Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An allusion in the source text poses a serious problem for a translator. A relevance-theoretic approach would define an “allusion” as the re-use of language from a prior text such that, by calling the prior text to mind, an implied reader is aided in his/her attempt to plausibly reconstruct the alluding author’s meaning. For this to happen, the reader’s “context” in the relevance-theoretic sense must include the source of the borrowed language. To explicate the connection for the reader, however, can thwart the pragmatic effects of an allusion, since these often require maintaining some “openness” in the text; hence the translator’s dilemma. Isaiah 40-55 (Deutero-Isaiah or DtI), a richly allusive text, furnishes an ideal test case for a descriptive translation study (DTS) focused on this source-text feature. This investigation of eleven Portuguese versions will attempt to determine whether and how the translators’ decisions with regard to DtI’s allusions might be accounted for. Source-oriented approaches to translating often tend toward lexical concordance; therefore, these approaches—in theory—should tend to preserve instances of vocabulary that is shared between an alluding- and an alluded-to text. Target-oriented approaches (e.g. “functional equivalence”) are more interested in contextual clarity than lexical concordance; these could then be expected to produce target texts that are less allusive. Increased sophistication in translation theory should result in more sophisticated approaches to allusion in translating. Collaborative and coordinated translation projects should produce more allusive target texts than those whose procedures are more piecemeal. The investigation reveals less correlation than expected between general source-orientedness and allusiveness in the target text. Target-oriented approaches—e.g., classical functional equivalence—do tend to produce less allusive target texts. In addition, there is a correlation between a translation project’s organization and the perspicuity of allusion in the target text, but it is mostly negative. That is, projects that do their work piecemeal produce unallusive versions, but more collaborative and coordinated projects still leave many inter-textual resonances inaudible. It appears that translations will preserve this source-text feature in a way that tends toward randomness unless the perspicuity of inter-textual allusions is articulated as a conscious value in translating. Above all, “allusion-friendly” translating will require target cultures that want more allusive Bibles. Translators, as “model readers” themselves, will need to recognize the presence and function of allusions in the source text and make the attempt to represent these in translation a priority. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sinspeling in ’n bronteks kan aansienlike probleem skep vir vertaler. Relevansie-teoretiese benadering definieer “sinspeling” as die hergebruik van taal uit vroeëre teks tot so mate dat veronderstelde leser, deur die vroeëre teks voor die gees te roep, in sy/haar poging om die sinspelende outeur se bedoeling te rekonstrueer, gesteun word. Om dit te bewerkstellig, moet die leser se “konteks,” in die relevansie-teoretiese sin van die woord, die bron van die ontleende taaluiting insluit. Om die verband aan die leser te verklaar kan egter die pragmatiese effekte van sinspeling teenwerk, aangesien sinspeling as sulks dikwels die handhawing van mate van “openheid” in die teks vereis; vandaar die vertaler se dilemma. Jesaja 40-55 (Deutero-Jesaja of DtJ), teks met baie gevalle van sinspeling, bied die ideale geleentheid vir beskrywende vertalingstudie (BVS) wat op hierdie brontekskenmerk fokus. Hierdie ondersoek van elf Portugese vertalings sal poog om te bepaal of en hoe die vertalers se vertaalkeuses met betrekking tot DtJ se sinspelings verklaar kan word. Bron-georiënteerde benaderings tot vertaling neig dikwels tot leksikale konkordansie; daarom behoort hierdie benaderings – in teorie – te neig om die gevalle van woordeskat wat tussen sinspelende en opgesinspeelde teks gedeel word, weer te gee. Teiken-georiënteerde benaderings (bv. “funksioneel-ekwivalente benaderings”) stel meer in die verstaanbaarheid van uitdrukkings in die konteks waarin dit gebruik word as in leksikale konkordansie belang; van hierdie vertalings sou dan verwag kon word om teikentekste op te lewer wat minder sinspelend is. Toenemende sofistikasie in vertalingsteorie behoort tot meer gesofistikeerde benaderings tot sinspeling in vertaling te lei. Gesamentlike en gekoördineerde vertalingsprojekte behoort meer sinspelende teikentekste voort te bring as die waarvan dit nie die geval is nie. Die ondersoek openbaar minder korrelasie as wat verwag is tussen algemene brongeoriënteerdheid en sinspeling in die teikenteks. Teiken-georiënteerde benaderings neig wel om minder sinspelende teikentekste te produseer. Daar is boonop korrelasie tussen vertalingsprojek se organisasie en die duidelikheid van sinspeling in die teikenteks, maar die korrelasie is meestal negatief. Dit wil sê, projekte wat hul werk stuksgewys doen, produseer niesinspelende weergawes, maar meer gesamentlike en gekoördineerde projekte laat steeds baie intertekstuele resonansies nie tot hulle reg kom nie. Dit blyk dat hierdie brontekskenmerk slegs op ‘n lukrake wyse in ’n vertaling tot sy reg sal laat kom, tensy die duidelikheid van intertekstuele sinspelings as bewuste waarde in die vertaling uitgespel word. Bowendien, “sinspelingsvriendelike” vertaling sal teikenkulture vereis wat meer sinspelende Bybels wil hê. Vertalers, as “modellesers” hulself, sal die teenwoordigheid en funksie van sinspelings in die bronteks moet herken en die poging om hierdie in vertaling te verteenwoordig prioriteit maak.

Thesis (DTh (Old and New Testament))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Recent developments in the field of translation studies have shown that a single translation of the Bible cannot be used for all the functions for which people may need a translation of the Bible. Unlike the case in the past when new versions of the Bible were viewed with suspicion, it is now increasingly acknowledged that different types of the Bible are necessary for different communicative functions. While many African communities have only a pioneer mother tongue translation of the Bible, Scripture use reports indicate that in some situations, the mother tongue translations have not been used as it was intended. The writer of this dissertation supports the view that some of the Christians in their respective target language communities do not use available mother tongue translations because they find them to be inappropriate for their needs. In the light of functionalist theories of translation, it is held in this dissertation that people who find existing translations to be unsuitable for their needs may need special alternative translations that are precisely designed to address their needs. The challenge, however, is how to identify the specific type of the alternative translation. Although the need for alternative versions of the Bible has been widely acknowledged, very few studies have been carried out on strategies for designing and producing functional and acceptable alternative translations that are also directly based on the biblical source texts. This study represents part of the necessary effort to identify theoretical strategies for designing and producing alternative translations with special functions.

A primeira tradução da Bíblia em língua portuguesa foi composta a partir de meados do século XVII, em regiões específicas do sudeste asiático sob o domínio da Companhia Holandesa das Índias Orientais. O principal responsável por seu processo de elaboração foi João Ferreira A. dAlmeida (c. 1628-1691), natural do Reino de Portugal, mas residente entre os holandeses desde a juventude. A primeira edição de sua tradução do Novo Testamento foi impressa em Amsterdam, no ano de 1681, ao passo que os livros do Antigo Testamento foram publicados somente a partir do século XVIII, em Tranquebar e Batávia. O ambiente em que foi idealizada essa pioneira versão bíblica portuguesa é caracterizado substancialmente pelo confronto teológico católico-protestante, a princípio intra-europeu, mas potencializado nas Índias Orientais seiscentistas a partir da expansão marítima e comercial holandesa sobre regiões antes sob influência dos reinos ibéricos. Ao lado da própria tradução bíblica, essa conjuntura marcada por conflitos em torno da definição da ortodoxia cristã testemunhou também a produção de uma extensa e singular literatura de polêmica religiosa em língua portuguesa, assinada não só pelo próprio Almeida, mas também pelos missionários católicos que se opuseram à sua obra e doutrina no Oriente. Com isso, o principal escopo deste trabalho é desvendar o significado dessa tradução das Escrituras Sagradas do cristianismo em sua peculiar historicidade, isto é, tendo em vista a relação intrínseca de sua materialização com um contexto de agudos embates religiosos. Perante as resoluções estabelecidas no Concílio de Trento (1545-1563) contra a proliferação de versões bíblicas não autorizadas, esse ato de tradução em si, naquela conjuntura, além de edificado sobre a definição protestante sola scriptura¸ se revelou também resultante de postura radicalmente anticatólico-romana. Enfim, sem perder de vista os movimentos históricos estruturais que perpassam a constituição deste objeto peculiar da Idade Moderna, as diferentes seções deste texto devem convergir para se aprofundar a compreensão histórica de uma tradução da Bíblia amplamente reconhecida e estimada, ainda hoje, em todo o mundo lusófono. / The first Portuguese translation of the Bible was done during the second half of the seventeenth century in specific regions of Southeast Asia under the rule of the Dutch East India Company. The main person responsible for this translation was João Ferreira A. d\'Almeida (c. 1628-1691), who was born in the Kingdom of Portugal, although he had lived among Dutch missionaries since he was a young man. The first edition of his New Testament translation was published in Amsterdam in 1681, yet the Old Testament books were published only after the mid-eighteenth century in Tranquebar and Batavia. The environment in which this pioneering translation of the Bible was designed is substantially characterized by the Catholic-Protestant theological quarrels, originally intra-European, yet amplified in the East Indies over the seventeenth century due to the Dutch maritime and commercial expansion into regions formerly under the influence of the Iberian kingdoms. Besides the Portuguese Bible translation, this context characterized by conflicts on the definition of Christian orthodoxy noted the production of an extensive and unique literature on religious controversy in the Portuguese language, produced not only by the translator himself, but also by Roman Catholic missionaries who stood up against his work and teachings in the East Indies. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to reveal the historical-religious significance of the Portuguese translation of the Holy Scriptures in its peculiar historicity, considering the intrinsic relationship between its meaning and the surrounding milieu of acute religious conflicts. Taking into consideration the resolutions passed by the Council of Trent (1545-1563) against the proliferation of unauthorized Bible versions, the act of translation by itself, in this context, emerged as the result of a position at the same time Modern, Protestant, and anti-Catholic. Nevertheless, not losing sight of the structural historical movements that underlie the creation of this peculiar object of the Modern Age, the different sections of this work might converge in order to deepen the historical understanding of a Bible translation still widely acknowledged throughout the Portuguese-speaking world.

This dissertation analyses seven modern Bible translations in French with respect to their renderings of Koine Greek participles. The sample consists of the Passion Story from the four Gospels (Matt 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24 and John 18-21), and is comprised of 603 Hellenistic participles in all. The participle forms are studied in six categories according to their syntactic function. The comparison focuses on differences in translation strategy, i.e. formal equivalence, omission and different kinds of transpositions, with special attention given to the choice of verb form. There is a discussion of the adequacy of contemporary, explicative theories of systemic differences between the passé simple/passé composé and the imparfait. A large number of examples are analysed in detail. The results of the survey show that the most prominent differences in translation strategies concern the predicative participle. Furthermore, this was the category that occurred most frequently in the sample. The Catholic scientific and literary translation La Bible de Jérusalem (1998) is the most literal of the seven versions. A high level of formal equivalence is also registered in the other scientific translation, La Traduction Œcuménique de la Bible (1988), even though application of this strategy outweighs the use of finite verbs, that is to say, the most common transposition. La Bible en français courant (1996) is the least literal: generally, it transposes the participle of the source text with a finite verb. This transposition is also very frequent in the literary La Bible de la Pléiade (1971). Most of the omissions are recorded in the recent literary La Bible, Nouvelle traduction (2001), which is shown to be the most divergent translation. Omissions are also frequent in the pastoral La Bible des moines de Maredsous (1968) and the liturgical La Traduction liturgique de la Bible (1977). When translated in conjunction with an element comprising a verb in one of the non-indicative moods (infinitive, imperative, participle and subjunctive), both the present and the aorist predicative participles are, to a large extent, rendered by a simple form, expressing non-accomplishment. However, the Bible de Jérusalem stands out with its greater use of compound present participles than any other version. When the predicative participle of the source text is transposed with a verb in the indicative mood, the passé simple is generally used to render the aorist; for the present participle, the imparfait is more frequent than the passé simple. Nevertheless, here too the passé simple accounts for a significant portion of the equivalents, especially in the two translations where transpositions formed by finite verbs are particularly important. There exist a few cases where some translators chose to use the passé simple/passé compose, while others chose the imparfait. The various details, tables and linguistic analyses in this dissertation provide a solid basis for accurately characterizing the various modern attempts made at reproduce this ancient text – a text so often translated, paraphrased, interpreted and deeply integrated in our cultural heritage.

In the history of the Reformed Churches of South Africa (RCSA) great emphisis was placed on the notion to make decisions on the basis, and in accordance to the Scriptures. In spite of this notion, the church community of the RCSA stand in the midst of great tension regarding some decisions. In the fifty year period from the centenary festival in 1959 to the 150 year festival in 2009, assemblies of the church community were confronted with many objections to decisions regarding racial relations, the acceptance of the 1983-translation of the Bible in Afrikaans, the acceptance of the 2001-Psalter, the use of small cups in the Holy Communion and the role of women in the offices of deacon, elder and minister. The question that’s being addressed in this study is, if a shift in the RCSA’s view of Scripture took place. Chapter 2 gives an historical overview of the decisions that gave way to to the differences mentioned above. From the historical overview the aspects regarding the view of Scripture can be formulated. In chapter 3 the relation between the differences and the view of Scripture are examined. At first a short definition of the reformed view of Scripture are formulated. Hermeneutical and view of Scripture aspects of the raports of deputies and decisions of assemblies are tested according to the formulated definition of a reformed view of Scripture. Chapter 4 examines the influence that paradigm shifts had on the differences in the RCSA. Focus is placed on the influence of postmodernism on the one hand and fundamentalism on the other. Attention is also given to the stance of the RCSA on these two paradigms of thought with relation to the view of Scripture. In light of the reformed view of Scripture the postmodern approach to hermeneutics is discarded as well as the the fundamentalist view of Scripture. In spite of the reality of paradigmshifts, the raports of deputies and the decisions of assemblies does not reflect this reality. Chapter 5 tries to point a way out to handle the differences in the ligt of the Reformed view of Scripture. Focus is placed on the place the sociohistorical context holds in the revelationhistorical exegetical process. The chapter further investigates the relation between desicions on Scriptural grounds and the right to protest according to artical 31 of the Reformed Chrurchorder. Attention in given to so called ordinary cases ans essential cases. The notion that differences can be solved when dessicions is based on Scripture alone is put forward in this chapter. / Thesis (M.Th. (Church and Dogma History))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

In the history of the Reformed Churches of South Africa (RCSA) great emphisis was placed on the notion to make decisions on the basis, and in accordance to the Scriptures. In spite of this notion, the church community of the RCSA stand in the midst of great tension regarding some decisions. In the fifty year period from the centenary festival in 1959 to the 150 year festival in 2009, assemblies of the church community were confronted with many objections to decisions regarding racial relations, the acceptance of the 1983-translation of the Bible in Afrikaans, the acceptance of the 2001-Psalter, the use of small cups in the Holy Communion and the role of women in the offices of deacon, elder and minister. The question that’s being addressed in this study is, if a shift in the RCSA’s view of Scripture took place. Chapter 2 gives an historical overview of the decisions that gave way to to the differences mentioned above. From the historical overview the aspects regarding the view of Scripture can be formulated. In chapter 3 the relation between the differences and the view of Scripture are examined. At first a short definition of the reformed view of Scripture are formulated. Hermeneutical and view of Scripture aspects of the raports of deputies and decisions of assemblies are tested according to the formulated definition of a reformed view of Scripture. Chapter 4 examines the influence that paradigm shifts had on the differences in the RCSA. Focus is placed on the influence of postmodernism on the one hand and fundamentalism on the other. Attention is also given to the stance of the RCSA on these two paradigms of thought with relation to the view of Scripture. In light of the reformed view of Scripture the postmodern approach to hermeneutics is discarded as well as the the fundamentalist view of Scripture. In spite of the reality of paradigmshifts, the raports of deputies and the decisions of assemblies does not reflect this reality. Chapter 5 tries to point a way out to handle the differences in the ligt of the Reformed view of Scripture. Focus is placed on the place the sociohistorical context holds in the revelationhistorical exegetical process. The chapter further investigates the relation between desicions on Scriptural grounds and the right to protest according to artical 31 of the Reformed Chrurchorder. Attention in given to so called ordinary cases ans essential cases. The notion that differences can be solved when dessicions is based on Scripture alone is put forward in this chapter. / Thesis (M.Th. (Church and Dogma History))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

A primeira tradução da Bíblia em língua portuguesa foi composta a partir de meados do século XVII, em regiões específicas do sudeste asiático sob o domínio da Companhia Holandesa das Índias Orientais. O principal responsável por seu processo de elaboração foi João Ferreira A. dAlmeida (c. 1628-1691), natural do Reino de Portugal, mas residente entre os holandeses desde a juventude. A primeira edição de sua tradução do Novo Testamento foi impressa em Amsterdam, no ano de 1681, ao passo que os livros do Antigo Testamento foram publicados somente a partir do século XVIII, em Tranquebar e Batávia. O ambiente em que foi idealizada essa pioneira versão bíblica portuguesa é caracterizado substancialmente pelo confronto teológico católico-protestante, a princípio intra-europeu, mas potencializado nas Índias Orientais seiscentistas a partir da expansão marítima e comercial holandesa sobre regiões antes sob influência dos reinos ibéricos. Ao lado da própria tradução bíblica, essa conjuntura marcada por conflitos em torno da definição da ortodoxia cristã testemunhou também a produção de uma extensa e singular literatura de polêmica religiosa em língua portuguesa, assinada não só pelo próprio Almeida, mas também pelos missionários católicos que se opuseram à sua obra e doutrina no Oriente. Com isso, o principal escopo deste trabalho é desvendar o significado dessa tradução das Escrituras Sagradas do cristianismo em sua peculiar historicidade, isto é, tendo em vista a relação intrínseca de sua materialização com um contexto de agudos embates religiosos. Perante as resoluções estabelecidas no Concílio de Trento (1545-1563) contra a proliferação de versões bíblicas não autorizadas, esse ato de tradução em si, naquela conjuntura, além de edificado sobre a definição protestante sola scriptura¸ se revelou também resultante de postura radicalmente anticatólico-romana. Enfim, sem perder de vista os movimentos históricos estruturais que perpassam a constituição deste objeto peculiar da Idade Moderna, as diferentes seções deste texto devem convergir para se aprofundar a compreensão histórica de uma tradução da Bíblia amplamente reconhecida e estimada, ainda hoje, em todo o mundo lusófono. / The first Portuguese translation of the Bible was done during the second half of the seventeenth century in specific regions of Southeast Asia under the rule of the Dutch East India Company. The main person responsible for this translation was João Ferreira A. d\'Almeida (c. 1628-1691), who was born in the Kingdom of Portugal, although he had lived among Dutch missionaries since he was a young man. The first edition of his New Testament translation was published in Amsterdam in 1681, yet the Old Testament books were published only after the mid-eighteenth century in Tranquebar and Batavia. The environment in which this pioneering translation of the Bible was designed is substantially characterized by the Catholic-Protestant theological quarrels, originally intra-European, yet amplified in the East Indies over the seventeenth century due to the Dutch maritime and commercial expansion into regions formerly under the influence of the Iberian kingdoms. Besides the Portuguese Bible translation, this context characterized by conflicts on the definition of Christian orthodoxy noted the production of an extensive and unique literature on religious controversy in the Portuguese language, produced not only by the translator himself, but also by Roman Catholic missionaries who stood up against his work and teachings in the East Indies. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to reveal the historical-religious significance of the Portuguese translation of the Holy Scriptures in its peculiar historicity, considering the intrinsic relationship between its meaning and the surrounding milieu of acute religious conflicts. Taking into consideration the resolutions passed by the Council of Trent (1545-1563) against the proliferation of unauthorized Bible versions, the act of translation by itself, in this context, emerged as the result of a position at the same time Modern, Protestant, and anti-Catholic. Nevertheless, not losing sight of the structural historical movements that underlie the creation of this peculiar object of the Modern Age, the different sections of this work might converge in order to deepen the historical understanding of a Bible translation still widely acknowledged throughout the Portuguese-speaking world.

The thesis is devoted to the description of the projection of 14th century phonetic and phonological changes in progress onto the graphics of the Dresden Bible, one of the first copies of the oldest complete Old Czech translation of the Bible. For the research we chose three old Czech phonetic and phonological changes: diphthongization ó > uo (and an irregular change o > uo) and two Old Czech umlauts 'u > i (and 'ú > í) and 'o > ě (and 'ó > ie). The basis for the excerption were transliterated texts in the edition Staročeská Bible drážďanská a olomoucká. In our work we focus on the research of phonetic and phonological changes on the basis of the exact number of original and incoming forms in order to give a more accurate description of these changes and to verify the possible existence of statistically significant differences. For this purpose, the words excerpted were manually tagged and sorted out (using the COUNTIF and COUNTIFS statistical functions) in the Microsoft Excel 2007. Their statistical processing was carried out with the help of a statistical online calculator.

This thesis deals with the use of the aorist and imperfect tenses and the periphrastic preterite in four Old Czech prosaic translated texts dated back to the beginning of the 2nd half of the 14th century. Analyzed texts are the part of the first edition of the Old Czech translation of the Bible (part of the Dresden Bible completed with the text of Proroci rožmberští (Prophets of Rožmberk), the Legend of St. Wenceslaus from The Old Czech Passional, The Apocalypse of Paul and two chapters of the text O svatém Jeronýmovi knihy troje. We deal with the percentual occurence of the verb forms under investigation and with the aspectual characteristics of the verbs of which the investigated forms are constructed. Also their relationship to the Latin pretext is examined. The acquired results are presented in tables and graphs. This thesis also includes an electronic database of the investigated verbal forms.

This dissertation provides a comprehensive account of Martin Luther’s Hebrew translation in his academic mid-career. Apart from the Psalms, no book of the Hebrew Bible has yet been examined in any comprehensive manner in terms of Luther’s Hebrew translation. Moreover, research to date has predominantly focused on either ascertaining Luther’s personal Hebrew skills, or on identifying his sources for Hebrew knowledge. This dissertation furthers the scholarly understanding of Luther’s Hebrew by examining his Minor Prophets translation, one of the final pieces of his first complete translation of the Hebrew Bible. As part of the analysis, it investigates the relationship between philology and theology in his Hebrew translation, focusing specifically on one of the themes that dominated his interpretation of the Prophets: his concept of Anfechtung. Chapter 1 establishes the context of Luther’s academic mid-career Hebrew, providing a brief sketch of the history of his Minor Prophets translation, followed by an overview of the Hebrew resources in and around Wittenberg which he had to draw upon. Chapter 2 examines the role of the obscurity of the Hebrew text in his translation, and how this obscurity led to various types of contradictions and vacillations in his interpretations. Chapter 3 investigates the role that Luther’s sense of the semantic intensity of the Hebrew language played in his translation. Chapter 4 examines Luther’s use of “inner-biblical interpretation” – i.e. biblical quotations and references – to support, and moreover, to build his translations of the Hebrew texts. Finally, Chapter 5 examines the influence of Hebrew on Luther’s exploitation of the mystical tradition in his translation of the Minor Prophets. This dissertation, in short, shows that by mid-career, the impact of Hebrew on Luther’s Bible translation was immense and very diverse, more so than has been appreciated. It expands the frame of reference with which scholars can understand Luther’s Hebrew. It provides detailed analyses of many examples of his Hebrew translation which have never before been discussed or examined in any depth, and it provides hundreds of examples of his methodological handling of Hebrew translation issues. And it includes one of the most exhaustive analyses to date of three key philological challenges that confronted him in translating the Bible: Hebrew figures of speech, the Hebrew trope of repetition, and Hebrew transliteration. This dissertation also includes as an Appendix a substantial body of refined data from Luther’s Hebrew translation, which further illuminates the examples in this study, and facilitates additional analysis for future research.