Goodspeed: the translator's ideal

Wednesday, March 24, 2010
    Feast of Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, Martyr, 1980
    Commemoration of Paul Couturier, Priest, Ecumenist, 1953
Meditation:
    Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
    “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
    —Acts 8:30-31 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The modern translator must be a close student, not only of Greek, but of the art of English translation... In every sentence he must recognize a new problem, for it must be rendered not only for itself but in such a way that its relation to the context is maintained. The best translation is ... one that makes the reader forget that it is a translation at all.
    ... Edgar J. Goodspeed (1871-1962), Problems of New Testament Translation, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1945, p. 8 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may Your word reach all with hearts to know You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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