quietness

The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone bata to describe complete quietness. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)

Philip Noss (in The Bible Translator 1976, p. 100ff. ) explains the function of an ideophone: “The ideophone may be identified with onomatopoeia and other sound words frequently seen in French and English comic strips, but in [many] African languages it comprises a class of words with a very wide range of meaning and usage. They may function verbally, substantively, or in a modifying role similar to adverbs and adjectives. They describe anything that may be experienced: action, sound, color, quality, smell, or emotion. In oral literature they are used not only with great frequency but also with great creativity.”

addressing God

Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.

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Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff.), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.

Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”

In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.

Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).

In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Translation commentary on Psalm 122:6 - 122:7

In these two verses a prayer is offered for Jerusalem. The psalmist asks his readers to wish Jerusalem peace. The verb translated Pray for may be rendered “Ask for” (Bible en français courant, Bible de Jérusalem), “Wish” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), “Say from your heart” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). In verse 6a peace translates the word shalom (see 29.11 and comments); New Jerusalem Bible translates “well-being”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “prosperity and peace.” The prayer itself is verses 6b, 7. Line b in verse 6 provides the content of the prayer mentioned in line a. In some languages it will be necessary to make clear that this is the relation between the two lines by saying, for example, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem by saying” or “Pray for the peace … and say….” Peace of Jerusalem may have to be recast as “Pray that God will give Jerusalem peace,” “… that the people of Jerusalem will live in peace,” or idiomatically sometimes, “… that the people of Jerusalem will sit down with cool hearts.”

In verse 6b prosper translates a verb which may be taken to mean “live in peace” (so New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible); New International Version “be secure.” They … who love you translates the Masoretic text; one Hebrew manuscript has “your tents” for this phrase, which is followed by Bible de Jérusalem and New Jerusalem Bible; it seems better to stay with the Masoretic text (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project).

In verse 7 peace in line a is paralleled by security in line b, which translates a noun that is related to the verb used in verse 6b; so New Jerusalem Bible has “well-being … peace.” In verse 7b the word Revised Standard Version translates towers (that is, fortresses; New International Version “citadels”) may be translated “palaces” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New English Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible). See 48.13, where the two nouns are used together (Revised Standard Version “ramparts … citadels”). In many languages it is difficult to give a command to an abstract noun such as peace. Accordingly it is often necessary to say, for example, “May everyone in Jerusalem live peacefully.” Good News Translation‘s “safety in your palaces” may have to be shifted somewhat to say, for example, “and may those in the chief’s houses live in safety.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .