Mgr Prof. P.P. Saydon’s version of 1 Thessalonians : an exegetical and translation-critical study

Abstract

Mgr Prof. Peter Paul Saydon’s single-handed translation of the entire Bible from the original languages into Maltese has been hailed by many scholars as a monumental work. Saydon followed the norm for translations in force in the 1920s and 1930s, namely, a formal word-for-word translation which dictated a style that would help develop the Maltese language itself. In so doing, Saydon rendered the original languages noun for noun, verb for verb, adjective for adjective in as strict a manner as possible. Where no equivalent was found in current Maltese, he either opted to choose obsolete or archaic words, or to construct new lexemes from already existing words. Furthermore, he followed the Verb-Subject-Object order of constituents in his syntax. Saydon wanted his translation to be a literary masterpiece as well, besides excelling in scholarly exegetical procedures. According to him, a translation must be literal and literary; a work that teaches, but also one that pleases. However, these policies rendered his translation into one that was well beyond the actual abilities of the majority of his readers with regards to comprehensibility and idiomaticity. It was a translation for the scholar’s desk, and consequently not easy to use in public and liturgical contexts, where grammars, dictionaries and commentaries could not be at hand. Saydon himself had frequently shown his desire to revise his translation, prior to any second edition of his magnum opus, especially because he had made his translation over a period of thirty years, during which even the Maltese language itself had evolved. The various attempts he made at this resulted in a haphazard, unsystematic revision, dictated by the needs of the moment, such as the re-publication of the Gospel of John for Maltese emigrants in Australia (1967). He never gave his authorisation to anyone else to revise his work. The revision of the Old Testament carried out after Saydon’s demise by Rev. Carmel Attard for the Society of Christian Doctrine (M.U.S.E.U.M.) saw changes desired by Saydon, other changes in the ortography used by Saydon, and changes not envisaged by Saydon in his manuscript edition or the available published edition booklets. This thesis endeavours to analyse Saydon’s exegetical and translation expertise for the First Letter to the Thessalonians as a case study, in order to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of this Maltese Bible scholar, and possible criteria for future and better translations of the Bible from the original languages into Maltese.