Re: My first translation in Moten! Champagne for all!

Kristian Jensen wrote:

> Nik Taylor wrote:
> >Besides, why should the cultural factor stand in the way?  The
> >Bible has been translated successfully in countless languages, in
> >cultures very different from the Ancient Hebrews.
>
> True! But these translations are intended for the Christian converts
> or minorities in these various cultures - converts who would
> understand the bible and the culture that Christianity represents.
>
> If we wanted a demonstration of a language in its pure form, I don't
> think the bible would work. In a bible translation, certain loans
> (both lexical and cultural) would be needed for the proper
> interpretation of the bible. The translation of the bible would not
> and cannot demonstrate the language of a non-christian culture in
> its pure form.
While it's certainly true that some aspects of the Bible require a
certain mindset or view of the world (like the idea of a
personal God, which many Chinese, for example, would probably
find wholly alien), I don't think that reflects much in the story of
the Tower of Babel itself.  The only real term there I could foresee posing
any problem for translation into a different culture is "God", for
reasons like I just mentioned, but other than that, there should be
no problem with "tower" or "brick" and such.  Plus, I'd think that
stories about excessive pride are fairly universal in the human
experience, so that shouldn't pose a problem for Conlangers unless
the conlangs are specificly designed for nonhumans, in which case
it could be a problem, depending on how the specific nonhuman culture
is structured.  On the whole, I'd have to agree with Nik, that just about
any text you find will have some cultural bias, and the Babel text is
as good as any.

Just my two cents. :)

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Tom Wier <artabanos@...>
AIM: Deuterotom ICQ: 4315704
<http://www.angelfire.com/tx/eclectorium/>
"Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."
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