Contextual Frames of Reference in Translation: A Coursebook for Bible Translators and Teachers

339 Pages·2008·7.375 MB·English

by  Ernst Wendland

Contextual Frames of Reference
in Translation
A Coursebook for Bible Translators
and Teachers
Ernst Wendland
St. Jerome Publishing
Manchester, UK & Kinderhook (NY)
Published by
St. Jerome Publishing InTrans Publications
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Manchester, M23 9HH, United Kingdom Kinderhook, NY 12106, USA
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ISBN 978-1-905763-02-3 (pbk)
© Ernst Wendland 2008
All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this
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Printed and bound in Great Britain by
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Typeset by
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Email: [email protected]
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wendland, Ernst R.
Contextual frames of reference in translation : a coursebook for Bible translators and
teachers / Ernst Wendland.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-905763-02-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Translating and interpreting. 2. Bible--Versions. 3. Intercultural communication. 4.
Discourse analysis. I. Title.
P306.2.W43 2007
228’.05963918--dc22
2007038538
Dedication
For Katy Barnwell, Jake Loewen (), and Gene Nida – Bible scholars who
impressed upon me the importance of translator training and impressively
modeled their methods in the classroom as teachers.

Contextual Frames of Reference in Translation
A Coursebook for Bible Translators and Teachers
Ernst Wendland
Contextual Frames of Reference in Bible Translation shows both the daunting
complexity of Bible translation and ways to deal with it, to reduce complexity
and make it manageable. By doing so the book is a tremendous help in teach-
ing students of Bible translation to make informed and balanced decisions.
(From the Foreword by Lourens de Vries)
Bible translation theory and practice rightly tend to focus on the actual text of Scripture.
But many diverse, yet interrelated contextual factors also play an important part in the
implementation of a successful translation program. The aim of this coursebook is to
explore, in varying degrees of detail, a wide range of these crucial situational variables
and potential influences, using a multidisciplinary approach to the task. Thus, in order
to expand and enrich the field of vision, a progressive study of this complex process
of intercultural, interlinguistic communication is carried out according to a set of
overlapping sociocultural, organizational and situational cognitive orientations. These
contextual factors provide a broader frame of reference for analyzing, interpreting and
communicating the original Scriptures in a completely new, contemporary setting of
transmission and reception. The three dimensions are then applied in a practical way
to explore the dramatic “throne-room” vision of the Apostle John (Revelation 4-5)
with reference to both the original Greek text and also a modern dynamic translation
in Chewa, a southeastern Bantu language of Africa.
A variety of exercises and assignments to stimulate critical and creative reflection
as well as to illustrate the theoretical development of Contextual Frames of Reference
is provided every step of the way. A valuable feature of this presentation is the num-
ber of other translation consultants, teachers and practitioners who have contributed
to the effort through quotations from their scholarly as well as pedagogical works.
This gives readers a much broader, more diverse perspective – or frame of reference
– with regard to the different text and context-related principles and problems that are
discussed in the coursebook. Not only is translation per se discussed, but the teach-
ing and evaluation of translated texts and versions are also considered from several
points of view in the final three chapters. An Appendix offers a foundational essay
by Professor Lourens de Vries on the subject of primary orality and the influence of
this vital factor in the crosscultural communication of the Bible.
This book has been prepared with advanced courses in Bible translation and transla-
tion studies in mind and as a teaching aid to accompany Bible Translation: Frames of
Reference (Wilt 2003). It could also function effectively as a background or reference
text for teachers and students of university or seminary courses in biblical exegesis
and crosscultural communication.
vi Ernst Wendland
Ernst Wendland is a Translation Consultant for the United Bible Societies, based
in Lusaka, Zambia, where he also teaches at the Lutheran Seminary. He is a Visiting
Professor in the Department of Ancient Studies at the University of Stellenbosch,
South Africa and is also affiliated there with the Centre for Bible Interpretation and
Translation in Africa (CEBITA). His research interests include structural, stylistic and
rhetorical studies in biblical texts and the Bantu languages.
Contents
List of Figures x
List of Tables x
Acknowledgments xi
Foreword xiii
Preface xv
1. Contextual Frames of Reference: The mind’s construction of meaning 1
Analogy of an onion 1
The interaction of frames 6
Prominence, perspective, perceptibility 9
2. The Context of the mind: Cognitive frames of reference 19
Dimensions of world-view: Cultural orientations 19
Cognitive filters 23
Cognitive environment 27
A grid-group perspective 31
3. Why We do Things the Way We do: Sociocultural frames 36
The constraint of “custom” 36
High-context versus low-context communication 37
Mental representations 40
Semantic domains 48
Discerning the fitting frame 51
Gender bias 57
Signs make meaning in context 59
4. The Rights and Responsibilities of Allegiance: Organizational frames 68
What is an organization? 68
Empowering the organization 80
Competing organizations 85
5. Situational Frames: Communicating in different circumstances 92
A sociolinguistic model: S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G 92
Speech-act analysis 95
Addressing the audience 101
The underlying “text” of a situational context 106
6. Textual Frames of Reference: The pervasive influence of intertext 110
Intertextuality and genre markers 110
Examples of intertextual influence 112
The intertextual pressure of a prior translation 116
Primary versus secondary (and tertiary) translations 120
viii Ernst Wendland
Which “text”? The need for textual criticism 124
Textual support of the canon 128
7. Intratextuality: A Text’s internal frame of reference 131
Literary hermeneutical clues 132
Genre specification 135
Compositional disjunction 143
Patterned recursion 148
Artistic-rhetorical accentuation 156
Phonic enhancement 160
Formatting the textual form 168
8. Framing John’s vision of the heavenly Throne Room (Rev. 4) 173
The general cognitive environment of Revelation 4 174
The ANE milieu of Revelation: Its sociocultural and organizational
frames 174
The situational setting of John: Apostle, pastor, prophet 179
The conceptual context presupposed by the throne room vision 180
The formal representation of Rev. 4: Textual frames 182
Co-text: Demarcating the pericope beginning at 4:1 185
A literary analysis of the text 186
Categorization: What is the genre of Revelation? 187
Articulation: How was the original text proclaimed? 192
Disjunction: How is the discourse demarcated into segments? 194
Recursion: What syntagmatic and paradigmatic patterns appear? 196
Accentuation: How is the text artistically and
rhetorically heightened? 198
Varied intertextual notes and chords resound in Revelation 4 (5) 202
9. Sharpening John’s vision for Contemporary Chewa Text Auditors 207
The current communication setting of the text 207
Textual techniques: Contextualizing the translation from within 212
A comparison of versions, old and new (Rev. 4:6b-11) 212
A literary rendition for oratorical equivalence 216
Paratextual and extratextual tools for enriching one’s frame of reference 222
10. Evaluating the Overall quality of Communication via Translation 226
Applying a multiple framework for qualitative assessment 226
Assessing a specific conceptual context of text reception 234
Problems with “the powers”: A case-study of recontextualization 240
An idiomatic translation of the biblical text 241
The provision of a situation-specific conceptual context 242
The need for a relevant contextualization 244
Contents ix
11. Framing the Text of Revelation 5 for Its Analysis and Translation 259
Identifying the cotext and context of Rev. 5 259
Analyzing the source language text 261
Providing an appropriate and relevant paratext 265
Specifying, composing, and assessing the translation 268
12. Creating a Contextualized Framework for Teaching and Learning 272
Towards a more setting-sensitive pedagogy 272
Interactive 273
Inductive 273
Indigenized 274
Communal 274
Developmental 275
Comparative 276
Applied 276
The power of dialogue-based, student-centered education 279
A process model for translator training 286
Expanding the teaching-learning context through networking 291
Appendix: Bible Translation and Primary Orality 297
Introduction 297
Primary orality according to Ong 297
Primary orality in transcribed texts from New Guinea 300
Oral genres and Bible translation 303
Conclusion 308
References 311
Index 317
x Ernst Wendland
List of Figures
Figure 1: Onion layers
Figure 2: A “nested” Russian doll set
Figure 3: Mighty Fortress Retirement Community
Figure 4: Cline of referential generality
Figure 5: Prioritizing contextual frames during communication
Figure 6: Four cultural orientations according to grid/group theory
Figure 7: Four general cultural orientations in Christianity
Figure 8: Four cultural perspectives on “faith”
Figure 9: High versus low context communication
Figure 10: Representative high- versus low context cultures
Figure 11: SDBH entry for Hebrew ’ab ‘father’
Figure 12: Where are Ruth and Boaz?
Figure 13: The performance management cycle
Figure 14: Philip and the Ethiopian
Figure 15: Layered communication setting of Revelation
Figure 16: Variables that affect the ACCEPTABILITY of a translation
Figure 17: Lampstand
Figure 18: A scroll with seven seals
Figure 19: The Lamb of Rev. 5
List of Tables
Table 1: Idioms related to “a cross to bear”
Table 2: Framing a funeral oration
Table 3: Ancient versus modern Western personalities compared
Table 4: Aspects of organizational frames in Bible translation
Table 5: Comparison of roles – “coach” and “consultant”
Table 6: Cognitive contextual possibilities
Table 7: Grid of text-types and translation priorities