1st person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

In just a few cases (such as Goliath and the criminals on the cross next to Jesus referring to themselves), the rude pronoun ore (おれ) instead of the commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is used. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also second person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 23:26-43)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 23:26-43:

As Jesus was being led away,
some soldiers grabbed a man named Simon Cyrene,
       who was on his way home from the fields —
they put the cross on his shoulders,
       and forced him to drag it behind Jesus.

A large crowd was following along,
among them some women,
       weeping and wailing for him.

Jesus turned toward the women and said:

       “Cry for yourselves, not for me, women of Jerusalem!
       Someday everyone will agree,
              ‘It’s better to be barren than blest with children.’
       If sparks ignite so quickly when someone is innocent,
              a volcano will surely erupt when the nation rebels,
       causing people to beg for mountains and hills
              to rush to their rescue.”

Two criminals were led out to be executed with Jesus,
and when they reached the place called “Skull,”
       each of them was nailed to a cross,
              with Jesus in between.

“Father,” prayed Jesus, “forgive these people —
       they don’t know what they’re doing.”

While the crowd was stunned and staring at the spectacle,
the soldiers gambled for his garments,
       as their leaders hurled spiteful insults,
“He saved others! If he’s God’s Favorite,
       then let him save himself.”

“So you’re king of this nation,” mocked the soldiers,
       offering Jesus a goblet of wine. “Ok, save yourself!”

On the cross above Jesus was posted a sign:
       “Here Hangs Your National Hero!”

One of the dying criminals also insulted Jesus,
       “Aren’t you God’s Favorite? Save yourself and us!”

The other criminal replied with a sharp rebuttal,
“Don’t you fear God? This man’s innocent,
       but we’re guilty as sin.”
Then turning to Jesus, he said,
       “Remember me when you come into power!”

“Today you’ll be with me in paradise,”
       Jesus assured the man.

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Luke 23:41)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the criminals talking among themselves).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (Luke 23:41)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 23:41:

  • Noongar: “But our punishment is correct, because we are getting what we should get for what we did; but he did nothing wrong.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “But the punishment of we two is fitting according to the wickedness of our behavior. But Him, he has no fault/wrong.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But we two are worthy to be killed like this because this is the reward for our doing. But this person has done nothing bad.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However, as for us two, we deserve to be killed because our wickedness is coming home to us. However, this man, by contrast, he hasn’t done anything wrong.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “but as for us (du), our (du) punishment is correct because it is our (du) reward for our (du) crimes/sins, but as for him however, he (sympathy particle) has no crime.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “This sentence is really fitting for us two being the punishment for what we have done, but as for this person, there really is no evil which he has done.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

3rd person pronoun with high register (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.

In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.

Translation commentary on Luke 23:41

Exegesis:

kai hēmeis men dikaiōs ‘and we (are) justly (condemned),’ ‘for us it is just.’

axia gar hōn epraxamen apolambanomen ‘for we receive worthy of what we have done,’ i.e. ‘we get what we deserve.’ apolambanō means here ‘to receive what is due.’

houtos de ouden atopon epraxen ‘but this man has done nothing wrong.’

atopos lit. ‘out of place,’ here in a moral sense, ‘improper,’ ‘wrong,’ ‘wicked.’

Translation:

We refers to the speaker and the one addressed, but should not include Jesus. Ekari makes this clear by saying ‘we two’; elsewhere one may have to use, ‘you and I.’

We are receiving the due reward of our deeds (or, ‘our works’ salary,’ in Zarma, or, ‘a judgment matching our works,’ in Fulah) may have to be variously recast, cf. e.g. ‘we are getting (or, they give us) what we deserve for what we did’ (cf. Good News Translation), ‘what (or, the punishment) we suffer is in-accordance-with what we did,’ ‘we are being caused to pay for as many sins as we sinned’ (Tzeltal), “we deserved what we have got” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation).

This man has done nothing wrong. In Huli one would use here a suffix denoting that the statement is made on the grounds of visible evidence, such as what the man had seen during the trial, or, of Jesus’ behaviour earlier.

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 23:41

23:41a

We are punished justly: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as We are punished justly is literally “And we indeed justly,” as in several English versions. It means that the Romans had sentenced the two criminals rightly and fairly for what they had done. They had disobeyed the law, and they were being punished as the law required. Some other ways to translate this are:

Our punishment is fair. (God’s Word)
-or-
But we two deserve to be punished like this.

23:41b

for we are receiving what our actions deserve: This clause tells the reason why the second criminal said that he and the other criminal were punished justly. They had done evil deeds so they deserved to be punished by death. The pronoun we refers here to the two criminals in contrast to Jesus. It does not include Jesus. Some other ways to translate this are:

because we ⌊two⌋ are getting/receiving the punishment that our(incl) deeds deserve
-or-
for ⌊the two of⌋ us are ⌊being punished⌋ fairly because we did evil deeds

In some languages it may be necessary to say who punished them. For example:

⌊The Romans⌋ are punishing us ⌊two⌋ in the way our deeds deserve.

General Comment on 23:41a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 23:41a and 23:41b. For example:

for 41bwe two have done ⌊evil⌋ 41aso we(incl) deserve this ⌊punishment⌋

23:41c

But this man: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But this man indicates a strong contrast between Jesus and the two criminals. Indicate the contrast in a natural way in your language.

this man: In this context the phrase this man identifies Jesus in contrast to the two criminals. It is not a disrespectful way to refer to Jesus. In your translation, use a respectful way to refer to someone who has been mentioned earlier.

has done nothing wrong: This phrase indicates that Jesus did not do anything that he should not have done. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wrong is literally “out of place.” It refers here to something that is not right in a moral sense.

The criminal implied that Jesus was different from him and the other criminal. Jesus did not do anything that deserved punishment. The phrase contrasts with 23:41a–b in which the two other men were justly punished for their crimes.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

has done nothing bad
-or-
is completely innocent (Translator’s Reference Translation)

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