THE TRANSLATION OF KRISTOS AS KRISTO IN THE DANGME MOTHER TONGUE TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT VISITED

Kuwornu-Adjaottor Jonathan E. T

Abstract The writer contends that Greek word Kristos should be translated and spelt Klisto in the Dangme

New Testament because the Dangme has no “r;” the nearest in sound is “l.”

Comparing the way New Testament is generally taught with the methodology used at three institutions in , and the results the usage of such a methodology, it is being recommended that New Testament Greek in Ghana/ should be taught with the Greek New Testament and the mother-tongue translations of the New Testament. This will allay the fears of students who get scared at the start of the study of New Testament Greek, and motivate them to get interest in the discipline from the unset. Further, it will help students to apply what they learn to their study of the New Testament as a whole.

Key words: Kristos, Klristo, Klisto, Dangme orthography, Dangme mother-tongue translation of the New Testament.

Introduction The word Christ appears in English and most European languages. It is derived from the Greek

Kristos, transcribed in Latin as Christus in the New Testament to describe Jesus. Christ is now often used as a name, one part of the name “Jesus,” but is actually a title, the Messiah. Its usage

“Christ Jesus” emphasises its nature as a title (Doniger, 1999: 212; Pannenberg, 1977: 30-31). In the Septuagint (LXX) version of the Hebrew Bible, the word Kristos is used to translate the

Hebrew mashiach, Messiah, meaning “anointed” (Zanzig, 1999: 314; Etynonline, 2013).

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“Christ” is one of the most familiar terms by which Jesus is known, both in the New Testament and in subsequent Christian tradition. All the canonical Gospels apply the term to Jesus, but each has its own interesting variation in the way Jesus is presented as “Christ” (Green, McKnight &

Marshall, 1992:106).

The spelling of Kristos (Greek Genetive case: tou Kristou), and Nominative: ho Kristos) in

English as “Christ” was standardised in the eighteenth century, during the Enlightenment, when the spelling of certain words were changed to fit Greek or Latin origins. Before this era, in Old and Middle English, the word was spelled Crist, with the i pronounced either as /i:/, preserved in the names of churches such as St Katherine Cree, or as a short /i/, preserved in the modern pronunciation of Christmas. The spelling “Christ” is attested from the fourteenth century

(Proffitt, 2005).

In modern and ancient usage, even within secular terminology, Christ usually refers to Jesus, building on the centuries’ old tradition of such use. Since the Apostolic Age, the use of the definite article before the word Christ and its development into a proper name signifies its identification with Jesus as the promised Messiah (Rubinstein, 2004).

In Ghana, the Bible Translation Agencies – Bible Society of Ghana (GBS), the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (GILLBT) and the International Bible Society

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(IBS) - have translated the New Testament into twenty-seven mother-tongues of sixty-seven

Ghanaian languages , and the full Bible into thirteen (Kuwornu-Adjaottor, 2012: 121-129). The

Dangme has three versions of the New Testament: Somi He ô, (Bible Society of Ghana. 1977);

Wami Munyuô: Somi He ô Kâ La ame, (Dangme New Testament and Psalms, International

Bible Society, 1997) and the Ngmami Klôuklôu ô, (The Dangme Full Bible, Bible Society of

Ghana/United Bible Societies, 1999). How is the Greek word Kristos translated in the Dangme

Bible (New Testament)? What accounts for the difference in the translation and spelling of

Krisotos in the Dangme and the Gᾱ, Eûe, Fante, Akuapem- and Asante-Twi translations of the New Testament?

Kristos as Kristo in the Dangme New Testament Dangme is the aboriginal language in Ghana spoken by the people of Ada, Ningo, Kpone,

Prampram, Osudoku, Shai (Sε), Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo. The language is tonal and the eight Dangme tribes have peculiar linguistic characteristics (Bureau of Ghana Languages,

Dangme Version, 1990: 5). In all the three translations of the Dangme New Testament cited above, the word Kristos (Christos) which appears in 531 times in the Greek New Testament

(Nestle-Aland, 1994), has been translated as Kristo.

A comparison of the spellings of Kristos (Greek) and its translation into Dangme Greek Alphabet Sound English Dangme Sound Transliteration Alphabet A, a AHL-fah a A, a ah

B, b VEE-tah b B, b bah

G, g GHAH-mah g G, g geh

D, d THEL-tah d D, d dah

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E, e EHP-see-lon e E, e ee

Z, z ZEE-tah z Z, z zi

H, h EE-tah … Ââ âh

Q, q THEE-tah th

I, i Yo-tah i I,i ih

K, k KAH-pah k K, k kh

L, l LAHM-thah l L, l lh

M, m mee m M, m m

N, n nee n N, n n

X, x ksee

O, o OH-mee-kron o O, o oh

P, p pee p P, p p

R, r roh, roe r R, r

S, s, j SEEGH-mah s S, s sh

T, t tahf t T, t t

Y, u EWP-see-lon u U, u uh

F, f fee ph F, f f

X, c hee ch

Y, y psee psi

W, w oh-MEE-ghah õ

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From the table of the two language alphabets, it is clear that the Dangme alphabet has no “r.” The contention that there is no “r” in Dangme is supported by Abedi-Boafo (1971), Accam (1972) and Bureau of Ghana Languages (1990). These authors have arranged some Dangme words, idiomatic expressions and proverbs alphabetically but “r” is not captured in their writings. So how should a word with the letter “r” be spelt in the Dangme? The simplest way to do that is to find the letter which sound is closest to that of “r” and that is “l.” But how come that Kristos is spelt Kristo in the Dangme mother-tongue translations of the New Testament?

A comparison of the Greek alphabet with those of the Dangme, Gᾱ, Eûe, Fante, Akuapem-Twi and Asante-Twi can help us answer the question. But before we do that it is important to know where the languages are spoken in Ghana.

Gã is the aboriginal language of the people of Ga Mashie, (the Ga State) which lies along the

Gulf of Guinea in Southern Ghana, extending from the Laåma Hill on the West to Tema in the

East. Gã is a tonal language and changes in meaning of words may be brought about by tonal differences, (Bureau of Ghana Languages, Gã Version 1999, 5). The Gã language is comparatively a new dialect. It is a cognate of the older dialects of the people of Ada and Krobo, which are spoken in the south-eastern triangular corner of Ghana between the sea, the Akuapem mountains and the lower course of the river Volta. (Akrofi, Botchey & Takyi, 1996: iv).

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Eûe is spoken in the Volta Region of Ghana, the Republic of Togoland, and the eastern part of the Republic of Benin. It is a tonal language and changes in meaning can be brought about by tonal differences, (Bureau of Ghana Languages, Eûe Version, 1999:5).

Asante-Twi is an Akan dialect. Even though this language is known as Asante-Twi, but it is the dialect of the following states in Ghana: Asante, Brong-, Kate-Krakye, , Sahwi,

Twiforo, Wasa, , Dankyira, Adanse, Abuakwa, , Akyem Bosome,

Kwawu and New Juaben (Bureau of Ghana Languages, Asante Version, 1998:3).

Akuapem-Twi is an Akan dialect spoken in the south-eastern part of Ghana, mainly by the people of Akuapem and . It has some peculiar linguistic features that differentiates it from Asante-Twi and Fante, even though it is understood by the other groups

(Akrofi, Botchey & Takyi, 1996: iii).

Fante, usually called Mfantse by the tribes which speak it, is spoken mainly in the Central and

Western Regions of Ghana, but it is understood in the other Regions of Southern Ghana and in

Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo. Fante is a tonal language and changes in meaning may be brought about by tonal differences (Bureau of Ghana Languages, Asante Version, 1990: 6).

Greek Dangme Gã Eûe Asante- Akuapem- Fante Twi Twi A a Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa B b Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb G g Gg Gb D d Dd Dd Dd Dd Dd Dd E e Ee Ee Ee Ee Ee Ee Z z Zz Zz Zz

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H h Q q I i Ii Ii Ii Ii Ii Ii K k Kk Kk Kk Kk Kk Kk L l Ll Ll Ll Ll Ll Ll Mm Mm Mm Mm Mm Mm Mm Nn Nn Nn Nn Nn Nn Nn X x Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Pp Pp Pp Pp Pp Pp Pp Rr Rr Rr Rr Rr Rr Ss(j Ss Ss Ss Ss Ss Ss Tt Tt Tt Tt Tt Tt Tt Uu Uu Uu Uu Uu Uu Uu Ff Ff Ff Ff Ff Ff Ff Cc Yy Ww

A comparison of the Greek and the Dangme alphabets with those of the Gᾱ, Eûe, Fante,

Akuapem-Twi and Asante-Twi reveals that, out of the six Ghanaian mother-tongues, only the

Dangme does not have the letter “r” as part of its alphabet. Thus, the spelling of Kristo in the

Dangme may have been influenced by the Gᾱ, Eûe, Fante, Akuapem-Twi and Asante-Twi translations of the Bible (see Bible Society of Ghana 1908/2006, 1931, 1948, 1964/2012,

1964/2012). This assertion is confirmed by Kuwornu-Adjaottor who in an interview with the two surviving translators of the Bible into Dangme, found out that the translators did not make use of one specific source for the Dangme Bible translation project; but relied on sources such as Bible

Helps and Translation Guides, and different English translations of the Bible – KJV, RSV, NKJV,

NIV, TEV (GNB); and some earlier Ghanaian mother-tongue translations – Gā, Ewe, Fante,

Akuapem-Twi and Asanti-Twi. The team also went to indigenous Dangme-speaking communities to research into words that posed challenges to them (Kuwornu-Adjaottor 2012,

195-196).

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The contention that the Dangme alphabet does not have “r” and that the letter “l” should be used in translating and spelling the Greek word Kristos in the Dangme New Testament is also supported by an unpublished Christological poem titled Yesu Klisto by Jacob Tetteh, a university graduate in Dangme and Linguistics, to express his understanding of Jesus Christ.

1. Nô lâ baa nâ a wo ô Nôbatey The name Nôbatey is given for a reason E pee we nyakpâ kaa a tsâ â mo It is not surprising that you are called Ajingmlâpo ngâ siada we The first born in the house of God Mo ji kane ngua kâ ha je ô tsuo You are the great light for the whole world Emmanuel! Mawu kâ wô ngâ sa mo niinâ Emmanuel! God with us befits you Ejakaa o hwô we mahâ ngâ o bimâ a he. For you are not asleep among your children.

2. Mo ji Adâ mi Suô You are the elephant of creation Nâ e se kpâli wu we bô Whom those who follow do not get lost Ngâ Tsakuetsâ Ongmo hâ mi ô Before God Mo lâ o pee kpangmi nya tso You became the protective tree Kâ Daminô-Kôle And holy eagle Loko adesa ye e he Before human beings became free Kâ pee hâ nô kalô nâ. And have hope.

3. Ngâ Yesu Klisto se ô Apart from your name Jesus Christ Palemi biâ komâ There are certain attributes Nâ a pee ô mo Oletu That show-case your wisdom Kâ Olâge-Siômâ ji: And fame: Tsakuetsâ Ongmo, Father God, Openôsa, You are above everybody Jealângâtsâ, You carry the whole world on your head Jedidô, A water pot for the world Oklepekuku kâ You are bigger than the termite-king Blumale. You are mighty.

4. Mo ji Laosiada You are the mighty God Ngâ siada we In God’s kingdom Akôsiki Dede, The first born female Dômite mi Dômite! The first born male of all males Binyâ nâ le bimâ The parent who knows the future of children Kâ bibimâ a hwô And that of grandchildren Adesa pue mo gbô si Human beings praise Nâ a pue mo nlâyu si And adore you Ejakaa, benâ yayami For, when sin Pee lawô daku nâ e ha Became a canopy Adesa kâ Ongmo a kpâti ô Between human beings and God O ba pee alakli-boso kâ ha nye yemi. You became a saviour for redemption.

5. Nyakpâno kâ Jealângâtsâ Wonderful person, the universe carrier Hu peeô o biâ ômâ These titles are part A mi tsitla a komâ Of your well-known titles

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Ejakaa, ngâ o fami nya a, For, at your command Wo kâ oslôke tsuo The storm of the sea Peeô amuâti mi amuâti Calms down Nâ dioo kâ kpoo And peace He sâ si ngâ wo katsâ hâ mi Reigns in the at the shore of the sea Kâ pee bua sâ nô kâ ha adesa To encourage human beings O! Ojelua ji mo ninâ. Indeed, you are gentle.

6. He si bami ngmawe! A humble pot Mo nâ o kâ o tsâ You who though are Odeopeeô ô sô mohu lââ Equal with your Father, the promise-fulfiller Se, o di o Kalete-Adiagba But you do not boast your equality with him and Nâ o ji se sãsããsã Expensive nature at all O gu dioo kâ kpoo mi You trod the path of humility Kâ da tangme, kplibi And faced the scourge Kâ akplô nya And spear Kâ he gojoo ngâ gojootsâmâ a dâ To receive fame among the famous Kâ pee Olegô mi gô ngâ je ô tsuo. You have become a linguist for the whole world.

7. Mo ji pletsâ kâ nguâlô nâ e se be You are the most bravest protector who ever lived Pletsâ nâ ke e bli e ple mi The bravest protector Bu e bimâ a nô ô, Who opens his wings on his children Hiômi kâ pu pee we a nyagba And they are protected from the sun and rain Nyasa digblo kâ kpââ ji mo You are full of wisdom O hââ Lao-Siada su ô tsuo You have the attributes of the God Lôô he je ô, So you are always present especially at times He nâ adesa juâmi nya tã ngâ ô pâ ji mo When human beings come to their wits end Tsâ, Bi kâ Muni Klôuklôu ô Father, Son and Holy Spirit Peeô abôlongo kâ ha je ô tsuo. You are one God-in-three Persons to the whole world.

Teaching New Testament Greek with the Greek New Testament and the Ghanaian mother- tongue translation

Comparing the translation and spelling of Kristos (Greek) with Kristo (Dangme) shows that we can teach New Testament Greek with the Ghanaian mother-tongue translations. This can help students apply what they learn in New Testament Greek. The writer who has been teaching New

Testament Greek for the past five years uses a creative approach – teaching Greek with the Greek

New Testament and the Ghanaian mother-tongue translations right from the unset – at three institutions: Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences,

University of Science and Technology, , Ghana; St. Gregory the Great Provincial Major

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Seminary, Parkoso, Kumasi; and the Asante Presbytery Bible School, Kumasi. The result is that students have come to love New Testament Greek because it helps them to dialogue with the translations of the New Testament in their various mother-tongues. Some have gone further to write their B.A. Long Essays and M.Phil Theses, comparing some words and terminologies in the Greek New Testament with how such words have been rendered in their mother-tongues.

Example of such researches by students are as are as follows:

 Akwei Doris Gyamfi. “A Comparative Study of the Book of James in the Kyerâw Kronkron (Akuapem-Twi Bible) and the Nkwa Asâm (Akuapem-Twi New Testament and Psalms). B. A. Religious Studies, KNUST, 2010.  Molenaar Nana Banyin Michael. “A Comparative Study of some Themes and Expressions in the First Epistle of John in the Nmale Krôåkrôå Le (Old Translation of the Ga Bible) and Nmale Krôåkrôå Le (New Translation of the Ga Bible). B. A. Religious Studies, KNUST, 2010.  Boadu Emmanuel. “A comparative study of Paul’s letter to the Colossians in two versions of the Bible in Asante Twi (Twerâ Kronkron and Nkwa Asâm).” B. A. Religious Studies, KNUST, 2011.  Ehun Emmanuel. “A comparative study of some words and phrases in the epistle to the Philippians in the Greek New Testament and in two translations of the Fante New Testament.” B. A. Religious Studies, KNUST, 2011.  Andoh Ekow Michael. “Comparative study of the book of the Revelation of John chapters 1-5, in two translations of the Fante Bible: Nwoma Krônkrôn Ahyâmu Dadaw nye Ahyâmu Fofor No and Ahyâmu Fofor No.” B. A. Religious Studies, KNUST, 2011.  Gyan Lot. “A comparative study of the first letter of Paul to the Church of the Thessalonica, in two translations of the Fante Bible: (Nwoma Krônkrôn Ahyâmu Dadaw nye Ahyâmu Fofor No and Ahyâmu Fofor No).” B. A. Religious Studies, KNUST, 2011.  Adomako Frema Grace. “The translation of Echomen Archeirea in Hebrews 8:1 and Nephos Marturōn in Hebrews 12:1in the Twerâ Kronkron – The Asante-Twi Bible.” B. A. Religious Studies, KNUST, 2012.  Dawson Ebow Darko. “Matthew 5:2, A Fante Reader Response”. B.A. Religious Studies, KNUST, 2013.  Owusu-Ansah Roland.“The Usage of the Anointing Oil in some Charismatic and Neo- Prophetic Churches in Kumasi in the context of Leviticus 8:1-12 and James 5:14-15.” M.Phil, Religious Studies, KNUST, 2012.

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 Sackey Seth Afful. “Authority in Romans 13:1-7: It Relevance to the Chiefs and People of Gomoa Traditional Area in of Ghana.” M.Phil, Religious Studies, KNUST, 2012.  Amponsah Samuel. “Christian Ministry in Ghana, in the light of Luke 4: 18-19: Case Studies of Ankaasi and Berekum Circuits of the Methodist Church, Ghana.” M.Phil, Religious Studies, KNUST, 2012.  Obeng Adjei Sampson. “Matthew 28: 18-20 Concept of Discipleship and the Class System: A Study of the Effiduase Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana.” M.Phil, Religious Studies, KNUST, 2013.  Danquah Felix Tawiah. “Paul’s Missionary Strategy in Athens [Acts 17:22-34]: A Paradigm for Evangelism in Kumawu, an Akan Community’. M.Phil, Religious Studies, KNUST, 2013.  Twum-Baah Emmanuel Augustus. “Some Translation and Exegetical Problems in the Pastoral Epistles of the Kyerâw Kronkron (Akuapem-Twi Bible)”. M.Phil, Religious Studies, KNUST, 2014.  Fiorgbor Ebenezer Tetteh. “Some Translation Problems in the Pentateuch of the Ngmami Klôuklôu ô (Dangme Bible)”. M.Phil, Religious Studies, KNUST, 2014.

In these projects the candidates, apart from studying the texts in Greek and doing exegesis, also did a comparative study of the Greek texts with their mother-tongue translations, and wrote their comments. Some words and phrases which were translated from the Greek into their mother tongue Bibles but do not communicate with Bible readers in their religio-cultural settings were retranslated.

Conclusion

From the discussion above, it is being recommended that Greek word Kristos should be translated and spelt Klisto in the Dangme New Testament. The writer also recommends that New

Testament Greek in Ghana/Africa should be taught with the Greek New Testament and the mother-tongue translations of the New Testament. This will allay the fears of students who get

11 scared at the start of the study of New Testament Greek. Normally, lecturers of New Testament

Greek give a list of vocabulary in isolation to students to memorize, decline, conjugate and parse.

In most cases students are not able to apply what they learn to their study of the New Testament as a whole, so it makes the study of New Testament Greek boring.

References

Abedi-Boafo, J. (1971). Dangme Nyaii (Classical and Idiomatic Dangme). : Bureau of Ghana Languages.

Accam, T. T. N. (1972). Dangme Abâ Gbi. Accra: Bureau of Ghana Languages.

Akrofi, C. A., Botchey, G. L. & Takyi, B. K. (1996). An English, Akan, Eûe, Gã Dictionary. Accra: Waterville Publishing House.

Biblia. (The Bible in Ewe: New Testament) (1931).. Accra: Bible Society of Ghana/United Bible Societies.

Dangme Ngmami Bô (The Writing of Dangme) (1977). Accra: Bureau of Ghana Languages.

Doniger, W. (1999). Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of World Religions. Springfield, Masschusetts: Merriam-Webster.

Ekem, J. D. K. & Kissi, S. (2010). Essentials of Biblical Greek Morphology. Accra: SonLife Press.

Green, J. B., McKnight, S. & Marshall, I. H. (1992). Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Leiscester: InterVarsity Press.

Kuwornu-Adjaottor, J. E. T. (2012). Patronage and Usage of the Ghanaian Mother-Tongue Bibles in Kumasi. Prime Journal of Social Sciences (PJSS), Vol. 2 (7), November 2012:121-129.

-----. (2012). Mother-Tongue Bibles, Resources for African Biblical Studies. A PhD (by Publication) Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

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Kyerεw Kronkron. (The Bible in Akuapem Twi: New Testament) (1964/2012). Accra: Bible Society of Ghana/United Bible Societies.

Language Guide (Dangme Version). (1986). Accra: Bureau of Ghana Languages.

Language Guide (Dangme Version). (1990). Accra: Bureau of Ghana Languages.

Language Guide (Ewe Version). (1986). Accra: Bureau of Ghana Languages.

Language Guide (Gã Version). (1986). Accra: Bureau of Ghana Languages.

Nestle-Aland Greek-English New Testament. (1994). Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgeselischaft.

Ňmale Kroňkroň Le. (The Bible in Ga: New Testament) (1908). (Accra: Bible Society of Ghana/United Bible Societies.

Ngmami Klôuklôu ô. (The Dangme Bible: New Testament). (1999). Accra: Bible Society of Ghana/United Bible Societies.

Ŋmalε Krŋkroŋ Lε .(The New Ga Bible: New Testament). (2006). Accra: Bible Society of Ghana.

Nwoma Kronkron. (The Bible in Fante: New Testament) (1948). Accra: Bible Society of Ghana/United Bible Societies.

Pannenberg, W. (1977). Jesus God and Man. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: West Minster Press.

Proffitt, M. (2005). Ed. Oxford English Dictionary (3rd. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Online Etymology Dictionary. Etynonline.com. Accessed November 15, 2013.

Rubinstein E. (2004). The New Catholic Encyclopidea. New York: Appleton Company.

Somi He ô. (The New Testament in Dangme). (1977). Accra: Bible Society of Ghana.

Tetteh, J. “Yesu Klisto.” Unpublished Christological Poem.

Twerε Kronkron. (The Bible in Akuapem Twi: New Testament). (1964/2012). Accra: Bible Society of Ghana/United Bible Societies.

Wami Munyuô: Somi He ô Kâ La ame. (Dangme New Testament and Psalms). (1997). Accra: International Bible Society.

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Zanzig, T. (1999). Jesus Christ of History, Christ of Faith. Winona, MN: Saint Mary’s Press.

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