What Makes a Translation Accurate? George H. Guthrie
Posted in New Testament, Translation Philosophy by George H. Guthrie on October 29th, 2010Question: What makes a translation accurate?
A translation is intended to facilitate communication. So accuracy involves the translator communicating in the target language the original author’s intended meaning of what was written. Translation, therefore, must be more than simply relating the semantic makeup of the words in a sentence; intended impact also is critical to assess based on the original context. Once discerned, the translator must work through how best to communicate that intended meaning and impact to the target audience.
Let me explain. At 1 Corinthians 7:1, both the NASB and the KJV read, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” Fair enough. This translation is accurate in terms of one possible meaning of the Greek word haptō, which can communicate variously, “to touch,” “to make contact with,” or “to light or kindle.” Yet based on this translation, a modern reader could misunderstand Paul to mean that a man should not shake hands with a woman, for instance, or give a hug to a female relative. However, the word haptō also can refer to sexual relations, and it seems clear from the context of 1 Corinthians 7 that this is what Paul has in mind (e.g. NET, ESV) and perhaps marriage particularly (e.g. NIV). So the NASB and KJV are not accurate at this point, since they fail to communicate the apostle’s intended nuance of this term.
George H. Guthrie is Benjamin W. Perry professor of Bible at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He served on the translation evaluation team for the Gospel of Mark in the New Living Translation.
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