In Gbaya, the notion of setting off early at dawn in Job 24:5 is emphasized with sút, an ideophone that refers to early morning. Note that the Gbaya translators interpreted along the lines of the French Traduction œcuménique de la Bible which has “set off for their work at dawn” (ils partent au travail dès l’aube) where most English versions don’t emphasize the time of day.
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 a narrow place is emphasized in Numbers 22:26 with ɓɔɔŋ, an ideophone for that very purpose.
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 being bald is emphasized in Micah 1:16 with ɗuwee, an ideophone that designates a bare surface, as bare as a bald head.
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 a parched land is emphasized in Psalm 107:35 with kpál-kpál, an ideophone that means to be dry or desiccated.
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 his handsome black hair in Song of Songs 5:11 is emphasized with ɓɔ́tɔ́tɔ́, an ideophone used to describe the deepest of blacks.
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)
In Gbaya, the notion of sparkling and shininess in Ezekiel 1:7 is emphasized with ŋgol-ŋgol, an ideophone that designates something shiny.
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 complete verse (Psalm 68:13).
In Gbaya, the notion of the troops rallying together in Amos 15:10 is emphasized with the ideophone rútúk, which designates a herd or a crowd moving together.
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 when panic strikes you like a storm in Proverbs 1:27 is emphasized with utuk, an ideophone that refers to something bursting, collapsing, or the sudden arrival of a downpour.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
