Are We Speaking the Same Language? The Influence of Scripture Translations on How Christians and Muslims Talk about God

The publication of the Turkish Common Language translation in 2001 (Kutsal Kitap) helped Protestant Christians in Turkey develop their own unique subdialect of Turkish for discussing religious and theological topics. Consequently, there is now a kind of language barrier between Christians and the average Muslim. I evaluated a variety of written texts and oral discourse produced by Turkish Muslims as well as translations of the Qur’an. With regard to the names and forms of address used for God, I found that usage in Turkish closely correlates with the Arabic of the Qur’an. I also found that dialogue in Christian sermons and texts also closely corresponds with the translation choices made in the 2001 Turkish Bible. I conclude that where subdialects are sufficiently diverse, a different translation for each dialect or social group will be helpful for the society as a whole