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  • From: Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Translation theory and NP$
  • Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:42:26 +0200

Dear James,

When Martin Luther made his German translation, German was not fully developed as a language, so he had to create new words, or chose old words as "catchwords" signifying particular concepts. In time, all these words were implemented in the religious and secular language, and people used them.

When a native Hebrew speaker heard NP$, his mental concept signalled by the word was activated, and on the basis of the context he would ascertain which area of the concept that was made visible. The point with a literal translation is to find a word close to the core meaning of the concept, and let the readers look up its references, to the point were the diligent reader will get a part of the original concept in his or her mental lexicon.

If one chooses to make a literal translation, one should have Ogden's triangle of signification in mind, with "sign," "concept," and "reference" at the corners. In my view, it may be confusing if we choose one of the references as the word representing the concept in the target language. Therefore, I do not think "creature" is a good choice, and "life" is even worse. The words "Sele," "soul," and "sjel" (German, English, and Norwegian) have long been a part of the vocabularies of the mentioned languages, so I find it to be an excellent choice. The only disadvantage I can see, is that many people combine immortality with it (an immortal soul), a concept that is completely foreign to the Tanakh. But such a choice of one English word for one Hebrew word gives the reader the opportunity to have a part in the translation process, and the translation process also consists of rejecting wrong ideas connected with a particular word-the idea of an immortal soul will rather quickly be rejected of the references of "sould" are looked up.

Best regards,

Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo



Hi Rolf,

I can see what you are saying in principle. But I think that 'soul' is perhaps the poorest choice of word possible if the aim is to guide a reader to understanding of NP$ via consistent translation. The majority of texts seem to place the semantic domain of NP$ as synonym of life but with occasional more abstract shades (and occasional more concrete shades). A good choice of word, in English, doesn't spring to mind but whatever it is it should be a close synonym of 'life'. English 'soul' doesn't really qualify as it carries with it all kinds of semantic baggage that 'life' doesn't.

In fact, the more I think about it I don't really think it is possible to choose 1 word in English which is a synonym of life and which works in all contexts of NP$. But, I agree, that we could definitely do better than using 30 different words of completely different meaning.

James Christian


Second, I would like to have a translation like Youngs literal
translation and the New World Translation that are very literal
(together with Wuest's Expanded translation). A strictly literal
translation is in a way a semi-translation. For example, when the NWT
consistently uses the one English word "soul" as a translation of
NP$, the readers must on the basis of the context find the references
of "soul". Therefore, the readers have a part in the very process of
translation.The advantage of a literal translation is that the
readers may come as close as possible to the original text through
their mother tongue. But this can of course be a real challenge. One
other advantage of such a translation, is that the readers can see
where other modern translations for different reasons have broken
fundamental translation rules and in effect has lead their readers
astray.

Third, I would like to have an idiomatic translation that is as
literal as possible, but not is a semi-translation. This means that
more than one word is used for NP$, but much fewer than the 30 or
more words that are used in modern translations, Footnotes with
alternative readings and alternative translation possibilities would
also be appreciated. When a person who does not know the original
languages works to get an understanding of Biblical passages, he or
she will learn a lot by comparing different translations. It is
impossible to transfer the whole original meaning of the verbs and
clauses from the source language to the target language-a part, great
or small, is lost in the process, and a part, great or small, is
added. Different translations may stress different sides of the
original meaning, and therefore it is an advantage to use several
translations.



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