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Target
Vol. 17:2 (2005) ► pp.275–296

Inculturation and acculturation in the translation of religious texts

The translations of Jesuit priest José de Anchieta into Tupi in 16th century Brazil

| Universidade de Sorocaba (UNISO)
| Universidade de São Paulo (USP)

This article examines the translation of religious texts by the Jesuit missionary Joséde Anchieta in Brazil in the 16th century. The article shows that Anchieta used a large amount of inculturation, a readiness to mix Catholic and native Indian terms, in order to achieve the catechism of the Indians, their acculturation into Catholicism. However, this inculturation always remained at a superficial level as Anchieta used terms from the spiritual world of the Tupi Indians but made no attempt to understand the deeper meaning of these terms. The article describes the background of Spanish and Portuguese colonizers in Latin America, lists the characteristics of the Tupi Indian language and analyzes a number of Anchieta’s writings in Tupi in which he translated certain important Christian concepts into Tupi.

Keywords: Joséde Anchieta, translation into Tupi, translation in Brazil, translation of Jesuits, inculturation, acculturation, Tupi language, cultural translation
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The views of the early missionaries in Latin America
  • 3.The Jesuits in Brazil and the Portuguese colonizers
  • 4.The Tupi language
  • 5.Anchieta and the role of the Catholic Priest
  • 6.The strategies for accomplishing cultural translation
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 15 August 2006
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.17.2.04alv
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