FWIW, the UOC-USA does not use "Theotokos" in the Liturgy. They use "Ever blessed, most pure, birth giver of God and ever virgin Mary."
Just time for a quick remark:the choice comes down to "Theotokos" or "Birth-giver of God" IMHO to borrow or translate the Greek term. That decision, however, depends on a wider issue of English as a whole:does it go with loan words, or Anglo-Saxon roots, a question of linguistic Anschauung (or should I say "viewpoint"?) beyond Church talk.
I fully agree ialmisry. Since the Eastern services usually come to us from the Greek, ideally they should be rendered as literally as possible into English. We have, as an example in the small paraclesis canon to the [insert your favourite term for the Holy Virgin Mother] three terms in Greek and Slavonic:
Θεοτοκος Θεογεννήτρια Θεομὴτορ
Богородица Богородитильнице Богоматери: however we only have two in English to my knowledge:
Birthgiver of God and Mother of God.
I am far from an expert in liturgical language or linguistics, but I would invite any who are to comment.
Incidentally: In the last Theotokion (can anyone think of a term in English?) in the 7th ode of the Small Paraclesis we have:
Σωμάτων μαλακίασ, καἰ ψυχῶν ἀρρωτείας, Θεογεννήτρια... p. 36, the English translation reads:
For weakness of body and sickness of soul, O Theotokos...p 371.
It seems that where the Greek uses Θεογεννήτρια then the English is better rendered Birthgiver of God, even if it has not been such a common term in the few decades of English Orthodox services.
My sources are as follows:
Greek: ΜΕΓΑΣ ΙΕΡΟΣ ΣΥΝΕΚΔΗΜΟΣ, ΑΘΗΝΑΙ, ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ ΦΩΣ [no date]
Slavonic (sorry my computer doesn't have slavonic fonts for email)
великiй ЧАСОСЛОВЪ, Москва, Паломникъ, 1995.
Unabbreviated Horolgion or Book of the Hours, [No publisher marked but I presume it's Jordanville] Trans. Rassaphor-monk Laurence, 2nd ed. 1994, 2nd printing 1997.
What are your thoughts?
Adelphi