Showing posts with label translation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label translation. Show all posts
9/18/2010
Translating the Word of God: Are you "STILL HIGH"?
When a translation is done, you study the meaning of the source language—Greek or Hebrew—and then you look for the lexical resources of the target language that convey the same meaning. It's never easy or boring. Often you come up with a good solution only to find a better one later. That is just what happened to us, by God's grace. A Hebrew expression, אֵינֶֽנּוּ, is translated by “is no more”. It occurs three times in Genesis 42:13-36, referring to Joseph. It is a “softer” or euphemistic way of dealing with the subject of death. Elanga Ferdinand, president of the language committee, helped me understand a Badwe'e expression for this: nye aka be kʉ: “he is not high anymore.”Whatever meaning comes to mind when you hear this, for those seeing life through Badwe'e eyes, the words mean that the person in question is no longer above ground. He has been buried and is dead. That is the meaning of this euphemistic expression for them. That is what they understand when they hear that “Joseph is not high anymore.”
"Lamentably, regrettably or unfortunately"
If you have to convey to people the sorrow and disappointment underlying a situation, you must use the lexical resources that are language-appropriate.
In Hebrew, it would seem that the pathos ("sadness") of a situation was represented by repetition of the regrettable proposition that is being narrated. This is found at two places in the text of Genesis.
Gen. 11:30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. (English Standard Version)
Gen. 40:23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. (English Standard Version)
Parallelism is the distinguishing feature of Hebrew poetry, but is also found in narrative discourse, as shown above.
Given our sense that this structure is intended to convey to the Hebrew reader the pathos of the two situations, we look for the comparable expressions in Badwe'e and in Nzime. It turns out that the Nzime have a word, Nzamedwɛha, that lexicalizes the expression "regrettably; unfortunately" whereas the Badwe'e, a closely-related language, have a phrase (A vwa' e) that has the same effect. It can be translated "how lamentable with (or 'for')". They come across very differently when seen side-by-side!
In Hebrew, it would seem that the pathos ("sadness") of a situation was represented by repetition of the regrettable proposition that is being narrated. This is found at two places in the text of Genesis.
Gen. 11:30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. (English Standard Version)
Gen. 40:23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. (English Standard Version)
Parallelism is the distinguishing feature of Hebrew poetry, but is also found in narrative discourse, as shown above.
Given our sense that this structure is intended to convey to the Hebrew reader the pathos of the two situations, we look for the comparable expressions in Badwe'e and in Nzime. It turns out that the Nzime have a word, Nzamedwɛha, that lexicalizes the expression "regrettably; unfortunately" whereas the Badwe'e, a closely-related language, have a phrase (A vwa' e) that has the same effect. It can be translated "how lamentable with (or 'for')". They come across very differently when seen side-by-side!
6/28/2009
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