Peter Knapp is instructor for linguistics and Bible translation at Pacific Islands University and is serving as coordinator / adviser in a Bible Translation project in Micronesia. His past experience includes the completion of NT in a project in Northern Eurasia. He earned his MA in linguistics from UT Arlington in 1995.
HOW We Do Things Is Crucial for the Translated Word to Become “Theirs” (subtitle: Translation Procedures Are a Vital Factor for the Incarnation of the Translated Word)
Abstract
Healthy review procedures are vital for a translation to be viewed by the community as their own, or as a truly embodied scripture. My own training has prepared me to identify WHAT may need to be changed in the review process, but finding the way HOW to change has been a bumpy road. Certainly, there may be more than one good way of doing it and but we need to tune the procedure to best serve the specific situation.
Review aims to improve the quality of the draft with regard to accuracy, clarity and naturalness. In addition, the review process also serves to improve the status of the translated scriptures. It is that latter purpose that is of special interest in this paper. What can we do for the newly translated Scriptures to be valued by the community?
Factors that affect review process
• Status of the church within the wider community
• Involvement of the community, both quantity and status of the people involved
• Who makes the decisions?
For sound decision making procedures we need to know the social structure of the community:
• Is it appropriate for individuals to edit the text?
• Do diverting opinions get heard?
• How do we arrive at a decision?
• How solid is a decision, once it is made?
• Are “our” requirements in conflict with local culture of decision making?
It is my hope that this paper will become a guiding voice as we work with translation teams, to call us to work in appropriate ways that make the project theirs.