Culture | Johnson
Translating the Bible is a vexed task, as a new book shows
“The Word” demonstrates the complexity of rendering millennia-old texts into modern English
DODGY TRANSLATION is not always of great import. You may be able to work out a new gadget’s instructions even if they are garbled. If the joke you have translated with your smartphone leaves your audience baffled, you risk nothing more than embarrassment.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “In the beginning was the Word”
Culture January 21st 2023
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- “O Caledonia” teaches girls how to grow up
- In “Still Pictures” Janet Malcolm turns her pen on herself
- Translating the Bible is a vexed task, as a new book shows
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