Honorifics and the Japanese Bible: Goliath is “Ruder” than Pharaoh?

This paper is dedicated to the study of honorifics (lexically, morphologically, and/or grammatically marked polite/appropriate speech or language) in Bible translation. It includes a brief history of honorific studies, definitions of important terms (e.g., honorifics vs. politeness), challenges of honorifics in general, sociolinguistic factors or rules in Japanese honorifics, how honorifics are reflected in the Japanese Bible (e.g., pronouns, titles, familial terms, in-group vs. out-group, verbal honorifics including prefixes, suffixes, benefactives, imperatives), and specific issues or challenges found in the Japanese Bible. Unfortunately, the original languages of the Bible do not have much to say about honorifics. As such, translators are faced with difficult decisions, as the language may require every utterance to be marked as either “polite” or “casual” to some degree, i.e., one cannot keep the level of politeness “neutral.” I approach this issue of honorifics in Bible translation by observing how honorifics are reflected in one of the most read versions of the Japanese Bible, Shinkaiyaku Seisho 2017 ‘New Japanese Bible 2017,’ mainly focusing on the conversational discourse found within the New Testament, and particularly the Gospel according to Matthew. My hope is that this paper will contribute to raising awareness of honorifics, and at the same time provide some clues and a framework for those who are translating the Bible into languages which utilize them.