shatter

In Gbaya, the notion of being shattered (or devour/strip/torture) is emphasized with ɗɛ́sɛ́-ɗɛ́sɛ, an ideophone that expresses the action of shattering, like a glass or pane of glass.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

complete verse (Isaiah 24:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 24:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “The land shall be destroyed,
    to split open and become wide/go to pieces.
    The land/earth shall be shaken.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The earth will be split,
    and having been split it will be divided in two.
    The earth will be violently shaken [lit.: very much moved].” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The land will-split, and this will-be-cut-into-(two-parts).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 24:19

This verse gives the results of the earthquake.

The earth is utterly broken, the earth is rent asunder, the earth is violently shaken: These three lines have a special literary form in Hebrew, which is literally “Broken it has been broken, the earth; split it has been split, the earth; shaken it has been shaken, the earth.” In Hebrew each line begins with a repeated verb (first as an infinitive and then as a finite verb) and ends with the noun “earth.” This repetition highlights the effects of the earthquake. Revised Standard Version uses the adverbs utterly and violently to express it. Translators will need to find the appropriate vocabulary and syntactic forms to reflect the Hebrew, as well some good rhetorical devices, such as sound play and repetition.

The first two lines of this verse are synonymous. Broken and rent asunder both refer to the earth breaking apart. The third line speaks of the earth shaking as if it is about to fall over.

The Hebrew verb forms used in these three lines may be treated as either passives or reflexives. Although many English translations prefer passive forms, translators may choose to use active forms (see the second example below).

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• The earth is completely shattered,
it is split and shaken violently.

• The earth breaks into pieces,
the earth tears itself apart,
the earth shakes violently.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .