As you know, I've been teaching myself Hawaiian. I've always been curious about how this sonorous language works. This morning I decided to have my Bible time in the Hawaiian translation of John. I didn't get very far before I began to notice the most interesting details. John 1:1 reads as follows:
I kinohi ka Logou, me ke Akua ka Logou, a 'o ke Akua nō ka Logou.
This is the revised (or modern) Hawaiian Bible. In the original edition produced by missionaries and native Hawaiian scholars, instead of "I kinohi ka Logou" we read "Ma ka beretane ana, ua ia ka Logos." Note:
1. Logos is now Logou. That's probably because the Hawaiian alphabet does not have an "s." Also, every word or syllable in Hawaiian must end in a vowel.
2. Originally, kinohi was not used to render the Greek word archē ("beginning"). Instead, beretane was used. The term is apparently derived from the word "Britain," used here probably in the sense of origin, since Hawaii was discovered by a British explorer names James Cook.
Good old colonialism at work I guess. Incidentally, if you've ever lived on Oahu you'll be very familiar with "Beretania Street." This literally means "Britain Street." It's only two blocks away from "King Street."
One other thing jumped out to me. In the second clause of the verse, the Greek literally reads "and the Word was with the God." Notice the article "the" before "God." No English Bible I'm aware of has ever translated this "the." But the word is beautifully brought out in the Hawaiian Bible: "me ke Akua ka Logou" = "with the God [was] the Word." In Greek, of course, the referent is to God the Father (see verse 18). This is simply amazing, that Hawaiian can translate a nuance that English can't.
Bible translation is such a fascinating topic!