The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Similarly, in Akoose, the translation is “arm distance.” (Source: Joseph Nkwelle Ngome and Marlie van Rooyen & Jacobus A. Naudé in Communicatio 2009, p. 251ff.)
In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm) (source: Don Slager) and in Bariai into leoa or “fathom,” which comprises the distance from a person’s fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched, app. 6 feet (source: Bariai Back Translation).
The concepts of distance that are translated in English with “long,” “wide,” and “high/tall” are translated in Kwere with one word: utali. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 7:23:
- Kupsabiny: “Then, Huram made a water container out of bronze which looked like a bowl. The mouth of that water container had a width/space of fifteen feet from one side of the mouth to the other. But going inside it is/was seven and a half feet. Then around it, is/was forty five feet.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Newari: “Hiram made a round tank of melted bronze. It was 2.2 meters high, and it had a width of 4.4 meters and a circumference of 13.2 meters.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “Then Huram made a large container of water that as-if-like a big-frying-pan, which is called Sea. Its depth was seven and a half feet, the width was 15 feet, and the measure/size around was 45 feet.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “Huram also constructed a very large round bronze tank that was made of metal and cast in a clay mold. It was 7-1/2 ft./2.3 meters high, 30 feet/9 meters across/wide, and 45 feet/13.5 meters around it.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
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