darth_ender said:
I see what you are saying. I think perhaps you misunderstand the meaning of the perfection of the translation. For instance, I am assisting with the translation of the Dejarik rules. Bewy translated things very literally at times. I am trying to make it more accessible to an English reader. If it's truly "faithful," does that preclude the use of words and phrases that would be understandable to a modern English reader? I think not. Even the NAB has to make such "compromises" for the sake of clarity. Let me give another example. In Spanish, the word for dream is "sueno' (with a ~ over the n). If I'm sleepy, I say, "Tengo sueno," which literally means, "I have a dream." If I were to translate a Spanish book faithfully, does that mean I have to translate this phrase so it sounds like Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking? Or would it be better to translate it as, "I'm sleepy"?
That's a good point. I have another question though. If the Nephites et al. named New World animals after Old World animals, rather than giving them new names (e.g. tapirs, deer, bison), would it not have made more sense for Joseph Smith to give them their proper English names in his translation, especially if his translational work was divinely inspired? Of course, that wouldn't be necessary, but why would he render some words into the more familiar English terms, but retain the more literal translations for other words?
EDIT: Assuming that that is your understanding of the seemingly anachronistic animals. If not, then I would like to ask instead, what do you think best explains the appearance of Old World animals in texts written in the New World?
I am sure there are other anachronisms you may come across, many far more confusing than the use of the term "Jew." For instance, in 2 Nephi the title "Christ" is used for the first time, which is the Greek word for "anointed." But they are speaking Hebrew or a similar dialect. Confusing, right? Well, if you want an answer to that, I can discuss it further, but I'm definitely pretty busy today. In any case, for a history of the word Jew, look at this wiki article.
It was while after reading the chapter that first names him (2 Nephi 25) that I asked my question. I didn't have a problem with "Christ" since it is more or less synonymous with "Messiah" and has since been incorporated into the English language. As for the term "Jew," I was under the impression that the word now translated as "Jew" only came into use in the second century B.C., but that was only when it was first used to describe the Jewish religion and the faithful of Israel as a whole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jew_(word)
The term "Jew" technically didn't even come around till English existed. But if we look at the etymology of the word, there are several synonyms in different languages, and other words mean exactly the same thing: of the Tribe of Judah.
It makes sense in the text, in that case.
Wish I had more time.
No, you answered my question. :)