1st Edition

Bible Translation Frames of Reference

By Timothy Wilt Copyright 2002
    306 Pages
    by Routledge

    306 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book offers a broad-based, contemporary perspective on Bible translation in terms of academic areas foundational to the endeavor: translation studies, communication theory, linguistics, cultural studies, biblical studies and literary and rhetorical studies. The discussion of each area is geared towards non-specialists, to introduce them to notions, trends and tools that can contribute to their understanding of translation.

    The Bible translator is encouraged to appreciate various approaches to translation in view of the wide variety of communicative, organizational and sociocultural situations in which translation occurs. However, literary representation of the Scriptures receives special attention since it has been neglected in earlier, influential works on Bible translation.

    In addition to useful introductory and concluding sections, the book consists of six chapters: Scripture Translation in the Era of Translation Studies; Translation and Communication; The Role of Culture in Communication; Advances in Linguistic Theory and their Relavance to Translation; Biblical Studies and Bible Translation; and A Lterary Approach to Biblical Text Analysis and Translation.

    The authors are translation consultants for the United Bible Societies. They have worked with translation projects in various media and in languages ranging from ones of a few hundred speakers to international ones, in Africa, the Americas and Asia.

    Bible Translation: Contents

    Introduction


    Chapter 1: Scripture translation in the era of translation studies
    Aloo Osotsi Mojola


    1.1 The dynamic equivalent approach to translation and its institutionalization
    1.2 Evaluation of the TAPOT approach to translation
    1.3 The emergence of translation studies as an autonomous discipline
    1.4 Some contemporary translation approaches
    1.4.1 Functionalist
    1.4.2 Descriptive
    1.4.3 Text-linguistic
    1.4.4 Relevance theory
    1.4.5 Post-colonial
    1.4.6 Literalist
    1.4.7 Foreignization v. domestication
    1.5 Conclusion

     

    Chapter 2: Translation and communication

    Timothy Wilt


    2.1 Components of communication
    2.1.1 Participants, text and medium
    2.1.1.1 Participants
    2.1.1.1.1 Relationships between participants
    2.1.1.1.2 Relationships between participants and a text
    2.1.1.1.3 A multitude of participants in the translation process
    2.1.1.2 Text
    2.1.1.2.1 Texts composed of signs
    2.1.1.2.2 Selection and perception of a text's signs
    2.1.1.3 The medium for communicating a text
    2.1.2 Frames
    2.1.2.1 Cognitive frames
    2.1.2.2 Sociocultural frames
    2.1.2.3 Organizational frames
    2.1.2.3.1 Multiple organizational frames
    2.1.2.3.2 Frames of a particular organization
    2.1.2.3.2.1 Organizational structure and process
    2.1.2.3.2.2 Organizational cultures and subcultures
    2.1.2.3.2.3 Gatekeeping
    2.1.2.3.2.4 Power
    2.1.2.3.2.5 Training
    2.1.2.4 Communication-situation frame
    2.1.2.4.1 Some basic elements of any communication situation
    2.1.2.4.2 Dramatic changes in the communication situations of Bible translation
    2.1.2.5 Text frames
    2.1.3 Goals
    2.1.3.1 Some fundamental goals
    2.1.3.1.1 Text goals
    2.1.3.1.2 Organizational goals
    2.1.3.2 Conflicting goals
    2.1.3.3 Ritual communication
    2.1.4 Exchange: focus on the translation process
    2.1.4.1 Assessing the communication situation
    2.1.4.2 Facilitating cooperation
    2.1.4.3 Goals and resources
    2.1.4.4 Academic and technical training
    2.1.4.5 Producing the text
    2.1.4.6 Evaluation 2.1.4.7 Further product development 2.2 Graphic representation of the communication model 2.2.1 Easy communication
    2.2.2 Differences from earlier models of communication
    2.2.3 Difficult communication
    2.3 Conclusion

     

    Chapter 3:  The role of culture in communication
    Robert Bascom


    3.1 Katan's Translating Cultures
    3.2 Women, Fire and Dangerous Things
    3.3 Night, sun and wine
    3.4 "Key"
    3.5 A map of some fundamental biblical notions
    3.5.1 Reciprocity
    3.5.1.1 Tsedeq/tsedeqah
    3.5.1.2 'emet/'emunah/he'emin
    3.5.1.3 Go'el
    3.5.1.4 Hesed
    3.5.2 Frames and boundaries in ancient Israelite society: holiness and pollution in their social and religious contexts
    3.5.2.1 Time
    3.5.2.2 Space
    3.5.2.3 Creation
    3.5.2.4 Symbolic numbers
    3.5.2.5 State
    3.5.2.6 The human body
    3.5.2.7 Dietary laws
    3.5.2.8 Animal sacrifices
    3.5.2.9 Summary
    3.5.3 Sickness and healing in the New Testament
    3.6 Conclusion

     

    Chapter 4: Advances in linguistic theory and their relevance to translation
    L. Ronald Ross

     
    4.1 Universalism versus relativity
    4.1.1 Metaphor
    4.1.2 Spatial orientation
    4.2 Typology
    4.2.1 Constituent order typology
    4.2.2 Grammatical typology
    4.2.3 Typological semantics
    4.3 Cross-cultural semantics
    4.4 Pragmatics
    4.4.1 The cooperative principle
    4.4.2 Speech acts
    4.5 Sociolinguistics
    4.6 Discourse analysis
    4.7 Information structure
    4.8 Conclusion


    Chapter 5: Biblical studies and Bible translation
    Graham Ogden


    5.1 Long-standing concerns: new finds and tools
    5.1.1 Lexical and grammatical studies
    5.1.2 Historical-critical studies
    5.1.3 Textual criticism
    5.1.4 Archaeology
    5.1.5 Source criticism and redaction criticism
    5.1.6 Canonical criticism
    5.1.7 Intertestamental studies
    5.1.8 Intertextuality
    5.2 Some recent trends in interpreting the Bible
    5.2.1 Reader-response criticism
    5.2.2 Feminist approaches
    5.2.3 Cross-cultural biblical interpretation
    5.2.4 Post-colonial studies
    5.2.5 Region-centric studies
    5.2.6 Ideology and exegesis
    5.2.7 Sociological approaches
    5.3 Conclusion

     

    Chapter 6: A literary approach to biblical text analysis and translation
    Ernst Wendland


    6.1 Unity
    6.1.1 Connectivity
    6.1.2 Intertextuality
    6.1.3 Archetypes
    6.2 Diversity
    6.3 Rhetoricity
    6.4 Structure
    6.4.1 Genres
    6.4.2 Pros
    6.4.3 Poetry
    6.5 Patterning
    6.6 Foregrounding
    6.6.1 Prominence
    6.6.2 Progression
    6.7 Imagery
    6.8 Phonicity
    6.9 Dramatics
    6.10 Conclusion

     

    7. Conclusion

    Timothy Wilt


    Appendices


    A Cognitive frames: some pedagogical suggestions
    B Courses for a 4-year Bible translation program
    C Course outlines for Bible Translation I and II
    D Seminar: Introduction to Bible translation
    E Translation and communication: course outline
    F Some communicational aspects of various translations


    References

    Index

    Biography

    Timothy Wilt