Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Revision of the Etheridge New Testament in the Works
#1
I am in the process of revising the Etheridge translation of the Peshitta Gospels (the rest of the New Testament will come later). Here is what I am going to do:

1. Update the older English of Etheridge's original translation into modern English (for example: "thee" becomes "you").

2. Changing Etheridge's transliterations to make them sound like the Eastern pronunciations in the Standard Edition (for example: "Aloha" becomes "Alaha").

3. Anytime Etheridge includes a Western Peshitto reading, it will be changed to the Eastern Peshitta reading (for example: Luke 22:18 will be omitted).

4. Retain Etheridge's literal translation flavor as long as it makes since in modern English (some instances when I update the English will necessitate that I update the grammar <!-- sSad --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/sad.gif" alt="Sad" title="Sad" /><!-- sSad --> ).

5. Correct as many of Etheridge's mistranslations as possible (I will probably find them using an Aramaic-English concordance, like Dukhrana's).

6. Make a distinction between "Mar" and "MarYa". I will transliterate both when they are used in the Standard Edition.

7. Make three editions to suit the needs of three different audiences. The Standard Edition will tailor more to the peshitta.org and Church of the East, transliterating the Aramaic names and such (for example: the Messiah will be referred to as "Eshu' Meshikha" and the name of God will be "MarYa"). The next will be a Messianic Edition, targeted towards Messianic Jews and use more Hebraic names (for example: the Messiah will be referred to as "Yeshua haMashiyach" and the name of God will be "Adonai YHWH"). The third will be a Traditional Edition, targeted towards people who aren't familiar with Aramaic terminology or Hebraic terminology and will use Anglicized terminology for the most part (for example: the Messiah will be referred to as "Jesus Christ" and the name of God will be "Lord Yahweh").

I am not completely sure if I will use the English translation of the Greek "Christos" or not yet for the Traditional Edition, as the Aramaic is more accurately reflected through the use of "Messiah". I know both are accurate, but since Aramaic is the source text, wouldn't "Messiah" reflect the Aramaic better than "Christ"? I am in a similar situation trying to decide between translating "Kepha" as "Peter" or "Cephas".

When I am complete with the Gospels, I was wondering if Brothers Paul Younan and Stephen Silver would check it and give me their opinion, since they are the true Aramaic experts, not me! Brother Chuck has already seen a little bit of my work with the Gospel of Matthew. After I finish the rest of the New Testament, I'll send it to Paul and Stephen if they are willing to help me out and give their opinion. I am wanting to make it clear that I was not a translator, but an editor by calling it "Eastern Peshitta New Testament: A Revision of John Wesley Etheridge's Translation of the Aramaic Peshitta".
Reply
#2
You will notice from time to time, that Dr. Etheridge has a verse cut into two parts, part being in the former verse and part going into the next verse...I'm not sure why he does this, but I have seen it a number of times...and it can be confusing. You might want to look into that...I have noticed though, looking at the Aramaic text of the Khabouris and now the Ashael Grant Manuscript, that there are breaks and divisions in the text, that are not the same as our modern breaks and divisions, which come from the early English versions.

And make sure you use a program that has an automatic spell checker, it will help keep the errors down to a min, then you must read over the edited text a number of times to catch any other mistakes that might be made... best to do this as you go, before you get too far along, as checking long text runs can make you miss things.

And saying that...I caught a mistake here in your post. <!-- sSmile --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /><!-- sSmile -->

"but an editor by called it "Eastern Peshitta New Testament: A Revision of John Wesley Etheridge's Translation of the Aramaic Peshitta".

Shlama,
Chuck
Reply
#3
Oh, English spelling is a human institution <!-- s8) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/cool.gif" alt="8)" title="Cool" /><!-- s8) -->
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)