Not a Book Review: "Thought from Passwords to Paradise," by Nicholas Ostler
Currently I am reading a book about how languages affect religion. I had been thinking it would be more about how some words/concepts don't translate and how that then affects how people understand their faith, but there hasn't been too much of that in there. There is a lot, however, about cultures and how they have affected translation in the past.
Which has allowed me the opportunity to give my mother a hard time. Shortly after we found out that my dad is part Irish (as are, then, my siblings and I), I read a book written in the 1830's that kept referring to the Irish as barbarians and savages and the like. My mother has been lamenting ever since that she has been living with barbarians for almost 50 years and her life is full of woe because of these barbaric people she has to deal with. "And Vikings weren't barbaric, Mother?" "We weren't Vikings." "You were Swedes." "But we're not barbaric."
Well.
According to this book I am now reading, when missionaries first went to Ireland, they found peaceful people. When they translated the Bible, they were able, for example, to translate the word "Lord" to a word meaning "head of the family/household." It was a term that gave a sense of domestic tranquility. Ireland went on to send out many, many peaceful missionaries of their own.
After some Irish missionaries went to England, the English sent missionaries to Scandinavia. And there they found a completely different breed of cat from the rest of Europe. These clannish warriors would deliver a blow with an axe if you so much as wounded their pride. Meek and mild was never going to work on these people. And so "Lord" had to be translated as "head of the clan," which to them meant one who would lead into and be victorious in battle, and who demanded absolute allegiance. Their missionaries were more commonly clan lords who, in demanding loyalty, demanded loyalty to their religion as well, so, you know, even once they got the Gospel, they used swords and axes to gain converts.
Hm, so wait, who are the barbarians here? Sorry Mother, but you are more barbaric than any of the rest of us. :)
Which has allowed me the opportunity to give my mother a hard time. Shortly after we found out that my dad is part Irish (as are, then, my siblings and I), I read a book written in the 1830's that kept referring to the Irish as barbarians and savages and the like. My mother has been lamenting ever since that she has been living with barbarians for almost 50 years and her life is full of woe because of these barbaric people she has to deal with. "And Vikings weren't barbaric, Mother?" "We weren't Vikings." "You were Swedes." "But we're not barbaric."
Well.
According to this book I am now reading, when missionaries first went to Ireland, they found peaceful people. When they translated the Bible, they were able, for example, to translate the word "Lord" to a word meaning "head of the family/household." It was a term that gave a sense of domestic tranquility. Ireland went on to send out many, many peaceful missionaries of their own.
After some Irish missionaries went to England, the English sent missionaries to Scandinavia. And there they found a completely different breed of cat from the rest of Europe. These clannish warriors would deliver a blow with an axe if you so much as wounded their pride. Meek and mild was never going to work on these people. And so "Lord" had to be translated as "head of the clan," which to them meant one who would lead into and be victorious in battle, and who demanded absolute allegiance. Their missionaries were more commonly clan lords who, in demanding loyalty, demanded loyalty to their religion as well, so, you know, even once they got the Gospel, they used swords and axes to gain converts.
Hm, so wait, who are the barbarians here? Sorry Mother, but you are more barbaric than any of the rest of us. :)
posted by melilotnfosco | 11:40 PM
3 Comments:
That's cool. Now I kind of want to read it. ;)
I really liked parts of it, but definitely got bogged down in others. There weren't enough examples as far as I was concerned. If I had wanted to read a history of religion, I would have. But I was thinking it would be more on language and translation. You can't have that without some history, but there wasn't enough of what I thought was going to be the main focus of the book.
Good to know. When you find one that does that well, let me know. ;)
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