[B-Greek] translating and grammatical analysis

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Sat May 19 17:01:18 EDT 2007


Oh, I'm well aware that most standard exegetical procedures do involve -- at
one point or another-- a translation. Perhaps that's necessary if one is writing
to explain a text for others. My anxiety about translating as a practice has less
to do with the process of exegesis than with the process of reading a Greek
text. Understanding the Greek text as thoroughly as possible  is something that
should PRECEDE translating and the translating is really not ultimately necessary
once one really HAS come to understand the text. I am inclined to think, however 
(and 40 years of teaching did little to disabuse me of that thought), that students
are overeager to get the Greek text into some form of English or whatever their
target language BEFORE they have explored fully the nuances and alternative
ways in which the Greek text may legitimately be understood. Real translation is
ultimately a skill requiring a mastery of one's native language that nobody is born
with and quite a few native speakers may never acquire. One uses a wretched
dictionary like the Barclay Newman glossary that's printed along with some UBS
GNT's and searches for the first usable equivalent for a Greek word-- when what
one really needs to get into the habit of doing is STUDYING the entire entry for a
word in BDAG and/or LSJ. If translation is done at all, it should come AFTER an
exhaustive effort to grasp the sense of the original.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (ret)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/

 
On Saturday, May 19, 2007, at 03:17PM, "John Wilking" <jcwilking at yahoo.com> wrote:
>Carl,
>   
>  Would it be best to give an example of what I'm thinking?  Initially I didn't think it would be necessary.
>   
>  Thanks,
>  John 
>
>"Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad2 at mac.com> wrote:
>  
>On Saturday, May 19, 2007, at 01:37PM, "Charlie" wrote:
>>On May 19, 2007, at 12:43 p.m., Elizabeth Kline wrote:
>>
>>
>>> If you know Greek and you are doing serious grammatical analysis
>>> translation is not a necessary or even a desirable step in the
>>> process. The rush to translate into English is an indication that
>>> someone involved in the discussion does not know Greek. Carson writes
>>> for both professional and popular audiences. Perhaps you stumbled
>>> upon one something intended for professionals.
>>>
>>> Elizabeth Kline
>>>
>>
>>But, afterall this IS Biblical Greek and most of us here have an abiding
>>interest in the Greek from the standpoint of how it can best be conveyed in
>>English. While there must be no "rush" to translation, that is still a
>>strong goal here.
>
>Yes, it sometimes seems to me (as it clearly doesto Elizabeth) to be an
>obsession. So much so that understanding almost appears to be a minor
>obstacle that may even be "passed by on the other side."
>
>
>Carl W. Conrad
>
>
>
>



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