Mechanics of a Perfect Translation

There have been a few times in history when some people believed their particular translation was perfect: the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the KJV (which I have loved and read daily from the time I was a little boy, almost 50 years). Now there have been many, many books written on this subject, and I've read many of them.

Here's my problem. Almost without exception those books are written by people who are not Bible translators. And almost without exception none of those books, repeat none, deal with the actual process of how a perfect translation is produced. As far as I know, only two books have been written by Fundamentalists on how to translate, and neither of them deals with this. Nor do any of the evangelical or secular books I have on translation methodology.

By the grace of God I am working on the first ever Japanese NT from the TR in modern Japanese (there have been two in classical Japanese, neither in print). I've translated over 70% in a first draft translation, and my Japanese linguist and I have corrected John, Romans and most of Matthew. Got that? Corrected! Am I doing something wrong? So, if a perfect translation is possible, then how do I go about producing it? What steps should I take?

Here's what I do (other than praying, of course):

(1) Glance through the Greek, make a quick and literal translation.
(2) Check vocabulary by lexicons, NT usage, Japanese dictionaries and usage, and very occasionally etymology (word origins).
(3) Check Greek grammar forms if needed (especially verbs).
(4) Check other Japanese translations.
(5) Compare to the English.
(6) Eventually, take it to my Japanese linguist who then suggests corrections.
(7) Sit in committee (occasionally I have more than one person helping me) with my linguist, discuss the verse and come to a final version.

So, where in here does the perfection come? :type:

 

Many thanks to franklinmonroe and Jkdbuck76 for the prayers.

 

This would be extremely unpractical. Japanese are notoriously difficult to teach English to-and I've taught many, many English lessons to Japanese people. Your solution would ensure extreme difficulty in getting the Gospel out to the Japanese, so I can't believe it is God's will.

 

I left out a couple of steps in my OP (which I wrote late last night).

(8) Send it to my son, who is brilliant in the original languages and fluent in Japanese, since he grew up here. He is quite happy to correct more of my errors.

(9) Before publication it will go through several proof-readings. I've done this professionally (in English), so I know from experience that there will be errors that get by even this process. Plus, this will catch the errors of spelling and punctuation, but not translation. I occasionally find translation blunders in the Shinkaiyaku Bible that we use (similar to the NASV), though it was proofread 8 times.

 

Aw, shucks.

Thank you so much.

I had no idea when I started how many 1000s of hours it would take, how much thought, how much study. I now respect anyone who translates the Word of God in any language, but especially in a completely new language. I have over 30 books on the shelves reserved for help in translation, and regularly use about 5 different Bible programs. I can't imagine starting completely from scratch in a new language.

 

Thanks for the prayers.

Faithful is the right word. As you may remember, I once did a thread here about a failed translation effort. The translator must be very determined to see it through to the very end, as I am finding out.

 

Hey, you can be sure that Paul catches a lot of my mistakes. It's humbling--especially when he says, "Dad, why in the world would you translate it that way? Didn't you see that...(the tense was different, recent research says that word means suchandsuch, that preposition had the accusative instead of the genetive, etc. etc.).

Thanks for the prayers.

 

Mistakes I Make

Here are some of the mistakes I’m likely to make (along with other translators) in translating. :BangHead: Note that here I am not dealing with errors that may come from flaws in the translator’s method.

(1) Grammatical errors. Fortunately Japanese grammar is fairly simple. (It is the Chinese characters and the keigo honorifics that are hard.) If the translator does not have a firm grasp of the grammar in the receptor language he will end up saying things like: “They was following they Lord.” This will communicate, but poorly.
(2) Syntactical errors. My grammar may be perfect, but if my syntax is not it will still sound strange. Uncle Miya often says to me, “But Sensei (“Teacher”), we don’t say it that way.” This is particularly difficult in Japanese, which is not a very free language, unlike English. There is often only one way to say an idea in Japanese. (Example: it is always “good weather,” never “beautiful weather.”)
(3) Errors of vocabulary. I may use a word that is somewhat off in meaning and doesn’t carry the right nuance, or a word that carries a negative connotation rather than a positive one, or a word that has changed in emphasis or been replaced since I went to language school 26 years ago.
(4) Errors of context. If I don’t understand the context, I may use a word that doesn’t convey the exact meaning of the original
(5) Errors of spelling. In Japanese, this consists usually of using the wrong kanji (Chinese character) or combination of kanji. Sometimes it consists of using kanji when the Department of Education has decreed that a word will be spelled with kana (the syllable alphabet) from now on.
(6) Errors of omission. I find that much more often than I think I do, I forget to translate a word that is in the original. “All” especially eludes me. Uncle Miya and my son are usually only too glad to inform me of this.
(7) Errors of addition. On rare occasions I add a word that is not in the original.
(8) Errors of politeness. Japanese has several different levels of politeness, depending on the level in society of the speaker and listener.
(9) Errors of literary quality. It would sound very strange to Japanese ears to have someone like Christ say the equivalent of, “Hey dude.” They expect dignity in their holy books.

I’m sure there are others that I haven’t thought of, but it is getting late and tomorrow is Sunday. (Please pray for our services, since we have two lost people coming.) I hope the readers of this thread are starting to understand better the process of translation, and consider more deeply what a perfect translation would mean. Oyasumi nasai. (“Rest well.”) :sleeping_2:

 

One of my biggest problems is finding qualified help that will stick. There are very few missionaries or Japanese pastors who can handle the Greek, and it is also hard to find Japanese believers who understand the grammar and syntax and vocabulary of their own language well enough to help. Some Japanese think there is only one way to say something--their own--and are very rigid about this.

Our missionary co-worker was a brilliant linguist and a great help, knowing both Greek and Japanese. He was a linguist in Russian for US Air Force intelligence in a former life. However, he retired from the field last year and now does furlough replacement. Their gain, our great loss.

I have a retired Japanese pastor and a returned Japanese missionary who have helped me some, but "Uncle Miya" Miyakawa, a retired high school English teacher, is my jewel. He has come to know my translation method, my priorities, etc., and always has several ways to say something. He's up in his 70's now, but I tell him he can't go to Heaven till we're finished! :smilewinkgrin:

 

Thank you, Charles. I'll keep an eye open for Pike, who I have not read. I do have several of Nida's books, of course. I assume they are a similar approach.