As an aside to this question, the International Panel for the Translation of Baha'i Literature in Spanish has discussed this extensively, as in the Spanish language, pronouns are not capitalized as a rule, nor even the word Baha'i when referring to "he is a Baha'i". The names of the various religions are never capitalized unless it would be a title such as Baha'i Community of.... In their consultation on this subject, after an extensive research, the Panel agreed that there was sufficient justification to use capitalization in possessive adjectives in referring to God, the Manifestation of God, etc., in English, as well as those times they appear in the English translations by Shoghi Effendi, and have adopted the use of capitalization with possessive adjectives referring to God, the Manifestation of God, and in general when Shoghi Effendi uses them in English. This decision is related to the translation of the Writings into Spanish. The panel also remarked, "...that with this historic decision, it is noted Shoghi Effendi's influence in the Spanish language results in its enrichment. Additionally, his translations into English add to the original data of interpretation that favors its understanding." I translated the above decision from Spanish, which can be found on the Panel's website at _http://www.bahaipanel.org/_ (http://www.bahaipanel.org/) This Panel was appointed by the House of Justice in 1993. Its website is very interesting for those familiar with the Spanish language. Just thought you'd like to know about this. Shirley In a message dated 4/9/2008 10:45:41 AM US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>From what I have been told by those who know Farsi and Arabic, no words are capitalized in those languages. Shoghi Effendi uses Capital letters, I believe, to indicate an elevated, i.e. spiritual station of the Entity to which the pronoun refers. When, in some passages Baha'u'llah refers to Himself as "me" without the capital; it take it that the human is humbling himself before God. I believe that this is necessary in English because the various titles such as "His Holiness" seemed a bit ponderous to Shoghi Effendi, considering the rather informal manner in which English have always addressed Manifestations such as Moses, Abraham, and Jesus. Dominus vobiscum. Richard. **************Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides. (http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016) The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments thereto ("e-mail") is sent by the Johnson County Community College ("JCCC") and is intended to be confidential and for the use of only the individual or entity named above. The information may be protected by federal and state privacy and disclosures acts or other legal rules. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error please immediately notify JCCC by email reply and immediately and permanently delete this e-mail message and any attachments thereto. Thank you. __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[email protected] Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
