Transliteration versus Translation of proper names and titles in the Bible: The case study of the Holy Bible in Hausa (Littafi Mai Tsarki)

Transliteration versus Translation of significant proper names and titles in the Bible: The case study of The Holy Bible in Hausa (Littafi Mai Tsarki)

Proper names and Titles in the Bible may be unknown concepts in the receptor languages when it comes to the Bible translation. One way of rendering proper names is to transliterate them (Barnwell 159). Examples, in the Holy Bible in Hausa, the name “Ibrahim” in Genesis 17:5 is the transliteration of the Arabic name إبراهيم, (Ibrahim), the derivative of the Hebrew name אַבְרָהָם (The bridged). In Matthew 16:16, the title “Christ” is transliterated with the term “Kristi”. Another way, of rendering proper names that are significant in their context, is by explaining their meaning in footnotes to enable the reader to understand the meaning of the text. Titles could be explained also in footnotes (Barnwell 97,159). However when it comes to listening to audio recording or the public Bible reading, footnotes are not usually read with the text. Thus the meaning of the text is not completely understood by the listeners. In order to achieve a good translation, the meaning of significant proper names and titles should be included in the text rather than using them in footnotes. Instead of using the transcription or transliteration of significant proper names or titles, their meanings should be used in the text. In this paper five significant proper names and two titles that are transliterated in Littafi Mai Tsarki are highlighted and ways translating them are suggested with examples.