Nicholas Ostler 2013 Crossing Language Barriers: effects on the Great Faiths

Crossing Language Barriers:
effects on the Great Faiths
Nicholas Ostler

My Tale
 Great Faiths (aspire to be) universal,
and are actively propagated.
 Languages (as mother tongues)
are largely fixed on populations
until complemented by a lingua franca.
 Therefore
Great Faiths are actively converted
into new languages.
5/9/2013U. Bremen - Lx, Colonial & Post

My Question
 Great Faiths are actively converted into new
languages: so
 What are the Effects of these conversions
on the Content of the Great Faiths?

Domain for Answers
 What are the Effects of these conversions
on the Content of the Great Faiths?
 Domain for religious conversion not limited to the history of
Colonialism, or even of Imperialism.
 We shall consider here three cases:
1. Roman Catholicism into Nahuatl (Mexico C16-18)
2. Buddhism in Gandhari & Sanskrit (C. Asia C1-3)
3. Christianity into Greek & Latin (Rom. Emp. C1-4)

Where to Look?
– Features of a Faith
5/9/2013
 Linguistic
 Fixed
 Creed, Scriptures, Liturgies, Catechism
 Intercessive and Discursive
 Prayers, Homilies; Myths, Theology, Ethical codes
 Community: who are the Faithful?
 Material & symbolic
 Tombs, Temples; Images, Rites; Calendars, Festivals
U. Bremen - Lx, Colonial & Post

Features of a Faith affected
in practice...
5/9/2013
 Linguistic
 Fixed
 Creed, Scriptures, Liturgies, Catechism
 Intercessive and Discursive
 Prayers, Homilies; Myths, Theology, Ethical codes
 Community: who are the Faithful?
 Material & symbolic
 Tombs, Temples; Images, Rites; Calendars, Festivals
U. Bremen - Lx, Colonial & Post

Roman Catholicism
into Nahuatl
(Mexico C16-18)
Juan Diego & the Virgin
• Story set in 1531, a decade
after the Conquista by
Hernán Cortés
• on the hill Tepeyac,
noted shrine of goddess
Tonantzin, outside Mexico
City
• B.V.M. reveals nepapan
xochitl, „diverse flowers‟

Roman Catholicism
into Nahuatl
(Mexico C16-18)
Tonantzin
“Our Lady Mother”
identified with goddesses
Cihua-coatl
“woman-serpent”
Xochi-quetzal
“flower quetzal-bird”
XQ‟s cult had involved
flower offerings.

Roman Catholicism
into Nahuatl
(Mexico C16-18)
 published in 1649, by Luis Laso de la
Vega; in perfect Nahuatl, apparently
by native speaker(s)
 with Miguel Sánchez (Imagen de la
Virgen María, Madre de Dios de
Guadalupe, 1648, led off a boom in
devotion to the Virgin Mary: surge in
images, chapels
 in 1737 the Virgin of Guadalupe was
proclaimed patroness of Mexico City;
in 1746 her patronage accepted
throughout kingdom of New Spain.

Roman Catholicism into Nahuatl
(Mexico C16-18)
 This hagiography has effectively enhanced the Scriptures
for Nahuatl speakers.
 Theology:
 Virgin Mary characterized as:
Tonantzin, “our Lady Mother“
 Cenquizca Mahuiz-Ichpochtli “perfect wondrous maiden” (i.e.
Immaculate Virgin full of Grace),
as well as Madre de Dios de Guadalupe
 “Guadalupe”? interpreted as a divinely-inspired mis-
hearing of coatla-xopeuh “serpent crushing”
 Role of flowers: Mex. image (nepapan xochitl) into Spanish:
Molina‟s 1571 dictionary, rosa de castilla = Caxtillan xuchitl

Roman Catholicism into Nahuatl
(Mexico C16)
 Community
Includes Nahua through hypocoristic, endearing style:
"No-chpoch-tzin-é, no-xocoyohu-é, cihuapill-é, ma xi-mo-
paquilti-tié, quen otimixtonalti? Cuix ticmohuelmachitia in mo-
tlazo-nacayo-tzin, No-tecuiyo-é, No-pil-tzinzin-é?
“My little maiden, my youngest daughter, lady, please to
be happy; how are you (lit. how did you blush) this
morning? Does your beloved body feel well, my patron,
my most noble one? ...”

Buddhism through
Gāndharī & Sanskrit (C1-3)
• The Kuṣāṇa Empire, spread from
Bactria and Gandhara into India
and Tarim Basin, hosted spread
of Buddhism.
• Kuṣāṇa < Guishang (Chinese), a
tribe of the Yue-zhi (Tokhwar),
who controlled Bactria: their
lingua franca was evidently not
Bactrian, but Gāndharī Prakrit.
• Since 1994, massive discoveries
of 77 Buddhist MS written in GP
in Kharoṣṭhī alphabet

Buddhism through
• Since 1994, massive discoveries
of 77 Buddhist MS written in GP
in Kharoṣṭhī alphabet
• Re-writing the Buddhist
scriptures, adding to the Tipiṭaka
• C2 emperor Kaniṣka held an
influential synod, (in Kashmir),
appointing Sanskrit poet
Aśvaghoṣa for vibhāṣā:
subsequent sutras in Sanskrit
• Revering the written word – an
innovation for India

Buddhism through
 The Lotus Sutra sings its own
praises as a physical book:
 should there be one who receives and upholds,
reads and recites, explains and teaches, or copies
out The [Lotus] Sutra, be it even a single verse,
looking upon the Sutra text with reverence as he
would the Buddha himself, making various kinds
of offerings of flowers, incense, beads, powdered
incense, paste incense, burning incense, silk
canopies, banners, clothing and music, or who
even join his palms in reverence, O Medicine
King, you should know that such a person has in
the past already made offerings to tens of
myriads of millions of Buddhas, in the presence
of those Buddhas, accomplishing great vows…
 Saddharmapuṇḍarika Sutra, chapter 10

Buddhism through
 Languages curiously equivalent:
English Pali Sanskrit Gandhari
dharma, law dhamma dharmaḥ dhama
the four noble truths cattāri ariya-saccāni catvāri ārya-satyāni catvari ariya-sacaṇa
suffering dukkha duḥkhaṃ dukha
causation samudaya samudayaḥ samudaya
craving, desire taṇhā tṛṣṇā taṣ̄a
ignorance avijjā avidyā avija
cessation nirodha nirodhaḥ nirosa
eightfold path aṭṭhangiko maggo aṣṭhangika-mārgaḥ aṭhaṃgiga mago
arhat, adept arahanta arhan arahadi
nirvana, blowing out nibbāna nirvāṇaṃ nivaṇa
impermanence aniccatā anityatā anicada

Buddhism through
 Languages curiously equivalent,
yet massive changes licensed in new sūtras:
 Mahāyāna – “great vehicle”
[Chinese mis-hearing of mahājñāna “great knowledge”?]
 prominence of śūnyatā “emptiness”, Buddha-nature
 bodhisattva (Buddhas to be) and compassion
 upaya-kauśalyā “skilful means” – pragmatism
 multitude of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and paradises
 new personnel to some extent identifable as
Persian, Greek, Indian deities

Buddhism through
 Tantalizing Buddhist scriptures
 difficult to date Sanskrit “originals”
 usually, only date from first translation into Chinese
 usually, earliest Sanskrit MS post-dates this
But:
 possibility of new sūtras (in whatever lang.)
enabled new creed

Buddhism through
• Trapuṣa and Bhallika, two Kuṣāṇa
merchants, were the Buddha‟s first lay
disciples (upāsaka).
• Merchants were likely the main bearers of
Buddhist preaching around the Kuṣāṇa
empire.
• Merchant influence may underlie Buddhist
doctrine of accumulating (and transferable)
puṇya (merit) to achieve spiritual goals.
• Mahāyāna descriptions of paradise
emphasize the sapta-ratna (“7 Treasure”s) -
gold, silver, pearls, lapis lazuli, crystal,
white coral (or agate), and ruby - major
trade goods.
• Gandhari Prakrit would also have been the
major language for trade.

Christianity into Greek & Latin
(Roman Empire, C1-4)
 Greek defines the community of early Christians
 Christ and his disciples lived in Aramaic, in the Jewish
heartland of Judaea. Paul found it politic to address
religious crowds there tēi hebraïdi dialektōi ηηι ἑβραιδι
διαλεκηωι
 But the faith was early packaged for overseas Jews, and
very soon Gentiles (largely speakers of Greek). Eg. Paul‟s
travels in Anatolia, Greece and Rome.
 Χριζηιανοι (Kʰristianoi): “the ones dedicated to a Greek
acceptance of the fulfilment of a Jewish promise” – Latin (-
iani) added to Greek Χριζηός Kʰristós, literal translation of
the Hebrew (Māšîaḥ), Aramaic Meshiah) “the anointed
one”.
 Luke:”the first to adopt the title (ca 50 AD) were believers
in Antioch,” a Greek-speaking city on the edge of Syria.

 Effects of Greek on Christian creed
 Origen: ὁ θεος = The Father; θεος = Jesus
 παις θεοσ – son or servant of God?
 παρθενος – young/unmarried/virginal woman?
 Origen‟s neologisms – θεανθρωπος, θεοηοκος
 St John‟s characterization of the λογος
 = SERMO (Tertullian, Cyprian) – conversation?
 = RATIO (Tertullian) – plan, proportion, measure, scheme?
 = VERBUM (Jerome) – word?

Greek and Latin in the R.E.
with division into διοικηζεις

 Christian Adoption of Latin
 C2: Scriptures translated informally (Vetus Latina)
 C3 mid: Church correspondence into Latin
 C4 (360-82): Church liturgy into Latin
 C4 (390s): Completion of Jerome‟s Vulgate Bible
 Theological effects
 consubstantialis effaces distinction ὁμο-/ὁμοιοσζιος ?

 Christian Adoption of Latin
 Political effects on the Community
 adoption of Church government in dioceses
 inter-penetration of civil and clerical governors
 sentimental adoption of pre-Christian terms
 Pontifex Maximus = Bishop of Rome
 sacerdos = πρεζβσηερος „priest, elder‟
 sacer, sanctus = ἁγιος, ἁγνος
 Church assumed ethos of the Roman Empire,
 replacing ethos of (Greek-speaking) sect
 Hellēn comes to mean “pagan”, “”unbelieving” (till C18)
 belief in Donatio Constantini (C8-12): Church successor to R.E.

Effects of language conversions
on the Content of the Great Faiths
 In order of Profundity
1. Change of Community
 A new (language) community becomes central to the
church, promoting other customs, identity.
2. Change of Scriptures is licensed
 If radical, this may lead to changes in creed.
3. Change of Creed may come about through
imperfect translation
 Only a minor effect, if at all.

Nicholas Ostler 2013 Crossing Language Barriers: effects on the Great Faiths

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