Structuralism, Deconstruction and Bible Translation and Interpretation: Philosophical Dimensions for Mother-Tongue Bible Translation

Abstract

Abstract The Bible remains the fundamental research tool in biblical scholarship. However, there exist varying perspectives and interpretations due to diverse translation philosophies and theories. Discussing the philosophies of structuralism and deconstruction in the light of Bible translation and interpretation in relation to mother-tongue Bible translation in Africa and beyond, this study employed a qualitative methodology through secondary literature and empirical morphosyntactic analysis with inter-textual examinations of some biblical texts in the OT and NT, sampling the Asante-Twi religio-cultural context. By inter-textual exegesis, the study comparatively examined the usage and translations of: ‘cloud’ and ‘of the cloud’ in Mark 9:7 and ‘a cloud of witnesses’ in Hebrews 12:1a; ‘cloud’ and ‘the cloud of the incense’ in Leviticus 16:13b and ‘in the thick cloud’ in Exodus 19:9a and ‘a cloud’ in Genesis 9:14. Findings revealed that deconstruction and dynamic equivalence are more ideal for contextual translation and interpretation. Morphosyntactically, ‘a cloud of witnesses’ should be retranslated as “adansefoͻ bebree” instead of “adansefoͻ mununkum,” whilst “the cloud of the incense” should be retranslated as “wisie a efiri aduhwam no mu” or “aduhwam no wisie” in the Asante-Twi Bible, giving much preference to the former. Moreover, ‘in the thick cloud’ translated as: “mununkum tumm” should be retranslated as: εwͻ munukum kabii no mu” or “εwͻ munukum kusuu no mu.” This paper theorizes that, “Bible translation involves interpretation,” in the religio-cultural contexts of the audience for whom a mother-tongue Bible translation is produced. This paper is relevant for biblical studies, translation theories, Bible translation, the BSG and Mother-tongue Biblical Hermeneutics globally.