Emic Consulting: Its Significance for the Future of Bible Translation

“Emic consulting” is a term coined by the author to indicate translation consulting led by a language and cultural insider. This is defined further as someone who has been certified as a translation consultant and who has both a demonstrated proficiency in the receptor language (up to native speaker level, in some cases) and a deep cultural awareness, usually resulting from extended residency among the language community. Major language translations have utilized with great success emic consulting services, but this approach is of lesser frequency in minority languages.

The author writes from the perspective of having served as a BT consultant for three decades, as both an emic, insider consultant, and as an etic, external consultant. He is currently working as an emic consultant, assisting a language group in its full Bible completion, while also serving as an external consultant to three languages. He makes comparisons between the two roles, weighing matters of proficiency, efficiency, and methodology employed for determining accuracy, clarity and naturalness.

The author is of the opinion that emic consulting holds great promise for the future, both in terms of improving time of delivery of the translation and in quality control. Included among hurdles are “the dangers of familiarity”, and an over-reliance on one primary consultant. Nonetheless, a challenge is given to consider the place of emic consulting in future BT work, with hopes for further implementation.