tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3613525030683671127.post3892017009854213986..comments2023-10-12T14:09:33.965-07:00Comments on The Biblia Hebraica Blog: Speaking of Translation Issues...Douglas Mangumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15267532075493569019noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3613525030683671127.post-43729044919800365362008-09-06T11:08:00.000-07:002008-09-06T11:08:00.000-07:00Chris, You should check out Iyov's post. He's "un...Chris, <BR/><BR/>You should check out Iyov's post. He's "uncomfortable even putting Chaucer in modern English."<BR/><BR/>I agree with you though. We looked at some Old English and Middle English examples in my historical linguistics class this summer, looking at language change over time. Definitely a foreign language to me.Douglas Mangumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15267532075493569019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3613525030683671127.post-31276164293338917712008-09-06T07:23:00.000-07:002008-09-06T07:23:00.000-07:00I can understand the hesitation to produce the Bib...I can understand the hesitation to produce the Bible in "dumbed-down" forms, though I don't see any problem with children's translations that make the text accessible in their idiom. It seems like the real question here is whether Modern Hebrew has evolved enough such that Biblical Hebrew is now a foreign language to a modern Israeli. If that is the case, then translating the Hebrew Bible into Modern Hebrew is a perfectly valid thing to do. Nobody would insist, for instance, that non-specialists should try to read Chaucer in Middle English, even though with extensive glosses it's possible for an educated English speaker to do so. Middle English is a foreign language to a modern English speaker.<BR/><BR/>The entire rhetoric behind this is absurd: the Israelis are treating Modern Hebrew as a dumbed-down degeneration from the Classical form of Hebrew. That runs counter to every worthwhile insight into the actual development of languages. You cannot preserve the spoken form of a classical language over time, and it is foolish to try. Modern Hebrew WILL continue to grow apart from Classical Hebrew, no matter what, and I see no reason that modern Israelis shouldn't have access to the Hebrew Scriptures in a language that they can actually read.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17884801463675821328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3613525030683671127.post-74958151872555250332008-09-06T05:35:00.000-07:002008-09-06T05:35:00.000-07:00Teaching the biblical languages in Sunday School d...Teaching the biblical languages in Sunday School definitely qualifies as "challenging students." But even a little training in that area goes a long way in showing people how hard translation really is and in helping them evaluate a translation.Douglas Mangumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15267532075493569019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3613525030683671127.post-48694037351505295242008-09-06T02:43:00.000-07:002008-09-06T02:43:00.000-07:00"Challenging students is what drives real learning..."Challenging students is what drives real learning, not making things easier on them."<BR/><BR/>I agree completely. But then, I think any English translation is doomed to failure in some area. I say we just teach Greek and Hebrew in Sunday School and be done with it.Calvin Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177389203791402383noreply@blogger.com