What do we actually translate in representing orality in oral Bible translation and performance?

Abstract

The translational situation involved in oral Bible translation and performance is complex. Oral features may be translated using Peirce’s semiotics as iconic (the sign bears a relationship of similarity to the signified), indexical (the sign bears a relationship of causality to the signified), and symbolic (the sign bears a conventional relationship to the signified). By using complexity theory, the practical implications of Peirce’s Semiotics for oral Bible translation are explored. An oral translation of Lamentations 1 into Sesotho, based on an analysis of the oral features of a contemporary Sesotho lament, illustrates the theoretical issues.