Consultant-Checking Oral Bible Stories: A Case Study

Abstract

Oral Bible Stories (OBS) are retellings of stories that occur in the Bible. They create a bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of the receptor language, incorporating, excluding, and changing parts of stories as found in the Bible by their very design. Our first encounters as consultants with these stories left us wondering about the borders: What sort of changes are to be avoided and what sort are beneficial? Taking as a starting point the case study of an OBS consultant-check of a language in the Caucasus, this paper presents guidelines for omissions and additions.