From 439565627d9d63639a4827efa1ee8200056245f5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Joel D. Ruark" Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2020 16:12:42 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Update UST 'README.md' (#691) --- README.md | 129 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------------- 1 file changed, 66 insertions(+), 63 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 26ae4bfa..c021aa97 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -1,11 +1,11 @@ drawing # unfoldingWord® Simplified Text - English -*an unrestricted Bible intended for translation into any language* +*an unrestricted simplified version of the Bible intended for translation into any language as a tool for use by Bible translators* ## Overview -The unfoldingWord® Simplified Text (UST) is an open-licensed translation of the Bible based on *A Translation For Translators* by Ellis W. Deibler, Jr., which is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://git.door43.org/Door43/T4T). The UST is intended to provide a simple, clear presentation of the meaning of the Bible without using any figures of speech, English idioms, or difficult grammar. +The unfoldingWord® Simplified Text (UST) is an open-licensed revision of *A Translation For Translators* by Ellis W. Deibler, Jr., which is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://git.door43.org/Door43/T4T). The UST is intended to provide a simple, clear presentation of the meaning of the Bible without using any figures of speech, idioms, or other grammatical features that can be difficult to translate. ## Viewing @@ -17,40 +17,37 @@ If you are a contributor to this project please add your name to the `contributo field in the [manifest.yaml](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ust/src/master/manifest.yaml) file. -## Editing +## Introducing the UST -### Introduction to the UST +The unfoldingWord® Simplified Text (UST) is a meaning-centric (and thus "dynamic") version of the Bible in English. It is intended to be used alongside the unfoldingWord® Literal Text and other translation resources to give English-speaking mother-tongue translators (MTTs) a more complete understanding of the messages communicated in the Bible. For MTTs who do not have reading knowledge of the original biblical languages, the UST provides as a sense of *what* these messages intended to communicate to the original readers. It is anticipated that the UST and other resources will be translated from English into the world's Gateway Languages (GLs) so that MTTs worldwide can use them as a set of resources for making accurate translations of the Bible into their own languages. -The unfoldingWord® Simplified Text (UST) is designed to be used in conjunction with the [unfoldingWord® Literal Text (ULT)](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult), the [unfoldingWord® Translation Notes (UTN)](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_tn), and the [unfoldingWord® Translation Words (UTW)](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_tw) as a tool for Bible translation. Unlike the ULT and unlike an end-user Bible, the UST does not use figures of speech, idioms, abstract nouns, or grammatical forms that are difficult to translate into many languages. +### Avoid Translation Difficulties -### Editing the UST +The UST is designed to be used as a tool for Bible translation in conjunction with the [unfoldingWord® Literal Text (ULT)](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult), the [unfoldingWord® Translation Words (UTW)](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_tw), and the [unfoldingWord® Translation Notes (UTN)](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_tn). It is not an end-user Bible, which seeks to transform all of the structures of the original biblical languages into those that are natural and idiomatic in the target language. Instead, unlike the ULT and unlike an end-user Bible, the UST does not use figures of speech, idioms, abstract nouns, or grammatical features that are difficult to translate into many languages. -The purpose of the UST is to show the plain meaning of all of those things wherever they occur in the ULT. Because the UST lacks these things, it is not a beautiful end-user Bible. An end-user Bible will use the figures of speech and idioms that speak naturally and beautifully in the target language, but the UST does not use them. By using both the UST and the ULT together as translation sources for an end-user (Other Language) translation, the OL translator will be able to see the figures of speech, idioms, and other forms of the original Bible in the ULT and also see what their meaning is in the UST. Then he can use the figures of speech or other forms from the ULT that are clear and natural in his language. When the forms in the ULT are not clear or natural in his language, then he can choose other forms in his language that have the same meaning as the UST translation or the Notes. - -### Avoiding Translation Difficulties +The purpose of the UST is to show the plain meaning of all of those things wherever they occur in the ULT. By using both the UST and the ULT together as resources for translating the Bible into a target language (called an Other Language [OL] in this brief), the OL translator will be able to see the figures of speech, idioms, and other forms of the original Bible in the ULT and also see what their meaning is in the UST. Then he can use the figures of speech or other forms from the ULT that are clear and natural in his language. When the forms in the ULT are not clear or natural in his language, then he can choose other forms in his language that have the same meaning as expressed in the UST translation (or in the Translation Notes). The primary goal of the UST is to express the meaning of the Bible as clearly as possible. In order to do this, it follows these guidelines. The UST must avoid: - 1. Idioms - 2. Figures of speech - 3. Events out of order - 4. Difficult or specialized grammar - a. Complex sentences - b. Passive voice - c. Abstract or verbal nouns - d. People speaking of themselves in third person -The UST must explicitly include: - 1. Participants where these are unclear - 2. Implied information that is necessary for understanding +* Idioms +* Figures of speech +* Events out of order +* Complex sentences +* Passive voice +* Abstract and/or verbal nouns -When editing or translating the UST, please do not use those things that it must avoid in the Gateway Language translation. The purpose of the UST is to change all of those problematic forms into more universal ones to make them easier to translate. Also, be sure to include all of the named participants and the information that has been made explicit so that the meaning can be as clear as possible. +Furthermore, the UST must explicitly include: +* Participants where these are unclear +* Implied information that is necessary for understanding -#### Examples +Therefore, when you (an editor or translator of the UST) edit or translate the UST, you must not use these grammatical features that the UST must avoid in the GL translation. The purpose of the UST is to change all of those problematic grammatical features into more universal ones to make them easier to translate. Also, you must be sure to include all of the named participants and the information that has been made explicit so that the meaning can be as clear as possible. + +### Examples The following are examples of ways that the text of the Bible can be unclear for some languages and what the UST does to overcome those problems. When you translate the UST, make sure that your translation of the UST also avoids these problems. -##### Passive Voice +#### Passive Voice Passive voice is a grammatical construction that is common in Greek and English but it is not used in many other languages, so it can be very confusing. For that reason, it is not used in the UST. In passive voice, the receiver of the action changes places with the actor. In English, the actor normally comes first in the sentence. But in passive voice, the receiver of the action comes first. Often, the actor is left unstated. In that case, the UST will fill in the actor. See "Missing Participants" below. @@ -64,9 +61,11 @@ The UST of Romans 2:24 says: "The non-Jews speak evil about God because of the evil actions of you Jews." -This is more clear for many languages. When you edit or translate the UST, make sure that you do not use any passive voice constructions. +For many language, this is a clearer way of expressing the message that Romans 2:24 intends to communicate. -##### Abstract Nouns +**When you edit or translate the UST, you must not use any passive voice constructions.** + +#### Abstract Nouns The ULT of Romans 2:10 says: @@ -79,9 +78,9 @@ The UST of Romans 2:10 says: "But God will praise, honor, and give a peaceful spirit to every person who habitually does good deeds." -When editing or translating the UST, avoid using abstract nouns. +**When editing the UST or translating it into another GL, you must avoid using abstract nouns.** -##### Long, Complex Sentences +#### Long, Complex Sentences The UST avoids using long or complex sentences. In many languages, long or complex sentences are unnatural and unclear. @@ -93,9 +92,9 @@ The UST breaks that into five sentences that are more simple in form. It says: "1 I, Paul, who serve Christ Jesus, am writing this letter to all of you believers in the city of Rome. God chose me to be an apostle, and he appointed me in order that I shouldproclaim the good news that comes from him. 2 Long before Jesus came to earth, God promised that he would reveal this good news by means of what his prophets wrote in the sacred scriptures. 3 This good news is about his Son. As to his Son's physical nature, he was born a descendant of King David." -When editing or translating the UST, keep the sentences short and simple. +**When editing the UST or translating it into another GL, you must keep the sentences short and simple.** -##### Missing Participants +#### Missing Participants The UST often fills in the participants when these are lacking in the original Bible and the ULT. In the original biblical languages, these participants could be left out and still understood by the reader. But in many languages these must be included for the translation to be clear and natural. @@ -109,9 +108,9 @@ Therefore the UST of Romans 1:1 says: "God chose me to be an apostle, and he appointed me in order that I should proclaim the good news that comes from him." -When editing or translating the UST, be sure to include all of the participants that are there in the UST. +**When editing the UST or translating it into another GL, you must include all of the participants that are there in the UST.** -##### Events out of Order +#### Events out of Order The ULT of Luke 2:6-7 says: @@ -123,9 +122,9 @@ The UST says: "6-7 When they arrived in Bethlehem, there was no place for them to stay in a place where visitors usually stayed. So they had to stay in a place where animals slept overnight. While they were there the time came for Mary to give birth and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in wide strips of cloth and placed him in the feeding place for the animals." -When editing or translating the UST, keep the order of events as they are in the UST. +**When editing the UST or translating it into another GL, you must keep the order of events as they are in the UST.** -##### Figures of Speech +#### Figures of Speech The ULT of Romans 2:21 says: @@ -137,9 +136,9 @@ To show how to translate this meaning without a rhetorical question, the UST say "You who preach that people should not steal things, it is disgusting that you yourself steal things!" -When you edit or translate the UST, be sure to not use rhetorical questions or other figures of speech. +**When you edit or translate the UST, you must not use rhetorical questions or other figures of speech.** -##### Idioms +#### Idioms The ULT of Deuteronomy 32:10 says: @@ -156,9 +155,9 @@ The UST says: The Notes add another way to translate this that makes the meaning clear. It says, "He protected the people of Israel as something most valuable and precious." -When you edit or translate the UST, be sure that you do not use any idioms. Only use plain language that makes the meaning clear. +**When editing the UST or translating it into another GL, you must not use any idioms. Only use plain language that makes the meaning clear.** -##### People Speaking of Themselves in Third Person +#### People Speaking of Themselves in Third Person The ULT of Genesis 18:3 says: @@ -170,9 +169,9 @@ The UST of Genesis 18:3 says: He said to one of them, "My Lord, if you are pleased with me, then please stay here with me, your servant, for a little while." -When editing or translating the UST, be sure to include the indications of the first person that are there in these passages of the UST so that it can be as clear as possible. +**When editing the UST or translating it into another GL, you must include the indications of the first person that are there in these passages of the UST so that it can be as clear as possible.** -##### Implied Information +#### Implied Information The ULT of Mark 1:44 says: @@ -184,16 +183,11 @@ The UST of Mark 1:44 says: UST: He said, "Do not tell anyone *what just happened*. Instead, go to a priest and show yourself to him *in order that he may examine you and see that you no longer have leprosy*. Then make the offering that Moses commanded *for people whom God has healed from leprosy*. This will be the testimony to the *community that you are healed*." -When editing or translating the UST, be sure to include all of the implied information that is there in the UST so that it can be as clear as possible. +**When editing the UST or translating it into another GL, you must include all of the implied information that is there in the UST so that it can be as clear as possible.** -##### Translation of terms regarding gender +## Editing the UST -Both Biblical Hebrew and Koiné Greek utilize different word forms to indicate grammatical gender, which may or may not correspond to the actual gender of a person or object. For example, the Hebrew phrase *beney yisrael* ("sons of Israel") sometimes literally means "male children of the man named Israel" (Gen 42:5). However, most of the time in the Old Testament this phrase refers figuratively to the entire Israelite nation as a whole, both men and women. In a similar way, the Greek term *adelphoi* ("brothers") can sometimes literally mean "a male person who has the same father and/or mother" (Mark 3:32), but most of the time in the New Testament refers figuratively to Christian believers, both men and women. In both Hebrew and Greek, the meaning of "engendered language" is not always clear. This linguistic feature of "engendered language" poses significant problems for translation; the meaning of the original Hebrew or Greek text is not always clear; also, some languages do not use engendered language, which makes the translation of gender very difficult. - - -The ULT translates the Hebrew and Greek terms as literally as possible according to linguistic form, always retaining the specific gender of terms. On the other hand, the UST translates engendered language as accurately as possible according to contextual meaning. As a general rule, the UST selects gender-neutral language except in cases where a specific gender is implied from the context. However, there are exceptions to this rule; and in these cases, the translation will be explained in a footnote. - -### Specific Editing Guidelines +Here are some guidelines for composing or editing text in the UST: * Only use quotation marks at the beginning and ending of direct speech. Do not put quotation marks at the beginning of each verse, even though the speech may span several verses. * Do not use contractions. @@ -203,20 +197,24 @@ The ULT translates the Hebrew and Greek terms as literally as possible according * Capitalize titles (Son of Man, King David, the Messiah). * Use vocabulary and phrases that differ from the ULT. The two translations fail to help the MTT when they are the same. * Where possible, use common vocabulary that is easy to translate into another language. - * Spell out numbers up to and including ten (e.g., one, two…). For numbers larger than ten, use numerals (e.g., 11, 12…). +* Spell out numbers up to and including ten (e.g., one, two…). For numbers larger than ten, use numerals (e.g., 11, 12…). * Metaphors may be transformed into similies or substituted with the plain meaning of the metaphor. Similies may be the preferred option when the metaphor is extended over several clauses or verses. -### Translation Glossary +## Translating the UST from the Original Languages -A list of decisions as to how to translate some senses of the source language words and phrases into another language is called a Translation Glossary (TG). Such a device is especially useful when more than one person works on the same project, because it helps keep everyone using the same English terms. +### Translation of Terms Regarding Gender -However, a TG cannot be foolproof, because the source will often use some words to signal more than one sense, depending on context. A TG is therefore a glossary of word senses, not a glossary of words. Check back often to this page, because this TG is likely to develop for the entire life of the unfoldingWord project. +Both Biblical Hebrew and Koiné Greek utilize different word forms to indicate grammatical gender, which may or may not correspond to the actual gender of a person or object. For example, the Hebrew phrase *beney yisrael* ("sons of Israel") sometimes literally means "male children of the man named Israel" (Gen 42:5). However, most of the time in the Old Testament this phrase refers figuratively to the entire Israelite nation as a whole, both men and women. In a similar way, the Greek term *adelphoi* ("brothers") can sometimes literally mean "a male person who has the same father and/or mother" (Mark 3:32), but most of the time in the New Testament refers figuratively to Christian believers, both men and women. In both Hebrew and Greek, the meaning of "engendered language" is not always clear. This linguistic feature of "engendered language" poses significant problems for translation; the meaning of the original Hebrew or Greek text is not always clear; also, some languages do not use engendered language, which makes the translation of gender very difficult. -Note that occasionally, the TG's specified translation will not be suitable. As always, the text editors must remain in control of the decision-making process. The TG is to guide you as much as is possible. If you must depart from the TG guidelines, do so and insert a note to that effect. +The UST should reflect as accurately as possible the actual intended referent(s) for Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek terms, as determined from the context. As a general rule, the UST should select gender-neutral language except in cases where the context implies a specific gender is in view. However, sometimes the UST may need to deviate from this general rule; in those cases, the meaning should be explained in a Translation Note. -#### Translation Glossary for the UST +### Translation Glossary for the UST -The term listed first is the rendering in the ULT or the original language term, then the term preferred for the UST will appear in bold type. +A list of decisions as to how to translate some senses of the source language words and phrases into another language is called a Translation Glossary (TG). Such a device is especially useful when more than one person works on the same project, because it helps keep everyone using the same English terms. However, a TG cannot be foolproof, because the source will often use some words to signal more than one sense, depending on context. A TG is therefore a glossary of word senses, not a glossary of words. Check back often to this page, because this TG is likely to develop for the entire life of the unfoldingWord project. + +NOTE: Occasionally, the TG's specified translation will not be suitable. As always, the text editors must remain in control of the decision-making process. The TG is to guide you as much as is possible. If you must depart from the TG guidelines, do so and insert a Translation Note to explain the meaning. + +Preferred English renderings for the UST appear in bold type. * *adelphoi* The ULT will use *brothers*. Since this term usually refers figuratively to Christian believers, the UST will most often use "**believers**" or "**fellow-believers**." * *gospel* "Gospel" will be used in most cases in the ULT, while the UST will use "**good news**." @@ -252,12 +250,14 @@ These items have been completed in Titus, but need to be universally applied: * *episkopos* The ULT will use "overseer" while the UST will use "**leader of the believers**." * *diakonos* The ULT will use "deacon" while the UST will use "**assistant**" (for the church office), "**servant**" or "**agent**" in other contexts. -### Alignment Instructions for the UST +## Aligning the UST In the tC (translationCore) Word Alignment tool, the GL (Gateway Language) chapters and verses are listed down the left side. When you click on a verse to open it, the words of that verse appear in a vertical list, ordered from top to bottom, just to the right of the list of chapters and verses. Each word is in a separate box. The words of the original language (Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic) text for that verse are also in separate boxes in a field to the right of the GL word list. There is a space under each of the source word boxes outlined with a dotted line. +### Alignment Process for the UST + To align the GL text: * Click and drag each word box of the GL text into the space under the word box of the source text that the GL word corresponds to. @@ -265,9 +265,9 @@ To align the GL text: When the GL word is over a word box of the original, the dotted outline will turn blue to let you know that the word will drop there. If you make a mistake or decide that the GL word belongs somewhere else, simply drag it again to where it belongs. GL words can also be dragged back to the list. -When the same GL word occurs more than once in a verse, each instance of the word will have a small superscript number after it. This number will help you to align each repeated GL word to the correct original word in the correct order. +When the same GL word occurs more than once in a verse, each instance of the word will have a small superscript number after it. This number will help you to align each repeated GL word to the correct original word in the correct order. **When aligning, chec to ensure that these numbered words are in their proper places, since it is easy to miss the numbers and align repeated words incorrectly.** -#### Merge and Unmerge Notes +#### Process to Merge and Unmerge Original Language Words tC (translationCore) supports one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many alignments. That means that one or more GL words can be aligned to one or more original language words, as necessary to get the most accurate alignment of the **meaning** conveyed by the two languages. @@ -280,15 +280,17 @@ tC (translationCore) supports one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to- ### Alignment Philosophy for the UST -Because each GL will have different requirements for sentence structure and the amount of explicit information that must be provided there is often not a one-to-one correspondence of the original language word and the GL word. In these cases, the GL words that are provided should be aligned with the original language word that implies them. +Because each GL has different requirements for sentence structure and the amount of explicit information that must be provided, there is often not a one-to-one correspondence between an original language word and a GL word. In these cases, the GL words that are provided should be aligned with the original language word that implies them. -The UST (unfoldingWord Simplified Text) is intended to be, above all, a clear translation. Therefore, it adds words and phrases to explain the meaning of the original for the reader. These words and phrases should be aligned with the word or words that they are explaining. For example, in Titus 1:1, the phrase, “I am a servant” must be aligned with the single word, *doulos*. +**When aligning a GL translation to the original language text, the precision of the alignment between the two languages is the highest priority. The most important function of the aligned text is to show the UST user as specifically as possible from which word in the original text the GL meaning is derived. In practice, this means that original language words should be merged together ONLY *when absolutely necessary for the accuracy of the alignment.* Otherwise, original language words should not be merged together. In other words, the aligning should be done so that the smallest number of GL words are aligned to the smallest number of original language words that accurately represent their shared meaning.** -Sometimes, for the sake of clarity, the GL of the UST will repeat things that are only mentioned once in the original. This often happens with subjects or objects of sentences. For example, in Titus 2:9 the English UST refers to “their masters” twice, although the original language only has *idiois despotais* once. In these cases, You should align each occurrence of the repeated reference with the same original language words, so that the highlighting will show that each of these represents the meaning conveyed by those same words of the original. +When aligning the UST, you must remember that its first priority is to be a clear rendering of the original language text. Therefore, it adds words and phrases to explain the meaning of the original for the reader. These words and phrases should be aligned with the word or words that they are explaining. For example, in Titus 1:1, the phrase, “I am a servant” must be aligned with the single word, *doulos*. -Some of the words and sentences of the UST do not directly represent the meaning of the original words. This is information that is only implied by the original words, but included in the :abbr:`UST (unfoldingWord Simplified Text)` because it is necessary for understanding the meaning of the original. For example, in Titus 1:1, the sentence, “I, Paul, write this letter to you, Titus” includes information that is not there in the original words, such as the fact that what the reader is about to read is a letter, and that it is written to someone named Titus. This information, however, makes the text more clear and understandable. For the aligning, then, all of this explanation must be aligned with the single word that it is explaining, *Paulos*. +Sometimes, for the sake of clarity, the GL of the UST will repeat things that are only mentioned once in the original. This often happens with subjects or objects of sentences. For example, in Titus 2:9 the English UST refers to “their masters” twice, although the original language only has *idiois despotais* once. In these cases, you should align each occurrence of the repeated reference with the same original language words, so that the highlighting will show that each of these represents the meaning conveyed by those same words of the original. -If you notice places where the UST is wrong or potentially wrong, create an issue for it at https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ust/issues and we’ll address it in the next release. In the meantime, align the text as well as possible. +Some of the words and sentences of the UST do not directly represent the meaning of the original words. This is information that is only implied by the original words, but included in the UST because it is necessary for understanding the meaning of the original. For example, in Titus 1:1, the sentence, “I, Paul, write this letter to you, Titus” includes information that is not there in the original words, such as the fact that what the reader is about to read is a letter, and that it is written to someone named Titus. This information, however, makes the text more clear and understandable. For the aligning, then, all of this explanation must be aligned with the single word that it is explaining, *Paulos*. + +If you notice places where the UST is wrong or potentially wrong, create an issue for it at https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ust/issues so we can address it in the next release. In the meantime, align the text as well as possible. For English, we follow these principles, but your GL may need a different list to support full alignment. @@ -299,6 +301,7 @@ For English, we follow these principles, but your GL may need a different list t * Words with apostrophes will be split and show up as two words in the word panel. This allows for proper alignment of the two parts of meaning. In most cases in English these are used to represent possession and will be aligned to a single original language word in the genitive case. For example, both “God” and “s” will align to *theou* in Titus 1:1. * Often the original language and GL part of speech won’t match. That is inevitable. Often an original language word will be translated as a GL phrase. For example, the three words “does not lie” in English all align with the single word *apseudes* in Titus 1:2. * Sometimes particles in the original language are not translated in the GL. These should be aligned to make the alignment between the original language and the GL as precise as possible. For example, in most cases the Hebrew direct object marker should be merged with the Hebrew direct object and aligned with that translated word in the GL. However, in cases where the direct object marker has a conjunction prefix that must be translated in the GL, then the Hebrew word containing the conjunction and direct object marker should be aligned with the translated conjunction in the GL. +* When aligning verbal negations, align any English helping verbs with the original language verb. Only align the English term(s) of negation with the negative particle in the original language. Other alignment issues pertinent to Biblical Hebrew include the following: @@ -308,7 +311,7 @@ Other alignment issues pertinent to Biblical Hebrew include the following: * When aligning a verbless clause in Hebrew, the supplied "to be" verb should usually be aligned with the predicate instead of the subject. An exception to this rule occurs when the subject is a demonstrative pronoun (or carries some sort of deictic function). In those cases, the supplied "to be" verb should be aligned with the subject of the verbless clause. * Sometimes a verb in Hebrew requires an accompanying preposition that is not required in English, or vice versa. In these cases, align with whichever part of speech fits best on a case-by-case basis. For example, take the phrase "...to pay on our fields..." in Nehemiah 14:4 (UST). The English preposition "on" fits better semantically with the noun ("on our fields") rather than with the infinitive ("to pay on"). However, the reverse is true in v.15 in the phrase "...even their servants oppressed the people..." (Heb. שׁלטוּ על־העמ). In this case, the Hebrew שׁלט requires an accompanying preposition, and the concept is already incorporated into the English translation of the verb itself, "oppressed." So in this case, it is best to merge the Hebrew verb and preposition together, then align both with the English "oppressed." -#### Words Not Found in the Original Language +### Words Not Found in the Original Language In the process of alignment according to the instructions above, you may find that the GL text has words or phrases that do not represent any meaning in the original language text and are not there because the GL sentence needs them to make sense. If this occurs, follow these recommendations: