The Hebrew and Greek that is translated into English as “garden” is translated into Naskapi with a word that means “a place for things to grow.”
Doug Lockhart (in Word Alive 2013 ) explains: “‘Garden’ was another term that had no Naskapi equivalent. ‘There are no gardens here,’ Bill [Jancewicz, a translation consultant] explains. ‘So what word do you use for ‘Garden of Eden,’ and have it communicate something logical in Naskapi? We finally came up with a word that means ‘a place for things to grow,’ like a park.'”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 3:10:
Kankanaey: “The man answered, ‘I heard you (sing.) walking in this land, and I went and hid because I was naked and I was afraid of you (sing.).'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “He answered — ‘I heard your sound in the garden. Because I was naked I was afraid and I was hiding.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The man replied, ‘I heard you (sing.) in the garden, so I hid for I am afraid because I’m naked.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “The man replied, ‘I heard the sound of your footsteps/walking in the garden, and I was naked, so I was afraid and I hid myself.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.
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Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.
Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”
In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.
Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).
In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.
I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid: as in verse 8 it may be necessary to say “I heard the sound of your footsteps in the garden” or “I heard you walking in the garden.” Hearing God’s sound and being naked had caused Adam to be afraid, and as a consequence he had hidden himself.
Note that Revised Standard Version, but not New Revised Standard Version, uses thee when referring to God. Some languages require an honorific pronoun when addressing God. However, thee should not be taken to mean that an honorific is required in the language of translation, unless, of course, it is natural and expected.
I was naked: according to verse 7 Adam in verse 10 is no longer totally naked. Therefore the term for naked used here should, if possible, indicate this. Some languages have terms for varying degrees of nakedness. Some languages make this kind of distinction by saying, for example, “I was naked up” or “I was chest naked,” meaning that his loins were covered, but the rest of him was exposed.
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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