Translation and provisional translations
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Shoghi Effendi, Translation and provisional translations, bahai-library.com.
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Translation and provisional translations

Shoghi Effendi

Universal House of Justice

Universal House of Justice, Research Department

, compiler

n.d.

Contents:

Extracts from Letters Written on Behalf of Shoghi Effendi  by or on Behalf of the Universal House of Justice on Translation

Policies Governing Authorized and Provisional Translations of the Bahá'í Holy Writings into English and their Publication

Letter from the House, 16 September 1992

Excerpt from a letter by the Guardian

1. Selected Extracts from Letters Written on Behalf of Shoghi Effendi

and by or on Behalf of the Universal House of Justice on Translation

From a Letter Written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi

He is interested in accomplishing two things -- he would like
in the European languages to have as much uniformity with
the English translations as possible; he does not wish the
Bahá'í translations to be in any way a flagrant violation of
the rules of the language into which our literature is being
translated.

Your Committee must conscientiously study this question, and
then do the best you can to have the Bahá'í literature in
French meet the high standards of the French language and
grammar.

(15 February 1957 to the National Translation and Publication
Committee of France)[1]

From Letters Written by or on Behalf of the Universal House of Justice

The matter of translation is a major problem. As you
yourself know only too well, to convey exactly the meaning
and flavour of a passage from one language to another is
often impossible and one can but labour to approach as near
as possible to the unattainable perfection. Even our
Beloved Guardian, whose skill in this art amounted to
genius, characterized his translation of the "Kitáb-i-Iqán"
as "one more attempt to introduce to the West, in language
however inadequate, this book of unsurpassed pre-eminence
among the writings of the Author of the Bahá'í Revelation,
and he expressed the hope "that it may assist others in
their efforts to approach what must always be regarded as
the unattainable goal -- a befitting rendering of
Bahá'u'lláh's matchless utterance."

The difficulty of translation increases when two languages
express the thoughts and metaphors of widely differing
cultures; thus, it is infinitely more difficult for a
European to conceive the thought patterns expressed in
Arabic or Persian than to understand a passage written in
English. Moreover, the Beloved Guardian was not only a
translator but the inspired Interpreter of the Holy
Writings; thus, where a passage in Persian or Arabic could
give rise to two different expressions in English he would
know which one to convey. Similarly he would be much better
equipped than an average translator to know which metaphor
to employ in English to express a Persian metaphor which
might be meaningless in literal translation.

Thus, in general, speakers of other European tongues will
obtain a more accurate translation by following the
Guardian's English translation than by attempting at this
stage in Bahá'í history to translate directly from the
original.

This does not mean, however, that the translators should
not also check their translations with the original texts if
they are familiar with Persian or Arabic. There may be many
instances where the exact meaning of the English text is
unclear to them and this can be made evident by comparison
with the original.

(From a letter dated 8 December 1964 written by the
Universal House of Justice to an individual believer) [2]

A translation should of course be as true as possible to
the original while being in the best possible style of the
language into which it is being translated. However, you
should realize that it will not be possible to translate the
Tablets adequately into easy, modern Dutch. Many of the
original Writings of Bahá'í and 'Abdu'l-Bahá are written in
very exalted and poetic Persian and Arabic and therefore a
similar flavour should be attempted in the language into
which it is translated. You will see, for example, that in
translating the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh into English the
beloved Guardian has created a very beautiful and poetic
style in English using many words which might be considered
archaic and are reminiscent of the English used by the
translators of the King James Version of the Bible.

As you point out, a literal translation is often a bad one
because it can produce a phraseology of imagery that would
convey the wrong impression; thus, a translator is at times
compelled to convey the meaning of the original by means of
a form of words suited to the language. However, a person
translating the Bahá'í Writings must always bear in mind
that he or she is dealing with the Word of God, and, when
striving to convey the meaning of the original, he should
exert his utmost to make his rendering both faithful and
befitting.
(From a letter dated 29 October 1973 written by the Universal
House of Justice to an individual believer)[3]

Those who are entrusted with the task of translating the
Sacred Writings from the original into English should study
the original very closely, and then attempt to express as
accurately and as beautifully as possible in English that
which the original conveys. To do this they frequently have
to use various different synonyms in English to give the
best translation of the same Arabic or Persian word when it
appears in different contexts. Conversely, they may have to
use the same English word in different contexts to translate
various different words in the original. In doing this they
attempt to follow the example set by Shoghi Effendi in his
magnificent translations.
(From a letter dated 31 May 1981 written on behalf of the
Universal House of Justice to a National Translation and
Revision Committee of a National Spiritual Assembly.)[4]

With regard to your question about the style of English
used in the translation of Bahá'í prayers, we are asked to point
out that finding an adequate style in English for expressing
beautifully the poetic, metaphorical and allusive style of
many of the Bahá'í Scriptures is not easy. The Persian and
Arabic of the Bahá'í Writings are themselves considerably
different from the current styles and usages in those
languages. Shoghi Effendi's solution of using a slightly
archaic form of English, which is somewhat equivalent to the
use in the original languages, makes possible the use of
images and metaphors that might seem strange if expressed in
modern English.

Furthermore, styles of writing are changing comparatively
rapidly. If it were already found necessary to use a style
different from that used for translations fifty years ago,
one can estimate that a further change would be called for
fifty years hence. One merely has to consider the large
number of new translations of the Bible that have appeared,
and are still appearing, and yet many English-speaking
Christians prefer to continue using the Authorized Version
in spite of its proven inaccuracies. Holy Scriptures have a
profound meaning for their readers, and to change the
familiar words too often can be gravely disturbing.

Books of Scripture themselves mould the language in
which they are written. The House of Justice believes
that if translators strive to render the words of the Báb,
Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá into English in a way that
reproduces as accurately as possible the meaning of the
originals, that is as beautiful as possible, and that
harmonizes closely with the style used by Shoghi Effendi,
these Writings themselves will have a far-reaching effect on
the ability of Bahá'ís, and especially Bahá'í children and
youth, to use the English language effectively for thought
and for expression.
(From a letter dated 3 February 1988 written on behalf of
the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)[5]

Of course the most fundamental requirement for the
attainment of a good translation is the availability of the
translator who has not only a thorough understanding of the
original language, but also is able to write in clear and
beautiful French, so that he can re-express in French not
only the true meaning of the original, but can clothe it in
language which appropriately reproduces in the French idiom
the beauty of style of the original. While a literal
translation is almost inevitably a bad translation, the
translator must guard against departing from or adding to
the meaning of the original even though he may have to use a
phrase to translate a word, or reduce a phrase in the
original to one word in the French, or recast the order of a
sentence, or replace a metaphor which would be meaningless
if translated literally by an equivalent one which conveys
the same meaning. In translating Shoghi Effendi's writings
in particular, you may find that many of his long sentences,
which are perfectly clear in English, are impossible in
French and must be divided into shorter ones.

If there is no French-speaking Bahá'í with the requisite
command of both languages, or if such friends are over-burdened, you may most certainly employ non-Bahá'í
translators. Here, however, you may face another problem,
that of the translator's understanding the Bahá'í teachings
which underlie the words. It would be essential for you to
have such translations carefully checked by knowledgeable
Bahá'ís, who can raise with the translator any passages
which they feel convey the wrong meaning.

When you are having any of the Sacred Texts translated
on the basis of authorized English translations, you should
involve in the work one or more Bahá'ís who are fluent in
French and are also familiar with the original Arabic or
Persian. Thus, when the translator finds he is unable to
grasp the exact meaning of the English words, his
understanding can be illuminated by reference to the
original texts.
(From a letter dated 2 December 1988 written on behalf of
the Universal House of Justice to Maison d'Editions Bahá'íes)[6]

2. Policies Governing Authorized and Provisional
Translations of the Bahá'í Holy Writings into
English and their Publication

4 July 1999

The principal purpose of these policies is to extend the use of provisional translations to publications in books and pamphlets, provided that they are of adequate quality, without involving the delays which would be required to have them thoroughly reviewed, corrected and polished.

Tablets, or extracts therefrom, translated into English for use or publication by the Bahá'í World Centre will continue to be reviewed by an ad hoc translation and review committee at the World Centre and designated as authorized translations.

Individual believers are free to translate into English any of the Holy Writings for their own use. Such translations may also be issued electronically, and may be published in circulars or journals without review by anyone other than the editors of the publications, but they must, in all cases, be clearly labeled as "provisional translations."

If such translations are to be included in books or pamphlets intended for publication by a Bahá'í publisher, the Trust or private publisher involved should forward the manuscript to the Bahá'í World Centre for clearance, together with copies of the Arabic or Persian texts used in the translation. If the publisher is not a Bahá'í agency, the authors or translators themselves should forward the manuscript and the Arabic or Persian texts to the World Centre for consideration prior to the involvement of any non-Bahá'í publisher. If the translations are found to be of a quality adequate for publication, the manuscript will be returned to the sender with a note to this effect. Such translations should be identified as "provisional translations". If the translations are found not to be of acceptable quality, they will be returned to the translator for reworking. This procedure does not replace the normal review process for the book as a whole, which remains the responsibility of the National Spiritual Assembly within whose area of jurisdiction the book or pamphlet is to be published.

3. Letter from the House, 16 September 1992

The Universal House of Justice

Bahá'í World Centre

Department of the Secretariat

16 September 1992

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

The questions contained in your letter to ... about the
language of Revelation and the status of Shoghi Effendi's
translations were referred to the Universal House of
Justice. We are instructed to convey the following response.

With respect to your inquiry about whether, in the Bahá'í
context, English might possibly be regarded as a language of
Revelation, the House of Justice asks us to explain that,
while Shoghi Effendi's translations of the Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh into English carry with them a large measure of
interpretation of the intent and purpose of the Author of
the text -- an interpretation which he, as Interpreter of
the Sacred Text, could alone authoritatively provide -- one
should not conclude that the English language into which the
Writings were translated could, therefore, be considered as
a language of Revelation.

As to the special status of Shoghi Effendi's translations,
the beloved Guardian in a letter dated 15 November 1956
written on his behalf specified that "this English
translation" of a Text should form the "basis" for
translations into other European languages. The Universal
House of Justice, in a letter of 8 September 1964 underlined
the uniqueness of the translations of Shoghi Effendi and
provided the following elucidation:
...the beloved Guardian was not only a translator but the
inspired Interpreter of the Holy Writings; thus, where a
passage in Persian or Arabic could give rise to two
different expressions in English he would know which one to
convey. Similarly he would be much better equipped than an
average translator to know which metaphor to employ in
English to express a Persian metaphor which might be
meaningless in literal translation.

Thus, in general, speakers of other European tongues will
obtain a more accurate translation by following the
Guardian's English translation than by attempting at this
stage in Bahá'í history to translate directly from the
original.

This does not mean, however, that the translators should not
also check their translation with the original texts if they
are familiar with Persian or Arabic. There may be many
instances where the exact meaning of the English text is
unclear to them and this can be made evident by comparison
with the original....

The Universal House of Justice has also clarified that while
the English translations of the Guardian might serve as a
useful resource, translations into Oriental languages such
as Turkish and Urdu could be made directly from the original
texts.

We are asked to assure you of the prayers of the Universal
House of Justice for the confirmation of your services to
the Cause of God.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,
For Department of the Secretariat

, ...

4. Excerpt from a letter by the Guardian,
14 August 1930

Concerning the different translations of the Words.
It is surely the original text that should never be
changed. The translations will continue to vary as
more and better translations are made. Shoghi Effendi
does not consider even his own translations as final,
how much more translations made in the early days of
the Cause in the West when no competent translators
existed.

-- From a letter on behalf of the Guardian to
John Hyde Dunn, 14 August 1930

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-- Translation and provisional translations (Used by permission of the curator)