Lost in Translation
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 9:38 am
We've been slacking on religion threads of late, so here ya go Z! 
http://news.yahoo.com/us-bible-translat ... 58868.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;US Bible translator agrees to review after criticism over substitutions for 'Son' and 'Father'
By Tom Breen, The Associated Press | Associated Press – 58 mins ago
One of the largest Bible translators in the world is undergoing an independent review after critics claimed language in some of their translations intended for Muslim countries misses the essential Christian idea of Trinity: the father, son and the holy spirit or ghost.
Wycliffe, which is involved in more than 1,500 Bible translation programs in roughly 90 countries, generally prefers a method known as "dynamic equivalent translation," Creson said, in which a literal, word-for-word approach is less important than conveying the essential meaning of a text.
"If you've got a culture that doesn't have sheep, and you want to translate the word 'sheep,' you either explain sheep or you find an equivalent term," Creson said.
The other major approach is generally known as "formal equivalent translation," said Timothy Beal, a professor of religion at Case Western Reserve University. That approach that strives for as close to a literal match as possible.
The importance of translation springs from the early centuries of Christianity, when the books of the New Testament, originally written in Greek, were translated by believers in places where that language wasn't spoken, said Ray Van Neste, director of the R.C. Ryan Center for Biblical Studies at Union University.
"In some of those languages, it's the first written literature," he said. "It's part of the missionary impulse of Christianity that this is the very word of God, and that all people need the opportunity to hear it and read it."
The rendering of the Bible into languages other than Latin was one of the major disputes of the Protestant Reformation; John Wycliffe, the 14th century scholar the Orlando organization is named for, was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church for producing an English version of Scripture. At times, even particular translations can become so entrenched that believers reject the possibility of improvement, Beal said, noting that some American churches advertise themselves as "King James Only," referring to the Shakespeare-era English translation.
"Translation is probably the most contentious topic in the history of the Bible," he said.
Ohh, yeeaaahhh!! 
