Ich spreche Deutsch...sort of

WELL, AS I intimated in an earlier post, I am currently learning German.  I'm doing so via Babbel.com and finding it a good way to learn - I took advantage of a Groupon voucher and got six months' worth at a discounted price.  As I go quite fast this means I can get a lot of learning in for what I've paid!

I do have an elementary though rusty grasp of French - but when called upon to speak it I have very little confidence. I decided to start with German because I want to be able to read it - especially academic writing. Okay, so telling the time and asking you where you're from won't help me tackle German theologians yet, but I have to start somewhere!

My sister is learning French, and for fun I am attempting to email her in French to try and practise. I arduously composed the first one yesterday with constant help from my dictionary, and although I'm certain it was full of errors I was pleased to discover I could understand everything in her reply without looking at the dictionary once!

Once I've whetted my language appetite it seems my enthusiasm increases for all of them. I'm reading about the brain at the moment for research purposes (a lot of my book entails my thinking about thinking!) and I'm fascinated how our behaviours, be they physical and mental, have an impact on our brains -  creating changes at an anatomical level. No wonder the more you do something the easier it gets; your brain is shaping itself accordingly!

I'm enjoying learning a language from scratch and discovering the differences, such as the fact that where English would say half past eight the German effectively says half (to) nine - so 8.30 = halb neun, not halb acht. Different endings and articles don't faze me in the slightest since learning NT Greek.  Have to remember to capitalize all my nouns though...

I do have a link from Babbel for a week's free language learning if you wish to try it out.  Being the conscientious type (as attested to in many school reports) I checked with the support team if it would be all right to post it here and they said yes.  I also tried to clarify what you would have access to - as I wasn't clear whether it would be any language or whether you'd be stuck with German just because I am.
They said:

The link will give your friends access to any one of the languages we offer, not necessarily the one you are learning. It all depends upon which language is currently set as the learning language on their Babbel homepage.

So...perhaps it's best to sign up at the website first (there's no cost involved in that) and set your preferred language before following the link?  If you try it, let us know how it works for you!

Here it is: http://www.babbel.com/?code=21291048537

Auf Wiedersehen!

lost in translation?

Translation fascinates me.

It fascinates me because more often than not, there is no exact equivalent.   As I noted in my book review yesterday, languages behave differently and have different ways of emphasising, of communicating, of speaking.

In order to show what the words mean, sometimes the translation requires the use of a word which is not the literal word-for-word translation.  It helps us understand what was meant, but often we miss the picture or metaphor of the original - and why it was appropriate in that language.

Cultures also have different ways of communicating things.  So often we find ourselves struggling to find 'cultural equivalents'.  Recognising the context of something and then contextualising it for a new context - while still trying to keep the original meaning or principle.  A different kind of translation, but with similar challenges.  As one of my college lecturers used to say (and probably still does): what did it mean?  what does it mean?

Words themselves need re-translating frequently, as over time they pick up new associations and different meanings (or refuse to shake off older associations which we never liked in the first place).  The precise definition of the word becomes shrouded in all kinds of assumptions, expectations, sensitivities.  These sensitivities vary from person to person.  For one, a certain word can be fairly innocuous; for another it is streaked with difficulty and pain.  For one, a word has an older meaning - for another, a newer one.  For some, both meanings are recognised and they are left wondering which meaning is intended and how do I interpret this?

All of which means that the writer of a sentence and the reader of a sentence can have different impressions entirely over the meaning of their words.

Translation fascinates me.

Book Review: Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament

Firstly I should say that this is an academic book.  If you don't have an interest in language or linguistics, and have no inclination to learn New Testament Greek, you probably will not want to read it.  If you are interested in both these things and want to study some of the nitty-gritty elements, I would highly recommend it.

Steven Runge's Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament is a linguistic tool and, within the category of an academic book, is accessible and well presented. Although applying the principles to the handling of the Greek text of the New Testament, I would suggest that you do not need an enormous grasp of Greek to get a sense of what is being said here (although you do need to want to learn!).  What would be helpful is a basic grasp, or at least an interest in, linguistics.  By nature the book employs heavy usage of linguistic and grammatical language.

Runge looks at various discourse devices throughout the book.  As he says in his preface, his approach is cross-linguistic and function-based - i.e. it looks at the way languages operate in general, not just Greek, and it looks at how the linguistic features of a language or particular passage function.  Different languages use different methods to create emphasis and draw attention to certain elements, which is where translation becomes more challenging.

After introducing some key concepts and applying them to English examples, Runge then tackles a series of sections looking at various 'discourse devices'.  He explains the nature and purpose of such a device - whether it be the use of certain connective words, framing devices or metacomments, to name but a few.  (Metacomments, if you're wondering, are comments on what is going to be said - for example 'truly I say to you', or 'I exhort you'.)  He uses Greek examples side by side with English translations, marking clearly each device. Most of these devices do not add to the literal meaning of the text  but they often give certain elements more emphasis or 'prominence', being used in a rhetorical way.

I feel it will be a very helpful resource in my own studies - in both Greek and language in general (showing its versatility).  I have been going through it with pencil in hand, studying it rather than merely reading it.

My only criticism is that it does not have a scripture reference index at the back.  I appreciate the passages are being used as examples rather than studied for themselves, but it is always useful to be able to look up any related information on a passage and I feel there is a noticeable gap in this regard.  Neither does it have an index of, for example, particular Greek words that it tackles in the main book.

However, it does have a helpful summary at the back which outlines the topics covered.

If you are studying Greek and have an interest in how language is used, I would recommend this book.

Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament: A Practical Introduction for Teaching and Exegesis by Steven E Runge (Hendrickson Publishers/Alban Books) RRP: £32.99

I received this book free from Alban Books for the purpose of reviewing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.