Translating Religious Texts: Difficulties and Solutions

According to Biblica, as of September 2020 the Bible had been translated into some 704 languages. Indeed, a translated religious text can be crucial in helping believers of various religions and mother tongues to engage more deeply with their faith. Yet the translation of sensitive religious texts can be its own minefield, with both the tone and and the question of the intended meaning of many passages requiring a great deal of care, particularly when ideas such as the "correct interpretation" or "blasphemy" come into play. In this article, we'll explore some of the difficulties of translating religious content as well as possible solutions and approaches to this challenge.

Why are religious texts unique?

Both in terms of structure as well as cultural significance, sacred texts fall into their own category that sets them apart from profane prose. Chants and litanies, for example, may require certain rhythms, while certain grammatical structures must be considered for other holy texts (take for example the distinctive parataxis of the Bible, with its frequent use of "and" clauses - "and God said, Let there be light: and there was light"). Meanwhile, cultural contexts must be taken into account: considering the denomination of Christianity for example is crucial when deciding how liberal your translation choices can be - err too far from the source and some cultures may consider this a corruption of the word of God.

Translation of religious texts: A tougher task

 In light of this, there are a number of things that translators have to reckon with:

 -The archaic language used in religious texts can be very complex and difficult to understand. A more drawn-out translation process is required to allow time for research, perhaps with the help of religious scholars.

-Religious texts can often be influenced by cultural and political factors, making them difficult to translate accurately. Sometimes, a religious translation can even create political and cultural change: just think of Luther's bible translation, which caused the schism wherein Protestants split from the Roman Catholic Church.

-Translators must be familiar with the original text and the culture it was written in to ensure accuracy. If you are to translate the Hebrew Bible, fluency in modern day Hebrew will not be enough alone to complete this task for example. A background in Theology would be crucial to ensure an accurate translation.

-That being said, it's about more than just one language pair. A translator extremely familiar with not only the source text, but also various translated editions of that same text, stands in good stead as they have a better understanding of how the text has been interpreted throughout history.

-Translators must take into account that these are sensitive religious texts they are dealing with, which are considered by many to be the word of God.

The importance of register in religious translation

A language's "register" refers to its tone, particularly how formal or informal it is. The piety and reverence common to religious tradition typically demands a formal register. This means religious translation tends towards archaic forms, must avoid colloquialisms, and prefers euphemistic or metaphorical phrasings to avoid coarseness. A translator of an Islamic hadith for example may prefer to choose the euphemistic synonym "unclothed" as a translation in place of the lower register "naked" in "people will be resurrected naked on the Day of Judgement" (narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6527).

Parallel structures in religious translation

 It is the general consensus nowadays that when translating, a translator should aim to transfer the intended meanings of the source text into the target language, capturing the sense with parallel structures, rather than translating word for word.

Yet the debate between word-for-word and sense-for-sense translation, particularly when it comes to religious texts, was not always so cut and dried. In fact, this was one of the crucial points of contention when Martin Luther was producing his Bible translations into German and caused much dispute throughout the Christian world.

Luther and the difficulties of bible translation

Indeed, Luther felt it more important to capture the intended meaning in his bible translation, and that the most accurate translation was one that had been truly "germanized". In his famous Open Letter on Translating, he argued for example that rendering the Latin translation of the Angel's address as "Mary, full of grace" ("Maria voll Gnaden") was not idiomatic enough and would simply make Germans think of objects, such as "a glass full of beer". Instead, he felt it better to diverge from the Latin translation and opted for "Maria, Du Holdselige" ("Most gracious Mary"). The head of the Catholic Church accused him of corrupting the angel's greeting.

Translation strategies and solutions for religious texts

 It is clear, then, that the idea of "religious translation accuracy" is not straightforward. What makes for a good translation of a religious text for one person may be considered blasphemous by another. Yet nowadays, particularly due to the influence of Luther, modern translations are granted a greater degree of flexibility in the Protestant Christian world. We recommend the following translation strategies and approaches for dealing with religious texts:

1. Translators should use cross-cultural dictionaries to find accurate translations for specific terms.
2. Translators should avoid machine translation tools at all costs. Machine translations are far less likely to have taken register or historical and cultural context into consideration and far more likely to "corrupt the word of God".
3. If a translator does not have a background in Theology, it is crucial that they consult with religious scholars to help understand the texts in more detail, including the cultural context they were written in, and make informed translation choices.
4. Translators should keep the register of the text in mind at all times when producing their religious translation. The text should sound formal and respectful.
5. Modern translations need not be produced in isolation. Translators can look to earlier translations of their religion's main holy book in order to better understand certain passages or even just a certain religious word.

Religious translation: Our conclusion

Throughout history and still to this day, translators face many difficulties when translating religious texts. We hope this article has shed some light on this unique challenge, as well as reassured you that there are still tips and translation strategies you can try to achieve a high-quality religious translation.

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