Although the New Testament was written originally in Greek, it is not the scholarly classical Greek of antiquity but Koine Greek, the language of ordinary people in the street. Furthermore, the first major translation of the Bible into Latin is called the Vulgate because it used the language of common people. (The word vulgus in Latin simply meant common, long before our English word 'vulgar' took on its modern meaning.)
Having said all of that, I have noticed that much of the gospel music enjoyed by the American wing of the evangelical Protestant world (of which I am a part) likewise employs something less than the King's English. Here are some examples:
"Can't nobody do me like Jesus"
"Ain't no grave gonna hold my body down"
"Ain't no power on earth can tie me down"
"I wouldn't take nothin' for my journey now, gonna make it to Heaven somehow"
"If it wasn't for the lighthouse, where would this ship be?"
"Gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside, ain't gonna study war no more"
"I've got a mansion just over the hilltop"
But would using grammatically correct language result in an improvement?
"Nobody can treat me like Jesus"
"There isn't any grave that can hold my body down"
"There isn't any power on earth that can tie me down"
"I wouldn't take anything for my journey now, I'm going to make it to Heaven somehow"
"If it weren't for the lighthouse, where would this ship be?"
"I'm going to lay down my burden down by the riverside, I'm not going to study war any more"
"I have a mansion just over the hilltop"
In a word, no.
In fact, to many Christians who are familiar with the original wordings (among whom I include myself), the rewritten versions sound stilted and artifical, even pedantic.
With the possible exception of the one that mentions a lighthouse.
Plus the fact that double negatives like 'ain't no' and 'can't nobody' actually make a positive that says the very opposite of what one intended.
I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
But those writers of the New Testament were onto something.
Pedantically yours,
rhymeswithplague
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As you know I am one who is offended by poor grammar. Music is the exception. Music needs the flow of sounds that proper grammar often cannot provide. Poor grammar and colloquialisms are the answer sometimes.
ReplyDeleteLyrically yours,
Emma
Pop songs have done it too: “Ain’t That A Shame “, “Ain’t Misbehavin’ “, “Ir Ain’t Necessarily So”. Poor grammar and colloquialisms are becoming normal speech. Thank you, Emma!
ReplyDeleteUsing colloquialisms and dialect are fine so long as the user also knows the correct grammatical forms.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but often that is not the case. I must try to be more generous and less judgmental. Thank you, Janice
DeleteAint nobody gonna say you were no pedant!
ReplyDeleteI think what you meant to say was Ain’t nobody gonna say you weren’t no pedant. But I can’t figure out in either rendering whether I was or I wasn’t. Thank you, kylie!
DeleteYou make a good point Bob. Language that is closer to how ordinary people speak is likely to be more effective when communicating powerful messages. Historically, in English parish churches, the church language that was used tended to be quite difficult for ordinary folk to fully grasp.
ReplyDeleteThis is a red-letter day! We actually agree on something! I still love the loftiness of the King James version, however, even though people don't talk that way any more. Thank you, Neil!
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