This paper examines 14 significant early editions of the Bible in Chinese (four versions), Korean (seven versions), English (two versions), and one Greek source, focusing on 220 proper nouns (personal and place names) appearing in the Acts of the Apostles to summarize the general trends in translations and transliterations, and introduces several illustrative examples from the analysis. The findings reveal that, among Chinese and Korean Bible translations, proper nouns often correspond without significant discrepancies between translations and transliterations, especially in cases involving high-frequency words (e.g., Asia, Jerusalem, Jesus, Moses, Rome). Influences from etymological sources such as Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (e.g., Jupiter, Zeus), and differences arising from the approach to handling proper nouns, whether through transliteration or translation (e.g., Libertines vs. Free Men; Mount of Olives), were noted. Additionally, variations among Chinese versions, observed in the translation of certain proper nouns due to the selection of specific Chinese characters (e.g., Asia), were identified. This paper sets the stage for future comprehensive studies into the complexities and diversities of biblical translation across cultural backgrounds, with a focus on lexicon and phonology, by outlining general trends and specific instances.

This study examines the types and usage of abbreviations of foreign proper nouns used in media articles based on a basic understanding of Korean abbreviations, and seeks to identify the effects of their use. Abbreviations of foreign proper nouns are widely used for reasons of economy, ease of identification, and to facilitate the provision of information. There are two types of abbreviations. Romanized abbreviations are characterized by strong economy and identifiability but have difficulty conveying meaning, and they also distinguish the social classes of speakers by their knowledge of loan words or understanding of foreign languages, thereby threatening to undermine social integration. In contrast, abbreviations translated into Korean have the advantage of easily conveying meaning and not hindering language accessibility, but they are weak in identifiability and their number remains exceedingly small. The reason for the excessive use of Romanized abbreviations by the government and media seems to be that no provision for Korean translation abbreviations was made earlier. It is necessary to create and publicize Korean abbreviations widely, as well as create good Korean translation terms with the introduction of foreign proper nouns into Korean.