Ethical Challenges in Translating Literal Styles Into Egyptian Sign Language

Ethical challenges in translating Literal Styles into Egyptian Sign Language: A study based on ‘the suffering servant’ passage from Isaiah 52: 13-53:12.

This presentation addresses the ethical challenges and strategies involved in translating the Bible into sign language, specifically focusing on the literary styles present in the source text. Accurate representation of the original scripture is crucial, requiring an understanding of the historical, cultural, and linguistic contexts of both the source and target audiences. Given the diversity of literary styles in the Bible such as poetry, metaphor, and allegory, translating these forms into sign language poses unique difficulties, particularly as sign language linguistics is still in the developing stage.

This discussion highlights the risks of losing stylistic integrity, as sign language users often favor conveying meaning over adhering to literal translations, especially with abstract concepts. For instance, the term 'grace' is effectively translated by Deaf translators (several language groups) through a combination of signs conveying its core meaning, 'unmerited favor of God.' Similarly, certain techniques used by the Deaf community alter the textual flow to make it comprehensible in the Deaf setting. The presentation will specifically examine the strategies employed by Egyptian Sign Language translators when translating the suffering servant passage from Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12, illustrating how various linguistic aspects are utilized to convey complex messages in a multifaceted manner to the Deaf community in Egypt without losing the author’s intended meaning.