Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Translation theory

The action of the main clause is the focus of attention. The comparative frame presents the manner in which the main action should be done by establishing it as the basis for the clause that follows. We probably would accomplish this kind of task most naturally in English by using a rhetorical question: “You know how you judge other people? That is the way you will be judged. You know the measure that you use for others? That is what will be used for you.” Thus there is a bit of a mismatch between Greek and English here in terms of preference, but it can be easily bridged in exposition through using comparable constructions like rhetorical questions. Both frames and rhetorical questions can accomplish the task of activating a specific state of affairs in our mental representations of the discourse. The task accomplished is what matters, not the specific device used in one language versus another.—Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament, page 234

No comments: