DMS_GL_en_ta/translate/grammar-connect-words-excep.../01.md

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2019-08-09 19:39:22 +00:00
### Exceptional relationship
#### Definition
Exceptional relationship connectors exclude one or more items or people from a group.
#### Reason this is a translation issue
English indicates exceptional relationships with words like “except,” “but not” “other than,” “besides,” “unless,” “however. . . not,” and “only.” Some languages do not indicate that one or more items or people are excluded from a group in this way, but instead have other ways. Translators need to understand who or what is in the group and who or what is excluded in order to be able to accurately communicate this in their language.
#### Examples from OBS and the Bible
> But if you will not redeem it, then tell me, so that I may know, for there is **no one** to redeem it **besides** you, and I am after you." (Ruth 4:4 ULT)
> David attacked them from the twilight to the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped **except for** four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled. (1 Samuel 30:17 ULT)
> The man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." Jacob said, "I will not let you go **unless** you bless me." (Genesis 32:26 ULT)
#### Translation Strategies
If the way that Exceptional Clauses are marked in the source language is also clear in your language, then translate the Exceptional Clauses in the same way.
Part 1: [Not a man escaped] Part 2: [**except for** four hundred young men]
In some languages, constructions such as these do not make sense, because the exception in Part 2 contradicts the negative statement in Part 1. In this case, the translator can phrase the same idea without the contradiction by deleting the negative and using a word like “only.”
#### Examples of Translation Strategies Applied
But if you will not redeem it, then tell me, so that I may know, for **you are first in line to redeem it [only you can redeem it]**, and I am after you." (Ruth 4:4)
David attacked them from the twilight to the evening of the next day. **Only four hundred young men escaped**, who rode on camels and fled. (1 Samuel 30:17)
The man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." Jacob said, "I will let you go **only if** you bless me." (Genesis 32:26)