The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:
“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.
“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”
In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the men Peter addresses).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 27:10:
Uma: “‘Relatives, if we (incl.) continue-on our journey, we (incl.) will have much loss. Not just the ship and our (incl.) cargo will be lost, but maybe some of us (incl.) will die.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “‘Friends, I observe/perceive that our (incl.) trip/sailing from here will be dangerous. Perhaps the ship and the cargo will be lost and including lives.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘Surely something is going to happen to us if we continue. This ship will be destroyed, and it’s cargo, and also some will die.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘Companions, if we persist in continuing, I know that much of our cargo will be destroyed and even this ship, and there will also be those who die.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “‘Respectfully begging your pardon, it’s like I observe that this voyage of ours(incl.) is now dangerous. Probably, there will be big loss/damage if we continue on still. Not only this ship and cargoes but also our (incl.) bodies too.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
In many languages the equivalent of dangerous is simply “bad,” “will cause great trouble,” or even “will almost destroy us.”
Damage to the cargo may simply be rendered as “the cargo will be wrecked” or “what is in the ship will be lost.”
Loss of life is literally “loss of souls”; but the Greek word for “soul” is often used in the sense of life (see Matthew 6.25-27; Luke 12.22-24). Loss of life may be rendered as “people will die because of this.” Note that in reality all persons did get safely ashore (v. 44), but no doubt the loss of life was a part of Paul’s warning at this point in the account.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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