Translating liturgical texts calls for good ear, ICEL official says

Published: 2004-11-12

CHICAGO (CNS) -- Translating liturgical texts calls for a good ear, according to Msgr. Bruce Harbert, executive director of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. In translating liturgical texts, the first thing translators must remember is that the texts will not be read silently but will be proclaimed aloud and be listened to, the priest said. "You have to think about the ability of the person proclaiming the text to pronounce the words," said Msgr. Harbert in an interview with The Catholic New World, Chicago archdiocesan newspaper. "It's more like translating for the stage than for silent reading." He gave the opening keynote address at "Authentic Liturgy: Translation and Interpretation of Liturgical Texts," an Oct. 27-29 conference sponsored by the Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein. He talked to the New World before the conference.

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