selfish ambition

The term rendered “selfish ambition” in many English versions is translated as “they want to make themselves come out on top” in Kahua. (Source: David Clark)

In Tzeltal it is translated “raise themselves before God.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

divorce

In Ghari different words are used for a husband divorcing a wife and a wife divorcing a husband. (Source: David Clark)

In Mairasi the term that is used means “discard.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)

See also divorced (woman).

Niger

David Clark (in The Bible Translator 2013, p. 54ff. ) writes this about the translation of “Niger” in Acts 13:1 into various languages: “(…) Difficulty arose with handling Symeon’s second name (or nickname?), ‘Niger.’ As Good News Bible indicates with ‘called the Black,’ this name carries a meaning, and some translators may decide that in such a case a translation of the meaning is more relevant than a transcription of the spelling. It is interesting that in this case, Niger is a Latin word which is retained in the Greek text and is not translated into Greek, as it easily could have been. Perhaps the fact that the Latin name was used even in a predominantly Greek-speaking cultural context is an indication that Symeon came from an area where Latin was more commonly spoken, such as North Africa. As to the significance of this name or nick- name, one can only speculate. It could well reflect Symeon’s ethnic origin: he might have been a black man either from Africa himself or of African descent, presumably through his father. He might perhaps just have had a darker complexion than most of his fellows. Or Niger might have been a completely irrational nickname for which there was no remembered explanation. The fact that Symeon is mentioned next to ‘Lucius of Cyrene,’ who explicitly came from North Africa and also has a Latin name, suggests (though it does not prove) that Symeon may have been from that area too.

In Kalmyk, the translators considered translating the meaning of the name, but eventually decided that for readers with no Christian tradition, it was simpler just to transcribe the Latin form into the modified Cyrillic script that the language uses (Нигер), with no footnote or other explanation. In Yakut, where there is an Orthodox Christian tradition, the decision was to keep Niger, but to add an explanatory phrase ‘that is, Black.’ In Kahua and Tachelhit a similar explanatory phrase was included. In Mal, the translators discussed the possibility of translating Niger not by the Mal word for ‘black’ but by the Thai word for black (dam / ดำ), which happens to have become a nickname in Mal whereas the Mal word has not. In the end they decided to retain the form Niger, adapted to the phonology of Mal.”

kiss

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The Hebrew and the Greek that is usually directly translated as “kiss” in English is translated more indirectly in other languages because kissing is deemed as inappropriate, is not a custom at all, or is not customary in the particular context (see the English translation of J.B. Phillips [publ. 1960] in Romans 16:16: “Give each other a hearty handshake”). Here are some examples:

  • Pökoot: “greet warmly” (“kissing in public, certainly between men, is absolutely unacceptable in Pökoot.”) (Source: Gerrit van Steenbergen)
  • Southern Birifor: puor or “greet” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Chamula Tzotzil, Ixcatlán Mazatec, Tojolabal: “greet each other warmly” or “hug with feeling” (source: Robert Bascom)
  • Afar: gaba tittal ucuya — “give hands to each other” (Afar kiss each other’s hands in greeting) (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Roviana: “welcome one another joyfully”
  • Cheke Holo: “love each other in the way-joined-together that is holy” (esp. in Romans 16:16) or “greet with love” (esp. 1 Thessalonians 5:26 and 1 Peter 5:14)
  • Pitjantjatjara: “when you meet/join up with others of Jesus’ relatives hug and kiss them [footnote], for you are each a relative of the other through Jesus.” Footnote: “This was their custom in that place to hug and kiss one another in happiness. Maybe when we see another relative of Jesus we shake hands and rejoice.” (esp. Rom. 16:16) (source for this and two above: Carl Gross)
  • Kamba: “greet with the greeting of love” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Balanta-Kentohe and Mandinka: “touch cheek” or “cheek-touching” (“sumbu” in Malinka)
  • Mende: “embrace” (“greet one another with the kiss of love”: “greet one another and embrace one another to show that you love one another”) (source for this and two above: Rob Koops)
  • Gen: “embrace affectionately” (source: John Ellington)
  • Kachin: “holy and pure customary greetings” (source: Gam Seng Shae)
  • Kahua: “smell” (source: David Clark) (also in Ekari and Kekchí, source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • San Blas Kuna: “smell the face” (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
  • Chichewa: “suck” (“habit and term a novelty amongst the young and more or less westernized people, the traditional term for greeting a friend after a long absence being, ‘clap in the hands and laugh happily'”)
  • Medumba: “suck the cheek” (“a novelty, the traditional term being ‘to embrace.'”)
  • Shona (version of 1966) / Vidunda: “hug”
  • Elhomwe: “show respect by hugging” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Balinese: “caress” (source for this and three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel; Vidunda: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Tsafiki: earlier version: “greet in a friendly way,” later revision: “kiss on the face” (Bruce Moore [in: Notes on Translation 1/1992, p. 1ff.] explains: “Formerly, kissing had presented a problem. Because of the Tsáchilas’ [speakers of Tsafiki] limited exposure to Hispanic culture they understood the kiss only in the eros context. Accordingly, the original translation had rendered ‘kiss’ in a greeting sense as ‘greet in a friendly way’. The actual word ‘kiss’ was not used. Today ‘kiss’ is still an awkward term, but the team’s judgment was that it could be used as long as long as it was qualified. So ‘kiss’ (in greeting) is now ‘kiss on the face’ (that is, not on the lips).)
  • Kwere / Kutu: “show true friendship” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as heiliger Kuss or “holy kiss” in the epistles. The translators note (p. 62): “It is possible that this is an early practice in which Christians communicate the Holy Spirit to one another or rekindle it.”

See also The kiss of Christian love (image), Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth and kissed (his feet).

touch scepter

Where English versions tend to translate “touched the top of the scepter” in Esther 5:2 (and the reader assumes that Esther touched the scepter with her hand), Tibetan says she touched it with her head, which is more respectful in that culture.

boxing

In Kilivila culture, “boxing” is not associated with sport, so to translate the Greek term that is rendered with “boxing” in English in the Kilivila translation, a more generic statement was made: “If I play sport, I should prepare and practice my body so it will be matched for that sport . . ..”