Translating; How to Avoid Pitfalls

by Luke Veldt

I once heard an American telling a Romanian congregation that things are so bad in Cuba that each Cuban has a ration of only two pounds of beans per month. The translator, not knowing what pounds were, translated this as “two beans.”

I once heard an American telling a Romanian congregation that things are so bad in Cuba that each Cuban has a ration of only two pounds of beans per month. The translator, not knowing what pounds were, translated this as “two beans.”

Another American speaker, dwelling on the phrase “Blessed is the man” from Psalms, which in the Romanian Bible is rendered “Happy is the man,” assured the congregation that “This word ‘blessed’—it really means ‘happy’!” This forced his translator into the awkward position of saying, “This word ‘happy’—it means ‘happy’!”

Speaking effectively through a translator, even when done well, is an awkward, time-consuming task. When not prepared for carefully, it’s a minefield. Often ideas that are squeezed through the translation process emerge greatly changed. Many people who use translators would be embarrassed — if not horrified — if they heard the message their listeners were finally receiving.

If you happen to be planning a missions trip, you may be getting a little nervous at this point. Fortunately, the following four steps can help you avoid the pitfalls of the translation process. While these may well add hours to your preparation time and cannot eliminate the possibility of error, they will go a long way toward making sure the message you present is the one that’s heard.

1. Use short words. Help your translator out by using simple terms. Subtle nuances, special terms, and catchy turns of phrase are not going to translate. Keep it simple.

Special danger areas include biblical words (justification, sanctification, edification, admonition, etc.) and Western Christian catch-phrases (accountability, compassion ministries, etc.). A friend of mine once unwittingly preached a sermon on the “reincarnation” of Christ — “incarnation” being a term with which his translator was unfamiliar. If you need to use such terms, discuss them with your translator before you speak.

Quoting from the King James Version is fine, as long as your translator quotes from the same verse in his translation. You should not expect him to understand off-the-cuff allusions to the KJV. “Jesus is meek and lowly of heart!” will almost invariably be translated, “Jesus is good!”

To translate on the spur of the moment means to simplify. To be sure the audience is hearing what you’re saying, do the simplifying yourself.

2. Use short sentences. Make every effort to keep your sentences short and direct. If you have to wait for the translation of the first half of a long sentence before you finish it, the whole sense of your sentence may be lost.

Here’s why: Because of the differences in structure between the two languages, your translator may have to guess what the last half of your sentence will be in order to translate the first half. If it turns out that he was wrong, he has two choices: He can take back what he just said, and retranslate the whole sentence; or he can go ahead and say what he thought you were going to say. The second option is much easier and faster. From my observation, it’s also the option preferred by most translators.

Using shorter words and sentences is not a reflection on your listeners’ intelligence or Bible knowledge, but a concession to the difficulties of translation. Simplify your diction, but don’t talk down to your audience.

3. If at all possible, pre-check Bible passages with your translator. This time-consuming step can greatly increase the effectiveness of your message. For example, if you intend to emphasize the word “early” in “Early will I rise and seek thee” (Psalm 63:1), it may interest you to know that the word simply doesn’t occur in the Romanian Bible. Likewise, knowing that the Romanian version of Hebrews 4:16 admonishes us to “hurry” to the throne of grace rather than to approach it “boldly” may affect how you use that verse.

While these differences may seem minor, the potential exists for major miscommunication. Take the time to check out biblical passages with your translator before you use them. Otherwise, your audience may wonderwhy you’re illustrating your sermon on Christian edification with a verse that says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man incites the wrath of another man”—the Romanian translation of Proverbs 27:17.

One more thing: If you do find differences in translation, look for a different verse to illustrate your point if necessary—but never try to explain that the local version of the Bible is incorrect.

4. Be sensitive to cultural differences. Avoid references that will not be understood in another culture. As hard as it is to believe, there are people in the world who have never heard of O.J. Simpson—or Valentine’s Day, checkbooks, the World Wide Web, golf, or any of hundreds of other things Americans take for granted. By removing these references—and by converting pounds to kilograms, miles to kilometers, and feet to meters ourselves—we make the translator’s job that much easier. Trying to find out what is appropriate may be a visitor’s hardest task of all. Pointing with the index finger is normal for Americans, but in Romania it’s very impolite, and in other cultures it’s worse. Loosening your congregation up with a joke is not an acceptable practice worldwide. And more than one American speaker has offended congregations in Romania or Russia by putting his hands in his pockets while he preached.

Unfortunately, your translator may not be a great help to you in this area, for two reasons. First, it will not occur to him to tell you to keep your hands out of your pockets any more than it would occur to him to tell you to refrain from spitting while you’re in the pulpit. Second, even if he observes you committing a cultural faux pas or is acquainted with common mistakes of past visitors, it may be culturally inappropriate for him to tell you — even if you ask him to.

Keep asking him, though. And if he does venture a suggestion, greet it with gratitude. The more open you seem to correction, the more input you will receive.

In all this, be sure to talk with those who have had similar experiences. Learning from others’ mistakes is far more pleasant than making them yourself.

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Luke Veldt served with the Evangelical Church Free Mission in Romania.

EMQ, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 60-62. Copyright © 1998 Evangelism and Missions Information Service (EMIS). All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS.

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