Power relations in Bible translation: a sociolinguistic analysis of selected English and Kinyarwanda passages from the book of Genesis

Abstract

This article applies sociolinguistic and descriptive translation studies approaches to identify and analyse aspects of power dynamics embedded in the English and Kinyarwanda versions of the book of Genesis in the Christian Bible. The major aspects described include imperative/compulsion, warnings/prohibitions, curses/punishments, supremacy, authority/fear, solidarity/cooperation, deference and politeness. A number of non-verbal markers of power are also analysed. This article posits that power relations constitute a non-negligible social aspect of language which should be carefully taken into consideration in Bible translation. The comparative analysis of the English and Kinyarwanda translations of selected passages shows that the neglect of these aspects leads to a loss of the original context and meaning, and this may have disastrous effects on the target audience.