Apr 16
Boxing with metaphors: black eyes and busted butts
The blogabout boxing match on 1 Corinthians 9:27 continues. To the blogs referenced in yesterday’s post, you can now add (at least) David Ker now lingering in Better Bibles, ElShaddai Edwards, and that most perspicacious and pugnacious pugilist John Hobbins.
I repeat yesterday’s defensive block first. Despite everything everyone else is saying, I always called my rendition a paraphrase, not a translation. Take that into account.
Interestingly, David and John seem to take opposite sides on one key point. David thinks that
The reason this word [ὑπωπιάζω] gets used in such different contexts is that the word is a dead metaphor, or “semantically bleached” (I’ve always wanted to use that phrase on a blog). And further proof of this is that Paul collocates it with “body” which would really be strange: “I hit myself on the face my body.”
By contrast, John clearly wishes to translate it as a live metaphor, by a corresponding metaphor, though he doesn’t like the one of my original paraphrase. After toying with his son’s “bust my butt” he settles for “break my body”. The problem is that the former is as AmE as my “ponce” was BrE1, and the latter, as far as I know, simply isn’t an English metaphor, nor does it seem to me vivid enough to become one.
Is it a live metaphor or a dead one? If we only had the use of it in Luke 18:5 we would, I think conclude that it was indeed pushing up the linguistic daisies, and nailed to the semantic perch. If we only had the use in 1 Cor 9:27, then I think, seeing it amidst all those other agonistic metaphors, we would think it was not so much pining for, but avidly looking forward to a frolic in the poetic fjords.2 Even if it had become a dead metaphor, we would have to think there was at least the possibility of its metaphorical roots being raised from the dead by Pauline punning. So if we think, as I do, that in context it is probably impossible completely to ignore the metaphor implicit in its etymology, we may still want to argue for a far less precise English equivalent, since there are some grounds for thinking the metaphor is imbued by contextual and etymological pun rather than customary contemporary usage.
In which case we have now been give a wide range of metaphors to choose from in posts and comments. Of them, the one made so far that strikes me as the most common idiom is a variant on Peter Kirk’s suggestion in a comment. He suggested “I bust my gut” but I would say “I bust a gut” is more idiomatic. If one wishes for a less colourful yet still colloquial alternative, I would suggest “I push myself hard”: it loses the sense of bruising or breaking, but maintains the sense of hard competition, and given the argument above ought certainly to be an acceptable alternative metaphor.
Translating a metaphor remains a knotty problem. While I think it well worth the effort of finding equivalent metaphors that work naturally in the target language, I think there are also occasions when the original metaphor is so striking, we may legitimately translate it term for term. The English language has been immeasurably enriched by the willingness of Tyndale and the KJV among others to do just that.
Notes- for those not in the know, Am(erican) E(nglish) and Br(itish) E(nglish) [↩]
- All references to Monty Python’s Dead Parrot Sketch [↩]
April 16th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Thanks. We have all been busting a gut (or busting many guts?) to find the best rendering of this. As you have pipped me to the post with your improvement on my suggestion, I am happy to award the garland for this particular race to you, Doug. But let’s not forget that this garland is perishable, and make sure we are busting a gut for the imperishable garland.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:17 am
I’m still enjoying the discussion of this passage, too much to chew on for me to post anything further.
I would like to mention that “busting a gut” in America means a hearty laugh; or in internet slang:
LOL
LMAO
ROFL
April 17th, 2008 at 12:24 am
Good point, Nathan, It can also have that meaning here. What would one alternative “I bust my balls” mean in the US?
April 17th, 2008 at 1:11 am
‘Bust my balls’ usually means someone is working you hard, or antagonizing you; perhaps that you are working yourself hard. Same with ‘bust my butt.’ I can’t think of any more good alternatives, other than the ones I posted in my revised translation on my blog (which I’m not happy with). I’ve spent the last three days trying to find and/or think of an appropriate training/sparring idiom for ‘black and blue’ or ‘black eyes.’ I’ve had a few ideas but I think we’d almost have to completely rearrange the Greek word order to present it appropriately.
Also, I think the most important thing done by any of us in the past week with this passage was ElShaddai. He brought the whole passage into discussion and I think we should probably be tying all of Paul’s references into one coherent whole instead of just looking at verses 26 and 27. I plan on making another post on this eventually, but on the preceding verses as well, and after I have found a better collection of words to use.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:25 am
Thanks for the compliment (!), Nathan, but I really would have to give due to John before me. His post included vss.24-25 and sparked what I eventually wrote. After considering Peter’s fair critique on my thoughts, I’m wondering if something simple like “I’m giving 110%” would be an approach to build around. Is that an American-ism or is that phrase used in the rest of the English-speaking world?
April 17th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Mention has been made of the wider context and I think that this would guide the translator to an extent to discover how this thought fits in with the whole passage. Of the three thoughts “buffet” “body” and “slave” I think body and slave are the more essential elements and you argued well on how we ought to approach these in your earlier post.
April 17th, 2008 at 6:54 am
I just finished posting a third time on my blog with another revision. I didn’t have the energy to go all the way back to verse 24, but I think we all know the context well enough.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Rookie of the blogger Greek translator of the year goes to Nathan for that third round showing.
Doug,
You say some pretty important things here. The biggest question you raise is when is metaphor translation right. I love this: “Translating a metaphor remains a knotty problem. While I think it well worth the effort of finding equivalent metaphors that work naturally in the target language, I think there are also occasions when the original metaphor is so striking, we may legitimately translate it term for term.” Isn’t an answer to When this: whenever word play can be carried across in translation (and who cares if it’s “equivalent”), then try to bring across the metaphor. As David points out in agreement with you, “body and slave are the more essential elements”–and I think they’re more essential because those very words “play” more. By play I mean both “playing playfully” and also “opening up wiggle room.” ((So how about this declaration? “Metaphor IS translation.”))
April 17th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
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