Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter
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Part 9

6/22/2015

 

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 9: An Eskimo Hunter and the Local Missionary Priest


Clock face
Nothing is easier than self-deceit.
For what each man wishes, he also believes to be true.
-Demosthenes (384-322BCE)


Let's review the ages of several religions. As of 2015, the Church of Scientology is 62 years old, Mormonism is less than 200 years old, Protestantism is about 500 years old, Islam is around 1,400 years old, Catholicism is almost 2,000 years old, Taoism is around 2,300 years old, while Buddhism and Confucianism are about 2,500 years old. Judaism is estimated to be 4,000 years old. While scholars and historians agree that Hinduism is now the oldest organized religion, its estimated age is unknown as it was not established by a single founder armed with a single holy book at a single point in time. As "non-prophet organizations", ancient religions do have a more organic, more collective, less individualistic nature, yet a more bottom-up structure.

In the grand scheme of things, religion can even be considered as a modern phenomenon. Even the oldest known and practiced religions (Hinduism, Judaism) are still younger than writing (more than 5,000 years old) and agriculture (more than 10,000 years old), much less oral language. Scholars are still arguing about how old oral language is. American linguist, philosopher and cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky, puts an estimate of 100,000 years. The takeaway: humanity survived, even flourished, during pre-religion era as evidenced with the inventions of (at least) writing and agriculture.

In fact, without religion, the end was never near—even for our ancestors with their hand-to-mouth lifestyle in the Neolithic and Mesolithic eras. With religion, it's a different story. The end is always near, as evidenced by the Watchtower Society's innumerable "second coming" doomsday prophecies of 1878 (then repeatedly revised to 1881, 1914, 1918, 1925, and 1975), the July 1999 Nostradamus' disaster-centric prediction, the 1997 Heaven’s Gate doomsday scenario, the December 21, 2012 Mayan apocalypse, and God-knows-what-is-next. (Hello, here we are, in 2015.) It's as if religion was created to instill a sense of fear in people—the more, the better. Author Annie Dillard once relayed a story about an Eskimo hunter who asked the local missionary priest, "If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?" "No," said the priest, "not if you did not know." "Then why," asked the Eskimo, "did you tell me?"

The reason, my dear Eskimo friend, is financial gain. William Blackstone warned in Jesus is coming (1878), that "the word was to become Armageddon." The end is near, due to "the lawless trio of communism, socialism and nihilism" are "preparing the way for Antichrist." Until Blackstone died in 1935, however, Jesus had not come and the world was still revolving, the sky still blue. No worry; over a million copies of Blackstone's book had been printed in 48 languages, making it "one of the most influential religious books of the 20th century." It has never been about Jesus or Armageddon or the End; it has always been about how to exploit fear for financial gain. As observed by Stendhal (1783–1842): "All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few."

One thing is certain, however: oral language predates religion because it is impossible to proselytize and construct a narrative (e.g. Hell, the Garden of Eden, the Babel Tower, the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments) just by grunting—that's why chimpanzees do not have a religion. (Thank God.) Another takeaway: God didn't create man in his own image. Instead, man created gods in their own images. That's why the Old Testament god got angry and cranky. The New Testament god is more forgiving. The Greek gods and goddesses were jealous, gluttonous, alcoholics and loved orgies. The Aztec gods were obsessed with the points of the compass and weather systems—more on this later.

In Breaking the Spell (2006), professor of philosophy Daniel Dennett estimates that two or three religions come into existence every day, and their typical lifespan is less than a decade. Easy come, easy go. "There is no way of knowing how many distinct religions have flourished for a while during the last ten or fifty or a hundred thousand years, but it might even be millions, of which all traces are now lost forever." In Religion: An Anthropological View (1966), Anthropologist Anthony Wallace put a lower number and estimated that since the dawn of humankind, Planet Earth has hosted nearly 100,000 religions. It goes without saying, each claiming a monopoly of the truth and each refuting the others.

Whether the number is a million or 100,000, a religion is just that: a religion. It's not The Religion. To put matters in perspective, let's use the Aztec religion as an illustration. Who are we to judge them, and let's not be ethnocentric, but the Aztecs believed in sacrificing thousands of innocent men, women and babies merely to appease Huitzilopochtli (god of the south), Tezcatlipoca (god of the north), Huehueteotl (fire god), Tlaloc (god of the rain), and Xipe Totec (god of the east and water). For the sake of appeasing those gods, the Aztecs believed, they ought to kill innocent human beings, even babies, every now and then.

As it turned out, even those baby-hungry gods were impotent and failed miserably to save the Aztecs. With the help of the Aztecs’ native rivals, Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes attacked their capital, Tenochtitlan, on August 13, 1521, effectively ending the Aztec civilization (including their religion). Indeed, like us, the Aztecs fully believed in what they believed, but in the end nothing mattered. Their gods were helpless, their culture collapsed. Had they not sacrificed their men, would their army been stronger to resist Cortes—who knows? Their unbelievable belief were far from unique, however. Ancient Hinduism is another example. In A Survey on Hinduism (1994), Klaus Klostermaier states that there was disagreement over whether the higher Lord is Siva (Lord of Destroyer or Judge) or Vishnu (Lord of Preserver or Protector), and many have been killed for their belief in this matter. In fact, the Lingapurana promises Siva's heaven to one who kills or "tears out the tongue" of someone who reviles Siva.

[To be continued.]


Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter 


Part 2 of 3:

4/6/2015

 

The Inexplicable Final Act of X (Part 2 of 3)

Fingerprint
As reported in the Los Angeles Times of July 4, 1995 and July 8, 1995, X was a 46-year Indonesian-born electrician who wanted to collect insurance payout on the policies he bought for his wife ($500,000) and each of his three sons then aged 15, 14, and 10 years ($20,000 per child).  Curiously, he did not buy a policy for himself. One day in May 1995 he started the arson at about 5 AM by pouring several gallons of gasoline on the staircase of his posh home in a northeastern suburb of Los Angeles to prevent his sleeping family from escaping. Investigators later believe that he poured so much gasoline that it leaked into the basement, ignited the water heater’s pilot flame, sparked a blaze with such intensity that law enforcement could not immediately determine the gender of the victims — his wife, three sons and a 25-year female housekeeper.
            When firefighters arrived on the scene at 5:15 AM, they found no forced entry into the house. Instead, a severely burned X was staggering out to his driveway with a deep gash on his right arm (apparently from trying to make the incident look like a botched robbery attempt by breaking a kitchen window before setting the house on fire) and his gasoline-smelled clothes. Initially he suffered  second- and third- degree burns over 30 percent of his body. Later a neighbor reported that X had recently obscured the house number on the curb with spray paint, perhaps in a deliberate effort to delay the arrival of emergency vehicles. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arson investigators, overwhelming physical evidence points to X as the suspect.
            Law enforcement officials had hoped that X's condition would improve so they could interview him. Eventually he contracted severe pneumonia and other complications and died in July 1995. My assignment was to translate X's diary from Indonesian into English for the insurance company’s investigators. He had left his diary in a locker at his work place in Los Angeles. Investigators hoped to find some incriminating evidence in the diary which could have proven some premeditation, planning and preparations.
            After spending two full days to translate the diary cover to cover, I came up empty handed however. Nothing in the diary could be linked to the uxoricide (killing his wife), the triple filicide (killing his three sons) and the homicide (killing his housekeeper) — directly and indirectly. All I found are just mundane daily entries written by a typical husband and father. Instead of a plan or scheme for the crime, the diary contains entries about intimacies shared with his wife, slight disappointments why his sons would not study harder and spend more time to do their homework, and his paternal obligations to bring a son to a birthday party on a certain date, or attend parents-teachers conference — all typical family stuff. Nothing surprising, nothing incriminating.
            What was more surprising, or even shocking, to me is the stress I felt afterwards. Sure, I had heard about translators being exposed to the usual occupational hazards: mental fatigue and carpal tunnel syndrome. Throughout the years I have had my fair share of depressing assignments, but nothing equals the translation of X's diary. I might have experienced some emotional trauma usually suffered by social workers or healthcare professionals who may become emotionally affected by their clients' or patients' cases. Instead of sifting through the horrendous crime scene, I sifted through the perpetrator's mind. Even after the translation delivery I was still upset, so much so that I was not able to fully concentrate on other assignments for the following week. If only I could find something incriminating in the diary, I might have consoled myself by saying: “That’s it, he had planned it, he is guilty and met his death with some karmic justice!” But entering X's mind that came alive through his diary’s entries, what I could see is just the regular mind of an innocent man. Nothing sinister, nothing diabolical. And that made the whole case even more upsetting.

[To be continued.]

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter 


How to Render a 16th Century Roman Catholic Concept into Modern Indonesian

3/9/2015

 

Taming the 'Devil's Advocate' (Part 2 of 2)

 [In Part 1, I have outlined the historical background of the 'Devil's Advocate' term to understand and analyze its original meaning in the source language. In Part 2, I will try to re-synthesize and articulate the phrase in the target language.]

            In re-synthesizing the phrase in Indonesian, it's critical to consider two facts:
  • About 88% of Indonesia's population is Muslim. Unfamiliarity with a 16th Century Roman Catholic term and a mindless translation are ingredients for a religious blunder; a literal translation may even sound offensive and insulting to some.
  • The word 'Devil' in 'Devil's Advocate' does not necessarily denote the devil or the bad guy, for within a group of trial lawyers, he or she may even represent the good guy (for example, a District Attorney or Prosecutor). That's why even 'Pembela Setan' (Devils' Defender), though it sounds better than 'Advocat Setan', does not fit the bill. After all, trial lawyers are supposed to advocate for the alleged bad guys. In short, Devil's Advocate denotes 'the opposite side.'
            Upon understanding, analyzing and re-synthesizing the phrase, the final step in an interpreter's job is articulating it in a culturally sensitive manner. Again, in finding a suitable Indonesian term, there are two cultural issues that need to be considered.
  • Since most Indonesians are religious, it would be hard to find a volunteer who is willing to be associated with the devil, even hyperbolically. By default, the word 'setan' (devil) always has a negative connotation. Therefore it should be excluded (if not banished to hell). That's probably the main reason why my friend was not happy with its literal translation.
  • In a paternalistic and hierarchical society like Indonesia where the boss is always right, subordinates would be reluctant to play the role of a Devil's Advocate. Therefore a soft approach (finding a contextual translation) would be more effective than a hard one (using a literal translation). Generally, Indonesians prefer unanimous musyawarah (consensus) over contentious debates; hence a literal translation of 'Devil's Advocate' can be counter-productive.
            Then, how to tame the Devil's Advocate? In the final analysis, the role of a Devil's Advocate is to provide a counter-argument. On the other hand, the role of an interpreter is to (1) understand, (2) analyze, (3) re-synthesize and (4) articulate a phrase in a culturally sensitive manner. Based on the aforementioned functional considerations, I would render the phrase as 'Pemberi kontra-argumen' ('Counter-argument provider'), 'Pengasah Argumen' ('Argument Sharpener'), or 'Pengimbang Argumen' (Argument Balancer). These three phrases capture the meaning quite well, while still taking sensitive socio-cultural considerations into account.  
            The jury is still out on how to render 'Devil's Advocate' properly in Indonesian. Therefore if you speak Indonesian, please state your preference in the following poll. This poll will be open through March 16, 2015 at 08:00 AM PDT. You need not be a translator or interpreter to participate. Thank you!

    POLL:

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Johannes Tan, English <> Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

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