In the past I have always been keen to possess the latest translation of the Bible in modern-day English for use in groups or when reading lessons in church, believing that by keeping up-to-date in this way I would be able to improve my communication of the Good News.
A recent post on http://wycliffe.uk/blog has, however, pulled me up short. How selfish, how greedy I now feel when I look first at my collection of such translations and then out across the world to see how many people there are who still have no portion of the Bible in their heart language. Yes, I've been concerned about this for some time - enough to spend much of my spare time in sight checking translations of parts of the Bible in various languages. But this post on the Wycliffe blog was a real body blow! This had never occurred to me, and it is surely just as bad as our food consummation in the midst of a global food shortage! Just read the post by Mark, drawing attention to the following written by Phil on christianbookshopsblog.org.uk -
"As I write this I’m looking through a flyer from Wycliffe Bible Translators promoting their Vision 2025 initiative. It’s a wonderful vision, to have a Bible translation programme underway in every remaining language that does not yet have the Bible available, and to have this in place by 2025. According to Wycliffe, there are 6,912 languages currently spoken in the world: of these, 2,251 — representing 193 million people — do not yet have the Bible available. And yet here in the English speaking world we not only have so many different translations that we now need other books to help us choose between them, but we seem to have either another translation or another super-duper hip-hop trendy hot-water-bottle-wrapped must-have fashion accessory edition published every week.
Why?
I put it to you that if a fraction of the creative energy that’s put into hyping up the Bible for English language speakers and readers went into translation programmes, Vision 2025 could be realised by 2012 if not sooner — and what a gift that would be to the world, far greater than Britain hosting the Olympics will ever be!"
Showing posts with label Bible translation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible translation. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Excitement to read Bible stories in own language!
Yesterday a fellow member of our church, some years younger than me, said,'I don't see any need to learn to use e-mail. I've managed this far without it!' Well, all I can say is that it has been a great blessing to me. It has brought me friends whom I have never met and am never likely to meet because of the distance between us. This email that arrived this morning is such an example. It has brought me such joy to have this insight into the work of Bible translation and the effect it has on its recipients. I do hope you too will enjoy hearing this report.
Fosters’ Communiqué
Since we last wrote an exciting thing has happened; a direct answer to your prayers and ours. In our communications with you, we shared about helping the Hutterite endeavor to bring God’s Word to the Hutterite people. Even though we have been assigned as part of that team, our actual involvement has been more behind the scenes. Here is the latest exciting news sent to us by our co-worker, Dick Mueller, who has spear-headed this endeavor.
Dick writes:
"Last Tuesday evening, at about 7:30 P.M. the first volume of six Hutterisch Bible stories arrived in Linda Maendel's house. Linda is my Hutterite coworker in Elm River colony in Manitoba. We opened the box and we each grabbed a book and started looking at it. Shortly we gave Linda's mom, Asnath a copy. She is in her 70's. She had read little, if any, Hutterisch previously. We asked her to read the book aloud. She began reading aloud, and continued to read until she had finished the 180 page book, about 10 or 15 minutes later. When others came into the house we gave them a book and asked them to read aloud, and they did.
"The next morning we went to the school, and in a little while Linda gave the books to the three 6th to 8th graders.
"They immediately each began reading, Shaniah silently, and Damion and Caleb aloud simultaneously on different pages. They read lickety-split, seemingly not even taking any time to look at the beautiful color pictures on each page. Occasionally one of them asked Linda about the pronunciation of a word. About a third of the way through the book Damion said, "I want one!," and kept reading ‘till each of them finished the book. After they finished, we asked them which language could they read and understand better? Damion answered, "Hutterisch, because that is my language."
"On Thursday afternoon in Baker Colony, the colony where our publisher, The Hutterian Brethren Book Centre is located, we visited Frances, a Hutterite English teacher who teaches Hutterite high school English by closed circuit TV for students in 25 colonies. She was about at the end of her class, so we asked her to show the Bible Story book to her students. She did, and then read a few pages for them. Then she found out that I was one of the authors of the book, so she asked me to come on the TV and be interviewed. She asked about my role as a linguist for this book, and to explain what a linguist does. Then her students made comments, and asked a couple questions. We were thrilled to be able to show and tell about the book to students in about 14 colonies, some as far away as Minnesota, near Minneapolis.
"We are praising the Lord for allowing the book to get this far. Please now pray for the distribution of the book to many colonies. Also pray for Tony Waldner, Hutterite educator and Martin Knauber, another SIL co-worker in the project, as they work on the Hutterisch New Testament. Tony now has Matthew, Mark and Luke in 1st draft. Pray for them as they work to assemble a translation checking committee of Hutterite leaders. Also please pray for them as they will be meeting with Linda, that they will be able to come to a consensus about details on how we should spell Hutterisch."
Thanks for your prayers for us and for allowing us to be your representatives to a world that still needs Christ.
We appreciate each one of you that God has brought in to be part of our ministry team.
Phil Foster
Fosters’ Communiqué
Since we last wrote an exciting thing has happened; a direct answer to your prayers and ours. In our communications with you, we shared about helping the Hutterite endeavor to bring God’s Word to the Hutterite people. Even though we have been assigned as part of that team, our actual involvement has been more behind the scenes. Here is the latest exciting news sent to us by our co-worker, Dick Mueller, who has spear-headed this endeavor.
Dick writes:
"Last Tuesday evening, at about 7:30 P.M. the first volume of six Hutterisch Bible stories arrived in Linda Maendel's house. Linda is my Hutterite coworker in Elm River colony in Manitoba. We opened the box and we each grabbed a book and started looking at it. Shortly we gave Linda's mom, Asnath a copy. She is in her 70's. She had read little, if any, Hutterisch previously. We asked her to read the book aloud. She began reading aloud, and continued to read until she had finished the 180 page book, about 10 or 15 minutes later. When others came into the house we gave them a book and asked them to read aloud, and they did.
"The next morning we went to the school, and in a little while Linda gave the books to the three 6th to 8th graders.
"They immediately each began reading, Shaniah silently, and Damion and Caleb aloud simultaneously on different pages. They read lickety-split, seemingly not even taking any time to look at the beautiful color pictures on each page. Occasionally one of them asked Linda about the pronunciation of a word. About a third of the way through the book Damion said, "I want one!," and kept reading ‘till each of them finished the book. After they finished, we asked them which language could they read and understand better? Damion answered, "Hutterisch, because that is my language."
"On Thursday afternoon in Baker Colony, the colony where our publisher, The Hutterian Brethren Book Centre is located, we visited Frances, a Hutterite English teacher who teaches Hutterite high school English by closed circuit TV for students in 25 colonies. She was about at the end of her class, so we asked her to show the Bible Story book to her students. She did, and then read a few pages for them. Then she found out that I was one of the authors of the book, so she asked me to come on the TV and be interviewed. She asked about my role as a linguist for this book, and to explain what a linguist does. Then her students made comments, and asked a couple questions. We were thrilled to be able to show and tell about the book to students in about 14 colonies, some as far away as Minnesota, near Minneapolis.
"We are praising the Lord for allowing the book to get this far. Please now pray for the distribution of the book to many colonies. Also pray for Tony Waldner, Hutterite educator and Martin Knauber, another SIL co-worker in the project, as they work on the Hutterisch New Testament. Tony now has Matthew, Mark and Luke in 1st draft. Pray for them as they work to assemble a translation checking committee of Hutterite leaders. Also please pray for them as they will be meeting with Linda, that they will be able to come to a consensus about details on how we should spell Hutterisch."
Thanks for your prayers for us and for allowing us to be your representatives to a world that still needs Christ.
We appreciate each one of you that God has brought in to be part of our ministry team.
Phil Foster
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Great Grub!
Some of you know that I am still mourning the loss of the blogging connections I had made in the years when I used Modblog as a server, so I've been looking to see what I had saved before Modblog went out of action. This is one of my favourites - and well worth repeating, though in 4 years Bible translation has gone from strength to strength.
""We'll prepare a caterpillar feast when you come to Congo!" Anzabati, a fellow student in Nairobi would promise me. Eventually, after he returned home to the Democratic Republic, I visited him and enjoyed the promised feast. With a triumphant air, Anzabati's wife produced a pot of brown smoked caterpillars. Everyone grinned as I took the plunge. The verdict: chewy and grainy, but good.
There was much food for thought at a translation workshop I then joined. People from three language groups were being trained to work on Luke's Gospel, the first Scripture in their languages. Luke often mentions food!
In Chapter 11, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray for 'daily bread'. Not easy to translate for people who've never tasted bread! After 12 years of war and economic collapse, Wheat flour is scarce so most children have no idea what bread is. If the translators use the word 'bread', younger readers won't understand. If they substitute 'food', people who know the French Bible may object that it changes the original.
Then Jesus asks, "If your son asks for a fish, will you give him a snake?" implying that no-one would, but a Congolese father might! Snake meat is commonly eaten and is a great source of protein. If there was no fish, a caring dad could well provide snake instead. So this question doesn't make sense! One translator suggested using 'chameleon'. That would make the point loud and clear. Chameleons are taboo creatures, hated, feared and avoided. Of course you wouldn't give your child a chameleon to eat!
Sarah Casson
[This is taken from the Wycliffe Bible Translators' May-June 2004 issue of 'Call to Prayer'.]
""We'll prepare a caterpillar feast when you come to Congo!" Anzabati, a fellow student in Nairobi would promise me. Eventually, after he returned home to the Democratic Republic, I visited him and enjoyed the promised feast. With a triumphant air, Anzabati's wife produced a pot of brown smoked caterpillars. Everyone grinned as I took the plunge. The verdict: chewy and grainy, but good.
There was much food for thought at a translation workshop I then joined. People from three language groups were being trained to work on Luke's Gospel, the first Scripture in their languages. Luke often mentions food!
In Chapter 11, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray for 'daily bread'. Not easy to translate for people who've never tasted bread! After 12 years of war and economic collapse, Wheat flour is scarce so most children have no idea what bread is. If the translators use the word 'bread', younger readers won't understand. If they substitute 'food', people who know the French Bible may object that it changes the original.
Then Jesus asks, "If your son asks for a fish, will you give him a snake?" implying that no-one would, but a Congolese father might! Snake meat is commonly eaten and is a great source of protein. If there was no fish, a caring dad could well provide snake instead. So this question doesn't make sense! One translator suggested using 'chameleon'. That would make the point loud and clear. Chameleons are taboo creatures, hated, feared and avoided. Of course you wouldn't give your child a chameleon to eat!
Sarah Casson
[This is taken from the Wycliffe Bible Translators' May-June 2004 issue of 'Call to Prayer'.]
Monday, 29 October 2007
Last part of the Mountain to Climb!
This week I have received a further batch of sight-checking in the Igbo language from Wycliffe Associates which will occupy much of my time in the next few weeks. It was several years ago, when I was about to be housebound for 6 months with my leg in plaster after an ankle operation, that I saw a small advert asking for proof readers. Ever since then it has been a great joy to feel part of the team 'working here, helping there' to make the Scriptures available across the world.
I never know which language will be sent to me for checking and people ask me how I can possibly do the checking if I don't know the languages. Wycliffe Associates has a team of typesetters to computerise the original text and it is their work that I carefully check with a copy of the original text. Recently we have been working in this way on the Igbo Bible and I think this is probably my last batch in this language, for others will probably be given the final chapters, Jude and Revelation, to check.
Igbo (also written as Ibo) is a language spoken in Nigeria by around 18 million people (1999 WA), the Igbo, especially in the south eastern region once identified as Biafra. The language was used by John Goldsmith as an example to justify deviating from the classical linear model of phonology as laid out in The Sound Pattern of English. It is written in the Roman script. Igbo is a tonal language, like Yoruba and Chinese.
Also this week I have received a 3 months Plan for Daily Prayer for Bible Translation from Wycliffe Bible Translators because, as they tell us, "The gospel is not good news for hundreds of millions of people who don't have God's word. Wycliffe's vision is that Bible translation will start in every language that needs it by 2025 ('Vision 2025'). More Bible translation is going on now than in any time in history but there's the last part of the mountain to climb!
"Up to a billion people do not have Scripture in their heart language. Of these more than 196 million people in 2250 language groups are waiting for work to start. 2426 languages do have Scripture. Of these 429 have a complete Bible, another 1,144 have a New Testament and 853 others have at least one book of the Bible. Since
'Vision 2025' started in 1999, project starts have accelerated to 3 times the rate seen in the 1990s! Now a project starts every 5 days! Work is now going on in 1941 languages!"
Thank you WBT. What a wonderful record, with much more to come in the next few years! I have always been a keen supporter of Wycliffe Bible Translators and so I was delighted to come across the fact that John Wycliffe, Bible translator (1324-1384), came from my own home town of Barnard Castle and was educated at Egglestone Abbey (which I have only known in ruins), then at Oxford!
Please join me in prayer that 'Vision 2025' will become a reality, though it is unlikely that I will live to see it myself.
I never know which language will be sent to me for checking and people ask me how I can possibly do the checking if I don't know the languages. Wycliffe Associates has a team of typesetters to computerise the original text and it is their work that I carefully check with a copy of the original text. Recently we have been working in this way on the Igbo Bible and I think this is probably my last batch in this language, for others will probably be given the final chapters, Jude and Revelation, to check.
Igbo (also written as Ibo) is a language spoken in Nigeria by around 18 million people (1999 WA), the Igbo, especially in the south eastern region once identified as Biafra. The language was used by John Goldsmith as an example to justify deviating from the classical linear model of phonology as laid out in The Sound Pattern of English. It is written in the Roman script. Igbo is a tonal language, like Yoruba and Chinese.
Also this week I have received a 3 months Plan for Daily Prayer for Bible Translation from Wycliffe Bible Translators because, as they tell us, "The gospel is not good news for hundreds of millions of people who don't have God's word. Wycliffe's vision is that Bible translation will start in every language that needs it by 2025 ('Vision 2025'). More Bible translation is going on now than in any time in history but there's the last part of the mountain to climb!
"Up to a billion people do not have Scripture in their heart language. Of these more than 196 million people in 2250 language groups are waiting for work to start. 2426 languages do have Scripture. Of these 429 have a complete Bible, another 1,144 have a New Testament and 853 others have at least one book of the Bible. Since
'Vision 2025' started in 1999, project starts have accelerated to 3 times the rate seen in the 1990s! Now a project starts every 5 days! Work is now going on in 1941 languages!"
Thank you WBT. What a wonderful record, with much more to come in the next few years! I have always been a keen supporter of Wycliffe Bible Translators and so I was delighted to come across the fact that John Wycliffe, Bible translator (1324-1384), came from my own home town of Barnard Castle and was educated at Egglestone Abbey (which I have only known in ruins), then at Oxford!
Please join me in prayer that 'Vision 2025' will become a reality, though it is unlikely that I will live to see it myself.
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