AN INVESTIGATION OF ENGLISH BIBLE TRANSLATORS' STYLES IN THE PSALMS

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse and compare English translations of the biblical Psalms linguistically, in terms of style. Contemporary English Version (CEV), Today's English Version (TEV), and New International Version (NIV) are the three versions selected for this study. The first chapter intimates how such a study would address the relative lack of attention towards the stylistics of the target text in bible translation circles. The choice of the Psalms and bible versions for the present study limits the scope of the research as well as reflects my concern with its pragmatic implications for the Christian ministry. My intuition, the claims of reviewers, and the published objectives of the translators themselves seem to suggest the thesis that CEV's style is the most accessible and informal, followed by TEV's, with NIV's coming across as the most elitist of the three versions. The second chapter introduces my framework of investigation, to test this thesis more reliably. Carried over the next two chapters, the investigative framework operates along quantitative and qualitative considerations. Quantitatively, a corpus-oriented analysis of the entire Psalms provides a general overview of the style, based on the word and sentence parameters facilitated by available computer programs. Qualitatively, the application of Halliday's Functional Grammar to four selected psalms elicits a close-up description of the language, in terms of textual, ideational, and interpersonal information, as well as cohesion. The quantitative analysis in the third chapter yields results that generally agree with the thesis, with NIV coming across as the most elitist and CEV and TEV alternating on the opposite end. It also highlights the complexity of natural language and the need for a qualitative study. The qualitative analysis of Psalms 23, 53, 100, 137 in the fourth chapter shows how each version achieves its subjective/objective and metaphorical/literal orientation and social distance through the selection of Theme, Process, and Mood elements. The results offer a plausible explanation for the thesis. In the concluding chapter a summary of the style of each version's translators is given, with implications for lay readers of the bible.