Study
What Changes When Ritual Language Is Translated
Translating ritual language keeps the sense of the words, but it can change rhythm, emphasis and echoes that members have learned to hear in the original.
Translating ritual language keeps the sense of the words, but it can change the rhythm, emphasis and echoes that members have learned to hear in the original. A translation that is accurate in meaning may still sound flat or unfamiliar to those who have spoken the words for years.
Careful translation of such texts works in two steps. The first is to render the meaning exactly, checking each phrase against the source and against the usage of the lodge. The second is to test how the sentence sounds when spoken aloud, and to adjust word order or choice where the change in sound does not alter the sense. The translator should note every place where a choice was made, so that later readers can see what was decided and why.
Example: a phrase that moves a solemn sentence into a plainer language may be accurate yet lose its weight. A translator who notes the choice, and invites experienced members from each language community to read the passage aloud, can find a wording that keeps both the sense and the dignity of the original.