on translation

[Daniel Kaufman]

Interesting discussion on religion and languages. I've often thought  
about this problem of linguists, indigenous peoples and bible  
translations. Secular linguists often criticize missionary groups for  
their exploitation of social and economical asymmetries to spread  
their particular worldview to groups which may not be familiar with  
life beyond their borders. The paradox of course is that these  
missionary linguists often facilitate medical and social services  
which are rarely provided by secular linguists. It is a frustration of  
mine that atheism and secularism do not seem to be as conducive to  
this type of humanitarian work. Among secular linguists, this probably  
stems from the fact that our mission is to absorb and not to instruct,  
to observe but not to alter. I, for instance, tend to think that I  
have far more to learn from others in the field than I have to teach  
them, especially in matters of "worldview". I happen to find it ironic  
and somewhat absurd that the same culture which has been responsible  
for so much war, genocide and environmental destruction is the same  
culture which has spread throughout all corners of the globe with the  
task of teaching morality to indigenous communities, those very  
communities which felt and continue to feel the brunt of their  
destructive actions in the first place.
In any case, I now think that the stance of aloof observation is  
equally untenable in the present. Perhaps it is  incumbent on secular  
linguists to prepare "unreached peoples" (to use the missionary term)  
for the coming onslaught of modernity that will inevitably transform  
their lives. To that end, maybe there really should be a common text  
which can be translated and used to put things in context, to at least  
diffuse the illusion that the wonders of anti-malaria pills and  
airplanes come in a package which includes mid-western evangelical  
Christianity. How about a text showing the consequences of Western  
contact on Native Americans from an indigenous perspective? That's  
certainly a story which I doubt has ever been heard from a missionary.

Dan