Translation Manual

Introduction

Introduction to the Translation Manual

What Does the Translation Manual Teach?

This manual teaches translation theory and how to make a good translation for Other Languages (OLs). Some of the principles of translation in this manual also apply to Gateway Language translation. For specific instruction on how to translate the set of translation tools for Gateway Languages, however, please see the Gateway Language Manual. It will be very helpful to study many of these modules before starting any type of translation project. Other modules, such as the ones about grammar, are only needed for “just-in-time” learning.

Some highlights in the Translation Manual:

• The Qualities of a Good Translation - defining a good translation
• The Translation Process - how to achieve a good translation
• Choosing a Translation Team - some items to consider before starting a translation project
• Choosing What to Translate - what to start translating

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Terms to Know

Important Words to Know

Note: These terms are used in this manual. The translator will need to understand these terms in order to use the Translation Manual.

Term - A word or phrase that refers to one thing, idea, or action. For example, the term in English for pouring liquid into one’s mouth is “drink.” The term for a ceremony that marks an important transition in someone’s life is “rite of passage.” The difference between a term and a word is that a term can contain several words.

Text - A text is something that a speaker or writer is communicating to a hearer or reader by means of language. The speaker or writer has a certain meaning in mind, and so he or she chooses a form of the language to express that meaning.

Context - The words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs surrounding the word, phrase, or sentence in question. The context is the text that surrounds the part of the text that you are examining. The meaning of individual words and phrases can change when they are in different contexts.

Form - The structure of the language as it appears on the page or as it is spoken. “Form” refers to the way that the language is arranged, including the words, the word order, the grammar, idioms, and any other features of the structure of the text.

Grammar - The way that sentences are put together in a language. This has to do with the order of its various parts, such as if the verb goes first or last or in the middle.

Noun - A kind of word that refers to a person, place, or thing. A proper noun is the name of a person or place. An abstract noun is a thing that we cannot see or touch, like “peace” or “unity.” It refers to an idea or a state of being. Some languages do not use abstract nouns.

Verb - A kind of word that refers to an action, like “walk” or “arrive.”

Modifier - A kind of word that says something about another word. Both adjectives and adverbs are modifiers.

Adjective - A kind of word that says something about a noun. For example, the word “tall” says something about the noun “man” in the following sentence. I see a tall man.

Adverb - A kind of word that says something about a verb. For example, the word “loudly” says something about the verb “spoke” in the following sentence. The man spoke loudly to the crowd of people.

Idiom - An expression that uses several words and that means something different as a whole than it would if the words were understood with the meanings that they have when they are used separately. Idioms cannot be translated literally, that is, with the meanings of the separate words. For example, “he kicked the bucket” is an idiom in English that means “he died.”

Meaning - The underlying idea or concept that the text is trying to communicate to the reader or hearer. A speaker or writer can communicate the same meaning by using different forms of the language, and different people can understand different meanings from hearing or reading the same language form. In this way you can see that form and meaning are not the same thing.

Translation - The process of expressing in the form of a target language the same meaning that a writer or speaker expressed in the form of a source language.

Source Language - The language from which the translation is being made.

Source Text- The text from which the translation is being made.

Target Language - The language into which a translation is being made.

Target Text- The text being made by the translator as he or she translates the meaning from the source text.

Original Language - The language in which a Bible text was initially written. The Original Language of the New Testament is Greek. The Original Language of most of the Old Testament is Hebrew. However, the Original Language of some parts of Daniel and Ezra is Aramaic. The Original Language is always the most accurate language from which to translate a passage.

Language of Wider Communication - A language that is spoken over a broad area and by many people. For most people, this is not their first language, but is the language that they use to speak to people outside of their language community. Some people call this a trade language. Most Bibles will be translated using a language of wider communication as the source language.

Literal Translation - A translation that focuses on reproducing the form of the source text in the target text, even if the meaning changes as a result.

Meaning-based Translation (or Dynamic Translation) - A translation that focuses on reproducing the meaning of the source text in the target text, even if the form changes as a result.

Passage - A section of the Bible text that is being talked about. This can be as small as one verse, but it is usually several verses that together have one topic or tell one story.

Gateway Language - A Gateway Language (GL) is a language of wider communication that we have identified as being one of the languages into which we will translate all of our translation tools. The set of Gateway Languages is the smallest number of languages through which content can be delivered to every other language of the world through translation by bilingual speakers.

Other Language - The Other Languages (OLs) are all of the languages of the world that are not Gateway Languages. We will translate our Bible translation tools into the Gateway Languages so that people can use those tools to translate the Bible into the Other Languages.

End-user Bible - This is a Bible that people have translated so that it speaks in a natural way in the target language. It is meant to be used in churches and homes. In contrast, the ULT and UST are Bibles that are translation tools. They do not speak naturally in any language, because the ULT is a literal translation and the UST avoids using idioms and figures of speech, which a natural translation would use. Using these translation tools, a translator can produce an end-user Bible.

Participant - A participant is one of the actors in a sentence. This could be a person doing the action, or a person that is receiving the action, or a person mentioned as participating in some way. A participant could even be an object that is stated as participating in the action of the sentence. For example, in the following sentence, the participants are underlined: John and Mary sent a letter to Andrew. Sometimes participants are left unstated, but they are still part of the action. In these cases, the participant is implied. For example, in the following sentence, there are only two participants stated: Andrew received a letter. The senders, John and Mary, are implied. In some languages, the implied participants must be stated.

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What is Translation

Definition

Translation is a process performed between different languages that requires a person (the translator) to understand the meaning that a writer or speaker intended to communicate to an original audience in the source language, and then to express that same meaning to a different audience in the target language.

This is how translation is supposed to work most of the time, but sometimes certain translations have other goals, such as to reproduce the form of a source language, as we will see below.

There are basically two kinds of translations: literal and dynamic (or meaning-based).

• Literal translations focus on representing words in the source language with words in the target language that have similar basic meanings. They also use phrases that have similar structures to the phrases in the source language. This kind of translation allows the reader to see the structure of the source text, but it can make it difficult or impossible for the reader to understand the meaning of the source text.
• Dynamic, meaning-based translations focus on representing the meaning of the source language sentence in its context, and will use whatever words and phrase structures are most appropriate to convey that meaning in the target language. The goal of this kind of translation is to make it easy for the reader to understand the meaning of the source text. This is the kind of translation recommended in this Translation Manual for Other Language (OL) translations.

The ULT is designed to be a literal translation, so that the OL translator can see the forms of the original biblical languages. The UST is designed to be a dynamic translation, so that the OL translator can understand the meaning of these forms in the Bible. When translating these resources, please translate the ULT in a literal way and translate the UST in a dynamic way. For more information about these resources, see the Gateway Language Manual.

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More about Translation

Translation is a process performed between different languages that requires a person (the translator) to understand the meaning that a writer or speaker intended to communicate to an original audience in the source language, and then to express that same meaning to a different audience in the target language.

Why do people translate texts?

Translators in general have different reasons for doing their work. Their reasons depend on the kind of document they are translating, and on the needs of the person who has asked them to translate it. In the case of Bible translation, people usually do their work because they want the Bible’s ideas to affect the target language readers in the same way that the original readers and hearers of the biblical texts were affected. Because God’s ideas in the Bible lead us to eternal life with him through Jesus Christ, translators also want the target language readers to know his ideas.

How do we as Bible translators usually expect to represent the biblical ideas?

There are various ways in which we can represent the ideas in a source text: we can put them into a list; we can summarize them using far less space on the written page; we can simplify them (as we often do in children’s Bible story books and in other kinds of Bible helps); or we can even put them into diagrams or charts. However, Bible translators usually try to present the biblical ideas as completely as possible. This also means that they try to produce in their translation the same kinds of documents as the original documents (a prophecy for a prophecy, a letter for a letter, a book of history for a book of history, etc.) Also, they try to recreate the same tensions in the translation that exist in the source texts.

What do we mean by “tension” in texts?

Examples of tension occur when a reader wonders what will happen next to the participants in a story, or when a reader follows the argument, encouragement, and warnings of an epistle writer or of a conversation that is reported in the text. A reader can feel tension when reading a psalm, because the psalmists sometimes express a wide variety of emotions (both positive and negative!) when singing praise to God. When reading an Old Testament prophetic book, the reader can feel tension rise as the prophet condemns people for their sin, or as he warns them to turn back to God. Tension may also be felt when reading about God’s promises for the future, as one considers when God fulfilled those promises, or when he will fulfill them. Good translators study the kinds of tension in the source documents, and they try to recreate those tensions in the target language.

Another way to talk about recreating the tensions in the source text is to say that the translation should have the same effect on the target audience that the source text had on the original audience. For example, if the source text is a rebuke to the original audience, the target audience should also feel the translation as a rebuke. A translator will need to think about how the target language expresses rebukes and other types of communication, so that the translation will have the right kind of effect on the target audience.

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How to Aim Your Bible Translation

A translator is like a hunter

A translator is like a hunter, who must aim his weapon at an animal if he wants to hit it. He must know the kind of animal he is hunting, because a hunter does not always use the same kind of weapon for every animal. For example, a hunter will use a very different kind of spear when hunting fish than when hunting a very large animal such as a tiger or an elephant.

It is the same when we speak to other people. We do not speak to young children with exactly the same words that we would say to an adult. Neither do we speak to our friends in exactly the same way we would speak to the president or ruler of our country.

In all these cases, we decide to use different words and expressions. For example, if I am sharing the gospel with a young child, I should not say to him, “Repent, and the Lord will give you his grace.” Instead, I should say something like, “Be sorry for the wrong things you have done, and tell Jesus that you are sorry. Then he will welcome you, because he loves you.”

In every language, there are words that only adults use, words that children have not yet learned. Of course, children will eventually learn to use many of these words. But if you say too many of these words to children at the same time, they will find it very difficult to understand you.

In addition, languages are like trees that grow new leaves and lose old ones: new words are always forming in languages, and some words are always dropping out of use. These words die and drop like leaves; they are words that the old people know but that the younger people never learn to use. After the older generation is gone, these old words will no longer be used in the language. Even if they are written down (in a dictionary, for example) as they should be, the younger people will probably not use them again.

For these reasons, Bible translators must decide which people they will aim their translation at. Here are their choices:

Aim to the Future

Translators can aim their translation at young mothers and their children who speak the target language, because these people represent the future of their language. If translators work in this way, they will avoid using old words that the younger people are not learning. Instead, they will use ordinary, everyday words as much as possible. In addition, such translators will follow these other rules:

1. They do not try to transliterate common Bible words from other languages into the target language. For example, this means that they will not try to transform the Bible word “synagogue” into something like “sinagog” and then try to teach its meaning to the people. They will not try to transform the Bible word “angel” into something like “enjel” and then try to teach its meaning to the target language readers.
2. They do not try to invent new words to signal ideas that they find in the Bible. For example, if the target language has no word that signals all the aspects included in “grace” or “sanctify,” translators do not make up new words for them. Instead, they will find phrases suitable for expressing the main part of the word’s meaning in the Bible passage that they are working on.
3. They do not take known words in the target language and give new meaning(s) to them. They know that if they try this, the people will simply ignore the new meaning. As a result, the people will misunderstand the meaning that they want the text to communicate.
4. They express the biblical ideas in ways that are clear and natural in the target language. (See Create Clear Translations and Create Natural Translations.)

When translators follow these rules, we call the result a common language version. If you are working to provide a language with its first Bible, then we recommend that you follow these guidelines. Common language versions in English include Today’s English Version and The Common English Bible. But remember that your target language will probably want to express many ideas in ways that are very different from what you find in these English versions.

Aim for a Bible Study Translation

Translators can aim their translation at Christians who want to study the Bible in a way that is deeper than the way it is read by new Christians. Translators may decide to do this if the target language already has a good Bible that speaks well to unbelievers and new believers. If translators work in this way, they may decide to:

1. Try to imitate more of the grammatical structures they find in the biblical languages. For example, when the Bible says, “The love of God,” translators might decide to leave the expression ambiguous. If they do this, they will not decide whether it means “the love that people have for God” or “the love that God has for people.” When the Bible says, “the love that we have in Christ Jesus,” translators might decide not to say that it means “because of Christ Jesus” or “united to Christ Jesus.”
2. Try to say what Greek or Hebrew words “stand behind” various expressions in translation. For example, they can do this with footnotes.
3. Try to invent new expressions in the target language that signal more of the meaning carried by biblical words. If translators do this, they must become creative with the target language.

We do not recommend that you follow this second path unless the target language already has a Bible translation that communicates in a clear and natural way.

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Defining a Good Translation

The Qualities of a Good Translation

Four Main Qualities

There are four main qualities of a good translation. It must be:

• Clear - see Create Clear Translations
• Natural - see Create Natural Translations
• Accurate - see Create Accurate Translations
• Church-Approved - see Create Church-Approved Translations

We can think of each of these qualities as a leg of a four-legged stool. Each one is necessary. If one is missing, the stool will not stand. Likewise, each of these qualities must be present in a translation in order for it to be faithful to God's Word and useful to the church.

Clear

Use whatever language structures are necessary to achieve the highest level of understanding. This includes simplifying concepts, rearranging the form of a text, and using as many or as few terms as necessary to communicate the original meaning as accurately as possible. To learn how to make Clear Translations, see Create Clear Translations.

Natural

Use language forms that are effective and that reflect the way your language is used in corresponding contexts. To learn how to make Natural Translations, see Create Natural Translations.

Accurate

Translate accurately, without detracting from, changing, or adding to the meaning of the original text as it would have been understood by the original audience. Translate with the meaning of the text in mind and communicate accurately the implicit information, unknown concepts, and figures of speech. To learn how to make Accurate Translations, see Create Accurate Translations.

Church-Approved

If a translation is clear, natural and accurate, but the church does not approve of it or accept it, then it will not achieve the final goal of edifying the church. It is important that the church be involved in the translation, checking, and distribution of the translation. To learn how to make Church-Approved Translations, see Create Church-Approved Translations.

Six Other Qualities

In addition to being clear, natural, accurate, and church-approved, great translations should also be:

• Faithful - see Create Faithful Translations
• Authoritative - see Create Authoritative Translations
• Historical - see Create Historical Translations
• Equal - see Create Equal Translations
• Collaborative - see Create Collaborative Translations
• Ongoing - see Create Ongoing Translations

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Create Clear Translations

Clear Translations

A clear translation will use whatever language structures are needed to help readers easily read and understand it. This includes putting the text into a different form or arrangement and using as many or as few terms as necessary to communicate the original meaning as clearly as possible.

These guidelines are for Other Language translations, not for Gateway Language translations. When translating the ULT into a Gateway Language, you should not make these changes. It is not necessary to make these changes when translating the UST into a Gateway Language, because they have already been done. Here are some ideas to create a clear translation from the source text:

Check Pronouns

You will need to check the pronouns in the source text and make it clear to whom or what each pronoun refers. Pronouns are words that stand in the place of a noun or a noun phrase. They refer to something that has already been mentioned.

Always check carefully that it is clear to whom or what each pronoun refers. If it is not clear, it may be necessary to put in the name of a person or thing instead of a pronoun.

Identify Participants

Next you need to understand who is doing the action. A clear translation will identify the participants. The participants in an event are the people or things that take part in that event. The subject that is doing the action and the object that has the action done to it are the main participants. When re-expressing an event idea as a verb, it is often necessary to state who or what are the participants in that event. Usually this will be clear from the context.

Clearly Express Event Ideas

Many event ideas may occur as nouns in the Gateway Language. A clear translation may need to express these event ideas as verbs.

When preparing to translate, it is helpful to look for any event ideas in the passage, especially those which are expressed by some form other than a verb. See if you can re-express the meaning using a verb to express the event idea. If, however, your language also uses nouns to express event ideas and the event or action sounds more natural as a noun, then use the noun form. See Abstract Nouns.

You may also need to change each event idea into an active clause to be sure it is understood.

Passive Verbs

A clear translation may need to change any passive verbs to the active form. See Active or Passive.

In the active form, the subject of the sentence is the person who does the action. In the passive form, the subject of the sentence is the person or thing to which the action is done. For example, “John hit Bill” is an active sentence. “Bill was hit by John” is a passive sentence.

Many languages do not have a passive form, only the active form exists. In this case, it would be necessary to turn a sentence from the passive form into the active form. Some languages, however, prefer to use passive forms. Translators should use the forms that are most natural in the target language.

Look at Each ‘Of’ Phrase

To make a clear translation, you will also need to look at each “of” phrase to identify the meaning of the relationship between the nouns connected by “of.” In many languages, “of” constructions are not as frequent as they are in the original languages of the Bible. Study the meaning of each one and re-express the “of” phrase in a way which makes the relationship between the parts clear.

After you have checked these things and made your translation as clear as possible, you will need to read it to other people who speak your language to see if it is clear to them. If there are parts that they do not understand, it may be because that part is not clear. Together, you can think of a clearer way to say that part. Keep checking the translation with many people until all of it is clear.

Remember: Translation is re-telling, as exactly as possible, the meaning of the original message in a way that is clear and natural in the target language.

Writing Clearly

Asking yourself these questions can also help you to create a translation that communicates clearly:

• Have you used punctuation to help a reader know when to pause or breathe?
• Have you indicated which parts are direct speech?
• Are you separating paragraphs?
• Have you considered adding section headings?

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Create Natural Translations

Natural Translations

To translate the Bible so that it is natural means that:

The translation sounds like it was written by a member of the target group—not by a foreigner. Here are some ideas for making a natural translation:

Use Short Sentences

In order for a translation to sound natural, sometimes it is necessary to create shorter, simpler sentences from longer, complex ones. The Greek language often has long, grammatically complicated sentences. Some Bible translations follow the Greek structure closely and keep these long sentences in their translation, even when this does not sound natural or is confusing in the target language.

When preparing to translate, it is often helpful to rewrite the passage, breaking long sentences up into shorter sentences. This can help you to see the meaning more clearly and translate it better. In many languages, it is good style to have shorter sentences, or, when sentences are longer, to avoid having complicated sentences. So in re-expressing the meaning in the Target Language, it is sometimes necessary to break up some of the original long sentences into several shorter sentences. Because many languages use sentences with only one or two clause groupings, the shorter sentences will give a sense of naturalness. The shorter sentences will also give readers a better understanding, because the meaning will be clearer. Be sure to include clear connection words between the new, shorter clauses and sentences.

To make shorter sentences from longer, more complex sentences, identify the words in the sentence that relate directly to each other, that is, that belong together to form a clause. Generally, each verb or action word has words on either side of it that point backward or forward to the action of the verb. A grouping of words like this that can stand on its own may be written as an independent clause or a simple sentence. Keep each of those groups of words together and in that way divide the sentence into its separate ideas or parts. Read the new sentences to make sure they still make sense. If there is a problem, you may need to divide the long sentence in a different way. When you understand the message of the new sentences, translate them into the target language, making sentences that are a natural length and connect them in a natural way. Then test your translation by reading it to a member of the language community to see if it sounds natural.

Write the Way Your People Talk

Read the passage or chapter of the Bible and ask yourself, “what kind of message is this?” Then translate that passage or chapter in the way that your language would communicate that kind of message.

For example, if the passage is a poem, such as in the Psalms, then translate it in the form that your people will recognize as a poem. Or if the passage is an exhortation about the right way to live, such as in the New Testament letters, then translate it in a form that people in your language exhort each other. Or if the passage is a story about what someone did, translate it in the form of a story (that really happened). The Bible has a lot of these kinds of stories, and as part of these stories people say things to each other that also have their own form. For example, people make threats, give warnings, and praise or rebuke each other. To make your translation natural, you should translate each of these things in the way that people in your language make threats, give warnings, praise or rebuke each other, etc.

In order to know how to write these different things, you may have to listen to what people say around you, and practice writing down different things that people say and do, so that you become familiar with the form and words that people use for these different purposes.

A good translation will use the same vocabulary and expressions as the people of the target group normally use. It should be easy for them to read it or listen to it. There should not be any awkward or strange phrases. The translation should read as easily as a letter from a close friend.

Not for Gateway Language Translations

This section is not for Gateway Language translations of the ULT and UST. These are Bibles that are designed to have characteristics that keep them from being natural in a target language. They are Bible translation tools, not end-user Bibles. For more information about this, see “Translating the ULT” and “Translating the UST” in the Gateway Languages Manual.

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Create Accurate Translations

Accurate Translations

To create an accurate translation of the Bible means that the translation communicates the same message as the source. Here are some steps to follow:

• Discover the meaning of a passage.
• Identify the main idea.
• Translate with the author’s message in mind.

Discover the Meaning

First, read each passage a few times to discover the meaning. Use the two versions of the Bible available in translationStudio: the unfoldingWord® Simplified Text and the unfoldingWord® Literal Text. Also read the definitions of the unfoldingWord® Translation Words and the unfoldingWord® Translation Notes.

First read the unfoldingWord® Literal Text:

Whatever town you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you, and heal the sick that are there. Say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come close to you.’ (Luke 10:8-9 ULT)

Look at the unfoldingWord® Simplified Text in the translation helps:

Whenever you enter a town and the people there welcome you, eat whatever food they provide for you. Heal the people there who are sick. Tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is right here near you.’ (Luke 10:8-9 UST)

Do you notice the differences? There are some differences in the words each Bible version uses.

Did you discover the meaning is the same? In both versions Jesus is giving specific instructions, and they are the same instructions. Both versions are accurate translations.

Identify the Main Idea

Then, after discovering the meaning of the passage, you should identify the main idea.

Ask yourself, “Why is the author writing this, and how does he feel about these things?”

Look at the Luke 10 passage again. Why do you think the author is writing this? What do you think the author feels about what he wrote? What do you think? After you have read the passage several times, answer these questions:

• What is happening? Jesus gave instructions.
• When and where did these things take place? To answer this question, you would need to remember what happened earlier. Earlier Luke writes that Jesus and the disciples are on the way to Jerusalem, and chapter 10 starts with Jesus sending out 72 people to preach.
• Who is involved in this passage? Jesus and the 72 people he sent out.
• Why were the 72 sent out? To heal the sick and to tell everyone that the kingdom of God is near.

The Message of the Writer

Finally, part of translating the source text accurately is to think of the original audience and the message of the writer.

Do you think the author had specific things for the reader to know? Remember what we thought the author’s main ideas were? The main ideas were:

• The instructions that Jesus gave
• That the 72 people whom Jesus sent out would have power to heal sick people
• That they would tell others that the kingdom of God was near

This is the message to the original audience. Allow the same message to come clearly into your mind in the target language.

Look at the passage and think how you would retell it in your own language. Keep this initial translation by writing it down. Use an alphabet that suits your language.

Remember: Translation is re-telling, as exactly as possible, the meaning of the original message in a way that is clear and natural in the target language.

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Create Church-Approved Translations

Church-Approved Translations

The first three qualities of a good translation are Clear (see Create Clear Translations), Natural (see Create Natural Translations), and Accurate (see Create Accurate Translations). All three of these directly affect the words and phrases that are used in the translation. If a translation lacks one of these three qualities, simply changing or reordering the words that were used can often fix the problem. The fourth quality, church-approved, has less to do with the words used and more to do with the process that is used.

The Goal of Translation

The goal of the translation of biblical content is not only to produce a high-quality translation, but to produce a high-quality translation that is used and loved by the church. High-quality translations must be clear, natural, and accurate. But for a translation to be used and loved by the church, it must be church-approved.

How to Create a Church-Approved Translation

Creating a church-approved translation is all about the process of translation, checking, and distribution. The more church networks that are involved in these processes, the more likely they will approve of the translation.

Before starting a translation project, as many church networks as possible should be contacted and encouraged to become a part of the translation and even to send some of their people to be a part of the translation team. They should be consulted and asked for their input into the translation project, its goals, and its process.

It is not necessary that the church actively lead the translation and coordinate all the efforts, but it is necessary that whoever is leading the translation be approved by the church networks, preferably before they even start.

Church Approval and the Checking Levels

The need for church-approval of a translation is clearly reflected in the Checking Levels. In fact, the Checking Levels are largely a measurement of how broadly the church approves of the translation.

• Level 1 states that the church-approved translation team has approved the translation.
• Level 2 states that the pastors and leaders of local churches approve the translation.
• Level 3 states that leaders of multiple church networks approve of the translation.

At each level, the people leading the translation should encourage participation and input from the church networks. By using this process, we hope to encourage church ownership of the translation among as many church networks as possible. With this approval, there should be nothing hindering the translation from being used to strengthen and encourage the church.

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Create Faithful Translations

Faithful Translations

To make a translation that is faithful to the Bible, you must avoid any political, denominational, ideological, social, cultural, or theological bias in your translation. Use key terms that are faithful to the vocabulary of the original biblical languages. Use equivalent common language terms for the biblical words that describe the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. These may be clarified, as needed, in footnotes or other supplemental resources.

Your goal as a Bible translator is to communicate the same message that the original writer of the Bible intended to communicate. This means that you should not try to communicate your own message, or the message that you think the Bible should say, or that your church thinks the Bible should say. For any Bible passage, you must communicate what it says, all of what it says, and only what it says. You must resist the temptation to put any of your own interpretations or messages into the Bible or add any meaning to the message that is not there in the Bible passage. (The message of a Bible passage includes the implied information. See Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information.)

You must also use key terms that are faithful to the vocabulary of the original biblical languages. Read the definitions of the unfoldingWord® Translation Words to make sure that you understand the meanings of these words. Translate so that these key terms have these same meanings, and do not translate them in different ways just to please your pastor, your village leaders, or yourself.

Always translating faithfully can be difficult for several reasons:

1. You might be used to the way that your church interprets some Bible passages, and not know that there are other interpretations.

   • Example: When you are translating the word “baptize,” you might want to translate it with a word that means “sprinkle,” because that is what your church does. But after reading unfoldingWord® Translation Words, you learn that the word has a meaning in the range of “plunge,” “dip,” “wash,” or “purify.”

2. You might want to translate a Bible passage in a way that accords with your culture, rather than according to what it meant when it was written.

   • Example: It is common in North American culture for women to speak and preach in churches. A translator from that culture might be tempted to translate the words of 1 Corinthians 14:34 in a way that is not as strict as the Apostle Paul wrote them: “…the women should keep silent in the churches.” But a faithful translator will translate the meaning of the Bible passage just the way it is.

3. You might not like something that the Bible says, and be tempted to change it.

   • Example: You might not like what Jesus says in John 6:53, “Truly, truly, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves.” This may seem disgusting to you. But you must translate it faithfully, so that your people can read it and contemplate what Jesus meant by it.

4. You might be afraid of what others in your village will think or do if they read a faithful translation of what the Bible says.

   • Example: You might be tempted to translate God’s words in Matthew 3:17, “This is my beloved Son. I am very pleased with him,” with a word that does not mean “son.” But you must remember that you do not have the right to change the meaning of what the Bible says.

5. You might know something extra about the Bible passage that you are translating and want to add that to your translation.

   • Example: When you are translating Mark 10:11, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her,” you might know that in Matthew 19:9 there is also the phrase, “…except for sexual immorality….” Even so, do not add this phrase into Mark 10:11, because that would not be translating faithfully. Also, do not add any of your own ideas or teachings from your church. Only translate the meaning that is there in the Bible passage.

In order to avoid these biases, especially the ones that you might not be aware of, you must study the unfoldingWord® Translation Notes (see http://ufw.io/tn/), unfoldingWord® Translation Words (see http://ufw.io/tw/) and the unfoldingWord® Simplified Text (see http://ufw.io/ust/), as well as any other translation helps that you have. That way you will know what the meaning of the Bible passage is, and you will be less likely to translate in a biased, unfaithful way.

(You may also want to watch the video at http://ufw.io/guidelines_faithful.)

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Son of God and God the Father

God is one being, and he exists as the Holy Trinity, that is, as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

The Bible teaches that there is only one God.

In the Old Testament:

Yahweh, he is God; there is no other God! (1 Kings 8:60 ULT)

In the New Testament:

Jesus said,…“This is everlasting life: that they should know you, the only true God”. (John 17:3 ULT)

(See also: Deuteronomy 4:35, Ephesians 4:5-6, 1 Timothy 2:5, James 2:19)

The Old Testament begins to reveal God’s three persons.

God created the heavens…The Spirit of God was moving…“Let us make man in our image.” (Genesis 1:1-2 ULT)

God has spoken to us by a Son…through whom he also made the universe. His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very character of his essence…about the Son he says,…“In the beginning, Lord, you laid earth’s foundation; the heavens are the work of your hands.” (Hebrews 1:2-3, and 8-10 ULT quoting Psalm 102:25)

The Church has always found it necessary to state what the New Testament says about God by affirming that he exists in three distinct persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, “…Baptize them into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19 ULT)

God sent his Son, born of a woman,…God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls, “Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:4-6 ULT)

See also: John 14:16-17, 1 Peter 1:2

Each person of God is fully God and is called “God” in the Bible.

Yet for us there is only one God the Father… (1 Corinthians 8:6 ULT)

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:28-29 ULT)

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land?…You have not lied to men, but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4 ULT)

Each person is also distinct from the other two persons. All three persons can appear separately at the same time. In the verses below, God the Son is baptized while God the Spirit comes down and God the Father speaks from heaven.

After he was baptized, Jesus came up…from the water…He saw the Spirit of God coming down…, and a voice [the Father’s] came out of the heavens saying, “This is my Beloved Son…” (Matthew 3:16-17 ULT)

As Christians, we must always remember that, since we are humans and do not have the mind of God, we cannot fully understand how all three persons of the Holy Trinity are fully God, and yet God is only one being. The Holy Trinity is a divine mystery that we confess by faith, based on the witness of God's inspired Word.

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Translating Son and Father

Door43 supports Bible translations that represent these concepts when they refer to God.

Biblical Witness

”Father” and “Son” are names that God calls himself in the Bible.

The Bible shows that God called Jesus his Son:

After he was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and…a voice came out of the heavens saying, “This is my beloved Son. I am very pleased with him.” (Matthew 3:16-17 ULT)

The Bible shows that Jesus called God his Father:

Jesus said, “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth,…no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son “ (Matthew 11:25-27 ULT) (See also: John 6:26-57)

Christians have found that “Father” and “Son” are the ideas that most essentially describe the eternal relationship of the First and Second Persons of the Trinity to each other. The Bible indeed refers to them in various ways, but no other terms reflect the eternal love and intimacy between these Persons, nor the interdependent eternal relationship between them.

Jesus referred to God in the following terms:

Baptize them into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19 ULT)

The intimate, loving relationship between the Father and the Son is eternal, just as they are eternal.

The Father loves the Son. (John 3:35-36; 5:19-20 ULT)

I love the Father, I do what the Father commands me, just as he gave me the commandment. (John 14:31 ULT)

…no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son. (Luke 10:22 ULT)

The terms “Father” and “Son” also communicate that the Father and the Son are of the same essence; they are both eternal God.

Jesus said, “Father, glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you…I glorified you on the earth,…Now Father, glorify me…with the glory that I had with you before the world was created.” (John 17:1-5 ULT)

But in these last days, he [God the Father] has spoken to us through a Son, whom he appointed to be the heir of all things. It is through him that God also made the universe. He is the brightness of God’s glory, the very character of his essence. He even holds everything together by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:2-3 ULT)

Jesus said to him, “I have been with you for so long and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9 ULT)

Human Relationships

Human fathers and sons are not perfect, but the Bible still uses those terms for the Father and Son, who are perfect.

Just as today, human father-son relationships during Bible times were never as loving or perfect as the relationship between Jesus and his Father. But this does not mean that the translator should avoid the concepts of father and son. The Scriptures use these terms to refer to God, the perfect Father and Son, as well as to sinful human fathers and sons. In referring to God as Father and Son, choose words in your language that are widely used to refer to a human “father” and “son.” In this way you will communicate that God the Father and God the Son are of the same divine essence (they are both God), just as a human father and son are of the same human essence (they are both human and share the same human characteristics).

Translation Strategies

1. Think through all the possibilities within your language to translate the words “son” and “father.” Determine which words in your language best represent the divine “Son” and “Father.”
2. If your language has more than one word for “son,” use the word that has the closest meaning to “only son” (or “first son” if necessary).
3. If your language has more than one word for “father,” use the word that has the closest meaning to “birth father,” rather than “adoptive father.”

(See God the Father and Son of God pages in unfoldingWord® Translation Words for help translating “Father” and “Son.”)

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Create Authoritative Translations

An authoritative Bible translation is one that is based on the biblical texts in the original languages as the highest authority for the meaning of biblical content. Whenever two or more translations of the Bible disagree about the meaning of a Bible passage, it is the original languages that have the final authority for deciding the meaning. Sometimes people are very loyal to certain Bible translations that they are accustomed to reading, and might argue with other people who are loyal to a different Bible translation. But neither of those Bible translations are the highest authority, because they are only translations of the original. All translations are secondary in authority to the original languages. That is why we must always refer to the original biblical languages when deciding how to translate the Bible.

Since not all translation teams have a member who can read the original languages of the Bible, it is not always possible to refer to the biblical languages when translating the Bible. Instead, the translation team has to rely on translations that they are able to read that have, in turn, been based on the biblical languages. Many of the translations in the Gateway Languages were translated from the biblical languages, including the ULT, but some are translations of translations. It is easy for errors to be introduced when a translation is two or three steps removed from the original.

To help with this problem, the translation team can do three things:

1. The translation team must use unfoldingWord® Translation Notes, unfoldingWord® Translation Words, and any other translation helps they have to help them translate in the best way. These translation helps were written by Bible scholars who know the original biblical languages.
2. They should compare their translation with as many other reliable translations as they can, to make sure that it is communicating the same message as the others.
3. Someone who has studied the biblical languages should review the translation to make sure that it is accurate. This person could be a church leader, pastor, seminary professor, or Bible translation professional.

Sometimes Bible translations differ because some passages in the Bible are unclear or ambiguous in the original biblical languages. In that case, the translation team must choose between them based on what Bible scholars say in unfoldingWord® Translation Notes, unfoldingWord® Translation Words, the UST, and other translation helps.

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Create Historical Translations

(See the video “Translating the Scriptures - Culture” at http://ufw.io/trans_culture.)

A historical definition translation communicates historical events and facts accurately. Providing additional information as needed in order to accurately communicate the intended message to people who do not share the same context and culture as the original recipients of the original content.

To communicate well with historical accuracy, you need to remember two things:

1. The Bible is a historical document. The events of the Bible happened in the way that the Bible describes at different times in history. Therefore, when you translate the Bible, you need to communicate that these events happened, and do not change any of the details of what happened.
2. The books of the Bible were written down at specific times in history for people of a certain culture. This means that some things in the Bible that were very clear to the original hearers and readers will not be clear to those who read the Bible in different times and in different cultures. This is because both the writer and the readers were familiar with many of the practices that the writer wrote about, so the writer did not need to explain them. We, from other times and cultures, are not familiar with these things, so we need someone to explain them to us. This kind of information is called “implicit (or implied) information.” (See Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information”.)

As translators, we need to translate the historical details accurately, but also provide some explanation when we think that our readers will need it so that they can understand what the translation is about.

• For example, Genesis 12:16 refers to camels. For readers in parts of the world where this animal is unknown, it might be good to provide a description. The best way to do this is in a footnote, or in a glossary entry such as the one in unfoldingWord® Translation Words.

Some explanation can be included in the text, as long as it is brief and does not distract the reader from the main point of the text.

• For example, the New Testament writers often referred to events in the Old Testament, but without explaining what they were referring to. They knew that their readers were very familiar with the Old Testament, and did not need any explanation. But it is possible that readers from other times and places will need some explanation.

Let us compare 1 Corinthians 10:1 from the ULT and UST.

“I want you to know, brothers and sisters that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. “ (ULT)

“I want you to remember, brothers and sisters, that our Jewish ancestors were following God, who led them as a cloud during the day, as they passed through the Red Sea on dry land, long ago in the time of the Exodus.” (UST)

Notice that the UST makes several points explicit: the ‘fathers were all under the cloud’ tells of the time that God led the Jewish ancestors as a cloud. The statement that ‘our fathers passed through the sea’ is also about the ‘passing through the Red Sea in the time of the exodus.’ The UST translator decided to explicitly describe the historical events. This is a way to translate historical events that is more meaningful for those who have little knowledge of Old Testament history.

Include or refer to the needed implicit information intended by the original writer that will be necessary for your community to understand what is written.

Maintain the historical accuracy of the message. Avoid referring to items and events that were not present in the Bible times. Do not make your translation sound like it is a modern-day event.

Remember:

• Keep true to the historical text. The original message, historical events, and cultural background information should all be the same as it was written in the source text. For example, the translation must not have the message rewritten so that events happened at a different place or time.
• Communicate clearly by expressing the message in such a way that people in the Target Language culture will be able to understand the meaning that the original author intended to communicate.
• Only provide additional information as needed to accurately communicate the intended message to people who do not share the same context and culture as the recipients of the original content.

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Create Equal Translations

An equal translation communicates any expressive meaning from the source language in an equal way in the target language. Especially notice the forms in the source text that communicate certain kinds of emotions and choose forms in the target language that communicate the same emotions. Examples of some of these forms follow.

Idioms

Definition - An idiom is a group of words that has a meaning that is different from what one would understand from the meanings of the individual words. Determine the meaning of idioms, proverbs, and figures of speech and translate them with expressions in your language that have the same meaning.

Description - Usually idioms cannot be translated literally into another language. The meaning of the idiom has to be expressed in a way that is natural in the other language.

For example, these three translations all have the same meaning. See Acts 18:6:

• “Your blood be upon your heads! I am innocent.” (RSV)
• “If you are lost, you yourselves must take the blame for it! I am not responsible.” (GNB)
• “If God punishes you, it is because of you, not me!” (TFT)

These are all accusations of guilt. Some are using idioms with the word “blood” or “lost,” while the third is more direct using the word “punishes.” In order for your translation to be equal, it must also express an accusation in an emotional way, and may use an idiom, as long as both the form of the accusation and the idiom are appropriate for the target language and culture.

Figures of Speech

Definition - A figure of speech is a special way of saying something in order to catch the attention or express an emotion about what is said.

Description - The meaning of a figure of speech as a whole is different from the normal meaning of the individual words.

Here are some examples:

• I was shattered! The speaker was not literally broken, but he felt very bad.
• He closed his ears to what I was saying. Meaning, “he chose to not listen to what I was saying.”
• The wind moaned in the trees. This means that the wind blowing through the trees sounded like a person moaning.
• The whole world came to the meeting. Everyone in the world did not attend the meeting. Most likely there were many people at the meeting.

Each language uses different figures of speech. Make sure you can:

• Recognize that a figure of speech is being used
• Recognize the purpose of the figure of speech
• Recognize the real meaning of the figure of speech

It is the real meaning of the whole figure of speech that should be translated into your language, not the meaning of the individual words. Once you understand the real meaning, you can choose an expression in the target language that communicates that same meaning and emotion.

(For more information, see the Figures of Speech information.)

Rhetorical Questions

Definition - Rhetorical questions are another way that the speaker captures the attention of the reader.

Description - Rhetorical questions are a type of question that does not expect an answer or ask for information. They usually express some kind of emotion and can be intended as a rebuke, a warning, to express surprise, or something else.

For example, see Matthew 3:7: “You offspring of poisonous snakes, who warned you to flee from the wrath that is coming?”

Here no answer is expected. The speaker is not asking for information; he is rebuking his hearers. It does no good to warn these people of God’s wrath, because they refuse the only way to escape it: to repent of their sins.

You may need to restate this rhetorical question as a statement when you translate, if your language does not use rhetorical questions in this way. But remember, be sure to keep the same purpose and meaning, and communicate the same emotion as the original rhetorical question had. If your language communicates the purpose, meaning, and emotion of a rhetorical question with a different kind of figure of speech, then use that figure of speech.

(see Rhetorical Questions)

Exclamations

Definition - Languages use exclamations to communicate emotion. Sometimes the exclamation word or words do not have meaning other than the expression of emotion, such as the words “alas” or “wow” in English.

For example, see 1 Samuel 4:8: Woe to us! Who will protect us from the strength of these mighty gods? (ULT)

The Hebrew word translated as “woe” here expresses strong emotion about something bad happening. If possible, try to find an exclamation in your language that communicates this same emotion.

Poetry

Definition - One of the purposes of poetry is to express emotion about something.

Description - Poetry does this through many different ways that can be different in different languages. These ways can include everything discussed so far, such as figures of speech and exclamations. Poetry might also use grammar differently than ordinary speech, or use wordplays or words with similar sounds or certain rhythms to convey emotion.

For example, see Psalm 36:5: Your covenant faithfulness, Yahweh, [reaches] to the heavens; your loyalty [reaches] to the clouds. (ULT)

This verse of poetry repeats a similar idea in two lines, which is good Hebrew poetic style. Also, there are no verbs in the Hebrew original, which is a different use of grammar than ordinary speech would use. Poetry in your language may have different things that mark it as poetry. When you are translating poetry, try to use the forms of your language that communicate to the reader that this is poetry, and that communicate the same emotions that the source poem is trying to communicate.

Remember: Communicate the feelings and attitudes of the original text. Translate them into forms that communicate in a similar way in your language. Consider how that meaning can best be Accurately, Clearly, Equally, and Naturally Expressed in the Target Language.

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Create Collaborative Translations

Bible translations that are collaborative are those that have been translated by a group of speakers of the same language. To ensure that your translation is of the highest quality, work together with other believers who speak your language to translate, check, and distribute the translated content.

Here are some ways of including others that can help improve the quality of the translation.

• Read the translation out loud to someone. Have him notice if the sentences connect well. Ask that person to point out words or phrases that do not sound right or are unclear. Make changes so that it sounds as if someone from your community is speaking.
• Ask someone to read your translation to check your spelling. You may have spelled a word differently when it was not necessary. Some words change in different situations, but some words can stay the same in every situation. Take note of these changes, so others can know what decisions you have made on the spelling of your language.
• Ask yourself if the way you wrote can be recognized easily by speakers of different dialects in your language community. If there is something that is not clear in your translation, ask others how they would say it.

Make changes to the translation before you distribute it to a wider audience.

Remember: if possible, work together with other believers who speak your language to translate, check, and distribute the translated content, ensuring that it is of the highest quality and that as many people as possible can read and understand it.

(You may also want to watch the video at http://ufw.io/guidelines_collab.)

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Create Ongoing Translations

Bible translations should be ongoing. Share the translation with others to see if they understand the meaning of the message. Improve your translation with their input. Revising a translation to increase understanding and accuracy is always a good idea. Whenever someone has a good idea for making the translation better, you should edit the translation to incorporate that change. When you use translationStudio or other electronic text editors, you can keep this process of revision and improvement ongoing.

• Reviewers are needed who can read the translation and point to text that needs revision.
• Ask others to read the translation or listen to a recording of the translation. This will help you know if the translation has the same impact in your community that it had among the original audience (for example: giving comfort, encouragement, or guidance).
• Continue to make corrections to the translation that will make it more accurate, more clear, and more natural. The goal is always to make it communicate the same meaning as the source text.

Remember: encourage people to review the translation and give you ideas for making it better. Talk to other people about these ideas. When several people agree that these are good ideas, then make these changes in the translation. In this way, the translation will get better and better.

(You may also want to watch the video at http://ufw.io/guidelines_ongoing.)

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Meaning-Based Translation

The Translation Process

How to Translate

There are two things to do in translation:

1. Discover the meaning in the source language text (See Discover the Meaning of the Text.)
2. Re-tell the meaning in the target language translation (See Re-telling the Meaning.)

Instructions for translation sometimes divide these two things into smaller steps. The graphic below shows how these two fit into the translation process.

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Discover the Meaning of the Text

How to Discover the Meaning

There are many different things that we can do to help us to discover the meaning of the text, that is, to make sure that we understand what the text is trying to say. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Read the whole passage through before you translate it. Understand the main point of the whole passage before you begin to translate it. If it is a narrative passage, such as a story of one of Jesus’ miracles, picture the original situation. Imagine you were there. Imagine how people felt.

2. When translating the Bible, always use at least two versions of the Bible together as your source text. Comparing two versions will help you to think about the meaning, so that you do not just follow the words of one version literally. The two versions should be:

   • One version that follows the form of the original language fairly closely, such as the unfoldingWord® Literal Text (ULT).
   • One meaning-based version, such as the unfoldingWord® Simplified Text (UST).

3. Use the unfoldingWord® Translation Words resource to learn about terms that you are not familiar with. Words sometimes have more than one meaning. Make sure that you have understood the right meaning of the word in the passage.

4. Also use the unfoldingWord® Translation Notes that are with the ULT. These are available in the translationStudio program and the Door43 website. These will explain things about the passage that may not be clear. If possible, also use other reference books, such as other versions of the Bible, a Bible dictionary, or Bible commentaries.

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Re-telling the Meaning

How to Re-tell the Meaning

A list of ordered steps is shown below. The purpose of these steps is to help the translator produce a translation that is natural, understandable, and accurate. One of the most common mistakes that translators make is failing to use the natural forms in the target language for developing a coherent text. By following these steps, the translator will produce a more natural and more understandable translation.

1. Read the entire chosen passage in the source language. The passage could be a paragraph or one thing that happened in a story, or even a whole section (in some Bibles, everything from one heading to the next heading). In a difficult text, a passage might be only one or two verses.
2. Without looking at the text in the source language, verbally tell it in the target language. Although you might forget some parts, continue telling what you remember right to the end.
3. Again, look at the source language text. Now tell everything again in the target language.
4. Looking again at the source language text, focus only on the parts you forgot, and then re-tell it all in the target language by memory.
5. After remembering the entire passage, write it exactly as it you re-told it by memory.
6. Once written, look at the source language to see if you have overlooked some detail. Insert any such detail in the most natural place.
7. If you do not understand something in the source text, write into the translation ‘[not understood]’ and continue writing the rest of the passage.
8. Now, read what you wrote. Assess whether you understand it or not. Fix the parts that should be improved.
9. Go on to the next section. Read it in the source language. Strictly follow steps 2 through 8.

Credits: Used by permission, © 2013, SIL International, Sharing Our Native Culture, p. 59.

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Form and Meaning

Defining Form & Meaning

Two of the major terms used in translating text are “form” and “meaning.” These terms are used in special ways in Bible translation. They have the following definitions:

• Form - The structure of the language as it appears on the page or as it is spoken. “Form” refers to the way that the language is arranged, including the words, the word order, the grammar, idioms, and any other features of the structure of the text.
• Meaning - The underlying idea or concept that the text is trying to communicate to the reader or hearer. A speaker or writer can communicate the same meaning by using different forms of the language, and different people can understand different meanings from hearing or reading the same language form. In this way you can see that form and meaning are not the same thing.

An Example

Let’s consider an example from normal life. Suppose a friend sent you the note below:

• “I am having a very difficult week. My mother was sick and I spent all of my money to take her to the doctor and to buy medicine for her. I do not have anything left. My employer will not pay me until next weekend. I do not know how I am going to make it through the week. I do not even have money to buy food.”

The Meaning

Why do you think the friend sent this note? Just to tell you about his week? Probably not. His true intention was more likely to tell you:

• “I would like you to give me money.”

That is the primary meaning of the note that the sender wanted to communicate to you. It is not a report, but a request. However, it would be rude in some cultures to ask for money so directly, even from a friend. Therefore, he adjusted the form of the note to fill out the request and help you to understand his need. He wrote in a culturally acceptable way that presented his need for money but did not obligate you to respond. He explained why he had no money (his sick mother), that his need was only temporary (until he is paid), and that his situation was desperate (no food). In other cultures, a more direct form of request might be more appropriate to communicate this meaning.

The Form

In this example, the form is the entire text of the note. The meaning is “I would like you to give me money!”

We use these terms in a similar way. Form will refer to the entire text of the verses that we are translating. Meaning will refer to the idea or ideas that the text is trying to communicate. The best form for communicating a certain meaning will be different in different languages and cultures.

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The Importance of Form

Why Form is Important

The meaning of a text is the most crucial element. However, the form of the text is also very important. It is more than just a “container” for the meaning. It affects the way the meaning is understood and received. So the form itself also has a meaning.

For example, look at the differences in form between two translations of Psalm 9:1-2.

From the New Life Version:

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart. I will tell of all the great things You have done. I will be glad and full of joy because of You. I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

From the New Revised Standard Version

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and exult in you;

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

The first version puts the text into a form that is no different than the form it uses for telling stories. Each line of the Psalm is stated as a separate sentence.

In the second version, the text is arranged as lines of poetry are arranged in the target culture, with each line of the poem on a separate line of the page. Also, the first two lines are joined with a semi-colon, with the second line indented. These things indicate that the two lines are related. They say very similar things. The third and fourth lines also have the same arrangement.

A reader of the second version will know that this Psalm is a poem or a song because of its form, while the reader of the first version may not get that understanding, because it was not communicated through the form of the text. The reader of the first version might be confused, because the Psalm seems to be a song, but it is not presented as one. The words are expressing a joyful emotion. As a translator, you should use the form for expressing a joyful song in your language.

Look also at the form of 2 Samuel 18:33b in the New International Version.

“O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you–O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Someone might say that the meaning contained in this part of the verse is, “I wish that I had died instead of my son Absalom.” This does summarize the meaning contained in the words. But the form communicates much more than just that content. The repetition of “my son” so many times, the repetition of the name “Absalom,” the expression “O”, the wish form “If only…” all communicate a strong emotion of deep anguish on the part of a father who has lost a son. As a translator, you need to translate not just the meaning of the words, but also the meaning of the form. For 2 Samuel 18:33b, it is important that you use a form that communicates the same emotion as contained in the original language.

So when you translate, you need to examine the form of the biblical text and ask yourself why it has that form and not some other one. What attitude or emotion is it communicating? Other questions that might help you to understand the meaning of the form are:

• Who wrote it?
• Who received it?
• In what situation was it written?
• Which words and phrases were chosen and why?
• Are the words very emotional words, or is there anything special about the order of the words?

When you understand the meaning of the form, then you can choose a form that has that same meaning in the target language and culture.

Culture Affects Meaning

The meaning of forms is determined by culture. The same form might have different meanings in different cultures. In translation, the meaning must remain the same, including the meaning of the form. To achieve this, sometimes the form of the text must change to fit the culture of the target language. The form includes the language of the text, its arrangement, any repetitions, or any expressions that imitate sounds like “O”. You must examine all of these things, decide what they mean, and then decide which form will express that meaning in the best way for the target language and culture.

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Levels of Meaning

Levels of Meaning

A good translation requires that the meaning be the same in the target language as in the source language.

There are many different levels of meaning in any text, including the Bible. These levels include:

• Meaning of words
• Meaning of phrases
• Meaning of sentences
• Meaning of paragraphs
• Meaning of chapters
• Meaning of books

Words Have Meaning

We are used to thinking that the meaning of a text is in the words. But this meaning is controlled by the context that each word is in. That is, the meaning of the individual words is controlled by the levels above it, including the phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. For example, a single word like “give” may have the following possible meanings, depending on the context (the higher levels):

• to grant a gift
• to collapse or break
• to surrender
• to quit
• to concede
• to supply
• and others…

Building the Larger Meaning

The translator must determine what each word means in each context, and then reproduce that same meaning in the translated text. This means that words cannot be translated individually, but only with the meaning that they have when they are combined together with the other words in the phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters in which they form a part. That is why the translator must read the whole paragraph, chapter, or book that he is translating before starting to translate it. By reading the larger levels, he will understand how each of the lower levels fits into the whole, and will translate each part so that it communicates the meaning in a way that makes the most sense with the higher levels.

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Literal Translations

Definition

Literal translations try to reproduce the form of the source text as much as possible.

Other Names

Literal translations are also called:

• form-based
• word-for-word
• modified literal

Form Over Meaning

A literal translation is one that focuses on reproducing the form of the source text in the target text, even if the meaning changes or is hard to understand as a result. An extreme version of a literal translation would not be a translation at all. Rather, it would be a copy. It would have the same characters and words as the source language. The next closest step would be to replace each word in the source language with an equivalent word from the target language. Because of differences in grammar between languages, the target language audience would probably not understand this kind of translation. Some translators of the Bible wrongly believe that they should keep the word order of the source text in the target text and only substitute target language words for source language words. They wrongly believe that this shows respect for the source text as God’s Word. But in fact this kind of translation keeps people from understanding God’s Word. God wants people to understand his Word, so it shows the greatest respect for the Bible and for God to translate the Bible so that people can understand it.

Weaknesses of Literal Translation

Literal translations usually contain the following problems:

• foreign words that are not understood by the target audience
• word order that is strange or awkward in the target language
• idioms that are not used or understood in the target language
• names of objects that do not exist in the target culture
• descriptions of customs that are not understood in the target culture
• paragraphs that have no logical connections in the target language
• stories and explanations that do not make sense in the target language
• implied information is left out that is necessary for understanding the intended meaning

When to Translate Literally

The only time to translate literally is when translating Gateway Language Materials (such as the ULT) that will be used by Other Language translators. The purpose of the ULT is to show the translator what is in the original. Even so, the ULT is not strictly literal. It is a modified literal translation that uses the target language grammar so that readers can understand it (see the lesson Modified Literal Translation). For the places where the ULT uses the original expressions in the Bible that may be difficult to understand, we have provided the translationNotes to explain them.

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Word for Word Substitution

Definition

A word-for-word substitution is the most literal form of translation. It is not the best choice for doing good translations. A word-for-word translation simply substitutes an equivalent word in the target language for each word in the source language.

In word-for-word translations

• The focus is on one word at a time.
• The natural sentence structure, phrase structures and figures of speech of the target language are ignored.
• The process of word-for-word translation is very simple.
  • The first word in the source text is translated by an equivalent word.
  • Then the next word is done. This continues until the verse is translated.
• The word-for-word approach is attractive because it is so simple. However, it results in a poor quality translation.

Word-for-word substitution results in translations that are awkward to read. They are often confusing and give the wrong meaning or even no meaning at all. You should avoid doing this type of translation. Here are some examples:

Word Order

Here is an example of Luke 3:16 in the ULT:

John answered by saying to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy even to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

That translation is clear and easy to understand. But suppose the translators had used the word-for-word method. What would the translation be like?

Here, translated in English, are the words in the same order as the original Greek.

answered saying to all the John I indeed with water baptize you he comes but who mightier than I of whom not I am worthy untie the strap of the sandals of him he you will baptize with spirit holy and fire

This translation is awkward and does not make sense in English.

Look at the ULT version above again. The English ULT translators did not keep the original Greek word order. They moved words around in the sentence to fit the rules of English grammar. They also changed some of the phrasing. For example, the English ULT says, “John answered by saying to them all,” rather than “John answered to all saying.” They used different words in a different order to make the text sound natural so that it could successfully communicate the original meaning.

The translation must communicate the same meaning as the Greek text. In this example, the ULT is a much better English translation than the awkward word-for-word version.

Range of Word Meanings

In addition, word-for-word substitution usually does not take into account that most words in all languages have a range of meanings. In any one passage, usually the writer had only one of those meanings in mind. In a different passage, he may have had a different meaning in mind. But in word-for-word translations, usually only one meaning is chosen and used throughout the translation.

For example, the Greek word “aggelos” can refer to a human messenger or to an angel.

“This is he of whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger before your face, Who will prepare your way before you.’ (Luke 7:27)

Here the word “aggelos” refers to a human messenger. Jesus was talking about John the Baptist.

the angels had gone away from them into heaven (Luke 2:15)

Here the word “aggelos” refers to angels from heaven.

A word-for-word translation process might use the same word in both verses, even though it is used to refer to two different kinds of beings. This would be confusing to the reader.

Figures of Speech

Finally, figures of speech are not conveyed correctly in a word-for-word translation. As a whole expression, a figure of speech has a meaning that is different from the individual words. When they are translated word-for-word, the meaning of the figure of speech is lost. Even if they are translated so that they follow the normal word order of the target language, readers will not understand their meaning. See the Figures of Speech page to learn how to correctly translate them.

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Problems with Literal Translations

The meaning of forms change

Literal translations keep the form of the source text in the target text. As you saw in the teaching module “The Importance of Form,” some translators might want to do this because the form of a text affects the meaning of the text. However, you must remember that people from different cultures understand the meaning of forms differently. In different cultures, the same form may be understood in very different ways. Therefore it is not possible to protect the meaning from change by keeping the original forms. The only way to protect the meaning is to change the original form to a new form that communicates the same meaning in the new culture as the old form did in the old culture.

Different languages use different orders of words and phrases

If you keep the word order of the source text in your translation, it will be very difficult for the people who speak your language to understand it. Sometimes it will be impossible to understand. You must use the natural word order of the target language so that people can understand the meaning of the text.

Different languages use different idioms and expressions

Each language has its own idioms and other expressions, such as words that represent sounds or emotions. In order to express the meaning of these things, you must choose an idiom or expression that has that same meaning in the target language, rather than simply translating each word. If you just translate each word, the idiom or expression will have the wrong meaning.

Some terms do not have equivalents in other cultures

The Bible contains many terms for things that no longer exist, such as ancient weights (stadia, cubit), money (denarius, stater) and measures (hin, ephah). Animals in Scripture may not exist in some parts of the world (fox, camel). Other words may be unknown in some cultures (snow, circumcision). It is not possible to simply substitute equivalent words for these terms in those situations. The translator must find another way to communicate the original meaning.

The Bible was intended to be understood

The Scriptures themselves show that they were meant to be understood. The Bible is written in three languages because the language that God’s people used was different in different times. When the Jews returned from exile and no longer remembered Hebrew, the priests translated the Old Testament readings into Aramaic so they could understand (Neh 8:8). Later, when the New Testament was written, it was written in the common Koiné Greek, which was the language that most people spoke at that time. The New Testament was not written in Hebrew, Aramaic or even classical Greek, which would have been harder for common people to understand.

These and other reasons demonstrate that God wants people to understand his word. So we know that he wants us to translate the meaning of the Bible, not reproduce the form. The meaning of the Scriptures is more important than the form.

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Meaning-Based Translations

Introduction

We have looked closely at literal translations. Now, we will look at meaning-based translations. These translations are also called:

• meaning-equivalent
• idiomatic
• dynamic

Key Characteristic

The key characteristic of meaning-based translations is that they give priority to translating the meaning over reproducing the form of the source text. That is, they change the form of the text as needed in order to make the meaning clear. The most common types of changes that meaning-based translations make are:

• change word order to match the grammar of the target language
• replace foreign grammatical structures with natural ones
• change order of reasons or results to match the normal order of the flow of logic in the target language
• substitute or explain idioms
• explain or translate terms from other languages (“Golgotha” = “place of the skull”)
• use phrases with simpler words instead of trying to find single word equivalents for difficult or uncommon words in the source text
• replace terms that are unknown in the target culture with equivalent terms or descriptions
• replace connecting words that the target language does not use with connecting words that the target language needs
• substitute target language figures of speech that have the same meaning as the original figures of speech
• include implied information that is necessary to understand the meaning of the text
• explain unclear phrases or constructions

Examples of Meaning-Based Translations

What does a meaning-based translation look like? We will look at how different versions translate the same verse.

In Luke 3:8, John the Baptist rebukes the self-righteous people who came to be baptized.

The Greek text of the first half of the verse is shown below.

Ποιήσατε οὖν καρποὺς ἀξίους τῆς μετανοίας

The English translation in the same order as each Greek word, with some alternative English words to choose from, is below.

Do/make/produce therefore fruits fit/appropriate of the repentance

Literal

A literal translation would usually follow the words and order of the Greek text as closely as possible, such as the following.

Produce fruits that are worthy of repentance (Luke 3:8 ULT)

Note that this modified-literal translation retains the words “fruits” and “repentance”. The word order is also very similar to the Greek text. This is because the ULT is designed to show translators what is in the original text. But it may not be the natural or clear way to communicate this meaning in your language.

Meaning-Based

Meaning-based translations, on the other hand, are more likely to change the words and order if the translators think it will help to clarify the meaning. Consider these three meaning-based translations.

From the Living Bible:

…prove that you have turned from sin by doing worthy deeds.

From the New Living Translation:

Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.

From the unfoldingWord® Simplified Text:

Do the things that show that you have truly turned away from your sinful behavior!

Notice that these translations have changed the word order to be more natural in English. Also, the word “fruits” no longer appears. In fact, the Living Bible translation uses almost none of the words in the ULT translation. Instead, rather than “fruits”, the meaning-based translations refer to “deeds” or to “the way you live”. “Fruits” in this verse is used as part of a metaphor. The meaning of “fruits” in this metaphor is “the things that a person does.” (See Metaphor.)

So in these versions, the translators translated the meaning in context, rather than just the words. They also used more understandable phrases such as “turned from sin” or “turned away from your sinful behavior” rather than the single difficult word “repentance,” or they explained the word by saying, “repented of your sins and turned to God.” The meaning in all of them is the same, but the form is very different. In the meaning-based translations, the meaning is much clearer.

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Translate for Meaning

The Importance of Meaning

The people who wrote the Bible had messages from God that God wanted people to understand. These original writers used the language that their people spoke so that they and their people could understand God’s messages. God wants people today to understand those same messages. But people today do not speak those languages that the Bible was written in long ago. So God has given us the task of translating the Bible into the languages that people speak today.

The particular language that people use to communicate God’s messages is not important. The specific words that are used are not important. What is important is the meaning that those words communicate. The meaning is the message, not the words or the language. What we must translate, then, is not the words or the forms of the sentences of the source languages, but the meaning.

Look at the pairs of sentences below.

• It rained all night. / Rain fell all night.

• John was very surprised when he heard the news. / The news very much amazed John when he heard it.

• It was a hot day. / The day was hot.

• Peter’s house / The house that belongs to Peter

You can see that the meaning of each pair of sentences is the same, even though they use different words. This is the way it is in a good translation. We will use different words than the source text, but we will keep the meaning the same. We will use words that our people understand and use them in a way that is natural for our language. Communicating the same meaning as the source text in a clear and natural way is the goal of translation.

Credits: Example sentences from Barnwell, pp. 19-20, (c) SIL International 1986, used by permission.

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Before Translating

Choosing a Translation Team

Importance of a Translation Team

Translating the Bible is a very large and difficult task that may take many people to accomplish. This module will discuss the skills that will be needed by members of the Bible translation team, and the responsibilities that these people will have. Some people will have many skills and responsibilities, and other people will have only a few. But it is important that every Bible translation team includes enough people to make sure that all of these skills are represented on the team.

Church Leaders

Before starting a translation project, as many church networks as possible should be contacted and encouraged to become a part of the translation and even to send some of their people to be a part of the translation team. They should be consulted and asked for their input into the translation project, its goals, and its process.

In most successful projects, a strategic leader (or team of leaders) with a desire to serve and equip the church that speaks the language is a catalyzing and motivating force to unite the churches, inaugurate the project, and move the project forward. These leaders are often the drivers that form the translation committee and help to oversee from the beginning the efforts of the larger translation effort and its integration into the formation and growth of the church in the people group.

Translation Committee

It is good if the leaders of these churches and church networks can form a committee to guide the work, choose the translators, resolve problems that arise, and encourage the churches to pray for the work and to support the work financially.

This committee can also choose the pastors and other leaders who will check the translation at the Accuracy and Validation stages.

When it comes time, this committee can also make decisions about the format of the translation and how it will be distributed. They can also encourage the churches to use the translated Scriptures.

This committee should also plan for the maintenance of the translation after it has been translated and distributed. They may want to appoint someone to review the comments and suggestions for improvement that will come from the churches that use the translation. Door43 provides a place for people to access the translation and also to leave these kinds of comments.

Translators

These are the people who will do the work of making the translation drafts. They will be appointed by the Translation Committee. They need to be people who are native speakers of the target language, who can read the source language (the Gateway Language) very well, and who are respected in the community for their Christian character. For more details about these things, see Translator Qualifications.

As well as making the first drafts, these people will form the core of the translation team that will check each other’s work, check the translation with the language community, and perform the Translation Words and Translation Notes checks. After each review or checking session, these translators will be responsible to make the changes to the translation that are necessary so that it communicates what it should in the best way. So they will revise the translation many, many times.

Typists

If the translators themselves are not typing the translation draft into a computer or tablet, then someone else on the team needs to do this. This needs to be someone who can type without making a lot of errors. This person also needs to know how to use punctuation marks correctly and consistently. This person may also need to type the revisions and corrections to the translation after each round of checking.

Translation Testers

Some people need to test the translation with members of the language community to make sure that the translation is clear and sounds natural in the target language. Usually these are the translators, but they could be other people. These testers need to read the translation to people and then ask them questions to see how they are understanding it. For a description of this task, see Other Methods.

Accuracy Checkers

The people who are selected to check the translation for accuracy should be people who already know the Bible well in the source language. They should be able to read well in the source language. They will be comparing the translation to the source Bible, to make sure that the translation communicates everything that is in the source Bible. They should be people who are interested in the translation work and who have time to do a good job of checking. It is good if these people can include members of the different church groups who speak the target language and who will use the translation.

Validation Checkers

Those who do Validation Checking should be leaders of groups of churches, or respected very widely in the language area. It is important that these people approve of the translation so that it will be accepted and used in the churches. Since many of these people are very busy, they may choose to appoint others whom they trust to check the translation for them. Also, it may work best to send different books or chapters to different people, and not burden one or two people with checking the whole translation.

Tech Support

These people must have experience (or aptitude) with technology and computers for all things pertaining to file management, as well as training and use of software and hardware.

Project Management

These people must have skills in organization, planning, and management of the translation team’s time, effort and workload.

Process Management

These people have skills in teaching, leading, and coaching in workshops, as well as ongoing assessment and improvement of team methodology and application of translation principles.

Mapping Skills to Roles

The combined skills that are needed in a Church-Centric Bible Translation team can be configured into a team of many different roles. The best composition of any given team cannot be prescribed in advance. It might even change over time, but the team must account for all the essential skills. We accomplish this as follows:

1. We work with the leaders of the church networks to ensure that they understand the skills and functions needed on their translation team, as described in unfoldingWord® Translation Academy.

2. We help them to identify an initial team composition, based on the skills and contextual reality of their team (e.g., size of the team, theological ability, translation experience, language skill, geographic distribution, relationship dynamics, etc.). Their team may be small, with several skills being accomplished by the same person. Or the team may be large (in some cases as many as 25 full-time translators and hundreds of volunteers), with many people providing the same skill in an overlapping and intentionally redundant manner. Regardless of the structure and size of the team that is needed in a given context, the combined roles on any team must provide the combination of skills needed to achieve excellence in Bible translation.

3. The team begins working together on an initial translation project (we recommend Open Bible Stories) and observes the effectiveness of their team’s configuration. As needed, adjustments to the team structure are made to improve efficiency and training is provided to increase skill and effectiveness.

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Translator Qualifications

Qualifications of the Translator or Translation Team

The leaders of the church networks that will be involved in the translation should consider the following questions when choosing the people who will be members of the translation team. These questions will help the church and community leaders know if the people that they choose will be able to successfully translate the Bible or the Open Bible Stories.

1. Is the person known to be a very good speaker of the target language? It is important that the person speak the target language very well.

   • Can this person read and write the target language well?
   • Has the person been living in the language community for much of his or her life? Someone who has lived away from the language area for a very long period of time might have difficulty making a natural translation.
   • Do people respect the way this person speaks their own language?
   • What is the age and local language background of each translator? It is usually good to have people from different places in the language area and of different ages, because people of different places and ages might use the language differently. These people then need to agree on a way to say things that sound good to all of them.

2. Does the person have a very good understanding of the source language?

   • What level of education have they received, and how have they obtained skills in the source language?
   • Does the Christian community recognize that this person has adequate skills to speak the source language and an education sufficient to use the Notes or other exegetical helps provided?
   • Can the person read and write the source language with fluency and understanding?

3. Is the person respected in the community as a follower of Christ? The person must be humble and willing to listen to suggestions or corrections from others concerning his or her translation work. The person must be always willing to learn from others.

   • How long have they been a Christian, and are they in good standing with their Christian community?
   • How has this person shown himself to be committed to Christ as a disciple? Bible translation is difficult, involves many revisions, and requires dedication to the task.

After the translators have been working for awhile, the translation committee will need to make sure that they are working well. They may ask: Has the translator been willing to work with others in testing and checking their translation? Does their work meet the expectations of their fellow translators and local church leaders?

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Choosing a Translation Style

Choose the Translation Style

Before beginning a translation of the Bible, the translation committee needs to discuss and agree on the style that they want the translation to have. The following topics should be included in the discussion.

1. Form – Should the translation follow the form of the source language so that people who are used to hearing and reading the Bible in the source language will feel more comfortable with it, or should the translation follow the form of the target language, and be easier to understand? We recommend that, in most cases, it is better if the translation follows the form of the target language so that people can understand it better. This means that it will be harder to compare with the source language Bible because it will put things in a different order and use different kinds of expressions that are clear and natural in the target language. But when a Bible is clear and natural, many people will want to read it and hear it, not just the people who have been part of the church for many years.

2. Format - Is this a written translation to be read from a book, or a translation to be recorded and listened to? If it is a written translation to be used in church, the people may prefer a more formal style. If it is for a recording, the people may prefer a style that is more like people talking informally.

3. Borrowing – Should the translation borrow many words from the source language, or should the translators find ways to express these things using target language words? People who have been part of the church for many years may be used to hearing many biblical concepts expressed with source language words. If these words are widely understood outside of the church, then it may be fine to use them in the translation. But if people outside of the church do not understand these words, it would be better to find ways to express these things using target language words.

4. Old Words - Should the translation use words that only the old people know, or should it use words that everyone knows? Sometimes there is a good target language word for something, but the young people do not use it or know it. The translation committee can decide if they should use this word and teach it to the young people, or use a word borrowed from the source language, or express the same concept using a phrase or description using target language words that everyone knows.

5. Register – If the target language has different registers or levels of the language, which one should the translation use? For example, if people of high status use one form of the target language and people of low status use a different form, which one should the translation use? Or if the target language has different words for “you” or uses different words to address a government official in contrast with someone who is a close family member, which should the translation use to address God? Thinking about the topic of Audience may also help to decide these questions.

6. Audience - The translation committee should discuss who is the audience for this translation. Is it primarily educated people, so they should use a style that uses long sentences and many borrowed words? Is it primarily for young people, or old people, for men or women? Or is it for everyone? In that case, it should use simple language so that everyone can understand it. For more on this topic, see also Aim.

7. Footnotes – Should the translation put explanations of difficult things in footnotes? If so, should it use many footnotes, or only for certain topics or especially difficult things? Will people understand what they are and how they work, or will they be confused by them? Instead of footnotes, would it be better to put short explanations in the text of the Bible translation? Or should the translation not include any extra explanations at all? To help in making this decision, consider how well your people understand biblical culture and such things as shepherds, fishing with nets, sailing boats, kings, ancient warfare with chariots, etc., and how much of this might need to be explained.

8. Pictures - Will pictures be used in the Bible translation? If so, how many? Pictures can be very useful for showing things that are unknown in the target culture, such as certain animals or tools or clothing. Using pictures for these things can reduce the need to explain them in footnotes.

9. Headings – Should the translation use section headings that summarize what each section is talking about? These can be very helpful for finding different topics. If so, what style of headings should be used? See Headings for examples.

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Choosing What to Translate

What Should I Translate First?

At some point, the translation team will have to figure out what they should translate first, or, if they have already done some translation, what they should translate next. There are several factors that need to be considered:

• What does the church want to be translated?
• How experienced is the translation team?
• How much Biblical content has been translated into this language?

The answers to these questions are all important. But remember this:

Translation is a skill that grows with experience.

Because translation is a skill that grows, it is wise to start translating content that is less complicated so that the translators can learn the skill while translating something simple.

Translation Difficulty

Wycliffe Bible Translators have rated the difficulty of translating the different books of the Bible. In their rating system, the most complicated books to translate receive a level 5 difficulty. The easiest books to translate are a level 1.

In general, books that have more abstract, poetic, and theologically loaded terms and ideas are more difficult to translate. Books that are more narrative and concrete are generally easier to translate.

Difficulty Level 5 (Most Difficult to Translate)

• Old Testament
  • Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
• New Testament
  • Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews

Difficulty Level 4

• Old Testament
  • Leviticus, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
• New Testament
  • John, 1-2 Corinthians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Peter, 1 John, Jude

Difficulty Level 3

• Old Testament
  • Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
• New Testament
  • Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, 2-3 John, Revelation

Difficulty Level 2

• Old Testament
  • Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Jonah
• New Testament
  • none

Difficulty Level 1 (Easiest to Translate)

• none

Open Bible Stories

Though Open Bible Stories was not assessed according to this rating system, it should fall under Difficulty Level 1. We recommend that you begin by translating Open Bible Stories. There are many good reasons to start by translating Open Bible Stories:

• Open Bible Stories was designed to be easily translated.
  • Most of it is simple narrative.
  • Many difficult phrases and words have been simplified.
  • It has many pictures to help the translator understand the text.
• Open Bible Stories is much shorter than the Bible or even the New Testament, so it can be quickly completed and distributed to the Church.
• Since it is not Scripture, Open Bible Stories removes the fear that many translators have of translating the Word of God.

• Translating Open Bible Stories before translating the Bible gives the translators experience and training in translation, so that when they translate the Bible, they will do it well. By translating Open Bible Stories, the translation team will gain:

  • Experience in creating a translation and checking team
  • Experience in doing the translation and checking process
  • Experience in using the Door43 translation tools
  • Experience in resolving translation conflicts
  • Experience in getting church and community participation
  • Experience in publishing and distributing content

• Open Bible Stories is a great tool to teach the church, evangelize the lost, and train the translators in what the Bible is all about.

You can work your way through the Stories in whatever order that you want, but we have found that Story number 31 is a good first story to translate since it is short and easy to understand.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the church needs to decide what they want to translate, and in what order. But we highly recommend starting your translation project with Open Bible Stories, for three reasons. First, because translation is a skill that improves with use. Secondly, because the translation and checking teams can learn so much about translating the Bible by translating Open Bible Stories. Thirdly, because of the immense value that the translated Open Bible Stories gives to the local church.

After translating Open Bible Stories, the church will need to decide if it would be more beneficial to start with how everything began (Genesis, Exodus) or with Jesus (New Testament gospels). In either case, we recommend starting Bible translation with some of the Difficulty Level 2 and 3 books (like Genesis, Ruth, and Mark). Finally, after the translation team has a lot of experience, then they can start translating Difficulty Level 4 and 5 books (like John, Hebrews, and Psalms). If the translation team follows this schedule, they will make better translations with far fewer mistakes.

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Choosing a Source Text

Factors to Consider for a Source Text

When choosing a source text, there are a number of factors that must be considered:

• Statement of Faith - Does the text agree with the Statement of Faith?
• Translation Guidelines - Does the text agree with the Translation Guidelines?
• Language - Is the text in a suitable language that translators and checkers understand well?
• Copyrights, Licensing, and Source Texts - Is the text released under a license that gives sufficient legal freedom?
• Source Texts and Version Numbers - Is the text the latest, most updated version?
• The Original and Source Languages - Does the translation team understand the difference between source languages and original languages?
• Original Manuscripts - Does the translation team understand about Original Manuscripts and Textual Variants?

It is important that the leaders of the churches in the language group agree that the source text is a good one. The Open Bible Stories are available in many source languages on http://ufw.io/stories/. There are also translations of the Bible there to be used as sources for translation in English, and soon other languages, as well.

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Copyrights, Licensing, and Source Texts

Why Is It Important?

When choosing a source text from which to do a translation, considering the copyright and licensing issues are important for two reasons. First, if you translate from a copyrighted work without prior permission, you are breaking the law because translation is a right reserved for the owner of the content. In some places, copyright infringement is a criminal offense and may be prosecuted by the government without the copyright holder’s consent! Second, when a translation is done from a copyrighted work, the translation is the intellectual property of the copyright holder of the source text. They maintain all the rights of the translation just as they do with the source text. For these and other reasons, unfoldingWord will only distribute translations that are not in violation of copyright law.

What License Do We Use?

Content created by unfoldingWord® is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). We believe this license is the greatest help to the church because it is permissive enough to allow translation and other derivatives to be made from it, but not so permissive that those derivatives can be locked up under restrictive licenses. For a complete discussion on this issue, read The Christian Commons (see https://www.unfoldingword.org/tcc/) or Letting Go (see https://www.unfoldingword.org/letting-go).

What Source Texts Can Be Used?

Source texts can be used if they are in the public domain or are available under one of the following licenses, which permit translated work to be released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License:

• CC0 Public Domain Dedication (CC0) (see http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
• CC Attribution (CC BY) (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
• CC Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
• Works released under the Free Translate License (see https://www.unfoldingword.org/freetranslate/)

For all other works in question, please contact help@door43.org .

Note:

• All source texts that appear as source texts in translationStudio or translationCore have been reviewed and are legal for use by anyone as a source text.
• Before anything is published by unfoldingWord, the source text must be reviewed and available under one of the licenses listed above.
• Please check your source text before you start translating to avoid being unable to have your translation published.

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Source Texts and Version Numbers

Importance of Version Numbers

Especially in an open project like unfoldingWord, it is important to keep track of published versions. It is important because translations (and source texts) can change frequently. Being able to identify each version helps bring clarity about which text is actually being talked about. Version numbers are also important because all translations should be based off of the latest source text. If the source text changes, the translation should eventually be updated to match the latest version.

Before starting a translation project, please ensure that you have the latest version of the source text.

How Versioning Works

Version numbers are only given when a work is released, not when they are edited. Revision history is kept in Door43, but this is different than a work being given a version number.

Each source text is given a whole number for each release (version 1, 2, 3, etc). Any translations based on that source text will take the version number of the source text and add .1 (thus, a translation from English OBS version 4 would become version 4.1). Any further translation based on the intermediate translation would add another .1 to the version number it was created from (for example 4.1.1). New releases of any of these texts increment their “decimal place” by 1.

Please see http://ufw.io/versioning for more details.

Where to Find the Latest Version

The latest published versions of resources in the Door43 Catalog may be seen online at https://door43.org/en/?user=Door43-Catalog. The unfoldingWord® English source content is also available in various formats from http://www.unfoldingword.org/content/. Note: translationCore, translationStudio and the unfoldingWord® app do not always have the latest versions since updating content does not happen automatically (you may use the source content update feature in each of these apps to get the latest versions).

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Decisions for Writing Your Language

Important Questions to Answer About Writing

When a language is first written, the translator must decide how to indicate certain features of all written languages.

These questions will give the wider community an understanding of some of the preliminary decisions made by the translator for writing the local language in the areas of punctuation, spelling, and the writing of names in the Bible. The translation team and the community should agree on how to do this.

• Does your language have a way of indicating direct or quoted speech? How do you show it?
• What guidelines have you followed for indicating verse numbering, quoted speech and Old Testament quotations? (Are you following the style of the national language? What variations have you decided to use to suit your language?)
• What guidelines have you followed in writing names in the Bible? Do you use the names written in the national language Bible? Do you have guidelines from your own language as to how names are pronounced and if they need added titles? Has this decision been acceptable to the community?
• Have you taken note of any spelling rules for your language that you would like to share with others, such as where a word changes its form or two words combine? Are these rules acceptable to the community?

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Alphabet/Orthography

Creating an Alphabet

If your language has not been written down before, then you will need to create an alphabet so that you can write it. There are many things to think about when creating an alphabet, and creating a good one can be very difficult. If this seems to be too difficult, you could do an audio translation instead of a written one.

The goal of a good alphabet is to have one letter to represent each different sound of your language.

If a neighboring language already has an alphabet, and if that language has similar sounds to your language, it might work well to simply borrow their alphabet. If not, then the next best thing is to borrow the alphabet from the national language that you learned in school. However, it is likely that your language has sounds that the national language does not have, so it will be difficult to use this alphabet to represent all of the sounds of your language. In that case, it is good to think about each sound in your language. Write out the national language alphabet on a piece of paper from top to bottom. Then write a word from your language next to each letter that either starts with that sound or has that sound in it. Underline the letter that makes that sound in each of the words.

There may be letters in the national alphabet that your language does not use. That is fine. Now think about the sounds from these words that you had a hard time writing, or sounds that you could not find a letter for. If the sound is similar to a sound that you did find a letter for, then maybe you can modify that letter to represent the other sound. For example, if you have a sound represented by “s”, and a similar sound that there was no letter for, you could add a mark to the letter for the similar sound, such as putting ‘ or ^ or ~ on top of it. If you find that there is a group of sounds that seem to all have the same kind of difference from the national language sounds, then it is good to modify that group of letters in the same way.

Once you have finished this exercise and cannot think of any more sounds in your language, try writing a story or write down something that happened recently. As you write, you will probably discover sounds that you had not thought of earlier. Continue to modify letters so that you can write these sounds. Add these sounds to the list you made earlier.

Take your list of sounds to other speakers of your language who also read the national language and see what they think about it. Maybe they can suggest a different way to modify some letters that is simpler or easier to read. Also show these other people the story you wrote and teach them to read it by referring to your list of words and letter-sounds. If they can learn to read it easily, then your alphabet is good. If it is difficult, then there might be parts of the alphabet that still need work to make it simpler, or there may be different sounds that are being represented by the same letter, or there may be some sounds that you still need to find letters for.

It is good to continue to work on this alphabet together with other speakers of your language who are good readers in the national language. You can discuss the different sounds and decide together on the best way to represent them.

If the national language uses a writing system other than the Roman alphabet, then think about the different marks that you could use to modify the symbols so that they can represent the sounds of your language. It is best if you can mark the symbols in ways that can be reproduced on a computer. You can experiment with the writing systems in a word processor. If you need help creating a keyboard, send an email request to help@door43.org . When you use symbols that can be typed on a computer keyboard, then your translation can be stored, copied, and distributed electronically. Then people can get it for no cost and read it on tablets or cell phones.

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Alphabet Development

Definitions

These are definitions of words that we use to talk about how people make the sounds that form into words, and also definitions of words that refer to the parts of words.

Consonant

These are the sounds that people make when the air flow from their lungs is interrupted or limited by the position of the tongue, teeth or lips. The majority of letters in the alphabet are consonant letters. Most consonant letters have only one sound. 

Vowel

These sounds are made by the mouth when the breath flows out through the mouth without being blocked by the teeth, tongue, or lips. (In English, vowels are a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y.)

Syllable (syl-ab-al)

A part of a word that has only one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants. Some words have only one syllable.

Affix

Something that is added to a word that changes its meaning. This could be at the beginning, or the end, or in the body of a word.

Root

The most basic part of a word. The root is what is left when all the affixes are removed.

Morpheme

A word or a part of a word that has a meaning and that contains no smaller part that has a meaning. (For example, “syllable” has 3 syllables, but only 1 morpheme, while “syllables” has 3 syllables and two morphemes (syl-lab-les). (The final “s” is a morpheme that means “plural.”)

How Syllables Make Words

Every language has sounds which combine to form syllables. An affix of a word or the root of a word may have a single syllable, or it may have a number of syllables. Sounds combine to make syllables which also join together to make morphemes. Morphemes work together to make meaningful words. It is important to understand the way syllables are formed in your language and how those syllables influence one another so that spelling rules can be written and people can more easily learn to read your language.

Vowel sounds are the basic part of syllables. English has only five vowel symbols, “a, e, i, o, u”. But English has up to 11 vowel sounds that are written with vowel combinations and many other ways. The sounds of individual English vowels can be found in words such as, “beat, bit, bait, bet, bat, but, body, bought, boat, book, boot.”

The Vowels of English

Position in the Mouth	Front	Mid	Back
ROUNDING	(unrounded)	(unrounded)	(rounded)
Tongue High	I “beat”		U “boot”
Tongue Mid-High	I “bit”		U “book”
Tongue Middle	E “bait”	U “but”	O “boat”
Tongue Mid-Low		E “bet”	O “bought”
Tongue Low	A “bat”		A “body”

(Each of these vowels has its own symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet.)

The vowel sounds form the middle of each syllable, and the consonant sounds come before and after the vowels.

Articulation is the description of how air comes through the mouth or nose to produce the sounds that we can recognize as speech.

Points of articulation are those places along the throat or mouth where air is constricted or its flow is stopped. Common points of articulation include the lips, the teeth, the dental (alveolar) ridge, the palate (hard roof of the mouth), the velum (soft roof of the mouth), uvula, and the vocal cords (or glottis).

Articulators are the moving parts of the mouth, particularly the parts of the tongue that slow the flow of air. The parts of the tongue that can do this include the tongue root, the back, the blade, and the tip. The lips can also slow the air flow through the mouth without the use of the tongue. Sounds made with the lips include consonants such as “b,” “v,” and “m.”

The manner of articulation describes how the airflow is slowed. It can come to a complete stop (as with “p” or “b”, which are called stop consonants or stops), have heavy friction (like “f” or “v,” called fricatives), or be only slightly restricted (like “w” or “y,” called semi-vowels, because they are almost as free as vowels.)

Voicing shows whether or not the vocal chords are vibrating when the air passes through them. Most vowels, such as “a, e, i, u, o” are voiced sounds. Consonants can be voiced (+v), like “b,d,g,v,” or voiceless (-v) such as “p,t,k,f.” These are made at the same point of articulation and with the same articulators as the voiced consonants first mentioned. The only difference between “b,d,g,v” and “p,t,k,f” is voicing (+v and –v).

The Consonants of English

Points of Articulation	Lips	Teeth	Ridge	Palate	Velum	Uvula	Glottis
VOICING	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v
ARTICULATOR (manner)
Lips (stop)	"p" / "b"
Lip (fricative)		"f" / "v"
Tongue Tip (stop)			"t" / "d"
Tongue Tip (liquid)			– / "l"	– / "r"
Tongue Blade (fricative)			"s" / "z"	"sh" / "zh"
Tongue Back (stop)					"k" / "g"
Tongue Root (semi-vowel)	– / "w"			– / "y"		"h" / –
Nose (continuant)	– / "m"		– / "n"		"ng"

Naming the sounds can be done by calling their features. The sound of “b” is called a Voiced Bilabial (meaning "two lips") Stop. The sound of “f” is known as a Voicelss Labio-dental (meaning "lip-teeth") Fricative. The sound of “n” is called a Voiced Alveolar (meaning "ridge") Nasal.

Symbolizing the sounds can be done one of two ways. Either you can use the symbol for that sound found in the International Phonetic Alphabet, or you can use well-known symbols from an alphabet known by the reader.

Consonant Chart – a consonant symbol chart is offered here without mentioning the Articulators. As you explore the sounds of your language, listening for voicing and feeling the position of your tongue and lips when you make the sound, you can fill out the charts in this article with symbols to represent those sounds.

Points of Articulation	Lips	Teeth	Ridge	Palate	Velum	Uvula	Glottis
VOICING	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v	-v / +v
MANNER
Stop	"p" / "b"		"t" / "d"		"k" / "g"
Fricative		"f" / "v"	"s" / "z"	"sh" / "zg"
Liquid			– / "l"	– / "r"
Semi-vowel)	– / "w"			– / "y"		"h" / –
Nasals	– / "m"		– / "n"		"ng"

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File Formats

The Technical Nature of Translation

While a large part of translation has to do with language, words, and sentences, it is also true that a major aspect of translation is technical in nature. From creating alphabets, typing, typesetting, formatting, publishing, and distributing, there are many technical aspects to translation. In order to make all this possible, there are some standards that have been adopted.

USFM: Bible Translation Format

For many years, the standard format for Bible translation has been USFM (which stands for Unified Standard Format Markers). We have adopted this standard as well.

USFM is a type of markup language that tells a computer program how to format the text. For instance, each chapter is marked like this ‘‘\c 1’’ or ‘‘\c 33’’. Verse markers might look like ‘‘\v 8’’ or ‘‘\v 14’’. Paragraphs are marked ‘‘\p’’. There are many other markers like this that have specific meaning. So a passage like John 1:1-2 in USFM will look like this:

\c 1
\p
\v 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
\v 2 This one, the Word, was in the beginning with God.

When a computer program that can read USFM sees this, it is able to format all of the chapter markers the same way (for instance, with a larger number) and all the verse numbers the same way (for instance, with a small superscript number).

Bible translations must be in USFM for us to be able to use it!

To read more about USFM notation, please read http://paratext.org/about/usfm .

How To Do a Bible Translation in USFM

Most people do not know how to write in USFM. This is one of the reasons why we created translationStudio (http://ufw.io/ts/). When you do a translation in translationStudio, what you see looks very similar to a normal word processor document without any markup language. However, translationStudio is formatting the Bible translation in USFM underneath what you see. This way, when you upload your translation from translationStudio, what is being uploaded is already formatted in USFM and can be immediately published in a variety of formats.

Converting a Translation to USFM

Though it is strongly encouraged to only do a translation using USFM notation, sometimes a translation is done without using USFM markup. This type of translation still can be used, but first the USFM markers must be added. One way to do this is to copy and paste it into translationStudio, then place the verse markers in the correct place. When this is done, the translation will be able to be exported as USFM. This is a very arduous task, so we strongly recommend doing your Bible translation work from the beginning in translationStudio or some other program that uses USFM.

Markdown for Other Content

Markdown is a very common markup language that is used in many places on the Internet. Using Markdown makes it very easy for the same text to be used in a variety of formats (such as webpage, mobile app, PDF, etc).

Markdown supports bold and italic, written like this:

    Markdown supports **bold** and *italic*.

Markdown also supports headings like this:

        # Heading 1

        ## Heading 2

        ### Heading 3

Markdown also supports links. Links display like this http://www.unfoldingword.org/ and are written like this:

        [http://www.unfoldingword.org](http://www.unfoldingword.org)

Customized wording for links are also supported, like this:

        [uW Website](http://www.unfoldingword.org)

Note that HTML is also valid Markdown. For a complete listing of Markdown syntax, please visit http://ufw.io/md.

Conclusion

The easiest way to get content marked up with USFM or Markdown is by using an editor that is specifically designed to do that. If a word processor or a text editor is used, these markings must be manually entered.

Note: Making text bold, italic, or underlined in a word processor does not make it bold, italic, or underlined in a markup language. This type of formatting must be done by writing the designated symbols.

When contemplating which software to use, please keep in mind that translation is not just about words; there are a lot of technical aspects that need to be taken into consideration. Whatever software is used, just remember that Bible translations need to be put into USFM, and everything else needs to be put into Markdown.

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How to Start Translating

First Draft

How do I start?

Follow these steps in order to get started:

1. Organize. Talk with the pastors and other believers from your language group and form a committee of people who can work together as a translation team.
2. Contact. Make contact with at least one person in the unfoldingWord network, notifying unfoldingWord that you intend to begin translation. To get information about how to do that, see Finding Answers
3. Review. Review the Translation Guidelines.
4. Agree. Agree that the Statement of Faith is an accurate reflection of your own beliefs and that you intend to translate the content in harmony with it and also in accordance with the Translation Guidelines. Do this by signing the form that is provided. (see http://ufw.io/forms/)
5. Pray. Pray that God would help you to understand the passage that you are translating and that he would help you to find the best way to communicate that passage in your language.
6. Read.
   • If you are translating Open Bible Stories, read the entire story before starting to translate it. If you are translating the Bible, read the entire chapter before you start to translate any part of it. This way you will understand how the part you are translating fits into the larger context, and you will translate it better.
   • Read the passage that you plan to translate in as many different translations as you have. In translationStudio, the first mode is the reading mode. Access this mode by clicking on the top symbol on the left side. You can choose up to three translations to show in this mode. We recommend that two of these be the unfoldingWord® Literal Text (ULT) and the unfoldingWord® Simplified Text (UST). The ULT will help you to see the form of the original text, and the UST will help you to understand the meaning of the original text. Think about how to communicate the meaning in the form that people would use in your language.
   • Read any Bible helps or commentaries which you have that talk about that passage.
   • Read the unfoldingWord® Translation Notes for the passage that you plan to translate. To do this, click on the third icon down on the left side of translationStudio. Click on the tab that says, "Notes." Then click on each of the phrases in blue and read the explanation for each phrase.
   • Read the definitions of the unfoldingWord® Translation Words (the important words) in the passage. To do this, click on the tab that says, "Words." Then click on each of the words in blue and read the explanation for each of these important words. Under each explanation there is also a section called "Translation Suggestions." Here you will find ideas for how to translate these words.
7. Talk. Discuss the passage, the unfoldingWord® Translation Notes, and the unfoldingWord® Translation Words with others in the translation team. Help each other to understand what they mean. If there are parts that you still do not understand, ask pastors or other church leaders for help.
8. Translate. When you understand well what the passage is saying, say the first chunk (1-3 verses) out loud in your language in the way that someone from your language community would say it. If possible, say it to another member of the translation team. Let the translation team member correct it until it sounds good in your language. Use the different expressions in the ULT, UST, and Translation Notes to give you ideas for how to say the same things in different ways. Do not follow the order of words from either the ULT or the UST if it is more natural for your language to use a different order. To help with this, say the whole chunk of text without looking at the source texts. This will help you to say these things in a way that is natural for your language, rather than in a way that was natural for the source language but might not be the best way to say it in your language. Still without looking at the source texts, type your translation of the chunk into translationStudio (or record it). To do this, click on the second icon down on the left side. The chunk that you are working on will appear in the ULT, covering the space where you will type the translation. When you are ready to type, click on the right edge of the space that is mostly covered by the ULT of that chunk. The blank space will then cover the ULT. Type your translation of the chunk here in this space from your memory. When you type (or write) from your memory without looking at the ULT, your translation will be more natural. Now repeat this step for the rest of the chunks of this passage.
9. Check. Since you typed or recorded your translation of these chunks without looking at the source texts, you might have left out some things. Now is the time to add those things to your translation. Click on the third icon down on the left side of translationStudio again. In that mode:
   • Look again at the source texts, including the ULT and UST, and carefully compare them to your translation. Make sure that your translation says all of the parts of the message of the ULT and does not leave out anything. You may choose to say some parts in a way that is different than the ULT, such as more like the UST or the Translation Note or another Bible or using an expression that is natural in your language. That is fine, as long as the meaning is the same. If some part of the message is missing, put it in your translation at the point where it fits best in your language. It does not need to be in the same order as the source as long as it sounds natural and gives the same meaning. To do this in translationStudio, click on the pencil icon on the top right above your translation.
   • If you are translating the Bible, compare your translation with other translations of the same Bible passage. If one of those makes you think of a better way to say something, then revise your translation in that way. If one of those helps you to understand something better than you did before, then change your translation so that it communicates the meaning better.
   • After these steps, read your translation out loud to yourself. Fix anything that does not sound like it is the way that someone from your community would say it. Sometimes parts of sentences need to be put in a different order.
   • In translationStudio, exit editing mode by clicking the check mark icon at the top right of your translation. Now it is time to move the verse numbers where they should be in your translation. Drag each number onto the word that will begin that verse. If your translation has reordered the parts of the chunk or combined verses, you can leave some verse numbers together to indicate that what follows includes content from both of those verses.

When you finish the passage or chapter, it is ready for the Oral Partner Check. To translate the next passage or chapter, start again at step 5.

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Help with Translating

Using Translation Helps

To help translators make the best translation possible, unfoldingWord® Translation Notes, unfoldingWord® Translation Words, and unfoldingWord® Translation Questions have been created.

unfoldingWord® Translation Notes are cultural, linguistic, and exegetical notes that help to describe and explain some of the Bible background that the translator needs to know to translate accurately. The unfoldingWord® Translation Notes also inform translators about different ways that they might express the same meaning. See http://ufw.io/tn/.

The unfoldingWord® Translation Words are key terms found in Open Bible Stories and the Bible that are important to translate correctly. Each of these words or phrases has a small article written about it as well as cross-references to other places where that term is used in either Open Bible Stories or the Bible. This is to show the translator other ways that the unfoldingWord® Translation Words is used and to ensure that it has been translated correctly in those places, too. See http://ufw.io/tw/.

The unfoldingWord® Translation Questions are comprehension questions that can be used to self-check your translation. If you can correctly answer the unfoldingWord® Translation Questions using only the Target Language translation, then it is an accurate translation. The unfoldingWord® Translation Questions are also a good tool to use for checking with the target language community. See http://ufw.io/tq/.

Once you have consulted the unfoldingWord® Translation Notes, unfoldingWord® Translation Words and unfoldingWord® Translation Questions, then you are ready to make the best translation.

Please consult the unfoldingWord® Translation Notes and unfoldingWord® Translation Words when doing your translation!

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The Bible Text

The Original and Source Languages

The Text in the Original Language is the most Accurate

Definition - The original language is the language in which a Bible text was first written.

Description - The original language of the New Testament is Greek. The original language of most of the Old Testament is Hebrew. However, Aramaic is the original language of some parts of the books of Daniel and Ezra. The original language is always the most accurate language from which to translate a passage.

The source language is the language from which the translation is being made. If a translator is translating the Bible from the original languages, then the original language and the source language for his translation are the same. However, only people who have spent many years studying the original languages understand them and can use them as a source language. For that reason, most translators use Bibles that have been translated into a language of wider communication as their source language text.

If you are translating from a language of wider communication, it is a good idea to have someone who has studied the original languages compare the meaning in the target language translation with the meaning in the original language to make sure that the meaning is the same. Another way to make sure that the meaning of the target language translation is accurate is to check the translation with translation helps that have been written by people who know the original languages. These would include Bible commentaries and dictionaries, as well as the unfoldingWord® Translation Notes, unfoldingWord® Translation Words definitions, and unfoldingWord® Translation Questions with their answers.

The Text in the Source Language may not be Accurate

If the translator does not understand the original language, he will have to use a language of wider communication as a source language. The meaning in the source may be correct, depending on how carefully it was translated from the original. But it is still a translation, so it is a step away from the original and is not quite the same. In some cases, the source may have actually been translated from another source, rather than from the original, putting it two steps away from the original.

Consider the example below. A translator uses a Swahili New Testament as the source for a new target language translation. However, the particular Swahili Bible version he is using was actually translated from English — not directly from the Greek (the original language of the NT). So it is possible that some of the meaning has changed in the chain of translation from the original to the target languages.

The only way to make sure the translation is as accurate as possible is to compare the new translation with the original languages. Where this is not possible, use the ULT as the source text, along with other Bible translations that were translated from the original languages.

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Original Manuscripts

The Writing of the Original Manuscripts

The Bible was written many hundreds of years ago by God’s prophets and apostles as God directed them to write it. The people of Israel spoke Hebrew, so most of the Old Testament books were written in Hebrew. When they lived as strangers in Assyria and Babylon, they learned to speak Aramaic, so some later parts of the Old Testament were written in Aramaic.

About three hundred years before Christ was born, Greek became the language of wider communication. Many people in Europe and the Middle East spoke Greek as a second language. So the Old Testament was translated into Greek. When Christ was born, many people in those areas of the world still spoke Greek as a second language, and the New Testament books were all written in Greek.

Back then there were no printers, so the authors wrote these books by hand. These were the original manuscripts. The scribes who copied these manuscripts also did so by hand. These were also manuscripts. These books are extremely important, so the scribes got special training and were very careful to try to copy them accurately.

Over hundreds of years, scribes (and other people as well) made thousands of copies of the Bible books. The manuscripts that the authors originally wrote have all been lost or have fallen apart, so we do not have them. But we do have many of the copies that were written by hand long ago. Some of these copies have survived for many hundreds and even thousands of years.

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Structure of the Bible

The Bible is made up of 66 “books.” Although they are called “books,” they vary greatly in length and the shortest ones are only a page or two long. The Bible has two main parts. The first part was written first and is called the Old Testament. The second part was written later and is called the New Testament. The Old Testament has 39 books and the New Testament has 27 books. (Some of the books in the New Testament are letters to people.)

Each book is divided into chapters. Most books have more than one chapter, but Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude each have only one chapter. All the chapters are divided into verses.

When we want to refer to a verse, we first write the name of the book, then the chapter, and then the verse. For example, “John 3:16” means the book of John, chapter 3, verse 16.

When we refer to two or more verses that are next to each other, we put a line between them. “John 3:16-18” means the book of John, chapter 3, verses 16, 17, and 18.

When we refer to verses that are not next to each other, we use commas to separate them. “John 3:2, 6, 9” means the book of John, chapter 3, verses 2, 6, and 9.

After the chapter and verse numbers, we put the abbreviation for the translation of the Bible that we used. In the example below, “ULT” stands for the unfoldingWord® Literal Text.

In unfoldingWord® Translation Academy we use this system to tell where portions of scripture come from. However, this does not mean that the whole verse or set of verses is shown. The text below comes from Judges, chapter 6, verse 28, but it is not the whole verse. The verse has more at the end. In unfoldingWord® Translation Academy, we only show the part of the verse that we want to talk about.

In the morning when the men of the town got up, the altar of Baal was broken down…(Judges 6:28 ULT)

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Chapter and Verse Numbers

Description

When the books of the Bible were first written, there were no breaks for chapters and verses. People added these later, and then others numbered the chapters and verses to make it easier to find particular parts of the Bible. Since more than one person did this, there are different numbering systems used in different translations. If the numbering system in the ULT is different from the numbering system in another Bible that you use, you will probably want to use the system from that Bible.

Reason this is a translation issue

People who speak your language may also use a Bible written in another language. If that Bible and your translation use different chapter and verse numbers, it will be hard for people to know which verse someone is talking about when they say a chapter and verse number.

Examples from the Bible

¹⁴ But I expect to see you soon, and we will speak face to face. ¹⁵ Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name. (3 John 1:14-15 ULT)

Since 3 John has only one chapter, some versions do not mark the chapter number. In the ULT and UST it is marked as chapter 1. Also, some versions do not divide verses 14 and 15 into two verses. Instead they mark it all as verse 14.

A psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

¹ Yahweh, how many are my enemies! (Psalm 3:1 ULT)

Some of the psalms have an explanation at the beginning. In some versions the explanation is not given a verse number, as in the ULT and UST. In other versions the explanation is verse 1, and the actual psalm starts with verse 2.

…and Darius the Mede received the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old. (Daniel 5:31 ULT)

In some versions this is the last verse of Daniel 5. In other versions this is the first verse of Daniel 6.

Translation Strategies

If the people who speak your language have another Bible that they use, number the chapters and verses the way it does. Read the instructions on how to mark verses in translationStudio.

Examples of Translation Strategies Applied

If the people who speak your language have another Bible that they use, number the chapters and verses the way it does.

The example below is from 3 John 1. Some Bibles mark this text as verses 14 and 15, and some mark it all as verse 14. You may mark the verse numbers as your other Bible does.

¹⁴ But I expect to see you soon, and we will speak face to face. ¹⁵* Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.* (3 John 1:14-15 ULT)

¹⁴ But I expect to see you soon, and we will speak face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name. (3 John 14)

Next is an example from Psalm 3. Some Bibles do not mark the explanation at the beginning of the psalm as a verse, and others mark it as verse 1. You may mark the verse numbers as your other Bible does.

A psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
¹ Yahweh, how many are my enemies!
Many have turned away and attacked me.
² Many say about me,
*”There is no help for him from God.” *Selah **

¹ A psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
² Yahweh, how many are my enemies!
Many have turned away and attacked me.
³ Many say about me,
“There is no help for him from God.” Selah

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unfoldingWord® Literal Text (ULT) and unfoldingWord® Simplified Text (UST) Formatting Signals

Description

The unfoldingWord® Literal Text (ULT) and unfoldingWord® Simplified Text (UST) use ellipsis marks, long dashes, parentheses, and indentation to show how information in the text is related to what is around it.

Ellipsis marks

Definition - Ellipsis marks (…) are used to show that either someone did not finish a sentence he started, or that the author did not quote all of what someone said.

In Matthew 9:4-6, the ellipsis mark shows that Jesus did not finish his sentence to the scribes when he turned his attention to the paralyzed man and spoke to him:

Behold, some of the scribes said among themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”Jesus knew their thoughts and said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,…” he said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go to your house.” (ULT)

In Mark 11:31-33, the ellipsis mark shows that either the religious leaders did not finish their sentence, or Mark did not finish writing what they said.

They discussed between themselves and argued and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ …” They feared the people, for they all held that John was a prophet. Then they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (ULT)

Long Dashes

Definition - Long dashes (—) introduce information that is immediately relevant to what came before it. For example:

Then two men will be in a field—one will be taken, and one will be left behind. Two women will be grinding with a mill—one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore be on your guard, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (Matthew 24:40-41 ULT)

Parentheses

Definition - Parentheses “( )” show that some information either is an explanation or is background information that the writer put in that place to help the reader understand the material around it.

In John 6:6, John interrupted the story he was writing to explain that Jesus already knew what he was going to do. This is put in parentheses.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where are we going to buy bread so that these may eat?” ⁶ (*Now Jesus said this to test Philip, for he himself knew what he was going to do.)