boat, ship

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).

In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”

Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:

“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.

“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”

In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

See also ships of Tarshish, harbor, anchor, and sailor.

complete verse (Mark 6:54)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 6:54:

  • Uma: “When they got out of the boat, the villagers right away knew, that it was Yesus arriving in their village.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When they got out of the boat, Isa was immediately recognised by the people.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They got out of the boat and then Jesus was recognized by the inhabitants there.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then they got-out-of the boat. Those who saw Jesus recognized him immediately,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well when Jesus was still getting out of the boat, he was at once recognized by the people there.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 6:54

Exegesis:

epignontes … periedramon (next verse) ‘recognizing … they ran’: the verbs are used in an impersonal sense and the subject ‘people’ must be supplied.
epiginōskō (cf. 6.33) ‘recognize.’

Translation:

Because of the considerable distance of him from a noun antecedent, it may be useful to employ ‘Jesus.’

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .