Abstract

JORDAAN, GJC. The source text for the 2020 Afrikaans translation of the New Testament. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2020, vol.60, n.4-1, pp.945-958. ISSN 2224-7912.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2020/v60n4-1a6.

This article is a study of the source text used for the 2020 Afrikaans translation of the New Testament. The Translation Launch Committee appointed by the Bible Society of South Africa gave instructions and recommendations, inter alia, regarding the source text for the translation of the New Testament. It was established from the Bible Society's documents that at the outset, the Launch Committee decided for good reason that the fourth revised Greek edition of the United Bible Societies, the Greek New Testament (UBS^4rev), should be used as basic source text. The Committee also gave instructions and recommendations for the practical implementation of their decision, mainly about how variant readings in the text-critical apparatus of the UBS-text had to be treated in the process of translation. As a general rule, the translators had to follow the A- and B-rated readings in the apparatus, and could deviate from C- and D-rated readings, but then only with well attested reasons. Passages in the UBS⁴-edition in single or double square brackets had to be retained in the translation, accompanied by explanatory footnotes. Text-critical information in footnotes, moreover had to be formulated such that it would not be confusing or misleading to readers. In preparation for this article, the degree to which the translators eventually implemented the instructions and recommendations of the Launch Committee was investigated by making a study of the final proof translation as presented on the website of the Bible Society. It was established subsequently that the translators almost invariably followed the source text as prescribed by the Committee. There are only a few instances where they chose a variant reading that differs from the text of UBS^4rev, for which case good reasons are provided. The Committee adhered closely to all other recommendations. The text-critical footnotes in the 2020 translation provide a clear picture of the variant readings that were considered in the process of translation and of other relevant text-critical information. The footnotes are formulated in such a way that it is highly improbable that any of them might lead to dispute or confusion among the readers. Overall, it proves that the translators executed the instructions and recommendations of the Bible Society's Launch Committee in a satisfactory and meaningful way.

Keywords : 2020 Translation; Afrikaans Bible translation; Bible Society of South Africa; source text of translation; Greek source text of the New Testament; instructions for translators; recommendations for translators; textual variants; footnotes in Bible translation; reception by Bible readers.

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