One Hundred Years of Unchangeability – On the Chinese Translations of Greek Personal Names and Place Names in the Union Version
Author: Leopold Leeb, Professor, School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China
Abstract:
The Chinese Union Version of the Bible appeared in 1919, and after 100 years this translation has become the most universally used Bible edition in China. The Bible contains a large number of personal names and place names in the Hebrew and Greek tongue, and the Chinese translations of these names have created many problems. Very often the Chinese versions are far from the original pronunciation, and as to the translations of these names, the Union Version can be improved in many ways. In the past century, and especially in the last two decades, Chinese academia has produced new and more regular ways to translate Greek names and tables for the translation of Greek letters and syllables. According to these new tools one can arrive at new translations or improve the existing ones. This article analyzes the problems concerning Greek names in the New Testament and provides new translations for more than 20 book titles of the New Testament.
Keywords:
Greek personal names, Greek place names, Chinese translation of foreign names
Full Text (International Version):
[Austria] Leopold LEEBSCN JSCC.pdf
Full Text (Simplified Chinese Version):
