Introduction to Bible Translation
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[edit] Considering the source language
There is no question, that in order to translate correctly, one has to be knowledgeable in the source language. Some might argue that one has to be fluent in the source language. This is obvious. If one does not know the language one is translating from, it will be difficult to obtain an accurate translation.
While there is much debate, most agree that in order to translate properly, the original text of the original language must be available. For hundreds of years, Latin (and the Latin Vulgate) was considered the sacred text for Christians (and later Catholics). It was forbidden to translate the Hebrew or Greek. The implications are staggering - it could be that since Latin is a translation of the Greek, which is a translation of the Hebrew, there would be many hundreds of errancies and mistakes that could occur. For example, there is no copula (definite article) in Latin. There is in Greek and Hebrew and this would make a tremendous difference in translating the text.
[edit] Considering the translation language
Many agree that one has to be fluent in the language one is translating to. Subtleties and differences in style can radically alter meaning. For example. In English, there is only one word for a sheep. In Biblical Hebrew there are at least two: כבש and שה. In Hebrew a flock of Sheep is a צאן but this can also mean sheep (singular). To capture this, one has to be aware that in English there is no distinction in types of sheep, a female lamb is no different from a male lamb with the designation: "lamb". In Hebrew שה can be both gender, and כבש is only masculine.
The word נערה could mean young maiden. She could be under 12 years of age, or she could be in her teens. In English, a young maiden usually refers to a woman of marriageable age (around 16-30), who is not married, but is eligible. In Hebrew נערה can be used for a young girl between 9 and 12 and a young maiden between 16 and 20. (These numbers are approximate). If one translates therefore, the word נערה as young maiden, you are excluding the definition of a young girl. If you translate the word as girl, you exclude the definition of young maiden.
[edit] Audience
As with all translation, identifying audience is of fundamental importance when choosing translation. For example. English Christian missionaries had a very difficult time teaching people the King James Version of the bible in colonial Africa, precisely because the inhabitants of the land were not fluent in English, and did not have enough grammatical and vocabulary skills to understand the subtleties of King James English.
For this reason, many people adopted other translations that had a less extensive vocabulary, and explained concepts for people who were unaware of these. The Bible in Basic English is one of these translations that has a similar 'audience'. The Jerusalem Bible written by French Catholics in Jerusalem, and translated into English and published in 1966, served the needs of a French-speaking, and English-speaking Catholic audience. Their bible includes the Apocrypha, which is accepted as part of the Canon by Catholics.
The Artscroll Stone edition, is a translation aimed at religious Jews. The translation itself, is American-English, and tends to follow the standard Jewish commentaries (such as Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchaki), in its approach to understanding difficult passages. It includes a Hebrew text on the facing page.
When approaching Bible Translations, the first step is to identify who the translators identified as an audience. The King James Version of the Bible (with numerous revisions made until about 1769) focussed on an Anglican English population, who would keep their bibles at home. Hence, the translation uses English from that period, and the size of the volume is compact. Its translation is also Christian, and does not appeal to a Jewish Audience.
[edit] Using other sources
Bible Translation is unique in that the translator could be a religious individual and would therefore change his outlook and translation methods, that would not necessarily apply in other works. A Christian translator understands that this is the word of God, but may sacrifice meaning for support in the text for Jesus. An orthodox Jew understands that the text is the word of G-d, and will resort to classical Jewish sources for understanding difficult passages. A secular scholar will use sources such as Ugaritic, and other ANE or Semitic languages, to help understand the text. This is also dependent on audience.
