Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Libreria Editrice Whispers

I've been asked to translate some more questions from the Compendio -- some have even requested a translated Q&A couplet each day. As much as I'd love to do this, I won't to any significant extent, and here's why:

Anyone who's ever been involved in translating knows how hypersensitive the process is and the external pressures placed upon it. Anyone who's been involved in translating doctrinal texts knows the extremes of this. And those involved in translating liturgical texts endure the worst stupidities and hubris of humankind. I will not name names, but many of the banes of a translator's existence live on the West Coast....

And Ichiban Jim is not one of them.

This is the basic funnel of translating anything Roman of an official nature: Just because a translation is authentic to the original text doesn't mean it's theologically precise. Just because it's theologically precise doesn't mean it's grammatically fluid. And just because it's grammatically fluid and theologically precise by no means ensures that it'll get the recognitio of the Holy See. (My beloved ICEL darlings, how well you know this.)

So even though I am not keen to tie the hands of the official translators in the execution of their much-anticipated work, when exegencies deem it appropriate for a Q&A on a certain topic to be thrown out into the forum, I will hammer out a translation and publish it. However, while my English rendering represents the "gist" of what is to come (and my tendencies veer toward a literal translation), it is not to be taken as the editio typica English translation confirmed by the Apostolic See.

You'll have to wait til October for that, and you'll have to wait til later in the evening for a Q&A or two.... Y'all come back now.

-30-

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