Translation Brief Likɔɔnl (Komba) New Testament

Extracted text from Komba_Translation_Brief_LBT_website.pdf:

Nathan Esala The Translation Brief for the Liknl (Komba) New Testament

Oct 18, 2011

Introduction Christianne Nord defines a translation brief as the definition of the communicative purpose for which the translation is needed. The ideal brief provides explicit or implicit information about the intended text function(s), the target-text addressee(s), the medium over which it will be transmitted, the prospective place and time and, if necessary, motive of production or reception of the text (1997:137). The first section of this brief paints the socio-cultural picture surrounding the translation by describing the the Komba (Bikm) audience, followed by an identification of the producers of the translation. Next, it describes the social goals for the translation, the expected function of the translation in its new host context, the theological and socio-linguistic rationale behind the translation, and the translations approach regarding cultural mediation. The second major section discusses the organizations involved in the translation, their goals for producing the translation followed by an identification of the translators and their purposes in translating. Finally, the last section describes the succinctly stated goals for the translation, also known as the skopos or purpose(s) for translating. The translation skopos is followed by a more detailed description of preferred translation approaches, style, methodologies, and lines of communication used in production. The brief serves as a set of translating instructions for the translators to help them approach the source text while imagining the intended function of the translated text for the host audience as they translate. It also serves as a measuring stick to help evaluate the final translated product. Furthermore, the brief is a transparent offer for others to understand and critique the goals, theology, ethics, and methodologies of its producers. But ultimately, the translations communicative purpose will be measured by how the yet envisaged text functions in the host community. 1 1.1 Sociocultural frames: Of Audiences: Who will use this Bible translation?

The Komba are an anthropologically acephalous tribe who are part of a larger cultural identity which is called Konkomba. They are located in northern Ghana and northern Togo. The Komba (known to themselves as Bikm and more generally Bikpukpam) are on one end of the larger Konkomba (Likpakpaaln) dialect chain. They are the northernmost geographically and most socially and linguistically divergent from their southern Konkomba relatives (Steele 1971). Their language is specifically called Liknl. More generally, it is part of the Konkomba (Likpakpaaln) language family. Komba is used in this document to refer to both the Bikm people and the Liknl language as a distinct subset of the Konkomba macro-language. The Komba traditionally have been clan based and not centrally unified. They do not yet have a paramount chief. They are farmers. Men work outside the home and are focused on farm and clan. Being a patrilineal society, the majority of family expenses are born by men. Women are traditionally in the domain of the home. Many women have side businesses selling small items on market days. The land in their traditional area has become increasingly unfertile and thus they are poor. This poverty has sparked the desire for higher levels of education in the hope of escaping poverty. Still, the Komba have very low levels of education. Few have received tertiary education to be qualified for positions as teachers or 1

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nurses. Few hold governmental positions, but they are now beginning to make themselves felt in the political arena. Because of land infertility many Komba have migrated to Central and Southern Ghana for better farming land. Among those who have migrated, the majority still maintain a strong connection to their home land and cultural development. The Komba are predominantly followers of African traditional religion and only in the last twenty years have begun to become Christian or Muslim. The Christians are estimated to number between 5 - 10 % of the population. Muslims are estimated to make up 1- 5 % of the population. The translation team (see below) expects that the majority of readers can be grouped into the following categories: Pastors, Evangelists, church leaders, and church readers. The Pastors are typically at a Senior Secondary High school reading ability. They can read English and have a basic understanding of the background Biblical information. The Evangelists (sometimes called Catechists or Lay workers) are typically below the High school reading ability; however, many of them are more adept at reading in the sister language of Konkomba (where Lichabol is the reference dialect). The church leaders are typically (though not always) in the same formal educational frame as the Evangelists, but lack the theological training and church certification. They may be able to read English, but many are not able to read it well. The last group termed church readers can be divided into two groups. First are those that have learned to read Konkomba through adult literacy and second are youth who have recently been to school or are currently in school. In all cases it is the exception to have any who have succeeded beyond Junior High School education. The majority of hearers in churches will be women (maybe 60%) as there are more women Christians than men. 1.2 Of Producers: Who is producing this translation? The publisher of the Bible will be the Bible Society of Ghana. The main initiator for the project is The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana in relation to its international partner Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT) Aurora, IL USA. The local entity in charge is called the Komba Bible Translation and Literacy Project (KOLIBITRAP) (See also Community Organization below). The organizational relationships are governed by a Memo of Understanding signed by all parties in 2009. 1.2.1 Social goals: How will this translation be useful for the larger Komba community? KOLIBITRAP hopes to elevate the Komba language to the level of a developed language to increase its strength among Ghana and the worlds languages. They would like literacy materials and classes for adults and children alike. They hope to unify Kombas on the issue of language development, literacy, and translation. Accordingly, they are seeking to engage more highly educated Kombas to be a part of the translation and literacy efforts. 1.2.2 Religious goals: What does the church hope to do with this translation? KOLIBITRAP hopes that through the process of translating and then through the host communitys interaction with the translated text, both the translators and the host community will be transformed. They hope that all involved will experience a transformation of attitudes, values, and behaviors in genuine and profound ways. The exact nature of this transformation cannot be predicted nor will it be the same for everyone. Three aspects of transformation include identity, evangelism (conversion), and liberation.

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KOLIBITRAP expects many people will be aided in integrating Komba identity and Christian identity into a hybrid Komba Christian identity. Many people already experience these two identities but dont experience them in an integrated connected way. Through the translation of the Bible in Komba language and cultural categories, some people will be encouraged to begin integrating Komba culture and identity rooted in traditional religion in a complementary way with the Christian experience. This hybrid identity will be unique, but not alien in comparison with the original traditional culture. This identity will be different from a southern Ghanaian Christian identity, but there will be points of connection. This identity will be different from an American Christian identity, but there will be some common roots and themes. KOLIBITRAP recognizes that there will be Komba users who will use the translation as fetish, perhaps not to listen to its message but rather to use it in other types of rituals for power and profit. KOLIBITRAP expects that this translation will function evangelistically. As the Holy Spirit engages people with the Komba translation process and the resulting translated text some people will experience a turning away from self-centered sinful existence towards a God-centered existence based on repentance and restoration to Gods gracious kingdom through the forgiveness of sins experienced though engagement with Jesus life, death and resurrection. This is often called conversion. Conversion is a refocusing of the mental life and its cultural social underpinnings and of our feelings, affections, and instincts, in the light of what God has done in Jesus (Sanneh, 2003:43-44). The church is typically the agent that finds ways to engage people with the translated text in this manner. This evangelistic goal ideally will occur in harmony with the goal of integrated identity above. KOLIBITRAP expects that this translation will serve as a means of liberation for the Komba people. This liberation will be through a strengthened ethnic identity, a pride in having a written language, access to literacy classes and materials in their own language. Potentially they will experience an opening up to church and even governmental structures. The translation should help legitimize the Komba as a viable and strong ethnic group in Ghana. 1.2.3 Theological Presuppositions and Komba cosmology: Why translate the Christian Bible among a group of people that predominantly follow African Traditional Religion? Translation is never neutral. It is intercultural contact. Intercultural contact can result in domination of the more powerful culture over the less powerful. In the case of a religious document like the Bible, it can mean church trying to subordinate African Traditional Religion (ATR) through force. But intercultural contact can also result in transformation of both cultures in positive ways. Theologically, LBT maintains a high view of Scripture as God-breathed (1 Timothy 3:16) as does the the Bible Society of Ghana, the ELCG, and all the churches in the KOLIBITRAP partnership and thus it is part and parcel of the Komba translation process. However, this belief is not meant to be forced on people through coercion, but rather is the result of faith in the actions of a reliable and gracious God and his desire to communicate to his beloved people. The ethics of our theological stance in the translation process are governed by the cross, where Gods attitude toward the world is best exemplified, where the creator God gave up his power even his very life, in the person of his only begotten Son, on behalf of all humanity. Therefore, in this translation process, we seek to maintain the highest respect for followers of African Traditional Religion and Islam and respect their freedom to decline from conforming to the churchs communal life. At the same time, the translation will not shy away from sharing this message 3

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that the church has received from God passed on through apostolic spokespersons, writers, diligent copyists, and faithful interpreters. Following Kwame Bediako, the translation team comes to the task of Bible translation as Christians with a Trinitarian focus that shapes the ethics of the translation process (Bediako 2004:24-25). The Trinitarian aspect is recognition that the God who created the universe is called Uwonbr by the Komba people. Uwonbr (God) has been active among the Komba before the advent of Christianity. Indeed it is evident that many of the concepts of ATR have parallels in Christianity. Many Kombas have experienced something in the person of Jesus Christ that rings true with what they already knew of Uwonbr (God). The Christian contention is that Uwonbr chose to make Godself known to humanity by becoming human in the second person of the Trinity in the person of Yisa (Jesus). Hence God chose to make Godself known through one particular human culture and one human language, that is the people of Israel, but with a universal scope. So from the beginning of the transmission of the actions of God in the person of Jesus it was always translated (Sanneh 2003:97). The church then is given the task of passing on the life and teachings of Yisa (Jesus) to all of Uwonbrs creatures in the language they understand best. This translation is in part a response to that task. At the time of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2, God sent his Kasi a Naa (Holy Spirit) so that the disciples of Jesus spoke the message of God to thousands of people from many different cultures and languages. Miraculously, as they spoke, each group heard the message in their own language. In this act God further demonstrated his desire and approval of the translation process so that all languages and cultures can hear the wonders of God in their own tongue. The message of Uwonbr communicated by his own acts was proclaimed by people throughout history. The Bible is understood to be the record of Gods spokespersons communicative action on behalf of God toward his people (Wright 2005:37; cf. Deuteronomy 18.15-22, Romans 1.1-5). The basic apostolic message of the Bible points to Gods self-sacrificial and restorative action on behalf of all people and thus calls people to repent from evil and rebellion against Uwonbr, and calls them to believe in the atoning death and liberating resurrection of Yisa, the incarnation of Uwonbr. This assumption pervades the translation. The attitudinal posture taken by the translation team towards the Bible is one of humility seeking to hear and understand Gods message given in ancient times, so Komba hearers can appropriately apply it today. At the same time not all Komba people agree that Uwonbr (God) became incarnate in Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity. If percentage of adherents is any indication, most Komba do not see that it necessarily follows to restructure their lives in the way most Ghanaian churches teach. This is their prerogative, and this translation condemns any acts of conversion by force. Rather, as the Komba engage in the translation process and with the text (or whether they engage it all), the resulting conclusions about how to order ones life as a Komba person and as a follower of Uwonbr and his Son Yisa (Jesus) are not necessarily a given. They need to be worked out in Komba communities in relation to the text of Scripture and in relationship to other communities of Christians and ultimately through the indwelling of the third person of the Trinity, the Kasi a Naa (Clean Spirit) of Uwonbr (God) who is present in all who believe that indeed Yisa (Jesus) is the Son of Uwonbr (God).

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In addition the translation team believes there is evil and that the earth is under oppression through the spiritual power of Satan (the head of all evil). Human beings and powers are complicit in this oppression through greed and struggle for power. But Uwonbr is in the process of transforming the whole earth from its state of oppression and evil to its original state of freedom, peace and good, which will only be completed when God intervenes and sends Yisa back to fully restore the earth at the culmination of history. The translation process, including translation of the Bible, is not exempt from evil. As fallible human agents, the translation team and the translation can be complicit to the spiritual forces of evil. The translation team seeks to negotiate that danger through transparency of ideologies with all of the partners involved and by offering this brief as a tool to measure whether or not the product and the process measure up to the ethical intentions of its producers and the ethical expectations of its users. 1.2.4 Function of the Bible among the Komba communities: The Bible itself is accused by some of being an agent of oppression. Those who translate it then are seen complicit in propagating that oppression. But the Bible is also seen by some to be a great agent of liberation and indeed a means to experience and interact with God and be transformed by him. Indeed many Africans have received the Bible as the Word of God intended for them, intended to be in their language (Bediako 2004: 32). KOLIBITRAP is willing to subject themselves and their people to the Bible in their own language and to negotiate the differences in perspective that people experience with it. Indeed many Komba leaders, including non-Christians, hope that both the process and the text will help liberate them from illiteracy, lack of power in the church, governmental and spiritual realms. Many Komba, especially the Christians, believe that this translation process will help further Gods transformation in themselves and that God may use it to transform others and even the creation. Both this liberation and this transformation are more likely to happen if the translated text is in harmony with the intentions and ethics of the central message of the source texts, that is Jesus death and resurrection, and in harmony with the intentions and ethics of the host community (the Komba). The whole communicative goal of this translation brief is that Komba people will engage with the message through reading or hearing it whether that be by public reading and hearing of the written text or by performing and listening to other oral media. 1.2.5 Cultural interaction: Foreignization or Domestication At least three cultures are in play in the Komba translation. The traditional Komba culture, the new influences of modern Western influenced culture, and the least known of the three, the Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) culture of the Biblical source document. The ANE culture in which the Bible was composed is foreign to most Komba in many ways. Sometimes, however, it is similar. When the cultures clash the translators have to choose not to explain the foreign concept (foreignize the text) or to modify the foreign concept so that it becomes understandable to the Komba (domesticate the text). Predominantly in this translation the translators have chosen to domesticate the text in an effort to not unnecessarily confuse or distract the Komba community from the larger intention of the text. For instance, NT measurements and weights will be modernized for Kombas. Cultural adjustments for eating by sitting in the Komba style rather than lying down in the New Testament style will be made. However, in these 5

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instances sometimes a footnote will be added to the bottom of the text to indicate that the historical accuracy of the original event and to show respect for the original culture. In relation to trees, plants and their products, a thorough study of the original horticulture was made and then also a similar study of the host cultures horticulture. Normally the translation domesticates the original horticultural term by substituting a local functional equivalent, but at times we add a footnote or a longer glossary description to describe the function of the plant or tree or fruit in the original culture. However, if a particular original cultural item or concept is deemed crucial to understanding the thrust of the text, a move towards foreignization will be made. For instance, the Komba do not have a mandatory day of rest with the inherent taboos like the Sabbath, but are aware that other Ghanaian tribes have such days. In order to distinguish the Sabbath the translation employed the Jewish peoples work taboo day. Similarly the text itself often describes foreign concepts such as a tomb cut out of stone (Mark 15:46). At times pictures can be used to help illustrate a foreign concept and bring the reader to closer understanding of it. Other supplementary teaching material may also be helpful in these cases. Key Biblical terms will as much as possible be chosen from concepts that already exist within the Komba worldview and vocabulary. An attempt will be made to distinguish some nuances of the words as used in the Bible in the glossary or in other Scripture Engagement materials. At times in order to distinguish a concept slightly from a traditional concept an additional descriptor will be added. For instance baptism is translated as fu bininfob Uwonbr a nyum bathing people with Gods water to distinguish it from normal bathing or even other forms of ritual bathing present in African Traditional Religion. The genre of poetry often tends toward foreignization on the level of artistry. The translation seeks to adequately translate rhythm and imagery, but in order to communicate the meaning of the original an acknowledged loss of artistry and phonation present in the original text occurs. 1.2.6 Relationship to other translations: The Konkomba Bible (based on the Lichabol dialect of Konkomba located in Saboba) is being used by the churches in the area along with various English Bibles. The Ghana Institute of Linguistics Literacy and Bible Translation and their partner organization KOLADEP/RILADEP completed the Konkomba Bible and it was their intention not to produce another dialect translation for the Komba, but rather to attempt and extend the reach of the translation through literacy and audio media. Justification for a Komba Translation Based upon the following three major criteria, the Komba translation was undertaken (Esala 2006). First, there is a divergence in linguistic relationship such that the dialects of Liknl and Lichabol, the reference dialect for the Konkomba Bible, are mutually unintelligible without significant exposure (Steele 1971). Second, researcher Nathan Esala ascertained the Komba themselves have an internal motivation to develop their language in similar parallel lines with their Konkomba neighbors for their own sociolinguistic development. The formation of KOLIBITRAP as an organization has promoted parallel Komba language development. Third, the Producers (see Organizational Frames below) believe that the communication of the sacred text of the Bible will be more accessible for a large percentage of Komba people and more adequate to support the church which has limited access to the Konkomba Bible and indeed the English Bibles and Bible resources. Rather than doing a dialect adaptation, KOLIBITRAP has 6

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expressed the desire to have an equal translation to the groups around them. Doing further research into the sociolinguistic needs of the people and desired translation methodology has led to this brief which describes the style and goals of this translation (See Producers goals below) 2 Organizational frames: Which organizations are involved in this translation?

2.1 Churches: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG) initiated the project by inviting the assistance of Lutheran Bible Translators. The churches represented in the Komba or Liknl speaking areas formed a voluntary organization called KOLIBITRAP, The Komba Literacy and Bible Translation Project. It is not however an exclusively Christian organization. It includes all interested Komba people of any religious affiliation. Denominations with significant number of churches and pastors in the area are all represented on the governing committee1. Local churches (the actual users of the product) and local chiefs have contributed significantly in time, cash, and grain for the project. 2.2 Community organization: KOLIBITRAP (mentioned above) has representatives from many interested chiefs and headmen of many Komba communities. Teachers from the community are voiced supporters for the group and have attended workshops on spelling, literacy training, and translation. Komba Assembly Men2 are also involved in helping the community be aware of and participate in the project. As a community organization KOLIBITRAP has received monetary support from the Ghanaian government at the regional and district level. It is not monolithic organization, but for a variety of reasons is in support of the translation project. 2.3 Translation organizations: In partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana and at their invitation, Lutheran Bible Translators has spearheaded the initiation of the project through sociolinguistic, linguistic research, literacy efforts, and Komba community engagement. They have allocated two expatriate families to help initiate, equip, and advise the project. The Bible Society of Ghana is a nationally recognized organization for Bible publishing in Ghana. They are providing the Translation Consultant and publishing services for the Bible. The Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation is also a nationally recognized leader for linguistics, literacy and translation activity. They have also worked very closely with the onset of the Komba project providing consulting in linguistics, literacy and translation. 2.4 Organizational goals: LBT for its part desires to see Komba Christians actively engage the Christian gospel through hearing an artistic and culturally relevant and acceptable revoicing of the Biblical text that finds a home in the life of the church. They desire to help the ELCG, our church partner, and other churches working among the Komba. It is an area where the church is growing but remains behind other Ghanaian communities due to cultural, linguistic, geographic, economic and educational factors. LBT desires to help develop the Komba language to help the people develop themselves through education and expand their horizons in The local Komba speaking churches include: Lutheran, Catholic, Assemblies of God, Church of Pentecost, and Baptist churches. Additionally Calvary Chapel, Deeper Life, Fountain Gate, Outreach Ministry, Presbyterian, and Zion Church are known to have at least one congregation active in the area. 2 Assembly men are elected town leaders recognized by the government. 1

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the Ghanaian context. LBT hopes that the translation project serves as a catalyst for Komba churches and by extension their national and international partners to engage deep issues related to culture and the gospel. LBT believes that Western involvement if culturally humble, receptive, and mutually submissive can still be beneficial for the church in Africa, the local community, and the nation of Ghana. KOLIBITRAP desires to see the Komba people be counted among the other people groups of Ghana by having the Bible in their own language. They hope to lift up their people through literacy opportunities. They desire to be viewed as a forward moving organization that provides tangible benefits through its delivery of literacy materials and the Christian Bible. They hope that through Bible Translation more people will understand Gods love for them and his call on their lives, and then to join the church and live as faithful Christians and as proud Komba people. They hope the Komba people will increasingly embrace education and development through their interaction with this project. 3 Translators frames Of the Translators: The translators need to be wrestling with issues of Gospel and culture, faith and identity as Kombas and as Christians. They need to be well versed in the strategies of base and model translation methodology, formal and functional equivalence translations, but also made aware of the structural and artistic insights of Literary Functional Equivalence translation such as that proposed by Ernst Wendland. They need to be aware of the distinction between domestication and foreignization and understand how the brief is directing them to mediate that distinction consistently. They must understand and articulate the translation brief particularly in terms of its translation principles and style. Pastor Emmanuel Mananyinan is an ordained pastor of the Assembly of God Ghana, Gbintiri Assembly. He is also a translator for the Komba Bible Translation. He is originally from Bimbagu of the Binamim clan. He resides in Gbintiri. In addition to the goals of KOLIBITRAP he holds a pastoral goal of helping his people understand and faithfully live the Christian life. He also hopes the translation will help him evangelize his people. He wants to bring Kombas to the Bible so far as the Komba culture is quite similar to that of the people of Israel in the Bible. Rev. Samson Bilafanim of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana is a translator for the Komba Bible Translation. In addition he is the ELCG Northern region area representative. He is an ordained pastor in the ELCG. He is also originally from Bimbagu of the Binamim clan. He resides in Gbintiri and pastors a church in the town of Dobiyento. His goals are: To bring Gods words to the doorsteps of Komba, and to make Gods words readable in the Komba language. Mr. James Adongo Wajak is a Circuit Supervisor for the Ghana Education Service in the BunkpuruguYunyoo district. He has received a Bachelors degree in Education from the University of Education at Winneba. He is a part time translator for the Komba Bible Translation. He is originally from Kufori and is a member of the Binamim clan. He resides in the town of Temaa. His personal interest in the project is to help Komba become a more highly developed and valued written language among the languages of Ghana. He hopes many young people will learn to read Komba and looks forward to being able to do leisure reading in his own language.

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Rev. Nathan Esala is a member of Lutheran Bible Translators working under the auspices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana. He is the exegete for the project and the translation principles advisor. He is ordained as a pastor in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod USA. He resides in Nasuan and works in Gbintiri of Ghanas Northern Region. His goals are very similar to those listed under LBT above and also he shares the sentiments of the Komba translators. Additionally he would like to see the American churches that support him and his family financially, prayerfully, and emotionally interact with this project so that they would come to appreciate Africa, the Komba people, diversity of culture, as well as underlying commonalities between people, different perceptions of the world and of God and the gospel, the largeness of God and diversity of his interactions with people. 4 Producers goals: The translation skopos Primary goal: The host text is to be a written text read aloud in church services, funerals, marriages, baptisms or naming ceremonies, Bible studies, and other specialized church situations. Secondary goal: The host text will serve as a symbol and motivator for ethnic and cultural uplift and unity in churches, communities and schools. It should be similar in form and style to other Ghanaian translations. Tertiatry goal: The host text should be suitable to be read aloud for mass media formats and lend itself to be further adapted for other oral and recorded media. 4.1 Selection and presentation of text signs: The translation will select written signs: That bring the foreign text of the Biblical world closer to the modern Komba reader and to interpret that world for them. That use a simple enough grammatical style so that new readers will not struggle too much in reading the text. To be voiced for aural reception with an emphasis on rhythm, flow, and at times phonation of the text that is pleasing to the ear. To utilize some functionally equivalent features of Komba poetry and other rhetorical devices when translating poetic genres focusing on rhythmic lines utilizing imagery and phonation (when possible). Some ideophones are imported into the text to aid in artistry and imagery where the text itself displays such oral-aural features. Loss of oral aural artistry and some loss of meaning is acknowledged as that is the nature of translation. To utilize artistry of metaphor and imagery in the host text. Rather than translating metaphor away, we will try to use source language metaphor where it is functionally intelligible to the Komba reader (realizing that the depth of meaning is likely to be lost or shift slightly). Where it is unintelligible, we will consider the metaphors function and adjust it slightly (if possible) keeping with the original senders intention, but making it more compatible for the Komba people. To functionally reproduce in broad strokes the original texts discourse and thematic structure. This will be done through functionally equivalent Komba discourse markers. The translation is restricted to the Good News Bible section headings following the structure of our neighboring translations. To engage our intended audiences cognitive and cultural environment through key term choices that have pre-Christian cultural precedent. To use key terms and repeated phraseology consistently if possible to help hearers connect the echoes of other texts. 9

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That reflect the Gbintiri speech variety of Liknl since it is the economic and geographically central dialect. That will allow for the incorporation of multimedia formats including interpersonal media and cassette or possibly radio media. This will include being open to translating the translation for different media. We will actively encourage not only static reading of the text we translate but oral re-composition of that text with the ultimate goal that Kombas are able to experience and reexperience something of the performative impact of the Gospel stories through different media. The translation team envisions these translations to be more domesticating and take on more poetic license than the written text.

4.2 Basic unit of translation: The Komba translation seeks to reproduce the larger discourse structure primarily through functionally equivalent discourse markers. The paragraph should follow the flow of the discourse, but is limited in that we seek to follow section headings used in other Ghanaian translations and the TEV. Limited verse restructuring is possible, but we are restricted from significant restructuring of verse marking within the paragraph because of our primary purpose and the use of verses in church services. Where in modern versions verses are skipped our translation will include them as this kind of gap seems to disturb average readers. Sentences can be restructured to follow more natural Komba sentence structures. Formatting can be adjusted to follow the poetic lines of functionally equivalent Komba poetry. 4.3 Style The Komba translation will seek to use a modified common language approach. It will employ a simple written style that we hope will be easy to read similar to the ease of reading the TEV. Passive constructions will be made active since the Komba language has no true passive construction. Some potentially ambiguous pronouns will be made explicit even though this makes the reading a bit heavier. The Liknl section headings also follow the TEV since most of our neighboring translations follow this pattern. However, in distinction from the TEV, the key terms of the Komba translation will be closer to more formal equivalent key term approaches. The Komba translation will also try not to use explanatory phrases when adequate functionally similar words exist in the host language for the biblical concept. The Komba translation will tend not to explain away the metaphor of the text, turning metaphor into explanatory prose. Instead, the Komba translation will intentionally use metaphor and artistry in expression, sometimes making functional metaphor adjustments that remain faithful to the function of the original metaphor. The result in many cases will be a bit less wordy of a text compared to common language Bibles, which is desirable as long as meaning is still communicated. The Komba translation seeks to duplicate the original texts structure through functionally similar Komba discourse markers. We will employ a tendency toward the domesticating strategy in that we want to bring the Biblical world closer to the Komba hearer by using similar concepts from the Komba cognitive world. We will seek to take advantage of similarities between Komba culture and Biblical culture acknowledging that the Komba concepts will necessarily reshape the Biblical concepts, most often in a compatible and enriching way both for Kombas and for the international church.

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4.4 Linguistic Concordance The Komba translation will seek to show linguistic and thematic concordance when possible. As a discourse progresses, a words semantic range in the host language normally is not the same as the original language. But in order to keep recurring key words present throughout the fabric of a book, we will seek to use similar vocabulary where possible in the host text, unless doing so seriously miscommunicates. 4.5 Lines of Communication during Production: The translation team is composed of three translators and one expatriate exegete. The team is directed to apply the principles laid out in the brief and seek to sharpen those principles as they go along. The translators are to produce a draft following the principles of this brief by using the base and model method of translation (Bessong, Kenmogne 2006:379). The base will be the New International Version because it is well known for comparison in the Komba area, and is a modified formal equivalence translation. The base is supplemented by a translation study provided by the exegete which should be consulted by the translator prior to drafting (see the paragraph below). Then the translators are directed to take the base and compare various models that have re-worked the texts message for their audience and according to the principles of their own translation briefs (even if such a brief is implicit and not explicit). Examples of models include the Konkomba Bible, the BiMoba Bible and the Dagbani Bible, and various English versions such as Todays English Version (TEV). The Translation Handbooks of the United Bible Society should also be referenced for models of how to relate the base to the model of the TEV. The translation study, mentioned above is provided by the exegete. The translation study is based on the Greek text highlighting the argument structure of the text, discourse structure, use of genre, use of metaphor and components of artistry and their functional meaning. Such Literary-Rhetorical methodology including narrative criticism is spelled out by Wendland (2003, 2008). Another helpful approach to be used where possible is storyboarding a text (Rhoads 2008). The whole team then reviews the draft critiquing its success in following the base (according to the principles of the brief) and faithful diversions from the base to bring the world of the Bible closer to the Komba audience (also according to the principles of the brief). Paratext 7 is very helpful in this regard by making use of notes by the various team members. The team also incorporates every members suggestions at this point and decides on the best course of action as well as to suggest alternatives which can be tested on Reviewers and discussed with the Translation Consultant. This is called the harmonization period. Next, the draft is reviewed by at least 10 reviewers who represent different church, clan and geographical distributions of the Komba people. The reviewers are trained and expected to function as bridges between the communities and the translation team. Their feedback will help to spot places where the translation is not understood or natural in Komba. The translators are instructed to carefully listen to Reviewers to see what the motivations are for their suggestions. Is it an issue of dialect, naturalness, clarity, and is it related to a translation principle discussed in the brief? The reviewing process should spot places where the translation does not measure up to the brief. And it may show at times that the briefs principles actually need to be modified because they are not serving the host community well. We hope the reviewers will also serve to test the draft translation on the communities they represent and provide feedback about positive or negative community reception. 11

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Then the translation is further edited and brought to the Translation Consultant, Dr. Dapila N. Fabian, who also checks for areas where the translation is in danger of not functioning in a way that meets the goals of the whole Komba community as described in the brief, not using consistent or quality translation principles or communicating outside the original authors intention. Again the Komba text will be modified based on the Consultants criticisms. Final editing and computerized consistency checks will be done before publication by the Bible Society. After a text has been checked by the Bible Society Consultant re-translations of the translation into interpersonal oral performances or mass media cassette recordings or even video can be made. Ideally this will be done with its own media project brief especially if it is done on a larger scale. Such adaptations or retranslations would likely be more domesticating taking into account Komba poetic genres for poetry, perhaps utilizing more ideophones.

5 Works Consulted Bediako, Kwame. 2004. Jesus and the gospel in Africa. Maryknoll: Orbis. Esala, Nathan. 2006. Komba language feasability study. Unpublished report. Nord, Christianne. 1997. Translating as a purposeful activity: functionalist approaches explained. Manchester: St Jerome. Rhoads, David. 2008. Performing the letter to the Galatians. The Journal of Biblical Storytelling. 17.1. Cited 21 Sept 2011 Online: http://www.biblicalperformancecriticism.org/index.php/component/content/article/31-ancientsources/audience-responses/95 Sanneh, Lamin. 2003. Whose religion is Christianity: the gospel beyond the West. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Steele, Mary. 1971. Konkomba dialect survey. Ghanaian Institute of Linguistics Literacy and Bible Translation. Unpublished report. Wendland, Ernst. 2003. Translating the literature of scripture. Dallas, TX: SIL International. Wendland, Ernst. 2008. Finding and translating the oral aural elements in written language. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edward Mellen Press. Wright, N.T. 2005. Scripture and the authority of God. London: Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge. Bessong, Dieudonn P. Aroga and Kenmogne, Michael. 2007. Bible translations in Africa. Pages 351-386 in A history of bible translation. Edited by Philip A. Noss. Roma: Edizioni Di Storia E Letteratura.

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