My Home is in Heaven

  A family friend, Dr. Steve Marlett, a Bible translator who serves in Mexico, wrote this in an email. They are revising an already completed translation.  I think his short but very linguistic email highlights how diligent we have to be with the translation process, and how sacrificing accuracy for speed can very easily diminish the Word of God. This important details would be lost if the Marlett’s only spent two weeks with the Seri or if the Seri themselves only worked on the translation for two weeks. "One of the sounds of Seri is a voiceless uvular fricative. I don’t know if any other language in Mexico has this sound. You can probably pronounce it if you can imagine yourself trying to gargle in secret. In fact, Seri has two such sounds— a plain one and another one just like it, except that you round your lips while making it. I think they are two of the favorite sounds in the language since lots of words have them. If you can’t make one, you can’t speak Seri. The ...

  Questions about Translation What’s the difference between an interpreter and a translator? An interpreter translates spoken words, almost always in real-time, as a conversation happens. A translator, by contrast, translates written words, and often of a language either old, very difficult or, in Bible translation, newly written down. Why can’t anyone who is bilingual be a translator? Most bilinguals will serve as an amateur interpreter at some point in their lives, for a mother at a parent meeting, for a new employee to learn the ropes, or when traveling with a friend. Professional interpreters, such as at the United Nations, and most translators, on the other hand, are people who train for years, learning their trade, just like those studying to become a pilot or electrician. What other skills are needed to become a translator? The Institute of Translation and Interpreting says to “be a professional translator,...