Scriptural Markup in the Bible Translation Community

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Robie
Keyword(s):  
Reference Materials ◽  
Real World ◽  
Markup Language ◽  
Reference Systems ◽  
Electronic Publication ◽  
Common Reference ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Right

At XML conferences, most discussion of scriptural markup revolves around formats like OSIS and other TEI formats that are not widely used in the Bible translation community. The Bible translation community cares deeply about its translation data, and has developed a backslash-delimited markup language called USFM that is well-suited for marking up Scripture for Bible translation and publishing. It has also developed an XML-based equivalent called USX that is suitable for electronic publication. Neither of these languages is closely related to TEI or its conventions. Although USFM is well-suited for representing Scripture, it is not well-suited for representing lexicons, USFM handbooks, commentaries, translation handbooks, critical apparatus, and many other kinds of resources that translators use as they work. This has been a bottleneck for making some kinds of resources available to translators. Twenty years ago, a team that included well-known XML professionals designed OSIS to meet the needs of this community, but despite the technical merits of OSIS, the translation community continued to use USFM and USX instead. This paper explores the reasons that caused this community to choose USFM and USX, ways to leverage XML to provide reference materials to working translators, and reference systems needed to relate resources to each other. In the course of this paper, we will explore a wide variety of formats designed by different communities with different tastes for different purposes, including USFM, USX, XML, JSON, YAML, and CSV/TSV. All of these are text-based formats that support Unicode and allow data to be clearly labeled. Of course, life would be simpler if all data were created in the same format, but as long as common reference systems can make relationships among data clear, this variety of formats is not particularly problematic. The structure and relationships in the data are more important than the physical format. This paper discusses these issues in the context of Paratext, software actively used by over 10,000 working Bible translators in more than 2,900 languages. It explains the value of USFM, but also the problems caused by its lack of extensibility and the ways that Paratext is using XML to overcome that problem. This paper also gives some real-world examples of mediating among different formats to create resources that work well together, respecting the right of data creators to use formats that work for them. These same issues also occur outside of Paratext in systems that query or process the same kinds of data in other environments that do not use USFM. The same reference systems used to enable XML inside Paratext can also be used to integrate XML formats outside of Paratext and to create new resources that can be used in a wide variety of systems.

scholarly journals No culture shock? Addressing the Achilles heel of modern Bible translations

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-325
Author(s):  
S.J. Joubert
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Distance ◽  
Culture Shock ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
Bible Translations ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Initial Culture ◽  
The Right ◽  
New Generation

Modem Bible translations are often more sensitive to the needs of their intended readers than to the right of biblical texts to be heard on their own terms as religious artefacts from the ancient Mediterranean world. Since all biblical documents linguistically embody socio-religious meanings derived from ancient Mediterranean societies, they also need to be experienced as different, even alien, by modem readers. Without an initial culture shock in encountering a Bible translation modem people are held prisoners by Western translations of the Bible. Therefore, translations should instil a new sensitivity among modem readers to the socio-cultural distance between them and the original contexts of the Bible. In order to help facilitate this historical awareness, a new generation of "value added" translations must, in creative and responsible ways, begin to provide a minimum amount of cultural information to assist modem readers in assigning legitimate meanings to the linguistic signs encapsulated on the pages of the Bible.

Accuracy versus Readability: Reconciling the Two Extreme Poles of Bible Translation Versions

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Ni Made Diana Erfiani
Keyword(s):  
Sermon On The Mount ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
The Right ◽  
High Level ◽  
Scientific Arguments ◽  
Accuracy Data ◽  
Proper Translation ◽  
Selection Of

This study aims at providing scientific arguments against the phenomena that appear in the Bible translation especially the extreme poles of literal and free translation versions. These two contradictory poles can be reconciled so that the literal products are not only accurate but also readable and vice versa the products of free translation version are not only readable but has a high level of accuracy. Data is in the form of terms taken from a famous biblical text of English – Indonesian translation entitled “The Sermon on the Mount” from two different versions namely literal and free translations. This study reveals that the reconciliation process of the two extreme poles can be done through the selection of proper translation procedure and by applying the chosen procedure correctly. Based on the finding, the meeting point of literal and free translation versions lies on the literal procedure, whereas the method of choosing correct procedure in literal translation can be done by way of starting from literal procedure to the left and from literal procedure to the right for the free translation version.

scholarly journals Grundtvig og Gammel Testamente - den danske Bibel eller Septuaginta

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-80
Author(s):  
Christian Thodberg
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right

Grundtvig and the Old Testament - the Danish Bible or the SeptuagintBy Christian ThodbergThe article begins with an account of Grundtvig’s attitude to the Old Testament (OT). Gmndtvig does not have to presuppose the New Testament when dealing with OT, but can read it freely: it is the same God that acts in both books of the Bible, though in different ways, according to how he leads and maintains his people. The same freedom finds expression in Gmndtvig’s sermons where he moves about effortlessly in the whole of the Biblical universe.Some of these sermons are dominated by a solemn, Old Testament tone, especially those that follow a triadic stmcture: first the Old Testament prophecy is mentioned, in the middle its fulfilment in and with the coming of Christ is described, and finally follows the most important part, the fulfilment of the prophecy in the present, Grundtvig not failing to place his activity in the centre - but as a stage, naturally, in the course of the history of salvation.In Grundtvig’s hymns, too, this structure recurs, as in Blomstre som en Rosengaard, in which the triadic structure is connected with the so-called Vstructure, the right side of the »V« of the hymn describing the fulfilment of the prophecy. By means of the V-structure Thodberg shows how baptism is the focus of the hymn, and also that in his interpretation of Isaiah 35 as a prediction of baptism Grundtvig leans on the Septuagint rather than the contemporary Danish Bible translation. In the Danish Hymn Book, Blomstre som en Rosengaard is only a torso - baptism is not the essential thing here.The article mentions a number of other examples of influence from the Septuagint on Grundtvig’s hymns and sermons. Among these the hymn Hyggelig, rolig stands out since it contains a large number of phrases that refer to the Septuagint. This applies to stanza 4 in which Grundtvig shows how even the person most troubled by doubts and most deeply bereaved will have a foretaste of the Kingdom of God when approaching Heaven in his or her heart on the tone ladder of songs of praise. This is a rendering of Psalm 84 in the Septuagint. The article concludes that from the 1830s Grundtvig makes extensive use of the Septuagint when quoting from OT. The background is that Grundtvig regarded the Septuagint as more poetical than the Danish translation from 1736, and - more importantly - that in preferring the Septuagint Grundtvig follows Irenaeus by relying on the Bible of the New Testament and the Old Church.

Alfonso de Castro on Vernacular Bible Translation and Christian Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-84
Author(s):  
Dries De Crom
Keyword(s):  
Christian Education ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Traditional Education ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Spanish Colonial ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
The Right

AbstractAlfonso de Castro (1495–1558) is known as a staunch opponent of vernacular Bible translation, who intervened on the matter at the Council of Trent. This article offers a fresh appreciation of Castro’s polemics against vernacular bibles, in light of a less well-known treatise in which Castro defends the right of the indigenous Spanish colonial population to be educated in the liberal arts and theology. It is argued that at the root of Castro’s misgivings about Bible translation is a concern for preserving traditional education as a necessary prerequisite for biblical interpretation.

scholarly journals History and theory of Scripture translations

2008 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole
Keyword(s):  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
Functional Equivalence ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
Bible Translations ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History And Theory

This article argues for the importance of Bible translations through its historical achievements and theoretical frames of reference. The missionary expansion of Christianity owes its very being to translations. The early Christian communities knew the Bible through the LXX translations while churches today still continue to use various translations. Translations shape Scripture interpretations, especially when a given interpretation depends on a particular translation. A particular interpretation can also influence a given translation. The article shows how translation theories have been developed to clarify and how the transaction source-target is culturally handled. The articles discuss some of these “theoretical frames”, namely the functional equivalence, relevance, literary functional equivalence and intercultural mediation. By means of a historical overview and a reflection on Bible translation theories the article aims to focus on the role of Africa in translation history.

Beyond the Douai-Reims Bible: The Changing Publishing Strategies of the Kellam Family in Seventeenth-Century Douai

The Library ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-375
Author(s):  
Alexander Soetaert ◽  
Heleen Wyffels
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Family History ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Host Society ◽  
Bible Translation ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
The Bible

Abstract The career of the Catholic Englishman Laurence Kellam is often reduced to his most impressive edition, the Old Testament of the Douay-Rheims Bible (1609–1610), an English Catholic Bible translation edited by the English College of Douai. Yet, there has been scarce attention for the remaining 190 editions, printed in English, as well as in Latin, French and Dutch, that bear a Kellam imprint. The discovery of another fifty editions that should be ascribed to the Kellam press demands a reappraisal of its activities and significance. By analysing both printed and archival sources, this article intends to fit the Bible edition of 1609–1610, and English Catholic printing on the continent more generally, into the wider perspective of three generations of publishing activities and family history, highlighting the increasingly tight connections between several generations of the Kellam family and the authors, institutions, and fellow-publishers of their host society.

Konsep Memilih Pasangan Hidup Menurut 2 Korintus 6:14-15 Dan Aplikasinya Terhadap Pencegahan Perkawinan Beda AgamaKonsep Memilih Pasangan Hidup Menurut 2 Korintus 6:14-15 Dan Aplikasinya Terhadap Pencegahan Perkawinan Beda Agama

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candra Gunawan Marisi
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
2 Corinthians ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Family ◽  
Patterns Of Behavior ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
The Right

The concept of choosing a life partner for young people today needs more attention. Incorrect selection will lead them to circumstances and family situations that are certainly not based on the Word of God. The planting of children's faith must begin at an early age so that it can become a guide for them when they grow up and start thinking about family life. The basics and criteria in choosing a marriage partner according to Christian teachings must be planted in children so that wherever they are or whatever environment they are in, they are still able to hold and have a principle of choosing the right life partner according to the Bible. , The family is a fellowship consisting of people who are bound by each other by the most close ties of blood and social relations. How a child grows into adulthood is influenced by the family. Parents must be good models of Christian faith in order to be effective role models for the internalization of Christian belief systems, values and patterns of behavior. Parents must first live in truth in order to be a model of faith for children, in 2 Corinthians 6: 14-15. The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians about a spouse because there were believers there who had a spouse who did not believe in Jesus. The Apostle Paul also said that no similarities could be found through marriage that did not worship the same God.

Ecumenical Church and Religious Conversion

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-201
Author(s):  
Lalsangkima Pachuau
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Religious Conversion ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Indian Constitution ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
The Right

AbstractIn this article, Lalsangkima Pachuau responds to contemporary accusations in India that Christian missionaries are forcing conversions, and thereby turning Indians away from their culture. While the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to "propagate" religion, and therefore to accept the movement from one religion (e.g. Hinduism) to another (e.g. Christianity), what is important to understand that "conversion" is not primarily a call to move from one religion to another--much less to abandon one's culture--but is a movement away from self and the "world" toward God. Conversion understood as "changing religions" is much more the product of seventeenth and eighteenth century evangelicalism than it is a true understanding of the Bible. Mission is always about conversion, and entails the invitation to enter the Christian community; such invitation, however, should always be distinguished from a proselytism that only focuses on a change of religious allegiance.

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