In Gbaya, the notion of many bones scattered in the ground in Ezekiel 37:2 is emphasized with the ideophone sót-sót that refers to small things scattered on the ground; bones, skeleton.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
In Gbaya, the notion of great beauty in Judith 10:4 with boɗoe, an ideophone that describes something clear and clean, like a beautiful, spotless face, a body in perfect health.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
See also ruddy.
In Gbaya, the notion of eyes swelling out with fatness is emphasized in Psalm 73:7 with ɗik-ɗik, an ideophone that refers to something that is covered in oil or stained with oil.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
In Gbaya, the notion of staggering drunkenly is emphasized in Tobit 4:15 with kɔɗɔŋ-kɔɗɔŋ, an ideophone that refers to a staggering gait like that of a drunkard.
Note that the New Revised Standard Version, updated edition, used as the reference translation in TIPs, translates the second part of this verse following a different Greek manuscript (“May no evil go with you on any of your way”), most other English Bibles, such as the New Revised Standard Version, translate from the same source as the Gbaya translation (“Do not drink wine to excess or let drunkenness go with you on your way”).
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
In Gbaya, the notion of the heart melting within the breast is emphasized in Psalm 22:14 with lɛtɛtɛ, an ideophone that expresses limpness, flabbiness, melting, or spiritual weakness.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
The Hebrew that is translated “a few handbreadths” or similar in English in Psalm 39:5 is translated in Gbaya with the ideophone ŋgólók which can be used to describe a short piece or a small piece of something.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
In Gbaya, the notion of white of eyes that are like “doves” in Song of Songs 4:1 is emphasized with kàlàkùlɛ̀ɛ̀, an ideophone used to describe something that is at white as milk.
The notion of a “flock of goats” coming down the hill is emphasized with fɔɗɛɛ, an ideophone that describes the spreading out of a number of objects on the ground, like termites, or here a number of goats on the hillside.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. Since the subject matter of Songs of Songs is particularly conducive to the use of ideophones, there are a total of 30 ideophones in the Gbaya Bible in that short biblical book alone. (Source: Philip Noss)
See also teeth are like a flock of ewes and eyes are like doves.
In Gbaya, the notion of a fixed gaze in 2 Kings 8:11 is emphasized with the ideophone raaŋ, which refers to a fixed stare or eyes open without seeing, as in old age.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
See also dim eyes.