Re: italics, etc.

DWILKINS@ucrac1.ucr.edu
Fri, 5 Apr 1996 16:44:04 -0800 (PST)

Carl said, "Aye, there's the rub! And how should we indicate the degree of
non-total consensus on a translation committee over "what the author meant
by using the particular word in the particular context?"" (I had to hand
copy this, my mail server is rather primitive). I agree with his observation,
and should probably point out that I intended a lot of emphasis on my use
of the word "ideally". Without getting too far into epistemology, the fact
is that we make decisions based on the evidence and logic that we have, and
leave to the public to express approval or disapproval. This is not too un-
like the process of the formation of the canon in the first place. One can
ask whether the church determined the canon or God did, with the church merely
"recognizing" God's will. Of course I wouldn't want to argue that public
acceptance of a translation (by scholars and non-scholars alike) is a sign
of divine approval, but mass disapproval is at least an indication that the
translators are doing something wrong.

Don Wilkins
UC Riverside