The Bible Translator: Volume 16, Issue 2

Hundreds of languages are tonal, that is, differences in the meanings of words are signaled by various pitch levels or glides. Describes basic principles in tonal analysis and illustrates a nine step approach to practical implementation of those principles. The illustrative data comes from the West African language of Bwamu (formerly known as Red Bobo) and spoken in the eastern region of Mali. View Less

The Hebrew word brk (blessing) is not vague in its usage in English. In the OT, the blessing is a solemn, deliberate act through which specified and concrete advantages are conveyed. The content of blessing includes fertility, prosperity in anything to which the blessed one puts his hand, well-being, riches, crops and the presence of God or His Spirit. It is a word which needs to be redeemed from the shallow and thoughtless use made of it. View Less

A study of the Guhu-Samane cult of poro in New Guinea and the manner in which it affects the lives of the people in such matters as initiation, sex, marriage, feasts, gardening, war, peace, music, magical arts, medicine and sanctions. The translator must consider the prominence poro occupies in the thinking of the people in order to obtain a meaning which is familiar to the experience of the people through judicious selection and blending of the new with the familiar. Examples from twelve NT passages are given. View Less

A study of the developments and reactions to Deissmann’s theory that the NT was merely a record of late colloquial Greek. The most recent reaction to this theory is by Nigel Turner, who completed the third volume of Moulton’s Grammar of NT Greek in 1963. Turner considers both the subject matter and the language of the NT to be unique. Turner’s view is considered both positively and negatively. View Less

A critique of various linguistic methods which stress naturalness in translation or in materials prepared for reading. Distinctions must be introduced in order to make the translation more acceptable and intelligible to the community for which it is intended. Distinctions may be realized in orthography, speech tempo, grammatical structure, and in lexical structure. View Less