A direct translation of the Bible as ancient text : only a new name for a stilted word-for-word translation?

CITATION: Van Der Merwe, Christo H. J. 2016. A direct translation of the Bible as ancient text : only a new name for a stilted word-for-word translation?, In Hans Rechenmacher (ed.). In Memoriam of Wolfgang Richter. St Ottilien: EOS Verlag. 429-445.The original publication is available at http://eos-verlag.de/de_DE/in-memoriam-wolfgang-richter/The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the term “direct translation” as it is used by the Bible Society of South Africa (=BSSA) is not merely a new label for a stilted word-for-word translation, but a technical term having a very specific meaning within an academi-cally justifiable translation model that was formulated for the new Bible in Afrikaans. It will also try to show that, although attempts to translate an-cient texts “directly” pursue an almost impossible ideal, direct translation nevertheless proposes a solution for the vexing problems that translators may come up against. What is more, the challenges posed by attempts at direct translation may serve as catalysts for new research on understanding ancient texts