A descriptive analysis of Septuagint Micah

[摘要] English: This study combines the strengths of both Septuagint Studies and Translation Studies to describe Septuagint Micah. It employs rigorous text critical tools and methods to assess translation errors that resulted from the translator's insufficient grammatical/lexical knowledge or from orthographical/phonological mistakes. At times, it concludes that the translator's Hebrew Vorlage differed from the MT.An important advance in this study involves the use of the most recent advances in translation theory to determine purposeful, idiosyncratic shifts introduced by the translator. The theoretical framework for this study is the recognition that translations exist within a cultural and literary polysystem where the translator affects change in the polysystem and the polysystem exerts some control over translation norms. Based on this theoretical framework, Descriptive Translation Studies scholars have developed three primary translation models-comparative, process and causal. Of these, Chesterman's causal model was chosen for this study because it incorporates the strengths of both comparative and process models. The causal model accounts for three important aspects of the translation: the preliminary norms (causal conditions), translated text and translation effects (target culture reception).The translated text provides the core material of investigation, in which every coupled-pair (i.e., the source text phrase and the translation of it) is analysed thoroughly to discern and describe translation shifts. Through categorising these shifts, translation tendencies and patterns emerged. These reflect the translator's operational norms, which are either obligatory (linguistically constrained) or non-obligatory (translation choices).Among the most important non-obligatory operational norms involve the translator's style, concern for message clarity, theology and ideology. His preferred style led him to provide lexical variation and smooth syntax. Because he valued clarity in the translated text, he employed techniques of explicitisation, concretisation (rarely metaphorisation), harmonisation and interpretation. He introduced changes that reflected his own theology. For instance, through several shifts from singular 'evil to plural 'evil deeds the translator suggests that the sins of the Israelites were numerous and great to have warranted the punishment they endured. Similarly, they alone were culpable for their sins and God was justified in punishing them. Other shifts seem to indicate that God did not save them because they did not turn to him in prayer and they did not fear him. Ideologically, shifts occurred primarily through the technique of historicising. The translator effectively distinguished the Israelites of the past (who had brought upon themselves the exile) from the diaspora Jews living in the 3rd or 2nd century B.C.E. Alexandria who were contemporaneous with the translator. However, through two other shifts the translator included the post-exilic Jewish diaspora in God's threats of future judgment. The intent of this study was to describe LXX-Micah and reveal how its translator intervened in the text to infuse his own idiosyncratic theological perspective. The results seem to indicate that he truly was an agent of change.

[发布机构] University of the Free State