Bible Translation: An Introductory Course in Translation Principles, Fourth Edition

Katharine Barnwell

• Publisher: SIL International
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781556714078
• eBook ISBN: 9781556714702
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Bibles

Bible Translation: An Introductory Course in Translation Principles continues to provide crucial, practical training

for those preparing to translate the Bible or contribute to Bible translation in other ways.

The fourth edition of this classic textbook is a leading voice in addressing the following developments in the

Bible translation world:

• The priority of oral communication and its value in draft ing, testing, and polishing draft translations.

• The availability of soft ware and online resources specifi cally designed for Bible translation; exercises and

assignments include practice in the use of these resources.

• The increase in Old Testament translation projects worldwide; more examples and exercises from the Old

Testament are included.

• The value of partnership and teamwork in translation projects, recognizing the diff erent gift s, skills, and

roles of those involved, helping each team member to serve eff ectively as a member of a team.

• The involvement of local churches and community in the translation process; planning for local

responsibility, ownership and sustainability as fully as possible in each translation project.

• The importance of ongoing training for translators, including training translators to train others and

preparing capable translators to serve as translation consultants in due time.

The materials are designed for the classroom but are also suitable for self-study, for example, by those who are

already qualifi ed in biblical languages and exegetical skills and are training as translation consultants. A companion

Teacher's Manual is also available.

Documents, references, and links to videos and other published works can be found online at:

publications.sil.org/bibletranslation_additionalmaterials.

Bible Translation: An Introductory Course in Translation Principles has previously been translated in whole or

in part into French, Hindi, Indonesian, Kannada, Malagasy, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Portuguese, Russian,

Slovak, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, and Telugu. For information on translation or republishing, contact:

sil.org/resources/publications/about/contact.

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Part 1
Translation Principles

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Chapter 1
What Is Translation?

Welcome to the study of Bible translation! This course is designed to train those who are involved in translating Scripture into their own language, or who are preparing for this task.

In this first chapter, we begin by looking at some examples of translation, seeking to discover what happens when translation takes place.

1.1 Some examples of translation

Read the following story (adapted from Fox 1959:175), which was first told in the K’iche’ (Quiché) language of Guatemala:

It is said that being one man not from here, not known where the his or the he comes where. One day these things he walks in a finca or in them the coast-lands, he saw his appearance one little necklace, or he thought that a little necklace the very pretty thrown on the ground in the road. He took the necklace this he threw in his mouth for its cause that coming the one person another to his behindness, for his that not he encounters the one the following this way in his behindness, not he knows and that the necklace the he threw in his mouth this one snake and the man this one died right now because not he knows his appearance the snake or that the he ate this not this a necklace only probably this snake.

In this first version, each K’iche’ word in the original story is replaced by the nearest English word.

Now compare this with another version of the same story:

There is a story about a certain man. He didn’t come from this part of the world, and indeed, I don’t know where he came from. One day this man was walking in the coastlands (in a “finca” as they say), when he saw a little necklace, or rather, what he thought was a very pretty little necklace, lying in the road. There was someone coming along behind him, so he grabbed this necklace and threw it into his mouth, because he didn’t want that other person to see it. Well, he did not know that the necklace that he threw in his mouth was really a snake. And the man died there and then because he did not recognise that particular kind of snake, and did not know that the thing he put in his mouth was not a necklace at all, but a snake.

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For discussion

• Why is the first version difficult to understand?
• Does the first version communicate the meaning of the story?
• Note some of the changes that have been made in the second version.
• In your opinion, which of the two versions is the most faithful translation of the K’iche’ story?
• In your own words, give a definition of a good translation.

What is translation? A definition for discussion

Translation is retelling, as exactly as possible, the meaning of the original message in a way that will be understood by the speakers of the language into which the translation is being made.

1.2 Some exercises: Practice in applying the definition of translation

Exercise 1

1. (1) Take a short passage written in your own language. Two or three sentences are enough. First, word-by-word, underneath each word in the language, write the English for that word. Does this make a translation that an English speaker will understand?
2. (2) Then make a clear translation, expressing the meaning of the passage in a natural way in English.
3. (3) Discuss your translation with someone who speaks English as their first language.

Exercise 2: Mark 2:19

Compare the different versions of Mark 2:19 that are given below and answer the questions that follow.

Greek text with word-for-word key in English

(Here and elsewhere, the Hebrew or Greek text has been written in English letters so that a person who does not know the Hebrew or Greek alphabet can read it.)

kai

And

eipen

he-said

autois

to-them

ho

the

Iēsous:

Jesus

...

Table of contents

• Figures
• Introduction
• Abbreviations
• Part 1 Translation Principles
• Chapter 1 What Is Translation?
• Chapter 2 Different Styles of Translation
• Chapter 3 Some English Translations of the Bible
• Chapter 4 More about Meaning-Based Translation
• Chapter 5 Qualities of a Good Translation
• Chapter 6 Towards Naturalness – Beginning to Explore the Receptor Language
• Chapter 7 How We Communicate with One Another
• Chapter 8 Communicating across Cultures and across Time
• Chapter 9 More about Cross-Cultural Communication
• Chapter 10 A Ten-Step Procedure in Translation
• Chapter 11 Step 1: Exegesis – Discovering the Meaning of the Source Text
• Chapter 12 Step 2: Making the First Draft
• Chapter 13 Keyboarding the Translation - An Introduction to the Paratext Program
• Chapter 14 Step 3: Supplementary Helps – Book Introductions and Section Headings
• Chapter 15 Step 3, continued: Supplementary Helps – Footnotes, Cross-References, Parallel Passages, Glossary, Illustrations, Maps, and More
• Chapter 16 Step 4: The Team Check
• Chapter 17 Step 5: Testing the Translation with the Receptor Community
• Part 2 Translation Principles
• Chapter 18 Step 6: Preparing for the Consultant Check – How to Make a Back Translation
• Chapter 19 Step 7: Checking the Translation with a Consultant
• Chapter 20 Steps 8 to 10: The Later Stages of the Translation Process
• Part 3 Studying Words and How They Are Used (Lexical Meaning)
• Chapter 21 Exploring the Meanings of Words
• Chapter 22 Translating Unknown Concepts
• Chapter 23 More on Translating Unknown Concepts
• Chapter 24 Translating Key Biblical Terms
• Chapter 25 Exploring Terms Referring to the Supernatural World
• Part 4 More on Discovering the Meaning
• Chapter 26 Discovering the Meaning – Event Ideas
• Chapter 27 Discovering the Meaning – “Of” Phrases in English (Genitive Constructions)
• Chapter 28 Discovering the Meaning - Active and Passive Voice
• Chapter 29 Discovering the Meaning – Shortcuts
• Chapter 30 Discovering the Meaning – Complex Passages
• Chapter 31 Discovering the Meaning – Order of Events
• Chapter 32 Discovering the Meaning – Long and Short Sentences
• Part 5 Figures of Speech and Other Challenges
• Chapter 33 Figures of Speech - Comparisons
• Chapter 34 Other Figures of Speech
• Chapter 35 Rhetorical Questions
• Chapter 36 Translation Challenges - A Review
• Chapter 37 Principles of Consistent Spelling
• Part 6 Discovering Your Language
• Chapter 38 Different Kinds of Texts – Speech Genres
• Chapter 39 Discovering Your Language – How to Chart a Text
• Chapter 40 Pronoun Reference
• Chapter 41 Looking at the Big Picture – Discourse Perspective
• Part 7 Planning and Organising a Bible Translation Project
• Chapter 42 The Role of the Churches and Community in a Translation Project – Translation Is Teamwork!
• Chapter 43 Preparing a Translation Brief
• Chapter 44 Planning and Organising a Translation Project – Discussion Topics
• Appendix: The Cultural and Geographical Background of the Bible