In order to do this, it is important for the Bible translator to understand the features of musical rhythm in the receptor culture. But if a poem is well-constructed, musical rhythm can also be applied fairly easily, converting it into a song. Generally this consists of sound rhythm (created by assonance, alliteration, and rhyme) and poetic rhythm (arising from the form of the poetic line, structures such as parallelism, chiasm, and inclusio, as well as terseness). A fundamental feature of poetry is rhythm. The trajectories of music and Bible translation do not often cross, but there is a need for greater overlap, particularly in the translation of poetry. Key words : Bible Translation Music Psalms Rhythm Isizulu The hope is that sensitivity to such musical features will facilitate a translation that communicates all the aesthetic beauty, rhetorical power, and memorability of the original. Then some examples are given from a recent study which attempted to apply these principles to the translation of some biblical Psalms into isiZulu.
Towards that end, this article seeks to summarise some important principles of African (particularly Zulu) music, and indicates some errors made in the past by translators of biblical material to be sung. This requires an understanding of the features of (indigenous) song and rhythm. Psalms were composed to be sung, and translated psalms should also be carefully constructed so that they are easily singable. Singing the psalms: applying principles of African music to Bible translation