Eugene A. Nida: Theoretician of Translation Philip C. Stine

hen the history of the church in the twentieth cen- Nida’s methods can be seen in translations such as the Good Wtury is written, the name of Eugene Nida will figure News Bible, the French Français Courant, the German Die Gute prominently. Nida brought about a revolution in the field of Bible Nachricht, and the Spanish Versión Popular, translations with translation, which resulted in millions of people in hundreds of which he had some direct involvement. But most contemporary languages gaining access to the Bible in an unprecedented way. translations such as the NRSV or NIV also show his influence. The resulting impact on the growth and Translators in hundreds of languages have development of the church will continue to similarly produced Bibles that are easily be felt throughout this century. understood throughout a language-speaking Born November 11, 1914, in Oklahoma area. City, Oklahoma, Eugene A. Nida passed away August 25, 2011, in Madrid. He is survived Formation and Schooling by his second wife, Dr. Elena Fernandez- Miranda, whom he married in 1997. His At the tender age of four, Nida acknowledged first wife, Althea, had passed away in 1993. a call to be a missionary. Later at the University Through his numerous books and pub- of California, Los Angeles, where he studied lications and extraordinary lecture schedule, Greek and Latin, he thought he might work Nida was able to help scholars, translators, in Bible translation in Africa, so he studied and specialists in Christian missions find new the work of the linguists Edward Sapir and ways to think about effective communication. Leonard Bloomfield. He graduated in 1936 William Smalley noted, “The promotion of summa cum laude, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, professional expertise, the development earning one of the highest ratings or GPAs of translation theory and of translation in the university’s history. procedures based on such theory, began At a Bible club at UCLA he learned of when Eugene A. Nida joined the American the work of Cameron Townsend, founder Bible Society staff in 1943.”1 For more than of Wycliffe Bible Translators. In 1936 Nida Eugene A. Nida fifty years, Gene Nida was the leader of the studied and also taught at Townsend’s sum- translation program of the American Bible mer camp and then went briefly to Mexico to Society, and subsequently the intellectual leader of the global undertake translation himself. Poor health forced him to return program of the United Bible Societies, as well as consultant to to California, where in 1939 he completed a master’s degree at that organization. the University of Southern California in New Testament Greek. Before Nida, Bible translations were primarily produced He subsequently studied linguistics under Charles C. Fries at the by missionaries, whose approach was generally to produce a University of Michigan, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1943. formally equivalent translation, sometimes based on the original His dissertation, “A Synopsis of English Syntax,” presented the languages, but often based on translations available in European first full-scale analysis of any major language using a theory languages such as English or French. Their work was sent to known as Immediate Constituent Analysis. London, Amsterdam, or New York for checking before being Also in 1943 Nida was ordained by the Southern California published. Association of the Northern Baptist Convention, he married Nida realized that for readers and listeners to understand the Althea Lucille Sprague, and he joined the American Bible Society Bible, they needed translations that, as much as possible, were translation department. Initially this appointment was part-time, produced by native speakers; furthermore, he knew that these as he continued to spend every summer until 1953 teaching at translations had to be checked in the field with the translators. the Summer Institute of Linguistics. As he traveled and consulted with translators, using concepts from linguistics, cultural studies, communication sciences, and Translation Secretary and Communicator psychology, he developed a practical approach to translation that he called dynamic equivalence or functional equivalence, the goal Nida was an extraordinarily effective communicator, and he of which was to make the translation clear and understandable as trained many translators himself. All along he published prodi- well as accurate. In addition, he developed a pedagogic method giously. The most complete presentations of his theory are in his so that translators from a wide range of educational backgrounds Toward a Science of Translating (1964) and, coauthored with Charles could learn how to apply the method. Taber, The Theory and Practice of Translation (1969). “Good missionaries have always been good anthropologists,” Philip C. Stine was director for translation, production, Nida wrote in the preface of Customs and Cultures. He realized and distribution services for the United Bible Socie- that good translation, which after all was good communication, ties (UBS) from 1992 to 1998. Previously he was the required a solid understanding of the culture of the people. In UBS translation services coordinator (1984–92) and order to help missionaries work on their tasks more effectively, served in Africa (1968–82). He is the author of Let Nida wrote Customs and Cultures (1954) and Message and Mission: the Words Be Written: The Lasting Influence of The Communication of the Christian Faith (1960). In addition, in Eugene A. Nida (Brill, 2005). 1953 he helped found and edit the journal Practical Anthropol- —[email protected] ogy. Through this journal, Nida and his Bible Society colleagues

38 International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 36, No. 1 demonstrated how important it is for the Gospel to be deeply Nida’s theory and approach, valuable as they were, would connected with the culture of a particular people. They showed not have carried the day if he had not dedicated himself to clearly that, when this connection takes place, the church is spreading these ideas through years of travel and teaching, and bound to grow. through building up teams of consultants and teachers. He had Nida, who recognized the need for translators to have the an amazing ability to inspire people, inspiration that came in very best base texts to work from, led major projects on both the part from the convincing facts he presented, and in part from Greek New Testament and the Hebrew Old Testament. He was the energy of his presentations and his skill as a communicator. also responsible for a new approach to lexicography. By focus- But what always drove him was a deep conviction that, if the ing on different meanings of words according to their varied Scriptures were accessible to people, they would hear God’s voice semantic contexts, the two-volume Greek-English Lexicon of the and have an encounter with Christ that would lead to transfor- New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, which he prepared mation. Recognizing that his work had helped bring this about with Johannes Louw, helped translators understand how best was clearly what gave Gene the greatest joy. to render words with multiple meanings.2 Notes 1. William A. Smalley, Translation as Mission: Bible Translation in the 2. Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, eds., Greek-English Lexicon Modern Missionary Movement (Macon, Ga.: Mercer Univ. Press, 1991), of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 2 vols. (New York: p. 28. United Bible Societies, 1988).

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