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Another issue in a verb system is called verbal aspect. To put it simply, this is how the speaker relates the action of the verb to the hearer. Greek has three aspects: aoristic (looking at the whole of the action; "I did it."), perfective (the action as completed with continuing results; we...

Now consider verbs. The verb system of a language is quite often very complicated (Greek), but can be somewhat simplistic (Japanese, Chinese). The Greek verb system is highly inflected. This means that many morphemes (sounds with meaning) are added in three forms: prefixes, infixes (added in the...

Yes, I'm sure they could go to the same church, as long as the Covenant people don't keep insulting the Dispensationalists with cracks like "dispensational nonsense." :Coffee Mutual respect, that's the key. Anyway, welcome to the Baptist Board! :)

I was just talking to one of my students who was on the team from here that recently went to Mexico to observe several translation. teams. When he got back, Spanish speaker from our Hispanic outreach asked him, "Did you become intoxicated in Mexico?" The Spanish word intoxicado actually means...

I'm still here! Bible translation can be done by a secular linguist, skilled in the languages, and I know a Japanese NT translation that was done by someone like that. But in reality, Bible translation is not just mental, but spiritual. The translator should be filled with and led by the Holy...

V. Cultural and Sociological Qualifications A. The cultural aspect is very important in translating. The translator must know intimately the culture of the target language to avoid misunderstandings, because language and culture are greatly intertwined. “One translator found that what she had...

III. Linguistic Qualifications A. A gift for languages, if not formal training, is necessary (1 Cor. 12:28). B. Sometimes a very hard worker with meager talents can become quite fluent in a foreign language. However, usually the best linguists are those with God-given talents in language...

II. Character Qualifications A. A translator without good character will soon bog down and not be able to finish the task. Translating the Bible is hard work and can take many years to finish, and thus requires a deep level of commitment (Prov. 12:27). B. Thus, perhaps the most important...

This thread is a great idea. For anyone interested, I'm going to share my lecture notes on the qualifications for a translator (and therefore obviously for a consultant.) Qualifications for a Bible Translator Neh. 8:8 INTRODUCTION: A “wannabe” is someone who wants to be important...

Why did you take God's name in vain in French?

This afternoon I will teach "Bible Translation Theory and Practice," with just two students. Both have felt the call, the leading of the Holy Spirit to be translators. And both are very gifted by God in languages! Their homework for tomorrow was to translate most of John 1 from the Greek while...

Consider the spiritual elements needed for Bible translation. Just to translate the New Testament alone takes years, unless you somehow garner full financial support and are able to work full time. Even then the revising, proofing, etc., may take years. The point is, unless you are called by...

Consider the issue of inflection. This is where a language uses prefixes, suffixes, and infixes (morphemes in the middle of a word) to show changed grammar and meaning. English is only lightly inflected: adding "-s" for a plural, adding "-ing" for a participle, "-ed" for a past tense, and the...

Here are the various kinds of taboo words: 1. Taking God's name in vain. (Usually only first world countries with a Christian history have this category.) This is unambiguous. There is no doubt when this kind of taboo word is used. It is when a person uses any name of God (God, Jesus, etc.) in...

A big challenge for the Bible translator is what linguists call taboo words. A taboo word is “a word known to speakers but avoided in some, most, or all forms or contexts of speech, for reasons of religion, decorum, politeness, etc.” P. H. Matthews, Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics, 2nd...

Another issue with choosing nouns in the target language is style. This has to be done with the translator's skopos--translation goal--in mind. Is he going for a folksy, very colloquial translation? Or does he want a literary version? Or perhaps he is even shooting for a classical language...

Another challenge in determining the meaning of a single word is respect language, also called honorifics. This points to words used to address someone of either higher or lower status in society. Some languages have as many as four or five levels of respect language. So, do the Pharisees show...

Americans are really spoiled with their many, many Bible translations. It always bothers me when a Christian author uses a bunch of different translations to make his points. Really? Can't you find a translation you can trust? Again, the fact that Western civilization has a Christian foundation...

Let's say you are going to track down the meaning of a Greek hapax legomenon, occurring only once in the NT. First of all, the context in the Greek is vital. How is the word being used? This may not give the final answer, but can help. Then, you can consult other sources, such as the LXX and...

It's complicated! I do consider koine Greek to be a dead language in the sense that it is frozen in time as we read it in the NT. In some ways that makes it easier to figure out, in that the resources (LXX, church fathers, etc., are accessible in the same or near same time frame. Having said...