Translating Jonah’s narration and poetry into Sabaot : towards a participatory approach to Bible translation (PABT)
Date
2008-03
Authors
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Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
Recent developments in the field of translation studies have shown that a single
translation of the Bible cannot be used for all the functions for which people may need a
translation of the Bible. Unlike the case in the past when new versions of the Bible were
viewed with suspicion, it is now increasingly acknowledged that different types of the
Bible are necessary for different communicative functions. While many African
communities have only a pioneer mother tongue translation of the Bible, Scripture use
reports indicate that in some situations, the mother tongue translations have not been used
as it was intended. The writer of this dissertation supports the view that some of the
Christians in their respective target language communities do not use available mother
tongue translations because they find them to be inappropriate for their needs. In the light
of functionalist theories of translation, it is held in this dissertation that people who find
existing translations to be unsuitable for their needs may need special alternative
translations that are precisely designed to address their needs. The challenge, however, is
how to identify the specific type of the alternative translation. Although the need for
alternative versions of the Bible has been widely acknowledged, very few studies have
been carried out on strategies for designing and producing functional and acceptable
alternative translations that are also directly based on the biblical source texts. This study
represents part of the necessary effort to identify theoretical strategies for designing and
producing alternative translations with special functions.
Description
Thesis (DTh (Old and New Testament))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.
Keywords
Bible translation, Functional/Participatory approach, Sabaot, Bible. Jonah -- Criticism, interpretation, etc., Dissertations -- Old and New Testament, Theses -- Old and New Testament