Jacob Bullock has spent his career in service of the global Church and working towards the elimination of Bible poverty. He and his wife Juliann worked in Papua New Guinea for over a decade supporting the work of Bible translation in PNG. During this time, he served as a course instructor at the Pacific Institute of Languages, Arts, and Translation (PILAT), a joint venture between SIL-PNG and the Bible Translation Association of Papua New Guinea. His published research explores the intersections of linguist and literary pragmatics, global theology, biblical interpretation, and translation theory. Currently, Jacob is part of the SIL NLP Team supporting innovative applications of emerging technologies to Bible translation.
Does the Value of Accuracy Frequently Conflict with the Value of Acceptability in Bible Translation Projects?
Abstract
This paper argues that in language communities with previous exposure to translated scripture, the value of acceptability often constrains translators to bypass advances in Biblical studies and privilege less viable text-critical readings in order to please the target community. Examples from three published translations are examined.
About the Author
SIL Global