its own history and different levels, (2) being systematic and transparent in the method of translation, and (3) having efficient ways of working within the translation team. A model guideline and a list of explanatory notes complete the article.","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91316290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the analysis of Hebrew lexical items there is sometimes a tendency to interpret words exclusively based on their root meaning. In fact, the one-sided etymological analysis of Hebrew words is particularly tempting, because most Hebrew words are constructed around lexical roots consisting of two or three (sometimes four) consonants that are shared in common by a family of related words. Deriving the meaning of a lexical item exclusively from its root meaning while disregarding the phenomenon of semantic shift, which is frequently caused by metonymy, can lead to incorrect interpretations. Hebrew lexicons such as Brown–Driver–Briggs (BDB) sometimes contribute to this error due to interpreting words as polysemous lexical items when they should be interpreted as homonyms with non-related meanings.
{"title":"Polysemy and Homonymy in Biblical Hebrew","authors":"Gerhard Tauberschmidt","doi":"10.54395/jot-3rkrr","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-3rkrr","url":null,"abstract":"In the analysis of Hebrew lexical items there is sometimes a tendency to interpret words exclusively based on their root meaning. In fact, the one-sided etymological analysis of Hebrew words is particularly tempting, because most Hebrew words are constructed around lexical roots consisting of two or three (sometimes four) consonants that are shared in common by a family of related words. Deriving the meaning of a lexical item exclusively from its root meaning while disregarding the phenomenon of semantic shift, which is frequently caused by metonymy, can lead to incorrect interpretations. Hebrew lexicons such as Brown–Driver–Briggs (BDB) sometimes contribute to this error due to interpreting words as polysemous lexical items when they should be interpreted as homonyms with non-related meanings.","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81855857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The purpose of this compilation is to give an overview over the use of the key phrase “father’s house” to alert to differences in meaning in various places and to discuss further issues connected with this phrase.
{"title":"Short Note: Bē̂t Āb 'Father’s House' in Numbers","authors":"P. Schmidt","doi":"10.54395/jot-5k6w2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-5k6w2","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this compilation is to give an overview over the use of the key phrase “father’s house” to alert to differences in meaning in various places and to discuss further issues connected with this phrase.","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80654775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Translation needs to be accessible and acceptable to the receptor community. In the case of the Zulu people, the medium of communication most accessible to the majority is oral performance. Thus biblical text needs to be translated in a way that is prepared for the ear and not the eye. To be acceptable, the translation should sound like “my language,” using indigenous forms and contemporary vocabulary. When translating biblical psalms into isiZulu, they should sound like Zulu songs or poems, with all the richness of performance texture that is part of the long history of Zulu oral art. With this goal in mind, and given the tradition of Zulu praise poetry and the passion Zulu youth today have for poetry, a study was conducted in which young Zulu people, taking cognizance of their Zulu traditions in poetry and music, applied these to the translation and performance of some biblical praise psalms. The results show the value of focusing on orality, indigenous poetics, and performance in communicating effectively the message of some praise psalms.
{"title":"Using Features of Indigenous Poetry and Music in the Oral Performance of Some Praise Psalms in Isizulu","authors":"J. Dickie","doi":"10.54395/jot-v622c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-v622c","url":null,"abstract":"Translation needs to be accessible and acceptable to the receptor community. In the case of the Zulu people, the medium of communication most accessible to the majority is oral performance. Thus biblical text needs to be translated in a way that is prepared for the ear and not the eye. To be acceptable, the translation should sound like “my language,” using indigenous forms and contemporary vocabulary. When translating biblical psalms into isiZulu, they should sound like Zulu songs or poems, with all the richness of performance texture that is part of the long history of Zulu oral art. With this goal in mind, and given the tradition of Zulu praise poetry and the passion Zulu youth today have for poetry, a study was conducted in which young Zulu people, taking cognizance of their Zulu traditions in poetry and music, applied these to the translation and performance of some biblical praise psalms. The results show the value of focusing on orality, indigenous poetics, and performance in communicating effectively the message of some praise psalms.","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88433619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: Cognitive Linguistics and Translation: Advances in Some Theoretical Models and Applications","authors":"E. Wendland","doi":"10.54395/jot-cr3kn","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-cr3kn","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87628376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Key biblical terms present one of the greatest challenges in Bible translation, due in part to their theological significance and deep integration with the biblical cultures in which they were used. This paper posits that a linguistic study of technical terms, a linguistic classification that has not received much focused attention, reveals useful insights that can be applied to the translation of key biblical terms. Drawing from both classical and cognitive models, it presents an overview of the semantic features of technical terms, namely their linkage to discrete categories and exclusivity to a particular cultural group. Important diachronic and pragmatic considerations are also discussed. A case study on the Greek word ἀπόστολος provides application to the theory presented, arguing that a diachronic study of the technical category’s origins influences an understanding of the concept, and providing an overview of the category structure. Finally, some practical suggestions for the translation of this term are provided, positing that longer-term strategies are necessary for the fullest understanding of a technical term.
关键圣经术语是圣经翻译中最大的挑战之一,部分原因是它们的神学意义以及与使用它们的圣经文化的深刻融合。本文认为,对技术术语这一尚未受到广泛关注的语言分类进行语言学研究,可以揭示出一些有用的见解,这些见解可以应用于圣经关键术语的翻译。从经典模型和认知模型中,它概述了技术术语的语义特征,即它们与离散类别的联系和特定文化群体的排他性。重要的历时性和实用性的考虑也进行了讨论。本文以希腊单词“ο π ο στολος”为例,对本文提出的理论进行了应用,论证了对技术范畴起源的历时研究影响了对概念的理解,并提供了范畴结构的概述。最后,对该术语的翻译提出了一些切实可行的建议,认为要充分理解一个技术术语,就必须采取更长期的策略。
{"title":"The Semantics and Translation of Technical Terms: A Case Study on Ἀπόστολος","authors":"Ben Kuwitzky","doi":"10.54395/jot-txw5x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-txw5x","url":null,"abstract":"Key biblical terms present one of the greatest challenges in Bible translation, due in part to their theological significance and deep integration with the biblical cultures in which they were used. This paper posits that a linguistic study of technical terms, a linguistic classification that has not received much focused attention, reveals useful insights that can be applied to the translation of key biblical terms. Drawing from both classical and cognitive models, it presents an overview of the semantic features of technical terms, namely their linkage to discrete categories and exclusivity to a particular cultural group. Important diachronic and pragmatic considerations are also discussed. A case study on the Greek word ἀπόστολος provides application to the theory presented, arguing that a diachronic study of the technical category’s origins influences an understanding of the concept, and providing an overview of the category structure. Finally, some practical suggestions for the translation of this term are provided, positing that longer-term strategies are necessary for the fullest understanding of a technical term.","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87445145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Review of: In Translation: Translators on Their Work and What It Means, Esther Allen and Susan Bernofsky, Editors","authors":"E. Wendland","doi":"10.54395/jot-jfcfe","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54395/jot-jfcfe","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38669,"journal":{"name":"SKASE Journal of Translation and Interpretation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87288956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}