Variation in Diachronic Translation of Bible

Variation is one of the most commonly used concepts in translatology. To one degree or another, it becomes obvious in an interlingual transfer of texts of various genres; however, first of all, one has to deal with it when translating pieces of fiction (broadly speaking). This becomes especially evident in cases when one and the same source text has several versions in another language (or in other languages). First of all, this applies to the Bible, which surpasses other literary masterpieces in the number of existing translations into different languages and also has the longest tradition of interlingual transfers. Such fact determines the relevance of the subject of this article. Despite a large number of studies on various aspects of the Holy Writ translations, a number of issues related to their variation cannot be considered fully investigated, which makes it possible to speak of the scientific novelty of this article. A few fragments of the versions created in different languages were used as the material for this research, and the method of comparative analysis was applied for their study. The research results lead to the following conclusions: a) the variation in different translations of the selected fragments may be caused by both objective and subjective factors; b) the availability of the so-called unclarities in the source text, which allow for different interpretations, leads to significant differences in their representation in the target language; c) the aiming for pragmatic adaptation of the content for a foreign cultural audience in a number of cases entails the replacement of realities, sometimes distorting the actualness shown in the original text; d) modern translations may reflect issues related to political correctness, an inclusive language, etc., which do not always correspond to the ideology of the source text.

The Language Question

Another important debate in the constitutional revision was about the Greek language - Venizelos's aim being to find in time a single national language fit for all purposes. By 1911 the disputed status of katharevousa (the purist form of Greek used in education, the public services, legislation etc) and dimotiki (demotic Greek, the language of poetry and much literature) had become an acute issue. It was brought into the constitutional debate by the so-called language defenders who opposed the so-called 'hairy ones', the proponents of extreme forms of demotic, and wished to entrench katharevousa as the official language of the state. The debate spread as much heat as light. Venizelos was sympathetic to demotic Greek but used katharevousa in official contexts. His speech set out the issues well. He accepted that the language of Holy Writ should be protected by the constitution. He was forced to disappoint some of the demoticists, his natural allies, by accepting a clause in the new constitution stating that the official language of the state was the language of the constitution itself, and of legislation. The passion aroused in these debates derived from the integral connection of the national language with Greek national identity.

Paradigm of passive constructions in the Ukrainian translation of the Bible by Filaret (Mykhailo Denysenko)

This paper investigates how passive constructions are used in Filaret’s translation of the Bible from Standard Russian (Russian Synod’s translation, 2002) into Ukrainian, not from biblical languages, e.g., Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. It specifically argues the nuclear position of the Ukrainian passive constructions paradigm formed by passive constructions with predicative participles in -nyi, -tyi, circumnuclear position of constructions with predicative forms in -no, -to, and peripheral position of constructions with passive verbs in -sia. Ranking of passive constructions with predicative participles over constructions with forms in -no, -to neutralizes syntactical peculiarities of Ukrainian, i.e., a focus on predicativity in finite verb forms and forms in -no, -to. The peripheral status of passive verbs in -sia shows a positive tendency for Filaret’s translation of the Holy Writ to distance from the Russian translation succeeded to passive constructions with predicative participles from Old Church Slavonic. The Ukrainian translation is often marked by active constructions (a mononuclear or two-member sentence) which are the authentical feature of the Ukrainian syntax. Simultaneous synonymous usage of active and passive constructions, particularly in the same environments, however, is largely triggered by a lack of distinction between syntactical peculiarities of Ukrainian and Russian, and, therefore, provides a syntactical variety. In the Ukrainian translation, usage of active constructions and different types of passive forms almost always intersects with the Russian Synod’s version. Keywords: Ukrainian translation of the Bible, paradigm of passive constructions, constructions with predicative forms in -no, -tо, constructions with predicative participles in -nyi, -tyj, sentences with passive verbs in -sia.

From Protest to ‘Holy Writ’: The Mainstreaming of Welfare Politics

This chapter examines the evolution of British farm animal welfare politics during the last two decades of Harrison’s campaigning. In 1979, the RSPCA boycotted the Thatcher government’s new Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC). The short-lived protest triggered a membership revolt and moderation of RSPCA policies. It also coincided with a weakening of agricultural corporatism in Westminster. FAWC was granted relative independence from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food and explicitly acknowledged an updated version of the five freedoms. Ensuing British welfare reforms were also driven by the increasing involvement of European bodies in animal welfare. Now in her 60s, Ruth Harrison joined FAWC as a welfare member. Her increasing public recognition as a senior welfare campaigner enabled her to proactively push for reforms, expand her fundraising activities, and sponsor additional welfare research. By the late 1990s, most of her welfare positions had become part of mainstream politics.

The Qur’ānic Dialogue with the Mystical Theology of Logos in John’s Gospel

The Qur’ān, the “Holy Writ” of Islam, builds its rationale of revelation on the scriptural model of biblical tradition. Embracing direct divine intervention in worldly affairs as the first principle within the constrictions of monotheistic theology, the Qur’ān resurrects biblical purview of an intermediary agency linking the transcendent divine with the terrestrial human, which the author of John’s Gospel identifies as “Logos”. This article argues that the Qur’ānic conception of kalām-Allah, at a conceptual level, engages with John’s mystical theology of the divine origin of the Logos-incarnate and reinterprets the conception as well as its application. This cornerstone of John’s theology formulates a crucial basis for the Qur’ānic narrator’s self-reflection through both content and form of revelation as such. Biblical literature written prior to Johannine appropriation of Logos does not cohere with John’s mystical paradigm, which the Qur’ān, on the other hand, brings to a whole new level of theological maturation. The Qur’ān dialogues with John’s Gospel at multiple levels on the principal question of God’s personal interaction with humanity and presents its nuanced metaphysical construct in conversation with the Logos principle, but in distinction from John’s incarnation theology.

The Temporal and Chroonological Distance in Translations of Holy Writ: to Preserve or to Eliminate?

The present paper deals with some cases of the modernization of the Bible texts, especially created in the second part of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries (although the elements of the latter may be found in earlier versions including those with the unofficial status of “national Bibles”). The expansion of modernization is usually connected with E. Nida`s theory of the dynamic / functional equivalence; at the same moment its direct influence is obvious enough. The actuality of the theme for the theory and practice of translation is caused by the following factors: 1. the richness and variety of the Bible translations, the history of which counts more than two thousand ears; 2. the necessity to take into account the referential part of the text on one hand, and its pragmatic and appellative functions on the other; that may lead to the collision between them when the translator has to choose the strategy and tactics of his work; 1. the acceptance of the text as “inspired by God” among the believers, that may provoke a negative relation towards some moments, which are treated as the divergence from the source text or even its distortion. The paper is based on the representative sample taken from Bible translations (both “traditional” and modern) in Russian, English and German. The corresponding variants, as well as their estimation in special and popular works are analyzed. The authors give an attempt to define some features that give the possibility to treat the text as modernized one. Although the said method is used quite often as the means to reach the adequacy of translation, the question of its limits is controversial enough.

Noah Narratives, Gender Issues, and the Hollywood Hermeneutic

The exciting field of religion-and-film provides new insights into Holy Writ whenever filmmakers project sacred texts onto the silver screen. One Judeo-Christian film favorite is the diluvial disaster story of Noah and the ark (Gen. 6–9), whether rendered as an epic bio-pic, scriptural fantasy, or sacred subtext. Even “bad” films offer good pedagogic possibilities for via negativa–style biblical exegesis to stimulate one’s religious understanding. Of particular interest is the gender representations of Noah’s family. Consequently, utilizing basic descriptive analysis and a selective review of the critical literature, this chapter investigates eight notable exemplars of Noachian cinema: (1) Noah’s Ark (1928), (2) The Green Pastures (1936), (3) When Worlds Collide (1951), (4) The Bible: In the Beginning . . . (1966), (5) Noah’s Ark (1999), (6) Northfork (2003), (7) Evan ALMIGHTY (2007), and (8) Noah (2014). Each film is closely read, explicated, and copiously illustrated. The chapter concludes that traditional patriarchal gender portrayals do not vary much and that non-scriptural creative extrapolations frequently focus upon rebelliousness, madness, or heterosexual titillation.

do's and don'ts

It is an interesting and refreshing fact that every human society is conventionally structured and subsequently sustained by certain rules and regulations whether written or unwritten by which both social and religious life is regulated. In the religious arena, the holy writ or tradition serves as a functional apparatus in order to attain and guarantee religious order, righteousness, and holiness. Conceptually, Ori Oke means Prayer Mountain, one which is secluded from interruption for the purpose of solitary prayer and worship of the transcendental God. Thus, every Ori Oke (prayer mountain) in Ilorin metropolis is identified and associated with rules and practices which have been a sine-qua non for orderliness, harmony, purity, and security. However, non-compliance with the rules and regulations has been a major problem confronting some attendees and as well as a source of worry to insiders. This, as a matter of fact, elicits lots of concern from troubled members who are alarmed at the extent of violations at odd hours and in unexpected places thereby leading to a critical question of the roles of instruction in Ori Oke. The thrust of the paper is, therefore, to examine the theological and historical aspects to show the indispensable role of Christian traditions or holy writ in the sustainability of peace, orderliness, purity, inclusion, and continuity. The paper adopts a historical-liturgical and expository approach leading to the fact that vigilance and extra care must be employed by Ori Oke caretakers in order to get rid of unholy practices in the holy land.