cousin

Tibetan has no generic term for “cousin,” so “daughter/son of his/her uncle” is used.

See also cousin.

cousin

The Greek that is translated into English as “cousin” is translated into Banaro as “Barnabas’s younger brother.”

William Butler (see here) tells this story:

“For ‘cousin’ Samuel had used the word ‘donghang,’ the singular form of the word we had used for ‘brothers’ in other places in the book. However, the checking committee rejected the singular form being used in that way. They insisted that a proper kinship term be used. That is where our problem began. There is no Banaro term that means the same as ‘cousin.’ In the Banaro system, all your uncles and aunts are called by the kinship term for ‘father’ and ‘mother.’ Therefore, it is only logical that their children, your first cousins, are referred to by the same term as ‘brother’ and ‘sister.’ And guess what you call their children? ‘Son’ and ‘daughter’! So you see there isn’t any room in the system for cousins, as the English word is used.

“Somewhere in the discussion I remembered that we weren’t translating from English but Greek, so I looked up the Greek word that is translated cousin in English, hoping to find some help. The Greek word is more specific than the English word, specifying a first cousin. Therefore, we needed to use the correct Banaro term for a first cousin: ‘brother.’ Not so hard, eh?

“But in Banaro there is no general kinship term for brother. Age rank is important in the culture so one must specify older brother or younger brother. Considering that Barnabas seemed to take Mark under his wing and Mark’s action in turning back on the journey he started out on with Paul and Barnabas, we decided that Mark was likely younger. He is, therefore, ‘Barnabas’s younger brother.’ You have to realize that when a Banaro person reads this he will not automatically assume that Barnabas and Mark are siblings of the same parents but will consider the wide range of relationships covered by this term in their culture. We will also have a footnote trying to further define the kinship relationship that likely existed between the two men.”

Seer also cousin.

coming

The Greek that is translated into English as “coming” is translated into Banaro as “going.”

William Butler (see here) tells this story:

“The translation stated: ‘You have already heard the talk that he (Mark) is coming to you.’ This followed both the English and Pidgin translations, but the checkers did not like it. From the perspective of Paul, as he was writing the letter, Mark would be moving away from him and toward the Colossians so he would be ‘going’ to the Colossians. So to produce an accurate meaning in Banaro, we had to change the ‘coming’ to ‘going.'”

Barnabas

The term that is transliterated as “Barnabas” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a combination of the signs for the letter B and “encourage” (referring to Acts 11:23). (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Barnabas” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Barnabas (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Aristarchus

The name that is transliterated as “Aristarchus” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that combines “accompanying” (Aristarchus was mentioned on Paul’s three missionary journey — see for instance Acts 27:2), and “best leader” (the meaning of the name). (Source: Missão Kophós )


“Aristarchus” in Libras (source )

complete verse (Colossians 4:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Colossians 4:10:

  • Uma: “Aristarkhus, who is with me in prison, sends his greetings to you. Markus the relative of Barnabas also sends his greetings. (Remember what I asked before [lit., yesterday]: when he arrives, accept him into your homes!)” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Aristarkus, my companion here in prison, sends word there to you that he remembers you. Likewise, Markus, Barnabas’s cousin sends word also like that. I have hep already told you about him, that when he arrives there you ought to treat him according-to custom/respect him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Aristarchus, my companion in the prison, sends greetings to you. Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, he also greets you. Welcome him when he arrives there. You already know what I have commanded you about him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Aristarkus who is my fellow prisoner and Marcos who is Barnabas’ cousin, they send-you -greetings. (You have already received instructions concerning Marcos that when he goes and visits there, you receive him properly.)” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Aristarco my companion here in the prison greets you, and Marcos the cousin of Bernabe. (Concerning this Marcos you have already received instruction. Welcome him well whenever he arrives there to you.)” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Aristarchus is in prison here with me and he greets you. Also Mark the cousin of Barnabas greets you. I have already sent you work about this Mark, that when he arrives to where you live that you should give him a good welcome.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Colossians 4:10

With the exception of Joshua (verse 11), all individuals named in verses 10-14 as sending greetings are also named in Philemon 23-24. Aristarchus (see also Acts 19.29, 20.4, 27.2) is called Paul’s “fellow prisoner” (Revised Standard Version). Some, like Moule and Beare, contend this is to be understood metaphorically, that is, as a fellow prisoner of Christ’s—so New English Bible “Christ’s captive like myself.” Most, however (see Lohse), take it in the literal sense.

Languages differ considerably in the way in which they “send greetings.” For example, one may say “Aristarchus says he thinks of you,” or “… wants you to know he remembers you,” or “… wishes to say, ‘May you live well,’ ” or “… says, May God be good to you.”

Mark (identified with the John Mark in Acts 12.12, 25; 13.5, 13; 15.37-39; see also 2 Tim 4.11, 1 Peter 5.13) is identified as Barnabas’ cousin (King James Version “nephew” is wrong), and reference is made to previous instructions that had been sent to the Colossians to the effect that they should welcome him if he visited them. There is no way of knowing in what form the instructions had been sent.

In view of the fact that no one knows precisely the form of the instructions which had been sent to the believers in Colossae concerning Mark, it may be best to simply say “you have been told to welcome Mark” or “you have already received a letter in which you have been told to welcome Mark.” In a number of languages, “to welcome a person” may be translated as “receive a person in your homes” or “to offer a person food when he arrives.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

formal second person plural pronoun

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese show different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )