I've just read the Spanish version of the July 15 "Mentally Diseased" WT article...

by Alfred 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Alfred

  This morning I decided to download the Spanish July 15, 2011 Watctower just to see what phrase was used in Spanish for "Mentally Diseased"...

  I was disgusted to find that the phrase used in the Spanish WT is "mentalmente enfermo"... Now, this translation may appear to be correct, particularly if you used an English/Spanish Dictionary to translate from English to Spanish. However, if you ask any hispanic person (who speaks Spanish & English fluently) to translate "mentalmente enfermo" into English, 99% of the time the translation will come back as "mentally sick"... that's right MENTALLY SICK (not mentally diseased).

  Now just imagine yourself reading this article for the first time and in place of seeing the phrase "mentally diseased" you actually see "mentally sick" instead? How would you feel? I could be wrong about this, but I'm willing to bet that most of you would find "mentally sick" even more apalling than "mentally diseased".

  I must say, having finally read this in Spanish, I am even more disgusted with this article than I was originally (having first read it in English)...
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  ron rawson

  Interestingly, I f you go to the NW Interlinear Translation and read the original Greek and then the English translation as noted in the line under it (as noted on the left-hand side of the page), you will not find the phrase "mentally diseased".....but if you look into the column on the right of that page the offending phrase appears. (This is exactly what is shown in the NWT that the Witnesses insist is the best translation, and the only one they personally rely on). Looking further into other tranlations of the Bible I found that "mentally diseased" did not appear at all; phrases such as "argumentative", "enjoying debate", and such-like were used. Also, if you examine that same paragragh in the July 15th WT that brings the issue up, they admit to referring to other translations themselves; which raises the question :"Why?" -- if in fact the NWT is as faultless as they claim.

  As an aside I would suggest that the translators of the NWT were the "mentally diseased".
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  Alfred

  Ron

  Thanks for your comments and welcome to this board...

  I look forward to your next post... please do share

  Alfred
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  wha happened?

  Ron that explanation certainly makes the verses more understandable. Of course they had to twist it, anyone who has an opinion and leaves the organization is an apostate. Then they have to twist the scriptures to fit their agenda.

  I agree with your assesment of the NWT writers
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  NomadSoul

  That is a correct translation from English to Spanish since it's the closest translation to the word "diseased". There is no literal translation for that word. Other synonyms to "enfermar" does not convey the same meaning as "diseased".

  So basically, you can't translate something to its original form if there's no literal translation, thus you can say it got "lost in translation".

  Anyways, "mentalmente enfermo" is the nicest way to say it in Spanish, lol
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  Alfred

  Nomad Soul... agreed

  but sometimes you have to consider the context before you literally translate a word from English to Spanish. Otherwise, the sentence could lose it's intended meaning when translated.

  In this particular instance, the phrase "padecimiento mental" (with a re-arranged sentence as well) would have been a better fit when considering the context...

  just saying
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  sir82

  But aren't they quoting from the NWT in that WT article?

  "Mentalmente enfermo" appears in the Spanish version of the New World Translation.

  I agree it's a twist to say that all who disagree with the WTS are "mentally sick", but if you buy their premise that "apostasy" = "disobeying the GB", then the wording fits.
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  NewChapter

  Welcome Ron, thanks for the input. I didn't know the interlinear translated it that way.

  NC
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  NomadSoul

  Alfred, padecimiento/sufriendo has a literal translation in English: Suffering.

  That's one of the things you gotta give to the Watchtower, they have professional translators.