Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
We’re Eternally grateful for Martin’s translation
Trinity professor sticks to script & brings dead language to big screen
AN Irish expert on a long-dead language has told how he was hired to translate sections of a major Hollywood script – but struggled with basic phrases such as “thank you”.
Producers of the newly-released Marvel Studios’ Eternals sought out Trinity College Dublin’s Dr Martin Worthington.
The academic is known for his expertise in Babylonian – the ancient language of Iraq, which formed part of ancient Mesopotamia.
The superhero movie, released last Friday, features an A-list cast including Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan and Salma Hayek, plus Dubliner Barry Keoghan.
It is the first major production to feature characters speaking in Babylonian. The language died out more than 2,000 years ago and the film sees immortal heroes who reunite to defend humanity from monstrous creatures.
However, Dr Worthington, who wrote Teach Yourself Complete Babylonian, admitted he battled to translate everyday phrases.
These included “let me help you” or “wait a moment”, as understanding of Babylonian comes from clay tablets and much is still unknown about chatty uses of the language.
The phrase “thank you” posed a particular challenge.
He explained: “It is ubiquitous today, but as far as we know it was not used in ancient Mesopotamia, so I had to find workarounds, expressions such as ‘may the gods bless you’. It was thrilling to create these translations and send them out into the ether for an actor to speak them aloud, imbue them with gestures and bring them to life.”
Dr Worthington provided translations of the script along with audio recordings, which the actors practised with the film’s dialect coach.
He added: “Film is such a powerful medium, which can summon a past full of moving, breathing and talking people.
“Eternals will raise awareness of ancient Mesopotamia and its fascinating cultures and I hope people will go on to explore them further.
“I’m so pleased these translations were done by someone at Trinity College Dublin – the alma mater of Edward Hincks, the Irish clergyman who through utter brilliance first deciphered Babylonian cuneiform back in the 19th century.”
The Babylonians discovered mathematical astronomy and invented the horoscope.
They first became prominent as a people around 1800BC.
The language seems to have started dying out around 500BC over the displacement by Aramaic – the dialect of Jesus.