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Dear All,

The following is courtesy of the Archdiocese of Johannesburg via the Superior of the SDB Vice-Province. But first, you may wish to listen to a simple rendition of the Lord’s prayer in the language in which Jesus spoke it:

(https://duckduckgo.com/?t=lm&q=our+father+in+aramaic+youtube&atb=v353-1&iax=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQesFyn2IQSI&ia=videos)

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“Jesus did not teach the Our Father in English, especially not the King James version we commonly use. Nor did he teach it in Greek - the language of the New Testament. He taught it in his mother tongue, Aramaic. But once written, it lost its tonal resonance, and as it became diluted in other languages, it even lost some of its meaning.

In this short Link article, let us try to capture something of the original Aramaic. (Readers can listen to Aramaic renditions of it on YouTube.) It all begins with the disciples’ request to Jesus, “teach us to pray”. To pray (shalu) in Aramaic means to open oneself, creating in the heart a “resonating space” for God. For the Jewish people, prayer is not just a mental exercise but includes bodiliness. The very word Jesus uses to address God honours this: Abwoon.

Abwoon is meant to be uttered slowly and reverently, containing as it does three parts: Ab - from the Hebrew word Abba (Father); woo - outward breath that ‘carries’ the word; and ‘n’ - as breath that ends in vibration (long ‘n-n-n’). Praying it like this brings the Source of Life into the resonating bodiliness of the person who prays. No translation of Abwoon achieves this.

The words we render as “who art in heaven” (d'bwashmaya) mean a lot more than a place in the sky. The Aramaic word includes the radiation of God’s light permeating the entire cosmos. You have only to look at images today from the James Webb Space telescope to be awestruck by the immensity of it all. Seeing how small we are and how great God is, we cannot but say, “hallowed be thy name” - in Aramaic, nethqadash shmakh.

“Thy kingdom come” in English does not convey the sense of urgency in Aramaic, which doubles the word come: Tey-tey. Come; come quickly! Spread your kingdom’s sphere of influence everywhere. Let your ways (your will as done in heaven) be our ways (your will done on earth).

Washboqlan khaubayn - “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those...” is really lost in translation. The Aramaic for forgiveness (washboqlan) means to loosen. Loosen what? Khaubayn - the knots we’ve tied ourselves up in, and with which we’ve tied others up. We’ve got ourselves in such a knot, and the only way out is forgiveness.

Hawvlan lachma d’sunqanan yaomana - “Give us this day our daily bread.” Lachma in Aramaic means both bread and wisdom, rooted in the Hebrew word hochma for wisdom - a feminine term. We are asking God for bread for our bodies as well as wisdom and insight for our hearts and souls.
The phrase “lead us not into temptation” is the most inaccurate translation of the original Aramaic, wela tahlan l’nesyuna. When Jesus included this phrase in his teaching on prayer, he had in mind the original experience of humanity in the persons of Adam and Eve, who were seduced (tempted) by false appearances. What we beg God for is discernment to see and reject evil for what it is; to choose the greater good over the apparent good. Indeed, to keep our eyes focused on the loving Father, whose name we hallow, and upon his kingdom where his will is done.”

The Best Practice follows up the question of orality in translation, and why we need to be alert to it.

In other news

(1) The recently appointed provincial of KOR (who will assume office later this year) is spending several months in the Australia-Pacific Province to learn English. He has been the coordinator of the translation team in the Korean Province, so is well aware of many translation issues, and is also someone who can demonstrate how a team approach to translation can work. He and I spent a few days together recently, where we only spoke English except for some critical moments when a third shared language was needed to explain something, but I was impressed by his approach and his alertness to little language matters. His favourite question was ‘what is the difference between...’, e.g. a harbour and a port, or weather and climate, or Parade and Avenue etc. etc. And then he would experiment with different sentences using one or the other to see if he had the correct word for the context. Melbourne has a lousy climate, we agreed, but quite good weather at the moment, despite it being the middle of winter! When it came to his question ‘what is the difference between a way and a track?’ I had to tell him that we have about 148 different names for roads in this country! I have given him the following URL to explore: https://goaustraliatours.com/australia-road-types/ 

(2) In October there will be a Past Pupils General Assembly in Valdocco. I am beginning to receive talks/addresses that will be given at that Assembly, with a request for translation. So far I have just one... a reflection on Saint Artemides Zatti’s professional/vocational life by a confrere from Argentina. If you are interested in this talk (about 9 pages) in English translation, or any other items that will probably arrive in view of this Assembly, let me know and I will make it/them available to you.

(3) A question to all recipients: are there any specific, practical translation matters you would like to be explored, dealt with, opined about.... whatever?

 

best_practice_23-Orality.docx

 


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