Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 26:4:
Kupsabiny: “I shall give you rain in the right days so that the land can produce food.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I will make the rain come at the right time for you, and because of that the crops will be growing in the fields and the trees in the fields will be bearing fruit.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-send you (plur.) rain at the right/proper season/time, so-that the land will-produce-crops and the trees will-bear-fruit.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will send rain for you at the proper/right times, in order that crops will grow on your land and there will be plenty of fruit on your trees.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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).
Then: showing the result of the conditions stated in verse 3.
Your rains: the possessive form may be misleading. The meaning is “the rain that you need.” In some cases it may be important to assure that the word used for rains is one that evokes positive feelings and not one that indicates devastation or harm to crops or people. The use of the plural, rains, is probably intended to refer to the various kinds of rains at different times of the year (autumn, winter, and spring), which would be necessary for a good harvest.
In their season: referring to the three seasons mentioned above. Each one would come at the expected and proper time. Another way of translating the meaning here is “at the right time” (New Jerusalem Bible as well as Good News Translation).
And the land shall yield its increase: or “the land will bring forth its crops.” The word introducing this clause may be better translated “in order that,” showing the relationship of cause and effect between the sending of the rains and the growing of crops. The word land here refers to cultivated land as opposed to places where people live. In some languages one may have to change the subject and say “the crops will produce food on the land….” In others it will be adequate to say simply “the land will produce.”
Trees of the field: the qualification “of the fields” may be left implicit in many languages, since it adds nothing to the essential meaning of the text.
Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.