Am 27.02.2020 um 21:19 schrieb Hugh Son puqloD:
> But for the purposes of comprehension *within the text itself*, it
> doesn’t matter what they’re called as long as they’re called the same
> thing every time they are mentioned.
And here is another problem: How can it be controlled that a name is
constantly transcribed the same way?
It doesn't have to be. As long as it's consistent within the text, it's fine. And if a transliteration becomes especially popular, it will become accepted as the standard transliteration — not necessarily "right," just "standard."
The bible translation project is a
good example where the same names are currently indeed transcribed
differently. I am not an expert of religion, so is {yeSuS} the same
person as {yeSuwa}?
Yes. One is a transliteration of the name from Greek, the other a
transliteration of the name from Hebrew. The Greek name is itself
a transliteration and modification of the Hebrew name, which is
itself a variant of an earlier name.
I they are not, why is the seceond part of their
name {'IHrIStoS} in both cases? And if so, who is the person named
{QIStuS}? Even within an obviously clear situation, it is not clear at all.
The name Christ and its origins are more complicated, because the name was not meant to be a surname; it means messiah. As time went on, the name came to be viewed more as a surname or second name. So to translate the name Jesus Christ, one has to decide whether one is going to translate messiah or transliterate Χριστός, משיח, Christos, or Christ.
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to translations and names. You have to consider your audience and purpose.
How, for instance, would you translate the name Bilbo Baggins into Klingon? Well, one way would be to transliterate: bIlbo be'ghInIS. But wait! Tolkien left notes for translators of The Lord of the Rings on how to deal with all sorts of names.
Baggins. Intended to recall 'bag'—compare Bilbo's conversation with Smaug in The Hobbit—and meant to be associated (by hobbits) with Bag End (that is, the end of a 'bag' or 'pudding bag' = cul-de-sac), the local name for Bilbo's house. (It was the local name for my aunt's farm in Worcestershire, which was at the end of a lane leading to it and no further). Compare also Sackville-Baggins. The translation should contain an element meaning 'sack, bag'.
So a translator honoring Tolkien will probably call the character bIlbo buq'InIS or something like that, to put buq in there. Not something you'd necessarily think of without guidance. Then there's the village name Bywater. He says "Translate by sense." You wouldn't transliterate as bay'water; you'd call it bIQDaq.
But a translator of the Bible doesn't have the author's notes on how to translate names. So one must come up with one's own style guide. It doesn't really matter what it is, so long as you're consistent. If there are accepted standards in translated literature, you'd be well served to do what they did, but it's not a requirement.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer.
-- SuStel http://trimboli.name