I found this article on the new Mass translation going into effect his weekend and I had to laugh.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the reporter had bad intent at all, rather just the context seems funny to me.
The Latin-esque wording is more formal, says choir member Meg Auer — and more meaningful.
“I actually really like, in the Gloria, going back to: ‘We praise you, we bless you, we glorify you,’ ” she says. “I think that’s really beautiful — something that was missing in the translation before.”
In fact, those words are in songs sung in Spanish, or French, or Italian — because all translations except for English are based word for word on the Latin Mass. This highlights what the Vatican sees as one of the flaws of the English Mass: It was translated very quickly after Vatican II, and it was made a little too conversational for the Vatican’s taste. So it’s being revised, to bring the English Mass back in line with Latin and other translations.
Latin-esque? I like it. I have no idea what it means, but I likes. And saying the Latin Mass as opposed to the mass in Latin is confusing at best. You say Latin Mass, and people think something else entirely.
The article is actually fairly good otherwise. But be prepared for some bad reporting, purposeful or otherwise.
November 26, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Patrick, if you're brave enough to risk vertigo brought on by excessive eye-rolling, check out the Denver Post's coverage at http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19414985. It prominently features Clueless Dissidents Saying Silly Things. You'll be relieved to know that they're holding a prayer vigil tomorrow at our basilica, in protest.
November 26, 2011 at 7:32 pm
So, it is probably too much to ask for Ms. Auer to comprehend the internal beauty and logic of the revised translation that has returned the principal of threes and fours in the Roman Canon…holy things are always listed in threes while holy actions in fours. So, she forgot one of the actions in the Gloria. Oh well…I'm happy that she understands that there are changes. Article wasn't bad and seems typical for most diocese.
November 26, 2011 at 8:26 pm
I wish that the Italian Mass were a word for word translation of the Ordinary Form of the Mass in Latin. The same goes for the Bible published by the C.E.I.
November 26, 2011 at 9:19 pm
Judy,
Well at least the silly dissidents are praying. That's a baby step in the right direction.
November 27, 2011 at 12:58 pm
I hate it when people repeat untruths. The quality of the English translation has nothing to do with it being done "very quickly after Vatican II." The truth is that Eucharistic Prayers I, II, III, IV and other parts of the Mass were in the 1966 English edition of the Roman Missal exactly word for word as published in the 1970 Sacramentary. And the 1966 Roman Missal was approved by the US bishops and the Vatican in 1965, so five years hardly seems very quick even by Roman standards. Even more damning, the 1966 Missal has two sets of English prefaces, one set properly translated and the other matching the 1970's loosy-goosy translation. In other words, the bad translation that we have suffered with for 40 years was deliberately bad. Oh, and the second oft repeated untruth is that the English translation was done under the rules outlined in "Comme le Prevoit." Given that "Comme le Prevoit" was published in 1969, how could the translation found in the 1966 Missal be blamed on a set of rules published four years after the fact?
November 27, 2011 at 6:21 pm
I remember back when our church (LCMS) decided to dispense with the 'old-fashioned-sounding' liturgy (King-Jamesy language) with a more 'modern-sounding' liturgy.
It was interesting to hear the pastor say his portion of the responsitory liturgy in 'modern' English and hear King-Jamesy responses from the congregation.
For about five years.
November 27, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Catholics of any stripe do not like being thought of as numb-skulls and take exception with the notion that they are unable to understand and use educated language. Will you of the liberal main stream and liberal Catholic media now please get that through your heads — and next, go soak those heads in a bucket of water!
November 29, 2011 at 1:55 am
A few of the wordings struck me as a bit clunky—there are probably equally accurate translations that would sound a little better—but overall, it's top-notch.
And I say this as someone who's watched a lot of amateur translations from Japanese, so I can tell you just how bad it could've been.