complete verse (Deuteronomy 1:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 1:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then they accepted and answered me, ‘You have spoken a good word.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “You replied, "The words you have spoken are good."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘You (plur.) agreed that my plan (was) good.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Your ancestors replied, ‘What you have suggested is good for us to do.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 shows 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. )