Pronoun capitalisation in the New King James Version

Astyle in translation and communication

Effiong Ekpenyong
University of Uyo

1. Introduction
The Bible whose Old Testament (OT) was completed about 400 bc, and the New Testament (NT) completed about 100 AD, now exists in hundreds of versions, which are read all over the world thanks to translation. The Septuagint Version for instance came as aresult of the translation of the OT into Greek. From such versions came others, e.g. the Coptic, the Vulgate, and the Syriac versions. These were followed by Anglo Saxon versions such as Wycliffe Bible, Tyndales New Testament, Bishops Bible, King James Version, American Standard Version, New International Version, to mention but afew. Keen students of the Bible will naturally find something particular about the versions they own and have been reading. For instance, while some are impressed by the Authorized Versions authoritative style, others prefer the contemporary English style of the Good News Bible, New Living Translation, Gods Word, Todays English Version, etc. Although this paper is based on aBook that is receiving worldwide attention translation-wise, we are not doing any translation involving either Greek or Hebrew which are outside our linguistic competence. Consequently, we are looking at the New King James Version (NKJV) (1994) of the Holy Bible in the context of the translators use of capitals in the pronouns that refer to the Deity. That to our mind, is an interesting style which has away of enhancing understanding and of making adifference between the pronouns of God and those of others, and of placing God above everyone or everything else, and should be studied for its merits. We shall compare and contrast passages from other versions with those of NKJV in order to illustrate the points of our discourse.

Babel 55 : 1 (2009), 5868. Fdration des Traducteurs (fit) Revue Babel doi 10.1075/babel.55.1.04ekp issn 05219744 e-issn 15699668

Pronoun capitalisation in the New King James Version

59

2. The pronouns
The pronouns are well known to the students of language in general. According to Olu Tomori (2004: 37):
The pronouns of English can be broadly classified into three groups on morphological grounds. The first group comprises what may be referred to as personal pronouns. They are designated personal pronouns because they denote the grammatical person of the individual who is speaking or is being spoken about. For instance, Iand we belong to the first person, that is, the speaker ; you, the second person, that is, the person being spoken to ; he, she, it and they, the third person, or the person being spoken about

Stated otherwise, pronouns can be described as substitutes for nouns (The New Websters Grammar Guide 1987: 2), words acting for nouns (Eyoh 1999: 99), items functioning in place of nouns or noun phrases (Eka 1994: 153) or words that substitute nominals in order to avoid amonotonous repetition (Udofot et al. 2004: 61). As earlier mentioned, pronouns can be personal to human beings or to things e.g. you, he, she, me, him, it, etc., hence personal pronouns. In that case, the writer or the translator for instance, will have to make use of them accordingly as in when are you coming ? contact me at any time, give him my address, etc. Similarly, the pronoun can be personal to the Deity, in which case it should be used in such away that makes it personal and suitable to the Supreme Being. Also writing on the pronoun, Baker (1999: 96) has commented thus:
A large number of modern European languages, not including English, have a formality/politeness dimension in their personal system In such languages, apronoun other than the second-person singular, usually the second-or third-person plural, is used in interaction with a singular addressee in order to express deference and/or non-familiarity: French vous as opposed to tu All languages have modes of address which can be used to express familiarity or deference

As authors, writers, and even as speakers, we are not only concerned about ourselves, things and the environments, but also about God, making use of relevant pronouns. When the referent of the pronoun is human or a thing, small letters are often used (cf. ibid. p. 92). But one finds the same small letters often in use in many instances when the referent of the pronoun is God. Pronoun capitalization appears to be very, very desirable where the Deity is involved.

2.1 Pronoun capitalization in NKJV: Astyle in translation

In the light of the foregoing, capitalization of the pronouns of God in the NKJV is basically astyle in translation, justified by the fact that the Bible was meant to be understood by those reading it in translated versions as it was by those who read

60

Effiong Ekpenyong

it in the original languages. It is for this reason that the Bible translators duty is that of providing an avenue for such an understanding to take place. Alook at the modern English versions shows a determined effort by the translators towards achieving that goal one way or the other, part of which has been the rendering of the Bible in contemporary language as far as English is concerned, and has become the style in most versions, except that they still retain the traditional style of writing the divine pronouns in the lower case. The NKJV on the other hand is well known for its capitalization of the pronouns of the Deity as the style adopted by its translators. In his Masters Thesis, Ekpe (2005: 21), citing from L. Spitzer who cited from M. Cressot and L. James, has written about style, as Lattitude que prend lusager, crivant ou parlant, vis--vis du matriel que la langue lui fournit. Bacry (1992: 8) also makes the following observation concerning style:
Le style, dfini comme lart de peindre la pense par tous les moyens que peut fournir une langue vient du latin stilus qui signifie dabord pointe graver, crire, puis volue pour signifier aussi manire, style.

As seen here, style is adisposition of the individual in relation to his or her activity which can be writing or translating. It permits the use of all that alanguage is able to supply to the individual. This then appears to be one of the reasons why translators of the NKJV have adopted the capitalization of the pronouns of God in their version, athing worthy of note in Bible Translation and the communication of what has been translated. It can therefore be said that the attitude adopted by these translators towards the material which the English Language has furnished them in the course of translating Gods Word, is the use of capital letters instead of small letters where the divine pronouns are concerned, with the added advantage of bringing insight to the reader. Such astyle is necessary because it is allowed in that language. The same would be true of Greek for instance where there are small as well as capital letters (Daberechukwu 2004: 3), but unnecessary in alanguage like Hebrew where there is no differentiation between small and capital letters (Ebo 1993: 13).

3. NKJV: Atranslation
As the reader has seen thus far, the NKJV is aTranslation. Scholars have given us anumber of definitions of the word translation, each of which can shed light on the subject. For instance, Finlay (1971: 1) sees it as apresentation of atext in alanguage other than that in which it was originally written, while Baker (1999: 4) sees it as adiscipline which has to concern itself with how meaning is generated within and between various groups of people Whenever meaning is generated from

Pronoun capitalisation in the New King James Version

61

agiven source text and or language into another, that is, atarget text and/or language, translation has emerged. Translation therefore is both an exercise as well as the finished product of that exercise. In other words, translation is either the process of changing what is written or spoken into another language ; or atext or work that has been converted from one language into another. NKJV is therefore aBible version converted in its totality from the original languages or tongues into English, hence aTranslation. For instance, the question, which Translation are you reading ? can be answered as the New King James Version.

4. The purpose of atranslation

Translation has apurpose, and is predicated upon the unique aim of conveying amessage from an incomprehensible source to people in alanguage they can understand. It is therefore abridge between languages and those who speak them. In this way, translation helps in reducing the customary gap in communication among people of different linguistic backgrounds. It brings about the transmission of cultural, religious, scientific and technical values from one civilization to others. This is possible because translations, whether biblical, literary or otherwise, are not usually static but extend beyond both the time and the place (cf. Savory 1959: 38). Rad (1981: 131) adds to this, telling us of the very incident that created the need for translation:
On May 8th 1981 in Warsaw, at the opening ceremony of the Ninth World Congress of Translators, Mr. KAROL MACUZYSKI, quoted from the Bible: And they said, Go to, let us build us acity and atower, whose top may reach unto heaven And the Lord said, Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one anothers speech and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel (Genesis, 11, 49). And for the same reason, some thousand years later, the review of the International Federation of Translators is entitled Babel, since if it were not for the confusion of tongues there would be no such thing as translation.

Seen against this backdrop, the NKJV as aTranslation, has been prepared with the sole aim of conveying and communicating Gods Word from languages unknown to many in the English Language. Linking translation with communication, Uhuegbu (1998: 3) explains:
La communication exige le fait quune information soit transmise dun point un autre. Le transfert ou la transmission de cette information est faite au moyen dun message sous une certaine forme. Cest lchange verbal entre un sujet parlant qui produit un nonc destin un autre et un interlocuteur dont il sollicite lcoute et, ou une rponse Si nous acceptons que la traduction vise une comprhension entre deux

62

Effiong Ekpenyong

interlocuteurs parlant des langues diffrentes qui, normalement, ne seront en mesure de se communiquer, il va sans dire que la traduction est au cur mme de la communication.

There could be no other method of communicating the divine message from the source text (ST) to the human race other than through translation.

5. NKJV and Pronouns of the Deity

The capitalization of pronouns of God in NKJV is not arandom translation style but one that has been systematically formulated by the translators in order to set forth aclear distinction between the Deity and humans. This style must have taken into consideration the field of discourse or activity in which language is used, and the Bible as atext upon which the translation is based. According to Ogene (1990: 72):
Atext is usually located in aparticular field of discourse. Such atext will reflect the linguistic features which are associated with that field. In particular, the field usually exercises marked influences upon the grammar and the lexis in the text.

However, capitalization is not just peculiar to the NKJV as a Bible version. Certain fields of human endeavour such as the legal profession also make use of it in their written communication for specific reasons:
Capitalization is also used in apeculiar way in written legal communication. Certain words and phrases may be picked out for capitalization for certain reasons. For instance, AND, NOW and WITNESSETH are capitalised within the sentence as away of foregrounding these items or the clauses they introduce. The foregrounding of these items is motivated by the desire of the draftsman to draw attention to the fact that they each begin anew part of the document (ibid. p. 75).

Capitalization of pronouns as seen in the translation under consideration could only have been motivated by the desire of the translators to draw attention to the fact that these are the pronouns of God, and has resulted in two things: (1)deference to God; (2) convention, which is doing and/or saying things in the way that people everywhere would expect or even consider to be polite, or the right way of doing and/or saying them. In other words, pronouns and/or language used in referring to the Deity should depend on the particular conventions suitable to His status. According to Olu Tomori (2004: 101).
The language used in afairy tale depends on the particular conventions of fairy-tale telling and the language used in ascientific journal similarly depends on the conventions which apply there.

Pronoun capitalisation in the New King James Version

63

Having the above in mind, we shall now consider the use of pronoun capitalization as astyle in translation for the purpose of drawing attention to the Deity in New King James Version, NKJV in relation to other versions e.g. Authorized Version, AV ; New Living Translation and New International Version, NIV.
i. ii. The LORD is my shepherd ; Ishall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his names sake. Psalm 23: 13 AV. The LORD is my shepherd ; Ishall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures ; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul ; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake NKJV. But Icried to him, My God, who lives forever, dont take my life while Iam still so young ! In ages past you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. Psalm 102: 24, 25. New Living Translation. I said, O my God, Do not take me away in the midst of my days ; Your years are throughout all generations. Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. NKJV. John was the man the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said: Someone is shouting in the desert, prepare aroad for the Lord ; make astraight path for him to travel ! Matthew 3: 3 Good News Bible. For this is he who was spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah, saying: The Voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the LORD ; make His paths straight. NKJV. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Itell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 16: 23 NIV. And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, Isay to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. NKJV. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, Behold, Ihave put my words in thy mouth. Jeremiah 1: 9 AV. Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: Behold, Ihave put My words in your mouth NKJV. He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. Proverbs 19: 17, 19 NIV. He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given. NKJV. You are my refuge and my shield ; Ihave put my hope in your word. Psalm 119: 114 NIV. You are my hiding place and my shield ; Ihope in Your word. NKJV. When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. Aman with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man, Iam willing he said. Be clean ! Matthew 8: 13 NIV. When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, aleper came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You can

iii. iv.

v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv.

xvi.

64

Effiong Ekpenyong make me clean. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, Iam willing, be cleansed NKJV. xvii. xviii. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds ; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Colossians 3: 9, 10 AV. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. NKJV. Being confident of this, that he who began agood work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1: 6 NIV. Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun agood work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 1: 6 NA. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. Isought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34: 45, 4 AV. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. NKJV. Whoever serves me must follow me ; and where Iam, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. John 12: 26 NIV. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me ; and where Iam, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor NKJV. Remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to become rich. He does this because he is still faithful today to the covenant that he made with your ancestors. Deuteronomy 8: 18 Good News Bible. And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day NKJV.

xix. xx. xxi. xxii. xxiii. xxiv. xxv. xxvi.

xxvii. Do not touch my anointed ones ; do my prophets no harm. Psalm 105: 15 NIV. xxviii. Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm NKJV. xxix. xxx. The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me ; his word was on my tongue. 2 Samuel 23: 2 NIV. The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His1 word was on my tongue. NKJV.

The emboldened portions in the passages considered above vividly illustrate the ease of reference to the Deity in the NKJV due to the capitalization of pronouns belonging to God. This in no way suggests that readers of the other versions do not see the pronouns there as referring to God. The undeniable fact is that the version under study communicates it faster than the rest by the sheer reason of its style in communicating the same message. This method of communication in Bible Translation had been anticipated even before it was achieved. According to Finlay (1971: 68):
1. Used in apposition to the Spirit of the LORD.

Pronoun capitalisation in the New King James Version The translation of the Bible has in fact the oldest and most continuous tradition of any type of translating in the Western World Unlike many other types of translations, the translation of the Bible into agiven language is not atask which is carried out once and for all, but is one that is subject to more or less continuous revision, often involving completely new translations. Reasons for this are new evidence on the original texts, new views in relation to interpretation, changes in the languages into which the translations are being made, and new ideas as to what constitutes adequate communication.

65

Capitalization of the pronouns of God may be seen as one of the new views in relation to interpretation of the biblical text which Finlay advocated more than three decades ago. Beyond any doubt, it may be seen also as one of the new ideas constituting an adequate communication in biblical translation. Capitalization of the pronouns of God is relevant to other languages other than English just for the same reason and impact it can have among English readers. According to Prof. S. Ade Ojo (2005: 132), pronouns used for God (in French) are at times written to start with capital letters:
Le malade pria Celui qui est mort pour nous tous de le gurir, tant donn quIl est le Sauveur et le Rdempteur. The sick man prayed to Him who died for us all to heal him, because He is the Saviour and the Redeemer.]

Ekpenyong (2005: 110) shares this view as can be seen in his rendering of the pronouns of Okposong, acharacter in his novel, APathfinder, who symbolises the Mighty God, in the upper case. This is carried over to the French version of the work where the pronouns used for Okposong are all written to start with capital letters:
He pointed out to Ekong that Okposong was actually the One referred to as Alpha and Omega, atitle that has placed Him above little gods. its agreat mystery, he said. Take alook at His resurrection, He had ahand in it, Uwem said. Recall His statement ; destroy this temple and in three days time Ill raise it up , he said to Ekong. He was referring to His resurrection which according to The Book, was performed by God, Uwem said. Can you now see the mystery of Okposong ? He asked Ekong. Il a fait remarquer Ekong quOkposong fut en fait Celui quon appelle lAlpha et lOmga, un titre qui Le place au-dessus des petits dieux. Cest un grand mystre , dit-il. Jette un coup dil Sa rsurrection. Il y joua un rle , dit Uwem. Rappelletoi de Sa dclaration: Dtruisez ce temple, et en trois jours je le relverai , dit-Il Ekong. Il parlait de Sa rsurrection qui daprs Le Livre fut accomplie par Dieu , dit Uwem. Est-ce que tu peux voir maintenant le mystre dOkposong ? il demanda Ekong (Un Trouveur de Chemin 2006: 171).

66

Effiong Ekpenyong

6. Conclusion
We have discussed the capitalization of pronouns of God in the NKJV, drawing attention to astyle that apparently has impacted positively on Translation Studies in general, on Bible Translation in particular and in the communication of the message to the readers. Like any other good style, capitalization of pronouns in our version under study has the unique advantage of enhancing the readers knowledge of the Supreme Being in the course of reading the Bible. Right in the Bible itself, we find reasons justifying a style such as the one under discussion: God is higher than humans;2 humans were created by God;3 Gods span is everlasting, that of humans is not;4 God is omnipotent while humans are not;5 God is omniscient, humans are not;6 God is omnipresent, humans are not;7 with God all things are possible, not so with humans.8 Our contribution in this paper should be seen in the sense that we have established the suitability of the style adopted by the translators of NKJV in translating and communicating Gods Word via the capitalization of pronouns that refer to God. As the reader can see, the intent of the translators in adopting such astyle could only have been to communicate the Bibles message with ahigher degree of clarity. We have also said that this kind of translation style has established the superiority of God over humans, and He ought to be revered in every possible way by them, one of which is their style in writing about Him.

References
Bacry, P. (1992) Les Figures de Styles, Editions Belin. + 335 pp. Baker, Mona (1992) In Other Words ACoursebook on Translation, London: Routledge, xii + 304 pp. Daberechukwu, Ebo (2004). Basic Greek: Morphology and Syntax, Owerri: Springfield Publisher Ltd. x + 204 pp. Ebo, D. J. I. (1993) Elementary Hebrew, Enugu: Rabboni Publishers International. iv + 104 pp. Eka, David (1994) Elements of Grammar and Mechanics of the English Language, Uyo: Samuf Nigeria Limited. xvi + 136 pp. 2. cf. Isaiah, 55: 8, 9. 3. cf. Genesis, 1: 26. 4. cf. Habakkuk, 1: 12 ; Psalm, 90: 10. 5. cf. Psalm, 6: 2 ; 62: 11 ; Matthew, 28: 18, 19. 6. cf. James, 1: 5 ; Colossians, 2: 2, 3. 7. cf. Job, 34: 21 ; Psalm, 139: 712 ; Matthew, 18: 20. 8. cf. Job, 42: 2 ; Jeremiah, 32: 17 ; Matthew, 19: 26.

Pronoun capitalisation in the New King James Version Ekpe, Theodore (2005) La problmatique de la traduction littraire: Une tude de Le Lieutenant de Kouta de M. Diabate, Thse, Universit d Uyo. viii + 161 pp. Effiong Ekpenyong (2002) La traduction de la tortue en anglais: mthodes, problmes et solutions. Dissertation, University of Calabar, Nigeria. Ekpenyong, Effiong (2005) APathfinder, Uyo: Robertou Communications. vi + 136 pp. Ekpenyong, Effiong (2006) Un Trouveur de Chemin, Uyo: Robertou Communications. + 212 pp. Eyoh, Luke (1999) Effective Use of English. Vol.1, Uyo: Scholars Press. x + 172 pp. Finlay, Ian F. (1971) Translating, London: The English Universities Press. ix + 178 pp. Ogene, Julius (1990) AStylistic Investigation of the Nature of Written Legal Communication in Emmanuel Akpan (ed.) Communication Arts Principles, Applications, Practices. Uyo: Modern Business Press Ltd. ix + 314 pp. Ojo, S. Ade (2005) A Comprehensive Revision Handbook of French Grammar, Ibadan: Signal Educational Services Ltd. x + 500 pp. Olu Tomori, S. H. (2004) The Morphology & Syntax of Present-day English: An Introduction, Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. vi + 137 pp. Rad, Gyrgy (1981) Editorial, Babel: International Journal of Translation 27 (3): 1313. Savory, Theodore (1959) The Art of Translation, London: Jonathan Cape. + 159 pp. Semmelmeyer, M. and Donald Bolander (1987) eds., The New Websters Grammar Guide, Lexicon Publications. ix +247 pp. The Holy Bible, King James Version, Reference Edition (2004) Dallas: World Wide Printing + 1752pp. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation (1996) Johannesburg: Tyndale House Publishers iv + 1037 pp. The Holy Bible, New International Version (1984) Colorado: International Bible Society xi + 923pp. The Holy Bible, New King James Version (1994) Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers x + 1203 pp. Udofot, Inyang & Ekpenyong, Bassey (2004) AComprehensive English Course for Schools and Colleges, Lagos: The Quantum Company Ltd. vii + 240 pp. Uhuegbu, A. R. (1998) La traduction dAu Bout du Silence en anglais Problmes et solutions, Dissertation, University of Calabar, viii + 360 pp.

67

Abstract
The article posits that it would make sense to make a distinction between the pronouns referring to the Creator and those of the things created in our writings. It has as a base the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Holy Bible where the translators have used capital letters for the pronouns referring to God vis--vis the Authorized Version (AV), the New International Version (NIV), and the New Living Translation where this is not the case. Although it does not reject versions using lower case for the pronouns of God, the article argues that due to the presence of Divine and human pronouns in the Bible, capitalization of the former reveals divine identity in a passage faster. The article sees this style as agreeing with, and responding to lan Finlays vision of Bible Translation as a continuous exercise that can result in new translations due to new evidence on

68

Effiong Ekpenyong the original texts, new views in interpretation, and new ideas as to what constitutes adequate communication. It admires the style of the translators for enhancing knowledge of the Deity in the reader at a glance. Other reasons given in the article to justify its position are that God is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. The article recommends this style wherever the Deity is mentioned to create an awareness of what is Divine. It concludes that the intent of the translators in the style they have adopted could only have been to communicate the Bibles message with a higher degree of clarity; to establish the superiority of God over His creatures and to pay Him reverence.

Resum
Larticle avance quil aurait lieu de faire une distinction entre les pronoms parlant du Crateur et ceux des choses cres dans nos uvres. Il a comme base la New King James Version (NKJV) de la Sainte Bible o les traducteurs ont employ des majuscules pour les pronoms parlant de Dieu vis--vis de lAuthorised Version (AV), la New International Version (NIV) et la New Living Translation o ceci nest pas le cas. Bien quil ne rejette pas des versions utilisant les minuscules pour les pronoms de Dieu, larticle soutient que d la prsence des pronoms divins et humains dans la Bible, crire ceux-l en majuscules rvle plus vite lidentit divine dans un passage. Larticle voit ce style comme tant daccord avec, et rpondant la vision de Ian Finlay de la traduction biblique en tant quexercice continu qui peut aboutir des traductions nouvelles en raison des nouvelles preuves sur les texts originaux, de nouvelles vues dinterprtation, de ouvelles ides pour ce qui constitue une communication adquate. L auteur admire le style des traducteurs davoir accru la connaissance de Dieu chez le lecteur. Dautres raisons donnes dans larticle pour justifier sa position sont que Dieu est omnipotent, omniprsent en omniscient. Larticle recommande ce style o La Dit est mentionne pour crer une conscience instantane de ce qui est divin. L auteur conclut que lintention des traducteurs dans le style quils ont adopt ne pouvait tre que de communiquer le message biblique avec un plus haut degr de clart, tablir la supriorit de Dieu sur Ses cratures, et Lui rendre vnration.

About the Author

Dr. Effiong Ekpenyong teaches translation (FrenchEnglishFrench + indigenous languages), the use of English, research methods, and some general courses. He is interested in both Bible and literary translations. Academic papers with translation, bilingualism, biblical issues, etc. are areas of interest. As an author/translator he translates his novels from English into French to serve as models to students (APathfinder [Un trouveur de chemin], Robertou Communications, 2006 ; Snares in the Attraction [Pige dans lattrait], in press). When the need arises, he translates French letters for the university. Due to interest in proverbs he has had to collect them over the years. He supervises students essays and theses, and sometimes translates the Bible into some local languages. Address : Dept. of Foreign Languages, University of Uyo, P. O. Box 1017, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. E-mail: efiekpenyong@yahoo.com