A formal or dynamic approach in translating theology : case study : translation of the book "نافذة الى السماء" into English

Abstract

The question of translating Bible-related or theological texts has been the subject of debates, studies and researches since the appearance of the first version of the Bible translation. In its turn, this case study, based on my translation of the book "السماء إلى نافذة "into English, will raise the question of the translation of theological books into English, the reexpression issues and constraints related to the adequate conveying of the theological concepts, as well as the different domains of terminology they feature. It will highlight the relevant translation theories, among which figures the interpretative theory of Lederer and Seleskovitch, in addition to Eugene Nida's formal and dynamic equivalence approaches. Between the entire process of interpreting i.e. deciphering and re-expressing, every new paragraph requests a new lexical, semantic, stylistic and terminological research, raising, with every step of the process, the question of Eugene Nida's equivalences and their frames of application in translating such types of texts. This study will draw the attention to the importance of thorough research, bi-lingual professional references and continuous verification. The analysis of the various linguistic, conceptual and extra-linguistic translation constraints will highlight the importance of the message and its impact in choosing the adequate equivalence approach to obtain a translation faithful to the concept, and target text receptors' cultural considerations. The question raised by this case study revolves around this choice between equivalences. The correlation between the interpretive theory and the dynamic equivalence approach is based on the fact that in order to have this freedom of choice between the two types of equivalences, the translator needs to understand the meaning of the source text in light of the interpretative theory. In addition, both theories place the message and its impact on the target text receptor above any other linguistic consideration. The conclusion of this study will be a synthesis that will try to answer the question of the best approach to handle the translation of such types of texts.