’n Nuwe vertaling van die Bybel in Afrikaans: die praktiese aanvaarbaarheid van ’n nuwe vertaalmodel

Abstract

Work is currently under way on a new translation of the Bible in Afrikaans. The new translation model that is being used is Ernst-August Gutt’s direct translation that is applied as translation strategy within the framework of Christiane Nord’s rendering of the functionalist Skopos theory. A fundamental requirement of the functionalist approach is that a translation must facilitate successful communication between the author and the receptor. The new Bible translation should, therefore, be so practically acceptable that the receptor can use it as a religious document. Trial translations were done according to this translation model and submitted to readers in Gordon’s Bay, Pniel and Stellenbosch. The readers completed a structured questionnaire as part of a quantitative study in which a random sample test was done to determine the practical acceptability of the translated products. This article provides details of the questionnaire as well as of the results obtained in the survey.