Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jonathan Robie <jonathan.robie AT sagus.com>]

At 11:44 PM 4/1/99 +0800, Paul Zellmer wrote:
 
>The comparison of literal translation to the informed consent 
>of the medical practice is *not* a point well taken.  That is because
doctors, >when presenting the findings to a patient, actually give a bit of 
>medical training to the patient so the patient can know the pluses 
>and minuses of the various options.  If this compares with anything in
>the study of the biblical text, it would compare with a good, balanced 
>commentary.

I agree. The idea that any literal translation amounts to putting the
original text in the hands of the readers is a bit strange. Even an
interlinear translation does not put the original text in the hands of the
readers, though I suppose an interlinear with grammatical tags starts to
come close - but only if the readers also have lexicons, grammar books,
etc. And once you start to go to that level of sophistication, you might as
well start learning the language.

Of course, one of the most valuable ways to put the text in the hands of
readers is to give them a forum where they can ask questions of experts and
get differing opinions, like asking for second opinions of doctors or
asking various doctors to explain things. And this continues to be
necessary even when you know a lot - after all, doctors confer with each
other. I think online forums are valuable for that.

Jonathan

>Translators--all translators--do not have the option to educate the target
group so
>that the members of the group can understand the potential significances
of the
>various forms.  A closer comparison would be if the doctor only gave the
test results
>and then told the patient, "You have all the facts that I have about your
personal
>situation.  Now *you* make the diagnosis and plan the treatment without my
giving you
>any hint as to what I learned in years of medical training and practice."
I wouldn't
>want that from a doctor, and I'm not sure that I would want that from a
translation.
>
>I recognize that the "literal" translation you keep suggesting is not for
the populus
>in general.  Rather, it is for "those who want to work with the text on
their own," as
>you state.  But I have found that almost all who have the necessary tools
to do this
>already have the basic greek and hebrew skills.  So why put out a
translation for
>these?  And, if perchance there are those who have the understanding of
hebrew and
>greek idioms and grammar but who do not have the necessary vocabulary,
would they not
>much more likely go to lexicons than to a translation of limited usability?
>
>The second response has to do with your definition of "dynamic
equivalence."  Now, I
>understand that the use of interpretation *might* fall under the general
heading of
>dynamic equivalence, and that, in general, the "dynamic equivalent"
approach looks
>more at the overall "kernel" of meaning rather than the individual words.
Yet, in
>normal day-to-day work, the term actually applies to going from the idiomatic
>structure of one language into the *idiomatic* structure of another.  In
short, under
>the normal practical usage of the term, when one finds the idiom "eat it
down" in some
>languages, it is *not* dynamic equivalence to translate it in English as
"eat it
>completely."  It *is* dynamic equivalence to translate it as "eat it up,"
because that
>is doing more than just bringing out the concept.  It is instead changing the
>idiomatic form to that of another language.  A translation which is not
word-for-word
>literal is not necessarily "dynamic equivalent."  And it is unfair to
assume that all
>translations being worked on today, even all those in the mission
community, are
>"dynamic equivalent."  Their goal is, however, to be true translations,
which means
>that the output must be understandable (even if not already predigested)
by the target
>audience.
>
>Just my thoughts,
>
>Paul
>
>--
>Paul and Dee Zellmer, Jimmy Guingab, Geoffrey Beltran
>Ibanag Translation Project
>Cabagan, Philippines
>
>zellmer AT faith.edu.ph
>
>
>
>
>
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Jonathan Robie
R&D Fellow, Software AG
jonathan.robie AT sagus.com