Eye - 15 November 2019

From Quaker translations to empowering others

by Eye 15th November 2019

Quaker translations

Recent research led Richard Seebohm, of Oxford Meeting, to a Friend article penned by two Quakers based in Ghana in 1967.

Tongue firmly in cheek, Alan and Julie Longman reflected on how words and phrases can develop different meanings and offered impish translations that ‘are not intended to cast doubt on the original meaning they had, but rather to emphasise that, in order to “speak the truth in love”, one must search for ordinary, plain words, and having used them, drop them’. For example, ‘I hope that will be done’ became ‘I hope someone else will do it’, and ‘May we be led to’ turned into ‘We’re in the dark’.