Exploring Linguistic Choices in Early Modern Greek Translations of Bellarmino’s Catechisms: A Comparative Analysis of Creed Renditions

Abstract This paper examines the linguistic choices in two seventeenth-century translations of Bellarmino’s Dottrina Christiana short and long version in Early Modern Greek, undertaken by Karyofyllis and Filaras, respectively. By analyzing the translators’ renditions of the Apostles’ Creed and some clarification extracts, the interplay of text-internal/external aspects of the translation practices and the complex relationship between language variation and change are explored. Karyofyllis’ word-for-word approach on the syntactic level is combined with lexical choices distanced from the theological jargon. Yet, Filaras, through audience design, strategically aligns with the Orthodox Nicene Creed and embeds a number of clarifying/explanatory phrases for Eastern Greek Orthodox readers in the Aegean. Both translators show a tendency to select more novel diachronic linguistic variants, possibly spurred by their desire to ensure the less educated readers’ understanding of the text.