The Bible Translator: Volume 15, Issue 1

Gives a careful and systematic examination of the nature of the various points of contact between mission and linguistics. The study of linguistics must be acknowledged as an ancilla missionum. The final purpose of missionary-linguistic activity is to establish a native Christian language, that is, a vehicle in which the Gospel can reach, without impediment and in as natural a way as possible, the non-Christian community. Every missionary needs at least an introductory course in linguistics. View Less

When languages are studied on the basis of phonology, morphology and a few basic constructions, many important means of expressing shades of meaning are overlooked. Translations in West African languages have been mostly literalistic transcriptions. Discusses types of emphases (nouns, verbs and statements), and referentials and connectives as illustrations of his point. Translations into West African languages must not depend upon English-like constructions. View Less

Discusses the need, process and problems of revising the Sinhalese Bible of Ceylon. The aim is to produce a translation that does not read like a translation and is indigenous to the culture. One major problem is a theological vocabulary and the use of Buddhist religious vocabulary. Concludes with some guiding principles for revision. View Less

Kituba, or lingua franca Kikongo, is spoken in the two Congos. Outlines the approach for definition of the language situation, his findings and the results of the work as they relate to future plans. View Less

In Amos 3:12, should one read “the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch” or “the corner of a bed, and on the silken cushions of a bed"? The problem is defined and attempted solutions considered. Proposes the translation “as a piece of a couch, and a part from the leg of a bed." View Less

The choice of a translation vocabulary depends upon two major factors: (1) is your purpose educational or informational?; and (2) who is the intended reader? The use of word-lists is a necessary tool for producing a simplified translation since it provides a minimum vocabulary for a group of people. Discusses guidelines for the use of word-lists: frequency principle, colloquial language, difficult concepts, and geographical and cultural differences. View Less

A review of The Amplified New Testament was published in The Bible Translator of July 1959 (pp. 132-5), and as the Old Testament part of this version is based on the same principles, we do not here print an extensive review. This present review is reprinted by kind permission of Eternity magazine. -Ed. View Less

We are grateful to be able to reprint this review of the new Yiddish version of the New Testament translated from the original Greek by Dr Henry Einspruch, which first appeared in The Friend of Zion. The transliterated verses at the end are taken from another review in Israel My Glory. As many readers will know, Yiddish is a language based on a form of German mixed with Hebrew, mostly written in Hebrew script, which first developed among the Jews of Central Europe, but is now spoken by large communities of Jews in other lands.-Ed. View Less