Accuracy
Accuracy refers to preserving the meaning of the original text. The term accuracy is essentially synonymous with the term faithfulness, but some translation theoreticians differentiate between the two terms. A translation which is accurate is faithful to the intended meaning of the original author.
In this glossary we distinguish between exegetical accuracy and communicative accuracy.
Meaning occurs at many different levels of language, including the levels of the word (lexicon), phrase, clause, sentence, and discourse. The best translations have thorough accuracy, that is, accuracy at all levels of language. A translation can be accurate, at least in a commonly used sense of the term, at the word level, but not at higher levels of language, for instance, a single word of an idiom (an idiom itself is typically composed of several words) may be "accurately" translated, but if the meaning of the whole idiom is not communicated adequately in the translation, then that translation is not accurate for that idiom. A claim for some Bible versions is that they are "literally accurate". It is not clear exactly what this refers to, especially since a literal translation can often be shown not to be the most accurate translation, so the term would then be an oxymoron. But we suspect the intended meaning of this term is that it refers (usually quite positively) to form-equivalent or word-for-word translation philosophies. Compare Literal translation.
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Addressee
The person or persons to whom something is spoken or written.
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Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two of more words which appear close together in speech. Alliteration is a rhetorical device typically used to grab the hearer's attention or add poetic pleasantry to an utterance. Alliteration can sometimes be used wisely in translation, as in the ISV rendering of Hebrews 12.2, where we are asked to focus our attention on "Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfector of faith." The delightful alliteration of the p-sounds linguistically enhances our spiritual focus.
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Allusion
Allusion is an indirect reference to something else, often another piece of writing. A speaker uses an allusion, assuming his audience will understand what he is referring to. There are some allusions in the Bible. The translator of these must decide how he will supply enough information for his own hearers to understand the original allusion.
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Alphabet
An alphabet is a writing system for a language, using alphabetic characters (letters) which, in general, correspond to individual sounds of the language. See Orthography.
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Anachronism
Anachronism, as used by translators, refers to some wording which is out of place in terms of the historical setting of the source document. Sometimes the redundant term, historical anachronism, is used, with the same meaning.
Sometimes when a translator uses a cultural substitute for a concept which does not exist in the target language, an anachronism is introduced.
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Anaphora
Anaphora is a means of referring back to the same individual or entity (referent) within a discourse. Languages use different forms or strategies to indicate anaphora. One of the most common is pronominalization, such as when referring to an earlier introduced character named John by the pronoun "he". Some languages use definite articles or demonstratives to indicate anaphora. The translator should use the natural forms of the target language to preserve anaphora of the source text.
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Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is when human characteristics are attributed to nonhuman objects. In the Bible, God is frequently described with anthropomorphisms. Anthropomorphisms enable humans to more easily relate to God:
God was said to have eyes:
Genesis 6.8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (KJV).
2 Chronicles 16.9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of [them] whose heart [is] perfect toward him (KJV).
God was said to have a face:
Exodus 33.11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face (KJV)
God was said to have a face, hand, and "back parts":
Exodus 33.23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen (KJV).
God was said to have hair and a head:
Daniel 7.9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire (KJV).
See these other webpages on anthropomorphism:
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Antithetical parallelism
Antithetical parallelism is a kind of rhetorical parallelism in which the repeated terms of a poetic couplete are opposite in meaning. Antithetical parallelism contrasts
with synonymous parallelism.
Proverbs 12:5 exemplifies antithetical parallelism:
The thoughts of the righteous are right,
But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. (NKJV)
In this couplet "thoughts" and "counsels" are synonymously parallel, but "righteous" and "wicked" are antithetically parallel, so the couplet, as a whole, is an example of antithetical parallelism.
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Apocrypha
The Apocrypha are some books accepted as part of the Old Testament by some Christians, but not by others. See also Apocrypha.
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Apostrophe
Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which the speaker turns away from the actual audience to address an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction or thing. Translators will often need to make adjustments to this figure so that the meaning of the original apostrophe will be understood in the target language:
An inanimate location is addressed as if it were people:
Matt. 2.6 And you, Bethlehem,...are by no means least. (NRSV)
Someone is addressed who is not present or not the recipient of the letter:
Rom. 2.1 You [singular], therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else. (NIV)
Death is addressed:
1 Cor. 15.55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? (NASB)
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Aramaic
Aramaic was the common language in Palestine at the time of Jesus and his disciples. Aramaic was a Semitic language related to Hebrew. There are short portions in the Bible which are written in Aramaic.
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Archaism
A word or phrase which is no longer used in a language. See Obsolescent.
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Artificial construction
A form which does not occur naturally in a language and which is created for a translation. Artificial constructions should be avoided if a translation is to be understood by ordinary, fluent speakers of a language. Instead of creating artificial constructions, a translator should select equivalent forms already used in the language which have the same meaning as the source language form. See Neologism and Synonymous.
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Audience
Audience refers to those who hear or read something. Translators must be well aware of who their audience is, to be most effective in translation. They must translate for their audience, using vocabulary and grammatical patterns which are well understood by that audience.
Some versions of the Bible are translated with particular audiences in mind, such as certain age groups or educational levels. The NCV was originally designed to be read by children and it is still marketed with names that indicate this, such as International Children's Version and Odyssey Bible. The TEV was originally translated for those who speak English as a second language. The Message is written for an audience which can understand its relatively sophisticated North American English idioms.
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Authorial intention
Same as Intention.
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Autographs
Original documents, usually written in the author's own handwriting. None of the autographs of the Bible exists today. Instead, there are thousands of copies of the original documents. Sometimes called original texts.
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Back translation (BT)
A literal translation of a translation, which can be understood by a translation consultant or other speakers of a national language. A back translation is created to enable the consultant or other speakers to know what a translation means in a target language and how that translation is expressed in the forms of that language. A back translation should be as literal as possible so its reader can observe the forms in the target translation, yet restructured enough to enable it to make sense to the consultant or other readers of the back translation. A back translation helps a translation consultant determine if the original meaning has been preserved in the target language. Abbreviated as BT.
Following is an important saying in the the Cheyenne language, along with English back translation. Notice how the back translation sounds awkward in English. This is so because it is a literal translation. But this literal translation serves the function which literal translations best perform, that is, to allow us to see as closely as possible the forms into which the meaning was translated.
Névé'novôhe'étanóme mâsęhánééstóva, onésetó'ha'éeta netáhoestovevoo'o, onésęhestóxévétáno mâsęhánééstóva!
Back translation:
Don't race in craziness, try to stop your mounts, try to come in last in terms of craziness!
An idiomatic translation of the Cheyenne would be:
Don't live foolishly. Slow down. Don't live a rushed life.
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Base text
The term "base text" in Bible translation refers to a literal English (or other national language) text that would be close to the original in form. Translators use the base text as a standard (or plumbline) for their translation. Examples of base texts would be fairly literal versions such as the RSV or NIV. Compare Model text and Front translation.
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Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia is a revision of the Hebrew Bible reconstructed by Kittel. It is based on the Masoretic text and is the Hebrew text used by most translators today.
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Biblical languages
Biblical languages are those languages in which the Bible was first written. The three main Biblical languages were Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic, while the New Testament was written in a dialect of Greek called Hellenistic or Koine ("common language") Greek.
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Biblish
Biblish is a colloquial term used to refer to the dialect of English found in many English Bible versions. This dialect of English is usually only spoken by church people who are familiar with the Bible and the "sacred language" which is found in some versions of the Bible and in the church environment. Biblish includes vocabulary found in Bible versions which use this "sacred language," rather than ordinary English, as well as non-English syntax which is borrowed from the original Hebrew and Greek biblical languages. Biblish contrasts with the use of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse patterns which are Natural in the translation language.
An example of Biblish is found in Romans 8:1, NASB:
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"
Contrast this same verse, worded in natural English, from the CEV:
"If you belong to Christ Jesus, you won't be punished."
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Borrowing
When speakers of a language take a word from another language. The specific item borrowed is called a loan word.
See also Loan translation.
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