Editorial.
Stranz, Jane
The book of Genesis ends the story of creation, of the fall and of
the flood with the tale of the tower of Babel. The story is only nine
verses long but poses complex questions about both linguistic diversity
and whether human beings use collective understanding to aspire to build
towers and become like God. Is the linguistic "babble" of
languages part of humanity's fall, in some way, a curse of a
jealous and worried God preoccupied with status? Might we understand
that tower-building uniformity is not part of God's plan but that
confused linguistic diversity might be?
In his seminal and much reworked text on language and
interpretation, After Babel, George Steiner indicates that the language
used by any of us is only ever an approximation. To speak or write or
interpret is "to translate" from thought, emotion and
experience to approximate words. So the idea of a pre-existing single
uniform language in which people were able to communicate so effectively
is an attractive idea but almost certainly a myth: we all know that
speaking the same language doesn't necessarily mean we will
understand one another.
Language is a central element of human identity and essential to
communication. Language has been a part of religious history: issues of
whether the Bible or liturgy should be translated into the vernacular
also play an important role in religion, public worship and prayer.
The issue of language is also central to an ecumenical movement whose scope encompasses the "whole inhabited world". Speaking
at the World Council of Churches' most recent assembly in Porto
Alegre in 2006, the Korean theologian Namsoon Kang reflected on how at
ecumenical gatherings, ranks are established not by money but by
language, with the first class passengers being those who speak English
as their native language, and those travelling economy being those whose
native language belongs to none of the WCC's four working
languages. The choice of language is absolutely the issue of power, she
stated: "Language is not just a means of communication. It is about
standardization of thinking, worldview, value-system, culture and even
one's attitude to other people around. The choice of language is
about power: power of decision-making, power of knowledge-production,
power to express oneself. Language is power to express who one is, power
to persuade; it is power to convey one's values and opinion."
The global dominance of English often leads to the lack of
recognition even of the existence of the worldviews, spiritual
expression and philosophical viewpoint represented by other languages.
Yet at the same time we have a vision of an alternative, the story
of Pentecost. It is not the story of a pre-existing single uniform
language, but rather of a Holy Spirit that enables each to speak and
hear the language of the other. It is a way of saying that we need
linguistic diversity, not just different ways of looking at the world,
but different ways of describing it and conceiving it, and different
ways of dreaming.
The United Nations has declared 2008 to be the International Year
of Languages, and this issue of The Ecumenical Review examines some
aspects of language, translation and interpretation as they relate to
this challenge to the ecumenical endeavour.
The issue starts with a poetic meditation by Faautu Talapusi on the
Fanua, a word which in Samoan holds the double meaning both of placenta
and land. One word from a language foreign to so many of us can help us
perhaps to see a new truth and the link between birth and the earth. In
a further meditation, Simei Monteiro then offers fascinating insights
into the "world without evil" of the Guarini people of South
America. The prophets who can guide the people back to this world are
described as those who have knowledge of the beautiful and sacred words
of the common language of human beings and the gods.
The next two articles concentrate on aspects and challenges of
biblical translation. Helga Kuhlmann, who was part of the editorial team
that published the Bibel in gerechter Sprache to much acclaim but also
to great controversy in German in 2006, here develops a series of theses
supporting the view that justice can be a criterion for Bible
translation. She notes that one of the reasons for the violent reaction
to the new translation was the power of the word and the changing of
familiar texts which people have known all their lives. Meanwhile,
Suzanne McCarthy offers us a fascinating and scholarly review of the way
the translation of some key words over the centuries have profoundly
influenced the way women's humanity, role and subjugation to their
husbands and men generally, and have become accepted as scriptural
truth. Such interpretations rely on decisions made by translators across
the centuries, and it is difficult for communities to change a
translation which they feel has given them foundational values.
McCarthy's article ends with an analysis of translations of 1
Timothy 2.12, a text often used to support the refusal to ordain women.
Rosemarie Donch uses the 60th anniversary of the founding of the
World Council of Churches as an opportunity to look back at the
Council's language policy. Her research and personal experience
chart the multilingual nature of the WCC as an international body. She
also ends with a challenge once again to open up debate of language
issues and needs. Claudia Jahnel coins the term "vernacular
ecumenism"--a seeming linguistic oxymoron--to plead for integrating
"cultural turn" theology into a renewed ecumenical theology
which more clearly links the local with the global.
The issue ends with three articles which are personal reflections
on translation and interpretation. David Ker, who works with Wycliffe
Bible Translators, speaks of how working as a translator has given him a
more nuanced appreciation of reality and a recognition that good
linguists often have a high tolerance for ambiguity, noting, "the
more I translated the less sure I was concerning the truth".
Meanwhile Tony Coates charts the experience of a theologian turned
translator by looking particularly at the problems of translating
prayers and poetry, while also noting the daily challenges staff
translators face when translating fire regulations or the pension fund
rules. In her personal reminiscences Margaret Pater underlines the
importance of even limited ability with another language for
communication and getting a message across.
The book reviews section offers reviews in English of several books
in other languages as well as in English.
We are pleased to announce that from 2009 the World Council of
Churches will publish Ecumenical Review in collaboration with
Wiley-Blackwell. The first issue of this new departure for Ecumenical
Review will focus on the 75th anniversary of the Barmen Declaration,
with articles from Argentina, Austria, Cuba, Germany, Great Britain,
Indonesia, South Africa, and the United States. Following on from the
linguistic concerns of this issue, the next issue will be a joint
venture with the Okumenische Rundschau in Germany who are to publish the
articles in German.
Jane Stranz
Revd Jane Stranz is coordinator of the WCC's language service.
