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Language: American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ase) is a(n) Sign Language language of Barbados, Burkina Faso, Benin, Bolivia, Plurinational State of, Canada, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, China, Gabon, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, Chad, Togo, United States, Zimbabwe, marked as not endangered
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is translated as “justice” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that describes the quality or principle of fairness, righteousness, and impartiality in treating other people. A literal back-translation of the signs are “FOLLOW(God is implied) ACTIONS, DECISIONS JUST-RIGHT”. A more idiomatic back-translation would be: “actions and decisions are right/fitting/just in accordance to God’s will.” The movement in the signs itself helps to indicate that this is a noun, not a verb. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Justice” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The term that is transliterated as “Potiphar” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the letter “P” and “boss.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Potiphar” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The name that is transliterated as “Elisha” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying “help + prophet.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
The term that is transliterated as “Stephen” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that combines “S” and the sign for “stoned” or “rocks,” referring to Acts 7:58. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Stephen” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a signs for “see” + “heaven” + “open,” referring to Acts 7:55. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The following is a contemporary stained glass window from the Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota by Peter Dohmen. Individual glass pieces were made in Germany in accordance with Dohmen’s design, using a technique first developed by Irish monks in the 9th and 10th centuries.
“This window on the east wall of the sanctuary shows us St. Stephen, the first martyr to give his life for Christ. Faith and loyalty are symbolized in the top panel by the cross. You will notice that Stephen’s eyes are turned toward heaven and we recall his words: ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ The bottom section depicts the martyrdom of this great saint who was only in deacon’s orders when he met his death by stoning.”
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
The Hebrew and Greek that is usually translated into English as “peace,” when referring to one’s inner peace, is (back-) translated with a variety of idioms and phrases:
“rest the heart” (Central Mazahua) / “rest within” (Lacandon) (source: Nida 1952, p. 40 and 128ff.) / “wait well in your heart” (Yatzachi Zapotec) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The term that is transliterated as “Abram” in English is translated in American Sign Language with the sign signifying sojourning with a staff, clearly differentiating it from Abraham. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Abram” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Similarly, in Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with a sign that demonstrates that he has to wander from his home. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
“Abram” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL
The term that is transliterated as “Mary Magdalene” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign signifying 7 demons having gone out, referring to Luke 8:2. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Mary Magdalene” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The following is a stained glass window in the All Saints’ Church, Highgate, London, of the late 19thy century:
Photo by John Salmon, hosted by Wikimedia Common under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
“John the Baptist” in Mexican Sign Language (source: BSLM )
In German Sign Language (Catholic) it is translated with the sign for the letter J and the sign signifying a Catholic baptism by sprinkling on the head.
In American Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the letter J and the sign signifying “shout,” referring to John 1:23. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“John” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign for leaping in the womb (see Luke 1:41) and baptism. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
A question of cultural assumptions arose in Tuvan. The instinctive way to translate this name denotatively would be “John the Dipper,” but this would carry the highly misleading connotation that he drowned people. It was therefore decided that his label should focus on the other major aspect of his work, that is, proclaiming that the Messiah would soon succeed him. (Compare his title in Russian Orthodox translation “Иоанн Предтеча” — “John the Forerunner.”) So he became “John the Announcer,” which fortunately did not seem to give rise to any confusion with radio newsreaders! (Source: David Clark in The Bible Translator 2015, p. 117ff. )
In Noongar it is translated as John-Kakaloorniny or “John Washing” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
A new oral translation into Yao / Ciyawo, spoken in Mozambique, uses John the one who ceremoniously washes/pours water, using a term (kusingula) that “indicates a ceremonial washing or pouring of water on a person in the Yawo’s expression of Islam which can be used for an act done in repentance of sin.” (Source: Houston 2025, p. 236)
