Lost in translation - Is the Patois Bible a waste?

Franklin JOHNSTON

Friday, September 23, 2011

With every new rendition of the Bible it is diluted. What did the KJV's "thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's ass" mean 2,500 years ago? What's my neighbour's ass now? car, donkey, meat and transport in one? Did this apply to all or just those with no ass?

Translation across centuries, cultures and languages means much is lost and things assumed based on what we now know. Abrahamic faiths — Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Rastafari -- all lose authenticity as they lose touch with the Torah. We have Christianity in all flavours to suit every taste and some are the ego trips; emotional excrescences of men who do not know the roots of the Church and don't care as long as they make money. The Old and New Testament were translated from Hebrew and Greek many times. With those rendered from English versions new errors are made and old errors perpetuated. Much is lost in translation.

The Bible Society of Jamaica translated the gospel of Luke in patois but not from Greek. Millions were spent, and to be fair and open, they should name the translators, sources and all involved. The Bible is our heritage, not words on paper for academics, patois actors and playwrights to render as they like. Translators are scholars of the original languages and manuscripts, the new language, comparative exegesis, and the task calls for a sense of the spiritual, history, meditation and insight. We need assurance of the integrity of the process!

The book is titled Jiizas di Buk We Luuk Rait bout Im; to us The Book of Luke. Patois is our heritage, culture; rich, colourful, fluid; ours to use and change, not by linguists who rule how it must be spoken. No patois police! Let patois be free wherever it may be! I bought a copy in Hagley Park Plaza.

I was told it was for the poor man who speaks patios only, yet costs a day's pay! Why would a poor man buy a Patois Bible which he can't read when he can get an English Bible free; he can't read it either? The cover and paper are flimsy, but we love a well bound Bible in the front room to write our births, deaths and "run duppy".

The cover picture is patronising; better if it were a Clovis cartoon! The section in English titled "How to read Jamaican" deals with "consonants, vowels and symbols". So a man illiterate in English buys a book in patois, but as he is illiterate in patois too, the writers put the rules to read it in English, Wow!

This Patois looks like Dutch or Afrikaans and has nothing in common with Miss Lou's patois which is what we speak. Check these stanzas:

"Wha wrong wid Mary dry-foot bwoy?

Dem gal got him fe mock,

An when me meet him tarra night

De bwoy gi me a shock!

Me tel him seh him auntie an

Him cousin dem sen howdy

An ask him how him getting awn.

Him seh, 'Oh, jolley, jolley!"

— Extract from "Dry-foot bwoy" by Louise Bennett.

Now compare it with an extract from Jiizas de Buk we Luuk rait bout Im:

"1 Tiyafilas Sa, Uol iip a piipl chrai fir ait dong di sitn dem wa apm mongks wi. Dem rait it dong siem wie ou dem ier it fram di piipl dem we did de de fram di staat, si di sitn dem wa apm an we priich di wod".

— Patois Bible St Luke Chapter 1, verses 1-4. May 2010.

This can't be right! It looks like nothing we know. I will stick with Miss Lou!

FIELD WORK IN THE UK. I used a captive audience of Jamaicans and I also went to Brixton to accost some between NCB branch and the Post Office. I wore a suit with Her Majesty's ID on my chest. Many, relieved I was not Border Agency, co-operated fully. But this is informal and the experts must show us their work. Here's what some people said of "de Buk":

BRIXTON. I asked each person to read "de Buk" to me. Some said: "A wah dis? Me neva see nuttin laka dis" or "Oh this is the Patois Bible, I like it" or "A Rasta tings dis, lang time it fe cum!" Most could not read it and those who did read the instructions first and mouthed each word slowly. Most people liked the idea of the book and some asked for a copy.

CAPTIVE AUDIENCE. The illiterate ones couldn't read it. Some say "is Polish" as it looks like writing they see every day as they live with Russian, African etc. Some 80 per cent of the foreigners who speak English understand our patois. English speaking British illiterates could not read it though many use patois slang; a man with degrees read haltingly, said it used English phonetics and if I left the book he would master it in a week. Africans who spoke no English could not read it. One savvy Nigerian said the words were contractions, variations, broken English. I said it was an Akan or Twi based dialect. He said firmly "Then do not corrupt our languages further, give them a Bible in Akan!" I was quiet! A lady who translates patios says court officers understand our prisoners but details matter in Law and so "im did a badda, badda mi an mi get bex an juk juk im" she translated as " after much provocation by my girlfriend I lost my temper and stabbed her". She tells the Court the "im" is not a man and "badda, badda" is a repitition of the word "bother" which shows intense feeling and "juk juk" means multiple stab wounds. Sadly "Jiizas di buk" means nothing to these men!

The bible society has excellent motives but their "Jiizas buk" may undermine ancient churches, scholarship and mislead many. Jesus reasoned with scholars on faith and the Torah. Few apart from Jewish, Anglican, Catholic scholars can do this now. Many "faith entrepreneurs" can't read the founding articles of the faith. The unintended consequence of removing the Bible from a prayerful scholarly tradition is men now think they can do with it as they like. The "Church of Blessed Patois" coming soon to a community near you! Sadly the Patios Bible does not advance our patois, literacy or faith! Stay conscious my friend!

Mrs Enid Golding was a legend to those of us who did teaching practice and classroom observation in her school. In her day she was a reference point on "best practice" for UWI Prof Gordon Shirley. Heartfelt sympathy to PM Bruce, Trevor, Douglas and their families.

Dr Franklin Johnston is an international project manager with Teape-Johnston Consultants currently on assignment in the UK.

franklinjohnston@hotmail.com

POST A COMMENT

You must first register and then login to be able to post a comment.

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, and before commenting you need to register, conveniently, by clicking the link above.

COMMENTS (14)

Neil Blonstein
9/29/2011

Small languages get a boost from standadar bible. Larger languages generally spread due to political, and military maneuvers along with slavery. Another way to spread a language is to preach peace, friendship and international understanding-then write an easy language-a cross between-say English, French and German with few if any irregularities and Voila'-a century later-- you have Esperanto spreading like fire over the internet. We'd welcome a Jamaican club. Try LERNU.NET.

Sean H.
9/27/2011

The 'translation' is utter rubbish!
*
Anyone who collected money for this should be forced to give it back WITH INTEREST !

howie J
9/24/2011

@Howard, if the bible is a regulator, why would you want to get rid of it? If you remove a regulator, then that which you were regulating would flow without interference or restriction. Slavery existed before the bible and both the old and new testaments tried to improve the lives of slaves. To really know what you are talking about you have to first understand the social settings in the environment in which these bible stories were set. At the time of the apostle Paul, Rome had a population of about millions of which roughly four hundred thousand were slaves. The only people who saw these slaves as their brothers and sisters were the Christians. It was the peace loving message of Christ which freed humanity from slavery.

Howard Pusey
9/24/2011

I would have found this article worthwhile if we were discussing getting rid of the bible all together.The regulator of slavery etc....

Ras Benji
9/24/2011

It's simple. Funding was available from somewhere, (probably from an international foundation set up to make the bible accessible to remote populations), and the charletans in Hagley Park Plaza recognised an opportunity. A proposal was made, accepted, and the funds awarded. The result.... your copy of the patwa bible.
Was there another REASON for it's existence? Whatever is presented as a reason, is nothing but a 'cover your rear' excuse.
One Love!

ric bent
9/24/2011

Yes, the text does look like Afrikaans. What a waste though, no one without competence in English will ever get past the first line.

kevin sanders
9/23/2011

@Jay Stone - see Meat Head's blog below. It sums up why the Patois Bible will fail. Jamaican's are more techno-savvy now and since most of our technology is in standard English, i.e computers, internet, cell phones, ipods, ipads, video, kindle, etc and is the current direction in which the world is heading, the Patois Bible will not catch on. There are currently Bible Apps that can be downloaded on any Android phones, so soon no one will walk around with a hand Bible anyway.

Cee Dubya
9/23/2011

Thank you! I will stick with Miss Lou, too!

Adam Godson
9/23/2011

@Jaye Stone,if this is so,the least you could have done was to mention where one could get this information.
How do you expect us Jamaicans for the most part to no longer be oblivious to this?

Jaye Stone
9/23/2011

This isn't the first time a bible is being published in the bastard language of a people....and it almost always catapults the language to standardization. Check it out. Jamaicans for the most part are oblivious to this.

2kool .
9/23/2011

For once I am in agreement with the writer "if you can't read English, then you can't read Patois." The fact is if you can't read in the first place then it doesn't matter what language the Bible is written in, you still can't read it. Americans speak English yet 14% of adult Americans can't read. So the problem is not the language it's illiteracy so why not just teach them English.

Meat Head
9/23/2011

In many European countries, the development of a written language and subsequent literacy can be traced to the publication of the Bible in that country's oral language. My guess is Patois promoters are hoping the same thing repeats. Today, circumstances are very different than in the Middle Ages. The world, for a variety of reasons, is standardizing on English. In addition, the Bible is no longer that important to most people. This effort does seem to be a waste.

Adam Godson
9/23/2011

continued.
As long as only those who see any utility in a patois bible bear the expense of such a work, and those who see such a project as a waste of money and time are not called upon to bear any of the cost,then they can go ahead.
It's their money and time .
And as said in the 2nd to last paragraph, a patois bible will do nothing to advance literacy,faith,or patois.

Adam Godson
9/23/2011

paragraphs 5 & 7 sum it up. Patois and english are based generally on the same alphabet & phonetics.If someone can't identify a letter ,and the sound it makes in an english word,then it is unlikely that the person will be able to identify the same letter and sound,as it would appear in a patois word. You can't read english,you can't read patois.
As to patois bible being a waste,as far as money,it is not a waste if it is funded by the geniuses who initiated such a project,and not public funds.

Do you feel buying into Facebook now is a good investment for the long-run?
	Yes
	No

View Results
Results published weekly in Sunday Finance

Username:
Password:

GCT to go down, white rum prices going up

Lost in translation - Is the Patois Bible a waste?