Software Use in Bible Translation

[John of Japan]

Just a word about the Internet Japanese-English dictionary I use, called Jisho (meaning "dictionary," naturally) at www.jisho.org. It's very helpful, and the authors have obviously done a huge amount of great research. I actually began following their work long before it took the form of this excellent dictionary.

I do have various hard copy dictionaries, including the very authoritative 5 volume kanji dictionary Uncle Miya gave me when we left Japan. (I miss the guy!). But this online dictionary is very helpful.

Let me give you an example. I've been translating "wise man" (חכם, châkâm) in Proverbs as chisha (知者). However, from Jisho I learn that there is a strong Buddhist meaning, so I'll probably change my rendering throughout Proverbs. (I'm on Ch. 15). Here is a screenshot:

 

[John of Japan]

Just a word about Blue Letter Bible (blueletterbible.org). I'm sure many of you reading this use this, and many of our college students use it also. I almost never use it because it doesn't have the kind of tools I need to translate, and it doesn't have any Japanese versions on it. (Maybe we can give them ours eventually.) But it appears to be a great resource--has tons of English translations.

 

[John of Japan]

The software I use most often is a high end package, BibleWorks. Unfortunately, the company closed down operations some years ago, but the software still works, and does just what I need it to do, so I still use it. Here is a screenshot of the main screen.



I currently have two English, two Japanese, the LXX, and the Hebrew on there. These two are the only Japanese versions there are, but I could have many more English versions.

 

[John of Japan]

In this screenshot I am hovering over the Hebrew verb, and it gives gloss meanings and parses it for me. This is a very important function for translators. Sometimes I don't remember the word, or can't figure out the form, so this is a great help.

 

[John of Japan]

I've had some back trouble, and haven't been able to post here lately. Still some pain, and I'm doing better, but plan to go home early today.

Anyway, here's a page with some helps for Bible translators: Tools – Bible In Every Language

I've not used any of these, so I don't know how good they are. I've already posted about whatever software I use. Bible software is a great help, but I find the human brain to be better for linguistic matters. However, I have seen many times the translation software used by our linguistics prof, a graduate of SIL. She uses the Wycliffe software that is designed for sharing information in a translation effort. (I don't remember what that is.)

We looked into using that for our Japanese OT work, but my partner uses Apple, and it is only for Windows.

 

[Deacon]

This morning I was reminded about this thread after reading about the translation processes used by various committees when translating the Septuagint.
In this snippet the author is discussing the Lexham English Septuagint (LES). It is contrasted with the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS).

...LES originated as an “interlinear edition of the Lexham Greek-English Interlinear Septuagint,” itself a digital product produced by a team of translators and available only on Logos Bible Software. Brannan then took “material” from that interlinear to use “as the initial basis for a translation,” writing a program “to reassemble, as much as possible, the interlinear lines into English word order.” It was this digitally produced English text that was then edited by a team of scholars who converted it into readable English “in consultation with the Greek text.” In certain cases, this procedure “required an almost entirely new translation by the LES translator.” The results then underwent various reviews and edits to produce “a transparent, literal translation of the Septuagint” that was originally available only on the Logos platform. In time, Penner “was invited to reedit the LES” in full in order to produce a printed volume (Penner and Brannan 2019: xii).

Behind all this activity, the textual basis of LES was the diplomatic edition produced by Swete (1887–94). Consequently, it differs slightly from NETS in arrangement and presents slightly more content, ...

William A. Ross, “The Septuagint and Modern Language Translations,” in T&T Clark Handbook of Septuagint Research, ed. William A. Ross and W. Edward Glenny, T&T Clark Handbooks (London; New York; Oxford; New Delhi; Sydney: T&T Clark, 2021), 337–338.​

Rob