servants (Japanese honorifics)

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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 humbling plural suffix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, the Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated as “servants” in English is translated as shimobe-domo (しもべども) or shimobe-ra (しもべら), combining “servant” (shimobe with the humbling plural suffix -domo or ra.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Genesis 47:3

Pharaoh said to his brothers: his refers to Joseph and will often be clearer if translated as “The king asked Joseph’s brothers.”

Occupation: see 46.33.

Your servants: see comment on 18.3.

The brothers’ reply to the king is based on the instructions they received from Joseph in 46.34. In this reply the first person pronouns used by the brothers are exclusive in those languages that make a distinction between inclusive and exclusive forms.

As our fathers were: fathers refers to ancestors.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .