Processes for Accuracy and Accountability in Bible Translation of Divine Familial Terms

Transcription

1 Processes for Accuracy and Accountability in Bible Translation of Divine Familial Terms Preamble These processes reflect SIL's commitment to serving language communi8es worldwide and contribu8ng to effec8ve Scripture access and language development. SIL s core value of service to all commits us to providing services to all language communi8es effec8vely and without discrimina8on. The Wycliffe Global Alliance affirms these processes and supports SIL in the development and implementa8on of these processes. 1 Key Principles SIL Interna8onal will comply with the recommenda8ons in the Report on Divine Familial Terms from the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Global Review Panel. This is reflected in the SIL Standards for TranslaCon of Divine Familial Terms. SIL is commifed to internal and external accountability. The system established by SIL, with involvement of key Wycliffe organiza8ons, for ensuring compliance will involve external review of the overall policies and procedures for compliance by an independent Divine Familial Terms Oversight Group. The implementa8on of these policies and procedures in specific projects will also include external review. Processes Internal accountability to organiza8onal leadership is provided by the following: Project Brief Projects with SIL involvement will have a Project Brief appropriate to the context. The Project Brief is a tool to help develop good project design on the basis of strategic thinking, as well as monitor compliance with SIL Standards for Transla8on of Divine Familial Terms. The Project Brief will describe SIL's involvement in the project, roles and responsibili8es of various stakeholders, and the scope and nature of materials which SIL will be involved in producing. The Project Brief will define parameters by which ques8ons related to the transla8on of Divine Familial Terms will be assessed. The topics addressed in the Brief are: 1 Several of the Wycliffe Organiza8ons which have been most involved in the divine familial terms discussion (Wycliffe UK, Canada, U.S. and the Netherlands) have also been represented and/or involved in the development of these processes and are also commifed to ensuring that all projects in Muslim contexts for which they provide human or financial resources also follow these processes.

2 1. Communica8ons Protocols 2. Partners and Stakeholders 3. Scope of the Project 4. Ra8onale for Transla8on 5. Style of transla8on 6. Primary and Secondary Audiences 7. Use of Scripture- based Products 8. Process for Transla8on Tes8ng 9. Pre- publica8on Review The distribu8on and public availability of Project Briefs will be determined by communica8on protocols that balance the commitment to accountability and transparency with the security risks which exist in many parts of the world. Principles and processes for translators and consultants Translation Standards Transla8on of Father and Son of God will be done in compliance with the SIL Standards for Transla8on of Divine Familial Terms. o Implementa8on of the SIL Standards for Transla8on of Divine Familial Terms will be directed by the following principles and processes: General Principles Meaning in Transla8on Principles of Concordance Key term selec8on and tes8ng Decision Process 1. When the words for father and son refer to God the Father and to the Son of God these words always need to be translated with the most directly equivalent familial words within the given linguis8c and cultural context of the recipients. In the case of languages that have mul8ple words for father and son, translators should choose the most suitable words in light of the seman8cs of the target language. 2. If a language has several widely used words for expressing father or son, terms should be chosen that do not obscure the uniqueness of Jesus as God's only son and that communicate the ideas of 'son by nature, i.e. that son is derived from his father, has a shared iden8ty with his father, is in in8mate rela8onship with his father, and has unique status in rela8on to his father. If serious misunderstanding occurs (e.g., in a language/culture where the word father conveys little more than begetter ), maintain the term that means son by nature, but use modifiers and/or paratextual means in order to avoid wrong meaning. The discovery that use of the most direct equivalent familial term causes misunderstanding will be validated through testing and documented for review. If serious misunderstanding con8nues, as a last resort choose one of the other terms available for son or father, but add a modifier in order to

3 express the uniqueness of the rela8onship between God the Father and the Son of God compared to the rela8onship between God the Father and the believers as adopted sons / children of God. 3. Some8mes misunderstandings can be avoided by transla8ng the expression Son of God as Son from God or Son who comes from God.' 4. Normally it is expected that familial terms like son and father are made explicit in the transla8on. In certain excep8onal cases, however, an expression like God s one and only [One] can be used as a legi8mate rendering of the expression Son of God, but this will only apply if the following three condi8ons have been met: a) None of the procedures men8oned in #2 yield renderings that are free from serious misunderstanding. b) The expression God s one and only [One] as it is used and understood in the receptor language refers consistently and unambiguously to God s one and only Son and to nothing else (like God s one and only prophet ) c) The meaning of the term has been carefully checked with a wide range of speakers of the target language and does not introduce any other problems related to understanding and/or acceptability among the primary target audience. 5. The phrase for Son of God has varied nuances in its different New Testament contexts, especially in light of the Old Testament background to those contexts. In the case of most languages, the biblical context should enable the reader to discern the nuances of the phrase for Son of God, and translators need not make any adjustments to the translated text, although they may want to indicate nuances of meaning in paratextual material. But, when and if necessary, translators should convey nuances of meaning from the Biblical context in the transla8on through the addi8on of qualifying words and/or phrases (explanatory adjec8ves, rela8ve causes, or preposi8onal phrases). For example, the phrase for Son of God in a context of Messianic kingship might be rendered with the equivalent of anointed Son of God or royal Son of God. Genre Translators should try to avoid overloading the transla8on by afemp8ng to address too many possible meanings and misunderstandings. In order to convey the richness of nuances of meaning and to avoid misunderstandings, they should consider addi8onal / complementary ways of communica8ng the message of Jesus to Muslim audiences. These can include such literary genres as tafsir (commentary), qusas al- anbiya (stories of the prophets), and sirah (life stories). But these should not be considered or presented as biblical transla8ons unless they abide by the first three recommenda8ons of the WEA- facilitated Panel. Addi1onal Strategies The use of Modifiers Effec8ve use of Paratextual informa8on These principles and processes will be further developed in the Technical Requirements for SelecCon and TesCng of Divine Familial Terms.

4 The Technical Requirements for SelecCon and TesCng of Divine Familial Terms will be reviewed by the Divine Familial Terms Oversight Group to verify their consistency with the SIL Standards for Transla8on of Divine Familial Terms. Transla8on teams, consultants, and everyone else involved should be sensi8ve to the poten8al impact and implica8ons of the renderings of Divine Familial terms both among the target audience and among others who will be overhearing the transla8ons. Consultant reporting system Consultants will report on: project progress, key term decisions, and adequacy of tes8ng observed compliance or non- compliance with the Panel s recommenda8ons learning in specific contexts in order to benefit other projects As specified in the Project Brief, a second transla8on consultant will do a pre- publica8on review of transla8ons that have possible issues related to Divine Familial Terms. SIL Area Transla8on Coordinators and their staff will compile summaries of the results of these processes and report to the SIL Area Director and SIL Global Transla8on Coordinator. Training Addi8onal training will be required for transla8on consultants and language programs staff to ensure effec8ve implementa8on of the above principles and processes.. External Review Overall Processes External review and final collabora8ve approval of the Processes for Accuracy and Accountability in Bible TranslaCon of Divine Familial Terms will be provided by the Divine Familial Terms Oversight Group. The purpose, scope, and composi8on of the Divine Familial Terms Oversight Group are defined in the Terms of Reference of the Divine Familial Terms Oversight Group. Project-level implementation Where the transla8on of Divine Familial Terms proves difficult or is judged as controversial by stakeholders, a Divine Familial Terms Project Assessment Group will be implemented according to the process described in the document en8tled Divine Familial Terms Project Assessment Groups. SIL and Wycliffe Participation in Projects SIL s statement of purpose is to serve language communi8es worldwide, building their capacity for sustainable language development, by means of research, transla8on, training and materials development. SIL technical materials and training are made freely available to all; however, the fact that someone has made use of these does not imply endorsement of their project or products. If either internal or external review demonstrates that a project is not in compliance with SIL standards and the other stakeholders in the project wish to con8nue with their current

5 approach, SIL and Wycliffe organiza8ons who are key stakeholders will withdraw from involvement by procedures agreed upon with the other stakeholders. SIL and Wycliffe organiza8ons who are key stakeholders will not provide funding for transla8on projects that are not in compliance with SIL standards. Withdrawal of funding will be done according to proper legal and financial obliga8ons in the project context. SIL will evaluate the need for and possibility of con8nuing to serve the language community in non- transla8on areas of SIL exper8se such as literacy, educa8on and development. SIL and Wycliffe par8cipa8on in projects will be reviewed annually by the Divine Familial Terms Oversight Group. An annual monitoring report of SIL and Wycliffe implementa8on of the Processes for Accountability and Accuracy in Bible TranslaCon of Divine Familial Terms will be published.