July 16, 2014 -- Without great fanfare, GC27 and the man it
chose to lead the Congregation have wrought some change in
language practice (which may become policy), and while it is
early days, we can probably expect to see this trend continue.
It is a point worthy of consideration in an international
Congregation.
When you turn to a 'page' on sdb.org (click on the Korean pic
immediately above) and find yourself confronted with 11
languages instead of the usual 5 or 6 'official' ones, as they
have been stated in the past, for the Salesian Congregation,
you realise something is happening. When you realise that this
is still not the 17 the Rector Major originally asked for, but
which we can expect to find added, shortly, to that page, you
get some sense of where this is heading. Then when you go to
read the letter in the language you are most comfortable with,
and realise that if it is not there yet, you are invited to
translate into it and it can be there - something is
definitely happening! And finally, when you do eventually read
the letter, you realise something else is happening. There is
a change in language register: "official but informal" is how
the RM puts it. In some ways, he is reinventing the lost art
of the letter for us.
'For us' ... but isn't it for Provincials and Provincial
Councils? Well, yes, and well, no, not only. He writes, as he
says 'to inform the entire Congregation'. The chief means is
'through' Provincials and their Councils but not only.
That's why it is now available on sdb.org. That's why he
writes to his Regionals (in Spanish, why not?) saying: "La hemos traducido en 10
lenguas. Te mando algunas que son propias de tu
región. Si luego consigues que de manera familiar
alguna persona la traduzca en otra más propia –Tetum
– Vietnamita – Japonés … será excelente. En el
tiempo llegaremos a más" or "We have
translated it into 10 languages. I'm sending you some from
your Region. If then you want to find a nice way (lit: family
style) to ask someone to translate it into their own –Tetum –
Vietnamese – Japanese … that would be great. In time we will
arrive at more (languages)."
There was something happening already at GC27, beginning with
the fact that The Word was proclaimed daily in various
languages as part of the assembly. And whatever shortcomings
there still were in dealing with communications in a
world-wide community, the speed and quality and extent of
translation was far ahead of the point it had reached in
earlier General Chapters. But it might have been what
was NOT said or insisted on that showed the subtle changes
going on. It may not be immediately noticed, but while the
word 'Sector' is used over and over in the GC27 document, the
word 'Department' does not appear once. That is significant.
It signals a major change of perspective, and a healthy one.
The words we use, like the food we eat, makes a difference to
who we are and what we do.
Consider some of the languages amongst the 17 'original'
requests: Basque (Euskara for the Basques) is a language
isolate but a politically important one in the Spanish context
- and for that matter so are Gallician (Gallego) and Catalan.
Guaraní is a language linguists regard as an
outstanding anomoly - one of the few cases where an indigenous
language (think Paraguay, mainly but not only) dominated over
the 'dominant' colonial language, has a literature, is
available for all domains, etc.
In other words the choices are significant, and Fr Angel has
made it clear that they are not a limited choice - the more
the better.
This does not mean, of course, that we will suddenly find
official communications channels of the Congregation in an
increasing number of languages - the sheer demand that would
put on the handful of people involved in translation,
especially, makes that impossible, but we should not overlook
two other factors in this gentle but notable language 'shift'
post-GC27: the hint at crowd-sourced translation (the
invitation que
de manera familiar alguna persona la traduzca ...)
and the fact that October will see the first ever translators'
meeting for the Congregation take place in this EAO Region. It
is intended to assist people in the Region already engaged in
translation at local level, but it has in mind being a model
for the rest of the Congregation, which has led the RM to tell
Fr Vaclav in a brief note to him this week: Y QUIERO
AGRADECERTE LA EXCELENTE INICIATIVA DE LOS TRADUCTORES DE TU
REGIÓN. FELICIDADES POR ELLO - I want to thank you for
the ecellent initiative regarding translators from your
Region. Congratulations for that!
