Abstract
Three translation evaluative concepts that emanate from an equivalence paradigm—accuracy, naturalness, and clarity—are critiqued in a context of Bible translation. Alternative criteria are proposed that are inspired by a proposed paradigm of hospitality: carefulness, authenticity, and transparency. This alternative triad is not only more defendable from a Translation Studies perspective but also offers sufficient space to consider translation beyond print for various media—specifically biblical performance translation. Crucial to this new metaphor is the agency of translators as they shape creatively their work for their audiences rather than mechanistically attempt to match a modern text to antiquity. Decades of research from performance translation in one particular community in central Africa inform the theory while demonstrating the practicalities involved in such an approach.
An earlier presentation of parts of this chapter was given at the fifth International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS) conference in Belo Horizonte Brazil on 7 July 2015.
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Notes
- 1.
Anthony Pym, along with others such as Mona Baker, continues to use the term ‘equivalence’ (see Kenny 2002: 77–80).
- 2.
Descriptive Translation Studies and especially Polysystem Theory as presented by Itamar Even-Zohar and Gideon Toury opened the way to explore translational norms that did not think in terms of absolutes or limiting comparisons to source and target in translation. Adequacy and acceptability were terms proposed in such contexts along with proposals for norms in translation (see for example Toury 2012).
- 3.
See for example the statements of basic translation principles from the Forum of Bible Agencies International: http://www.forum-intl.org/resources [accessed on 14 August 2015].
- 4.
Elsewhere from the same author: ‘But no matter how miserably we may fail in any other aspect of our task, we must above all else be faithful to the meaning of the original’ (Newman 1987: 411).
- 5.
Although not supported universally in TS, these criteria can be looked to for particular purposes from the perspective of Skopostheorie (Nord 1997: 31–33).
- 6.
http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-Christ-Superstar.html [accessed on 6 August 2015].
- 7.
Although coined by Roman Jakobson (1959: 232–239), the term is used here to differentiate translation other than print and suggests that semiotics (in all its approaches and perspectives) is a helpful way to address these types of translation.
- 8.
http://www.pathwaysproject.org/pathways/show/Accuracy [accessed on 6 August 2015], emphasis in original. There is also a book publication that parallels the website (Foley 2012).
- 9.
Ibid.
- 10.
Acceptability was a discussion much earlier in TS, with Gideon Toury’s work on translational norm (see for example Toury 1978).
- 11.
Twentieth-century counterexamples would be Kenneth Taylor of The Living Bible and Eugene Peterson of The Message, along with historic examples of Martin Luther.
- 12.
http://www.thenivbible.com/about-the-niv/meet-the-translators/; http://www.commonenglishbible.com/explore/our-scholars [accessed on 10 August 2015].
- 13.
Admittedly, this is a progressive theological posture. It does not, however, dismiss the historical value of the Bible.
- 14.
Bibliographical information available at https://www.zotero.org/groups/biblical_performance_criticism [accessed on 14 August 2015].
- 15.
http://biblicalperformancecriticism.org/index.php/12-newsflashes/newsflash/12-what-is-performance-criticism [accessed on 14 August 2015].
- 16.
Each of the following examples is taken from the passage of the NT of Mark 2.1–12 where four friends carry their paralytic friend to Jesus to be healed.
- 17.
For example, during one episode, several people climbed up on the roof of a house and dug a hole in the roof. This could not happen with a typical Vuté house. The performer explained the type of house construction in antiquity that made such behaviour feasible.
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Maxey, J.A. (2016). Alternative Evaluative Concepts to the Trinity of Bible Translation. In: Blumczynski, P., Gillespie, J. (eds) Translating Values. Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54971-6_4
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