The Translation of the Bible into Tatar Enriches the Tatar Language
by Michael Greed
The translation team included specialists from SIL.
The simple fact that ancient literature has been translated into Tatar, the oldest texts more than 3,000 years old, has enhanced the language and its capacity. The ancient texts are in a wide variety of genres for which the Tatar language has been successfully stretched. Some of these genres – for example, narrative, history, proverbs, homiletic, didactic – are already widely used in Tatar, but some less so, for example the distinctive type of parallelism frequently found in Hebrew poetry, and the Greek ‘epistolary’ genre. From a literary perspective the biblical genres range from the high literary style of many of the Old Testament prophets to the more colloquial style of much of the Gospels.
Hebrew poetry
Parallelism and chiastic structures are foundational to Hebrew poetry. Tatar poetry, on the other hand, is based on an equal numbers of syllables per line, with rhyme binding the lines together. Repetition is something to be avoided; however the fact that Tatar is rich in synonyms and terms with similar meanings makes the language an effective vehicle for Hebrew parallelisms. The following example illustrates how some Hebrew poetry was translated. The translation team did not count syllables and push for rhymes, relying rather on the intuition of the translator.
Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and concealed from the birds of the air. (Job 28.20-21, NRSV)
The Tatar reads:
Alaysa, ziräklek qayan kilä soñ?
Zihenneñ çıganagı qayda?
Ul bar terek cannıñ küzennän yäşerelgän,
kük qoşlarınnan da kaçırılgan.
Here is a literal translation of the Tatar:
Thus, wisdom from where comes then?
The source of intellect is where?
It from all living souls’ eyes is hidden,
from sky’s birds even is concealed.
Proverbs are popular in the Tatar culture, and the Wisdom literature of the Bible has given Tatar many new proverbs. For example,
A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. (Proverbs 25.11, NRSV)
The Tatar reads:
Ädäple äytelgän süz yaltırawıq kömeş sawıttagı altın alma kebek.
Here is a literal translation of the Tatar:
A considerately said word in shining silver dish being golden apple like (is).
Proper names
The translation team had to decide upon the Tatar form of some 2,500 proper names. Many of the names people are familiar with from the Qur’an are used in that form; others are transliterated from Hebrew in accordance with the following rules: they reflect the Hebrew pronunciation, they follow the Tatar sound system and they sound pleasing to the Tatar ear, for example ‘Ibrahim’ (Abraham, from the Qur’an), ‘Sädıqıyya’ (Zedekiah, from the Hebrew), ‘Estefan’ (Stephen, from the Greek).
New words and new ideas
The Tatar Bible contains words, expressions and concepts that are new to the language. New words were formed on the basis of productive derivational patterns. Tatar has, for example, the words ‘ildäş’ (fellow-countryman/woman) and ‘yuldaş’ (fellow-traveller), where ‘il’ means ‘land’ and ‘yul’ means ‘road’, and the suffix ‘daş/däş’ indicates a shared experience. On the basis of this pattern the translation team formed the word ‘imandaş’ meaning fellow-believer, where ‘iman’ means ‘faith’.
New expressions that have come into being through the Bible translation process include ‘Allahı yortı’ (temple), ‘izge çatır’ (holy tabernacle), ‘kileşü sandıgı’ (ark of the covenant), ‘ülelär aymagı/dönyası’ (world of the dead, both the Hebrew sheol and the Greek hades) and ‘qanün belgeçe’ (scribe, literally ‘expert of the law’).
A term that has evolved conceptually as a result of the Bible translation process is ‘may sörtü’, literally ‘to wipe oil’, and its participle ‘may sörtelgän’ (wiped with oil). In Old Testament culture kings, priests and prophets were ‘wiped with oil’, that is, anointed, at their inauguration. ‘Anointed’ is the literal meaning of the Hebrew ‘Messiah’ and Greek ‘Christ’, thus ‘May sörtelgän’ can contain a messianic reference.
The reviewer whose words we quoted towards the beginning of this article also stated, ‘The translation of the Bible into modern Tatar was accomplished at a high level, in correspondence with the modern literary norms of the Tatar language.This translation has long been needed, and its publication is highly timely.’
For further reading
Gateway between European Russia and Siberia: the Tatar People and their Capital
Read more
A Brief History of Tatar Bible Translation
Read more
Photos
A Tatar girl performs at a Sabantui festival in Kazan, the Tatar capital, by Michael Greed
Kazan panorama, by Michael Greed
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