Principles of Equivalent Selection in English Prose Translations of Jerome’s Psalters: A Study Based on exaudire and videre

Abstract

The paper examines the equivalents of the Latin verbs exaudire and videre in prose translations of Jerome’s Psalters executed between Old and Early Modern English. The objective of the paper is to establish the principle of equivalent selection in the analysed texts. The study revealed that exaudire and videre were translated in OE, ME and EMnE by their prototypical equivalents but the prototypes changed due to language internal factors: from prefixed ge-verbs (ge-hȳran and ge-sēon ) to their simplex equivalents (hēren > hear and sēn > see). Next, it was established that while the equivalents of exaudire represented a stable pattern: ge-hȳran > hēren > hear, the equivalents of videre tended to exhibit some variation. The variation, however, was recorded in one translation only – in the Paris Psalter. These differences stem from two factors. The first of them is language internal and follows from the universally recorded property of the verb see, which tends to develop metaphorical meanings, as opposed to hear, which does not exhibit the same tendency. The second factor is language external and is a consequence of the dominant theory of biblical translation, which was based on the principle that every word of the text was sacred. As a result, biblical translations generally reflected the original very closely. The only text which exhibits dynamic correspondences is the Old English Paris Psalter, which focuses on the clarity of the message not on the closeness of the rendering. The remaining translations are characterised by extreme reverence to the sacred nature of the text in all its layers, which results in the static equivalent selection.