It’s in the Translation

How do you say Coca-Cola in Chinese?  Or Tide detergent?  We don’t even think much about it, assuming that we say it just like it is said in English.

I ran across this interactive page at the New York Times which has an audio link to the way that common US products are pronounced in Chinese.  And what’s also cool is that it gives the way the translation of this word might be heard to a Chinese speaker.  For instance, Tide is tai zi which literally means “gets rid of dirt.”  Lays potato chips are le shi which literally means “happy things.”  Check it out.  It is a lot of fun to actually hear the pronunciation of the product.  In some instances it sounds familiar, Coca Cola, and in other instances it sounds nothing like its namesake, Colgate toothpaste.

Long before western companies decided to market in other countries, Christians were bringing something into many language groups in the world, the Bible.  Christians believe that God has come to people.  We are near the celebration of this in Christmas.  Our fancy word is incarnation.  It means God has taken on flesh in Jesus.

What does this have to do with Bible translation?  It means that we believe that people need to hear the Word of God in their own language.  We don’t force them to come to the language of the Bible (Hebrew and Greek), we bring it to them into their heart language.  And many people have given their lives to the job of translation.  People serving with groups like Wycliffe Bible Translators are among the best.

But translation is a tricky science.  I hope the example above with Lays potato chips in Chinese makes the point.  Often times, translators work to bring across the force of a word or concept.  And there is debate today about the best way to do this.  The best translation of course is to understand the original manuscripts from which the translation is based.  But few know the ancient languages well enough to do this.  Even being trained in seminary as a pastor, I understand bits and pieces of Hebrew and Greek, but I am far from “fluent.”

Back to my point.  God cares so much for people of all nations that He has sent His Son, His Word, and His Spirit.  And he seeks for the “translation” to be true, accurate, and heart-felt for all people.

A few years ago, I was among the people of Malawi, Africa.  I went to teach the rural pastors an overview of the Old Testament.  Being with churches, I discovered that in a church of one hundred people, usually one or two people would have a Bible.  The Bible was available in their heart language, Chichewa.  But the Bible was usually beyond the purchasing means for these agrarian people.  So my church began to purchase the Bible for Malawians.  We received pictures of people holding in their hands what they considered a large treasure, God’s love letter to them.  The fact that it is in their heart-tongue further drives home the point that God cares directly for them.

The next time you open a Bible, think about God loving you so much that He comes directly to you.