The Influence of Multilingualism on Biblical Translation: A Case of Viewpoint Shifts in Ukrainian Versions of Luke 19: 1-3

Perspective Criticism, or the analysis of viewpoint shifts in narrative texts, has been an important analytic method in cognitive linguistics since Yamasaki (2013), especially as applied to Biblical texts. This article analyzes changes in narrative perspective following the Fowler (1982)-Uspenskyj (1970) model of point of view along ideological, temporal, spatial, psychological, and phraseological planes. As biblical narratives are frequently translated and reinterpreted across languages and cultures, they provide ideal material for comparative research in narrative viewpoint. Under the umbrella of Perspective Criticism, we study multilingualism through the lens of Cognitive Grammar using the MultiParT method. We base our analysis on Luke 19:1–3 in four Ukrainian translations: the 1914 one by Kulish and Puliuj, the 1942 one by Ohiienko, the 1963 one by Khomenko, and the 2004 one by Denysenko. The paper demonstrates how individual multilingualism, historical setting and the ideologies of the translators influence translation choices on different planes.