03-16-2010, 07:12 PM
There could be an additional, and slightly different aspect to it as well. One where the original word does have one basic meaning, but is malleable enough to fit numerous contexts. For example:
John told Mary to attain the bread.
The men will be eating and drinking and attaining the women.
The boy reached into the fish, and attained the bait.
The IRS showed up, to attain their monies.
The office manager is upset on the matter, and attains a conference to discuss it.
Then somebody translates it, not really knowing what the original word was, and takes the easy route of translating only by context:
John told Mary to grab the bread.
The men will be eating and drinking and chasing the women.
The boy reached into the fish, and extracted the bait.
The IRS showed up, to collect their monies.
The office manager is upset on the matter, and summons a conference to discuss it.
For that reason, and for the reasons Paul describes, it seems probable that the text with the most split words, is the text most likely to be a translation.
John told Mary to attain the bread.
The men will be eating and drinking and attaining the women.
The boy reached into the fish, and attained the bait.
The IRS showed up, to attain their monies.
The office manager is upset on the matter, and attains a conference to discuss it.
Then somebody translates it, not really knowing what the original word was, and takes the easy route of translating only by context:
John told Mary to grab the bread.
The men will be eating and drinking and chasing the women.
The boy reached into the fish, and extracted the bait.
The IRS showed up, to collect their monies.
The office manager is upset on the matter, and summons a conference to discuss it.
For that reason, and for the reasons Paul describes, it seems probable that the text with the most split words, is the text most likely to be a translation.