The Bible Translator: Volume 3, Issue 2

Pleas for the retention of tribal languages in the wake of increased trade languages (such as the lingua franca of the Congo, which is Lingala). View Less

The most important task of the missionary is to provide the printed word for the indigenous Christian. Illustrates some of the problems of this task through his experience of translating Mundang. View Less

Mam is a language spoken by Indians in western Guatemala and belongs to the Mayan family of languages. After a brief historical introduction, various problems of translation are discussed: differing dialects, orthography and word division, pronunciation, phonemic junctures, capitalization of proper names, the influence of the Spanish alphabet and word boundaries. View Less

Introduces the principles upon which his recently published translation is based. The English used is that of one who has learned English as a second language. Contains samples from his translation. View Less

Illustrates how the Quechua dialect of Bolivia required the translators to rethink and restructure many of the Greek phrases and sentences which do not fit the Quechua manner of expression either in idiom or the grammatical formations. The problems include: (1) equivalents for time; (2) religious terms; and (3) idioms. View Less

Discusses three problem passages in New Testament translation: (1) Matt. 21:9; (2) Luke 1:69; and (3) John 2:4. View Less

NT verbs refer either to the time or kind of action. Only the indicative mood refers to both. The indicative mood is described in terms of its tenses (present, future, imperfect and aorist and perfects). View Less

Surveys the history of Bible translation in Japan as an illustration of how the translation task begins with foreign missionaries and is slowly transferred to indigenous Christians. View Less

Illustrates the problem of mastering a basic vocabulary as a prelude to translation work when the culture is isolated. Reflects on his experience with the Amuesha tribe in the jungles of Peru. View Less

Discusses the problems of exchanging the traditional text of a culture (e.g., Valera text in Spanish) for an improved textual base. Includes a discussion of omissions from the traditional text, the addition of words, changing a key phrase (e.g., Rom. 10:17), different interpretations of texts, and forms of titles. Romans 8:28 and 1 John 5:18 are given special attention. View Less

Answers six questions submitted by translators in the field: (1) “domingo” be used as the cultural equivalent for the Jewish Sabbath in Acts 13:14, 42; (2) the translation of Mark 12:27; (3) the translation of 1 Corinthians 7:38; (4) the translation of Mark 13:15; (5) translation of “soul”; and (6) scripts in Bantu languages. View Less

Discusses the difficulty in translating key concepts and terms in the New Testament. Uses the problem words of (1) joy; (2) doubt; (3) confess; and (4) adultery and fornication as examples and offers a solution to the difficulty. View Less