Translating the Literature of Scripture (Sil International Publications in Translation and Textlinguistics, Vol.1)

Scholars have recently begun to document the many outstanding literary (artistic, structural, and rhetorical) properties of the biblical text, qualities contributing, to a significant dimension of meaning that few translations, past or present, attempt to reproduce even on a limited basis. Closely related to this is the correspondingly manifold communicative potential of different target languages all over the world, a rich inventory of resources that are only rarely exploited to the full in a translation. Accordingly, this book proposes the implementation of a literary functional-equivalence (LiFE) method of translation that seeks to represent or recreate in a given language the variety of expressive and affective dynamics the great impact and appeal, including the beauty of the diverse tests of Scripture.

Many examples pertaining to the biblical language as well as several Bantu languages are included to illustrate this methodology and show how competent mother-tongue translators can be trained to apply it practically in their work.

Also see the Workbook, LiFE-Style Translating: A Workbook for Bible Translators, Second Edition (2011, ISBN 9781556712432), a practical supplement to accompany this text.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Abbreviations

The Study of Literature in Relation to the Bible and Its Translation
Defining the Parameters of a Literary-Rhetorical Translation
Tectonicity of the Scriptures
Artistry of the Scriptures
Iconicity of the Scriptures
Rhetoricity of the Scriptures
Literary-Rhetorical Analysis Techniques
Determining the Stylistic and Rhetorical Features of TL Literature
Teaching a Literary-Rhetorical Approach
Assessing Literary-Rhetorical Translation
Organizing a Literary-Rhetorical Translation Project

Appendix A: Supplement to Chapter 10
Appendix B: An L-R Approach Applied
Appendix C: Sample Translator-Training Lesson

Bibliography
Index