The Art of Bible Translation / Robert Alter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Alter, Robert, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Translating and interpreting.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (152 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

An award-winning biblical translator reflects on the art of capturing the literary power of the Bible in EnglishIn this brief book, award-winning biblical translator and acclaimed literary critic Robert Alter offers a personal and passionate account of what he learned about the art of Bible translation over the two decades he spent completing his own English version of the Hebrew Bible.Alter's literary training gave him the advantage of seeing that a translation of the Bible can convey the text's meaning only by trying to capture the powerful and subtle literary style of the biblical Hebrew, something the modern English versions don't do justice to. The Bible's style, Alter writes, "is not some sort of aesthetic embellishment of the 'message' of Scripture but the vital medium through which the biblical vision of God, human nature, history, politics, society, and moral value is conveyed." And, as the translators of the King James Version knew, the authority of the Bible is inseparable from its literary authority.For these reasons, the Bible can be brought to life in English only by re-creating its literary virtuosity, and Alter discusses the principal aspects of style in the Hebrew Bible that any translator should try to reproduce: word choice, syntax, word play and sound play, rhythm, and dialogue. In the process, he provides an illuminating and accessible introduction to biblical style that also offers insights about the art of translation far beyond the Bible.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Autobiographical Prelude

Chapter 1. The Eclipse of Bible Translation

Chapter 2. Syntax

Chapter 3. Word Choice

Chapter 4. Sound Play and Word Play

Chapter 5. Rhythm

Chapter 6. The Language of Dialogue

Suggested Readings

Index

A Note on the Type

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Apr 2020)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780691189253

0691189250

OCLC:

1090397887