Evaluation of Translation and Interpretation of the Dangme Bible

A critical reading of the Dangme translation of the Bible revealed that there are translation problems of some texts that affect the understanding and application of such texts in the religio-cultural context of Dangme Bible readers. Using the mixed method of research and the mother tongue biblical hermeneutics approach, the author sought to research some phrases of three of such problematic texts: Matt 6:12; Mark 1:12; Luke 24:25. The findings are that among Dangme Bible readers, kâ ke (Grk. afes, forgive, let go) in Matt 6:12 matches better with tômi ômâ (wrongdoings, sins) rather than hiô ômâ (Grk. ofeileemata, debts); in Mark 1:12, ha nε e ho (permitted him to go) is a better rendition of the Greek ekballoo (threw out/cast out); in Luke 24:25, Oo nyâ juâmi he jô, (your mind has become cold) tones down the insult in anoeetoi translated as kuasiahi. The author’s translation of the texts would go a long way in helping Dangme Bible readers understand the said texts in context. The paper has thus, added Dangme translations and interpretations of Matt 6:12, Mark 1:12 and Luke 24:25 to the existing translations and interpretations of the texts.

Christian theological discourse in Africa. 5 The development of theological concern and the formulation of theological questions are closely linked with the identity of which the mother tongue is the basis. He is of the view that "God speaks into the African context in African idioms, and … it is through hearing in African mother tongues 'the great things God has done (Acts 2:11)', that African theology emerges to edify not only the African church but the church worldwide." 6 He opines that, "The mother-tongue is a repository of indigenous wisdom, knowledge, insight, science, theology and philosophy. It is in the mother-tongue that one thinks and dreams, before translating one's thoughts to other languages." 7 The views of the scholars mentioned above suggest the Biblical hermeneutics has a cultural dimension and as such it must include exegesis that reflects a dynamic encounter between Christian and traditional African worldviews, both of which continue to exert a powerful influence on communities. When the Bible enters a culture it should put on the garment of that culture. Appropriate cultural categories should be used to explain biblical truths in a context.

John David Kwamena Ekem:
He conducted a historical case study of the translation of the Bible into four dominant languages -Gā, Twi (Akuapem and Asante), Mfantse and Ewe of the Gold Coast, now Ghana. 8 Regarding the Gā Bible, Ekem acknowledges pioneers like Rev. W. A. Hanson, and focuses on Johannes Zimmermann and his team of national translators who worked together to ensure the translation of the Bible into Gā. In discussing the history of the translation of the Bible into the Akan dialects of Akuapem-Twi and Asante-Twi, Ekem pays particular attention to the work of the Basel Missionaries, especially, Johann Christaller and indigenes like David Asante, Clement Anderson Akrofi and C.A. Denteh. He highlights the development of the Akan language and the politics that went with it. In discussing the translation of the Bible into Mfantse, Ekem says that, unlike the Ga, Akuapem-Twi and Asante-Twi translations, the Mfantse Bible is unique in that its translation was initiated by indigenes. He discusses in detail, the roles of Revs Andrew Parker, J O. Hammond, and Gabriel Acquah. With regards to the translation of the Bible into the Ewe language, Ekem highlights the critical contribution between translators from the Northern German Society (popularly referred to as the Bremen Mission) and their indigenous counterparts in a rich biographical and historical detail. 9 David Nii Anum Kpobi: Kpobi joins the discussion on Bible translation in Ghana in his book, Entrusted with the Word: A History of the Bible Society of Ghana, 1965Ghana, -2015 that traces the historical development of the Bible Society of Ghana and its development from the global Bible Societies. 10 Though Kpobi's work is historical, he raises issues that hinge on the lack of Bible helps such as Study Bibles, commentaries and dictionaries in Ghanaian mother tongues. He says that engaging in these projects requires adaptation of existing works and translation and interpretation from one language to another. The team also went to indigenous Dangme -speaking communities and researched into words that posed hermeneutical challenges to them. 12 Some of the challenges the Dangme Bible Translation Team faced were that, along the line, some of the books that were translated and were sent for review could not be traced; they got missing, and they had to be translated again. This may be due to poor record keeping on the part of the translation team. Also, some of the reviewers did not return their scripts on time. 13 Kpobi gives some information on the Dangme Bible in his book, Entrusted with the Word. 14 15 The Dangme Bible was recorded on cassettes in 2006 as part of the Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) project, to facilitate the reading and discussion of the Dangme Bible in churches and communities. 15 16 He illustrates this with a picture of Dangme people in a town procession at Kasseh, Ada "expressing joy because they can now listen to the Word of God in their own mother tongue, Dangme." 16 17 He indicates that at a special Bible Reading Marathon to commemorate the Bicentenary of the Bible Society worldwide held at the Ridge Church, Accra in 2004, the Dangme Bible was also read. 17 18

EVALUATION OF TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DANGME BIBLE Problems with the Dangme Translation of the Bible
A paragraph of the Nya Tsôômi (Preface) of the Ngmami Klôuklôu ô, The Dangme Bible reads Ngmami Klôuklôuô sisi tsômi kâ ba Dangme mi sisi kâkâ ji nâ. Lô ô he ô, wa kpa pââ kaa ke nô ko na nõ ko nâ hiaa ka a dla a, e tsâ Ghana Biblo Kuu ô tue se ngâ he, konâ a tsu he ni (The translation of the Bible into Dangme is just the beginning. Therefore, we plead that if anyone sees something that needs to be corrected, he or she must bring it to the notice of the Bible Society of Ghana, so that it could be corrected).
This statement set the author thinking and caused him to read the Dangme Bible with critical eyes. He found out that, there are translation and cultural issues facing readers of the Bible. The way some Hebrew and Greek terms, concepts, and phrases have been translated in the Dangme Bible poses a hermeneutical challenge to readers.

METHODOLOGY
The study used the mixed method of research and the mother tongue biblical hermeneutics 18 19 approach. Opened ended questions and questionnaire were used in surveying the eight Dangme-speaking areas in the Greater Accra and Eastern regions of Ghana in July 2009. These areas are Ada, Ningo, Kpone, Prampram, Shai, Osudoku, Yilo-Krobo, Manya-Krobo. With the help of eight (8) research assistants, the researcher sent out questionnaires to 1000 respondents from various churches in the eight Dangme speaking areas, to find out whether readers of the Dangme Bible have noticed some translation problems that were not helping them to understand the message of a text. Five hundred and sixty-five (565) people responded to the questionnaire. Majority of the four hundred and thirty-five people who declined response to the questionnaire said the Bible is absolute and they were afraid to add to or subtract from Scripture (Deut 4:2; Rev 22:18).  • 412 (72.9%) identified some translation problems in the Dangme Bible which sometimes posed problems in the understanding of certain verses. • 84 (14.9%) did not identify translation problems in the Dangme Bible; • 69 (12.2%) could not identify translation problems in the Dangme Bible. The majority of the number who said they could identify translation problems in the Dangme Bible makes this an issue that called for research.
Issues with some identified texts are as follows: 1. The translation of sukeen mian, the tree that Jesus cursed in Matthew 21:18-19 as ngmôkôtso in the Dangme Bible. Ngmôkôtso is the plant commonly known as milk bush; it is used for fencing; it is not edible; its fruits are poisonous. In the Greek translation, Jesus did not curse a tree with inedible fruits. 2. The translation of pisteuete eis ton theon kai eis eme pisteuete in John 14:1 in the Dangme Bible as " …Nyââlââ nyâ he Mawunyââ ye; nâ imi hunyâ he mi nyââ ye." [As for you, believe in God; and believe also in me]. The first pisteuete in the text can be seen from two perspectives: as an affirmation or a command. Is the pisteuete eis ton theon a command or an affirmation of the belief of the disciples' in God? How should this text be translated against the background that the Dangme knew Mawu (God) before Christ was introduced to them? 3. The translation of theoi "gods" as Mawuômε (the Gods) in Acts 14:11b, when in actual sense it means jemawôômε [the lesser gods]. Translating the word into the Dangme, and starting it with a capital "M" means that the lesser goods are equal in attribute to Mawu, the Almighty God.The translation of xenoon daimonioon "foreign gods" as mawuhi in Acts 17:18b, instead of jemawô hi. Among the Dangme there is only one Supreme Being called Mawu; there are gods known as jemawô hi, which are local but may be foreign to the communities 4. The translation of hoti aneer estinkephalee tees yunaikos in Ephesians 5:22-23 as "…Ejakaa hunoô ngâ e yoônô he wami…" [Because the husband has authority over his wife…]. Is it that a husband is the leader in his family or he has authority over his wife? How should this verse be interpreted to bring peace and understanding between husbands and wives in Dangme Bible reading communities? 5. The translation of mias gunaikos andra in 1 Timothy 3:1-2a as "…Asafonyadalôô, sékó hi e he. É hi yo kake.
The person who wants to take care of God's church should be above reproach: the husband of one wife]. The basic problem with the Dangme translation is that É is a pronoun for all genders -he, she, it. But the difficulty here is that in the phrase, é hi yo kakε [should have one wife], the é is masculine; meaning only men can become leaders in a church. Further, such men must be married. But today we have Dangme men and women who are pastors and church leaders; some are not married. An exegetical study of the text reveals that the meaning of that text is that a person who wants to lead the church -regardless of sex -should be without reproach. 6. The translation of "nephew" (NIV) in Genesis 12:5; 14:12-16 as wôfase, which is an Akan word. It seems the Dangme do not have a word for nephew. 7. The translation of the "Almighty God" as Yawε in Psalm 23:1. This translation seems to suggest that the Dangme do not have a name for God. Further, the way Dangme Bible pronounces Yawâ is appalling. God's name is pronounced Yawââ. The translators have adopted the 'h' sound at the end of the English transliteration Yaweh, making it sound like a long vowel; and that confuses the pronunciation of the name by Dangme Bible readers. The double â at the end of pronunciation is something that needs to be corrected. The translators should render the name of God as follows: Yaw›. This will agree with the Hebrew pronunciation and the English transliteration. Three of the identified texts with problems -Matthew 6:12, Mark 1:12, Luke 24:25, generated a lot of questions and discussions among Dangme Bible readers during the field research. These were studied using the mother tongue biblical hermeneutics methodology. 19 1. Ngôô wa tômi ômâ kâ pa wô... (Lend us our wrong-doings…) (Matt. 6:12). Pa (lend) in Dangme among other things is also an economic term. With its usage in the Lord's Prayer in reference to forgiveness, the question one might ask is, does God "lend" us our sins or he "forgives" us our sins? 2. Amlô ô mi nôuu ô, Mumi Klôuklôu ô tsε e yi se kε ho nga a nô ya. (Immediately the Holy Spirit pushed him by the head into the wilderness) (Mk. 1:12). 3. Among the Dangme nône a tsε e yi se (the one pushed by the head) is a "bad boy/girl" who is reluctant to do something but have to be forced. The phrase also implies that it was not yet time for Jesus to be tempted, but the Spirit forced him to go to the wilderness to face Satan. The critical question: Does the Spirit force one to take an action? 4. Kεkε nε Yesu de mε ke, "Kuasiahi nε nyε sume kaa nyε ma he nihi tsuo nε gbali ômε de ô maa ye!" (Then Jesus said to them, "Fools; you do not want to believe all that the prophets had said") (Lk. 24:25). The translation of anoeetoi as kuasiahi "fools" has religio-cultural implications for Dangme speaking people. Among the Dangme, kuasia is a ritual insult. The traditional priest does not use it on the living because it has repercussions. The translators have put kuasiahi in the mouth of Jesus who is divine, and this might lower the reverence Dangme Christians and Bible readers have for Jesus.

Theoretical Framework
John David Kwamina Ekem "The varied mother tongues of Africa have a lot to offer by way of biblical interpretation in Ghanaian/African languages as a viable material for interpretation, study Bibles and commentaries." 20 "Mother-tongue biblical hermeneutics, is a discipline devoted to the interpretation and reinterpretation of biblical texts in languages considered by speakers as their first languages into which they were born." 21

Philosophy
The philosophy underpinning the study is Deconstruction proposed by Jacques Derrida. Deconstruction is a form of hermeneutics of interpreting a text, with the aim of not dismantling it, but remodeling it. According to this philosophy, the meaning is relative to culture and situation; the truth is conditioned by one's perspective. Meaning is ultimately untransferable between writer and reader. 22 Lois Tyson also explains deconstruction in relation to literature as follows: Literature is as dynamic, ambiguous, and unstable as the language of which it is composed. Meaning is not a stable element residing in the text for us to uncover or passively consume. Meaning is created by the reader in the act of reading. Or more precisely, meaning is produced by the play of language through the vehicle of the reader. Furthermore, meaning that is created, is not a stable element capable of producing closure: that is, no interpretation has the final word. Rather, literary texts, like all texts, consist of a multiplicity of overlapping, conflicting meanings in dynamic, fluid relation to one another and to us. 23 FINDINGS 1. Matt 6:12: The problem in Matt 6:12 is how the Greek words afes (forgive, let go) and ofeileemata (debts) have been rendered in the Dangme translation (BSG/UBS 1999). It was found out that among Dangme Bible readers kâ ke (forgive) matches better with tômi ômâ (wrongdoings, sins) rather than hiô ômâ (debts). Kâ ke implies an outright gift; in this context, it connotes "letting go" of an offence by the one offended. This means that when one realizes that he or she has sinned against God and asks for forgiveness, God forgives; He "lets go" the offence without keeping a record of it, or referring to it later. Similarly, those who say the Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:9-13) should "let go" the offences of those who wrong them if they want God to "let go" their wrongdoings. My suggested rendering of Matt 6:12 in the Dangme is Ne o kô wa tômi ômâ nâ ke wô (And let goour wrong-doings). This translation would help Dangme Bible readers to understand that forgiveness is about "letting go" the offence of an offender, without keeping any record of the offence.

Mark 1:12:
The difficulty with Mark 1:12 in the Dangme Bible (BSG/UBS 1999) is the rendering of the Greek word ekballoo (cast out) as tsâ eyi se (push the head from behind). The study found out that ekballoo (cast out) connotes a strong action, and Jesus' usage of the word in expelling demons proves its forcefulness. The translators' rendering of ekballoo as tsâ eyi se (push the head from behind), an idiomatic expression, perhaps was so to tone down the forceful nature of ekballoo. This rendering has rather evolved varied interpretations by the Dangme Bible reading communities; notable among them being ha nε e ho (permitted him to go).
The author's suggested translation of Mark 1: 12 in Dangme as Mumi Klôuklôu ha nε e ho nga a nô ya (The Holy Spirit permitted him to go to the wilderness), will clear the confusion in the minds of Dangme Bible readers who do not understand how the Holy Spirit could "push" Jesus into the wilderness. It will also help them to understand that when one is under the influence of the Holy Spirit, one is also under His control; the Holy Spirit permits one to do what pleases God. The Holy Spirit's activity understood this way would help determine when the Spirit or otherwise is working in the lives of people. This would be a check on the numerous charismatic experiences of people whose activities sometimes create doubt in the mind of people.

Luke 24:25:
The rendering of anoeetoi (foolish) as kuasiahi (foolish people) in the Dangme Bible (BSG/UBS 1999) is a challenge to Dangme Bible readers in whose context, a priest does not use the word kuasia (fool) with respect to the living. It was found out that Jesus used anoeetoi as a rebuke and not an insult. His usage of anoeetoi on the two disciples on their way to Emmaus was to rebuke their unbelief in what the prophets have said about the Christ -that he would resurrect. Understood this way, one would have expected the Dangme translators to have used a rebuking word rather than an insult, coming from no mean a person as Jesus Christ.
Alluding the use of kuasiahi to Jesus the divine, has lowered his respect among Dangme Bible readers.
The author's suggested rendering of Oo nyâ juâmi he jô, (your mind has become cold) tones down the insult of kuasiahi, making it a rebuke. This rendering reduces the degrading nature of kuasia which etymology means "a good for nothing person", "an unrespected person", "a worthless person." The rendering promotes the dignity of the human being who is wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26; Psalm 139: 13-14).

CONCLUSION
This paper is about Ngmami Kluôkluô ô sisi tsôô mi kâ ba Dangme mi kâ e sisi tsôô mi ngâ Dangme mi (Translating the Bible into Dangme and interpreting it in Dangme). Translation is not just a matter of finding equivalent words in two languages. It involves interpretation since it has the complicated task of transporting material from one world of thought and language to another. It is possible to study the mother tongue translations of the Bible academically. The Dangme Bible has grown beyond ordinary devotional reading. It has become an academic resource for study and interpretation. The Bible is one; but it must be read, understood and applied in the context of its readers. With the research the author has conducted on the Dangme Bible -its translation and interpretation -he has helped Dangme Bible readers to understand the Bible in the Dangme context.