[B-Greek] translation strategies

Dr. Don Wilkins drdwilkins at verizon.net
Wed Jun 24 18:46:58 EDT 2009


I assume you mean "because I don't know Chinese and thus can't read  
the standard Chinese grammar on English." Funny stuff. I'm reminded  
of the remark by the Klingon general at the (Star Trek) banquet that  
you can't get the full force of Shakespeare until you read it in the  
original Klingon. Then there's the story of how the committee on the  
Klingon translation of the Bible broke up due to irreconcilable  
differences over literal vs. paraphrased Klingon. I think that's a  
true story. I know for a fact that certain KJV Only advocates have  
insisted that you have to first teach people KJ English if you want  
them to be able to read the "true" Bible. The number one problem I  
face today as a professional translator is trying to clarify for  
people the differences between literal translations and paraphrases  
(if I may be so bold and politically incorrect or out of date as to  
use these terms). Would I be right in inferring that you (Eddie)  
favor "thought-for-thought" translation if it is deemed accurate? In  
our Greek grammars, I think the various authors implicitly try to  
distinguish concepts from the different ways they can be translated,  
but given all the nuances, the distinctions may blur.

Don Wilkins
The Lockman Foundation

On Jun 24, 2009, at 2:48 PM, Eddie Mishoe wrote:

>
> Carl concludes:
>
> One wonders (i.e. I wonder) how Greek-speakers who know no
>> English
>> ever succeeded in understanding spoken and written Greek
>> without ever
>> having first learned English so as to know what a spoken or
>> written
>> Greek expression means.
>
> I am assuming Carl is not serious, or he's showing early signs of  
> dementia :o )
>
> The topic here Carl is translation, translation, translation...  
> FROM ONE LANGUAGE -- COMPLETELY OVER TO -- ANOTHER LANGUAGE,  
> something your native Greeks had no need of, unless of course they  
> were translating a text into English, which brings us back to the  
> topic of thread... "TRANSLATION" strategies.
>
> But I like your approach. I think I'll tell my English teacher that  
> I can't understand her tests because I don't know Chinese :o p
>
>
> Eddie Mishoe
> Pastor
>
>
>
>
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