Bible Translation by Jews and Christians in Medieval Catalan-Speaking Territories

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 386-414
Author(s):  
Pere Casanellas
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Romance Language ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Late Fifteenth

Abstract Despite bans on the reading or possession of Bibles in the vernacular, numerous medieval Catalan translations of the Bible survive, in particular a complete Bible from the fourteenth century, some ten psalters, and a fifteenth-century version of the four Gospels. Moreover, Catalan was the second Romance language in which a full Bible was printed (1478), following the Tuscan Bible of 1471. Most of these translations were commissioned by Christians for the use of Christians. In some cases, however, it is clear that the translators were converted Jews. In some others, the translations appear to have been written by Jews for Jewish readers. We also find one case in which Catalan was the source rather than the target language: the first extant translation of the four Gospels into Hebrew (late fifteenth century) was undertaken, probably by a Jew, using the aforementioned fourteenth-century Catalan Bible.

The Vilna Talmud as a Reflection of Changing Patterns of Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Edward Fram
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Babylonian Talmud ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Reference Tools

This chapter discusses the publication of the Babylonian Talmud by ’the Widow and Brothers Romm’ between 1880 and 1886 in Vilna, which is considered a landmark event from the perspective of rabbinic culture. The Babylonian Talmud included almost all of the commentaries and reference tools that had become part and parcel of printed volumes of the Talmud starting in the late fifteenth century. It talks about the ’Vilna Shas,’ which was considered a far cry from talmudic texts that had been known in the age of manuscripts and the early stages of print. It also mentions the fourteenth-century vellum Munich Codex Hebraicus MS 95, the oldest complete text of the Babylonian Talmud, which was noted to have sporadic corrections and glosses in the text and margins. As printing evolved in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, publishers added more material to volumes of the Talmud.

Metaphorical Representations of the Biblical Concepts of Death and Resurrection When Translating in a Buddhist Context

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey Somov
Keyword(s):  
Target Language ◽  
Conceptual System ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Cognitive Metaphor ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Standing Up ◽  
Waking Up ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Buddhist Culture

This article applies Lakoff and Johnson’s cognitive metaphor theory to the key terms of death and resurrection in the Scriptures and examines the translation of these terms into languages with a traditional Buddhist culture whose worldview is different from that of the Bible. The present analysis indicates that in the conceptual system of the biblical authors, the concept of death is metaphorically described as sleep while resurrection is pictured as waking up and standing up. However, in the Buddhist worldview the concept of the resurrection is absent and the concept of death is not always metaphorically extended as sleep. This article discusses the practical possibilities and limits of the representations of these metaphorical extensions in three Buddhist-context translation projects of the Institute for Bible Translation in Russia: Buryat, Kalmyk, and Tuvan. It also offers some suggestions about searching for their possible representations in the target language.

III John Benet's Chronicle for the years 1400 to 1462

1972 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 151-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Harriss ◽  
M. A. Harriss
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Trinity College ◽  
Trinity College Dublin ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
Made In

MS. E.5.10 in Trinity College, Dublin, is a volume measuring approximately 8½ × 6 inches, consisting of 224 leaves of vellum and paper written in English and Latin.1 The greater part is in one clear, regular fifteenth-century cursive hand, but the volume also includes sections of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century date and has flyleaves of fragments of similar date. Throughout the volume additions have been made in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries by a dozen or more different hands. On fo. 2v an inscription in the hand of the greater part of the book reads: ‘Iste liber est Domini Johannis Benet de harlyngdon. Quisquis istum elongaverit de custodia sua absque suo consensu anathema sit maranatha’, and at not less than twelve other places throughout the volume Benet signs his name, usually in the form ‘quod Benet’2. Three of these are dated: on fo. 75v ‘Quod Benet apud Harlyngdon Anno Domini M1CCCColxjo DominicalilitteraC’; on fo. 12Ir ‘quod Benet apud Harlyngdon Anno Domini M1CCCC1XViijo littera dominicali B’; on fo. 189v ‘M1CCCClxxj 13 die Novembris quod Benet’. John Benet was vicar of Harlington in Bedfordshire throughout the period covered by these dates, during which he wrote and assembled his book. The paper he used shows a variety of watermarks of the mid-fifteenth century, such as might be expected of a compiler in the provinces buying paper in small packets or using what happened to be at hand. After it was bound several of the remaining blank leaves were used by others for additional notes. The volume was foliated by one of these later hands, and on ff. 191–2 a table of contents with the folio references was made in the late fifteenth century. All the items in the table are present in the book as it survives today.

Translating between the Lines: Medieval Polemic, Romance Bibles, and the Castilian Works of Abner of Burgos/Alfonso of Valladolid

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 113-139
Author(s):  
Ryan Szpiech
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Significant Source ◽  
Romance Language ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
Bible Translations ◽  
History Of ◽  
Alfonso Of Valladolid ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Direct Use

The Hebrew works of convert Abner de Burgos/Alfonso de Valladolid (d. ca. 1347) were translated into Castilian in the fourteenth century, at least partly and probably entirely by Abner/Alfonso himself. Because the author avoids Christian texts and cites abundantly from Hebrew sources, his writing includes many passages taken from the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud. The Castilian versions of his works translate these citations directly from Hebrew and do not seem to make any direct use of existing Romance-language Bibles (although his work might have relied indirectly on Jewish Bible translations circulating orally in the fourteenth century). Given the abundance of citations, especially in Abner/Alfonso’s earliest surviving work, the Moreh ṣedeq (Mostrador de justicia), his writing can serve as a significant source in the history of Hebrew-to-Romance Bible translation in the fourteenth century. The goal of this article is to consider the impact of polemical writing on Bible translation in the Middle Ages by analyzing these citations in Abner/Alfonso’s Castilian works.

scholarly journals Translation Methods Found in New Testament Bible of Mark’s Gospel

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-179
Author(s):  
Ni Wayan Swarniti
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Formal Method ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Translation Theory ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Data Source ◽  
Translation Methods

Language is one of the important things in human life. By using the language, we can communicate with others. This research tried to analyze the bible translation by using methods of translation theory by Newmark (1988). This research was a qualitative research that focused to analyze the Gospel according to Mark. Bible entitled New Testament (2005) was published by The Indonesian Bible Society for The Gideons International. It was printed by Percetakan Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia. The book consists of 727 pages. Informal method was used to present the results of the analysis. It was the explanation of the translation methods used. Formal method was used to describe the table of the frequency of the translation methods applied in the bible translation found in new testament bible of Mark’s gospel. The translation methods found in data source were word for word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, free translation, idiomatic translation, and communicative translation. Adaptation was not found in all chapters of data source. The most translation method applied in new testament bible of Mark’s gospel was free translation. Free translation had the highest percentage in every chapter in new testament bible of Mark’s gospel. In the other word, the translator tried to transfer the meaning from source text into target text with changing the form based on cultures in target language.

scholarly journals A Critical Study of Abba Ho Patēr in Romans 8:15 in the New Revised Asante Twi Version (2018)

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Foster Asamoah ◽  
Diana Adjei-Fianko
Keyword(s):  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Cultural Worldview ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Future Revision ◽  
Romans 8

Bible translation is among the difficult exercises in scholarship because it demands a careful analysis of the biblical text from the source language into the target language. The religio-cultural settings and worldview of the indigenous people are also considered so that they are able to access the word of God as written and meant by the author(s). An example of Bible translation exercise is the New Revised Asante Twi Version (NRATV) 2018, which contains some translation problems. Some texts are not translated but “carried wholly” into the new or target language to make them look as if they form part of the native language. One of such is “Abba,” which is a HebraicAramaic word found in Romans 8:15. Since Abba is not an Asante (and Akan) language, it becomes difficult for the Asante reading community (and by extension all Akan languages) and users of the Asante-Twi Bible to understand and express the concept within their religio-cultural worldview because they do not understand the thought of the author in their language. Using exegetical, mother-tongue hermeneutics and the communicative method of translation as approaches, the study has found out that the translation of …Αββα ὁ πατήρ (…Abba ho Patēr) as …Abba, Agya (…Abba, Father) in the Asante-Twi Bible (2018) should be rendered as “…Agya, M’agya” (Father, My Father). The study has thus added to the interpretations of Romans 8:15 in Asante-Twi. It is being recommended that in the future revision of the Asante-Twi Bible, the Bible Society of Ghana should consider using “…Agya, M’agya” (Father, My Father) in the translation of … Αββα ὁ πατήρ (…Abba ho Patēr).

scholarly journals Mac Giolla Phádraig Clerics 1394-1534 AD: Part I

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 42-65
Author(s):  
Mike Fitzpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Century Science

Mac Giolla Phádraig Clerics 1394-1534 AD is a three-part series, which provides an account of all known individual Mac Giolla Phádraig clerics in the late medieval era and details their temporalities, occupations, familial associations, and broader networks. The ultimate goal of the series is the full contextualisation of all available historical records relating to Mac Giolla Phádraig clerics alongside the genealogical record that can be extracted by twenty-first century science – that being the science of Y-DNA. The Papal Registers, in particular, record numerous occurrences of Mac Giolla Phádraig clerics, predominantly in the dioceses of Cill Dalua (Killaloe) and Osraí (Ossory), from the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth century. Yet, no small intrigue surrounds their emergence. Part I of Mac Giolla Phádraig Clerics 1394-1534 AD examines the context surrounding the earliest appointments of Mac Giolla Phádraig clerics, which is in neither Cill Dalua nor Osraí but the diocese of Luimneach (Limerick). Once that context is understood, a pattern of associations emerges. A ‘coincidental’ twenty-first century surname match from the Fitzpatrick Y-DNA project leads to a review of the relationship between the FitzMaurice of Ciarraí (Kerry) clerics and Jordan Purcell, Bishop of Cork and Cloyne (1429-1472). The ‘coincidence’ then leads to an examination of a close Y-DNA match between men of the surnames Purcell and Hennessey. That match, coupled with the understanding that Nicholas Ó hAonghusa (O’Hennessey), elected Bishop of Lismore and Waterford (1480-1483) but with opposition, is considered a member of Purcell’s household, transforms the ‘coincidence’ into a curiosity. Part I morphs into a conversation, likely uncomfortable for some, relating to clerical concubinage, illegitimacy, and the ‘lubricity’ of the prioress and her nuns at the Augustinian nunnery of St Catherine's O’Conyll. The nunnery was located at Mainistir na gCailleach Dubh (Monasternagalliaghduff), which lay just a stone’s throw from where Bishop Jordan Purcell and Matthew Mac Giolla Phádraig, the first Mac Giolla Phádraig cleric recorded in the Papal Registers, emerged. Part I makes no judgments and draws no firm conclusions but prepares the reader for Part II by ending with some questions. Do the Mac Giolla Phádraig clerics of Osraí, who rose to prominence in the late-fifteenth century, have their origins in Deasmhumhain (Desmond)? Could the paternal lineages of Mac Giolla Phádraig clerics be, at least from the mid-fourteenth century, with the house of the Geraldine FitzMaurice clerics of Ciarraí? And, could some of the modern-day descendants of the Mac Giolla Phádraig clerics be those Costigans, FitzGeralds, and Fitzpatricks who are found under haplotype R-A1488?

scholarly journals The Greek Church in Latin and Venetian Cyprus 1191–1570

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 55-86
Author(s):  
Nicholas Coureas
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Fourteenth Century ◽  
Great Distance ◽  
Late Fifteenth

The Greek Church faced considerable problems following the Latin Conquest of Cyprus and the establishment of the Lusignan dynasty. Much of its property was impounded by the new Latin rulers, in the 1220s its bishoprics were reduced to four, with each bishop subject to a Latin diocesan. Under the provisions of the Bulla Cypria of 1260 it accepted papal primacy and ceased to have its own archbishop following the death of Germanos. Limits were placed on the numbers of monks in Greek monasteries and the refusal of Greek monks to accept the validity of Latin unleavened communion bread resulted in the martyrdom of 13 of them in 1231. Despite this, however, the Greek Church overcame these challenges and even strengthened its position in the later Lusignan and Venetian periods. Several reasons explain its ability to survive and maintain the allegiance of most of the population. The small number of Latins on Cyprus, concentrated mainly in the towns of Nicosia and Famagusta, made them fear absorption into the far more numerous Greeks and so disposed to tolerate a Greek Uniate Church that formally accepted papal primacy. The great distance separating Cyprus from Rome and Avignon together with increasing absenteeism among the Latin clergy from the later fourteenth century onwards made it impossible to enforce papal directives. The growing Ottoman threat from the late fifteenth century onwards likewise made the Venetian authorities on Cyprus reluctant to implement papal rulings that would anger the Greek majority. In addition, the Greek Church of Cyprus maintained contact with the Greek patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria, all outside the areas under Latin rule, and so was not isolated from the Orthodox Christians subject to the patriarch of Constantinople.

scholarly journals Textwahrheit und Übersetzen. Beobachtungen an neueren Bibelübersetzungen

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Radegundis Stolze
Keyword(s):  
Literary Form ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Original Text ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
Bible Translations ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Original Message ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Interpretation

Recently many new German bible translations have appeared. The article first presents a comparison of paragraphs from ten different translations, with examples taken from the New Testament. This shows some basic trends. On the one hand, the objective of bible translation is Christian education, edification and worship usage. On the other hand, some translations focus on the cultural information, easy readability and inclusive language. Such orientation accepts purposeful adaptation and thus modifies the original text. And there are a few translations that constitute the product of an individual interpretation of the text, and its presentation in a literary form. The discussion of these translation trends is complemented by a critique of the prominent focus on the language rather than on the message, and the question of a text's truth and a translator's linguistic awareness is raised. The traditional translation criticism distinguishing between literal and target-oriented translation, and even cultural adaptation, is integrated here by a discussion of the procedural, functional, objectivistic and ethical implications of the new bible translations. One feature of all recent projects of bible translation seems to be a pedagogical concern. Authors think that they need to guide readers in their interpretation, because those may be unable to understand the very old, strange and often opaque text; or they might misunderstand it and thus miss the true message; or they should learn something about the historic culture; and last but not least, traditional patriarchal attitudes promoted by Christianity should be overcome with a new text. The idea is that people's thinking can be directed by language. Thus the question is raised, whether a translation should also be an interpretation. In a critical view of the interpretive translation, this article presents the hermeneutic approach to translation. This implies a well-informed openness as an attitude towards the original message, rather than a method. The focus is neither on language structure nor on the addressees, but on the text's message. This includes the problem of understanding a written text, what is never a matter of fact. The text's theological exegesis is a prerequisite for the translation, but the value of that translation is not only based on that. Translation aims at a faithful representation of the message and opens the direction of a text, but the individual interpretation is always done by the readers themselves. When the translator as a reader identifies himself with the message, s/he will cognitively produce formulations apt to give resonance to this message. The translator becomes a co-author of that text, and just as for the original author, one will never totally govern the readers' understanding. The translator's voice will be more convincing, when only one person is responsible for the text production, different from the team works in various official projects of bible translation. Even if the bible as such is a composition of many different books and pieces of texts, these manifold voices may be better noted by one translator alone, rather than by many contributors, each of whom as a specialist only translates one book. Finally, the stylistic shape of the target text is decisive. The bible translator should have an excellent knowledge of the target language, in order to present various nuances. Translating is not an information about an original text, it represents that original message in another language.

Revisiting the Bible Translation of Robert Morrison and William Milne

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-318
Author(s):  
Archie C. C. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Hebrew Text ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Collaborative Project ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
English Translations ◽  
The Creation

The article revisits the collaborative project of two early missionaries to China, Robert Morrison and William Milne, who overcame the ‘practical impossibility’ of translating the Protestant Bible into Chinese in 1823. The issues of the doctrinal constraints, the influence of the contemporary English translations, faithfulness to the Hebrew text and cultural sensitivity to the target language will be raised with reference to concrete examples cited from their joint translation version. The creation account of Genesis and passages on the rendering of the biblical ‘sea monsters’ into Chinese will be selected for focused study in order to show how Morrison and Milne were influenced by the KJV but at times departed from it in their reading of the original Hebrew text. Furthermore, it is also noted that they have shown a certain degree of sensitivity to the Chinese cultural context in their choice of terminology in translating the biblical text into Chinese.

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