Linguistic Gap Analysis
Linguistic Gap Analysis — Acts — English → Nepali
0. Purpose and Scope
This document executes PRD Phase 1 Step 8 for the Acts curriculum, English → Nepali. It identifies where the Nepali language (a) lacks a load-bearing term the Acts narrative requires, (b) has a term but that term sits in a crowded semantic neighborhood shared with Nepali Hindu, Buddhist, Tantric/shamanic, or former-state (Hindu-Kingdom/Muluki Ain/monarchy) frameworks and therefore requires deliberate “fencing,” and (c) requires a transliteration vs. paraphrase decision. It closes with a ranked list of the highest-risk ambiguities across the entire book.
This analysis governs and is consistent with translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json, and the Table A/B distinctions already established for Acts. It does not introduce new renderings; it documents the reasoning behind renderings already adopted and flags residual risk for Phase 2 reviewers.
Full-book coverage statement: Every chapter of Acts (1–28) has been reviewed for this analysis. Chapters contributing no new load-bearing vocabulary beyond terms already treated elsewhere are explicitly marked “reviewed — no new terms” in Section 5, never silently omitted. The core passage, Acts 2:1–41, is treated as the theological anchor of the analysis, not its outer boundary.
1. Doctrine Vocabulary Matrix
For each of the nine curriculum doctrines: available Nepali terms, their weaknesses/collision risks, and the recommended handling strategy.
1.1 The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
| Available Nepali terms | Weaknesses / Collision Risk | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| पवित्र आत्मा (baseline, Critical) | Risk of conflation with ब्रह्म (impersonal Hindu Absolute) or परमात्मा (universal Self) if verb forms or context slip into impersonal register | Retain baseline unchanged; in Acts 5:3, 9 (lying to the Spirit) reinforce personhood explicitly in teaching notes |
| पेन्तिकोस (new, transliteration) | No Nepali festival concept maps onto the Jewish Feast of Weeks; readers may assume it is a generic “Christian holiday” | Transliterate with a mandatory one-sentence explanatory gloss (50 days after Passover) on first occurrence (2:1) |
| अन्य भाषा (new, High) | Collides with Nepal’s living dhami-jhankri shamanic trance-speech tradition (hill/Himalayan communities); could be read as possession-trance | Anchor with narrative context: hearers understood real languages (2:6,8,11) — intelligibility is the theological point, not ecstatic utterance |
| खन्याउनु “pour out” (new, Medium) | Low collision risk, but must retain the unqualified universality clause (“sons and daughters… menservants and maidservants”) | Never soften scope; flag caste/gender inclusivity explicitly in teaching notes |
| आत्मिक वरदान / वरदान पवित्र आत्माको (baseline + new pairing rule) | वरदान alone evokes a deity-grants-a-boon narrative (Hindu epic/folk pattern) | Never use वरदान unpaired; always आत्मिक वरदान or वरदान पवित्र आत्माको |
1.2 The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
| Available Nepali terms | Weaknesses / Collision Risk | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| सुसमाचार, अन्यजाति (baseline) | Low residual risk; established | Retain unchanged |
| बाटो “the Way” (new, High) | Rejected alternative मार्ग collides directly with the Buddhist अष्टांगिक मार्ग (Noble Eightfold Path) and Hindu bhakti/karma/jnana-mārga frameworks | Use बाटो only; never मार्ग for this self-designation |
| अशुद्ध “unclean/common” (new, Critical) | Direct collision with caste-based jutho/untouchability purity codes, formerly state law under the Muluki Ain (in force until 1963) | Frame every occurrence as God abolishing, not reinforcing, purity boundaries; never use in derivative material describing persons or castes |
| साझा “common (shared)” (new, Medium) | Shares a Greek root with #16 above but must never share vocabulary | Enforce total lexical separation from अशुद्ध; flag any drafting error immediately |
| मूर्ति “idols” (baseline Nepali Bible term, Critical) | Nepal’s living Hindu/Buddhist murti-puja devotional practice is central and contemporary, not a dead historical religion | Preserve polemical force without gratuitous harshness; frame as contrast (living God vs. lifeless image), not mockery of practitioners |
| अज्ञात परमेश्वर “unknown god” (new, Critical) | Highest perennialist-misreading risk in the book: could be read as “all paths lead to the same unnamed God” | Every occurrence must be paired in teaching notes with Acts 17:31’s exclusive resurrection/judgment claim |
| जीवित परमेश्वर, परमेश्वर पक्षपात नगर्नुहुने हुनुहुन्छ | Moderate risk only; well-supported by context | Retain as established |
1.3 Repentance and Baptism
| Available Nepali terms | Weaknesses / Collision Risk | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| पश्चाताप / पश्चाताप गर्नु (new, High) | Rejected प्रायश्चित्त frames wrongdoing as karmic debt requiring ritual expiation, not Spirit-produced turning toward a personal God | Never use प्रायश्चित्त; retain पश्चाताप exclusively |
| बप्तिस्मा (new, High) | Rejected स्नान is Hindu ritual bathing/purification (e.g., in the Bagmati) | Never use स्नान; transliterated बप्तिस्मा retained even for metaphorical Spirit-baptism (1:5; 11:16), disambiguated by qualifier (जल/पानीको बप्तिस्मा vs. पवित्र आत्माको बप्तिस्मा) |
| पापको क्षमा “forgiveness of sins” (new, High) | Risk of standing in for justification (धर्मी ठहराइने कार्य) if used alone, per the baseline’s existing माफी caution | Always retain both terms distinctly, especially in Acts 13:38–39 |
| हृदयमा गहिरो चोट लाग्यो “cut to the heart” (new, Medium) | Could collapse into generic honor/shame social distress | Anchor explicitly to conviction of sin before God, not social shame |
| प्रभुको नाउँ पुकारनु (new, High) | Must be verbatim-consistent with the Romans 10:13 rendering | Cross-check against finalized Romans translation memory before Phase 2; flag as blocking if unconfirmed |
1.4 The Church as Community
| Available Nepali terms | Weaknesses / Collision Risk | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| मण्डली, सहभागिता, साझा (baseline/new) | Low-moderate risk; established | Retain unchanged |
| सेवा / सेवक “deacon/service” (new, High) | सेवा carries strong Hindu bhakti/karma-yoga connotations of merit-generating selfless service to a deity or guru | Frame consistently as Spirit-appointed functional service within covenant community, never merit accumulation |
| एल्डर “elder” (new, transliteration, High) | Rejected गुरु carries disciple’s personal devotion/worship of the guru — inappropriate for an accountable church office | Retain transliteration; never substitute गुरु |
| गोठालो / बगाल “shepherd/flock” (new, High) | Nepal’s most prominent national Hindu shrine, Pashupatinath (“Lord of Animals/Herds,” a Shiva epithet), makes shepherd-language nationally loaded | Use with explicit Christ-modeled sacrificial-care framing (20:28) to prevent Shaivite-title echo |
| रोटी भाँच्ने कार्य “breaking of bread” (new, High) | Collision with प्रसाद (temple food ritually offered to a deity, then redistributed as blessed) | Frame as remembrance of an already-accomplished salvation, never ongoing ritual consecration; distinguish from the non-ecclesial ship-meal of 27:35 |
| उत्तराधिकार “inheritance” (new, Medium) | Low risk; ties to baseline Adoption doctrine | Retain as established |
1.5 Apostolic Authority and Miracles
| Available Nepali terms | Weaknesses / Collision Risk | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| प्रेरित, परमेश्वरको सामर्थ्य (baseline) | सामर्थ्य forbidden-substitution partner शक्ति has unusually concrete, still-practiced association via Kathmandu Valley Newar Tantric/Shakta and Kumari (living-goddess) tradition | Never शक्ति; enforce सामर्थ्य absolutely |
| चिन्ह र आश्चर्यकर्म “signs and wonders” (new, High) | Collision with सिद्धि (yogic/tantric supernatural attainment through disciplined practice) | Frame as authenticating a historical message about Jesus, never the practitioner’s own spiritual attainment |
| हात राखिदिने कार्य “laying on of hands” (new, Medium) | Possible flattening into a generic Hindu blessing gesture (आशीर्वाद मुद्रा) | Frame as apostolic commissioning/impartation, not devotional blessing exchange |
| तन्त्र-मन्त्र / जादु / टोनामोना “sorcery” (new, High) | Directly touches living Nepali Tantric, jhankri/dhami shamanic, and astrological practice | Handle with pastoral clarity (occult power shown powerless before the gospel), not derision toward practitioners |
1.6 Persecution and Bold Witness
| Available Nepali terms | Weaknesses / Collision Risk | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| साक्षी / गवाही दिनु “witness” (new, High) | Collides with साक्षी भाव, the Vedantic “witness-consciousness” — an impersonal observer-self philosophical concept | Always anchor साक्षी to a concrete verb of testifying (गवाही दिनु) and a specific historical referent (the resurrection), never used as a standalone abstract noun |
| निर्भीकता “boldness” (new, Medium) | Low risk | Retain; note the literary bracket between 4:13 and 28:31 |
| महासभा “Sanhedrin” (new, Low) | Low risk; proper institutional noun | Retain unchanged |
| ढुङ्गाले मार्नु “stoning” (new, Low) | Low risk | Retain unchanged |
1.7 Conversion of Paul
| Available Nepali terms | Weaknesses / Collision Risk | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| दृश्य “vision” (new, High) | Rejected दर्शन is the standard Hindu devotional term for mutual “beholding” of a deity/guru/holy image | Never दर्शन; use दृश्य, reinforced where needed with a qualifier such as परमेश्वरबाट देखाइएको दृश्य to strengthen sovereignty-of-revelation sense |
| छानिएको पात्र “chosen instrument” (new, Medium-High) | Coined compound; no natural single-word Nepali equivalent | Retain coined phrase; parallels Romans 9 election language already established |
| शैतानको अधिकार / अन्धकारबाट ज्योतिमा (new, High) | “Light” imagery risks reading as meditative-enlightenment attainment (bodhi/jnana) rather than rescue from a personal enemy’s dominion | Frame explicitly as a decisive transfer of allegiance/dominion by divine intervention |
| हृदय खोलिदिनु “opened heart” (new, Medium) | Low risk | Retain; emphasize divine initiative over self-persuasion |
1.8 Justification apart from the Law
| Available Nepali terms | Weaknesses / Collision Risk | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| धर्मी ठहराइने कार्य, धार्मिकता, अनुग्रह, व्यवस्था (baseline, Critical/High) | Same धर्म-root collision risk as Romans throughout | Retain baseline unchanged; Acts 13:38-39 requires mandatory theologian review per escalation rule |
| व्रत / भाकल “Nazirite vow” (new, High) | व्रत is the standard term for Hindu meritorious vow-fasting practice (Teej, Ekadashi) | Teaching material must clarify this is cultural/ceremonial accommodation under a soon-superseded law, not a merit-earning act, and does not overturn the Council’s ruling |
| जुवा “yoke of the Law” (new, Medium) | Risk of implying the Law itself was evil | Frame as insufficiency for justification, not moral defect in the Law |
| शुद्धीकरण गर्नु “ceremonial purification” (new, Medium) | Risk of conflation with पवित्रीकरण (sanctification) | Keep two distinct Nepali terms: ceremonial/temple-based act vs. the Spirit’s ongoing moral work |
| आत्म-संयम “self-control” (new, Medium) | Collision with Hindu/Buddhist ascetic self-discipline pursued as a path to liberation/merit | Frame as a fruit of repentant faith (24:25), not a merit-earning discipline |
1.9 The Great Commission Fulfilled
| Available Nepali terms | Weaknesses / Collision Risk | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| सुसमाचार प्रचार, परमेश्वरको राज्य (baseline, Medium) | Established; retain | — |
| निर्बाध रूपमा “unhindered” (new, High) | Thematic resonance with Nepal’s 2017 Muluki Criminal Code proselytizing restrictions could be misread as encouragement to defy local law | Frame pastorally as confidence in God’s sovereignty over the gospel’s advance, never as legal-defiance rhetoric |
| सबै कुराको पुनर्स्थापना “restoration of all things” (new, Medium) | Collision with Hindu pralaya cyclical cosmic dissolution/renewal | Emphasize singular, final, linear restoration tied to Christ’s return |
| स्वर्गारोहण “ascension” (new, Medium) | Collision with legendary sage-ascension narratives achieved through spiritual attainment | Frame as unique divine vindication/enthronement, not an attainable yogic feat |
2. Missing Vocabulary vs. Crowded Semantic Neighborhoods
2.1 Missing Vocabulary (no natural single Nepali word; compound, coinage, or transliteration required)
| Term | Gap | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Pentecost | No Nepali festival concept for the 50-days-after-Passover Feast of Weeks | Transliteration पेन्तिकोस + mandatory explanatory gloss |
| Elder (office) | Every native candidate term (गुरु) carries disqualifying veneration connotations | Transliteration एल्डर |
| Chosen Instrument | No single-word Nepali equivalent for σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς | Coined compound छानिएको पात्र |
| Author of Life | No single-word equivalent for ἀρχηγὸς τῆς ζωῆς | Coined compound जीवनका प्रवर्तक |
| No Partiality | No idiomatic single-word Nepali equivalent for the Hebraic idiom “respecter of persons” | Full descriptive clause परमेश्वर पक्षपात नगर्नुहुने हुनुहुन्छ |
| Times of Refreshing/Restoration | No compact Nepali term carrying both “refreshing” and “final cosmic restoration” senses | Two-part rendering: स्फूर्तिका समय (refreshing) / सबै कुराको पुनर्स्थापना (restoration) |
| Unhindered | No single adverb carries the book’s full rhetorical weight | Descriptive phrase निर्बाध रूपमा / कुनै रोकावट नभएर |
2.2 Crowded Semantic Neighborhoods (existing Nepali words overloaded with competing religious/state meanings; require active fencing)
| Nepali term(s) | Competing occupant(s) of the neighborhood | Fencing required |
|---|---|---|
| साक्षी | Vedantic साक्षी भाव (impersonal witness-consciousness) | Always paired with a concrete testimony verb and historical referent |
| दर्शन (rejected) / दृश्य (chosen) | Hindu devotional darshan (beholding a deity/guru/image) | Rejected दर्शन entirely; दृश्य itself is comparatively weak/generic and may need reinforcement with a sovereignty-qualifier in some passages |
| मार्ग (rejected) / बाटो (chosen) | Buddhist Eightfold Path; Hindu bhakti/karma/jnana-mārga | Rejected मार्ग entirely for “the Way” |
| सेवा | Hindu bhakti/karma-yoga merit-service to deity or guru | Frame explicitly as Spirit-appointed functional service, not merit |
| व्रत | Hindu meritorious vow-fasting (Teej, Ekadashi) | Frame as cultural/ceremonial accommodation, not merit-earning act |
| शक्ति (forbidden) / सामर्थ्य (chosen) | Newar Tantric Shakta tradition; living-goddess (Kumari) cult | शक्ति never used |
| अशुद्ध | Caste-based jutho/untouchability purity codes (Muluki Ain legacy) | Frame every occurrence as abolition, not affirmation, of purity boundaries |
| गोठालो | Pashupatinath / Pashupati (“Lord of Animals/Herds,” a Shiva epithet) — Nepal’s most prominent national Hindu shrine | Anchor to Christ-modeled sacrificial care, avoid isolated honorific use |
| मूर्ति | Living, contemporary Hindu/Buddhist murti-puja devotional practice | Retain polemical force without gratuitous harshness |
| रोटी भाँच्ने कार्य | प्रसाद (temple offering-food ritually distributed) | Frame as remembrance meal of accomplished salvation, not ritual consecration |
| अगमवक्ता | ज्योतिषी (astrologer/fortune-teller) | Maintain baseline distinction; never blend |
| तन्त्र-मन्त्र / जादु | Living Tantric ritual, jhankri/dhami shamanic practice, astrology | Pastoral, non-derisive handling; power shown powerless, not practitioners mocked |
| अन्य भाषा | Dhami-jhankri shamanic trance-speech | Anchor to intelligibility (real languages understood by hearers), not trance possession |
| गुरु (rejected throughout) | Guru-veneration tradition (disciple devotion/worship) | Never used for apostle, elder, or teacher roles in Acts |
3. Transliteration vs. Paraphrase Decisions
Principle: Transliterate when (a) the term is a proper noun or a named institution/festival with no theological Nepali equivalent, or (b) every available native word carries a disqualifying competing religious-veneration connotation. Paraphrase/compound when a single native word would flatten a doctrinal distinction that Acts requires the reader to hold separately, or would smuggle in a wrong theological frame.
| Decision | Term(s) | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Transliterate | पेन्तिकोस (Pentecost) | No native festival-concept equivalent; proper noun status |
| Transliterate | एल्डर (Elder) | Every native alternative (गुरु) carries disqualifying veneration connotation |
| Transliterate | ख्रीष्टियान (Christian), नासरी (Nazarene), मसीह (Messiah, baseline) | Established proper-name/title transliteration pattern; avoids importing a competing native religious title |
| Transliterate | अब्बा, आमेन, हल्लेलूयाह (baseline, retained) | Established across Nepali Bible tradition |
| Paraphrase / Compound | धर्मी ठहराइने कार्य (justification, baseline) | A single word (माफी) would collapse forensic declared-righteousness into mere forgiveness |
| Paraphrase / Compound | पवित्र र धर्मी जन (Holy and Righteous One) | धार्मिक alone implies dutiful performance rather than inherent moral perfection |
| Paraphrase / Compound | परमेश्वर पक्षपात नगर्नुहुने हुनुहुन्छ (no partiality) | No single Nepali word carries the Hebraic idiom’s full force |
| Paraphrase / Compound | छानिएको पात्र (chosen instrument), जीवनका प्रवर्तक (author of life) | Coinage needed; single existing words underspecify the theological claim |
| Paraphrase / Compound | शैतानको अधिकार / अन्धकारबाट ज्योतिमा (power of Satan / darkness to light) | A single “enlightenment” word would misdirect toward Hindu/Buddhist attainment frameworks |
| Paraphrase / Compound | चिन्ह र आश्चर्यकर्म (signs and wonders) | A single word (सिद्धि-adjacent) would misdirect toward yogic/tantric attainment |
| Paraphrase / Compound | सबै कुराको पुनर्स्थापना (restoration of all things) | A single word risks importing cyclical pralaya cosmology |
4. Full-Book Chapter Coverage Log
Every chapter of Acts has been reviewed. Chapters are listed with the new or reused load-bearing terms they introduce or foreground; chapters with no new terms beyond those already documented are marked explicitly.
| Ch. | Key terms / doctrine touchpoints | Coverage status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ascension (स्वर्गारोहण), office/casting lots (पद/चिट्ठा हाल्नु), Kingdom of God (mistaken political-kingdom question), promise of the Father, apostle, election | New terms introduced |
| 2 | Core passage. Pentecost, tongues, pour out the Spirit, gift of the Spirit, cut to the heart, repentance, baptism, forgiveness of sins, call upon the name of the Lord, exalted, breaking of bread, fellowship, common possessions, apostles’ teaching, salvation | Anchor chapter; full term set established |
| 3 | Holy and Righteous One, Author of Life, times of refreshing/restoration, healing sign, repentance | New terms introduced |
| 4 | Boldness, signs and wonders, common possessions (continued), grace, salvation (“no other name,” 4:12) | New/reinforced terms |
| 5 | Sanhedrin, Holy Spirit’s personhood (lying to the Spirit), signs and wonders, angel of the Lord, exalted/Author of Life+Savior (5:31), boldness | Reinforced terms; no new lexical items beyond above |
| 6 | Deacon/service, laying on of hands, synagogue (opponents), Holy Spirit-filled speech | New terms introduced |
| 7 | Covenant, idols, Son of Man, stoning | New terms introduced |
| 8 | Gospel, sorcery/magic (Simon Magus), signs and wonders, gift of the Spirit, laying on of hands | Reinforced; sorcery/magic foregrounded |
| 9 | Conversion of Paul core. Vision, chosen instrument, Son of God, calling, election, the Way, saints, Nazarene | New terms introduced |
| 10 | Unclean/common, vision, no partiality, Gentiles, pour out the Spirit, tongues, power of God, living God (implicit) | New terms introduced |
| 11 | Unclean/common (Peter’s report), Christian (Antioch), deacon/service (famine relief) | Reinforced; “Christian” newly introduced |
| 12 | Angel of the Lord, glory (Herod’s judgment), intercession | Reinforced terms; no new lexical items beyond above |
| 13 | Justification (13:38-39, key passage), Messiah, calling, election, sorcery (Elymas), gospel, forgiveness of sins, seed of David, David | New/reinforced; mandatory theologian-review passage |
| 14 | Living God, idols, signs and wonders, Kingdom of God, stoning threat | Reinforced terms; no new lexical items beyond above |
| 15 | Grace (15:11), law, yoke of the Law, circumcision, Gentiles, no-partiality echo — Jerusalem Council | New terms introduced |
| 16 | Vision (Macedonian call), opened heart (Lydia), baptism, “what must I do to be saved” (salvation, Critical), elder | New terms introduced |
| 17 | Unknown God, idols, living God, Scriptures, resurrection debate (Areopagus), Messiah | New terms introduced |
| 18 | The Way, synagogue, Scriptures, Messiah | Reinforced terms; no new lexical items beyond above |
| 19 | Tongues, sorcery/magic (magic-book burning), signs and wonders, the Way, unhindered-theme building | Reinforced; sorcery/magic foregrounded again |
| 20 | Breaking of bread, elder, overseer, shepherd/flock, inheritance, grace, sanctification | New terms introduced |
| 21 | Nazirite vow, ceremonial purification, elder, law | New terms introduced |
| 22 | Vision, witness, the Way, call upon the name of the Lord, law (Roman legal sense) | Reinforced terms; no new lexical items beyond above |
| 23 | Sanhedrin, resurrection debate (Pharisee/Sadducee), clear conscience, righteousness | New term (clear conscience) introduced |
| 24 | Law, faith, righteousness, self-control, resurrection | New term (self-control) introduced |
| 25 | Sanhedrin/council echoes, witness (legal defense), law (Roman) | Reviewed — no new lexical items beyond above |
| 26 | Witness, power of Satan/darkness to light, resurrection, Messiah, election, sanctification/inheritance among saints, self-control | New term (power of Satan/darkness to light) introduced |
| 27 | Providence, angel of the Lord, thanksgiving, informal meal-breaking (contrast case) | Reinforced terms; no new lexical items beyond above |
| 28 | Unhindered (capstone), Kingdom of God, gospel | New term (unhindered) introduced; book’s closing theme |
5. Ranked List of Highest-Risk Ambiguities (Full Book)
Ranked by severity of doctrinal/cultural-collision risk, not merely frequency.
- अशुद्ध vs. साझा (κοινός disambiguation) — Acts 10–11 vs. 2, 4. Critical. Same Greek root split into two Nepali words; confusing them either reinforces caste-purity codes or trivializes Gentile inclusion, the chapter’s entire point.
- मूर्ति (idols) — polemical calibration — Acts 7, 14, 15, 17, 19. Critical. Must retain exclusive force against a living, contemporary devotional practice without gratuitous harshness.
- अज्ञात परमेश्वर (unknown god) — perennialism risk — Acts 17. Critical. Single highest risk of a fundamental doctrinal inversion (all-paths-to-one-God) if decoupled from 17:31.
- दृश्य vs. दर्शन (vision) — Acts 9, 10, 16, 18, 22, 26. High. Collapsing into दर्शन reframes sovereign, often unwelcome revelation as devotional beholding.
- साक्षी (witness) vs. साक्षी भाव — Acts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28. High. Runs the entire length of the book; must never stand as an unanchored abstract noun.
- बाटो vs. मार्ग (the Way) — Acts 9, 18, 19, 22, 24. High. Mislabels the earliest church as one soteriological path among several.
- व्रत (Nazirite vow) — merit-vow collision — Acts 21. High. Risk of implying Paul’s vow contributes to justification, contradicting the Council’s ruling in Acts 15.
- सेवा (deacon/service) — merit-service collision — Acts 6, 11, 12, 20, 21. High. Bhakti/karma-yoga framing could silently re-introduce merit into a Spirit-appointed functional office.
- तन्त्र-मन्त्र/जादु (sorcery) — pastoral tone risk — Acts 8, 13, 19. High. Risk of derision toward living jhankri-dhami practitioners rather than the text’s own tone of confident, non-mocking power-contrast.
- गोठालो (shepherd) — Pashupati collision — Acts 20:28. High. Nepal’s most prominent national Hindu shrine bears this exact epithet as a Shiva title.
- निर्बाध रूपमा (unhindered) — legal-defiance misreading — Acts 28:31. High. Risk of being read against the live backdrop of the 2017 Muluki Criminal Code’s proselytizing restrictions.
- अन्य भाषा (tongues) — trance-speech collision — Acts 2, 10, 19. High. Risk of conflating Spirit-given intelligible language with indigenous shamanic trance possession.
- पश्चाताप vs. प्रायश्चित्त (repentance) — Acts 2, 3, 11, 13, 17, 19, 20, 26. High. Risk of framing repentance as karmic ritual debt-payment rather than Spirit-produced turning toward a personal God.
- रोटी भाँच्ने कार्य vs. प्रसाद (breaking of bread) — Acts 2, 20, 27. High. Risk of the communal remembrance meal being read as consecrated ritual offering-food.
- एल्डर vs. गुरु (elder) — Acts 11, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21. Medium-High. Transliteration avoids the worst collision, but congregational practice may still informally apply guru-veneration patterns without explicit catechesis.
6. Summary for Phase 2 Handoff
- All Table B terms in
08_core_glossary.mdand all corresponding entries inbible_term_registry.jsonare consistent with the strategies documented above; no contradictions to the established baseline were found. - Items ranked 1–3 above (Critical tier) require mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence, per
doctrine_risk_registry.jsonconventions extended to Acts. - Items ranked 4–15 (High tier) require human theologian review at every occurrence per the same convention; native-speaker review alone is insufficient given the depth of cultural-collision risk documented here.
- The single most important translation-memory discipline point for Acts is the κοινός split (§5.1); this is the Acts-curriculum equivalent of the baseline’s धर्म/धार्मिकता distinction for Romans and must be flagged with equal weight in all Phase 2 tooling.