As has been noted in previous passages dealing with voyages by sea, languages differ very widely in the type of terminology and the explicitness with which they describe various types of sea journeys. For languages in the South Pacific, there are a great many technical terms which are known by practically all of the local population. But in societies in which there is a great deal of specialization of activity, such technical vocabulary is simply not known by the majority of people and cannot be readily introduced into a translation meant for the populace as a whole. In languages where there is practically no specialized vocabulary for sailing (for example, some of the languages on the edge of the Sahara in Africa), one can only imply very general terms such as “to go in a ship.” In all instances, the translator himself must decide what type of vocabulary is appropriate for an audience for which he is translating.

We sailed on the sheltered side of the island of Cyprus must be taken to mean that the ship sailed around the eastern end of Cyprus. As a rule, in the late summer the wind comes from the west or northwest, and there is also a westward current moving along the southern coast of Asia Minor with practically no tide. In some languages the sheltered side of the island must be represented by “the side from which the wind was not blowing,” “the side from which there was not much wind,” or “the side where we were protected from the wind.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .