There are folks, you may or may not know, who make it their business to translate things into a written language for apes. Instead of words, the apes recognize and "read" lexigrams -- picture symbols for words or concepts -- that they have been trained to recognize. Occasionally we see stories about chimps or other apes who have learned to recognize and use hundreds of symbols (a review here).At socialfiction.com, researchers are into "Primate Poetics," an exploration of ape language. And, they have used lexigrams from the primate vocabulary to translate the world's oldest known epic into ape language. "Gilgamesh for Apes" translates the story of Sumeria's great hero-king into sentences like "Gilgamesh big house many bedroom make. Enkidu said, we not go there. Monster has nest in forest. Enkidu is scared. Gilgamesh is not scared. Gilgamesh has knife." The translation effort is somehow appropriate, because the cuneiform script used to write Sumerian also employs ideograms, like a symbol for "house," along with symbols that represent syllables.
I pass this on in case you have a chimp or bonobo on your Christmas list and are having trouble what to buy. Discovering this story, however, reminded me of another translation story I ran across lately, one having to do with translation issues faced by mission-minded folks who also happen to believe the King James Version is the only truly inspired version of the Bible.
A few months back I received (unrequested) the Summer 2008 issue of The Unpublished Word, a quarterly publication of "First Bible International," which is affiliated with Franklin Road Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Franklin Road describes itself as an "independent, fundamental Baptist church" that adheres to a belief in "the verbal inspiration and authority of the King James Bible," among other things.
"First Bible" is a mission effort of the church, described as "a fundamental approach to the 10/40 window."
One of the biggest issues it faces is based in its belief that the King James Version is the only inspired and authoritative Bible. Some KJV-only adherents believe it is wrong to translate the Bible in any other way and criticize such efforts, insisting that missionaries must teach new converts to read and understand 17th century English so they can then read the "real" Bible.
The folks at Franklin Road are "progressive" enough to think it's possible to translate the Bible into other languages, though striving to make the translation a "King James equivalent." In an article in the summer issue (you can download it as a pdf file here), editor Charles Keen argues that it took 1,000 years for the English language to develop into the form we find in the King James Bible, so translators should be given grace and not be expected to produce a perfect King James equivalent the first time.
Oy vey.
And you thought Southern Baptists were conservative?
5 comments:
How in the world can people get so caught up in their fundamentalist views that they even worship a Bible translation? I have never understood this infatuation with King James' translation. I'm surprised that they don't require Jesus' words to be printed in red. Do they require their converts to pray in 17th Century English, as well?
There are currently over 200 versions, with a new one appearing about every six months. I know for a fact that some versions I've seen have perverted the meaning of Verses simply by changing the wording around. Being an avid quote collector, I know saying anything with one word different or remembered incorrectly can change the whole meaning of what you are trying to say.
Reference for # of Bibles is
www.av1611.org
I've been studying lately with Pastor Murray of Shepherd's Chapel. God's word on a Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse basis with Murray's excellent knowledge of the Bible, Greek, and Hebrew, etc. It's great to finally understand some things I've always misunderstood because of my incomplete knowledge of the languages the Bible was actually written in.
When it is translated to English, the Bible becomes so easily corrupted. English is a very difficult language to nail a meaning down in. One must know the context of something to get even close to its intended meaning.
Our society pushes us ever faster to disregard anything that can't be explained and understood in 8 seconds. As we keep increasing our information overload, we are less and less able to observe what we should, for the avalanche of knowledge coming in at light speed.
Our knowledge base now doubles every two years. Only by knowing Jesus and through studying the precious word of God can I expect anything close to sanity. The Father always provides for His children.
Our Father's love was greater than any ever known.
Jn:3:16:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)
Love is indeed more important than knowledge. Our Father knows all we've done, yet He still loves us. The love of our Father is the greatest love we can know.
He loves us through His children.
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Surely thou jesteth.
Eph:5:3: But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Eph:5:4: Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
I'll let Paul do my talking for me.
:-)
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I entered my post before I saw yours. Mine was intended as a joke in response to Tony's original post. It WAS NOT a response to yours. I do not want to be thought of as an apologist for the "KJV Only" nuts.
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