Translation or Paraphrase?

I'm sure you've heard people comment about a particular version of the Bible in which they will refer to it as a "paraphrase". When they do, they usually mean this in a negative way.

What do people mean by paraphrase? What is a paraphrase of the Bible as opposed to a translation? Is there a difference? These are good questions. Have you ever thought about them?

Recently on a Bible translation forum for translators this was discussed. And one of the statements by a participant was that people need to be made aware of the difference so there is no confusion on it (I'm paraphrasing :) ).

What version of the Bible would you call a paraphrase and why? What is it about that version that makes you call it a paraphrase? Once you have answered that question, read on.

Here are a couple of definitions to consider:

paraphrase: n. "rewording for the purpose of clarification." v. "Express the same message in different words." Wikopedia states that it "is restatement of a text or passages, using other words." But further on it gives the following example: "'The signal was red' might be paraphrased as 'The train was not allowed to proceed.' When accompanying the original statement, a paraphrase is usually introduced with a verbum dicendi — a declaratory expression to signal the transition to the paraphrase. For example, in 'The signal was red, that is, the train was not allowed to proceed,' the 'that is' signals the paraphrase that follows."

translation: n. "A written communication in a second language having the same meaning as the written communication in a first language." The wikopedia definition of translation is as follows. "Translation is the comprehension of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text, likewise called a 'translation,' that communicates the same message in another language."

Notice that for paraphrase it seems to be implied that we are working within the same language. But translation involves moving meaning from language to another. So the main difference between a paraphrase and translation seems to be the languages involved. From the above definitions it would seem, then, that the Living Bible is not a paraphrase. It is a translation since it is communicating the same meaning from the Greek and Hebrew to English. If the translator of the Living Bible did not make use of the Greek and Hebrew, but merely took, say, the NIV and restated it, that would be a paraphrase. He would still be working with the meaning of the text just in the same language as the original meaning was stated.

As a Bible translator I am producing not a paraphrase, but a translation since I am beginning in the Greek, taking the message, and as accurately as I can putting it into Gumawana. Now the Gumawana, if I translated it back into English, would not look like the NIV, the NASB, or even the Living Bible. My goal is not to match word for word what the Greek said. If I did that, the Gumawana would make no sense and there are times it would be impossible due to grammar and lack of an equivalent word. Instead, the meaning of what is said is put into a form that a Gumawana speaker would understand. This is true of the NIV or any other translation into English. Even the most "literal" of the English translations are not that literal. There has to be some adjustments (even in the KJV) in order for it to make sense to us in English.

Paraphrase is not a negative thing. It is doing something similar as translation only it is within the same language. It is stating the meaning using other words.

Our goal is translating the Bible is threefold: make it clear, accurate, natural.

Clear: We want the reader to be able to read it and understand it. If the translation is too literal it will not be clear. I can show you verses in the NASB that make little sense because they are trying to follow Greek grammar.

Accurate: The translation needs to accurately reflect the meaning of the original (or source text). For that reason our translation must be checked in the village as well as by a consultant.

Natural: This one is just as important as the other two. Here we want the translation to sound like Gumawana speakers. For example, often in the Greek we have to make a statement into a direct quote because that is the way Gumawana speakers would tell it.

So the next time you hear someone saying a particular version of the Bible is a paraphrase, feel free to correct the misunderstanding. Paraphrase is restating the meaning using different words in the same language. Translation is stating the meaning from one language into another language.