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. )

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 27:11-12

Moses charged the people: that is, he ordered, commanded, gave instructions to them (see 21.7).

The same day: repeated for emphasis (verse 10).

Mount Gerizim: just north of Mount Ebal (verse 4). See 11.29-30 for the two mountains.

Bless in this context means “ask Yahweh to do good things for” (see also 1.11).

The six tribes on Mount Gerizim, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin, have the names of six of the sons Jacob had by his wives Leah and Rachel. Here the tribe of Levi is included, although they were not provided with a large area of land as were the others, and so they were often not included in the lists of the twelve tribes. The use of Joseph as one of the tribes is also rare but does occur (see Gen 49.22-26). In the division of the land, the tribe of Levi was not given its own territory, and the total of twelve tribes was reached by having Manasseh and Ephraim, the two sons of Joseph, counted as two separate tribes. For a comment on “tribes” see 1.13.

For the record of this ceremony, see Josh 8.30-35.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .