ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

Considerations for acceptability in Bible translation

 

 

Diphus C. Chemorion

Department of Biblical Studies, Theology and Philosophy, St Paul's University, Kenya

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

The ministry of Bible translation is an important component of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and its mandate is to reach everyone with the word of God. One of the main goals of a Bible translation project is to produce a translation that will be used by the church in a given language group. Bible translation teams believe that the lives of the intended recipients will be changed positively when they gain access to Scripture in their own language. However, recent developments regarding Scripture use have shown that the success of any Bible translation project depends on whether or not its products are acceptable. If a translation is not acceptable to the intended audience, it may not be used, and as a result, it may fail to bring about the desired impact. This article explores the concept of 'acceptability' as used in Bible translation and highlights important considerations that translators need to keep in mind in order to enhance the acceptability of their translation products.

Keywords: Bible translation; acceptability; Great Commission; interpretation; linguistics

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Full text available only in PDF format.

 

 

REFERENCES

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Correspondence:
Diphus Chemorion
St. Paul's University
Private Bag 00217
Limuru, Kenya
E-mail: dchosefu@stpaulslimuru.ac.ke

Received: 25 June 2008
Accepted: 20 Oct. 2009
Published: 16 Dec. 2009

 

 

Note: The author of this article, Dr D.C. Chemorion, is an alumnus of Stellenbosch University. This article is adapted from the author's dissertation that was submitted as fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Theology at Stellenbosch University (cf. Chemorion 2008). Dr Chemorion is a lecturer of Biblical and Translational Studies at St Paul's University, Kenya.