Translation or transliteration? Bible bird names researched

Translation or transliteration? Bible bird names researched

Lynda Green works 14 hours a week on the University of Waikato switchboard. The rest of the time, she’s a full-time student.

The 58-year-old was awarded a University of Waikato Summer Research Scholarship to research the naming of birds in the Bible, and how, when the Bible was translated into te reo Māori, these names were expressed. Her project, supervised by Dr Hēmi Whaanga, was called Birds of the Bible:

Translation or transliteration? The complex nature of naming endemic and non-endemic species.

The aim of the project was to examine the way in which bird names have been translated to te reo Māori from English in the New King James version of the Bible. Lynda had to identify which names are transliterations and which have been developed from translating the concept behind the name of the bird, and develop some clarity regarding the appropriateness and consistency of these two

“I hadn’t previously had much to do with the Bible, but I learned a lot from this experience,” says Lynda. “The interesting thing was that many of the birds mentioned in the Bible don’t live in Aotearoa/New Zealand, so the project looks at how the translation of the Bible into te reo Māori was done. Originally it was by Pākehā scholars with very little collaboration with Māori.”

Translation of the Bible from English to te reo Māori was an extension of the work initiated by the British and Foreign Bible Society, founded in 1804.

“The missionaries wanted to draw Māori to Christianity by publishing the Bible in their own language,” says Lynda. In the earlier versions of the Māori Bible, there were lots of typos and literal translations of the words, but they often didn’t reflect the concepts or usage of Māori idiom.”

Eventually there was more consultation with iwi and the Māori Bible Revision Committee was established. It included Māori scholars such as Sir Apirana Ngata, the Right Reverend F A Bennett (Bishop of Aotearoa) and, later, Pei Te Hurinui Jones. They decided to clarify certain passages and adopt use of the language that was meaningful to Māori readers. This long-awaited version was
finally published in 1952.

Born in England, Lynda came to New Zealand as a baby. She left school at 15, had two children by the time she turned 19, and in 1977, moved to Colville on the Coromandel Peninsula to live in a “It was there I really felt how it was to live closely with the land, dependent on the elements and with the understanding that nature was the boss of me, not the other way around. I began to want an understanding of a Māori world-view.” And so began her journey into Tikanga Māori.

Lynda undertook a Diploma of Arts and Crafts from Waiariki Institute of Technology in 1999 and holds a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in Tikanga Māori from the University of Waikato, and joined the staff in 2012. In April, she will graduate with a Master of Arts in Tikanga Māori.

The Summer Research project was funded by the University of Waikato and Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga with supervision and guidance from Tom Roa and Dr Hēmi Whaanga.

Over the 2014/15 summer, 76 students participated in the Summer Research Scholarship programme, participating in full-time research from November until February, and receiving a $5000 scholarship. The programme is open to students enrolled at a New Zealand or Australian university, and gives promising final year undergraduate, honours year and first-year Masters’ degree students the chance to experience the challenges and rewards of research, working alongside senior University of Waikato academics. The Summer Research Programme began in 2006 at the University of Waikato. Scholarships are funded by the University, co-funded with University partners or totally externally funded.

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