cardinal directions

The cardinal directions “east” and “west” are easy to translate into Maan here since the language uses “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down.” For “north” the translator had “facing toward the sun rising to the left,” and for “south” she had “facing toward the sun rising to the right.” So the listener had to think hard before knowing what direction was in view when translating “to the north and south, to the east and west.” So, in case all four directions are mentioned, it was shortened by saying simply “all directions.” (Source: Don Slager) Likewise, Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) or Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).

Kankanaey is “from the coming-out and the going-away of the sun and the north and the south” (source: Kankanaey back-translation), Northern Emberá “from where the sun comes up, from where it falls, from the looking [left] hand, from the real [right] hand” (source: Charles Mortensen), Amele “from the direction of the sun going up, from the direction of the sun going down, from the north and from the south” (source: John Roberts), Ejamat “look up to see the side where the sun comes from, and the side where it sets, and look on your right side, and on your left” (source: David Frank in this blog post ).

In Lamba, only umutulesuŵa, “where the sun rises” and imbonsi, “where the sun sets” were available as cardinal directions that were not tied to the local area of language speakers (“north” is kumausi — “to the Aushi country” — and “south” kumalenje — “to the Lenje country”). So “north” and “south” were introduced as loanwords, nofu and saufu respectively. The whole phrase is kunofu nakusaufu nakumutulesuŵa nakumbonsi. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )

“West” is translated in Tzeltal as “where the sun pours-out” and in Kele as “down-river” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel).

In Morelos Nahuatl, “north” is translated as “from above” and “south” as “from below.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

In Matumbi cardinal directions are defined as in relation to another place. “East” for instance typically is “toward the beach” since the coast is in the eastern direction in Matumbi-speaking areas. “North” and “south” can be defined as above or below another place. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

The Hebrew text that gives instructions where to place items in the tabernacle with the help of cardinal directions (north and south) had to be approached in the Bambam translation specific to spacial concepts of that culture.

Phil Campbell explains: “There are no words in Bambam for north and south. In Exodus 26:35, God instructs that the table is to be placed on the north side and the lamp on the south side inside the tabernacle. The team wants to use right and left to tell where the lamp and table are located. In many languages we would say that the table is on the right and the lampstand is on the left based on the view of someone entering the tabernacle. However, that is not how Bambam people view it. They view the placement of things and rooms in a building according to the orientation of someone standing inside the building facing the front of the building. So that means the table is on the left side and the lampstand is on the right side.”

See also cardinal directions / left and right.

cubit

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Similarly, in Akoose, the translation is “arm distance.” (Source: Joseph Nkwelle Ngome and Marlie van Rooyen & Jacobus A. Naudé in Communicatio 2009, p. 251ff.)

In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm) (source: Don Slager) and in Bariai into leoa or “fathom,” which comprises the distance from a person’s fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched, app. 6 feet (source: Bariai Back Translation).

bronze

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “bronze” in English is translated in Newari as “bell-metal,” since bells are made of bronze in Nepal (source: Newari Back Translation).

See also bronze vessel.

distance (long / wide / high)

The concepts of distance that are translated in English with “long,” “wide,” and “high/tall” are translated in Kwere with one word: utali. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Exodus 27:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 27:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “Someone arrange/make also for the northern side as/like it was arranged for the other side.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “In the same way a curtain must be of hundred cubits long for the north side. There are to be twenty-pillars in twenty bronze But hooks and ropes must be of silver.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The curtain on the north side is also about 150 feet long. Connect this also to the 20 bronze posts which is set-inside/inserted-into the 20 bronze bases. The thing-used-to-hang the curtains are the silver hooks which are connected to the silver rods on the posts.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “And the long side of this fence toward the not, it will turn out the same as that of the other side also. Its length will amount to twenty-five fathoms. And make its twenty posts with their twenty bras post bases also to be for the standing up of the posts. And on each of the posts of the fence, make silva hooks and silva cross-pieces also.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “you shall make it thus on the left also. you shall hang clothes in order that its width, it be joint of hand which be 100. Its hanging wood and its planting-hole, let it be metal red. And that which you will pound be crooked head, with its beams, let it be gold white.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “They must make the same kind of curtains for the north side of the courtyard.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 27:11

And likewise for its length on the north side is literally “And thus for the north side in the length.” The pronoun its is not in the Hebrew, and neither are the words there shall be. Hangings a hundred cubits long is literally “hangings a hundred long,” but cubits is understood. Their pillars twenty and their bases twenty is again following the Septuagint, as in verse 10, for the Hebrew again has “its pillars,” meaning the pillars of the courtyard. Of bronze is dangling as in verse 10, but it evidently refers to both the pillars and the bases. But the hooks … is identical to the same phrase in verse 10.

This verse repeats so much that Good News Translation has been able to shorten it to one short line: “Do the same on the north side of the enclosure.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .