The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “wild animal” or similar is translated in Newari as “animal that lives in the jungle.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “forget” in English is translated in Noongar as dwangka-anbangbat, lit. “ear-lose.” (Source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).
Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed.
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or modern English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.
Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”
In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.
Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking.” (Source Philip Noss)
In the most recent Manchu translation of 1835 (a revision of an earlier edition from 1822), God is never addressed with a pronoun but with “father” (ama /ᠠᠮᠠ) instead. Chengcheng Liu (in this post on the Cambridge Centre for Chinese Theology blog ) explains: “In Manchu tradition, as in Chinese etiquette, second-person pronouns could be considered disrespectful when speaking to superiors or spiritual beings. Manchu Shamanist prayers avoided si [‘you’] and sini [‘your’] for this very reason. To use them for God would be, in Lipovzoff’s [one of the two translators] words, ‘the most uncouth and indecent way to speak to the Almighty — as if He were a servant or slave.’ There was also a grammatical problem. In Manchu, si and sini could refer to both singular and plural subjects. For a faith that insisted on the singularity of God, this was potentially confusing. By contrast, repeating ama removed any ambiguity.”
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “dove” or “pigeon” in English is translated in Pijin with the onomatopoeia kurrukurru. (Source: Bob Carter)
In Matumbi is is translated as ngunda, a kind of dove that has the reputation to be monogamous. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In the fifteenth century the English word “pigeon” meant a young dove, the word “dove” being reserved for the adult birds. In modern English the words are used almost interchangeably. As a general rule, “pigeon” is used for domesticated forms of these birds, and for the larger variety of wild forms, while “dove” is used mainly for wild varieties. However, there are many exceptions to this general rule.
Pigeons and doves are both included in a bird family known scientifically as the Colombidae, consisting of well over two hundred species. In Israel and the Middle East are found the true Colombidae, which are easily distinguished from the genus Stretopelia, that is, the turtle doves.
The most common of the true Colombidae in the Middle East is most certainly the Asiatic Rock Dove Columba livia. This bird was first domesticated around 4500 B.C. in Mesopotamia. By 2500 B.C. it was kept as a domestic bird in Egypt, and by 1200 B.C. there is evidence that its homing abilities were already well known. It is this bird that is the ancestor of the domestic homing pigeons that people keep, some of which have escaped, returned to the wild, and now populate city streets all over the world. The ledges of modern buildings are a good substitute for the rock ledges that were its original nesting sites. It is likely that the Canaanites and the Israelites also kept these birds for both food and sacrifice. It is this bird that is called yonah in the Hebrew Bible and peristera in the Greek New Testament.
There are also three types of turtledove found in the land of Israel, two of which are resident species; the third is a migrant that arrives in spring and spends the summer in Israel. This migrant, the true Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur, and one of the species now resident, the Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto, are what the Bible writers called tor in Hebrew and trugōn in Greek. (Both the Hebrew and Greek names are based on the sound the turtledove makes.)
In biblical Hebrew the word gozal generally refers to a nestling of any bird species. In Genesis 15:9 it obviously refers specifically to a young pigeon. Nestling rock pigeons were collected from the rock ledges. Pigeons and doves were kept in cages and dovecotes, and wild ones were trapped in nets. This enabled the Jews to have a handy stock of birds for sacrificial purposes.
The rock pigeon is a blue-gray color with a pinkish sheen to the neck feathers. It has a black tip on its tail. Its call is a repeated moaning oom (the Hebrew name yonah is related to a verb meaning “to moan”) or a rapid cooing coo-ROO-coo-coo, usually repeated two or three times. The call is uttered with the beak closed, into the chest. The male’s sexual display starts with flying wing claps, and then when it lands next to the female, it begins bowing and turning with chest puffed and tail spread.
This type of pigeon lives in large colonies, and when a group is in flight, they maneuver as a single unit, often gliding short distances together with their wings held in a V shape.
The turtledove is a smaller blue-gray bird with a pinkish chest. It arrives in Israel in April, and its rhythmic call yoo-ROO-coo, yoo-ROO-coo, yoo-ROO-coo, repeated for two or three minutes at a time on sunny days, can be heard all over.
Doves are seed eaters, and this fact may be significant in the Flood narrative. The raven, a carrion eater, does not return to the ark, since food is available. The dove returns at first, and when it finally stays away, this is an indication that seeds of some sort are once again available to it, and the earth is again dry.
As seed-eaters, doves and pigeons are ritually clean birds for Jews. Their swift flight means that they are symbolic of speed in some biblical contexts, especially in Psalms. The fact that these birds court, mate, and nest repeatedly throughout the year resulted in their being a symbol of affection, sexuality, and fertility in the ancient Egyptian, Canaanite, and Hebrew cultures. This symbolism is important in the Song of Solomon.
A very ancient belief that the dove has no bile and is therefore devoid of anger led to its becoming a symbol of peace and gentleness. (In actual fact doves and pigeons are aggressive, often attacking other birds, especially at food sources.)
The name yonah for the pigeon and dove is associated with moaning and groaning in pain or sorrow. This is often the symbolism in prophetic poetry.
Pigeons and doves are found worldwide, except in some snow-bound regions and on some remote islands. Almost everywhere they live there is more than one species, and in almost all locations the domestic pigeon is one of these species. As a general rule, the word for the smaller wild dove should be used wherever possible, but in those contexts where both pigeons and doves are mentioned in connection with sacrifices, the word for the domestic pigeon can be used as well as the one for the wild dove.
In 2 Kings 6:25 there is a Hebrew expression that literally means “dove’s dung”. This seems to be a reference to some kind of food that is eaten only in emergencies. Suggestions about what this may refer to have varied from “chickpeas” (which do look somewhat like a dove’s droppings) to “locust-beans”, “wild onions”, and the roots of certain wild flowers. In view of the lack of certainty, it is probably best to translate it literally as “dove’s dung” and include the footnote, “This is probably some kind of wild food eaten only in emergencies.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 74:19:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“Do not give the life of your dove to the beasts of the bush;
all the times do not forget the lives of your afflicted people.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“Do not hand over the lives of Your people
into the hands of their enemies.
Don’t forget forever Your people who are experiencing trouble.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“Your people who are-like a dove do- not -hand-over to their enemies who are-like a fierce animal.
Do- not -forget your (sing.) afflicted/oppressed people forever/[lit. until whenever].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“Do not let the life of your people to stay like pigeons which are eaten by the wild animals.
Do not forget the life of your people who are suffering through out.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Usisahau milele na milele uhai wa watu wako ambao wanaonewa,
wakati vile mtu ambaye njiwa wanyama wakali.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“Do not let your helpless people fall into the hands of their cruel enemies;
do not forget your suffering/persecuted people.” (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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, -naide (ないで) or “do not (for their sake)” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
After his eloquent description of God as the Creator, the psalmist returns to his complaint and his pleas.
In translation Remember is not to be expressed by the verb that implies someone has forgotten a fact. The psalmist is asking God to keep in mind that the enemies scoff. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “Bear in mind.” The verbs in verse 18, scoffs and reviles, are the same as in verse 10. For translation suggestions on various synonyms of the word translated scoffs, see 2.4; 10.5; 22.7. Impious translates nabal “fool” (see comments on “fool” in 14.1). New Jerusalem Bible has “base people”; Bible en français courant “these stupid people”; New International Version “foolish people.” For the use of thy name as a substitute for “you,” see 5.11 and 8.1.
In verse 19a Good News Translation “your helpless people” translates “the nefesh of your dove” (for nefesh see 3.2). Dove here seems to be a symbol for Israel (see Hos 7.11). Biblia Dios Habla Hoy takes it as a metaphor for helplessness and translates with a simile, “We are as weak as doves.” Bible en français courant abandons the metaphor: “the life of the people who are so dear to you.” Instead of the Masoretic text toreka “your dove,” the Septuagint and Syriac represent a Hebrew text (also found in one Hebrew manuscript) todeka “the one who praises you” (in a collective sense); this is preferred by New English Bible. Translators should follow the Masoretic text.
Good News Translation “their cruel enemies” represents the wild beasts. Translators will need to follow the kinds of adjustments made by Good News Translation in order to avoid what may be meaningless renderings based on the delivery of the soul of thy dove to the wild beasts.
Do not forget has the meaning of “Do not reject,” which is parallel with Good News Translation‘s “Don’t abandon.” “Your persecuted people” translates the life of thy poor (see 9.12). The word translated life in verse 19b may here be used in the sense of “community, family” (see comments on this use in 68.10a, “thy people”).
The sense of for ever, with the negative do not forget, is equivalent to “don’t keep on forgetting,” or “stop forgetting,” or “do not neglect.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.