On Literal Translations – A Quick Note
A post by Polycarp on his blog calls into question John Piper’s demand for a translation “that has all the words.”
I frequently find it useful to look at modern languages to see how valid a particular approach to translation is. For example, if I’m translating from French into English, which would I prefer?
- How you call you?
- How you call yourself?
- How do you call yourself?
- What’s your name?
I started with the French, Comment vous appelez-vous? which is how one asks, “what’s you name?” in France.
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God Didn’t Say That (@GodDidntSayThat) is an online forum for discussing the Bible and its translations, mistranslations, interpretations, and misinterpretations.
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman is the chief translator for the ten-volume series My People’s Prayer Book, author of And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning, and editor of The Unabridged Bible. Writing under “J.M. Hoffman,” he is author of the thriller series The Warwick Files. He holds a PhD in theoretical linguistics and has taught at Brandeis University and HUC-JIR in New York City. He presents widely to churches, synagogues, and other groups. more…
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This is *quite* fair, as the example is (1) out of context and (2) a fixed phrase.
Even fixed phrases have to be translated, and (as we see here, for example) the issue of how to translate them is not settled.
Many translations render fixed phrases literally, giving us, “lifted up his eyes and saw…” “name of the place is called…” etc.
Sorry, I meant to write “This is not *quite* fair, as the example is (1) out of context and (2) a fixed phrase.”
Ok, Now I’ve actually watched the Piper video; and his point is a bit off, but it’s certainly a different point–about connectives, not fixed phrases. And of course, this point is ancillary to whatever the point of his sermon is.