TRANSLATION OF LITURGICAL/RELIGIOUS TEXTS (CATHOLIC IGBO MISSAL): TRANSFER OR BETRAYAL OF MEANING IN THE PROCESS OF INCULTURATION
Abstract
Translation of liturgical/religious texts is a very important element in the process of inculturation of the faith in the Catholic Church since Vatican Council II. The council Fathers regards it as a major criterion for assessing the level of inculturation in any locality. Translation requires a two-way faithfulness – faithfulness to the Latin editiones typicae and faithfulness to the local culture. Unfortunately, translation is usually not faithful. For one, a translated text cannot be an exact transfer of meaning or a transparent depiction of the original, but involves either a loss or an addition, a reduction or an extension of meaning; it always entails a transformation on the interpretive level, of the original text. As a result, the Church approaches it with some caveat, in order not to betray the essential religious significance of original texts in the process. Since Vatican II, the Church has issued a number of documents as guidelines for translation of the Latin editiones typicae into vernacular. This paper examines the import of those documents, with special focus on Comme le prévoit (25 January 1969) and Liturgiam authenticam (20 March 2011). Special study is made of the Catholic Igbo Missal that has witnessed two officially approved translations since Vatican II – Usoro Emume Nke Missa (approved ad experimentum on 17 July 1971) and Usoro Emume Missa (approved on 24 February 2017). The point is that these two translations are reflections of official documents in vogue at the different times of their emergence. The author uses this to show how fidelity or otherwise to those official documents has resulted in varying degrees of adherence to or deviation from the principles of inculturation of the faith in local cultures.
Full Text:
PDFRefbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.