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→The title Theotokos: possible misinterpretation of "Mother of God" when used as a translation of Theotokos
While some languages used by various Orthodox churches often have a single native word for ''Theotokos'', it gets translated into English in a number of ways. The most common is ''Mother of God'', though ''God-bearer'' and ''Birth-giver to God'' are also fairly common. There are difficulties with all these translations, however. The most literally correct one is ''Birth-giver to God'', though ''God-bearer'' comes close. ''Theophoros'' (Θεοφορος) is the Greek term usually and more correctly translated as ''God-bearer'', so using ''God-bearer'' for ''Theotokos'' in some sense "orphans" ''Theophoros'' when it comes time to translate that term (for St. [[Ignatius of Antioch]], for instance). The main difficulties with both these translations for ''Theotokos'' is that they are a bit awkward and difficult to sing.
The most popular translation, ''Mother of God'', is accurate to a point, but has the difficulty with that one is that ''Mother of God'' is the literal translation of another Greek phrase which is found on nearly all [[icon]]s of the Theotokos: Μητηρ Θεου (''Meter Theou''), usually in the standard [[iconography|iconographic ]]abbreviation of '''ΜΡ ΘΥ'''. A second problem with''Mother of God'' is that it is less precise than ''Theotokos'' since it can be misinterpreted as stating Mary is Mother of God ''from eternity'', whereas ''Theotokos'' is more specific, limiting Mary's divine maternity to the Incarnation. Additionally, a number of hymns employ both ''Theotokos'' and ''Meter Theou''—translating both as ''Mother of God'' can yield some rather nonsensical language, and it destroys the distinction that the hymnographer intended.
The usage that seems to be dominant in English-speaking Orthodox churches in North America is to adopt the original term itself into English (something English speakers have traditionally done with foreign words almost since the earliest known history of the language), transliterating it simply as ''Theotokos'' (or, occasionally, ''Theotocos''). British usage gives preference to translating ''Theotokos'' as ''Mother of God''.
