Highland Totonac

hypocrite

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The Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “hypocrite” in English typically have a counterpart in most languages. According to Bratcher / Nida (1961, p. 225), they can be categorized into the following categories:

those which employ some concept of “two” or “double”
those which make use of some expression of “mouth” or “speaking”
those which are based upon some special cultural feature
those which employ a non-metaphorical phrase

Following is a list of (back-) translations from some languages:

Highland Totonac, Huautla Mazatec, Lacandon, Cuicatec, Highland Puebla Nahuatl: “two faced”
Obolo: ebi isi iba: “double-faced person” (source: Enene Enene)
Tzeltal, Chol: “two hearts”
Pame: “two mouths”
San Miguel El Grande Mixtec: “two heads”
Kekchí: “two sides”
Shipibo-Conibo: “double (or “forked”) tongue”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “double talk”
Huehuetla Tepehua: “to talk false”
Copainalá Zoque: “to lie-act”
Kituba, Amganad Ifugao, Chuukese: “to lie”
Toraja-Sa’dan: “someone whose lips are fair” (i.e. “gracious”)
Mossi: “to have a sweet mouth”
Mazahua: “to have a swollen mouth” (from too much speaking)
Tai Dam: “to have a straight mouth and a crooked heart”
Kongo: “the bitterness of white” (an idiom based on the fact that white-wash looks nice but tastes bitter)
Malagasy: “to spread a clean carpet” (an expression used in Madagascar to describe one who covers up the dirt of an unswept floor just before the arrival of guests)
Zanaki: “those who make themselves out to be good”
Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “those who deceive” (this and all examples above acc. to Bratcher / Nida 1961, p. 225)
Kafa: “one who makes as if his belly is clean” (source: Loren Bliese)
Agatu: ɔcɛ gigbefu — “disguised person acting a part” (source: Mackay, The Bible Translator 1962, 211f)
Mairasi: “deceiver person” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Bauzi: “good on top person” (source: David Briley in Kroneman (2004), p. 502)

peace (absence of strife)

The Greek that is translated as “peace” in English, and like the English can refer to a mental state as well as a lack of strife or absence or cessation of war, needs to be expressed with distinguished terms in other languages. For the meaning of peace when referring to absence of strife, Northern Grebo renders “the palaver has passed,” Highland Totonac “well arranged” (implying reconciliation), Tae’ and Toraja-Sa’dan “being-good-with-each-other” (in Luke 12:51, the 1933 edition of Tae’ has “land and water are well”) or Sranan Tongo “free” (in the sense of “to conclude peace”).

praise (God)

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “praise (God)” in English is translated as “make-great” / “make-great the name of” (Tae’), “to speak well of” (Western Highland Purepecha), “lift up the name of” (San Blas Kuna, Kpelle), “to sing the name of” (Huehuetla Tepehua), “to make good” (Highland Totonac), “to say good about” (Tzeltal), or “to make known something good about” (Navajo). (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)

In Dan a figurative expression for praising God is used: “pushing God’s horse.” “In the distant past people closely followed the horses ridden by chiefs, so ‘pushing’ them.” (Source: Don Slager)

conversion, convert, turn back

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The Greek that is often rendered in English as “to be converted” or “to turn around” is (back-) translated in a number of ways:

North Alaskan Inupiatun: “to change completely”
Purepecha: “to turn around”
Highland Totonac: “to have one’s life changed”
Huautla Mazatec: “to make pass over bounds within”
San Blas Kuna: “turn the heart toward God”
Chol: “the heart turns itself back”
Highland Puebla Nahuatl: “self-heart change”
Pamona: “to turn away from, unlearn something”
Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “to turn around from the breast”
Luvale: “to return”
Balinese: “to put in a new behavior” (compare “repentance“: “to put on a new mind”)
Tzeltal: “to cause one’s heart to return to God” (compare “repentance”: “to cause one’s heart to return because of one’s sin”)
Pedi: “to retrace one’s step” (compare “repentance”: “to become untwisted”)
Uab Meto: “to return” (compare “repentance”: “to turn the heart upside down”)
Northwestern Dinka: “to turn oneself” (compare “repentance”: “to turn the heart”) (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Central Mazahua: “changing the heart” (compare “repentance”: “turning back the heart”) (source: Nida 1952, p. 40)
Western Kanjobal: “to molt” (like a butterfly) (source: Nida 1952, p. 136)
Latvian: atgriezties (verb) / atgriešanās (noun) (“turn around / return”) which is also the same term being used for “repentance” (source: Katie Roth)

faithful

The Greek that is rendered as “faithful” in English is (back-) translated in various ways:

Toraja-Sa’dan: “honest/straight”
North Alaskan Inupiatun: “unchangeable”
Highland Totonac “who fulfils” (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Tsou: “actively following closely” (source: Peng Kuo-Wei)
Mende: “doesn’t turn this way and that” (source: Rob Koops)
Sinasina: “follow well” (source: ParaTExt Consultant Notes)
Enlhet “does not go past his word” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff.)

deny oneself

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The Greek that is translated with “deny himself” or deny oneself” is according to Bratcher / Nida “without doubt one of the most difficult expressions in all of Mark to translate adequately.” These are many of the (back-) translations:

Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “to not accept self”
Amganad Ifugao and South Bolivian Quechua: “to forget self”
North Alaskan Inupiatun: “to have no regard for oneself”
Toraja-Sa’dan: “not bother oneself about oneself”
Huautla Mazatec: “to cover up oneself”
San Miguel El Grande Mixtec: “to not worship oneself”
Tzeltal: “to stop doing what one’s own heart wants”
Western Kanjobal: “to not belong to oneself any longer”
Yaka: “to let go that which he wants to do himself”
Cashibo-Cacataibo: “says, I will not do just what I want to do”
Tzotzil: “to let him say, I do not serve for anything” (in the sense of having no personal value)
Sapo: “to not do what is passing through his mind”
Central Mazahua: “to not take constant thought for himself”
Tabasco Chontal: “to quit what he himself wants”
Highland Totonac: “to undo one’s own way of thinking”
Dan: “to put his own things down”
Kekchí: “to despise himself”
Kituba: “to refuse himself”
Javanese: “to turn his back on himself”
Southern Bobo Madaré: “to disobey himself” (in the sense of denying one’s own wishes)
Huastec: “to leave himself at the side”
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “to leave his own way”
Loma: “to take his mind out of himself completely”
Panao Huánuco Quechua: “to say, I do not live for myself”
Mitla Zapotec: “to say No to oneself” (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Copainalá Zoque: “forgetting self”
Huallaga Huánuco Quechua: “declaring I do not live for myself” (source: Nida 1952, p. 154)
Galela: “put self down” (source: Howard Shelden in Kroneman 2004, p. 501)
Mairasi: “to shuffle out of one’s vision (=forget) everything which is one’s own” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

saint

The Greek that is translated as “saint” in English is rendered into Highland Puebla Nahuatl as “those with clean hearts,” into Northwestern Dinka as “those with white hearts,” and into Western Kanjobal as “people of prayer.” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 146)

In Ixcatlán Mazatec it is translated as “followers of Jesus” (source: Robert Bascom), in Tzeltal as whom God possesses,” in Highland Totonac as “children of God,” and in Yatzachi Zapotec as “clean-hearted people” (source for this ans two above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).

throne

The Greek that is translated into English versions as “throne” is translated into Naro as ntcõó-q’oo: “he will rule.” The figure of the “throne” cannot be translated in the egalitarian Naro culture, so the idea had to be expressed more explicitly. (Source: Gerrit van Steenbergen)

In other languages it is translated as “stool/seat of the king” (Marathi), “seat of commanding/chieftainship” (Highland Totonac, Kituba), “seat of the Supreme one (lit. of-him-who-has-the umbrella)” (Toraja-Sa’dan — the umbrella being a well-known symbol of power in various parts of South and South-East Asia), “glorious place to sit” (Ekari) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel), “where God sits and rules” (Estado de México Otomi), “where God reigns” (Central Mazahua) (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.), or “bed of kingship” (Kafa) (source: Loren Bliese).

miracle, miraculous power

The Greek and Hebrew that are often translated as “miracles” or “miraculous powers” into English are translated as “things which no one has ever seen before” (San Blas Kuna), “thing marveled at” (Tepeuxila Cuicatec), “breathtaking thing” (Ngäbere), “long-necked thing” (referring to the onlookers who stretch their necks to see) (Huautla Mazatec), “sign done by God’s power” (Mossi), “supernatural power” (Javanese), “things that have heaven-strength” (Highland Totonac) (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida), “amazing thing” (Muna) (source: René van den Berg), or “impossible things” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004).

generations

The Greek that is rendered as “generations” in English versions is translated into Sierra Totonac as “growings.” (2nd translation into Sierra Totonac of 1999.)

See also (this) generation and all generations.

honor (God)

The Greek that is often translated as “honor” in English is translated as “say my name” (Huehuetla Tepehua), “make me great” (Highland Totonac), “good what is said about me” (Tzeltal), “speak well of me” (Western Highland Purepecha), “lift up my name” (San Blas Kuna and Kpelle).

cause to stumble, offend

“The word ‘offend’ as a translation of the Greek skandalizó seems to cause all sorts of trouble for translators. The difficulty is that the meaning of this word covers such a wide area. The basic meaning of the Greek is ‘to cause to stumble by putting some impediment in the way.’ The present central meaning of English ‘offend’ is often quite different. In some languages there is no metaphorical value in a translation ‘to cause someone to stumble.’ If the language permits no such metaphor, the translator should not attempt to force it. In Highland Totonac, the metaphor ‘to show the wrong road to’ is used in a manner almost exactly parallel to the Greek idiom.”